Disc Menus

[my_username]

Hi all

Newbie (silly?) Q I think. I have a trial version of Video Studio X5 and I am trying to decide if I want to buy it. I am very interested in making DVDs from family vid clips.

I guess I am a bit confused about making menus w/ chapter links. I successfully used the "Edit" tab to make a nice movie w/ transitions and chapters. The "Add/Remove Chapter Point" button seems to work just fine, w/ little green triangles on my timeline. However, when I go to make a DVD via the "Share" tab, it seems like the clips are still present on the bottom of the screen, but the program has forgotten all my chapter markings. I see that I can "Add/Edit Chapter" if I want (under "Edit media:") but I just want to use the chapter settings I created when I was on the Edit tab. I found a bunch of tutorial videos and they all seem to involve adding chapters at this point (under "Share" but not under "Edit").

Related question, I am pretty sure I should be able to do the following but not positive Can I create a simple menu that has a user-specified number of chapter links on it? I just want a simple background photo w/ still-thumbnails as links to my chapters.

Sorry for the newbie stuff, seems like a good piece of software so I just want to make sure I am using it properly.

Thanks very much!

[BrianCee]

Hi,

Unfortunately at a very early stage you have discovered one of the little 'bugs' which has not yet been sorted in VideoStudio - chapter settings made in the timeline do not carry through correctly into the authoring/burning module. The only sensible way to make and name chapters is to do it in the authoring/burning module where it seems to work quite well.

Yes you can very easily customise all of the menu templates supplied to use your own photo/video as the background and choose the number of thumbnails - the supplied template provide for up to 8 thumbnails - some members have produced their own templates with more thumbnails and made them available for download, but they can look a bit crowded - if you want to use only 8 but have more chapters than that VideoStudio simply creates additional 'pages' for your menu.

Please have a read of this topic :- http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46304 and have a look at the video I link to in one of my posts there - hopefully that will set you off in the right direction, but please feel free to return here and ask as many more questions as you need to.

[lata]

Hi

There has been some issues with creating chapter points but the latest version X5 seems to work pretty well.
The chapter points are now carried to the burner module, apparently you have seen the thumbnails when you accessed Add Edit Chapters. Close that window then choose Next to navigate to the Gallery/Edit window.
The preview screen shows the Main menu (Title Menu) with probably only one link.
Below the preview screen is " Currently Displayed Menu", I am sure Corel could make this more visible, however click the down arrow and choose your Chapter Menu.

The number of chapters you see depends on the template you have chosen to use.
Unfortunately if you had named the points this info is lost and shows as Chapter01 etc.
Re-name the chapters on screen.

The Gallery
If you want still thumbnails try using the "Thumbnail Menus"option, the "Text Menu" may also be useful.
Click the Edit tab, experiment with the controls here.......add your own image.

Finally when you close the module you are returned back to the edit timelines, Save the project again and your chapter points and menu structure should be preserved, available the next time you open project and the module.

[my_username]

Hi Brian and Trevor

Thanks very much for your help here. I very much appreciate it!

I think Trevor is right that chapter points do carry over to the burn module
(without names). This is great. I am able to see the "Currently Displayed
Menu" and click on the menu for my project's chapter menu. At that point I
can indeed choose names for the chapters.

I'd like to carry this one step further (maybe I am getting too fussy?) Any
way I can have just *one* menu for the whole project? In other words, instead
of a Main Menu that just links to a Chapter Menu (w/ links to my actual
chapters on the Chapter Menu), can I just have a single menu w/ a background
image, a title, and links to my chapters?

Thanks again, you guys are amazingly helpful.

[BrianCee]

you can change the number of thumbnails in any thumbnail menu template by selecting the customise option in the authoring/burner module (under the edit tab - next to gallery) and then choosing a new layout at the bottom of the module. If you select a layout which has more thumbnails than you actually need the excess ones will not show up.

[my_username]

Hi again

So you are in UK? Must be getting late! I am in USA, just getting off work ....

Thanks again for your kind reply. I think I may not have stated my Q clearly this time (sorry!) I am trying to get rid of one of the two menus, not the excess thumbnails. I would like to have my project title and chapter links on the same page, instead of separate title menu and chapter menu (where the title menu's sole purpose seems to be a link to the chapter menu). Again, I acknowledge I may be getting a bit demanding here

Thanks again!

[canuck]

You cannot have Title links and chapter links on the same page. As chapters are "sub-divisions" of a title they have to have their own menu pages.

[lata]

Hi my_username

Providing you have only one link/thumbnail in the title/main menu you can hide the menu.
Afterall its of little use as it only accesses the chapter menu.

Go to the edit tab--choose the advanced settings option--deselect Add Title Menu.

If this option is not available then you have more than one main menu link.

When you play the disc it will go now directly to the chapter menu.

Post edited
Another option would be to render/create a mpeg2 file of each chapter.
literally splitting your project into separate movies.

Add these to the main menu page, for each movie added a link will be provided on the main menu.
No need to set chapters.

[my_username]

Ok I see. (Wow!)

Thanks *very* much for the info on this. I will play w/ the software and see how it works out.

I so appreciate your help.