DVD Studio Pro Keeps Burning An Old Version of a DVD

If you've run into the problem of DVD Studio Pro burning off an older version of a project, or a completely different project than you have open and expected to burn, it's likely you have some leftover AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS files in your Documents folder.

Look here: /Users/YOURACCOUNT/Documents/DVD Studio Pro Documents

If you see an AUDIO_TS folder and VIDEO_TS folder these are likely the ones that are being burned off rather than the project you expected.

To verify these are the culprits:

1. Drag the VIDEO_TS folder atop of DVD Player application and hit play.

If it's the the culprit delete this VIDEO_TS folder and the AUDIO_TS folder.

Why did this happen?

Well, it's likely that at some point you formatted and project and DVD Studio Pro dumped the files there, or DVD Studio unexpectedly quit sometime ago.

What if there are no folders there in DVD Studio Pro Documents?

1. Open DVD Studio Pro and hit COMMAND + (COMMA) to open it's preferences.
2. Click on "Encoding"
3. Select "Build/Format" next to the "Show:" menu.
4. The location shown for "Location" is likely where the problem VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders are.
5. Delete 'em.
6. Restart DVD Studio Pro and do a test burn. A simulation won't show you a problem, only a disk image or actual burned DVD will.

Some additional info:

Another way to check to see if DVDSP is pulling the wrong or old files is to hit COMMAND + F for Format. Look at what is shown in under the General tab under Disc and next to "Name:" and compare it to what is shown next to "Name:" in the Inspector palette; if they're different, then DVDSP is pulling old files from somewhere.

A clue that you've solved your problem is if you see this window appear when you hit COMMAND + F (for Format).

Burning Multiple Discs in DVD Studio Pro

Today I was burning off a handful of copies of a DVD for a client when someone asked what I was doing since they "hadn't seen that before" in DVD Studio pro.

There are two basic ways to burn multiple copies of a DVD project in DVD Studio Pro.

1. If you only need to burn off a few copies, say less than 10, I usually get everything ready to burn and then hit Shift + Command + F to Burn a disc, test it then proceed if nothing goes wrong.

See, once you Burn off a test disc you've "Built" it, now all you need to do is "Format" it which really means burn off the Built project to a disc. There's no need to hit Burn again because that just rebuilds the disc and wastes time. So...after the initial test Build-n-Burn…

Hit Command + F for Format.

Pop in a blank disk.

Hit Return.

It's quicker than building each time and if there are only a handful of discs to burn - like I said, less than 10 it's not a bad way to go.

2. If you need to burn off many copies (but less than what a dedicated disc copier would be needed for) in DVD Studio Pro hit Command + F (this is after your test burn) and at the bottom of the Build/Format window change Output Device to Hard Drive and tell it where you'd like a disc image of your project saved.

Hit Okay.

After a bit you'll have a disc image of your project.

Launch Disk Utility or Toast and set it to multiple copies and that's about it.

Burning VIDEO_TS folders with DVD Studio Pro

Ross just reminded me that not everyone knows this handy little tip on how to burn VIDEO_TS folders using DVD Studio Pro. I guess it's one of those things that us editors do so often you think everyone must know.

01) Fire up DVDSP.
02) Hit Command + F for "Format..."
03) Under the General tab tap the Choose... button for Current Directory.
04) Select the folder ENCLOSING your VIDEO_TS.
05) Tap "Burn"

Like Ross mentions, ignore any warnings.

06) Think like a client™.

(which means test your disc!)

Burn VIDEO_TS folders as UDF discs via the Terminal

There have been some issues with burning VIDEO_TS folders on a Mac without using something like Popcorn or Toast.

Usually you use DVD Studio Pro to burn a VIDEO_TS folder to discs, but if you find yourself on a computer that doesn't have that installed what can you do? Burning a VIDEO_TS folder via the Finder will result in a Mac OS Extended disc that won't be compatible with some stand-alone DVD players and won't play in DVD Player app. Same goes for Disk Utility. The Finder and Disk Utility will burn a Mac OS Extended rather than a UDF disc which is what many DVD Players (and DVD Player app) expect.

