I don't see where this issue has been addressed...
I've created a movie in VideoStudio v. 11.5plus. I want to make a custom menu for the DVD. No matter what I do, I can't avoid getting one of the default templates -- even if I use my own background image. Once burned and I try to play the DVD, when I advance the DVD past my custom menu background, it displays a "ghost" image of the template that I DIDN'T select. I then have to hit play again to play the movie.
Q #1: Is this a known bug in menu creation and if so, is there a workaround?
Alternatively, what I'd really like to do is burn the movie on my MAC using a program where I can control the menu to greater detail -- without losing big screen resolution.
Q #2: What is the output setting I would use to save my movie so that it can be burned by another program? I've tried 1080 wmv, then converting it to mov or Mp4, but I lose resolution. The settings for saving as an Mp4 are for a mobile device and aren't customizable above 640 x 480 that I can see.
Can you guys help?
Many thanks in advance!!!
Gina
Possible menu bug VS 11 plus -- workaround?
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Ken Berry
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Re Q1: did you actually design your own template in PhotoImpact (the only program with the relevant format for templates for Ulead products)? If not, and you simply changed the layout of one of the existing menu templates, did you adjust the 'Background Image/Video' box on the edit tab (Gallery/Edit) to apply your own background image to all pages of the menu i.e. main menu and chapter menu pages? If not, then any subsidiary menus will display the original default background in the template.
re Q2: if your intention is to burn a DVD, then regardless of whether it is on a PC or a Mac, it MUST be in DVD-compatible mpeg-2 format. No ifs, no buts... That is the international video DVD standard. Converting to any other format will eventually entail a reconversion back to mpeg-2 by any burning program, PC or Mac, and those conversions will all lead to cumulative loss of quality.
The only exception is a DivX disc, which can be either a CD or DVD. Excellent quality and small files. But in effect you burn the video to them as data files, and they are to all intents and purposes data discs, not video discs per se. And then you require a stand-alone DVD player rated to be able to detect the DivX format on a disc and play it back. Fortunately, there are more and more of such players on the market these days. But if you intend to distribute your videos widely to family and friends, they too would of course need to have a DivX rated player to be able to see such a disc, or else install the DivX codec on their computers and watch the video there.
re Q2: if your intention is to burn a DVD, then regardless of whether it is on a PC or a Mac, it MUST be in DVD-compatible mpeg-2 format. No ifs, no buts... That is the international video DVD standard. Converting to any other format will eventually entail a reconversion back to mpeg-2 by any burning program, PC or Mac, and those conversions will all lead to cumulative loss of quality.
The only exception is a DivX disc, which can be either a CD or DVD. Excellent quality and small files. But in effect you burn the video to them as data files, and they are to all intents and purposes data discs, not video discs per se. And then you require a stand-alone DVD player rated to be able to detect the DivX format on a disc and play it back. Fortunately, there are more and more of such players on the market these days. But if you intend to distribute your videos widely to family and friends, they too would of course need to have a DivX rated player to be able to see such a disc, or else install the DivX codec on their computers and watch the video there.
Ken Berry
Hi Ken --
Thanks so much for the speedy post.
Perhaps I've overlooked a selection in the Ulead menu creation process. I'll double check that, thanks.
I'd like to know more about burning an appropriate resolution mpeg, Ken. iDVD won't read an MPG-x directly, so it's frustrating. I've got Final Cut, so I'm facing having to recreate my Ulead movie in that program. The distribution is beyond family an friends, it's a project for our National Parks. The result needs to be the best and most compatible I can create.
It's 10pm in the San Francisco bay area, so I hope you'll check this thread again tomorrow? I'd appreciate your help.
BTW, my husband lived in Canberra 1965 to 1968. I love to hear the great stories about your home. I'm going to ask him to tell his stories again
Thanks for that, too.
Best,
Gina
Thanks so much for the speedy post.
Perhaps I've overlooked a selection in the Ulead menu creation process. I'll double check that, thanks.
