I think what the poster is describing is the common use of motion menus seen in Hollywood dvd's of a sequence of moving images, graphics, type face, etc. before the viewer can make a menu selection. Maestro, DVD Studio Pro, ReelDVD, etc. allow for this by having the ability to delay the appearance of the subpicture. If you can't delay it, then the button highlight will appear before you want it to (ie right from the start). You can have a lead in movie to menu, but it is not seamless and viewers see the pause.

Jim

First DVDA2 looks fantastic!

The way I would try this is to create a video for the menu and fade the
button's text/image in. The creating custom highlighting masks section
(pages 54-58) in the DVDArchitect2NewFeatures.pdf file describes how to
make the button's highlight. At this point the highlight will be during the
entire menu video. Create the DVD but don't burn it yet.

Using one of those vob editors split the vob just after the fade in.
Strip this first part of the VOB of the navigation data. Take this data
and append the second part. Change the cell id from 1 to 2 in the new
second half. Join the two halves back together.

Edit the IFO file to jump back to Cell Id 2 when the video finishes.
Because we are still in the same vob id it should be seamless.

Here's a simple solution. (I did this in DVD 1.0d)

I discovered File -> Properties and on the general tab, the ability to assign "intro" video/audio clips. So i made the main menu in Vegas with multiple video tracks (titles/button selections, background bmp, moving video w/cookie cutter, all the bells and whistles your heart desires.) Then i rendered THAT as my background title page. Import that into DVDA, apply the link button (text only - with deleted text) over the correct word.

Now for the answer to your original question - the intro part with delayed button selection. I went back into vegas and extended my main menu timeline BACKWARDS about 5 seconds (i find intros/transitions longer than this incredibly annoying). So you're actually extending the left (start) side more to the left to give you the leader you need to make motion with the current elements and dissolve/transition in the text, still, video, etc. Render this short intro by itself and that becomes your intro clip (which works in a jiff, but i'm sure there are better, more professional ways, ofdoing this with other programs). Also, the gap between the intro clip playing and the main menu playing has to be less than half a second. But there was a tiny short black gap. This technique also helps when you stop a dvd in a player and then press play. It forces the first movie to be the intro ALWAYS which then in turn goes to your main menu. BEFORE i had the intro, if i hit stop then play, it would go into a sub-menu picture slide show CONSISTENTLY. I HAD to have the main menu be what plays in this situation, ya hear? I hear ya!

I'm just glad to hear that DVDA 2 can have movies inbetween menu links now. TRANSITION CENTRAL HERE I COME! TOOT!! TOOT!!

hOPE THis HelPS
_____________________


"Never interupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."

Certainly there are ways to overcome the limitation, but it has become pretty much a standard finding in most professional dvd's. RCourtney's and lafftrax solutions require a fair amount of work, and additional programs to create something that is done with a mouse click in other apps. If one had several such menus, it would be quite burdensome--not impossible, mind you. DVD-A 2 is a step in the right direction. I will reserve judgement on it's ranking with other apps of it's caliber until I have had more time to use it.

Jim