As a result, the easy Get Info permissions fix was not an option.

So, I dove into the Terminal to make some repairs. A simple chmod command didn’t work either, but here’s what did:

• Open a new Terminal window
  Located in ./Applications/Utilities
• Enter the following into the Terminal
  sudo chflags nouchg /Volumes/<drive name here>
  • If there are spaces in the name you will need to put double quotes around it like so:
    /Volumes/”<drive name here>”
• Change permissions
  sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/<drive name here>

Hope that helps. Permissions problems can be a real pain.

This is done entirely with freeware running on Windows XP.

Contents

• Why?
• Setup
• PgcDemux
• Edit Audio and Video
• MuxMan
• VobBlanker
• ImgBurn
• Conclusion

Why?

Why would you want to do this? There are a variety of possible scenarios, but this is the most common:

• you have a DVD that has already been authored (a menu has been created, the disc has been burned) and you do not have access to the original project files, but want to edit some of the DVD content. This process retains the original menu, and does not result in any loss of audio/image quality as a result of recompression.

Setup

You will need the following programs to complete this tutorial:

• PgcDemux
• MuxMan
• VobBlanker
• ImgBurn
• video editor (recommend: Avidemux, VirtualDub)
• audio editor (recommend: Audacity)
• VLC

Begin by copying the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD to your harddrive. 

• You may have to right-click on the DVD icon in My Computer and choose Explore in order to display the folders, then simply drag the VIDEO_TS folder to an internal or external drive.
• If the disc is write-protected you may need to use software such as DVD Decrypter to rip the VIDEO_TS folder from the disc to your harddrive.

From now on, when I refer to a VIDEO_TS folder it is in regards to a folder on the harddrive, not on the original disc.

PgcDemux

settings addressed in this tutorial are highlighted in red

Settings:

• Input IFO
  select the .IFO file in your target VIDEO_TS folder that corresponds to the track you want to edit
  (to preview the .IFO files to find the one you want, open them individually in VLC)
  (make note of the VTS file you select, you will need this information later)
• Output Folder
  select a new, empty folder to output your demuxed audio and video files
• Demux video stream
  by default unchecked, if you want to edit video as well as audio then check this box
• PGC Selection – Domain
  set to Titles
• PGC Selection – dropdown
  select a specific PGC (effectively a subtrack) of your .IFO file, if applicable/available
  (make note of this also, unless there is only one PGC in the dropdown list)

Leave everything else at the defaults and click Process! to begin demuxing.

• The audio (.ac3) and video (.m2v) files will be exported to the specified output folder.

Edit Audio and Video

Edit the audio and video files you created with PgcDemux using the audio / video editing software of your choice.

• Video
  I recommend Avidemux and VirtualDub for video editing because when running in “copy” mode they will not recompress your source files.
• Audio
  I recommend Audacity for audio editing because it is free and able to handle almost any common tasks.

MuxMan

settings addressed in this tutorial are highlighted in red

Settings:

• Video
  select the edited video file.  Ideally this should be in .m2v format, though MuxMan accepts a variety of file formats (the underlying video should always be MPEG-2)
• Audio
  select the edited audio file.  Ideally this should be in .ac3 format, though MuxMan accepts a variety of file formats, including .wav.
• Destination Folder
  select a new, empty folder to output your remuxed VIDEO_TS files.

Click Start to begin remuxing.

• A variety of .BUP, .IFO, and .VOB files files will be exported to the specified destination folder.

VobBlanker

settings addressed in this tutorial are highlighted in red

Settings:

• Input Video Manager
  select the VIDEO_TS.IFO from the ORIGINAL SOURCE DVD (this file is located in the VIDEO_TS folder you copied off the DVD at the very begining of this tutorial).
• Output Folder
  select a new, empty folder to output your modified VIDEO_TS folder.
  (Optionally, you can select Use Input Folder under settings in order to simply overwrite the VIDEO_TS folder specified in the Input Video Manager.  This is not recommended unless you have a backup of that folder.)
• TitleSet
  select the VTS file that you edited (hopefully you made note of it during demuxing)
• PGCs in Selected TitleSet
  select the PGC you specified during the demuxing process.
  (if you aren’t sure what VTS or PGC you edited, selecting a PGC from the list will bring up a preview of the video in the upper right hand corner of the interface)
• PGCs in Selected TitleSet – Replace
  select the VTS (.IFO) file that you created with MuxMan
• Size
  In the upper right hand corner beside the video window, VobBlanker lists some file size information.  The important elements are the Initial size and the Final size.  Depending on what sort of editing you’ve done, it is possible that these will be the same, however if you have trimmed or added to the length of the original file this should be reflected by a similar change to the Final size (in relation to the Initial size).

Click PROCESS!! to create your new DVD files.

• The new VIDEO_TS files will be exported to the specified output folder.  These are the files that will appear in the VIDEO_TS folder of the final DVD.

ImgBurn

Upon opening, select “Write files/folders to disc” or “Image file from files/folders” to start a new project. Alternately, select Build from the Mode menu.

settings addressed in this tutorial are highlighted in red

Settings:

• Source
  select the folder you set as the output folder in VobBlanker (this is your new VIDEO_TS folder).  You can also set this through the File menu.
• Destination
  select ISO file or Disc as target using the Output menu, then select the specific ISO location or Disc in the Destination section of the interface
• Labels/Advanced
  You can also change some of the other settings on the right hand side, particularly under the Labels and Advanced tabs.  These will allow you to make changes to the disc metadata such as the disc label that will appear by its icon on your computer.  You can even force specific creation/last-modified times. Of course, all these right-hand settings are optional.

Click the Folder > Disc/ISO button to build.

• If ImgBurn builds without errors then you have successfully created a new, modified version of your source DVD (either in disc or .ISO format).

Conclusion

This is the best, cleanest, and possibly quickest way that I have found to make changes to the audio/video content of an existing DVD (unless I have the original project files, of course). Hope this helped, if you need further assistance with your project please drop us a line in the Contact-Us section of our site.

A routine transplant was in order.

Here’s how…

Materials:

• Original VHS cassette (patient)
• New VHS cassette (donor)
• Screwdriver (scalpel)

I use new VHS cassettes to insure that they are in good working order, but you could use any old tape for the donor so long as you know it will play and you are willing to sacrifice it in order to save your patient tape.

Now it’s time to scrub in.

1.

Begin by removing the screws on the underside of both cassettes. There are five screws for each.

2.

Flip the cassettes so they are right-side-up and remove the tops.

3.

Remove the reels from the donor cassette.

Note that these three cylindrical posts (2 silver, one white) must be in place on the bottom half before continuing (sometimes they get stuck on the top half when it is removed, so look there if you can’t find them on the bottom half). Their locations are marked on the above image.

4.

Place the left hand reel from the patient cassette in the left hand spot of the now empty donor cassette.

Thread the tape between the white and silver cylinders.

On the right hand side, thread the tape around the silver cylinder and between the silver tab and it’s peg counterpart. This last part can be a bit tricky, just pull the tab aside, slip in the tape, and release.

Place the right hand reel from the patient cassette in the right hand spot of the donor cassette.

Get rid of any slack in the tape by tightening the reels.

5.

Place the top back on to the bottom half of the cassette. To do so, lift up the flap at the front and be sure the various pegs are aligned as you place it down. It helps to put the back in first then ease the front down.

Flip it over and replace the screws. The operation is complete, and (hopefully) a success. Pop the cassette in a player and give it a test run.

The reel from the donor and the shell from the patient tape can be discarded.

More.

For a more entertaining (though perhaps less informative) video tutorial, check this out http://vimeo.com/1702416