Menu Preview

hjsaka · Post by **hjsaka** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 4:09 am

Can anyone tell me why I can't preview my Menu functions In the "burn" process? I created a Main menu and a Chapter Menu. The screen tells me I can preview how my menus will work before I actually burn it on to a disc. I click the "remote" and it takes me to a large "remote device". I click the play button but nothing happens, other then a "blue" progress line flashes for a split second.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 4:36 am

First, I am not sure what you mean by a 'large "remote device"'... Can you give more details? It should be just a preview screen roughly the same size as the preview screen in the main Editor module of the program. (What have you got File > Preferences > General > Instant Playback Target set to? It should be Preview Screen...)

Next, it has become almost a mantra with me over the past couple of months to suggest people first go to the Microsoft DirectX website and download the latest update patch. The current one is dated November 2008 and can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6jj2lw
Note that it updates both DirectX 9.0c (XP) and 10 (Vista). The number of your DirectX installation will not change, but the patch gives extra functionality in a number of areas and corrects other faults in VS11 in particular -- and probably now also in X2 -- which appear linked to Windows updates. The menu preview , 'building preview graph' and other problems in the burning module seem to be amongst them.

Note that DirectX is not included in the usual pattern of Windows automatic updates. It has to be done every so often by the user manually. So unless you have recently done this, you are probably still using the original, non-updated version of DirectX which came with your computer.

hjsaka · Post by **hjsaka** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 6:18 am

Hi Ken, sorry for the vague description of my problem. When I'm creating a menu, there is a small picture of a "tv remote" just below and to the right of the Menu. I click on it and it brings up another screen with a bigger "tv remote" on the left side of the screen. Also, the Menu is replaced by words that say to hit "play" to review the menus. I click on the play button but nothing happens, other than a blue "progress" line flashes for a brief moment. My version is VS12. Am I supposed to be able to review how my menus will work before I burn the DVD or am I misinterpreting the function of this "review" capability?

Post by **Ken Berry** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:06 am

OK, thanks. What you describe is the standard menu (and video) preview set-up, so that is fine. But it really sounds as though you need the DirectX update as I suggested above. As I said, that usually corrects preview problems in the burning module. And if you have not manually updated DirectX since you got your computer, it is likely to be out of date even if it is only a few weeks old!!

hjsaka · Post by **hjsaka** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 5:36 pm

Hi Ken, I downloaded the DirectX as you recommended but it hasn't solved the problem with being able to review my Menus.

woodchuck · Post by **woodchuck** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 6:17 pm

I had a similar problem with chapters that I had not identified. Upon investigation I found that I had inadvertently added chapter points during the editing process. To get rid of those use Tools > Chapter Point Manager > Delete All. Then I added chapter points in the DVD menu creation phase. All was OK then.

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:33 pm

I had a similar problem a while back. It happened shortly after automatic Windows updates. I reinstalled VS and did a System Restore, but I don't remember which, in fact, fixed the problem.

hjsaka · Post by **hjsaka** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:11 am

Hello, thanks for your replies. I haven't figured out the solution to the "Preview" problem, but, I think I now know how the menus function so it is not so "critical" an issue anymore. Having the "Preview" work would have saved me a lot of discs. I'll have to keep working at it.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:27 am

Instead of wasting discs, you could always either (a) 'burn' to a DVD folder (which is the exact structure found on a DVD) which you can then play in a software DVD player; or (b) burn to a rewritable DVD.