The Black DVD Archiver is an application that will place user selected video files on a DVD and the source files in an archive folder, specified by the user, that houses the preservation master folder.
Streaming files in H264 (AVC) format and wrapped in an mp4 container file are generated and housed in a streaming folder that can be used by a media player to view on a TV
The archive files are split into 25 GB or 4 GB folders, so that they can be burnt off to optical disc for backup. A sha256 checksum file is associated with each source video file in the preservation master folder to allow users to verify future data integrity of the video source files.
Henry Ford is reputed to have said "...You can have any colour you like as long as it is black..." likewise, you can have any DVD/Video settings you want in The Black DVD Archiver as long as they are the settings the author chose.
These settings are optimised at getting VHS, Beta and 8mm analogue video onto a DVD at the best possible quality that allows 2 hours to fit on a 4.7 GB disk.
Hi-definition video will be down scaled to DVD resolution for the DVD image but the original resolution will be maintained in the preservation master and streaming folders.
The Black DVD Archiver is designed to do this task with the least amount of work by the user and to produce a DVD with a consistent menu layout suitable for a collection.
Can the author be persuaded to be more flexible and add additional features? Possibly...with a very good reason.
- Selection Of Input Files In A Variety Of Container Formats
- A Simple Video Editor with frame accurate editing on compressed video files with closed GOPs (Group of Pictures)
- Only the GOP containing the edit cut is re-encoded, the rest of the file is copied so there is no visible quality loss and the video edit is faster
- Limited Video Filters With Fixed Settings
- DVDs Have A Simplified Menu Structure
- Saves The Input/Output Files Into A User-Selected Archive Folder Structure.
- This Can Be Placed On A NAS (Network Attached Storage) device for easy access.
- An ISO image of the DVD is produced so that DVD burning software can produce the physical DVD.
- Brasero is a good choice, choose the "Burn Image" option (https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Brasero)
- The archive files in the preservation master folder are split into 25 GB or 4 GB folders, so that they can be burnt
off to optical disk for backup.
- Check sums are calculated for source video files and are stored with them to verify the integrity of the source video files at a later date
- Transcoding source video into the FFV1 video format with FLAC audio stored in an MKV container file is supported
for the preservation master video files.- This is, increasingly, the preferred archving format used by archiving institutions
- These files are large but will not have compression artefacts
- Streaming files are automatically generated and can be stored on a NAS for easy viewing on TV with a media player
In short, because DVD/Blu-ray disks are offline, they last, and they are easy to share.
SD cards, USB and Solid State Drives are not long-term storage solutions because data stored on them is held in tiny cells as an electric charge that slowly leaks away. Refer to https://arxiv.org/pdf/1711.11427.pdf for detailed information on this type of memory storage.
Similarly, Hard Disk Drives are not reliable because they are electromechanical devices with components that degrade over time even sitting on a shelf. In fact, do not bet on more than 10 years from either, and I have seen both go bad in a lot less than that.
Offline magnetic tape storage can be long-lasting, if stored correctly, but requires specialised cassettes and drives. The drives to read these cassettes maybe be especially hard to source for individuals in decades to come as they are niche products.
Storing data in the cloud is betting on a companies' longevity, security, backup policies and continued support. It also depends on people passing on their login details after they die and making arrangements to pay for the service indefinitely.
Archiving important material should take an in depth planned approach that utilises some (or all) of the above methods to avoid long-term data loss, taking into account the deficiencies of each backup method.
Offline optical discs (DVD/Blu-ray) are the last best line of defence and the longest lasting and most accessible for individuals, particularly if neglected.
Archiving for individuals means a descendant can be digging through a hot dusty attic in say 50 years or a century and finding media that has retained data.
Because DVDs are ubiquitous and held in official archives, it is highly likely a means can be found to play them or transfer their contents to future media for playback and sharing.
Successful consumer media playback and recording formats have very long lives, and because people collect them, there is an incentive to find a way to play them back. Records, Cassettes, VHS, CD, DVD and Blu-ray are all testaments to this.
Case in point VHS tapes, I have some now over 40 years old and I can still play them.
Quality DVD-R's/Blu-ray's burned correctly are the only media that an individual can rely on for long-term archiving today. I have some DVD-R's on a shelf behind me that are over 20 years old and test just fine. I have CD-R that are over 25 years old and they test fine.
