What can I do in a menue

donp wrote on 7/21/2003, 10:22 PM
I am considering upgrading to Vegas+DVD but I was wondering aside from AC3 Audio what does it get me? Can I do the fancey menues in commercil DVD's with DVDA. Like the the "DUNE 2000" lead in Menue as one example. It also asks if you want to play one or both episodes after you select play. Or do you just get a thumnail with a title and a play button on a canned background with some canned looping MPA music and some minor customization (Ulead MF2).

The AC3 doesn't excite me that much but if Vegas+DVD can do fancy menues then I'm sold on it, however if it doesn't I'll guess I will stay with Ulead Movie Factory 2 for a while longer.

Comments

BillyBoy wrote on 7/21/2003, 10:27 PM
Depends on what you mean by "fancy". In the broader sense no, DVD-A doesn't do fancy stuff. In fact many would agree it is missing some basic features. However on the plus side it is very easy to use and has some nice features. Try the demo and see if it meets your needs. Many here are anxiously waiting for version two to see if it gets up to speed.

For example once you get the hang of it building a menu system, (chapters) is straight forward once you get use to the somewhat backward way of doing it. However at this point if you're looking for dual audio tracks, transitions between menu pages and other beels and whistles no, not yet.
donp wrote on 7/21/2003, 10:37 PM
Hi BillyBoy, "fancy" to me is as I used in the example of the "Dune 2000" menue or the "Lord of the Rings" menue. That's what I ment by fancy. The Ulead prioduct is easy to use too. If DVDA doesn't do more than Movie factory 2 I guess I'll wait until it does. However, giving the Demo a try wouldn't hurt. If I got the demo I trust it would not compromise my Vegas 4c paid installation would it?
PeterWright wrote on 7/21/2003, 10:39 PM
I haven't seen the Dune DVD, but you can certainly do the following in DVDA as it is now:

Have an Automatic First Play Movie which plays when the DVD is inserted, before the main menu appears. This can be a logo sequence, a copyright warning, or both, or anything else you want.

Have either a still picture or a looped piece of video as the background to a menu. The design is your choice, not an enforced "canned" background, although there are themes available for use too.

Have each button playing a thumbnail of part of the video clip that will play fullscreen when the button is clicked. The style of frame around the thumbnail, and the methiod of highlighting are customisable.

Have any audio playing whilst a menu is showing.

Have as many chapters as you want, with their own buttons to go straight to a selected point in the movie.

If you work within it's limits and design each project accordingly, DVDA is a very good piece of software, especially for a Version 1.

donp wrote on 7/21/2003, 10:55 PM
Peter, HMMMM what you said it can do looks pretty good as you said for a first run product. I think it does out do Movie Factory 2 in a few areas so I guess when I get the funds together and the spouse "agrees", I'll upgrade.

Thanks
JohnnyRoy wrote on 7/22/2003, 9:15 PM
I have DVD MovieFactory 2 and recently upgraded to DVD Architect (DVDA) and there really is no comparison (of course who would compare a $45 program to a $200 program?). DVDA can make DVD’s with the more traditional Hollywood style layout of Play, Scene Selection, Special Features, etc. while DVD MovieFactory 2 just lets you use thumbnail style templates. I use DVDA almost exclusively now.

The only reason I will use DVD MovieFactory 2 is if I want to make a VCD slideshow because I put all my still pictures from my digital camera into slide shows and CD-R’s are 25 cents each and DVD-R’s are still $2.50. Once the price of DVD-R media drops I won’t be using DVD MovieFactory at all.

~jr
donp wrote on 7/23/2003, 12:10 PM
That's what I was wanting to find out. As I said previously, the AC3 encoding is of really great inportance to me but the DVD menue authoring is. I had no idea of what DVDA could do so I asked. I have been using Movie Factory 2 for a long time and was wondering how DVDA was better since I use Vegas 4c. I also prefer to do as much with one program as I can and I'm hooked on Vegas DVDA is a goood uprade for me on the forseable future.