Automatic Chapter Markers in MPEG-2 Video

[casmithva]

I recently posted about jumpy video with content recorded by EyeTV and burned via Toast 8.0.3: DVDs, when played via VLC or on our Sony DVD+VCR combo player would play a few frames, then jump several minutes forward, play a few frames, then jump again, and repeat indefinitely.

 

I looked more closely at the issue and tracked the issue down to chapter markers.

 

Video that was edited in EyeTV still contained clip marks from my edits, and VLC and our Sony DVD+VCR player were actually jumping to those points. EyeTV's documentation does state that these clip marks in their video editor can be used to create chapter markers. Okay, good to know. So I deleted the clip marks and repeated the export process.

 

The result now is that the video is jumping at five-minute intervals.

 

So I took video that has never been edited in EyeTV and exported it. Again, jumps are at five-minute intervals. Looking more closely with VLC and Apple's DVD Player, sure enough, there are chapter markers created every five minutes.

 

I'm guessing, based on what I read here elsewhere, that Toast is responsible for the inclusion of these chapter markers at five-minute intervals. The documentation states that some video formats can be edited and this very feature -- the automatic inclusion of chapter markers at fixed intervals -- can be edited or turned off. However, MPEG-2 video as exported via EyeTV is not one of them.

 

Is there any way to get MPEG-2 video to not be burned with chapter markers? Is there a setting someplace in Toast that I'm missing? Or must I export video from EyeTV in something like DV format, add it into Toast, let Toast re-encode the video, and then burn it? I can do that -- it just takes forever to complete.

 

Thanks!

[tsantee]

When Toast receives an MPEG video that has chapters or edits (such as your edited EyeTV videos) it retains those chapters. If no chapters are present Toast automatically adds chapter markers in 5-minute intervals. There isn't an option to turn this off with MPEG video sources.

 

I don't know why the play back of your video DVD is jumping to chapter marks. I haven't experienced this.

 

As for exporting to a different format and re-encoding, you can do a test disc but you may end up with the same result. It's baffling to me and I'm sorry I can't think of a reason for it.

[casmithva]

The latest experiment was to export video from EyeTV in DV format and then tell Toast to add chapter markers every five minutes. That resulting disc image played just fine in VLC. So chapter markers are not the root cause, just a symptom in a particular situation.

 

So, when that video goes to Apple TV, it's re-encoded and works out fine. When it goes to Toast in DV format, it gets re-encoded and works out fine. When that video goes into iDVD, it's re-encoded and works out fine. When it goes straight from EyeTV to Toast without re-encoding, it fails. Either there's something wrong with EyeTV's MPEG encoding, or there's something odd about how Toast auto-adds chapters into the MPEG-2 encoding. Off to Elgato to see what they have to say.

[freshburn]

If you set Toast to re-encoding the video, does it then work (don't export to DV, just have it force re-encode the EyeTV MPEG file). It's possible that the EyeTV file is not DVD compliant and has to be re-encoded. It could also be the field order is different.

[sjkrox]

I'm guessing, based on what I read here elsewhere, that Toast is responsible for the inclusion of these chapter markers at five-minute intervals.

And I'll guess that you read my post from yesterday about that on Elgato's forum (where I'll be going next after here).

 

It's possible that the EyeTV file is not DVD compliant and has to be re-encoded.

I've noticed Toast occasionally automatically re-encoded EyeTV 200's MPEG-2 Transport Stream recordings for no apparent reason, although that hasn't happened recently enough that I remember the details.

 

casmithva didn't mention the model of EyeTV [edit: EyeTV Hybrid (North American/NTSC), according to your other post I just noticed that kind of supersedes this question] but if it's one that receives HDTV MPEG-2 directly might that be more susceptible to DVD non-compliance? Sorry if that not asked quite accurately; I've still got analog/SDTV here so HDTV is less familiar.

[Myron]

I have these 720p & 1080p MPEG stream files that I edited in MPEG Streamclip & saved as separate MPEG2 files, anywhere from 7 minutes to 20 minutes or more. I don't want chapter markers every 5 minutes & I don't want to export them to a different format (if possible) just to be able to turn off auto chapter marking. Is there some other software I might use to master these MPEG2 files (with 5.1 audio that won't play in QuickTime) into VOB files for DVD-Video burning?

[sjkrox]

I don't want chapter markers every 5 minutes

Have you tried disabling them in Toast by clicking the Edit… button next to an imported clip, selecting the Video tab, and setting DVD Chapters to None under its menu?

[tsantee]

I have these 720p & 1080p MPEG stream files that I edited in MPEG Streamclip & saved as separate MPEG2 files, anywhere from 7 minutes to 20 minutes or more. I don't want chapter markers every 5 minutes & I don't want to export them to a different format (if possible) just to be able to turn off auto chapter marking. Is there some other software I might use to master these MPEG2 files (with 5.1 audio that won't play in QuickTime) into VOB files for DVD-Video burning?

I don't understand why it concerns you if chapter markers are present. As long as you don't press the chapter skip key they are not apparent in any way in the video.

 

One possibility is to make an edit (cut) very near the beginning (or somewhere else) in Streamclip. Then save from Streamclip using Convert to MPEG. Toast should see the break where the cut was made as a chapter and therefore won't add its own chapters. The result will be a video with one chapter marker.

 

Another thing you can do is use Toast to Save as Disc Image. Then mount the disc image and open the title sets in Streamclip. Have Streamclip fix timecode breaks (if present) and Convert to MPEG. You now have a standard definition MPEG video file with the 5.1 audio and no chapter markers. Find another application that will author a VIDEO_TS folder from that MPEG file.

 

I have CaptyDVD 2. It has the option to set chapter markers at user-defined points. If I don't set any markers then none are present. I have made several DVDs of HD concerts captured from my DVR via Firewire, edited with Streamclip, encoded via Save as Disc Image with Toast, converted back to MPEG with Streamclip and then made into a new DVD with CaptyDVD 2. However, I went to all that effort because I want chapter markers at the start of each song in the concert.

 

None of the above suggestions involves any re-encoding (other than Toast encoding the SD MPEG 2 video) or loss of the 5.1 audio.

[sjkrox]

I don't understand why it concerns you if chapter markers are present. As long as you don't press the chapter skip key they are not apparent in any way in the video.

Good point.

 

Btw, I realized my earlier suggestion for disabling chapter markers won't work with MPEG-2 files in Toast. So cancel that in favor of your suggestions that do actually work.