Top menu in VSX2

[Nicholas Rumin]

This actually applies to all the versions I have used since VS10. I have never been able to create a top menu for the dvd which looks like the ones on commerical dvd's, namely, to have buttons not only to "play movie" but also to "view chapters" etc. The user's manuals appear to be mum on this point. Am I expecting too much?

[Black Lab]

Nope, it can be done. This is from X2, the only version I have on this machine, but they are all similar. On the Edit tab of the menu creation process, make sure Create Title Menu is chosen under Advanced Settings.

[Nicholas Rumin]

I do have "add title menu' and "create chapter menu" selected!

[Ron P.]

Under the preview window in the burn module, you should see a Title name, the name of your video file, or if you are using your project file, and did not save it, it would say untitled. This is a drop-down menu. Click on it to set up the menu for your chapters. The first menu is always the Main menu.

vsx2_menu selection.png (399.32 KiB) Viewed 3796 times

[Nicholas Rumin]

Thanks Ron, but I think you missed the thread of our discussion with Black Lab. MY problem is how to add additional buttons to my main menu which do things like take the viewer to the chapters menu. So far, all I have been able to do is to create a button that plays the entire dvd from the beginning.

[Ron P.]

What type of menu are you using? Using Thumbnail menus as an example, if you have Chapters, the thumbnail in your main menu, will take you to the Chapter menu for that Title (video clip). If you have more than one Title, then you will have more thumbnail/buttons. If you just have one Title, then on your Main menu, you will have just one Thumbnail on the Main menu. So the only way to have more buttons or thumbnails on the Main menu, is to have more than one Title. VS's burn module is template driven. It's not like some of the more advanced DVD authoring programs, where you can build your menus from scratch, adding additional links.

You don't have it set to Play all clips before going to a menu do you? I generally will have it set to Return to Menu after playing a Title.

[Nicholas Rumin]

For the main menu( I only have one) I am not using a thumbnail: in fact it is 05vs-SceB01. For chapters I am using thumbnails. My issue is how I can go from the main menu to the chapters menu. There is only one button ( > ) on the main menu and that is "play". A not unrelated issue is that the "customize" menu gives you 4 navigation buttons, but selecting any one of the styles still leaves the main menu with just the play button.
I am not sure what you mean by playing all clips before going to a main menu. I don't see that option.

[Ron P.]

Ok, here is the exact menu that you say you're using. Unless there's something different between your VS X2 and mine, the thumbnail image on the Main Menu, is linked to the Chapter menu. The arrow is the play-all button. That menu is a Thumbnail Menu. The text and smartscene menus are named differently.

vsx2_menu selection_2.png (414.84 KiB) Viewed 3790 times

Under the Project Settings (gear icon), at the bottom in the Navigation Controls, is where you set how you want your viewers to Navigate the DVD.

vsx2_project settings.png (21.37 KiB) Viewed 3609 times

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Nicholas

First of all can I ask are you first creating a video file of your project?
Then Adding a video file to the burner modules, or simply doing Share Create Disc from the edited project.

OK

For each video clip added to the burner module a thumbnail/link “title” will be created within the “main menu”
By adding say 4 individual video files you will get 4 thumbnail “Titles” within the “main menu”

For each thumbnail you can create chapter points. Each creating a new “chapter menu” page.
You select the individual menu pages using the drop down box immediately below the preview screen.(Shown on Rons first image)
Allowing you to edit each in turn.

Navigation Controls
As shown by Rons image, allows you to select how the “Main Menu” reacts.
This option is associated with the main title menu and does not affect the “Chapter Menu”
With Back to Menu selected, each “Title” will play then return to the main menu, allowing you to choose another main menu.

Nicholas, try this out.
Create a short video file, about 5 minutes long.
Then from a new project, Share Create Disc-DVD
At this point add the video file, not just once but add it a few times.
The timeline should contain several video clips/Titles
Next
The following window will show the Main Menu page containing the Titles.
Choose Thumbnails Menu from the Gallery
Edit tab to edit the menus Title page.
Preview your creation

[Nicholas Rumin]

Thank you for you help and patience Ron and Trevor. I must say that it never occured to me that the thumbnails acted as buttons. My basic problem still remains, and maybe I am expecting too much from VSX2,which is how to make the dvd user-friendly when it will be played on a dvd player where there is no mouse. I even tried to select the option "auto fade out first play to menu" expecting that, after displaying the title menu, the play would fade out to the chapters menu. Well that did not happen in the dvd player. I did discover that, using the arrow buttons on the player, I could move the "play" symbol on the title menu to the thumbnail, whereupon "Enter" did fade to the chapters menu. But this process is not intuitively obvious to most people. As I wrote earlier, I was hoping that I could produce a dvd which behaved in a similar manner to a commercial one, i.e. provide at least two buttons on the title page, one for PLAY and one for VIEW CHAPTERS. I realize that this is all "bells and whistles" stuff.

[Black Lab]

I did discover that, using the arrow buttons on the player, I could move the "play" symbol on the title menu to the thumbnail, whereupon "Enter" did fade to the chapters menu. But this process is not intuitively obvious to most people.

But that IS how menus are controlled by DVD remotes. I would think that most people do know that.

[Nicholas Rumin]

Any dvd that I have ever rented or bought has a text menu with choices like play, chapters,etc that one clicks on.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Nicholas

When we create the menu we have the option to show the Thumbnail Numbers
Edit Tab—Advanced Settings—Show Thumbnail Numbers.

If you use this option you should be able to use the “number pad” of the “remote control” to select, which must be obvious to most people
…………………………………………………….
Unfortunately once you select to play a “chapter”, play will continue to the end of the “title” then return to main menu,
allowing you to choose another title and then a chapter. (assuming you have set the navigation control.)
………………………………….............
I do not use chapters but prefer to create separate smaller video clips/files which act as “titles”
The menu is created on one page, with a limit of 8 thumbnails, after which a new title page is created

[Black Lab]

Any dvd that I have ever rented or bought has a text menu with choices like play, chapters,etc that one clicks on.

Now you are talking about how a menu looks. My response was to your comment about how to navigate the menu with a remote. The remote navigation works the same whether it is a text menu or a thumbnail menu.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Nicholas

One more bit of useful info, if you are using the one Title then you have one link/thumbnail in the main menu, not much use as selecting it will only go to the Chapter menu.

The Main Menu can be hidden, so that when you load the disc it opens with the Chapter Menu page.

From the Edit Tab-Advanced-unselect Add Main Menu.