The solution is to use the Terminal. Yup.

00) Pop in a blank DVD.
01) Get your VIDEO_TS folder how you want it.
02) Fire up the Terminal.
03) Paste this:

hdiutil makehybrid -udf -udf-volume-name DVD_NAME -o MY_DVD.iso /path/to/VIDEO_TS/parent/folder

(that's all one line, btw)

Technically you're only going to paste this:

hdiutil makehybrid -udf -udf-volume-name DVD_NAME -o MY_DVD.iso

04) Hit spacebar

05) Drag in the folder that's enclosing the VIDEO_TS folder into the Terminal. You'll see it fill in that folder's path. Read step 5 again, it's important.

It's best to drag folders into the Terminal to get their path's correct as spaces in folder names make things tricky. If you want the path of a folder you can use Get Info or in the Finder hit Shift + Command + G for "Go to Folder..." and drag the folder into the text entry box. Be aware however that spaces will not appear as they should in the Terminal.

A better way to get the exact path (other than dragging the folder into the Terminal after you've pasted in the command) is to drag it into the Terminal before you've pasted in the command and see what the Terminal says. You can even copy/paste from here. Dragging it in after you paste in the command saves time though.

An example:

Lets say we have a folder called "untitled folder 3" we want to put into the command via it's path. Well, that folder has two spaces so in the Terminal, when we drag it there, we'll see:

/Users/HOMEFOLDER/Desktop/untitled\ folder\ 3

HOMEFOLDER will be whatever you've named your home folder in this case.

But, see how "untitled folder 3" is parsed in the Terminal?

untitled\(space)folder\(space)3

A space = \(space) in the Terminal. (space) is a space, like hitting the spacebar key on your keyboard.

So...let's say we have a VIDEO_TS folder inside a folder called "To Be Burned Off" on our Desktop. What would the path be?

/Users/HOMEFOLDER/Desktop/To\ Be\ Burned\ Off/VIDEO_TS

See, it's not that complicated once you understand how spaces work.

The command would then look like this:

hdiutil makehybrid -udf -udf-volume-name DVD_NAME -o MY_DVD.iso /Users/HOMEFOLDER/Desktop/To\ Be\ Burned\ Off 

(again, that's all one line in the Terminal, there is a space between the .iso and /Users)

Ah ha...notice that we DO NOT point it directly to the VIDEO_TS folder. That's important. Point it to the folder ENCLOSING the VIDEO_TS folder.

You can change "DVD_NAME" and "MY_DVD" to whatever you like but make sure you follow proper DVD naming conventions or things will explode. DVD_NAME will be the name of the disc so the client will be able to see it so be careful. MY_DVD will be the name of the .iso and won't be on the burned DVD.

04) Hit return.

You'll find, after a time and a lot of periods in the Terminal, a disc image called MY DVD.iso likely at the root level of your Home Folder. This .iso will be UDF. Yay!

Now you'll need to burn this .iso disc image to a disc with Disk Utility.

05) Launch Disk Utility.
07) Hit Command + B (for "Burn...) or tap the Burn button.
08) Select the .iso you just made and hit the Burn button.

09) TEST THE DISC!

Your milage will vary on this tip mainly due to all the different versions of hdiutil, OS and Terminal that have been floating around.

NOTE: an alternate command if the above fails is this:

hdiutil makehybrid -iso -joliet -udf -udf-version 1.02 \
-default-volume-name "DVD_VIDEO" \
-o "/path/to/my/outputfile.iso" "/path/to/disks/content_folder";

(all one line)

hdiutil is very powerful and has myriad options. I urge you to flip though it's man page here.

You can also use this method to make Hybrid DVDs which hold not only DVD Video but Data Files as well. Place your DVD-ROM folder in the same folder that's enclosing the VIDEO_TS folder and use the Terminal command as is.

Oh, it wouldn't be a bad idea to also include an empty AUDIO_TS folder to help with compatibility of older stand-alone DVD Players.