For the longest data storage Ritek M-Disc is the way to go: https://www.ritek.com/business-detail/index/1/id/1/title/M-DISC
Verbatim archival grade DVD-R's are also a good choice: https://www.verbatim.com/prod/optical-media/dvd/archival-grade-gold-dvd-r/ultralife-archival-grade-gold-dvd-r/
The best approach would be burn copies to both and store in separate locations.
Never use Blu-ray LTH discs for archival storage as they will not last as long as the original HTL (MABL - Metal Ablative Layer) Blu-ray discs https://francearchives.fr/file/5f281a39048987dcef88202816a5c8ade880552e/static_6187.pdf (In French, 2012)
Source: https://ia801503.us.archive.org/7/items/nist-ir-8387/NIST.IR.8387.pdf
- Hi-Definition video is maintained as such in archive and streaming folders
- Hi-Defintion files have a vertical resolution greater than the respective PAL/NTSC DVD height
- A lower resolution DVD compliant disk image is produced by the DVD building process
- PAL Specs — 720 W * 576 H, Aspect Ratio 4:3, 25 frames a second interlaced (50 fields a second)
- NTSC Specs — 720 W * 480 H, Aspect Ratio 4:3, ~30 (29.97) frames a second interlaced (~60 fields a second)
- 16:9 Aspect ratio, usually from camcorders, uses the same resolution just remaps pixels from square to rectangular
- Interlaced videos are kept as interlaced. Resizing and deinterlacing are best left to the display device
- Only 4 GB Single Layer DVD and 25 GB Single Layer Blu-ray optical discs are supported as they are assumed to have the best archival qualities
- The Archive folders are split into 25 GB (Single Layer Blu-ray) or 4 GB (Single Layer DVD) folders as chosen by the
user
- Each video file has an associated sha256 checksum file to allow users to verify the integrity of the video file contents
- Allowed archive video formats are:
- The original video format, FFV1, H264 (AVC) and H265 (HEVC)
- The FFV1 archive option produces FFV1/MKV preservation masters as used by the Library of Congress and other leading video preservation organisations
- Supported Container Formats
- mp4, avi, mkv, vob,mod,mov,webm,m4v,3gp, 3g2, mj2,mkv,mpg,mpeg,ts, m2ts, mts,qt, wmv, asf,flv,f4v,ogg,ogv,rm, rmvb,divx,mxf, dv,mts
The Black DVD Archiver is a Linux program licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v3.0.
- A Linux operating system — Debian based
- Developed and tested on Linux Mint and tested on a minimal MX Linux install
- 16+ GB RAM
- 50+ GB of free disk space
- 1+ TB Video file work drive as video requires a great deal of disk space to store and process
- A DVD/Blu-ray burner drive to write the optical disc images
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Download the latest "black-dvd-archiver" https://github.com/David-Worboys/Black-DVD-Archiver/releases) to your Programs folder.
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Right-click on the "black-dvd-archiver" file and select "Properties." This will open the window below, select "Permissions" and tick "Allow executing file as program" and then "Close"
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Double-click on the "black-dvd-archiver." It will take a few seconds to start.
When the "black-dvd-archiver" has started, the user will see the main window above.
The DVD Properties panel displays:
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Video Standard - PAL/NTSC. This is set by the videos displayed in the "DVD Input Files" panel
- A DVD is permitted to only be PAL or NTSC
- Hi-Definition video files (e,g 720p, 1080i, 1080p) are allocated a PAL or NTSC designation based on their properties although they do not conform to the established defitions of PAL/NTSC
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Duration - This is set by the videos selected in the "DVD Input Files" panel.
- Maximum 2 hours
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Avg Bitrate - The bit rate used to encode the DVD.
- Fixed and set to 5.5 Mb/s. This allows 2 hours of video on a DVD in high quality
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DVD_Used - The percent of the DVD used by the selected files.
- Only 99% is available this allows 1% to cover for any time overruns.
- The added benefit of providing a small buffer on the outer edge of the DVD is to protect the DVD from edge damage
- Only 99% is available this allows 1% to cover for any time overruns.
