A Few General Questions about MovieFactory

[leprechaun]

Hi everyone!

I downloaded the demo for moviefactory 3 a couple of days ago and I like it a lot but I have a few questions before I procede to buy it.

#1: what's the difference between VCD and SVCD? Which one should i use (I only have a CD burner, not a DVD burner)

#2: Is there a place I can download more templates for my menus?

#3: I burned a test CD with a menu and two movies and played it. It open fine but when I tried to select the movie with the number pad, nothing happened. I don't really like the number pad navigation; is there any way to use the traditional left/right arrow keys and then enter when the wanted movie is selected?

#4: Why does motion menu not work on VCD? Is there any way to make it work?

#5: Is there a way to make a type of menu that only has selectable TEXT on the main menu (so there could be let's say 3 categories, let's say Special Features, All Movies, and Final Production) and then have the thumbnail clips inside of the main links?

Thanks so much!!! I really hope some of these questions can be answered so I can buy this soon

[GeorgeW]

Hi everyone!

I downloaded the demo for moviefactory 3 a couple of days ago and I like it a lot but I have a few questions before I procede to buy it.

#1: what's the difference between VCD and SVCD? Which one should i use (I only have a CD burner, not a DVD burner)
Try this link: http://www.videohelp.com/vcd

#2: Is there a place I can download more templates for my menus?
Download the DVD WS Trial, and VideoStudio Trials, and you should be able to get a few more templates. But you can really make your own by using your own background images, and changing the layout of the menus.

#3: I burned a test CD with a menu and two movies and played it. It open fine but when I tried to select the movie with the number pad, nothing happened. I don't really like the number pad navigation; is there any way to use the traditional left/right arrow keys and then enter when the wanted movie is selected?
VCD and SVCD use the number pad for chapter selection. You have to go to DVD in order to use the navigation controls you want.

#4: Why does motion menu not work on VCD? Is there any way to make it work?
It's not standard to have motion menus for VCD or SVCD (it can be done, but isn't normally done because VCD and SVCD limit the amount of video on a CD-R anyway, you don't want to take away from that). DVD Burners and media have dropped significantly -- I saw a 4x burner with 50 DVD-R's for about $25.00 a few weeks ago (much better quality than VCD and SVCD).

#5: Is there a way to make a type of menu that only has selectable TEXT on the main menu (so there could be let's say 3 categories, let's say Special Features, All Movies, and Final Production) and then have the thumbnail clips inside of the main links?
DVD Workshop will let you setup TEXT menus. But DVD MovieFactory 3.x only uses Thumbnails (I'm not sure about MovieFactory 4.0 -- just released).

Thanks so much!!! I really hope some of these questions can be answered so I can buy this soon

[htchien]

#1: what's the difference between VCD and SVCD? Which one should i use (I only have a CD burner, not a DVD burner)

Please check the link George provided for the differences.

http://www.videohelp.com/vcd
http://www.videohelp.com/svcd

#2: Is there a place I can download more templates for my menus?

You can get some from http://www.ulead.com/download/freedownload.htm

I heart that Ulead might provide more free DVD templates in that link, you can check it regulary.

If you have bought Ulead PhotoImpact 8 or later, you can download the DVD Menu Plug-in for PhotoImpact to create/edit the menu templates for any Ulead DVD products.

#3: I burned a test CD with a menu and two movies and played it. It open fine but when I tried to select the movie with the number pad, nothing happened. I don't really like the number pad navigation; is there any way to use the traditional left/right arrow keys and then enter when the wanted movie is selected?

I think George also asnwered this question.

#4: Why does motion menu not work on VCD? Is there any way to make it work?

Because motion menu takes up spaces, and CD space is not much. And motion menu is not in the standard of VCD.

#5: Is there a way to make a type of menu that only has selectable TEXT on the main menu (so there could be let's say 3 categories, let's say Special Features, All Movies, and Final Production) and then have the thumbnail clips inside of the main links?

In DVD MovieFactory 3 or earlier you cannot have text menu buttons, but in DVD MovieFactory 4 you can have text menu buttons and you can edit the menu freely such as resize the menu button size and move the menu button to any place you wish it to be appeared.

Thanks so much!!! I really hope some of these questions can be answered so I can buy this soon

If you buy DVD MovieFactory now, it will be 4.0, not 3.0.

