Splitting a DVD to 2 DVD-Rs

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The idea to split a DVD is, to catch the layer-break point of the original DVD, and split the movie right at this point into 2 parts, by preserving the original Menu. 
IfoEdit will help you very much in realising this splitting stuff.  

see also: Illegal Navigation when splitting a DVD to 2 DVD-Rs (new)

Below is a detailed example how to split the DVD 'Fanal Fantasy Disc1' to 2 DVD-Rs by keeping the original Menu.  
First rip the original DVD completly to your HD. If you need help at this step, refer to the ripping guide.

Now you should have a directory on your HD looking like this:

Now let us prepair two directorys for our final DVD-R's.
Go to a drive where you have enough free disc space and create 2 directorys. I'll name them Disc1 and Disc2 in a folder named 'FinalFantasy':

For a better handling later, I'll also create a directory 'VIDEO_TS' in both new folders:

The main movie is located in the VOB files VTS_02_x.xxx, so double click in Explorer on VTS_02_0.IFO or open the file within IfoEdit:

We just want to split the DVD. We do no stripping or remuxing or so.

So simply select the menu 'VOB Extras -> Split to 2 DVD-Rs':

Following dialog apears:

All options are already preset perfeclty. All we have to do, is to specify the 2 destination directorys.

So here we go for the first one:

Now the second directory for the second DVD-R:

Great. Everything is now preset. Lets press 'OK'.

A new dialog apears, where all Chapters/Cells are listed of the current Title-Set.
Here we have to select the Cell, at which we want to split the movie. The Cell where the layer-break is located is already preselected by IfoEdit.
If you don't like it, select another cell of your choice. Otherwise hit the button 'Split it'.

The splitting begins now:

IfoEdit reads now all Cells from the original VOB files, and writes them into our 'Disc1' directory, until it reaches the cell, that we've selected to break the movie.
IfoEdit creates in both directories a new VOB file-set, that is beginning with VTS_02_1.VOB in both directorys. So we don't need any kind of fake VOB files.
Below you can see, IfoEdit is now creating the Title Set for Disc2:

When the splitting is done, IfoEdit continues with correcting vob-unit pointers in the vob files.
First it corrects the vob-files of Disc2, and at last of Disc1.
I was a bit lazy in adjusting the progress message display, so you want see which disc will be currently processed:

When this is finished, IfoEdit creates the IFO files in both destination directorys, and corrects all pointers and chapter information in the IFO file.

The new IFO files will be added to the IfoEdit-Treeview:

Before editing enything else with IfoEdit, you should close IfoEdit now, and restart it.

After that our destination directories will look like this:

As you can see, the Menu-files are missing. You must copy them manually to both destination directories like this:
Also it is required, that the DVD should have a Title Set 1. So you must copy VTS_01_x.xxx too, like below:
But you can leave the VTS_01_x.VOBs away, except for the Menu-VOB:

If you select now the VTS_02_0.IFO from 'Disc1' in IfoEdit-Treeview, and hit the 'DVD Play' button, it will perfectly playback your Disc1-DVD.
You can check the same for the second disc2 by selecting the other IFO file in the IfoEdit-Treeview.
Now just move the other extras-files from the original DVD, to any of the destination discs, where you would like to have them.

Now, we've got a little problem. The number of chapters in the file VTS_02_0.IFO is correct. It has been corrected by IfoEdit.
But it is not correct in VIDEO_TS.IFO ! We have to adjust that manualy.
So open the file VIDEO_TS.IFO from your 'Disc1' folder with IfoEdit:
To know how much Chapters are in Titleset Nr. 2, open VTS_02_0.IFO too:

Okay, we've got 5 chapters on Disc1, so lets edit VIDEO_TS.IFO:

As you can see, the Title Set Nr 2 (VTS_02_x.xxx) is Title 1 in VIDEO_TS.IFO.
So we must edit the chapters of Title 1.
Go into the table VMG_PTT_SRPT and scroll down to 'Title_1: Number of chapters' :

It still containes 28 chapters, but we've got only 5. Double click that line, and enter 5:

That's it!

Save this IFO file now, and repeat the same steps for Disc2.

Now, close IfoEdit, and start it again, to do a 'Get VTS Sectors' on both disc-folders.

You are now ready to burn your two DVD-R's.

 

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