Sorry to put this here, but the DVDA-forum seems not so active as over here ;-)

Well, no, it's not as active, but it is active. And we're a friendly bunch who are happy to answer questions. ;)

Would this be possible?

Yes. Create the entire thing (the introductory bit and whatever you want to be the menu background) as a single video in Vegas. Render that out to an AVI. Over in DVD Architect, right-click your menu and choose Set Background Media. Browse to this AVI.

Then, on the timeline for the menu (still in DVD Architect), drag the loop point (the green marker at the left of the timeline) to the very end of the "introductory" portion. This is when your buttons will appear and where the menu will loop if you have it set to loop.

If you want the "buttons" to be visible during the "zoom," you'll need to get a bit more creative by including them in the video you use for the background. (I put "buttons" in quotes because they would only look like buttons -- they wouldn't be functional until the loop point.)

Rob

I have frameserved video for a menu and it works pretty well. The trouble is that the Menu buttons are always present unless you think of a clever way to make them invisible and then use the video to identify where the buttons are when it ends.
You can make it loop over and over or play once then end on the menu
Frameserving from the Vegas timeline makes any text you use in the video look good in the menu.
Only thing you should know is DVDA only does one pass mpeg encoding and I don't think you can set the bitrate.

Only thing you should know is DVDA only does one pass mpeg encoding and I don't think you can set the bitrate.

Correct on the first point, incorrect on the second. Choose File > Optimize DVD to set bitrates. On the Video tab, you can set a bitrate for each item individually. Also, at the bottom is a default bitrate setting which will be applied to anything (that actually needs to be recompressed) for which you don't set individually.

Rob

That's good to know.
Thanks

bStro wrote:
Create the entire thing (the introductory bit and whatever you want to be the menu background) as a single video in Vegas. Render that out to an AVI.
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Rob, I prefer to do all my DVDA work in MPEG format as I'm in control of the final bitrate and not DVDA.
Also, according to the online help for DVDA, progressive video is what's preferred for menus.
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If you use a background video in your menu, we recommend rendering the video in progressive-scan format before adding it to your project[b]. On the Video tab of the box and choose Auto to render the noncompliant menu as progressive-scan video. Progressive-scan menus will provide the sharpest-looking text and highest level of DVD player compatibility.

If you need to use interlaced video as a menu background, click the Progressive box and choose No. When you choose No, the noncompliant menu will be rendered as interlaced video.
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Mike

Thanks a lot guys!! :-) - I'll give it a go later today.

/Ulf