Create working menu on SVCD

lathompson · Post by **lathompson** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:33 pm

I have 2 short videos to put onto an SVCD for a client. They want a final disc to distribute to their clients and to be CD drive compatible for older computers. He wants an opening menu with a choice to watch either video. In creating the SCVD in Movie Factory 6 PLUS, the menu I create does not have active links to the movies. Also, when the disc is inserted into the computer's drive, the menu does not pop up. Instead, you get the standard windows offering of choices on which way I want to open the disc. Highlighted is the 'open files' choice instead of a media player.

I would like the disc to work like a DVD and open to the menu, giving the viewer a choice between the two videos. Is this something that is not going to work on an SVCD? And if so, how do those commercial discs I get in the mail all the time manage to open automatically when I play them?

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:24 pm

I've never made an SVCD... It was my understanding that this feature isn't included in the SVCD spec. However, I might be wrong! A
search turned-up some promising hits, including this one.

And if so, how do those commercial discs I get in the mail all the time manage to open automatically when I play them?

Sometimes they use Autorun to open an HTML file or run an EXE file. (If it's HTML, you'll see the browser-style "finger cursor".) Of course, autorun is a Windows feature and these methods won't work on a stand-alone DVD/SVCD player.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:05 pm

I haven't made a SVCD for a few years now but dug this one out of my storage box. Whilst an SVCD Menu is not as elaborate as a DVD Menu it is still powerful. My SVCD also has a "Intro Video" (I.e. short video played before you get to the menu.)

lathompson · Post by **lathompson** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:23 pm

sjj1805 wrote:I haven't made a SVCD for a few years now but dug this one out of my storage box. Whilst an SVCD Menu is not as elaborate as a DVD Menu it is still powerful. My SVCD also has a "Intro Video" (I.e. short video played before you get to the menu.)

Steve, what did you make that with? It looks like a menu I created with VCD Menu Lite, but unfortunately, it only made an image file with no live links in it.

Doug, I did download that program you gave a link to. I'm going to try that. I did try using an autorun file, linking it to an html page I created featuring 2 links to my movies. It wouldn't run. Perhaps I got the code wrong, I don't know. I do know, however, there is a way. I just need to find it.

skier-hughes · Post by **skier-hughes** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:54 pm

For autorun
http://www.videohelp.com/oldguides/autorun

Though, if your pc hasn't had an svcd in before you will get the options menu first, you tell it what to do and tick the do it this way all the time box and next time wmp will open.

This may help with menu
http://www.videohelp.com/oldguides/dvdmoviefactory

lathompson · Post by **lathompson** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:50 pm

skier-hughes wrote:For autorun
http://www.videohelp.com/oldguides/autorun

Though, if your pc hasn't had an svcd in before you will get the options menu first, you tell it what to do and tick the do it this way all the time box and next time wmp will open.

This may help with menu
http://www.videohelp.com/oldguides/dvdmoviefactory

Graham, thanks, but the problem isn't in the basics. Ulead MF does not allow me to make live links to my two videos when I am in the process of making an SVCD. It works fine making a DVD, but not on an SVCD. I have exausted every option in MF. Trying to produce a menu outside of Movie Factory, then getting it into the MF project is bugging me. Maybe it can't be done.

My alternative is to simply avoid MF altogether and put the two MPEGs on the disc, make an HTML page with clickable links and an auto run to bring the HTML page up when inserted. I tried that but don't have the right instruction for the autorun. What is the instruction that brings up the HTML menu? And if I get that right, will it work on a MAC as well as a PC?