What is Hplex?
Hplex is an experimental application that is based on dvda-author and Lplex.
Current version 0.1.3 integrates the new version of dvda-author (08.07).
Hplex builds Hybrid discs with a variety of file-management options.
Unlike the DVD-Video or the DVD-Audio standards, Hybrid DVDs are not normalized by any sort of industry standard. However, audiophile labels have issued Hybrids that follow relatively similar specifications.
In particular:
1. Both audio zone (AUDIO_TS) and video zone (VIDEO_TS) are filled.
2. Audio zone complies with the DVD-Audio standard and video zone with the DVD-Video standard.
3. Zone-to-zone navigation is possible, either by clicking on still menu links or by direct access keys using the remote control.
4. Audio zone can contain video titles, which follow stricter specifications than video zone titles.
The Hplex project is module of the DVD audio Tools project. It aims to develop an application that satisfies criteria 1 to 3 in the near future, and possibly 4 at a later stage.
About the Hplex package
A test version is available here.
Basic components
Hplex was written by Fabrice Nicol in the late spring of 2007, using Dave Chapman's dvda-author and Bahman Negahban's Lplex as basic components.
The following open source tools are also to be found in this package:
- ats2wav, written by Dave Chapman to develop dvda-author, and first released on this site;
- audit, a wav-header reading tool written by Bahman Negahban;
- Cdrecord-ProDVD-ProBD-Clone 2.01.01a30, part of the cdrtools package written by Jörg Schilling;
- cdda2wav, a cdrtools application that rips CDs;
- flac, a lossless audio (de)compressor;
- mkisofs 2.01, written by Jörg Schilling and successively patched by Dave Chapman and Fabrice Nicol;
- SoX, a multi-format converter;
- ssrc-1.30, a quality resampler written by Naoki Shibata.
Original sources will be added soon to the Hplex test package.
Hplex help and specs
Installation tips are in the How to. Technical details are given in the Readme.
Command-line usage help is copied here.
A Light GUI for Hplex
A set of right-click commands is available in folder Hplex\GUI.
A guide for this "Light GUI" is available here .
Why batch?
Hplex was written in Windows NT batch. It was tested to work on the following platforms: Windows XP family, Windows XP professional, Windows 2000 professional. Prior Windows versions have not been tested to date.Batch was essentially chosen for the sake of development speed, with a view to completing an operational application in a matter of weeks.
A new version could be released in Python or C/C++, depending on testers' feedback.
Development agenda
This part of the DVD audio Tools project is still in its infancy. Motivated developers are welcome to speed up completion.
More information can be found on the Project Status page.