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- This is set by the user — refer to Archive Folder Structure for a detailed discussion
- The Archive Folder is where the DVD image, ISO image (used to burn a DVD) and video source files are stored
- The Archive Folder is best placed on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device which is properly backed-up
- The DVD file folder is comprised of a unique code and descriptiion: e.g., DVD-000743-Userguide_Example
- 000743 - Automatically allocated sequential folder number
- Userguide_Example - Either the Project Name or the Disk Title Name . Refer to DVD Layout for details
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- Set by the user (optional) — refer to Streaming Folder Structure for a detailed
discussion
- Defaults to a sub-folder of the Archive Folder if not set
- The Streaming Folder is where H264 (AVC) compressed video files stored in .mp4 container files reside
- These files are automatically produced as part of the DVD build process
- The Streaming Folder is best placed on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device which can be accessed by a media player like Serviio https://www.serviio.org
- Set by the user (optional) — refer to Streaming Folder Structure for a detailed
discussion
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- This is set by the user
- The folder in which all the assets required to build a DVD are marshalled into uniquely named sub-folders
- These folders will be deleted on successfully completing a DVD build.
- The relevant files will be copied from here to the Archive folder when a DVD build is complete
Displays the list of video files selected to comprise a DVD project
- Select All - Checking this selects all video files in the grid. Unchecking deselects all files in te grid
— Enables and selects the Video Editor Tab- Grp - Displays the group a video file belongs to (optional)
- Video File - Displays the video file name or video title
- Width - Displays the video file width
- Height - Displays the video file height
- Encoder - Displays the video encoder used to encode the video file
- System - Displays the video file TV system (PAL/NTSC)
- Duration - Displays the video file duration in hours, minutes, seconds
At the bottom of the video file grid is the Default Video Filters and control buttons.
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Default Video Filters - These are the video filters applied by default to the project files. In general, it is best not to filter unless absolutely required as it takes time and can impact image quality. The settings chosen for these filters are aimed at having the minimal impact on video quality
- Normalise - Attempts to bring out the shadow details
- Denoise - Applies a light noise filter to the video files (Can be slow)
- White Balance - Attempts to correct the white balance of the video files
- Sharpen - Applies a light sharpen to the luminance channel only
- Auto Levels - Attempts to brighten a video. If you need this then the video is likely to be of poor quality and good results cannot be expected.
The operation of these buttons is as follows:
— Opens The Choose Video Files Window
— Delete the checked (selected) video files from the file grid
— Moves the checked (selected) video files down in the grid
— Moves the checked (selected) video files up in the grid
— Toggles the Video File name displayed in the grid between the video
file name and the DVD menu name
— Joins/Transcodes the checked (selected) video files
— Removes the grouping from the checked (selected) video files
— Groups the checked (selected) video files together
- Grouped files stay on the same DVD page
— Opens the DVD Menu Configuration Window
At the bottom of the Main Window are the following buttons:
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- Opens the "Task Manager" popup window.-
The "Black DVD Archiver" runs the "Make DVD" process as a background task.
- This allows the user to submit multiple "Make DVD" requests whilst waiting for the "Make DVD" processes to complete
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- Select "Select All" or check (select) the task that needs to be killed.
- Click "Kill Task" to kill the selected tasks.
- Clik "Ok" to close the "Task Manager" popup.
- If this is done without killing tasks, then the tasks are left running and the window closes
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— Exit the "Black DVD Archiver"- Save's the current view which is then loaded when the "Black DVD Archiver" is started again
- Prompts to kill running background tasks if the user wishes to exit immediately
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— Manages project DVD layouts.- The DVD layout combo box allows users to select the desired DVD layout by clicking on it.
- If a project has more than 2 hours of video, then more than one DVD layout will be needed
- DVD layouts also allow for different DVDs to be produced from the project video files
— Delete a DVD Layout
— Opens the Enter DVD Layout window to create a new DVD layout
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- Manages projects.- A project comprises video files displayed in the file grid and the dvd layouts associated with it
- The project combo allows the user to select the desired project by clicking on it,
- Projects are saved when changed or the user exits the "Black DVD Archiver" or changes projects
- — Delete a Project and all associated DVD layouts
- — Opens the Enter Project Name window to create a new project
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— Opens the DVD Layout Window which allows the user
to create a DVD
This window allows the user to choose the video files for the DVD project.