I'd like to know more about burning an appropriate resolution mpeg, Ken. iDVD won't read an MPG-x directly, so it's frustrating. I've got Final Cut, so I'm facing having to recreate my Ulead movie in that program. The distribution is beyond family an friends, it's a project for our National Parks. The result needs to be the best and most compatible I can create.
It's 10pm in the San Francisco bay area, so I hope you'll check this thread again tomorrow? I'd appreciate your help.
BTW, my husband lived in Canberra 1965 to 1968. I love to hear the great stories about your home. I'm going to ask him to tell his stories again
Thanks for that, too. Best,
Gina
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Ken Berry
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I am afraid I really don't know anything about Final Cut Pro -- except that it is meant to be great! I certainly did not know that it could not take DVD-compatible mpeg-2 video. Will it take DV/AVI using the .avi extension? (I know Macs have their own extension for DV format, namely .dv, but it would obviously be handy if they could also take it using the extension .avi... After all, Firewire was originally invented for the Mac.)
But then again, that begs a question which you have not answered, namely what is the format of your original video and where did it come from? If it is from a camera, what is the make, model and format? Either a standard definition mini DV camera or a high definition one using the HDV format (and also filming on mini DV cassettes) would be ideal in this regard, as both would transfer in DV format. The HDV one of course would be down-converting from high def to standard def format for that. But then again, you are not intending to burn to a Blu-Ray high definition format anyway.
As for high quality DVD-compatible mpeg-2 settings, those would be for NTSC -- 720 x 480, and a bitrate of 8000 kbps or above. 8000 kbps will allow one hour of video on a single layer DVD if you use high quality LPCM audio, or about 10 minutes or so more video if you use one of the compressed audio formats -- preferably Dolby since mpeg layer 2 audio is not part of the NTSC DVD standard. Even so, most modern NTSC DVD players these days will play it. But if you want to guarantee the widest compatibility, it would be better to use either LPCM or Dolby audio.
A final word needs to be said about Field Order. Since we don't yet know the origin of your video, we don't know what its Field Order is. If it came from a standard def mini DV camera, is is downconverted from a HDV camera to DV format, it will be Lower Field First. Just about everything else will be Upper Field First (hard disk camera, mini DVD camera or HDV camera being captured in HDV format. I don't know for certain, but I think AVCHD cameras also use Upper Field First). Anyway, with one of your original files in either the VS timeline or library pane, right click and it will give you the Properties, including the Field Order.
The golden rule of video editing is that you should use the same Field Order throughout a project, up to and including burning it to disc. And you should avoid if at all possible mixing Upper and Lower Field First video in a single project, because one or the other will suffer if you do. Jerky video and jagged lines on vertical columns like buildings, light poles and trees are common defects, especially if there is fast motion or zooming and panning involved.
Oh and one final final word -- again relating to widest playback compatibility -- you might want to burn at a relatively slow speed. Many of us here find that burning a blank DVD at its top rated speed can produce discs than might skip a bit in some players. I personally tend never to burn a disc above 4x speed but then again, I tend not to use discs rated at above 12x anyway. Higher rated discs these days go up to 20x or even 22x, and probably won't offer a setting as low as 4x. But the idea with them would be to use a burning speed of 8x or even 10x. I should also add that at least one of our senior members says this is all nonsense, and that he regularly burns at high speed with great success. Anyway, that's a matter you will need to settle for yourself. But at least you are now aware of the speed issue!
P.S. thanks for the kind words about Canberra. I suspect your husband would no longer recognise the place! I only came here myself in 1974, and in the time I have lived here, it has changed enormously even for me! But suffice it to say, I still love it...
But then again, that begs a question which you have not answered, namely what is the format of your original video and where did it come from? If it is from a camera, what is the make, model and format? Either a standard definition mini DV camera or a high definition one using the HDV format (and also filming on mini DV cassettes) would be ideal in this regard, as both would transfer in DV format. The HDV one of course would be down-converting from high def to standard def format for that. But then again, you are not intending to burn to a Blu-Ray high definition format anyway.
