Can you play import clips continuously in a DVD made with DVD Architect?

ewporter wrote on 9/8/2003, 12:41 PM
Is there any way to have DVD architect take various MPEG files (corresponding to video clips) and make the into a video that can be played continuously across multiple such clips, while at the same time allowing each clip to be separately selected.??????????

I created and labeled a bunch of such clips using Vegas, and imported them into DVD architect and had a separately labeled thumbnail for each. When I created the DVD everything worked fine, except that only one clip would play at a time before returning to the menu. This if for home movies and it is very annoying to have to return the menu after a 30 second clip.

Does this mean that the only objects entered as one object (such as a “single movie object” can be played continuously??????????
Each of the clips came from an avi file in which I have marked regions using Vegas. Is that any way to import just the selected regions into DVD architect with the names for each label that was given to it in Vegas?????????? I have not had good luck important an entire AVI or MPEG file made from Vegas which has labeled regions and then using the “load markers” button in the window associated with the imported media. Usually the imported marker only have a slight resemblance, if any, with markers created in Vegas.
So how can one create a DVD using DVD architect in which on can use regions and their associated labels created in Vegas as selectable media portions in a DVD of clips that can be played continuously?????????? Preferable, one would like the ability to change the order of such marked regions between their order in the Vegas file in which they were selected and their position in the DVD, if possible.

Also is there a way to have a sequence of submenu in which navigation can occur directly from each submenu to the next submenu without the need to first go back to the main menue??????????

Comments

farss wrote on 9/8/2003, 9:59 PM
You need to make what you want to play as one movie with chapter points.

Render the whole thing out as oone mepg-2 / ac3 file, before that use markers to set chapter points and when in DVDA you create a scene selection menu it'll bring them in.
PDB wrote on 9/9/2003, 3:34 AM
read this thread:

http://www.sonicfoundry.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=210744&Replies=25&Page=2

Basically:
1) set your chapter points in the ONE BIG FILE in Vegas using markers (label them)
2) render out as one big avi file and import into DVDA. With this file, you create your "playall" WITH chapters (ie. you can start the big movie but move ahead by pressing your "next" button on the remote and it will take you to the next chapter.
3) Make a COPY of the big AVI file (by selecting the button and ctrl + c) and paste it onto the menu
4) create a sub-menu from this file with the relevant chapters; set in and out points for each chapter individaully and this will give the the possibility of seeing whatever chapter you wish individually and then return to the submenu at the end of each.

That makes a very flexible DVD: play all, skip to each chapter, or play each chapter individually!! not bad hey? The good thing is that you can do this WITHOUT taking up extra space on the DVD...

regards,

Paul.
ewporter wrote on 9/9/2003, 9:17 AM
Paul,

Thank you very much. Your response was the most helpful I have received to date.

Ihave copied your instructions and placed (in all caps) some further clarifying questions to them. I would appreciate it very much if you could answer these further questions.


1)set your chapter points in the ONE BIG FILE in Vegas using markers (label them)
--SO I ASSUME I HAVE TO MARK SECTIONS OF MEDIA IN VEGAS WITH MARKERS AND NOT REGIONS, WHICH I HAVE BEEN USING BEFORE

2) render out as one big avi file and import into DVDA.
--MERELY PLACING THE MARKERS IN A VEGAS .VEG FILE IS NOT ENOUGH, I HAVE TO RENDER A FILE IN VEGAS FROM THAT .VEG FILE?

--I ASSUME I COULD ALSO RENDER IT AS AN MPEG2 AND GET THE SAME RESULTS
With this file, you create your "playall" WITH chapters (ie. you can start the big movie but move ahead by pressing your "next" button on the remote and it will take you to the next chapter.
--PRESUMABLY “PLAYALL” BEHAVIOR WILL RESULT FROM HAVING A SINGLE MOVIE OBJECT WITH MERE CHAPTER MARKERS INSTEAD OF IN AND OUT POINTS?
--I READ THE THREAD YOU POINTED ME TO AND THERE WAS DISCUSSION THERE OF A PLAYALL BUTTON, BUT NEITHER THE DVDA MANUAL INDEX NOR ITS HELP “SEARCH” FEATURE HAD ANY MENTION OF “PLAYALL”. SO PRESUMABLY THIS IS MERELY ANY MENU ITEM THAT WILL START UNINTERRUPTED PLAY


3) Make a COPY of the big AVI file (by selecting the button and ctrl + c) and paste it onto the menu
--BY THIS YOU MEAN THAT YOU INSERT THE SINGLE MOVIE ITEM INTO A MENU WITH “INSERT MEDIA”
--ONCE YOU HAVE ADDED THE MEDIA FILE, PRESUMABLY YOU DOUBLE CLICK ON IT AND THEN PRESS THE “LOAD MARKERS” BUTTON TO GET THE MARKERS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED LABELS THAT WERE PLACED IN THE VEGAS .VEG FILE THAT WAS USED TO RENDER THE SINGLE MEDIA FILE THAT HAS BEEN IMPORTED TO DVDA?


4) create a sub-menu from this file with the relevant chapters; set in and out points for each chapter individaully and this will give the the possibility of seeing whatever chapter you wish individually and then return to the submenu at the end of each.
--PRESUMABLY YOU DO THIS BY RIGHT CLICKING ON THE MENU BUTTON FOR THE WHOLE PROJECT AND THEN SELECTING “INSERT SCENE SELECTION MENU”?
--IF YOU DO THIS AND SAY THERE ARE 28 CHAPTERS PRESUMABLY ENOUGH PAGES WILL BE GENERATED FOR ALL THE CHAPTERS?

