Muxman 0.12 fully supports field pictures, supports 8 subtitle tracks, can import Muxman or Scenarist project files and export project files, there's a batch mode and command line parameters as well.

DGIndex 1.3.0 beta 1 adds video demuxing.

PgcDemux 1.2.0.1 can demux by VOB ID and Cell ID, there's a button to check audio/video delay, the title bar shows the progress when processing, the output name can change in function of VOB IDs, the application warns if the desired output file(s) already exist and the CLI mode has been fixed.

And since the TV industry and their FCC henchmen might still win, the EFF has started a program to build your own digital personal video recorders that are unaffected by the broadcast flag. It requires that you get your hands dirty with Linux though.

mkvtoolnix 1.4.0 can read MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video from PS and ES streams, supports AVC in MP4 input and the WAVPACK4 audio codec, can concatenate files, supports new elements needed for menus, extracts VobSub subtitles and has an online help.

BatchUpdateIFO 0.9.0.8 has a new reverse mode that puts the final file in the authored directory and has an option to only copy subtitle or audio streams separately.

ScenAid 1.5 build 17 has an improved subtitle scanning engine that is both faster and more accurate in subtitle placement, detailed subtitle logging can be enabled and disabled, the BoV engine has been redesigned for improved accuracy, the layout has been redone and now includes an AVS preview, an AVS file viewer and a chapter location viewer, checking/unchecking assets will show you the effect of that action on the bitrate and BatchEncodeM2V is supported as well. Furthermore there's a bunch of bugfixes.

x264, the open source MPEG-4 AVC implementation, is making rapid progress: in the recent day we saw the introduction of weighted prediction (for B-frames only so far), and adaptive B-frames.

VobBlanker 1.6.0.5 can reduce menus to stills with or without audio, has more options in the advanced settings panel, can change the Next PGCN and previous PGCN pointer to point to itself in menus and titles, audio and subtitles can be cleared in blanked PGCs and some bugs have been fixed as well.

BSPlayer 1.2 remembers pan&scan settings, the subtitle loading routines have been improved and extended (it's now possible to specify more than one subtitle path), audio CDs and audio CD lookup via CDDB is supported, a default audio language and subtitle stream can be set and a couple of bugs have been fixed as well.

Another option to shrink menus is MenuShrink: it can strip audio streams from menus, and replace video with stills.

ProgDVB 4.48.2 fixes recording problems on SkyStar1 cards.

Some good news about the broadcast flag: the decision might take several months, but at least the judge is not pleased about the broadcast flag and has gone on record stating that the FCC has crossed a line by mandating the broadcast flag.

And while the TV industry might still try some dirty tricks, and despite claims about rampant piracy and losses, they are selling so many DVD sets of their series that certain shows that were about to be axed are now being continued.

Hollywood studio Warner Brothers, in an attempt to combat piracy in China, has finally decided to look at the cause rather than just try and fight the effects: pirate DVDs "retail" for $1-$2 in China. Warner plans to offer barebone DVDs with no features for a mere $2.65, and $3.15 more for a better equipped version (specials, etc.). And here's the best thing: you can get those DVDs immediately after the movie has hit the theaters in the US. I guess after the DVD players we'll now start importing DVD movies from China ;)

DGMPGDec 1.2.1 final is out. In addition to the changes previously reported, a blind H.264 deblocking filter has been added.

Gordian Knot 0.35.0 allows you to select text based subs, decomb.dll is no longer loaded in AviSynth scripts unless it's really needed, DGMPGDec has been updated to version 1.2.1, some AviSynth filters have been updated as well and the field operation selection in the save AVS window has been fixed.

HC 0.11 has an updated GUI, allows you to preview the video, supports TFF/BFF flags for interlaced encoding, shows AviSynth script errors, the actual maximum bitrate is written to the sequence headers, the rate control for bitrates lower than 2 mbit/s has been changed, the bitrate now uses 1k = 1000, the MPEG quantization matrix is set as the default matrix and the AutoGOP option now works even if the scene change detection has been switched off.

Nero has released a new set of their burning and media packages. Recode 2.2.6.11 supports DVD-R DL discs and fixes a bunch of bugs. Needless to say that the actual Nero burning application also supports DVD-R DL. But, if you're looking for DVD-R DL discs, they'll be hard to find for a while to come.

Finally, somebody has stepped up against the broadcast flag, that, starting in July this year, would abolish your rights to time shift digital content from terrestrial broadcasts. Public Knowledge is suing the FCC for mandating the broadcast flag.

And last but not least, at least one perversion of the DMCA seems to have failed: Lexmark all but lost their DMCA case against 3rd party toner manufacturers.

DGMPGDec 1.2.1 beta 2 fixes crashing when using BlindPP, fixes incorrect YUY2 postprocessing, delivers YV12 instead of I420 video by default, fixes incorrect audio delay indication for multiple tracks and the helpfile has been updated as well.

NuMenu4u 2.0.4 displays file sizes more accurately, uses revpulldown for adding pan&scan information and fixes a number of bugs.