- Click on the video files required and click on the Ok button when done.
- Select All - Checking this selects all video files in the grid. Unchecking deselects all files in the grid
— Use this button to select the video file source folder
- Opens the window below which allows the user to navigate the folder tree to the desired folder.
Clicking the Join File(s) Command button 
on the Main Window
will open one of two dialog boxes depending on the number of files selected
One File Selected
When only one file is selected (checked) then that file can be transcoded to a different video file type.
- Make Edit File - produces a very high quality intermediate (mezzanine) video file suitable for frame accurate
editing
- Use this option if frame accurate editing fails on the source video file.
- Hi-Defintion video files have proved problematic for frame accurate editing and this is the recommended editing option for them.
- The format used is MJPEG and utilises an avi container file.
- Although it is labeled as Slow it is actually reasonably fast as far as transcodes go although it does produce large video files
- Use this option if frame accurate editing fails on the source video file.
- Re-Encode H264 - produces an H264 (mp4) vidoe file that has closed GOP's which should allow for frame accurate
editng, alhough this is not recommended. Use the Make Edit File option if the file needs to be edited
- Use this option for creating video files sutiable for streaming in media players
- Selecting this option will markedly slow down the transcode time but will produce smaller video files
- Re-Encode H265 produces an H265 encoded video file in an mp4 container that has closed GOP's which should allow
for frame accurate editng, alhough this is not recommended. Use the Make Edit File option if the file needs to be
edited
- This is a newer file format than H264 and is gaining popularity although it is not as widely supported.
- The video file produced is smaller in size than an H264 encoded video file and will likely show less compression aretefacts in a smaller video file
- Selecting this option will result in transcodes that take a considerable time to produce
Two Or More Files Selected
When two or more files are selected (checked) the files will be joined together. The first of the selected files becomes the joined video file and the other selected video files are removed from the grid.
With the exception of Stream Copy , the optoins presented to join files are the same as for re-encoding a single file, as detailed in greated detail in the abovie One File Selected section.
- Stream Copy - This option only appears if the selected files are the same type of video file in the same container
file format.
- This is a very fast operation and there is no quality loss in performing the join.
- Make Edit File - Joins the video files into a very high quality intermediate (mezzanine) video file suitable for frame accurate editing.
- Re-Encode H264 - Joins the video files into a H264 (mp4) vidoe file that has closed GOP's which should allow for frame accurate editng, alhough this is not recommended. Use the Make Edit File option if the file needs to be edited
- Re-Encode H265 - Joins the video files into a H265 encoded video file in an mp4 container that has closed GOP's which should allow for frame accurate editng, alhough this is not recommended. Use the Make Edit File option if the file needs to be edited
This window allows the DVD menu properties of the "Black DVD Archiver" to be set.
DVD menu pages consist of a grid of image buttons with text placed on the bottom of each button image.
When video files are grouped or there are fewer button titles on the menu page than the grid allows for, then the buttons are laid out in the most pleasing possible manner by an internal algorithm
- Buttons Per Page - Set the maximum number of DVD menu buttons on a menu page.
- The Minimum is 1 and the Maximum is 6
- Buttons Across - Set the maximum number of DVD buttons across the menu page
- The Minimum is 1 and the Maximum is 4
The DVD page change icons are placed on the DVD menu when more than one DVD menu is generated.
The actual icon display size is a square 80 pixels by 80 pixels, and these are displayed at actual size beside each icon selection combo box
The current icon set is not as pleasing as I would like and will be expanded/revamped in a future release. Feel free to send me additional icons that are 80 pixels square.
