# Video Blu-ray

The process to create a Blu-ray playable on a home Blu-ray player: (requires a Blu-ray burner drive)

1. Select the disc compilation as a Video Blu-ray
2. Adding and Removing Video files
3. Arrange the files in the desired order and title (optional)
4. Add chapters to the videos (optional)
5. Select encoding options (optional)
6. Add a menu (optional)
7. Burn the Video Blu-ray

Each of these steps are detailed below.

Select the disc Compilation

The Video Blu-ray type can be selected by using the toolbar (the row of icons at the top of the main window), selecting the 'Video' tab, and selecting 'Video Blu-ray' button. Additionally you can click on the New disc button on the toolbar, or use This disc menu, disc Type and select a data type. You can also type Ctrl+H.

Adding and Removing Video Files

To add your video files to the Blu-ray click the "Add File" or "Add Folder" button or go to the menu item File -> Add. A Browse window will open and from here you can locate, view and select the following types of video file formats:

.AVI .MPG .MPEG .ASF .WMV .MOV .MP4 .3GP .DIVX .MKV .M4V .FLV .VOB

Some of these formats will automatically download a plugin to decode the selected format. If an internet connection is not available they can be downloaded separately from the NCH website and then installed on the PC in question. Additionally some formats need to be decoded to be added and on slower computers this can take a minute or two.

Many other formats can also be handled but they require the installation of directshow codecs. Many come preinstalled with Windows so please try loading the file. You may need to select 'All Files' to see the particular file.

Once your files have been added, if you wish to remove any of them, simply select the files and either click the "Remove" button, or select File ->Remove from the menu. To select multiple files at once, press the Ctrl key and left-click on the files you want to select. To remove all the files, select the option Remove All from the file menu, or press Alt + C.

Dragging and Dropping and the System Tray

You may also add files by dragging and dropping a video file onto the main filelist window. The file will be automatically added. Similarly if you drag and drop the file onto the Express Burn desktop icon it will be added to the disc. If you are not already running Express Burn it will be started automatically and an icon will appear in the system tray.

Playing Files

To play a file, select the desired file and either click the "Play" button at the bottom of the main interface, or select File -> Play from the menu. If you press the Play button when selecting multiple files, the first selected file will be played.

Arrange the files in the desired order and title

Movies on a Video Blu-ray are organized into an ordered playlist of titles. The column 'Title' in the list view for each video specifies the order in which they will be played. Videos added to Express Burn are by default added to the end of the list.

The order of the files in the filelist window will be the order of the videos on the Video Blu-ray once it has been burnt. You may re-arrange files before burning by dragging the file and dropping to the required position.

Adding chapters to the videos

All videos in a given title can have chapters that allow you to easily skip to a particular scene. You may add chapters to each individual video present in the title. You can import a file of titles or use the 'Manage Chapters' option to select the exact points you desire. Please note chapter times are based on the start of each video. If you have a list of chapters based on the whole movie, then add them to the first video in the list.

Selecting Encoding Options

You may optionally select encoding quality for the Blu-ray movie by clicking the "Video Settings" button. Note that higher quality video settings will require longer encoding times and more space on the Blu-ray disc.

The quality setting will also affect the available video time (e.g. lower quality settings allow for more time on the disc). Note that the available time is only an estimate; the final size of the encoded video may vary, depending on the complexity of the videos being encoded. For example, videos with lots of detail and motion (like water or sports footage) will require more space than a video with mostly stable images.

There is also an option for selecting the framerate. The progressive-scan 24 frames/second option is generally best for film, but the interlaced 30 frames/second option may be better for higher-framerate videos.

Adding a menu system

If you want to add a menu to your Blu-ray, click the "Create Menu" button. On the menu dialog, you can choose a pre-made menu template, or download new ones. You can then change the menu title and sub-title (shown on the preview on the right side), and even choose your own background image.

If you have chosen a menu, the Blu-ray disc will be authored so that the menu is shown when the disc is first played, allowing the viewer to choose from the videos in the compilation. If necessary, multiple menu pages will be created, with "previous" and "next" buttons for navigation.

Burning the Video Blu-ray

Once you have your list of video files in the desired order, place a BD-R or BD-RE (writable Blu-ray disc) in your Blu-ray Burner drive. You should then click on the "Burn Video Blu-ray" button or select File->Burn Video Blu-ray from the menu.

You will then be prompted for the Burn Settings .If you are unsure of which settings to choose leave them set to the default selection. If you have more knowledge of what you would like to do select the appropriate settings. Any changes made to the settings are saved for future burning sessions.

The inserted disc will then be checked. For a used BD-RE you will be asked if you wish to erase the disc first before writing the disc.

Note that the video encoding process can be quite slow, and the time to write the data to the Blu-ray disc can be up to 30 minutes depending on media and drive.