Help with Vegas/DVDA layout!

plyall wrote on 4/4/2004, 12:49 PM

Folks -

I'm cross posting here as what I'm experiencing could be either a Vegas or a DVDA issue (or it could be my approach). This has been driving me nuts all weekend, and I really could use the help!

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I have burned most of my weekend trying to get a Laserdisc I had of Dire Straits (On The Night - 1993) converted to DVD. I captured the video/audio by plugging my Laserdisc player (Pioneer Elite) into my Sony TRV-33 video camera, and capturing in Vegas using the firewire capture. So far so good.

I trimmed off the lead in, laserdisc screens (flipping heads, etc.), and got the video where I liked it.

I then inserted markers for where each of the songs started, and labeled them. Finally I rendered the footage to Mpeg2 and AC3 (stereo) streams on two separate rendering passes.

I started a new project in DVDA and selected a theme. I dragged the video into the main screen, and got a menu icon. I called it 'Play Movie'. Then I inserted a Scene Selection Menu. It created the necessary number of scene selection screens (3 in this case), I did a bit of tweaking of the layout of each screen, and then used the DVDA preview function to check my work.

It looks fine in DVDA !

The play movie function does just that.

If I use the scene selection menus, they jump to the appropriate song. Life is good (so far).

I then select Make DVD and do a prepare and burn. This takes a little over an hour (I'm using DVD-RW as media - I have learned my lesson making DVD coasters in the past). So I kill an almost 90 minutes letting it burn.

I take the finished product to my Pioneer 563A to see how it came out.

The menu comes up, and I select Play Movie (the first icon) - the DVD goes into STOP mode. Hmmm.

I hit MENU on the DVD renote and get the main menu back. Okay - now I try SCENE SELECTION. The appropriate menus come up.

If I select the first scene from the first scene selection menu (content should be the setting up of the concert), the player again goes into STOP mode.

I hit menu on the remote again, and go into the scene selection menu. This time I select the second scene (content is the start of the first actual song - Calling Elvis) - this appears to work!

I repeat the procedure for the 3rd scene - Walk of Life - and this appears to work. Yay - maybe we're getting somewhere.

Then I select 4th scene - it works as well - the beginning of Heavy Fuel.

Now things go to hell. Whn I select the 5th scene (should be Romeo and Juliet), I get the concert setup footage (which should have been scene 1)! Other subsequent scene selections also end up other places, including some of the earlier songs.

At this point I have diddled with things and done 4 separate burns (thanks to experience, using RW media). All have been similarly hosed.

I don't get it - the preview works fine in DVDA - is this a bug (God - I hope not!), or am I just screwed up procedurally.

If some kind soul could help me understand how to take a video/audio render with embedded markers and turn it into a simple DVD with options for:

a) Play movie from start
b) Select any song

I would be VERY greatful. My patience is running out on what I thought would be a simple project.

HELP!

Pete Lyall

Comments

Hunter wrote on 4/4/2004, 1:52 PM

I ran into a similar problem with my sisters old (forget model) Pioneer DVD player, it's a second gen player though. Couldn't play DVD via menu, had to cue up tracks or program play. As I recall at the time I thought it was issue in the way DVDA writes the TOC or IFO when you set chapter points in DVDA and not if you import from your projet. It's never happen again so I have no repliacation data.
At the time DVDA was ver 1.0a or b - I think.

Hunter

wobblyboy wrote on 4/4/2004, 1:59 PM

Have you tried it in another set top player?

plyall wrote on 4/4/2004, 9:05 PM

Folks -

I may have found the culprit! Courtesy of a response on the DVDA board, I tried playing the DVD-RW in the computer - worked fine.

I then did a copy of the DVD-RW to a DVD+R (4x) and it seemed to work fine (except that the DVD-RW had a couple of smudges and got a read error near the end of the copy). I did a repair/finalize on the DVD+R and stuck it in my Pioneer 563-A player and the chapter searches and the play seemed to work fine!

I wonder what the screw up is with the Pioneer 563A and DVD-RW proof copies?

In any case - thanks!