- Left Page - This combo box allows the user to select the left page change icon for the DVD menu
- Right Page - This combo box allows the user to select the right page change icon for the DVD menu
- Text Color - This combo box sets the colour of the title text at the top of each DVD menu page
- This is the same for all DVD menu pages
- Background Color - This combo box sets the background colour of the DVD menu page
- This is the same for all DVD menu pages
- Font - This combo box sets the font of the title text at the top of each DVD menu page
- This is the same for all DVD menu pages
- Font Size - This combo box sets the font size of the title text at the top of each DVD menu page
- This is the same for all DVD menu pages
- Text Color - This combo box sets the colour of the title text on the image button
- This is the same for all DVD image buttons
- Background Color - This combo box sets the background colour of the title text on the image button
- This is the same for all DVD image buttons
- Font - This combo box sets the font of the title text on the image button
- This is the same for all DVD image buttons
- Font Size - This combo box sets the font size of the title text on the image buttons
- This is the same for all DVD image buttons
- Transparency - This combo box sets the transparency of the title text and text background on the image buttons
- This is the same for all DVD image buttons
- Given that the text and background colour are overlaid on the bottom part of the image button, making this a little transparent might be more visually pleasing
This tab enables basic video editing functionality. It is accessed via the 
button on the
DVD Input Files Panel
- Menu Title - the user enters a menu title here.
- By default, a menu title is automatically extracted from the file name. The user can override this.
- Video Filters - The video filters to be applied to the file. Video File filters describes these settings in greater detail.
The video cutter panel is where a video is displayed, edit points are set and where a DVD image button image is selected.
If the video is interlaced, the image might appear to have jagged lines through it. This is normal and will not show on DVD play back
The scroll bar is used to quickly move through the video. The scrollbar handle is clicked and dragged left or right to move through the video.
The following controls are available:
— The [ sets the start of an edit point and ] sets the end of an
edit point.
- These buttons toggle to ensure that start and end points are selected properly
- When [ is pressed, it is disabled and ] is enabled
- When ] is pressed, it is disabled and [ is enabled
- When the ] is pressed, the cut points are added to the Edit List Panel
- These buttons toggle to ensure that start and end points are selected properly
— Steps back according to the Step setting.
— Steps forward according to the Step setting.
— Commence playing the video
— Pauses playback
— Combo that sets the step interval. The following options are available:
- Frame - Step forward/backward a single video frame
- 0.5 Sec — Step forward/backward 0.5 seconds
- 1.0 Sec — Step forward/backward 1 second
- 15 Sec — Step forward/backward 15 seconds
- 30 Sec — Step forward/backward 30 seconds
- 1 Min — Step forward/backward 1 minute
- 5 Min — Step forward/backward 5 minutes
— Displays the current video frame
— Set the video frame used for the DVD image button
- Clicking the camera icon sets the video frame
- Clicking on the frame jumps the video to that point
- Clicking on the X removes the set video frame
- Set this after all editing on the clip is complete as this setting is an absolute offset into the video clip and is not adjusted when the clip is edited
— Displays the selected source file. This is not user-editable
The edit list panel displays the list of edit points for the selected video clip. The user may also enter a clip name
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Select All - Checking this selects all the edit points in the grid. Unchecking deselects all the edit points in te grid
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'To Cut' Bar Graph - On the top right a bar graph indicates the percentage of files 'To Cut' during the file cutting process. The cutting process starts at 100% and counts down to 0%
- The cutting process can be slow on lower end machines, as frame accurate cutting of compressed video files, like H265, H264 and MPEG2, requires additional file analysis.
- Compressed video files must have closed GOPS (Group of Pictures) for a frame accurate cut.
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Clip Name - Double-clicking in this field allows the user to enter a clip name
- This is of most use if the video is to be cut into multiple clips
- If the edit point is to be cut out, then there is no need to enter a clip name
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— Delete the checked (selected) edit points from the grid
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— Moves the checked (selected) edit points down in the grid
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— Moves the checked (selected) edit points up in the grid
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— Cut the edit points from the video file -
— Opens a pop-up window to allow the user to choose how the selected edit
points are assembled.
The file cuts will take time, particularly if the video source files are large and the computer is a lower end machine, due to the preliminary file analysis and large amounts of data involved. The user will just have to wait for the process to complete.
- The following two methods are available to assemble the edit
points.
- As A Single File - The edit points are joined into a single file
- As Individual Files - Each edit point becomes a file named according to the clip name or, if not provided, a default name. This will open the file namer popup when the edit points are cut out.
- If the user needs to change a file name, double-click on the file name and enter the new file name
- If the file name is invalid, an error message will be displayed
- The following two methods are available to assemble the edit
points.
The DVD layout window allows the user to modify the DVD layout before proceeding to generate the DVD.