DVX is a .NET based Gordian Knot alternative. In some ways it goes much farther than GKnot and it supports a lot more output formats.

mp4muxer is an MP4 multiplexing tool that supports MPEG-4 ASP/AVC video and Ogg, MP4 and AAC audio as well as srt subtitles.

DVBViewer 3.0 has been released. It supports video streaming as unicast or multicast, has a weather retrieval system (if you're wondering what that has to do with DVB - join the club), it supports visualization plugins for radio playback, the application can record multiple channels in the background while playing a media file in the foreground and there's a completely redesigned option dialog.

As you might remember, DivX 6 won't be a codec only, but offer an extension to the AVI container to contain subs, chapters and such. Until now, those extensions were only accessible if you used the DivX media player, but now there are DirectShow filters that expose those additional capabilities to other DirectShow based players.

DGMPGDec 1.2.0 fixes a crash problem with YUY2 data, and audio delays are reported regardless of their values.

DVD43 3.5.2 has an improved bad sector detection that should no longer remove working parts of a movie.

ProgDVB 4.48.1 fixes a few bugs.

I've already mentioned it and I decided not to give them any free PR for what appears to be yet another scheme to screw users and the DVD specs, but there's one thing about Macrovision's RipGuard that is noteworthy: RipGuard is THX certified. You might know THX as label for superior audio and video quality. Some might argue that THX lost its meaning when they started printing THX labels on VHS tapes (urgh), but that's definitely it now. What is a THX based copy protection scheme? Does the THX sign mean it is less likely to screw the paying customer over by not playing on your hardware? Or is it more likely to screw the paying customer over by making sure he cannot make use of his fair use rights? We'll soon know. Perhaps I can get my site THX certified for countering the MPAA's efforts to screw our fair use rights over - sort of like a Fair Use THX ;)

Auto GKnot 1.91 uses the latest DGIndex, the color correction process has been sped up and a few issues have been fixed.

PgcEdit 0.5.0 beta supports button over video.

And here's a tool that turns 25fps progressive streams with the appropriate screen resolution into NTSC compatible streams with pulldown flags.

DVD43 3.5 supports DVDs with copy protection based on corrupt sectors.

DGMPGDec 1.2.0 RC5 fixes a problem in the delay calculations.

VirtualDub 1.6.4 once again adds many capture features and fixes a lot of bugs, mostly in the capture area and support for outdated operating systems. You can get the full changelog at sourceforge.

DGMPGDec 1.2.0 RC4 changes the delay calculations.

Gordian Knot 0.34.8 fixes the x264 compressibility check, no longer allows you to specify the Mpeg2Dec library and DGMPGDec has been updated to 1.2.0 RC3.

CCE SP 2.70.02 has a changed GUI, uses a new encoding engine, supports QuickTime in the video trimming window and fixes a couple of bugs.

Last but not least, here's the link to the IIPA report I mentioned yesterday.

Is Norway the next state to fall in line with the MPAA and RIAA? The Norwegian government is proposing a new and stricter copyright law. Interestingly though, unlike the DMCA, breaking copy protection would still remain legal if you copy the decrypted content on the same media type as the source. I guess they'll start arguing if a DVD copy needs to be put on a dual layer or single layer disc next ;)

RIAA and CO meanwhile are trying to use the WTO for their own purposes and try to the WTO to help them crack down on piracy in China. In my opinion, if the WTO were to do anything, it should be outlawing region codes on DVDs and similar mechanisms for video games. Those are in clear breach of the idea of free trade. Piracy on the other hand, it's more like free trade free of copyright law ;)

Auto Gordian Knot 1.90 should prevent undersized first CDs, uses the latest DGIndex, checks for unsupported MPEG-1 files, the file mode now works on W98 (did I mention you ought to scrap that OS?;), there's another hidden option and another TS parsing bug has been fixed.

DGMPEGDec 1.20 RC3 fixes the FF crash.

ImgToolBurn 1.1.8 has a smaller window to fit lower screen resolutions, has a verify checkbox in the main dialog and fixes a few bugs.

It's been a while since GKnot got x264 functionality (that's the open source MPEG-4 AVC codec for those who don't know), now I've finally managed to catch up guide wise. Here's the GKnot guide for x264.

The RadLight Ogg Media DirectShow filter 1.0.0.1 decodes Theora video, allows video brightness adjustment, improves seeking and contains various internal changes.

It's still in beta state, but Cuttermaran 1.63 can create chapterlists for IfoEdit, Scenarist and Maestro, creates DVD2AVI projects, shows the free space on the target drive, allows changing if the temporary directory, direct jump to a certain timecode or frame number is possible and some bugs have been fixed as well. For now, you can only get the beta in the download section of the German movie2digital board.

Remember the self-destructing DVDs (EZ-D)? Disney has decided to dump the format as it failed to attract enough customers. The company behind it has also been bought up but it looks like we haven't seen the last of the self destructing discs yet.

Gordian Knot 0.34.6 uses the latest DGIndex and fixes two bugs.

Muxman 0.11c fixes 4:3 subpicture track assignments.

