Problem with Menu In & Menu Out in Movie Factory 5 +

[cobra jet]

I am trialing Movie Factory 5 + and I am having a problem with Menu In & Menu Out. If I try to use either the Menu In or Menu Out feature it puts a timeing glitch in my preview and finished DVD. It does not seem to matter if I am using a still or moving background. On the second loop through the sound will skip and the thumbnail will go past the point it should. Is this a known problem and is there a fix?
Also, if I purchase the full version will I get more gallery templates and menu effects.

Thanks

[maddrummer3301]

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[cobra jet]

The video file I added in step 1/3 is an MPEG2 file. I did my editing in Premiere 6.5 exported my timeline to an AVI file and encoded it using Main Concepts MPEG Encoder. I only seem to have a problem when I use the menu transitions under the Menu In & Menu Out. This occurs even if I use a JPG file as my background

[maddrummer3301]

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[snoops]

I'm not sure if you are referring to this, but I'll post it again (one last time)...

This refers to MF5 before the service pack, not MF5+:

Adding a menu-in transition with a looping menu will only play the beginning of the background audio and thumbnail clip the first time, while the transition is active.

They do not loop from the start because the segment during the transition is no longer shown. The loop returns to the position after the transition.

So the best result is obtained if the audio is silent (or has an "intro" sound) at the beginning, and actually starts after the menu transition. Then it will start with every loop. A short audio fade-out at the end will often sound better too.

[cobra jet]

Snoops, that sounds like it might be what is going on but I have a question. So I tried to use a simple text menu with a 29 sec mpeg and a 29 second wav file. I set the duration to 29 seconds and it plays & loops fine with the music & video starting at the correct time. The only problem is after the first pass through at about the time the transition would be over I hear a hiccup in the audio. Why does that happen?

[snoops]

I'm not sure I understood, or if you understood what I was trying to say

Please reword the last part, especially exactly where there is a transition (in, out, both).

Maybe you have a completely different issue.

[cobra jet]

Snoops,
First off thank you for helping me with this issue. So I am using one of the “Text Menus” under the gallery. I am using a jpg (or MPEG) file for my background and a wav file as my background. I click the Motion Menu and set it for 29 sec (the same time as my wav file). I select any of the “Menu-In” filters and make sure that Menu-Out is disabled. I click on the preview icon and put a checkmark in “Pre-render menu” and press play. The status bar starts to count up to 100%. When it is done my menu will start to play. The first time through it will play fine. After 29 seconds it will start over again and the music will play again from the beginning as it should. After about 4 seconds I hear a slight pause in the music and then it starts to play again although not from the beginning. I do not understand why this happens if I am using a jpg file. I do have a short audio in and out fad on my wav file to keep it sounding smoother. If I understand you correctly if I want to use a Menu-In filter I will need to make sure that my wav file has a 4 second delay so the second pass will not have this glitch in the sound.

[snoops]

After 29 seconds it will start over again and the music will play again from the beginning

Hey, why doesn't anybody comment and mention that the background audio behavior has changed in the service pack, compared to the previous version?? And that it is broken?

Ignore the previous info about the audio during the menu-in transition being cut when the menu loops after the first run.
With the service pack, the audio now starts from the beginning when looping. But now it is interrupted in the loop!!

So Ulead broke it by "fixing" the behavior with the service pack. As "cobra jet" posted, the audio now skips in the loop because the running audio is interrupted by the loop return.

Previously it was fairly simple to use an audio track that was audible after the menu-in, and it would then loop nicely. Now it's crappy even though it does start from the beginning, because it gets interrupted.

I will need to make sure that my wav file has a 4 second delay so the second pass will not have this glitch in the sound.

That worked previously. But if you do that now, the menu will be silent for the first few seconds on every loop.

[blplhp]

I noticed that cobra jet is having this problem with the "Trial" version of DVD MF5+. Is anyone having this same problem with the full retail boxed version of this software? I just installed the full retail boxed version of this program a few days ago, but have not had the opportunity to use it yet. Currently, I have been using VS10+ for DVD authoring, and I get the same problem with that software, but only on the Main Menu. I don't get any audio abnormalities on the chapter sub-menus.

Thanks.

[blplhp]

snoops,

I have two questions regarding your statement in your first reply to this thread:

Adding a menu-in transition with a looping menu will only play the beginning of the background audio and thumbnail clip the first time, while the transition is active.

They do not loop from the start because the segment during the transition is no longer shown. The loop returns to the position after the transition.

So the best result is obtained if the audio is silent (or has an "intro" sound) at the beginning, and actually starts after the menu transition. Then it will start with every loop. A short audio fade-out at the end will often sound better too.

Question #1 - I assume this audio timing problem can be avoided if you do not choose a menu-in transition? Then everything should loop fine, in sync, all the time?

Question #2 - If you do choose a menu-in transition, and you encounter this delay audio issue, you stated you could silence the audio at the beginning. How do you silence the beginning sound of the audio background clip, other than enabling the fade-in function?

[snoops]

I have two questions regarding your statement in your first reply to this thread:

Ignore the previous info about the audio during the menu-in transition being cut when the menu loops after the first run.
With the service pack, the audio now starts from the beginning when looping. But now it is interrupted in the loop!!

BTW: audio editing with an audio editor, or with a decent video editor that allows audio track export.

[blplhp]

snoops,

You are right. The audio clip loops back to the beginning and it is interrupted (a hiccup) about 4 seconds into the loop. This problem even exists on VS10+. It occurs in the main menu and in the chapter sub-menu. If you don't use a menu-in transition, the hiccup goes away, audio loop plays fine. But as soon as you select a menu-in transition again, the interruption occurs again about 4 seconds into the loop. Strange that it occurs in both VS10+ and in DVD MF5+.

[snoops]

1. The menu audio interruption problem with the MF5 update (and MF5+) is because the audio now loops earlier than the menu video, when there is a menu-in transition.
So menu-in transitions are not really usable anymore, because the DVD gives the impression that it is broken (skipping) or badly authored.
Unless you're lucky and your chosen audio happens to get cut at a point that is not as noticable.

But there more problems in the MF5 service pack:

2. The audio fade out setting is now ignored if there is a menu-in transition. Maybe this was a lazy shortcut instead of implementing the changes properly. So now I see no way to achieve a smooth audio loop with a menu-in transition. I hope this is not the final product behavior!

3. If you keep the MF5 project open and go back to change the background audio settings (like fiddling around, trying to find a menu length and audio trim that don't interrupt as noticably with menu-in), the new menu sometimes behaves very strangely, like audio missing for several seconds, even after saving. If MF5 is closed and started again, the menu renders without the silence when the project is loaded. Strange stuff going on.

[blplhp]

Thanks snoops,

So I guess the advice for now is to not use a menu-in transition at all (for VS10+, MF5 w/SP1 and MF5+) until Ulead provides another service pack or patch to fix this problem.