Making Hybrid Data/DVD Discs in DVD Studio Pro

I have this client who aside from being nearly totally computer illiterate seems to simply work on a different time plane than most of us. A project that should have taken two weeks at most for revisions and tweaks has taken over 7 months. I literally had forgotten about it when the call came in for the "latest" (their word) round of changes. I thought since I hadn't heard anything for months that the spot was already off the air and long forgotten (like my check).

But alas, it turns out that the higher ups hadn't even seen it yet let alone approved it. What's a huge hassle with all of this is that some of the people who need to review the edits need a DVD, while some want "QuickTime" versions but they're all in the same office with their desks quite literally next to one another. So, in the past I'd brought them little packages of flash drives and DVDs and hosted them online for some other mysterious people to see who needed to see them online for some reason.

So today, after they requested a rather bizarre and unexpected change to a specific part of project that has been identical in every version I've shown them for the past seven months I decided enough is enough.

Today they get a Hybrid Data/DVD Disc and they'll like it.

Okay, so what's a hyrid disc? It's a DVD-R (or whatever flavor you want) that has a VIDEO_TS folder and Data on it usually in a DVD-ROM folder. In this case the data in the DVD-ROM folder will be QuickTime versions (exports) of the commercials on the disc as so they can copy and watch to their heart's content as well as play it as a regular run-of-the-mill DVD. So, it's two discs in one: One, a playable video DVD and Two, a data disc with files on it that you access by popping it into a computer.

There are three ways to do this:

01) DVD Studio Pro (which is fully compliant and outlined below)
02) The Finder (which has a BIG gotcha but is outlined below as well)
03) The Terminal and Disk Utility (which is fully compliant and outlined in this post)

Here we go:

01) Make your DVD replete with menus and whatnot in DVD Studio Pro. Save. (always save...)

02) Somewhere in the Finder make a new folder called anything you want, it's name doesn't matter and no one but you will see it. I tend to name things like IHATETHISCLIENT_TEMP which one day will inevitably will get me into trouble somehow.

04) Now, inside that folder you just made create another folder and call it "DVD-ROM". You'd don't have to name it this but it's a bit of a tradition with hybrid discs and for people who are a little computer savvy it's a recognized name. So why upset the pomegranate cart?

05) Put all your exports into this DVD-ROM folder, meaning all the stuff you want on the Hybrid Disc that are to be accessed via a computer. This can be photos, videos, sound files...whatever.

Now here is where you have a branching option and need to make a decision based on some important factors.

You can burn the disc with something like Toast, Popcorn, Disk Utility or even use DVDSP itself. Now, using DVDSP adds a little complexity to this since you'll be building and burning the disc (and data) so you need to set up DVDSP and it's prefs properly. If you don't have Toast or Popcorn you don't have Toast or Popcorn. If you use The Finder there's a one big gotcha you have to be aware of.

To keep things simple I like to use the Finder to burn the hybrid disc IF THE DISK WILL BE PLAYED ONLY ON STAND-ALONE DVD PLAYERS.

Using the Finder: (results in disc with some compatibility caveats)

06) When your DVD in DVDSP all peachy keen and just how you want it you need to tell DVDSP to export a VIDEO_TS folder of it all. Do so by hitting Option + Command + C which is the "Build" command. Tell DVDSP where to save it to and let it do it's thing. When it's done you'll have VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS. Keep the AUDIO_TS for this reason.

NOTE: DVDSP may place a .layout file in the VIDEO_TS folder after it's done "building" this folder. Unless you need it, trash this .layout file. You'll see why below. Nonetheless, be aware that when you burn with DVDSP or Toast they'll automatically ignore this file (and .lay files) when burning the disc...the Finder won't. If you forget to trash the .layout file nothing horrible will happen but it can potentially cause an issue later on during playback. Maybe.

Also, using the Finder to burn discs is very slow and not only because it likes to verify, it's just slow.

07) OPTIONAL: Put your VIDEO_TS, AUDIO_TS & DVD-ROM folders into one folder just to keep them organized.

08) Pop in a blank Disc.