For more information about DVD MovieFactory 4, you can check http://www.ulead.com/dmf/runme.htm .

Hope this helps.

H.T.

[leprechaun]

Thank you all for the answers! They helped a lot! I plan on buying MovieFactory 4 and a DVD burner ASAP. I just have a question: if I will be only making DVDs with this software (not editing movies etc etc), which one should I buy: Standard or Disc Creator?

Does anyone have any reccommendations for a REALLY cheap DVD burner (like the one mentioned, but with a link or product name) that doesn't necessarily have to be fast, but good quality?

Like which version does the demo use? Because I would like which ever gives the most options for creating DVDs.

Also, if I use the "download" option for buying my software, is there somethign that can assure me that I can get the software again if my system crashes or something? Like will it give me a key that I can use to unlock the demo version or something in case my computer crashes?

And one last clarification: with DVD's i WILL be able to navigate with the regular menu buttons, correct?

Thanks!

[plasma_video]

Does the PhotoImpact plugin also work for Movie Factory 3.5 and 4.0? The information on the website only mentions DVD Workshop 2.2.

Thanks.

Tom

[SciFiFan]

Does anyone have any reccommendations for a REALLY cheap DVD burner (like the one mentioned, but with a link or product name) that doesn't necessarily have to be fast, but good quality?

(Cheap but good quality) This sounds like an oxymoron. I wouldn't skimp on the DVD burner. I'd go with one that has good reviews and handles different brands of DVD well. They aren't that expensive now, especially the single layer ones.

[SciFiFan]

which one should I buy: Standard or Disc Creator?

I'd go with DC.

Also, if I use the "download" option for buying my software, is there somethign that can assure me that I can get the software again if my system crashes or something? Like will it give me a key that I can use to unlock the demo version or something in case my computer crashes?

Can you spell 'backup' *grin*. You do have a DVD/CD burner now... Just copy the download files to a CD/DVD.

And one last clarification: with DVD's i WILL be able to navigate with the regular menu buttons, correct?
Thanks!

Yes, DMF3DC uses thumbnails to navigate and it will allow you to navigate with the arrow keys on the remote. I hear that DMF3DC has much more flexability in the menus you can create.

[htchien]

if I use the "download" option for buying my software, is there somethign that can assure me that I can get the software again if my system crashes or something?

Yes, you can check Ulead Customer Service FAQ for this issue.

Like will it give me a key that I can use to unlock the demo version or something in case my computer crashes?

No, you will not get the key. After you put the order to Ulead, Ulead will send you a confirmation e-mail which contains a link to let you download the product. You should keep the e-mail with you in case you need to re-download the program.

Hope this helps.

H.T.

[htchien]

Does the PhotoImpact plugin also work for Movie Factory 3.5 and 4.0? The information on the website only mentions DVD Workshop 2.2.

The plug-in is officially for DVD WorkShop, but actually it can be used for all Ulead DVD products.

Regards,
H.T.

[leprechaun]

Thanks again for all of the quick answers. Does anyone else here experience consistent downtimes with these ulead forums? They are down for me almost every hour! Does this usually happen?

About the flexibility with menus, it does allow the user to create menus that start out with text and then thumbnails once the text menus are selected?

(Like have "View all Movies"- this would bring up a menu with thumbnails of all movies on the DVD, "Special features"- this woud bring up a menu with thumbnails of all movies on the DVD, etc) Is that possible?

Lastly, with menus in MF4, is it possible to have a continuous song playing in the menu, even when the next page or level in the menu is opened (ie, if the viewer opens the menu, the music plays, and when the viewer presses the button to go to the next page in the menu, the same music CONTINUES to play (not start over)?

Would it just be easier to do most of this if i got DVD Workshop Express? It's the same price anyways... Would DVD Workshop Express recognize WMV files and basically do EVERYTHING that MovieFactory Disc Creator does and more?

PS: All of these questions are assuming I am using a DVD, not a VCD

Thanks!

[GeorgeW]

Lastly, with menus in MF4, is it possible to have a continuous song playing in the menu, even when the next page or level in the menu is opened (ie, if the viewer opens the menu, the music plays, and when the viewer presses the button to go to the next page in the menu, the same music CONTINUES to play (not start over)?

I don't have MovieFactory 4.0 yet, but afaik you cannot have the same song play (continuously) while switching between menus...