Help!!

Movick wrote on 9/16/2006, 4:09 AM
Ok, either I’m a complete friggen idiot, I’m totally rusty with DVDA 2.0, or something’s very wrong over here.

I need to create a demo DVD where a 7 minute video can be played in its entirety, and each of its segments can also be played on demand individually. The obvious way to go here is to create a menu, and add buttons - each of which link to chapters containing in and out points in the timeline. Why is it that I cannot get this to freaking work? Gotta tell you, the documentation is abysmal with this program. No linear examples of a project - simply links all over the place.

It’s been over 2 years since I’ve needed to use this program, so forgive my ostensible naiveté.

I simply add buttons to the menu right? I then create chapter markers in the timeline. Then I assign a media target and chapter in the button properties window right? Then I double click the buttons one at a time which brings me to the timeline. There I set in and out points within each chapter right? So why is it that after I set more that one in and out point the properties of each button indicate “broken chapters?” Have I missed a step? This certainly isn’t rocket science here, but what the hell can I be missing to accomplish a relatively simple task??? Why am I unable to assign in and out points to each chapter in the timeline without breaking the chapter? Please help…I’m going to blow my stack!

Forgive my rash tone; it’s 7:00 AM and I’m still fussing with this silly program here!!

Thanks in advance

Mov

Comments

ScottW wrote on 9/16/2006, 6:39 AM
You're close, but you don't want chapters.

Drag the clip onto your menu as many times as you have segments. Navigate into each instance of the clip and set the in/out points on the timeline.

For a "Play All" just drag the clip onto the menu and don't set an in/out point.

IIRC, DVDA2 is smart enough to only include the clip on the DVD a single time.

--Scott
Movick wrote on 9/16/2006, 12:09 PM
Scott,

It's amazing how simple a solution can be to a frustrating problem! Thanks 3.5 billion for your help! Why this information isn’t in the documentation is light-years beyond my comprehension. Strangely enough, when I last used this program 2 years ago, I sort of employed this method; I inserted individual multiple pre-cut segments because the full length of the video was nearly an hour.
I had no idea that you could use the same file repeatedly in this fashion (DOH!!). Do you suggest renaming each segment successively; i.e. clip 1, clip2, etc. for easy reference?

Thanks again for the awesome and rapid response!! You may have saved a life…or two!!! ;-)

Mov
ScottW wrote on 9/16/2006, 12:12 PM
Yes, you should most definitely rename clips as you bring them in (just rename them in the project pane), otherwise you'll never be able to keep track of who did what to whom. ;-)
bStro wrote on 9/16/2006, 4:55 PM
Why this information isn’t in the documentation is light-years beyond my comprehension.

It is. :)

Scene Selection Menu section of the online help, page 25 of the DVDA Studio 2.0 manual, and page 35 of the DVDA 2.0 manual.

Rob