Could you not just leave it the way he has it and change the 'end action' to point to the next movie file instaed of back to the menu?

Yes, that's what I'd do too.

I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying, or if there is something wrong with my program. Frustrating because WinDVD works, but I would like to use DVDA. <deep sigh>

Here are my steps.

1 - Open program and choose New Project, "Menu Based". If I choose "Single Movie", it only allows one file to be selected. I have seven scenes, and making one big file is not an option.

2 - After choosing "Menu Based" I have the following...
- (disc icon) untitled
- (file icon) Menu 1
- (purple square) Menu 1 (Page 1)

3 - I opened my d:\video\train folder, and see the seven files. Those are the only files in the folder.

4 - I'll "tag all" then drop them onto the disc like you said. Now the screen looks like this:

http://www.vobbe.com/images/001.jpg

Note there are no scene selections, which I need in case someone wants to start at scene 3 and skip scenes 2 or 1 (introduction).

5 - If I "tag all" then drop them onto the Menu 1 square, (it won't take it on the folder icon), then I get a screen like this:

http://www.vobbe.com/images/002.jpg

Here I have the ability to select a scene, but after the scene plays, it goes back to the menu and not to the next scene in sequence.

Like I said, I'm new to this program and totally lost with how to create what I want.

What I'm looking for is to create a video that has multiple scene files. When the user puts the DVD in the player, they get a menu. From that menu they can start at any scene. But once they select that scene, and it ends, it goes to the next one. The only time it should go to menu is when the very last scene completes playing.

I've re-rendered all seven files to Mpeg, (DVD NTSC), so I'm not working with AVIs.

EDIT: Should they be rendered as "DVD Architech NTSC video stream" or not?

First: They should normally be rendered as Main Concept DVDA NTSC Video stream. There will be no audio with this. Then render the audio separately as AC3. Name both files the same. (ie file 1.mpg and file 1.Ac3. When you drop the mpg file in DVDA it will automatically find the right Ac3 file and associate it with it (If they are both saved in the same folder)
Lets assume you have done that and that you have reached your step 5 jpeg. Now highlight your first video and in the upper right corner you will see (somewhere) a choice for 'end action' There will be a drop down menu that will include the other videos you have dropped on the project along with back to original menu and hold and maybe a couple of others. Choose the video that you want to play next as the end action. When that first video finishs playing the end action will then take it to the next video and play that.

You didn't say anything before about wanting a scene selection menu. ;-)

Follow my previous instructions for option #1. EDITED: Then, in DVD Architect, go to File > New and choose Single Movie and browse for your one, complete file. In the Project Overview window, double-click your movie and add chapter markers to the timeline. Then, again in the Project Overview, right-click your movie and choose Insert Scene Selection Menu. That should give you exactly what you want.

Rob

Could you not just leave it the way he has it and change the 'end action' to point to the next movie file instaed of back to the menu?

He could, but I don't see much reason to. Far as I can tell, he really wants one video that has seven chapters. The problem with "faking it" by having seven movies linked by end actions is that the behavior of the Next Chapter and Previous Chapter buttons (on remotes) is unreliable in such situations. Some DVD players will skip correctly, some will end up back at the menu anyhow, and some will just jump to the wrong video. Also, most DVD players will pause for a bit between titles.

Rob

The problem with "faking it" by having seven movies linked by end actions is that the behavior of the Next Chapter and Previous Chapter buttons (on remotes) is unreliable in such situations. Some DVD players will skip correctly, some will end up back at the menu anyhow, and some will just jump to the wrong video.

This is true. However, I have found that the free PGCEdit utility, combined with a DVD Shrink plugin can be used, after you have prepared a multi-title DVD with DVDA, to change the way chapter forward and chapter back work with multi-titles so that it works like multi-chapter. The plugin is a very clever hack the changes the IFO files. Takes about four seconds to run, and backs up your IFO files so you can go back to the original if you don't like the result.

PGCEdit Download

DVD Shrink Plugin

Sorry if I missed something in the thread, but if I understand the OP's question, the way to do this is by clicking the Compilation tab, adding the files, and letting it render, which will create the Chapters (rather than titles) automatically.

SUCCESS!

Taking everything you guys said, here is the way I finally was able to get it.

I dropped the idea of the menu, and just printed the chapters on the DVD and on the paper jacket. At this point I just wanted to make it easy and get it done.

I rerendered the whole file in Vegas as one large 45-minute Mpeg file.

Then I dragged'n'dropped it onto the disc icon, and went through and set all my chapter points, after I figured out how to do that. Took me 20 minutes.

After I created the DVD, I put it in the player and found that it allows me to forward and rewind within chapters, as well as jump forward and backwards from one to another. That's good enough for now.

When I got my software from Sony, I got the disc and a cheesy blue card which is OK if you know what things mean before you start. The problem I was facing was not knowing what some of the terms meant, sequences in the work flow, or what to access/click on the program. It's more overwhelming when you open the right pane and see all the options!

