Editing DVD Chapter Markers after Ripping

[Aragornii]

I've ripped a few DVDs for my Apple TV 2 using Handbrake, and the chapters dutifully show up so I can skip to different scenes when watching on the ATV.

The problem is that the chapter names don't rip, just the numbers, so I need to add the names myself if it's to be of any real use. I tried using MetaX, which downloads the info from TagChimp, but run into two problems: 1. the times don't quite line up; they're annoyingly off by a second or two, so that if you skip ahead to a quiet scene you might end up getting a jarring couple of seconds of the previous battle scenes first, and 2. MetaX seems to wreck my ripped file about every other time I apply it, so I have to trash it and restore a backup.

Is there a better way? Is it possible using built-in Mac software to edit chapter markers manually?

 

[DMC330]

Give Subler a try. Click on the Chapter Track in the list and double-click on the time to change it to whatever you wish.

 

[Aragornii]

That sounds like what I'm looking for. Thanks!

 

[rayward]

That sounds like what I'm looking for. Thanks!

MetaX can import chapters from TagChimp, and, like Subler, let you retitle and/or adjust the timing of chapters.

 

[bp1000]

Has metax fixed their software now? It used to make the files error on Apple TV

I switched to Subler, must be fixed now

 

[Aragornii]

Okay - here's what worked for me.

I use MetaX to download the chapter titles and save them in my ripped movie.

Then I open the resulting file in Subler to edit the chapter durations (I open the original next to it so I can see the original times as I type them in).

This is effective, but it's a lot of work. Any other suggestions as to a more efficient way to do this?

Thanks for the input.


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Edit: here is what I suspect is the problem with MetaX and chapter durations. It truncates the duration down to the second, whereas the actual chapter durations shown in Subler are to the hundredths of a second. So over 10 chapters or so the next chapter is already 5 seconds behind where it's supposed to be. Not sure if this is a bug or something that can be fixed by changing a setting.


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Edit 2: someone in the MetaX forum identified this problem already 3 years ago. Looks like it still hasn't been fixed.
http://forums.tagchimp.com/index.php?showtopic=44

 

[obsidian1200]

I'd give the free version of iDentify 2 a try for chapter markers. For the most part, it's accurate in the chapters it fetches from tagchimp, and you can also edit the names/timing within the program. Also, I've had no compatibility issues with the files after they've been written to, just for clarification.

 

[Aragornii]

Identify2 works well but is very limited in what it can add chapters to (doesn't work for extended editions, for example).

Here's what ultimately worked best for me.

1. Use Subler to export a text file of my chapter info.

2 Open that file in Excel and copy and paste the chapter names (use an online source like tagchimp or barnes and noble).

3. Apply a little Excel jujitsu to replace the generic "Chapter 1", etc., with the actual chapter names (a little Excel text string formula knowledge goes a long way here.

4. Copy and paste the result back into the original exported text file, and re-import to Subler.

This method is relatively fast (about 30 seconds start to finish) once you get your Excel file set-up. Not good for large batch jobs, but very good to fix-up the occasional DVD on the fly.