How do I group scenes or edit DVD chapters in Movies on DVD 7

tsw004 wrote on 1/4/2010, 7:38 PM

I have captured video from VHS source and edited the footage into several scenes using Magix Movies on DVD 7.03.7 (it came free with my Terratec G3 usb video capture device).

Unfortunately I have split the video into too many scenes and I need to re-join some of them.

I have read lots of similar questions here and the answer seems to be that it's impossible to rejoin/merge scenes even though the manual says there's a 'regroup' option evidently it was a mistake in the manual. btw I only found that out after two hours searching every menu and option and finally finding an answer after searching the questions on this site!

This is insane! Why is the no rejoin or regroup/merge scene option?

The problem I have is that when I get to the burn DVD stage the chapters on the DVD seem to be derived from the scenes on the timeline. So extra chapters are showing on the DVD menu because there's no way to rejoin scenes and (as far as I can tell) no way to edit the chapters on the DVD. Is there ANY way to solve the problem?

Any help would be appreciatred.

Thanks
Tom

Comments

massi04 wrote on 1/5/2010, 3:35 AM

I do not completelely understand your question or problem. If you are talking about MEP (Program name ?, version ?) all the chapter markers can be set manually and can be deleted one by one or all.
Delete chapter markers = Ctrl+Return
Delete all chapter markers = Ctrl+Alt+Return
Set chapter marker = UpperKey+Return etc.

asoeli wrote on 1/5/2010, 12:53 PM

Like massi04, I do not fully understand your question. I use MEP14, but think there is no great differencies as to this problem.
First of all, you must know that when working in Timline (or Storyboard), the scenes are not your original video file cut into pieces. They are references to the video file. The original video file will never be disturbed in any way. All changes are saved in a much smaller project file (In MEP 14 the file ending is .MVD).
The scenes can not be "merged" again on Timeline (except in spesial cases), but when you render the film and export it (as MPEG, WMV or other), or burn as DVD, the scenes are "merged".
Perhaps you, with or without knowing it, have got a chapter marker at each scene? (In MEP, they are small blue squares over Timeline). Delete them all, with Ctrl+Alt+Enter, and set new chapter markers where you want them.

tsw004 wrote on 1/7/2010, 5:11 PM

asoeli

I am fully aware that scenes on the timeline do not affect the original video file and that the scenes are merged after export.

I have not used MEP14 but from your answer it would seem to me that there are significant differences compared with Movies on DVD 7. It's a completely different product - no?

There are no chapter markers on the timeline in MODVD7 and no way to add them to the timeline. As I stated in my original question - in MODVD7 the DVD chapters are derived from AND ONLY FROM the scenes on the timeline eg 3 scenes = 3 DVD chapters, 1 for each scene. In fact you don’t in even see mention of a DVD chapter until you get to the burn screen.

Therefore if you split a scene by mistake you end up with an 'orphan' DVD chapter with no way to rejoin the scene and seemingly no way to delete the orphan chapter from the DVD menu.

I say 'seemingly' because there is a way to delete DVD chapters but it's very well hidden. You have to check the 'advanced' tick box in the DVD burn screen and from there you can uncheck the orphan chapter so it doesn’t appear on the DVD menu.

Nevertheless this is the only way to do it and it would be all the easier (and more intuative) if you could just merge/join scenes on the timeline. After all, as you quite rightly pointed out, the scenes are just references in a project file. So why not offer the user a way to rejoin scenes? As well as being the basis for DVD chapters in MODVD7 the scenes also provide an invaluable visual reference for the user. It allows the user visually to see all the constituent parts or ‘scenes’ in their film. Having orphan scenes all over the timeline just because you accidently split a scene in the wrong place is at best annoying, at worst, a right pain the a**. Hence why every other video editing suite I've ever used allows the user to split and merge scenes on the timeline. It's just common sense and I don't understand why Magix has omitted such a basic feature.