DVD Menu Templates.

[Rollason]

Is there a tutorial for creating a menu prior to burning a DVD for VSP X2. I wish to create a template with 5 buttons and find templates for only 4 buttons in the gallery.
I have created a template with my own background in the preview box but have a shadow, of which I can change the transparency but can't remove except by dragging out of the preview window. This doesn't remove it, of course, it's just that it's outside the window.
I don't have any buttons and can't appear to create any although I can type in the main title for the video.
I have made a number of attempts at creating menus but find that although I had one instance with 4 buttons I was unable to title the buttons. In another instance I put in a title but then found that if I tried to remove it as soon as I clicked in the preview window it reappeared.
Every menu in the gallery when opened has titling that I have put into the menu that I created.
There appears to be no method by which a template that is unsatisfactory in the preview window can be cancelled except by closing, when it is saved into the gallery, and then removing it from there.
Advice would be appreciated.

[sjj1805]

If your Video only has 5 items (Titles or Chapters) then you can select a menu that has a higher number of place holders - e.g. 6 Only 5 would appear on your DVD.

Otherwise you would need PhotoImpact - no other imaging software can do this. Tutorial: PhotoImpact: Creating DVD Menu from scratch

There are some home made menus you can download Here

[Rollason]

Thank you for the information you have given.
You state that I should use 6 buttons but only 5 would appear on the finished menu.
The menus in the gallery only contain 4 buttons with no indication how to increase these to 6. Can you explain how I do this.
I used one of the gallery menus and replaced the background with a picture of my own. Is this not the correct way to do this?
There were a number of other queries that I raised, is there an answer to these.

[sjj1805]

Please view:
Authoring a DVD for a comprehensive guide.

If you can only see menus with 4 options then you are likely looking at the SmartScene Menus - these are not the traditional menus that you are perhaps accustomed to but something unique to Corels VideoStudio / MovieFactory packages.

Take a look at the available thumbnail menus, and also look on the [EDIT] tab for further available customizations.

[Rollason]

Thanks, Steve., for your swift reply.
Regards, Roy.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Roy

You can ¡¥Customise¡¦ the Text and Thumbnail templates, allowing you to select up to 8.??????

From the edit tab hit the ¡¥customise¡¦ icon, notice the Navigation Button box, hit the down arrow for ¡¥Layout¡¦ options.

I think the limit may be different for widescreen compared to 4:3

For the Thumbnail templates there is a 5 option,
You can also change the Frame of the thumbnail.

[Rollason]

Thanks for your help Steve, and Trevor. I have done as you suggested and looked at the video.
I selected a menu from the 'Thumbnail Menu' in the gallery, one containing 6 buttons and edited this with my own music and background. That was fine. But, when previewing I get the originally selected 'thumbnail' and it's music.
My own menu will only appear if I select one of the numbers on the 'Remote' and will then play as expected.
Why do I get the original menu that was selected prior to my editing it?
Will this be burnt along with my own menu or does this disappear? If not, how do I remove it?
Further, there appears to be no way in which I can save my edited menu. When I 'Close' I am told that the project is being saved but my menu does not appear to be saved. At least, it does not appear in the gallery and I wouldn't know where else it might be.
If I play the original 'Thumbnail' that I used as the basis for my edited menu my menu appears, as explained above.
Regards, Roy.

[sjj1805]

Please view:
Authoring a DVD
Whilst it might seem a bit of a comprehensive response it is clear that there are several things you have yet to discover about the Menu Creation process.

[Rollason]

OK Steve.,
I'll give it a further look and see if I can come to some conclusion of where I'm going wrong. Obviously I'm missing something.
Many thanks, Roy.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Roy

If you have the one title/thumbnail in the main menu, and you create chapters, you can hide the main menu.
Its not much use anyway as it only navigates to the chapter menu.
That leaves you with the chapter menu, which should show first.

You can view the Title and Chapter menu from the drop down box below the preview screen.
Now
From the ¡¥Edit¡¦ screen select ¡¥Advanced¡¦ deselect ¡¥Add Title menu¡¦

Notice that you can only view the chapter menu, the option to view the main menu below the preview screen is no longer available.

