Trying out the software. I have 8 menu items which take up a lot of the screen. The background image is a avi with text explaining some things about the DVD. That AVI lasts about 40 seconds.
If a viewer clicks a menu item, and then returns to the main menu, the
avi for the menu background restarts. How can I get it to keep going from where it left off. OR
Is there another solution other than 2 menu screens....?
Need advice on how to do this.
You can't.animator wrote: How can I get it to keep going from where it left off...
Maybe you can put the explanation-text in the "First Play" title. When it's done, the main menu will be displayed. (i.e. The FBI warning on a commercial DVD is the "first-play" item.) This would allow the viewer to press the >>| button to skip the text... if you don't check the "Force First Play" option.
The viewer could also fast-forward or rewind... you can't do that with a menu either. I think you could add a menu item to re-play the "first play" title... but I haven't tried it. Your idea of 2 "main menus" might work. (Is that what you mean?) ...If you can set-up the playlist and links in a way that works for you. I assume that you want two almost-identical menus; One with the background video, and one without. Just make sure it's clear to the viewer how to get back to the text-menu (i.e. A link from the non-text menu). The user can get-around your sequencing, by pressing the "main menu", or "menu" keys on his remote, but this is probably OK.
Or, make just put one button on your top menu (the one with the text explanation) that says Skip This or Next. That button would jump to the "real" menu to select one of the 8 choices. That one button could also be the default button, so it would go to the next menu if the viewer doesn't do anything.
In general, there is nothing wrong with multiple menus and multiple "tree-structures", as long as the "flow" is logical. I've made several concert DVDs with 3 or 4 menus each. Most of them have a top menu with two choices; Play Concert and Select Songs. If the viewer chooses Select Songs, he gets the first 5 or 6 songs along with a Back, and Next button. Along this menu-path, there may be a string of 2 or 3 Select-Song menus. The last menu will have the same Back button, but the Next button will be replaced with Play Concert.
If you want to make it easier to navigate a complex menu structure, you can put a Main Menu button , and Play Program button on every sub-menu.
OK, forget about that first-play stuff. You cannot make a menu item to it... you can't re-play the first-play video .
I did try-out something else last nignt... I made a one-button main menu that has a one-second timeout. That's where the DVD starts. The only purpose of this "fake" main menu is to use it's playlist to play the first title, and then goes to another "real" menu.
In your case, the first title (not the "first-play") would be the text directions. You could use a black backgrond with hidden default button in the one-second menu. Hmmm, I didn't try setting the one-second "main" menu duration to zero... I wonder if that would work????
I did try-out something else last nignt... I made a one-button main menu that has a one-second timeout. That's where the DVD starts. The only purpose of this "fake" main menu is to use it's playlist to play the first title, and then goes to another "real" menu.
In your case, the first title (not the "first-play") would be the text directions. You could use a black backgrond with hidden default button in the one-second menu. Hmmm, I didn't try setting the one-second "main" menu duration to zero... I wonder if that would work????