End Action question

zstevek wrote on 10/2/2004, 11:29 AM

I have a DVD project I am working on that uses one MPEG-2 file with chapter markers that provide a scene selection menu.

My problem is that I can not add any end action to each chapter. When I navigate into the chapter in DVD2A I am able to change from link to stop, but the video just keeps right on playing into the next chapter instead of performing the end action, in other words it sees the whole MPEG2 file instead of just the chapter I am navigating into.

My question is......

Is there a way to use end actions on individual chapters built by using the “insert scene selection” option inside of DVD2A

or....

Do I have to render each chapter separately to get the end actions to work correctly (this will take up more disc space so I prefer not to)?

Comments

bStro wrote on 10/3/2004, 5:59 AM

End actions occur at the end of a titleset, not after a chapter. Chapters do not divide a file into titlesets, they simply put "tab stops" into a single titleset.

Is there a way to use end actions on individual chapters built by using the “insert scene selection” option inside of DVD2A

Not really. But there's a way to accomplish what you want. (See below.)

Do I have to render each chapter separately to get the end actions to work correctly (this will take up more disc space so I prefer not to)?

No, you don't. And I'll get to why in a minute. But first I'll mention that if you rendered each chapter separately, the sum of its parts wouldn't be greater than the whole. (Unless you put individually rendered chapters and a whole video on the disc. But anyhow....

The solution is bring your MPEG2 into the project, set the chapters, and then copy / paste its button for as many times as you have chapters (You'll probably want to leave the original as a Play All button). Format and arrange those buttons (name each to identify the chapter you want to visit), and then one by one, double-click each button and set the chapter's In and Out points. If you followed the early steps correctly, you should have the chapter markers there to use as a guide.

Note that if you want a scene selection menu as well as a main menu with a Play All button, then insert a new menu page off the main menu and cut / paste these buttons to the new menu.

Using this method, each chapter will be its own titleset and can have an end action. Since each button is based on the exact same file, DVDA 2 is smart enough to put that file on the disc only once.

Rob

zstevek wrote on 10/10/2004, 7:41 AM

Thanks for help Rob.

Etibari wrote on 10/22/2004, 2:36 PM

I've been playing with this for about a month now. I inserted media (with markers) 4 times (same media), inserted a new background for each button, and ended up with an excellent DVD with a main menu that returned to the menu after playing the video for each marker. Since then I have been unable to duplicate this method. So, I read the book (pg 44) and thus did what you stated, insert media, set in-out points, etc. The preview works great, but the final product fails to return to the menu after reaching the out point for that button. Any idea what I am missing here. I've gone through 5 DVD's trying to figure this quirk out.

bStro wrote on 10/22/2004, 4:10 PM

How did you set the In / Out points -- by dragging them or by putting your cursor where you wanted and clicking the In / Out buttons? I've heard that some people have had problems when they just dragged the In / Out points. That's one possibility.

Rob