This window opens in response to clicking on 
in the
Main Window. Further information is found under Command Buttons
The layout displayed in this example reflects the use of grouping displayed in the main window and visible in the background
- Disk Title - Defaults to the project name combined with the DVD Layout name
- In this release this is used as the trailing part of the archive folder name (xxx) - DVD-nnn_-_xxx . Refer to
Archive Folder Structure for a detailed discussion.
- In this release this is used as the trailing part of the archive folder name (xxx) - DVD-nnn_-_xxx . Refer to
- Each row in the grid is a DVD menu page
- By double-clicking in the Menu Title field a title can be entered for a DVD menu page
- The videos on each DVD page are displayed in the Videos On Menu column
- Menu Aspect Ratio - Select 16:9 for wide screen menus and 4:3 for the traditional squarish menus.
- Each DVD menu page is either all 4:3 videos or all 16:9 videos as per the DVD spec. THe 'Black DVD Archiver' automatically enforces this, and it is not possible to produce a mixed aspect ratio menu page.
- If a 16:9 wide screen menu is chosen and there are 4:3 videos on the DVD then the 4:3 image buttons will be stretched to 16:9 and will look 'wrong'.
- Deactivate Filters - Select this to test the layout generation of the DVD. Filters are slow and this makes the DVD generation process as fast as possible
- — Moves the checked (selected) DVD menu page(s) up
- — Moves the checked (selected) DVD menu page(s) down
- — Delete the checked (selected) DVD menu page(s)
— Save the DVD layout under the selected layout name (DVD 2 in this example)- — Starts the DVD generation and archive process
Button Title grids detail the video clips button title on each DVD page. A user can double-click on the Button Title field and change the button title for the video clip
- — Move the checked (selected) button title(s) up
- — Move the checked (selected) button title(s) down
- — Delete the checked (selected) button title(s)
This tab:
- Displays the Black DVD Archiver version with clickable links to access the associated Github repository
- Provides access to the "System Settings" panel.
"System Settings" contains the "Archive Disks" and the "Black DVD Archiver Language" control panels
The "Disk Size" panel allows the user to select the archive video optical disc size. This allows the user to burn off the preservation_master_xxx folder nn_xxx_Disk_nn_ sub-folders onto backup optical discs for offline long-term archival storage of the source video files.
Note: The preservation_master_xxx folder name can take the following forms depending on the Transcode Source setting:
- preservation_master_original
- preservation_master_ffv1
- preservation_master_h264
- preservation_master_h265
Only 25 GB for Blu-ray discs and 4 GB for DVD discs is permitted. This is because these are single layer optical discs and these are assumed to have better long-term archival longevity.
The source video of the DVD is backed-up into the Archive Folder and is stored in the Transcode Source video format. These source files may be much larger than the DVD compressed video.
- In the examples here DV compression of the captured video stored in an avi file container consume 13GB per hour!
Under the Archive Folder selected by the user, each DVD build results in a new archive folder being created and named automatically by the "Black DVD Archiver"
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Under DVD Properties, the user selects the Archive Folder location as a permanent place to store the archived files associated with producing a DVD image.
- Ideally the Archive Folder would be on a backed-up NAS (Network Attached Storage) but could be any old drive, internal or external, particularly if the plan is to use the folder as a temporary source for burning off the DVD and video source archive files to optical disc
Let's consider this example
- Folder DVD-000743-Userguide_Example was created under the preservation_master_origial folder at the
successful conclusion of the Make DVD Process initiated by the user when the "Make A DVD" button
was clicked.
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Folder preservation_master_original contains the source video files in the original video format to maintain original quality.
- The trailing _original indicates that the source video files are not transcoded but kept in their original
video format.
These are all the allowed preservation master folder names
- preservation_master_original
- preservation_master_ffv1
- preservation_master_h264
- preservation_master_h265
Refer to Transcode Source for more information
- The trailing _original indicates that the source video files are not transcoded but kept in their original
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The folder structure mirrors the DVD menu structure
-
DVD menu 1 (Swanhill Pioneer Museum - Jan 1981) becomes preservation_master_original folder 01_Swanhill_Pioneer_Museum-Jan_1981 and
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DVD menu 2 (Kondrook Market - Late 1981) becomes video_source folder 02_Kondrook_Market-Late_1981_
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This allows for folder navigation that mirrors the DVD menu video structure
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Under the folder 01_Swanhill_Pioneer_Museum-Jan_1981 the source video folders are broken up into sub folders that mirror the image buttons on the DVD menu
- 01_Swanhill_Pioneer_Museum-Jan_1981 - Disk_01
- 01_Swanhill_Pioneer_Museum-Jan_1981 - Disk_02
- 01_Swanhill_Pioneer_Museum-Jan_1981 - Disk_03
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In each of these folders, the source video files are stored — in this case with a file suffix of .avi
- If a source video file does not fit on to an archive optical disc, then it is split into parts and additional
nn_xxx-Disk_nn folders are created as needed.
