Guide: How to add Chapters ?

[wazup]

Try this:

Note: Make sure that you click on your Video in the Tree view Widnow.

1) Go to Window -> Video Preview. Resize the Preview Window. This helps with the next few steps,

2) Grab the Slider (looks like an hour glass on the slider bar),

3) Slide it to the Next Tick Mark - they are about 5 minutes apart (which is ConvertX default). I actually changed my default in a New Project to 10 minutes and the slider reflectied this. Unfortunately I got it to work once, but can't seem to coax it into a 10 minute time line again - Hmmm.

4) Right Click and choose Add or Delete Chapter.

Go to the Tree View, expand Chapters and label the chapter with what you think the scene represents. I slide the slider along to get an idea of the scene's contents and figure out (ok guess) at what it shows me for a chapter Title.

Neat yes?

Cheers...

cougar OR other VSO support staff, if you read this, may I suggest that you folks create another forum for Tips and Tricks? I think this would be a geat idea for post such as this - sinces it's not really a "Troubleshooting or Technical Issue". Just a thought.

[Claire]

Hello,

Ok tips and tricks forum, not bad idea, should it be one global forum for tips and tricks pertaining to all vso projects or a tips and tricks per product?

We could just "sticky" the posts of nice tips. . . .

[wazup]

Hello,

Ok tips and tricks forum, not bad idea, should it be one global forum for tips and tricks pertaining to all vso projects or a tips and tricks per product?

We could just "sticky" the posts of nice tips. . . .

Howdy. Most of the forums that I've been on have a T & T forum. I would imagine that it may be a bit of a "organization/management" issue, but I think that for the msot part "Stickies" are ignored.

But what the hey, let's see how this goes.

I have more T & T on the way as well.

Cheers.

[chp]

It could be perfect if :
1) we can fine tune the chapter position by using the mouse reel or by using the right/left keys on the keyboard to set to the right frame.
2) Even if I maximize the preview window the minimum interval is 3 frames.
3) The tooltips mask the timeline and there's no way to change it

[wazup]

It could be perfect if :
1) we can fine tune the chapter position by using the mouse reel or by using the right/left keys on the keyboard to set to the right frame.
2) Even if I maximize the preview window the minimum interval is 3 frames.
3) The tooltips mask the timeline and there's no way to change it

Yeah, wouldn't that be nice

[chp]

Found something interseting:

1) Select your chapter pointer first then
2) clik on your video (on the left pane)
3) do 4 times TAB (or 1 time ALT+TAB) then try your left/right or up/down keys....

Miracle : the hourglass pointer of the previously selected chapter will go up or down frame by frame (doesn't work with the mouse reel though)

The bad : in frame by frame, the picture shown is not the one wich correspond to the time stamp and worse, I can't find a way to set the chapter at the selected frame

I'm still investigating but others can share...

[wazup]

Found something interseting:

1) Select your chapter pointer first then
2) clik on your video (on the left pane)
3) do 4 times TAB (or 1 time ALT+TAB) then try your left/right or up/down keys....

Miracle : the hourglass pointer of the previously selected chapter will go up or down frame by frame (doesn't work with the mouse reel though)

The bad : in frame by frame, the picture shown is not the one wich correspond to the time stamp and worse, I can't find a way to set the chapter at the selected frame

I'm still investigating but others can share...

Not sure what you are telling us to do.

I clicked on Chapters, Clicked on my Video, pressed TAB 4 times and all my arrow keys do is move around teh Tree View (i.e. the GUI).

I tried this with the Preview window open as well. I'm using 3.0.0.1

Please clarify.

tx

[chp]

Sorry for the delay I was travelling.

In fact it was just to say that we can "navigate" through the differents panes with the [TAB] key until the chapter pane (where you find the hourglass). There you can use the up/down or left/right key to move the hourglass frame by frame. But I can't find how I can set the chapter point at this same place where the hourglass was. In fact I can set it elsewhere but it's not as simple as "set the hourglass precisely then set the chapter point".

[Radagast82]

I hope this is the right place to post this.

Many mkv container files may have a "chapters.txt" file inside them containing many chapter "times" along with a title for each of the one chapters.