As for high quality DVD-compatible mpeg-2 settings, those would be for NTSC -- 720 x 480, and a bitrate of 8000 kbps or above. 8000 kbps will allow one hour of video on a single layer DVD if you use high quality LPCM audio, or about 10 minutes or so more video if you use one of the compressed audio formats -- preferably Dolby since mpeg layer 2 audio is not part of the NTSC DVD standard. Even so, most modern NTSC DVD players these days will play it. But if you want to guarantee the widest compatibility, it would be better to use either LPCM or Dolby audio.
A final word needs to be said about Field Order. Since we don't yet know the origin of your video, we don't know what its Field Order is. If it came from a standard def mini DV camera, is is downconverted from a HDV camera to DV format, it will be Lower Field First. Just about everything else will be Upper Field First (hard disk camera, mini DVD camera or HDV camera being captured in HDV format. I don't know for certain, but I think AVCHD cameras also use Upper Field First). Anyway, with one of your original files in either the VS timeline or library pane, right click and it will give you the Properties, including the Field Order.
The golden rule of video editing is that you should use the same Field Order throughout a project, up to and including burning it to disc. And you should avoid if at all possible mixing Upper and Lower Field First video in a single project, because one or the other will suffer if you do. Jerky video and jagged lines on vertical columns like buildings, light poles and trees are common defects, especially if there is fast motion or zooming and panning involved.
Oh and one final final word -- again relating to widest playback compatibility -- you might want to burn at a relatively slow speed. Many of us here find that burning a blank DVD at its top rated speed can produce discs than might skip a bit in some players. I personally tend never to burn a disc above 4x speed but then again, I tend not to use discs rated at above 12x anyway. Higher rated discs these days go up to 20x or even 22x, and probably won't offer a setting as low as 4x. But the idea with them would be to use a burning speed of 8x or even 10x. I should also add that at least one of our senior members says this is all nonsense, and that he regularly burns at high speed with great success. Anyway, that's a matter you will need to settle for yourself. But at least you are now aware of the speed issue!
P.S. thanks for the kind words about Canberra. I suspect your husband would no longer recognise the place! I only came here myself in 1974, and in the time I have lived here, it has changed enormously even for me! But suffice it to say, I still love it...
Ken Berry
Hi Ken --
1974, I was just moving back from Hawaii to San Francisco where I attended college. Every place has changed and it seems so fast. It's nice to love where you live. I grew up across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, CA and live here now. I'm imprinted.
~
Ken, I've revisited the MPEG-2 format for saving my movie. I get an "unknown file type" when trying to import the saved file into iDVD, an "unknown file" when trying to place in Final Cut or Quicktime Pro.
All of the above programs state that they accept MPEG-1, 2 and 4 formats.
I've selected "Create Video File>DVD/VCD/SVCD/MPEG>NTSC MPEG2" to get an .mpg that none of the other DVD programs above can recognize.
If I choose MP4 or Export to a Mobile Device to create an .mp4, then it all works fine, programs understand each other.
More info: This is a simple slideshow, high resolution images and an MP3 audio soundtrack. Total running time is approx 7.5 minutes in length.
Thanks for any help in selecting the appropriate export format for this small, but sincere and highly visible presentation.
Gina
1974, I was just moving back from Hawaii to San Francisco where I attended college. Every place has changed and it seems so fast. It's nice to love where you live. I grew up across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, CA and live here now. I'm imprinted.
~
Ken, I've revisited the MPEG-2 format for saving my movie. I get an "unknown file type" when trying to import the saved file into iDVD, an "unknown file" when trying to place in Final Cut or Quicktime Pro.
All of the above programs state that they accept MPEG-1, 2 and 4 formats.
I've selected "Create Video File>DVD/VCD/SVCD/MPEG>NTSC MPEG2" to get an .mpg that none of the other DVD programs above can recognize.