- Note: in the current implementation, these folders are not optimally packed
- If a source video file does not fit on to an archive optical disc, then it is split into parts and additional
nn_xxx-Disk_nn folders are created as needed.
-
Along with the source video file, a check sum file (file suffix .sha256) is also created.
-
This check sum file can be used to check the associated source video file for data corruption at a later date.
-
For example, 03_Pyap_Cruise.avi & 03_Pyap_Cruise.avi.sha256 form a check pair
-
To check a video file at a later date, a sha256 check sum of the file is computed and compared with the check sum stored in the paired .sha256 file.
- If they match, the avi file has not experienced data corruption.
- This link contains instructions on how to do this on linux: https://lindevs.com/generate-and-verify-sha-256-hash-of-file-in-linux/
-
-
- Folder iso_image contains a DVD disk image (dvd_iso) that can be burnt to a DVD optical disc.
- Brasero is a good choice, choose the "Burn Image" option (https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Brasero)
- Folder dvd_image stores the DVD files in a folder structure that mirrors the DVD. This allows media players to play the DVD which an iso file does not permit.
The Streaming Folder is where the automatically generated H264 (AVC) video files in an mp4 container file are stored.
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If the Streaming Folder is not set then the Streaming Folder becomes a sub-folder of the Archive Folder as illustrated below:
-
If the Streaming Folder is set by the user, for example in a folder named "streaming_files", then the streaming folder structure will take the form below:
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In either case the file naming convention mirrors that of the DVD menus and menu image buttons detailed in Archive Folder Structure, except there is no splitting by optical disc
- Folder DVD-000748_-_Userguide_Example is the parent folder
- Folder 01_Swanhill_Pioneer_Museum_-_Jan_1981 is the first DVD Menu Swanhill Pioneer Museum - Jan_1981
- The file 01_First_Part.mp4 is image button First Part on the first DVD Menu Swanhill Pioneer Museum - Jan_1981
- The file 02_Horse_Ride.mp4 is image button Horse Ride on the first DVD Menu Swanhill Pioneer Museum - Jan_1981
- The file 03_Pyap_Cruise.mp4 is image button Pyap Cruise on the first DVD Menu Swanhill Pioneer Museum - Jan_1981
- The file 04_Second_Part.mp4 is image button Second Part on the first DVD Menu Swanhill Pioneer Museum - Jan_1981
- Folder 02_Kondrook_Market_-Late_1981 is the second DVD Menu Kondrook_Market - Late_1981
- The file 01_Kondrook_Farmers_Market.mp4 is image button Kondrook Farmers Market on the second DVD Menu Kondrook_Market - Late_1981
- The file 02_Kondrook Farm.mp4 is image button Kondrook Farm on the second DVD Menu
Kondrook_Market - Late_1981
- Folder 01_Swanhill_Pioneer_Museum_-_Jan_1981 is the first DVD Menu Swanhill Pioneer Museum - Jan_1981
- Folder DVD-000748_-_Userguide_Example is the parent folder
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Ideally the Streaming Folder would be located on a backed-up NAS (Network Attached Storage) device but it could just as easily be placed on any old drive, internal or external that is easily accessed by a media player (I am a fan of Serviio https://www.serviio.org ) for playback of the video on a TV.
The "Transcode Source" panel allows the user to archive the source video as follows:
- No Transcode — This is the preferred option as the source video is archived in the original, untouched, video format.
- The fastest option as the source video is copied into the appropriate archive folders and will not slow down the Make DVD Process.
- There is a risk in archiving video files in the orginal format
- if that format is proprietry or not widely supported then the source video may prove hard to view/edit at a later date
- FFV1 (Archival) — This is a preferred method of archiving video files by the Library of Congress and other
leading video preservation organisations.