09) Drag your VIDEO_TS, AUDIO_TS & DVD-ROM folders to the blank disk. Do not drag the enclosing folder you may have made in step 7 to the blank disc!

10) Hit Burn. (and name it something sensible)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

There is a BIG HUGE gotcha here that you need to be aware of.

This largely pertains to the DVD Player app; the disc will play on a stand-alone player but likely not in the DVD Player app on your Mac. What gives? Your Mac cost way more than the $30 stand alone DVD player from that big box retailer's bargain bin.

There are a few theories as to why this happens: one is that it has to do with out of order .vob files and if that is the case there's not much you can do about it when burning via the Finder because of the way the Finder sorts file names. I've not seen files out of "correct" order but maybe I've just not noticed it. I don't think this is the problem, to be honest.

Another theory is that the .layout file that this method places in the VIDEO_TS folder confuses DVD Player app (and some stand-alone DVD players) as this may be the first file encountered. This has a sounder footing in reality since some stand-alone DVD players just start going down the list of files on a disc and choke if something isn't "playable" by it. If you delete the .layout file before you burn you may, or may not, have better luck with compatibility. However, it will likely still not play in DVD Player app.

The reality here is that the resultant disc will be Mac OS Extended rather than UDF (Universal Disc Format) which is what many hardware and software DVD Players expect. Of course some stand-alone dvd players and even some software ones don't really care and will play anything with a VIDEO_TS folder without even wearing a raincoat. To be fully compliant is to be a UDF disc.

Apple's DVD Player .app likes UDF discs and throws up an error if a disc isn't in UDF format.

This is also why some discs that are not UDF will still play correctly on stand-alone DVD players: some DVD players just scan the disc looking for a folder named "VIDEO_TS" and start playing with reckless abandon. Other DVD players aren't even that smart and give up if they don't see a VIDEO_TS folder right at the top of the disc's file structure (or immediately after an AUDIO_TS folder). Then still other DVD Players give up if the disc isn't a UDF formatted disc to begin with. This is why you must test, test & test some more.

Your best chances at a compatible DVD disc (hybrid or not) are to have:

UDF Formatted Disc
No .lay or .layout file

That's kinda it. Like I've said, I've yet to run into out of order .vob files.

10) Test your disc in a few computers and on a few stand-alone DVD Players. Also, test it on your Mac with DVD Player app. If you get "Supported Disc Not Available" that doesn't necessarily mean it won't play in a stand-alone DVD player. Test it out on some hardware DVD Players.

If you want to see the DVD content in DVD Player app and see "Support Disc Not Available" you will need to drag the VIDEO_TS folder on the burned disc to DVD Player app icon in the Dock or Finder or wherever you have it.

The take-away here is that if you want to create the most compatible Hybrid disc possible Use DVD Studio Pro as outlined below (or the Terminal). Those discs will play in both DVD Player app and in Stand-Alone DVD Players. So Remember:

A Hybrid made with the Finder will play in many but not all stand-alone DVD players but not in DVD Player app. The disc will be "Mac OS Extended".

A Hybrid made with DVDSP will play in both stand-alone DVD players and DVD Player app. The Disc will be "UDF".

A Hybrid made with DVDSP as a .img and burned with Disk Utility will play in both stand-alone DVD players and DVD Player app. The Disc will be "UDF".

Using DVD Studio Pro: (results in generally more compatible discs)

06) Either in Graphical View or Outline View highlight the Disc in DVDSP. This means clicking the gray background (nothingness) in Graphical View or clicking once on the very topmost thing in Outline View which will have a Disc icon.

07) In the Inspector (Option + Command + I) under the General Tab you'll see "DVD-ROM". Tick the checkbox named "Content:".

08) Tap "Choose..." and select the folder ENCLOSING the DVD-ROM folder you made in steps 3, 4 & 5.

It's unlikely you'll need to check "Joliet Extension Support". If something goes wonky check this as it may help really old stand-alone DVD players and/or certain file types you're trying to burn to the hybrid disc. Test everything when you test, even opening data files you burned to the hybrid disc.

