Thanks I will try that. But does that mean that this feature cannot be overridden in DVDA?

Dave T2

I think that may be more a system issue as DVDA, prettty sure the client would need to disable autoplay on his system.

first play or autorun?

if you don't want the DVD player software to launch at all, then you need to hold down the shift key when you insert the DVD. Alternatively, right click on the DVD drive in the file explorer, select properties, click the autoplay tab, click the "select an action to perform" radio button and then specify "Take no action" in the list of actions.

Firstplay cannot be overridden in DVDA.

--Scott

Daryl,

The computer is controlling a DVD player. It is not being played in a computer. Thanks.

Dave T2

ScottW,

Thanks but the DVD is being played from a DVD player. The computer is controlling it along with a HiDef projection system, lights etc.

But if Firsplay cannot be overridden, does anyone know if IFOEDIT can alter the file to defeat the firstplay?

Thanks again for the help.

Dave T2

A first play PGC is a requirement of the specification. It must be present. In the first play PGC is usually a sequence of VM commands that are used to initialize any of the GPRM's that the abstraction layer of the DVD might need. The final command in the FP PGC is usually a Jump to a PGC to start things rolling - like a menu or a movie clip.

In the case of DVDA, there's only one command in the FP PGC - a JUMP to another PGC that in turn contains the commands needed to init a few registers, set highlights (if needed) and invoke the first play media specified in the DVDA project (a menu or a movie).

Could you use Ifoedit to change things? You bet. You can use IFOedit or PGCedit to change the command in the first play PGC to be "exit" - what good does that do you? You now have an unplayable DVD.

Why not do what Bob suggested? Create a black menu with a transparent button, that when activated will play the movie you want (or take you to another menu). The computer controlling things must have some way to tell the DVD player when to start playing, no? If the computer only has the ability to press the "Play" button on the DVD player, consider that many (most?) DVD players consider the "Play" button to be the same as the "Enter" button when showing a menu. So if you hidden button is the only button on the menu, then pressing play should get you the same action as pressing enter.

--Scott

Just one second here.
If there's nothing to tell the player what to load first how is this computer going to be able to tell the DVD player to play something?

How does this system cope with playing regular DVDs for that matter?

The invisible menu idea that I've used seems the most logical approach, it should meet this need as well as still be playable via instructions printed on the disk.

However there are specialised players that'll just play an mepg-2 stream straight off a DVD, no menus, no authoring. I suspect many DVD players will do this, just not an advertised feature, certainly one I had would do this.

If all else fails get a DVD that they've played in this system and see how it's assembled.

Bob.

Scott,

Well I talked to our IT guy (he gets here late, you know how they are :) )

He said to just have them use a BLACK video track for one of the titles for firstplay and then it will stop and wait for the computer command.

A MENU would cause it to loop until the command was sent. In this case the program runs the 4th title, so I can set one of the other titles to a black track Firstplay..

Thanks again for the help.
Dave T2

Your IT guy isn't telling you everything, or, no offense, your lack of knowledge of how DVD's work is filtering the message you were given. Which is not to any way imply that I'm an expert on the subject...

Tecnically, yes, menus always loop - even if it's a still menu, the DVD player is looping/waiting for a button to be pressed (assuming the menu has a button). Why is looping a problem?

A black video track will not get you what you want. To get close, you'd need to set the end action for the clip to be "stop" (the default is to link to the most recent menu). But stop isn't what you want either, because what DVDA really does is put in an "Exit" VM command - for most DVD players, this puts them in the same state as when you first inserted the DVD in the player.

The only way you're going to achieve what you want with DVDA is with a black menu and a hidden button.

--Scott

Scott,

I appreciate your help again. But the BLACK video will work for this function. A Stop command puts the DVD player in what I guess is just a standby type mode, just like if I hit stop on my DVD player at home and do not eject the disk.

The computer then tells the DVD player to play Title #4 when it is time. It is not just a PLAY command, it is a specific command that tells the DVD player to play Title #4 regardless of what else is on the disk. The DVD player that they use will scan the disk when inserted and store all of the DVD content information.

Dave T2

Got it. I did not connect that you didn't have a normal DVD player.

I probably wasn't as clear as I could have been. But again, I do appreciate your help and the information. The player they use is a Pioneer V7400 which is a pretty high end player as far as control.

Dave T2

If the idea is that a system sits on standby waiting to be demonstrated for someone--get one of those clock timers, plug it into the DVD player and set it for 10:00 a.m. or whatever....?

I use the Pioneer 7400 player for the automated presentations in our theatre and in our museum exhibits. The DVD stays in the machine all the time so I don't worry about the DVD stating when inserted. I use the onboard clock to turn the player on and off at the start and end of the day. I have set the players advanced options so that it does not play on power on.

The Theatre DVD is a single movie (no menus) that contains 16 chapters. My control computer sends a search command for a frame number which positions the player to the start of the appropriate chapter. This happens one minute before showtime. The the computer brings down the lights, fades out the nonsync music, opens the curtain and then sends a play command to the DVD player, followed by a command to the switcher to select the correct DVD Player. Then the computer polls the DVD player for the frame number and when it reaches the cue frame it reverses the process and stops the player. The system is very reliable. The computer is running DOS.

For the exhibits I use the extra inputs on the 15 pin D connector that allow you to start a chapter from a contact closure. The DVD in this case is programmed with a start video with an end action that points to itself. This is what we call the attract loop that will play until a visitor pushes a button. The button push will start and play a chapter with the end action pointing back to the attract loop.

The push button inputs are a little tricky because you need to create a diode matrix to access all the options.

The 7400 has been discontinued. I am now switching to a solid state playback unit (Video Chameleon) that works very well but limits me to 8 selections. If anyone has used other solid state video playback I would like to hear your experiences.

Charlie