Use the remote control to preview your menu.

[Rollason]

Hi Trevor,
Thanks for that information. I'll give that a go and see what happens.
To date I'm not having much success with this menu business. See my previous posts. I seem to have spent many non productive hours on this but I guess I'll beat it eventually!!!
Cheers, Roy.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Roy

Try doing a test on a new project.
First save the new project as My Test Menu.

Then Share Create Disc
From the Import/Add Media icons select Add Video Files.
Add any type video files, Mpegs, Avi¡¦s about 7 should do.
The files will load to the timeline.
Now If you wish -- Select each in turn and view the properties
Drag them about to change the order.

Select ¡¥Next¡¦
From the Gallery tab select Thumbnails from the drop down box.
Selecting one of the templates will show in the preview screen.

Select the Edit tab
A little more complicated here, start at the top to explore the various options.
Use the remote control (lower right) to play the Titles/menu.
Return to menu step using the undo/back arrow.

When you¡¦ve had enough Press the ¡¥Close¡¦ button
Video Studio will indicate saving project
You are then taken back to the edit timeline, your project called My Test Menu.
Yes the timeline will be empty.
It is important that you now save the project again using File Save (Ctrl + S)

This will save your work, your menu structure.
When you re-open the project, there will be nothing in the timelines.
A little confusing.
Go direct to Share Create Disc and you should see all your work in the burner module.

Now you can do a little more editing.

[Rollason]

Hi Trevor. Thank you for that last post and the information. I've played with this for a week now and seem to get no further.
I am able to construct a menu with the requisite live buttons and save it to 'Favourites' in the Gallery as a template. I can't seem to set it as the opening menu for the video. Each time that I create a menu with the necessary active buttons, titled in colour, music, background etc. save it and then select it in 'Favourites' the original menu appears with an active button for the main video only. ie. A main menu. I'm obviously missing something -don't answer that!- or doing something wrong.
When I open my template in favourites - which has all the thumbnails greyed out incidentally - it opens with the original menu I used from thumbnails. In this case a menu with just one button which has the title under the button, which is active, and plays the music for that thumbnail. It will play the video but the menu that I constructed with all the changes I made is nowhere to be found. Incidentally, I wasn't able to 'Save' using 'ctrl S'. It wouldn't open up or save as one normally expects and I couldn't find it in any folder.
Another point that may be of interest is that all the menus of all types have the title that I constructed right at the beginning of trying to produce an active buttoned menu. The main menu burns OK as I tried burning the DVD hoping that the menu I made would be at the end of the video as I'd set it that way in the preferences. It didn't happen.
Hoping that you may be able to help.
With regards, Roy.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Roy

Before we go any further can I ask, have you Manually installed the latest Direct X.
This does fix some problems with video studio, especially X2.
There is a link at the top of this forum.
There is also an update patch for X2 available from Corel site, have you applied this patch.

Back to the menu.
After creating a favourite menu template, it can be used again just like any other template, the thumbnail within the template, seen in the library will be greyed out, when you use the template the thumbnail should show the first frame of the video.

If the library template contains say 6 thumbnails, this is the maximum videos that the template will display per menu page. As you only have one video/title the preview will show that only, adding another video/title will show 2 and so on.

OK
From your single video, you create Chapter points (from the first window).
Navigate to the Next window
select a thumbnail template from the gallery, the preview will show your menu, one thumbnail.
Below the preview screen (Currently displayed menu) marked Main Menu, select to change to view the chapter menu pages. (probably named ¡¥Untitled¡¦)

Edit this menu in the same way as editing the main menu page.

A few images may be useful here, but I am having problems with FTP.
If you e-mail me I will send a few on word Doc¡¦.
I only have VS10, but assume they will be similar to X2 and get the info to you.


Saving your menu
Ctrl + S is of no use here.
When you leave the burner module by hitting ¡¥Close¡¦ the program indicates that it is saving project, it is returning to the project in the ¡¥edit¡¦ timeline.
Its here that you have to save the project as a VSP, File Save As, giving it a name, My Test Menu as good as any.

When you start VS open this project and go directly to Share Create Disc. All your menu work should be intact.