Is this a Bug?

fetch wrote on 1/11/2004, 6:14 AM
I have a main menu with some submenu links.
Lets say I click on the last link on my main menu to got to a submenu - when I click return on the submen it takes me back to the main menu but it highlights the first link instead of the last link I had just selected.

Is this a bug or is there a way for DVDA to remember the last link I selected?

Comments

farss wrote on 1/12/2004, 6:45 AM
I don't think it's a bug, all DVDs work that way from memory. Either way it's a pain.
JSWTS wrote on 1/12/2004, 11:22 AM
"It's not a bug, it's a feature." ;)

All kidding aside, this is a limitation of DVD-A. All dvd's don't work that way, it just depends on how they were authored originally, and if the authoring application allowed for setting return/chapter/menu functions for each chapter or not. You need a fairly sophisticated authoring app to do some of this stuff.

Jim
kentwolf wrote on 1/12/2004, 11:27 AM
Adobe Encore DVD will allow the feature you are describing.
johnmeyer wrote on 1/12/2004, 10:13 PM
The DVD architecture lets you set state variables that let the player "remember" where it came from. The authoring program has to know how to set and keep track of these.

It is difficult to do this in such a way that all players will play the DVD without doing the wrong thing. From the point of view of actually writing the authoring code, I don't think it would be difficult to add this (and many other) features. However, testing for compatibility across thousands of different players is a daunting task and, I suspect, is the reason why so few companies have tried to produce more fully featured authoring programs.

I suspect that DVDA will have some ways of addressing "end actions" ( a catch -all for what to do when something finishes playing), but I will be surprised if they include the capability to control these nuances. (I hope I'm wrong, of course).
HKS wrote on 1/13/2004, 12:08 PM
It is a bug. I had 18 chapters. Only Chapter 2 when played would not allow next chapter navigation. There was no indication of this in the time line.
During my attempts to fix it, other chapters suddenly started from chapter 1.

I had to completely start over again with the 77 minute project and 18 chapters.
HKS wrote on 1/13/2004, 12:09 PM
It is a bug. I had 18 chapters. Only Chapter 2 when played would not allow next chapter navigation. There was no indication of this in the time line.
During my attempts to fix it, other chapters suddenly started from chapter 1.

I had to completely start over again with the 77 minute project and 18 chapters.
JSWTS wrote on 1/13/2004, 12:43 PM
You're actually talking about another issue. What 'fetch' was referring to is that when he navigates to a submenu from his main menu, when he eventually returns from the submenu to the main menu the first button link is highlighted/selected, rather than the button he used to navigate to that particular submenu in the first place. You don't have control over the return or go up function in DVD-A, whereas other, more sophisticated authoring apps will allow the user to define this themselves.

Jim