Thanks. I might try this. I haven't burned the DVD's yet though so I have nothing to rip (though I do have Mac the Ripper)...I just have the VIDEO_TS folders. Can I go directly from these to the MPEG-2 files that I need?
I'm not sure, you'll have to check whether Mac the Ripper can do this...
Or can I reauthor directly from the VIDEO_TS folders?
You might be able to import the VOB files (do not use the menu VOB though) directly into your authoring application without having to convert them into 1 big MPEG file. Give it a try. I think it's easier to manage fewer files but I can't see why it wouldn't work.
Creating the new menu/chapters might be the bottleneck that makes it more trouble than it's worth but I'd like to try (it'll be a new experience at least). No reason to have this show on 2 discs if it can be authored to fit on one.
It's not hard to create a basic menu - it may not look particularly nice but it does the job.
If you were using the Windows OS, there are programs available that would be able to keep the menus intact. I can't remember the names of them though :/
Good luck.