That makes a very flexible DVD: play all, skip to each chapter, or play each chapter individually!! not bad hey? The good thing is that you can do this WITHOUT taking up extra space on the DVD...
--I UNDERSTAND HOW THIS ALLOWS YOU TO PLAYALL, SINCE PLAY DOES NOT STOP AT CHAPTER BOUNDARIES. IT ALLOWS YOU TO SKIP TO A CHAPTER USING THE MENU OR THE LEFT ARROW ON THE DVD CONTROL, BUT DOES IT LET YOU PLAY AN INDIVIDUAL CHAPTER AND THEN STOP (THE THREAD YOU POINTED ME TO SEEMED TO DEAL WITH THAT ISSUE, AND THE USE IN AND OUT POINTS)?

Thank you again for all your help.

Ed Porter
ewporter wrote on 9/9/2003, 9:18 AM
Thank you for your help. Ed Porter
PDB wrote on 9/9/2003, 10:17 AM
Ed, glad to be of some help. Mind you, much of what I posted was help I got a week ago (from all the generous people on here )when trying to do a similar thing you are considering now...

Ok, so let me try to answer your futher queries...here goes...

1) As far as I know, "markers" set the chapter points (not regions). You can actually do this from Vegas or DVDA, but I prefer to try to get my ideas right as early as possible (you can always correct later if need be). Bear in mind that ANY marker in the rendered file from Vegas will be seen as a chapter point in DVDA - so its best to clear all markers used in the veg project first and then set the chapter points you want.

2) Since you can't import a veg file into dvda, you have to render out from Vegas (either AVI or Mpeg2 file) with the chapter points set (unless you want to do it later in DVDA.
As far as using an mepg2 rendered from Vegas as your working file in DVDA should work perfectly: I'm not too sure how well the process of setting in & out points on an mepg2 file works though - the I frame/B frame issue comes to mind- As of yet I have not tried the process with an mpeg2 file.
Apologies about the terminology: I picked up the term "playall" from this forum! but basically it means you play the whole movie from start to finish (unless you decide to interrupt it of course..) The fact that you have set chapter points in the file however enables you to skip ahead in the movie to you chapter of choice: the playback then resumes from that chapter until the movie (not the chapter) comes to its end.

3) In your blank/new menu in DVDA, you indeed insert the single movie with the "insert media". On this button you dont need to create anything: since you have rendered the file with chapter markers, DVDA will auto-magically create the movie with the chapter identifiers on the disk (although you can't see any chapter buttons etc...)



4) Once you have done this (basically creating your whole movie with playall/chapter driven movie), you then make a COPY of the movie (right click on the newly created button, copy) and paste onto the same menu - what you must NOT do is use the "insert media" function again to create the second movie. You should now have two buttons linking to the same movie.

On this second button, you create a sub-menu (load chapters). If you move into this sub-menu, you should now have buttons leading to each of the chapters you have marked in the file. (I think you can specify the number of chapters/page at this stage...I can't remember if the pages need for all the chapters are created auto-magically or not!)

What you now have is a new button which takes you to a sub-menu(s) with each individual chapter with its corresponding button. However, if you left it like that, and played from one of these chapter buttons, the movie would play from that chapter till the end of the movie - so next step is setting out points for each of these chapters.

You do this by double clicking on the chapter button: this opens a timeline of the film with your chapter marker. put the cursor at the end of the chapter /section and insert an out point (you can do this by pressing the icon on the bar under the timeline- I think the out button has a right-angle triangle shape with the right angle on the right: if you plave the mouse cursor over it it will tell you so.... Do it for each individual chapter.

You have now created submenu(s) with individual sections of your main movie: if you play the dvd from here (by clicking on the chosen button) the movie will play from the beginning of the chapter/section till the end of that same chapter/section and return you to the sub-menu you clicked on to play it from.


If you follow this process you should end up with a main menu with:
a) a button leading to play the whole/chapter to end movie
b) a button which takes you to a sub-menu(s). this/these contain buttons leading to each chapter but will play the individual chapter only, returning you to the sub-menu you played that chapter from: ie. it will play that section of the movie only.

Which means you have more playback flexibility than hollywood film dvds...

The thing you must NOT do is insert the big rendered file twice (ie. insert media 2X). just copy the button of the first movie and paste it agin into the same menu and work on from there...

I do apologise if my explanation is obtuse: it is far easier to envisage than to put down in comprehensive wording. PLease fell free to ask again if I am making things really confusing!


Best regards,

Paul.


ewporter wrote on 9/9/2003, 11:39 AM
Paul,

Thanks a lot for this very detailed explanation. It is very helpful.

Ed Porter
nolonemo wrote on 9/9/2003, 11:49 AM
Thanks, Paul, for a very lucid explanation. I wonder if you could copy the original button a second time and create a chapter submenu but not set out points, so that that submenu would be like the usual scene selection menu on a commercial DVD - you can click on a button to start at that chapter, and play to the end of the video.

Or, alternatively, you could go to the individual chapter play submenu (whose creation you described), and when you clicked on a chapter button, you would play that chapter and return to the menu at the end.

Do you know if making two chapter submenus like this would work? Could they coexist?
PDB wrote on 9/9/2003, 12:12 PM
nolonemo,

Thanks for the kind words and reassurance on the "readability" of the explanation...

At the risk of total speculation, I would THINK that creating a second sub-menu with the "normal chapter" selection and behaviour is feasable (can't immediately think why it shouldn't work...) Having said that, I have not actually tried it...But well worth giving it a go (will do in my next project...)

I'll post once I can verify it works.

regards

Paul.