Is it possible to make a dvd from mkv files and have menues with scene selections as well as 2 audio tracks and subtitles?
Yes, it is possible. To do so (and do it well) it's not easy, but you need the following tools: MKVExtract, an mpeg encoder, and a DVD author. What I use for the latter two are TMPEGenc and DVDLab Pro. It also requires a fair amount of hard drive space. Once you extract the files using mkvextract you can encode the avi files to mpeg, the audio to an appropriate wav, and convert the subtitles (if need be) to an appropriate format for your dvd author, for that part I would recommend subtitle workshop.
What type of menus would i be able to create, how long would it take to learn the programs and how much hard drive space would be needed?
Well depending on what you use for your setup would determine the type of menus you could create. Most of the ones I create are basic still menus, which are really easy to do. If you want to create motion menus then you'll basically have to create a video which you then encode to mpeg and use as a title for a motion video (never gotten into it as I don't have a good video editor) As far as hard drive space needed, you'll need enough to extract files from the source mkvs, (depending usually 2-400 megs each) space for the mpeg files for your dvd source, (usually around 4-5 gigs free per disc as these take up the most space on your hd and dvd) and space to compile the dvd to, 4.5 gigs usually unless you're making dual layer discs. That comes out to roughly (at 300M per extracted mkv) 11.5 gigs free per disc(assuming single layer) if you don't do as follows: Extract->Convert->Delete Source->Author Disc. If you do follow those steps then it comes out to roughly 9 gigs per disc, so I prefer to go ahead and keep the source. As far as learning curves go on these programs, I've used the command line for mkvextract a number of times as I find it easy, and love creating batch jobs, there is however an easy to use gui as well for it called mkvextractgui. TMPEG has wizards, but the only thing to remember is that if you want dual audio, then encode the audio to mp2, and video to mpeg2 seperately (option labelled ES - Video + Audio). And finally dvdlab pro, if you've used a fully functional dvd author before, no problem at all to jump into. If you have not, then it will take a while to learn, but once you do you'll love what you can do with it.
The only authoring program i have used so far is nerovision but this sounds like something i can do thanks a lot.
when i extract the files with mkv extract i get a .h264 file whuch tmpgenc cant load do i need something else to convert it to something that it can open
Not dealt with those before but you might want to look into the following tools: http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool...vdauthorfeatures=&Submit=Search+or+List+tools But keep one thing in mind, each step causes quality loss, so you may want to play around with something that will be as lossless as possible and treat the output files as elementary. Having had experience with mpeg encoders I'm happiest as a whole with tmpeg's quality. --EDIT-- One more thing, the less quality you lose in conversion to something tmpeg can handle, the larger the file is going to be.
i got some working but i have run into a snag i get an ogg audio file but i cant find anything to convert it to a mp2 audio file
The way I've always done those particular files is use winamps disc writer plugin to create a wave, then encode wave to mp2 using tmpeg. Might try besweet tho.
Yes, you'll need the OGM tools for that: http://cyrius.bunkus.org/ogmtools.html Same basic premise as working with MKV.
Each individual tool is downloaded seperately, by clicking on the link of each name. If all you're doing is extracting though, you really only need ogmdemux. Sorry about all the trouble, but here's where you get it: http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=OGMDemuxer and click on the mirror under download. Cheers, and sorry about the long delay before replying.
I have one more question I was able to get the files out of the ogm but when i use tmpegnc 4.0 xpress to convert the avi to a DVD mpeg file the video turns out upside down. Why does it do this and what can i do to rectify this?
Check the AVI with Gspot, and make sure you have the right version of the right codec to deal with the file. If that all checks out and tmpeg is still acting up, convert the video to a codec type that tmpeg deals well with using another video converter, then to dvd compliant mpeg good software is Stoik Video Converter. If all you're doing is converting, then get the free version, works like a charm.
