DVD-A 3.0 Help

Dan Sherman wrote on 1/13/2006, 3:42 AM

Make lots of DVDs with DVD-A, but usually not menu-based.
The project I have built plays fine in preview.
But when I burn, the playback shows the original (blue) menu page at the state where I clicked on "scene selection" as opening page.
A black square overlapping a black square.

Here's the tree
(disc thingy) Hawaiian Adventure
(folder) Menu 1
(star thingy) Menu 1 (Page 1)
(film thingy) 1:01 Hawaii
(folder) 2:Hawaiian Adventure
(domino? thingy) Hawaiian Adventure
Then the list of linked chapters.

Maybe I need to deleate something?

Comments

ScottW wrote on 1/13/2006, 7:57 AM

The "star thingy" indicates your first play item - in the case of a menu based project, the default is to first play the menu.

What you are describing sounds like you dragged the movie onto the menu (which created a thumbnail button) and then right clicked on it and selected "insert scene selection menu" which would have created a second thumbnail button which in most instances overlaps the first thumbnail button.

The thumbnail picutre used is the first frame of video from your movie - sounds like your first frame may be black.

So, when you play, you go first to the menu and see 2 overlapping black thumbnails.

First step is to not have the 2 buttons overlap. So, click one of the thumbnails and if there's also some text below the thumb, hold shift and click the text - then drag this so that the 2 items no longer overlap.

Now, in the right hand pane (with the thumb still selected), expand the graphics section. In that will be a thumbnail section and in that you'll see a "start time" - specify a start time later in your movie, or use the drop down slider - you'll see the thumb in the workspace change.

That should get you started.

--Scott

Dan Sherman wrote on 1/13/2006, 1:05 PM

Rebuilt project and this time it works.
Have no idea why.
Menu page with all 18 chapter thumbnails comes up as expected.
And that's a good thing.

BUT,---am still piling up the coasters.

With DVDA preview pressing "menu" button on "remote" takes me back to chapters on menu page.

But this does NOT happen with stand alone player.
Pressing menu button on the real remote takes me to that awful ugly two black thumbnails, 1) Project 2) Scene, selection page
Wondering why that would be.
So question is,--- why does pressing "top menu" on my DVD player not navigate back to the menu page as it does in DVDA preview?

ScottW wrote on 1/13/2006, 2:36 PM

You should probably think about getting some RW media to test with.

There are a couple of things going on here - "Top Menu" is probably being interpreted by the DVD as the "Title Button" - for DVDA this would be what you specified as your Start Item (that little "Star thingy"). In fact, DVD's distinguish between "First Play" and "Title Button" but DVDA doesn't make that distinction.

"Menu" on a remote is not the same as "Top Menu" and the action that happens when you press the Menu button can be different depending on the context. In DVDA the default action for the menu button when you are playing a video is to return to the most recent menu, however you can change that default to return to a different menu. DVDA doesn't let you specify what happens when Menu is pressed and you're viewing a menu, but other authoring software does.

--Scott

Dan Sherman wrote on 1/13/2006, 7:45 PM

Then maybe it's time to get other authoring software.
Any suggestions?
I can't have clients not being able to navigate through DVDs.
This has been a very trying day,---
Thanks for your help and patience Scott.
On days like today I wonder why I ever left a paying job to embark on this career.
An entire day lost, and the prospect of a disgruntled client coming to pick up her promised chapter-based DVD,---as advertized.
aggh!

bStro wrote on 1/13/2006, 9:34 PM

I think doing the following will get you what you want:

1. In the Project Overview window, drag (film thingy) 1:01 Hawaii up onto (disc thingy) Hawaiian Adventure.
2. Right-click (domino thingy) Hawaiian Adventure and choose Set DVD Start.
3. Drag (domino thingy) Hawaiian Adventure up onto (disc thingy) Hawaiian Adventure.
4. Select (folder) Menu 1 and hit your Delete key.
5. If you have any Broken Links listed, delete them. They will most likely be links back to the original main menu.

Or, if you don't mind starting over, the really simple way to do this woud be:

Start a single-movie project, select your movie file when prompted, and add your chapters if they're not already there. Then go to the Project Overview window, right-click on your movie, and choose Insert Scene Selection Menu. Right click the icon for that menu (the "domino") in the Project Overview window and choose Set DVD Start.

Rob

Dan Sherman wrote on 1/14/2006, 5:40 AM

Thanks for suggestions Rob.
Am rendering with the changes you recommended.

Dan Sherman wrote on 1/14/2006, 7:13 AM

That worked Rob.
You're a genius!
Even works on the stand alone DVD player,---a fine Sony player!
Many thanks.

bStro wrote on 1/14/2006, 1:02 PM

Awesome. Glad I can have the right answer for someone once in a while. ;-)

Rob