If I choose MP4 or Export to a Mobile Device to create an .mp4, then it all works fine, programs understand each other.
More info: This is a simple slideshow, high resolution images and an MP3 audio soundtrack. Total running time is approx 7.5 minutes in length.
Thanks for any help in selecting the appropriate export format for this small, but sincere and highly visible presentation.
Gina
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Ken Berry
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This Ghost Image ---- is it a small rectangular picture representing the original DVD Template before you altered it?
If so what you have done is in PhotoImpact you have turned the IMG_Template on. Rather than plough your way through the tutorial
Tutorial: PhotoImpact: Creating DVD Menu from scratch instead take a look at this one DVD Text only Navigation buttons (PhotoImpact) and look for the IMG_TEMPLATE in my screen shots.
If so what you have done is in PhotoImpact you have turned the IMG_Template on. Rather than plough your way through the tutorial
Tutorial: PhotoImpact: Creating DVD Menu from scratch instead take a look at this one DVD Text only Navigation buttons (PhotoImpact) and look for the IMG_TEMPLATE in my screen shots.
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Ken Berry
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Thanks for the clip properties. Easy when you know how, eh?
Apart from it not mentioning what Field Order it uses (Upper Field First or Lower Field First), those properties look rock solid, standard mpeg-2 properties suitable for burning to a DVD. Heck, being a slideshow, it could even be Frame Based. And I can't believe Final Cut or any other program would have any difficulty with either Upper or Lower Field First or Frame Based video. It's absolutely standard. I also would have difficulty believing it would have any trouble with Dolby 5:1 audio...
And after all an mpeg-2 is an mpeg-2 is an mpeg-2 in terms of its properties for any program to burn to a DVD.
So I am even more at a loss. The only other thing I can think of is that some sneaky corruption might be in the file. However, proving that is easier said than done. Does the file play in any other program, like Windows Media Player or PowerDVD or WinDVD? Or more to the point does it play in any software player on your Mac?
Apart from it not mentioning what Field Order it uses (Upper Field First or Lower Field First), those properties look rock solid, standard mpeg-2 properties suitable for burning to a DVD. Heck, being a slideshow, it could even be Frame Based. And I can't believe Final Cut or any other program would have any difficulty with either Upper or Lower Field First or Frame Based video. It's absolutely standard. I also would have difficulty believing it would have any trouble with Dolby 5:1 audio...
And after all an mpeg-2 is an mpeg-2 is an mpeg-2 in terms of its properties for any program to burn to a DVD.
So I am even more at a loss. The only other thing I can think of is that some sneaky corruption might be in the file. However, proving that is easier said than done. Does the file play in any other program, like Windows Media Player or PowerDVD or WinDVD? Or more to the point does it play in any software player on your Mac?
Ken Berry
Hi thanks for replying.
I don't have PhotoImpact.
I contacted Corel tech support via phone --this was awhile back-- and went over the selections to use my own background image. I was stumped with this problem as I've been able to create semi-custom menus in previous versions of VS. Tech support got the same result --
I'm playing my custom background menu.
I press play.
The next screen is the full page menu from a stock template -- usually the red one.
Press play again and my movie plays.
Perhaps I could go back and look at all this again, however, ideally, I'd like to create a min 720 x 480 movie that I can burn to a DVD using a program other than VideoStudio.
Can you help me with this ideal option?
I don't have PhotoImpact.
I contacted Corel tech support via phone --this was awhile back-- and went over the selections to use my own background image. I was stumped with this problem as I've been able to create semi-custom menus in previous versions of VS. Tech support got the same result --
I'm playing my custom background menu.
I press play.
The next screen is the full page menu from a stock template -- usually the red one.
Press play again and my movie plays.
Perhaps I could go back and look at all this again, however, ideally, I'd like to create a min 720 x 480 movie that I can burn to a DVD using a program other than VideoStudio.
Can you help me with this ideal option?
