menu problem

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:31 pm

I have a slide show with 4 vsp files added. The first one is set as an introductory video. When I use the preview, all is well. The first slide show goes & then my main menu is presented. When I create an iso file or video dvd file. Neither of these present the introductory file first, but go straight to the main menu. I think this worked at one time but can not see what I might have changed. I am using videostudeo 11 and XP and creating a video ntsc file.

Any idea of what I could be doing wrong?
Bob

Post by **Ken Berry** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:41 pm

You've left out some important bits of information -- quite apart from still not having filled in your system specifications.

First, can we assumed that when you insert your video in the burning timeline, you ticked the little box to the top left of that timeline saying 'Use first clip as introductory video'?

Next, did you just insert .vsp files in the burning timeline, or had you, in the editing phase, first converted them to DVD-compatible mpeg-2s (which is, of course, our recommended workflow)? While it is of course quite possible to use .vsp files in the burning module (there is after all a button specifically for tis), people often have problems when they do. That is why we have the recommended workflow as a fall-back.

Was there anything special about the first .vsp in terms of the format of material used in it? Have you actually tried first converting it to video before inserting it in the burning module?

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:04 pm

Sorry I¡¦m running Xp with SP 2 & VS 11. Also my PC is a 1.86 GHz with 2 GB of Ram. I have 121 GB of free space on 1 drive & 166 GB free on the other. I have never followed the recommended procedure of creating mpeg 2¡¦s first. My shows are strictly images from my digital camera with a few short movies thrown in.

I create & test the vsp files first then add them to a blank file in the burning time line to create my final show. This gives me more flexibility in my main presentation. I do use Photoimpact to create special menus, but in this case because of my problems, am using text menu that came with system.

There is nothing special about the first video and they all work when I do not check the use first video as introductory??? (Sorry don¡¦t remember exact wording & I am currently rendering a VS 10 version to see if problem still exists)

I have been using this method successful for several years but this is the first time I have tried the intro movie. If I can¡¦t get it to work I¡¦ll have to add it on the end.

Bob

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:37 pm

Okay VS 10 was no different. I have now created test project.
test1.vsp, 1 5 second image with title
test2.vsp, 2 2.5 second images with one title
test 1 & 2 converted to mpg 2
testAll.vsp created and in share, create disk has above 2 video files added.
first is used as introductory video
In preview mode introductory is presented then main menu, in VIDEO_TS introductory is not displayed but goes straight to main menu
All files created with

NTSC drop frame (29.97 fps)
MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-NTSC), 4:3

quality 100
Variable 8000 kbps NTSC DVD
Video format MPEG 2
Audio format LPCM

Now does anyone have a suggestion?

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:58 pm

Bob Hughes wrote:... I have never followed the recommended procedure of creating mpeg 2¡¦s first. .....

Bob Hughes wrote:.....Now does anyone have a suggestion?

You probably will not do it anyway as you appear to be aware of the recommended procedure but choose to ignore it.

I would first follow the advice given here:
Suggested work flow by SJJ1805 for Video Creation
and also here:
Authoring a DVD

and here:
Please click here -->

so that we can then view your system specifications.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:01 pm

I am not at all sure what you mean by this:

test 1 & 2 converted to mpg 2
testAll.vsp created and in share, create disk has above 2 video files added.

What does testAll.vsp consist of if it does not already contain test1.mpg and test2.mpg? Are test1.mpg and test2.mpg added *separately* to the burning module timeline in addition to testAll.vsp?

And you are still not confirming that you ticked the box above the burning timeline to make the first clip the introductory video. You say 'first is used as introductory video' but that appears to refer to testAll.vsp rather than to one of the mpegs... I am beginning to wonder if VS11 will not accept a .vsp as being a valid "clip" for the purposes of an introductory video. Previous versions might have done, but other changes have been made in VS11 which distinguish it from earlier versions' operations (including, I might note, the dropping of use of .vob files as video files, which had been a useful addition to VS10)...

In other words, why are you so unwilling to even just test the idea of only using converted mpegs in the burning module, with no .vsp file involved at all? No one else seems to be coming up with any other useful suggestions for you, so surely it is worth a go?

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:41 pm

Wow, we don't seem to be communicating very well.

I have created 2 separate mpg2 files test1.mpg & test2.mpg as in previous post.
I then open a new vsp file (testall) and go to share, Create Disc.
Then under add media I use "add video files" to add the above 2 mpeg files

The first one is checked as an introductory clip.

So I believe I am following the recommended procedure

I even added them in the main time line & tried it this way with still no success.

I have now given up on the idea of using an introductory clip. If it doesn't work in this test I wonder if it works at all.

Bob

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:01 am

OK. Sorry that that misunderstanding. When you said "testAll.vsp created and in share, create disk has above 2 video files added" I thought you meant that you had inserted the testAll vsp file into the burning module, and then added the two mpgs as well. My confusion was based on the fact that if for instance you had anything in the Editing timeline when you created the testAll project it would have been automatically placed in the burning timeline if you had used File > Save As to create testAll. But I am now assuming that after creating test2.mpg, you went File > New Project and then named the new project testAll -- is that correct?

(In fact, you don't have to actually name a new project -- the objective, once you have created the mpegs in the Editor, is merely to clear the editing timeline, so that once you open the burning module, nothing is *automatically* inserted in the burning timeline... Going to File > New Project will achieve that, but it is not necessary to give the new project a name.)