Will at least a future version of convertxtodvd support these files so that they are automatically added/embedded during the conversion so that the user gains much time which he would spend on giving names to the chapters and manually setting the time perhaps?

[wazup]

But I can't find how I can set the chapter point at this same place where the hourglass was. In fact I can set it elsewhere but it's not as simple as "set the hourglass precisely then set the chapter point".

Hey chp, if I understand you correctly (probably don't), you want to add a chapter where the Hourglass cursor is?

If this is the case, Right Click and Add chapter.

NB: I've noticed that altho you can add chapters manually, when you run the converted dvd (I always use DVDx Player or PowerDVD to check before I burn with Nero), the chapter IS NOT added where you want. The chapters added manually are misqueued by as much as 6 seconds, and this appears to be clip dependant. In some clips, it's been within a second, others as much as 6! But it's close enuff I guess

[chp]

wazup, you understood me correctly. I tryied your trick and it work as you described it. Unfortunately you're right also for the the real chapter point . And it's not realy convenient when you have the chapter point with several seconds more or less around the good place

[cmr]

Maybe I have an answer (partially) to wazup's problem with regards to the delay between the set chapter and the real one... but not a solution.

I could get the chapter exactly where I wanted to by putting the cursor myself, but when I tried to change the settings going through the menu (Settings --> Chapters --> Insert Chapters every) then it could be done only by incerements of 15 seconds. I wanted to have my second chapter at 14:50, but everytime I tried, it went back down to 14:45.

Perhaps VSO people can shed some light on why it does that and if there's a way to make it work properly?

[wazup]

Maybe I have an answer (partially) to wazup's problem with regards to the delay between the set chapter and the real one... but not a solution.

I could get the chapter exactly where I wanted to by putting the cursor myself, but when I tried to change the settings going through the menu (Settings --> Chapters --> Insert Chapters every) then it could be done only by incerements of 15 seconds. I wanted to have my second chapter at 14:50, but everytime I tried, it went back down to 14:45.

Perhaps VSO people can shed some light on why it does that and if there's a way to make it work properly?

Yup, it's weird.

However, I'm pleased to say that I beleive I have a Fix (work around). I'm still testing and will post my results.

Anyway, here is what I do:

1) Setup Auto Add Chpaters to the Approxmimate time interval that I want,
2) Load up the vids,
3) Go Back and disable the Auto Add Chapters (i.e. disable the tick mark),
4) Then go back into the GUI, open the Preview window, set it to a reasonable siez (sometimes it is so small so as not to allow a good view),
5) Follow the rest of my steps and originally posted.

I've tried this on 4 projects, but on the 5th it didn't seem to want to work. But that may have been because I didn't exit then re-start. Sometimes you need to do this because the project XML file seems to get all foobarred!

[vso_mack]

I left clicked each chapter, one at a time, then right-clicked and removed each. Then I went to the Movie Time Line (hourglass) and clicked and slid it. Then fine tuned using the arrows. When I found my place, I right clicked and added it as a chapter. Works like a charm. Also unchecked the automated chapters buttons, just to make sure it wouldn't get confused. Couldn't figure out how to label each chapter, but the outcome was good.

[wazup]

I left clicked each chapter, one at a time, then right-clicked and removed each. Then I went to the Movie Time Line (hourglass) and clicked and slid it. Then fine tuned using the arrows. When I found my place, I right clicked and added it as a chapter. Works like a charm. Also unchecked the automated chapters buttons, just to make sure it wouldn't get confused. Couldn't figure out how to label each chapter, but the outcome was good.

If you Double Click the Chapter Title (ex: Chapter #2) you can edit the Chapter Title OR you can click once then press F2.

Cheers.

[vso_mack]

Later I realized you can use the shift,in conjuction, to highlight all and remove them at once. Thanks.

[pc8200]

I used this guide before to visually add chapter. Now I try to use it with the lastest version and I cannot preview the video or having the stick bar as mentioned. Can you tell me how to set chapter visually by using stick bar again as mention in this guide if you still can use it. Thanks again

[Claire]

click on the video file in the tree view, so that it is highlighted in blue, this will display it in the preview. By default the cursor is set at the very beginning of the file, if the first scene of the video is black the preview may be black so move the cursor to actually see other images of the video file.