Creating DVD-ROM features with menu features in DVDA

ajcb15 wrote on 8/24/2004, 9:52 AM

Hello,

I am a long time CDA & SF user, yet new to the DVD realm. A collegue asked me to assit him with a DVD project which will include audio, video and also Microsoft Visual C++ tables to calculate body fat measurements (FYI). I note on this forum that I can add an additional folder with these C++ files included in it, and it should work, as long as I do not include these files in the audio and video folders. I sense this will not completely meet the project's needs. The client would like these tables to pull up in the DVD menu and be executalbe from the menu file set-up. My guess is I am going to need an additional program beyond DVDA to create a proper menu on a DVD for this to work.

I have Vegas Video and Sound Forge to manage my video and audio edits post recording. What additional program would you recommend to help me create this DVD? Also, I should be able to create a DVD that will simply pull up the video and audio media on a console DVD player and then separately pull up these C++ tables on a PC DVD-ROM? Correct?

Best Regards and thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Jerry Brown

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 8/24/2004, 10:07 AM

The client would like these tables to pull up in the DVD menu and be executalbe from the menu file set-up.

If you want the text from the C++ tables to display on the screen, you will have to bring those text files into the Vegas text generator, render the files to MPEG-2 and then bring these files into your menu. Having said that, I am not sure that is actually what you want to do.

pikshirtkr wrote on 8/24/2004, 1:18 PM

would screenshots of your c++ tables work, then create hotspots or links to wherever the user wanted to go, or is that to much work? I have never even seen a c++ file, so I don't know if this idea would be of much help to you. If thats all you need, then SNAG IT is a cool program for that.

ajcb15 wrote on 8/24/2004, 3:15 PM

Thanks for the reply. I just contacted Sony Tech support (God I'm still not used to the whole Sony/Sonic Foundry buyout!) and what I'm looking for are DVD-ROM creation features. They noted I would not be able to do this with DVDA2.0. Possibly in a future version.
Are you suggesting web links on the DVD to open up the web page? That's a good thought. Instead of including the tables on the DVD, they could be included on the website instead?
In case this isn't an option, what other DVD authoring program out there will allow me to construct a DVD-ROM or an Interactive DVD where I could menu link these MS Visual C++ files to open up on a PC? Also, all my edited audio/video content from Vegas should transfer to another app as long as it's in the proper DVD codec's? Correct?

Any software suggestions?

Thanks,

JB

johnmeyer wrote on 8/24/2004, 8:42 PM

If you want to put the files on the DVD, you can author in DVDA, and then burn in Nero. In Nero, you can add other folders to the DVD and put your C++ files in there.

I think I understand now what you want to do. You want to have the ability, when the DVD is played on the PC, to have a button in the video part of the DVD actually begin execution of a computer program somewhere else on the DVD. This program would be a viewer which would then let the user view the C++ files.

I bet someone here knows how to do this (although probably not with DVDA). Stay tuned.

ajcb15 wrote on 8/25/2004, 7:43 AM

You've got it right. I talked to the software programmer and he explained these files are .exe files which "could" autorun when the DVD is inserted into a DVD drive. It would be most convenient to have a "button" on the menu interface pull up the .exe file to run.
Depending on responses here (and also a reply from DVD-Lab Pro) the project team may reprogram these files to Java or Java Script and include them instead on the website. We would then only have to place a hotbottun link on the DVD to pull up the website.

Thanks,

JB

PeterWright wrote on 8/25/2004, 5:09 PM

I had a similar situation, and my workaround was to put out a two disc set - a DVD for viewing the video, and an interactive CDRom (authored with Mediator) with the rest.

I used to put out "Mini DVDs" - DVD on CD, authored with SpruceUp, which had the ability to open documents and have live email and URL links. Somehow this seems to have disappeared from the full DVD spec, unless there is an authoring program which can do this ...