Anyway, in a sense, that is by the by. As an experiment, I just opened VS11.5+ and, without touching the Editor, I simply selected Share > Create Disc > DVD. The burning module opened with an empty timeline. I simply went to the Video Studio sample videos and chose one at random and inserted that in the burning timeline. I then ticked the 'Use first clip as introductory video' box and a big white figure '1' on a red background appeared in the top left corner of the selected clip. I then added three more randomly chosen clips and added them to the burning timeline.

I then built a quick menu. Then I clicked on the Preview remote control icon. As advertised, the first clip started playing immediately, and then the next item was the menu.

So on my computer at least, it does work...

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:28 am

Regarding the bit about test.vsp
I think here the OP is in fact following another of my recommendations
which is to start a new project (to clear the timeline) and then immediately save the project under a name (test.vsp) so that if for any reason the authoring stage has to be re-opened at a later date then any menus etc that have been set up will be intact.

If you have marked the first video as "First Play" then clearly there is a problem. Could you give as much information as you can regarding the "first play" mpg file
duration, bit rates, dimensions, audio format.

Thank you.

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:01 pm

Wow finally. Yes I did exactly what Ken did except use my 2 video files. the first is created from 1 image & the second from 2. These are just short test files. I can create these mpegs in any format u think would work. I can find very little written about slide shows so have just been doing my own thing for the past few years. currently this is what VS11 says about each file.

File 1
File format NTSC DVD
File size: 3884 KB
Duration 5 seconds
Video
Type MPEG 2 Video Lower field First
Total Frames 150
Attributes 24 bits 720 * 480
Rate 29.97 f/s
Data rate variable bit rate (Max 8000 kbps)
Audio
Type LPCM
240,240 samples
attributes 48000 Hz 16 bit Stereo

file 2
File format NTSC DVD
File size: 7924 KB
Duration 10 seconds
Video
Type MPEG 2 Video Lower field First
Total Frames 300
Attributes 24 bits 720 * 480
Rate 29.97 f/s
Data rate variable bit rate (Max 8000 kbps)
Audio
Type LPCM
240,240 samples
attributes 48000 Hz 16 bit Stereo

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:39 pm

Guess what! I think we got caught up in not seeing the forest for the trees. I did say show worked in "Preview" mode. One question no one asked, is what viewer I was using!!
I have been using VLC media player because it also views iso files. It apparently doesn't see the introductory film.

I was sure I had tried WinDVD but I guess not, because it & PowerDVD both show the intro.

I am back to my original file using VSP files and all is well (well almost) I seem to have lost my chapters in second show, but thats another story.

Sorry to take up your time. Thanks for all your help fellows.

Bob

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:20 am

I thought I¡¦d follow up with a short explanation of why I don¡¦t use mpeg 2 files. It gives me more flex ability in reorganizing slides, short movies and background music. I spend a lot of time doing this & see no advantage in converting each chapter to a mpeg file. I suspect this step is more necessary when dealing with videos. I set chapter pointers on specific images, which help me organize the slides. A difficulty with chapter pointers is they are not included in the ripple editing.
I just found another thing causing my recent problem. I did not want the play all button, so I deleted it with photoimpact. Doing this caused my show to stop after the introduction.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:35 am

Bob Hughes wrote:....... I did not want the play all button, so I deleted it with photoimpact. Doing this caused my show to stop after the introduction.

It is safer to check any modifications made to a DVD Menu - or to check a home made one from scratch by using the DVD Menu plug in.

If you have not done so already you can download the plug in here:
http://www.ulead.com/pi/plugin.htm

PhotoImpact X3 will have the DVD Menu plug in integrated in the program.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:09 am

I am glad that it all eventually worked out. I can't resist one final comment, though, on your use of .vsp files, or at least your reason for not using mpeg-2 files. And that is that, regardless of what you might think you are doing, those project files are going to get converted into DVD compatible mpeg-2 at some point or other, and it is going to take exactly the same amount of time to convert them, regardless of where the conversion takes place. And that applies whether they are videos in some other format to start with, or slideshows.

In other words, under our suggested workflow, after editing, you convert your project to DVD compatible mpeg-2 in the Editor itself. Then in effect you forget about the .vsp for a while, open the burning module and insert those DVD compliant files. If the 'Do not convert compliant mpeg files' box is ticked in the middle icon in the bottom left of the burning screen is ticked, then no further conversion of those files will take place.

As I have already said, you are perfectly at liberty instead to use the vsp files in the burning module. But once you build your menu (with or without the Play button!!

) and press the Burn button, a complex process starts of processing the video, converting the menu to video, multiplexing the video and audio and of course the building of the .vob and other DVD files, and the burning of the disc itself. As I say, this is all a complex process in its own right but to it you are adding a further complex process of converting those .vsp first to mpeg-2 -- a conversion which will take the same time as it would in the Editor. For some people (quite a few actually), this is all a bit much for their computers, which can't handle the demand and stop somewhere along the way. That is why the suggested workflow was developed -- to even out the demands on the computer resources somewhat or indeed lighten it in the burning stage.

So if your method works, fine -- continue using what you are used to. But if it falls over at some stage, just be aware that there is an alternative which might make it work again!

Bob Hughes · Post by **Bob Hughes** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:13 am

Thanks, Ive just installed it. Could you also point me to where I can find about changing Button hover colours or images. Currently every thing changes to yellow, including my beer mug highlight image.

Bob