HC is a brand new MPEG-2 encoder that features 2 pass encoding, SSE2/3 support, variable GOP structure, scene change detection, selectable quantization matrices and VBV support.

And I just came across this: If you want to play HDTV transport streams in a DirectShow based player, the DVBPortal HDTV Pump Filter will come in very handy.

NuMenu 2.0.1 is out. It supports menus with MPEG audio, supports all CCE revisions since v2.5, QuEnc and Procoder, video assets that contain stills are now properly supported and DVDRebuilder support has been added (so you can use NuMenu to process the menus, then DVD Rebuilder to process the non menu assets).

ProgDVB 4.48 adds support for the Kworld DVB-S 100 and compatible DVB cards.

DGMPGDec 1.2.0 RC1 has been released. It no longer contains video demuxing (it's not ready yet) and it has a more accurate delay calculation algorithms.

Largely unnoticed, the US Senate has passed a bill that imposes drastic sentences for videotaping movies in a theater, distribution of copyrighted works prior to their official release date, and that protects movie censorship services. Actually, the bill has been passed by both chambers last year, but minor differences of the two house revisions have only been resolved now. Without going into discussion of the sense or nonsense of those prison terms compared to their seriousness on a global crime scale, the censorship provision is interesting. Doesn't that give us the right to skip commercials, trailers and FBI warnings as well, using whatever means necessary to achieve those goals?

Kids and people without computer are not the only ones being sued by the RIAA: Their latest strike is a lawsuit against a dead woman (who never owned a computer either). But assuming their "identification" of stolen content is only nearly as good as the tool they offer to find illegitimate content on your PC (meaning any audio and video file ;), it was only a matter of time...

Last but not least, don't forget that the forum will be moved today and thus service will be interrupted for a while.

Many thanks to Swede for taking care of the site for the past three weeks, where I was away without Internet access.

For your information, the forum will be moved to another server on Sunday if everything works out the way we planned. Since the database is quite huge and the import is a very slow process, this means a downtime that could extend over several hours. So do not be alarmed if the forum is suddenly inaccessible. The new server will give us more control so that problems like the one that occurred during my absence will no longer happen.

Gordian Knot 0.34.5 fixes problems opening certain AVI files, uses DGIndex 1.2.0 b6 and the filters xml definitions have been updated.

DVD2One 1.5.2 verifies the structural consistency of IFO files and corrects those structures if necessary, handles "copy protection" based on a corrupt disc structure (ARccOS), improves IFO rebuilding for full disc copies as well as layer break removal routines.

After a long while, there's some movement in the OGM area again: the people behind the RadLight media player have written new DirectShow filters for Ogg/OGM playback from scratch. In the future, these filters will also support subtitles and other audio/video formats that can be stored in the Ogg container.

And this wasn't the only news from the RadLight team: They've also created a DirectShow filter to play PVA files (many DVB softwares can capture in this format).

Whilst the rumor of Windows DRM 10 being cracked is spreading around the net Microsoft aligns with Macrovision to lock down the capturing of analogue sources.

ProjectX 0.82.0.4 has better handling of non-conform PVA audio streams from ProgDVB and checks for the commons-net library at startup.
DGMPDec 1.2.0 beta 6 fixes error tolerance on stream video errors and a problem with indexing for some selection operations.
Then there is a updated ffdshow featuring a VFW Theora encoder.

The continuing saga of EU Software Patents is starting to have the look-and-feel of an ordinary soap opera. More important though is the almost unanimous decision for a restart of the entire process. (more) Although this doesn't mean that the directive is dead it is definitely a powerful statement. Stay tuned for next weeks episode...

And on todays 'lighter' side, SunnComm, makers of the 'infamous' DRM called MediaMax, has finally managed to update their software so it can't be circumvented by pressing the Shift-key, a flaw that were reported back in 2003.

DVD Rebuilder 0.72 is publicly released, skipping 0.71. It now supports CCE 2.70, improves support for CCE 2.50, changes the GOP size for non FILM NTSC material to improve the quality and has a few more or less minor improvements. (Complete changelogs can be found in the forum.)

DVD Identifier 3.6.1 adds support for DVD-R DL (dual layer) and features a updated manufacturer database.

VobBlanker 1.6.0.4 detects or modifies audio attributes when replacing PGCs, can preview cells (Menu and Titles), will remove PUOPs even if VTS is skipped (only if working in input folder), creates VobBlanker_backup in the same folder as VIDEO_TS rather than inside that folder (due to a strange behavior in Nero) and fixes 'Solid and conditional Goto' in postcommand area when changing post into precommands. Sources

Muxman 0.11 adds SST subtitle support as well as a bugfix regarding multiple video with Closed Captions.

Auto GKnot 1.89 beta corrects audio detection for some configurations in file mode, respects the max resolution settings after changing the matrix during resizing step and improves PIDs detection for transport streams.
(And Gordian Knot 0.34.4 beta should be fully functional as to x264-support.)

Speaking of x264, for those of you interested in the progress there is a huge thread in the forum about the development of this codec.

Last month's news can be found here.