09) Test all of this mess out. In DVDSP hit Option + Command + F for "Build and Format".

10) In the window that pops up, at the bottom under "Destination" set Output Device to "Hard Drive".

11) For Output Format choose ".img". (told you using DVDSP adds complexity)

12) Hit the "Build & Format" button and tell DVDSP where to save it. (If it asks you about deleting and reusing existing files I just hit delete but the choice is up to you. You can always re-create the VIDEO_TS folders etc... again later since you still [should] have the original assets)

13) Test out this disc image. Double click it to mount it. DVD Player should launch. Test the "virtual" DVD that's loaded. If DVD Player doesn't auto launch, launch it in the Finder and test. You shouldn't need to drag the VIDEO_TS folder to the DVD Player app using this method as burning the hybrid disc this way should make a UDF disc that DVD Player app will accept.

Also make sure that the DVD-ROM contents are on the disc and function as expected by checking them in the Finder. That means opening them as if you were the client.

14) Things Tested okay? Then launch Disk Utility and burn the .img (after unmounting it in the Finder) by selecting Burn (Command + B) and selecting the .img DVDSP made.

15) Test the physical DVD you just made in several computers and DVD players.

16) Hand it to the client (make two copies, they'll lose one) along with your invoice.

Remember that if you don't want to bother with DVDSP making a .img and then burning that with Disk Utility (we only do that to test before burning so as not to waste a blank dvd and time) you can hit Burn (Option + Command + B) [not Shift + Command + F] in DVDSP and burn to the disc directly from there in lieu of step 9 under Using DVD Studio Pro.

As if this post isn't long enough I should mention that if you don't have Toast, Popcorn, DVD Studio Pro or anything else but what comes with your Mac you can still make a compliant Hybrid UDF DVD with the Terminal and Disk Utility. It's all in this post.

I should really shorten this post. Thanks for reading this far.

Burning VIDEO_TS folders from Disk Utility

I haven't had a problem that I recall using this method but "Dewshi" over at Macosxhints.com commented that sometimes the files are in the wrong order which explains why burning a VIDEO_TS folder in Disk Utility will result in a DVD that will play on a computer but not on a standard stand-alone DVD player.

I'm curious to test it out though and see if this does happen depending on thy way a VIDEO_TS folder is burned.

The reason a DVD player is unable to recognise the disk is that it requires the files in the VIDEO_TS to be physically in the correct order, in particular the VIDEO_TS.IFO file should come first. When you insert a disk into a DVD player it scans the first few sectors looking for this file which contains a list of sector offsets to find the title sets on the DVD. If the DVD player can’t find the IFO file or finds another file first it generally gives up.

Unfortunately, alphabetically the file “VIDEO_TS.BUP” comes first and the mac writes this file first when burning a plain data disk. A computer DVD player, on the other hand, understands the file system on the disk and can therefore find any file it wants with out having to know the offset values. That’s why the mac can play the disk OK, but not a DVD player.

It is also important that the VOB files are in the correct order as a DVD player just plays the data it finds, ignoring file boundaries, until it reaches the end. In fact a DVD player doesn’t even understand files and only uses sector offsets to find data.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF A CORRECT VIDEO_TS FOLDER:

VIDEO_TS.IFO
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VIDEO_TS.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_0.VOB
VTS_01_1.VOB
VTS_01_2.VOB
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_02_0.IFO
VTS_02_0.VOB
VTS_02_1.VOB
VTS_02_0.BUP

So the problem is to structure the files in the required order on the written disk, and not just alphabetically. I’ve experimented with various disc images & software tools (e.g Burn), with no success. How do you burn a disk with files in a certain order?

Quickly find out what media an optical drive can burn

A few times I've been someplace editing and have no idea what kind of burner is in the Mac there. Being pro-Terminal mostly, I tend to fire up the terminal and type in "drutil info" and hit Return. You'll see something like this:



You can also use System Profiler (Hold Option when selecting the Apple menu and you'll see About this Mac turn into System Profiler...) or use something like Toast but launching the Terminal and tying a simple command is reliable and fast.