- FFV1 uses entirely open source software to produce archival video files that are free of compression aretefacts due to the lossless compresion process used.
- Takes much longer to transcode the source video than selecting the No Transcode option.
- The resulting archival video files are very large.
- Highly recommended to use 25 GB Blu-ray disks with this option
- Rapidly increasing in popularity amongst video preservation organisations
- Refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FFV1 for more information.
- H264 (AVC) — This is the same format Blu-ray uses and is very widely supported,
- A lossy compressed video format that trades-off video quality (not necessarily visible) and may show compression artefacts in return for smaller file sizes
- Takes longer to transcode the source video than selecting the No Transcode option.
- It is not recommended to use this option unless disk space is at a premium.
- H265 (HEVC) — This newer video format supports higher compression and, thus, smaller file sizes than H264 at the
same quality.
- A lossey compressed video format that trades-off video quality (not necessarily visible) and may show compression artefacts in return for much smaller file sizes
- Takes much longer to transcode the source video than H264
- It is not recommended to use this option unless disk space is at a premium.
Choosing to transcode the source video into FFV1, H264 or H265 will result in an extended Make DVD Process and the user will have to leave the "Black DVD Arciver" open to allow this process to complete.
- To check if the Make DVD Process is complete, the user opens the Task Manager popup window
- The H264/H256 transcode process closes all GOPs (Group of Pictures) to make then suitable for editing. GOP size is
currently 15 which matches the DVD spec but will result in larger compressed files.
- Video source files that are already in H264/H265 format will not be transcoded and will retain their current GOP
settings
- These files will be copied and the Make DVD Process will be much faster as a result
- Video source files that are already in H264/H265 format will not be transcoded and will retain their current GOP
settings
- FFV1 video source fies will be copied and the Make DVD Process will be much faster as a result
The "Black DVD Archiver Language" panel allows a user to select the default language the "Black DVD Archiver" displays by selecting the country in the "Default Language" combo box.
- Note: A country only displays in the "Default Language" combo box if it has been set-up or imported in the "Language Translation" popup window.
- Once a language is selected, then the user must exit the "Black DVD Archiver" and restart for the language selection to take effect
- At this time no language translations have been provided
The "Language Translation Popup Window" is accessed by clicking on the 
button.
This opens the "Language Translation Popup Window" where users can select the country of the language and enter translated phrases.
Note: A translated phrase currently must be the same length or of a shorter length than the corresponding English phrase to avoid control layout issues in the "Black DVD Archiver"
The operation of the command buttons is as follows:
— This combo box allows the user to select the country they are
performing the translation for.
- This must be the first action the user takes if not importing a language translation
— This grid button copies the corresponding English (Base) phrase to the
clipboard.
- This can be used to paste into Google translate or a similar website.
- Double-clicking in the corresponding "Language Phase" column allows the user to type or paste the translated phrase.
— This button saves the entered translation phrases into the database
— This button exports the translated language to the users Document
folder in a subfolder named langtran
- Note: The three files created when exporting a country language. All three must be copied when sending to someone else
—This button imports a country language from the langtran folder.
- When clicked, it will open the pop-up below to allow the user to select a country language to import.
- Pressing "Ok" imports the country language
- Pressing "Cancel" will stop the import process
— This button closes the "Language Translation Popup Window"
- If any translation changes have been made, it will prompt the user to save the translations before closing the window.
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The English (Base) phrases the "Black DVD Archiver" displays for translation are automatically extracted when a window is opened.
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If a window has not been opened, then those English phrases will be missing.
- This particularly applies to error and warning messages.
- When such a window is opened for the first time, it will place those English (Base Phrase) in the langtran database and the user will need to translate them as they arise.
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An effort will be made to fully populate the English (Base) phrases by V 1.0
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Because of the way the "Black DVD Archiver" lays out the GUI (Graphical User Interface), translated phrases that are too long will mess up the layout of the user interface graphical elements.
- To help prevent this, the user will be warned when a translated prharse is too long
- First, a red warning message will be displayed at the top of the screen
- Second, the offending translated phrase will display a "check" mark when "Saved"
- To help prevent this, the user will be warned when a translated prharse is too long