Just a thought for you guys that are more proficient in Vegas and DVDA ... perhaps new users would find it easier to have a seminar/how-to DVD, or at the least a series of WMV files on the web so you can see the steps that need to be taken. I'm in no position to make this, as I'm just learning the program. But if someone wants to do it, and writes a script, I'll be happy to voice the audio track.

BTW, can you set the chapter points in Vegas when rendering the file so you don't have to set points in DVDA?

**BTW, can you set the chapter points in Vegas when rendering the file so you don't have to set points in DVDA? **

The answer is yes. Be sure to check "Save project markers..." when you render in Vegas.

Any point you drop a marker in Vegas will automatically create a Chapter in DVDA, which you can then edit, move, or delete. If you name the markers in Vegas exactly how you want them to show up in the menu, you won't have to rename them.

perhaps new users would find it easier to have a seminar/how-to DVD, or at the least a series of WMV files on the web so you can see the steps that need to be taken.

VASST.com has lots of training DVDs available for sale, and Sony itself has a couple. (Sony's DVAP is a workbook that includes a data DVD of exercise files. The Seminar Series contains video tutorials.) There's also a new book by Douglas Spotted Eagle, a popular Vegas trainer (and member over at the Vegas forum on this very site). And for free videos online, there're many, many of them on Youtube. Granted, most of these options focus a lot more on Vegas than they do on DVD Architect.

Note that most of the products I mentioned are geared toward Vegas 8 and DVDA 4.5. I believe that the screenshots you posted indicate you're using DVDA 2.0, so those materials will cover features you don't have.

Also, there's the ol' DVDA manual and online help, which is pretty much how I learned. Well, okay, I mostly learned by clicking around to see what did what, but not everyone likes to work that way. But the online help has done a decent job of pointing me in the right direction when my clicking around didn't do what I thought it would. It also has a glossery to learn those terms you mentioned. :)

Not really sure why you decided to forgo the menu. Two more clicks and you would've had exactly what you wanted in the first place. (Again, right-click the movie in the Project Overview window and choose Insert Scene Selection menu.)

Rob

>>**BTW, can you set the chapter points in Vegas when rendering the
>> file so you don't have to set points in DVDA? **

> Reply by: musicvid
> The answer is yes. Be sure to check "Save project markers..." when you
> render in Vegas.

Does there need to be a marker at the very start, or does DVDA assume that from the start to the first marker, (which would be 1), is the first track?

Rob,

Thanks for the tips on the help videos. I never thought of looking on YouTube! I'll check them out.

When I got Vegas and SF9, I got manuals with the installs, so I feel a little more comfortable with them. DVDA was just kicking my butt because it was like walking into a 100 story building with no directory, and trying to find someone in an office on one of the floors.

You're right, my DVDA is older. I got it maybe two years ago and was so frustrated that I purchased WinDVD and did all my projects on it. I have not upgraded it since because it sat on the desktop unused.

I'll try to figure out the menus tonight. That will be a bonus if I can get that to work!

Thanks for your help. Let me know if I can return the favor.

For your future reference, here's what I think is the "best" way to create most projects.

1. Edit in Vegas. Place (and name) markers at every location where you will want a chapter stop in your finished DVD.

2. Render the video, from Vegas, to an MPEG-2 file, using the appropriate DVD Architect template (e.g., DVD Architect NTSC video stream). Do NOT use the "Default" template. It uses really low quality settings so that clueless magazine writers who review the product will think the rendering time is really fast (low quality = fast rendering). As already noted, make sure (in the Render As dialog box) to check "Save project markers in media file" in order to have these markers saved, so that DVDA will later be able to use them.

3. Render the audio using the Dolby Digital AC-3 renderer. Use the Stereo DVD template. If you find the audio too soft, then go to the Custom settings and change Dialog Normalization from -27dB to -30dB, and change both Dynamic Range Compression settings from "Film: Standard" to None. Make sure you name this AC-3 file using exactly the same name as you used for the MPEG-2 file and that you place it in the same folder. If you do this, DVDA will automatically "find" the audio file when you load the video file.

4. Open DVDA and place this MPEG-2 file onto the main menu. If you right-click on this video file once it is in the menu, you will find an option to create a scene selection menu. Click on this, and all your scene selection menus will be automatically created, including all the linking logic. You can then change the backgrounds, button placement, etc.

One other thing. When you render the MPEG-2 file in Vegas, click on the Custom button and find the setting for the average bitrate. If the total length of your video is less than 80 minutes, you can set this as high as 8,000,000. However, if you are going to have more video than this in your DVD, you will need to set this average bitrate lower, so that the file size will be smaller. Use a Bitrate Calculator to determine the proper setting. If you need bitrates lower than 6,000,000, then use two-pass encoding. This will double the required encoding time (for the MPEG-2 file), but will ensure pretty good quality all the way down to 4,000,000 (although your mileage may vary ...).