I often need to convert avi, mkv, mp4 or some other video format to generic DVD.  Using a Mac, I've found that this processes is a pain in the ass.  It surprises me that there are very few tools for pulling this together.  I spent a few days searching and see that there was a few tools, but they were either dead projects, or not stable.  Don't get me wrong, FFMpegX is pretty good at converting video formats, but trying to use it to actually make a dvd with subtitles just doesn't work for me.  I did notice that it...

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When ever I come across a command or service in Unix that crashes or fails to run properly I quickly go to the trace tools to trace the system commands.  I often find that If I just follow the system trace i can usually see what was supposed to happen and didn't.  Unfortunatley not every unix flavor uses the same tracing commands. In linux it is very simple prefix any command with strace and it will give you lots of system trace info. In Solaris use the truss command. In Irix use the par...

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