Totally Custom DVD Menu in VS X6?

[Gina]

Hi all,

I am interested in making a totally custom dvd menu. I want to make backgrounds that fit, my own frames for the clips, my own navigation buttons, etc. I'd like to make my own decorations to add motion to in the menu as well.

I have Video Studio Ultimate X6, Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, CorelDraw X6 Suite, etc. So I have the software but not the knowledge. Can anyone help me get started?

Thank you,
Gina

[BrianCee]

In VideoStudio you can only customise existing DVD menus - but the customisation is total in that you can change every thing (with minor constraints) to end up with a menu which is totally yours - have a look at this video :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMDId9qnVV0

But if you really do want to make a menu from scratch then the ONLY programme which will make the .ufo files required is Corel PhotoImpact which is currently only available on the USA site but not the rest of the world - it is being phased out so if you want it grab it while it's still available

[Gina]

Hello BrianCee and thank you

Yes, I really want to have a certain graphical frame for the video thumbnails in the menu, have my own highlight images, and do my own motion graphics. I'm a bit OCD about a certain project and I want it to be just so. Can I do all the above with PhotoImpact? And can I import backgrounds and navigation/highlight/frame images that I make in Photoshop or PSP?

Was looking at PhotoImpact and it says it works with VideoStudio 10 and 11. Is it still fully compatible with VideoStudio X6? Hmmm, I wonder for how long? I wonder why they do not build this into PaintShopPro if they are phasing out PhotoImpact or at least fully expand the customization features in VS?

One can do much with Sony DVD Architect software. I will download the trial of PhotoImpact to see if it's where I want to go.

Thanks so much for your help!!

[BrianCee]

Well good luck - it is a quite steep learning curve and I'm not sure if we still have any members making their own DVD menus - I have dabbled and found it easier to import a copy of an existing DVD menu and modify that - rather than starting completely from scratch, as all the component parts of the menu have to be very specifically defined to make sure VideoStudio knows what to do with them.

I did successfully change the selection icon to a Mickey Mouse head for our Florida videos - copy below - may help you in your quest.

This worked for me in X6

disney menu.zip

download and unzip

(767.62 KiB) Downloaded 184 times

[lata]

Hi Gina

Yes Photo Impact can create menu structures from scratch, it’s the only program that can save UFO files, that’s the type of file used for the menus
And indeed it has been suggested to Corel many times that they update either Video Studio or PSP to have that ability. May do that again.

Photo impact is a photo/graphics program and indeed can use images created in PSP, working with layers would be similar to other image editors.

The links within the menu structure have to be correct and abide by certain rules, given standard names etc, I find it easier to open an existing menu to modify rather than starting from scratch, but that simply reminds me of the structure required.

If you really want to create your own menu then you must purchase PhotoImpact before Corel take it off the market.

There is also a PI Beginners Workshop, PI Forum and PIRC Forum all very good for learning techniques use in PI, unfortunately does not cover DVD Menus, but sure advice would be given if you were to ask.

Anyway your first step is to purchase the program.

Photo Impact Forum http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewforum.php?f=6&start=0

[dmz]

Greetings,

This is a trip down memory lane for me. Not so long ago there was this awesome product called DVD Workshop from Corel. It did exactly what you were asking and, surprisingly, it was pretty user friendly.
You could start with a completely blank canvas and drag on your background. You could then put in images or text anywhere, any size, and have any of them link to another menu or a video clip.
You could control the order of video clips played if someone selected "play all". It was really easy to use.
Sadly, Corel abandoned work on this product.
What really surprises me is that in 2013, not one software company in the entire world has thought to make a really intuitive, start from scratch, DVD menu program.

Cheers
David

[Ken Berry]

DVD Lab Pro? Sony's DVD Architect? Though I guess that begs the question of what you mean by "intuitive" (even if the same question could be applied to a variety of other programs -- how long is a piece of string?) and of course cost is another factor, though DVD Lab is not at the expensive end of the spectrum.

[dmz]

Thanks for that - Last time I looked there wasnt anything, well nothing really intuitive. It seems like there is...

[dmz]

I just had a look at reviews of the software. It appears that people are saying dvd lab pro 2 is very very hard to use and it costs $160USD. Sony architect is only $39.
Whats even more surprising is the website : http://dvd-authoring-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
How can vs pro be number 2 when the menu authoring part of it has only minimal customisation?
I would still argue there is nothing like dvd workshop for ease of use and complete flexibility.

[canuck]

I just had a look at reviews of the software. It appears that people are saying dvd lab pro 2 is very very hard to use and it costs $160USD. Sony architect is only $39.
Whats even more surprising is the website : http://dvd-authoring-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
How can vs pro be number 2 when the menu authoring part of it has only minimal customisation?
I would still argue there is nothing like dvd workshop for ease of use and complete flexibility.

I just looked at that link you posted and must say it has so many incorrect entries that it is totally unreliable. That review states that VS X6 does not have a users forum

[Gina]

Thanks all of you for the replies and tips.

Firstly, to BrianCee, thank you, that is a good idea, to bring in a ufo file and customize using their coding.That will help me understand it much better. I would like to see your disney menu in action, how do I preview it in VideoStudio? Or is there a way to preview in PhotoImpact? The program is quite involved! Haven't had a lot of time to mess around in it yet. BTW, I thrive on steep learning curves, LOL.

I've been unwell the last several days and haven't done much with the trial version. Is there a tutorial for making a DVD menu in Photoimpact? I found some dvd menu items (buttons, frames, etc) in a provided library but apparently the trial version does not supply the items in the download, so I can't do much with dvd menus. Actually the trial version doesn't supply many assets at all, so I can't do much period. lol

I do hope that Corel either builds in much more customization into VS dvd making, and/or builds something into PSP for DVD menus when they finally take PhotoImpact off the market. I do have Sony DVD Architect and make a simple menu months ago, but I haven't really gotten into it since. I had been working in VS for this project and was hoping I could do what I wanted somehow through VS.

[Ken Berry]

It's rather dated now, though so is PI! But here is a link to a Tutorial in our Tutorials section on making a DVD Menu from scratch with PI: http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php?p=51659#p51659

[lata]

Hi Gina

To use Brian’s menu you need to add it to the Menus Gallery.

The easiest way is to create your own folder I called it My Templates.
Then add Brian’s UFO file to that folder
Go to :-
C:\Program Files (x86)\Corel\Corel VideoStudio Pro X6\Content\Menu Template\16x9
And create the new folder…….

Now run Video Studio, Share Create Disc, when the burner module opens add 4 video clips (top left add media add video), Brian’s menu uses 4 by default.
You can add more or less
Go to the next page, top left Gallery, select the My templates from the list. Hopefully it should show there?

Go to the edit tab and Customise
Changing any item on screen will activate the “Add to Menu Template” selecting that will save a copy of the template to a folder called my Favourites and will now show in the Gallery/Favourites
This folder is located hear C:\Users\User Name\Documents\Corel VideoStudio Pro\16.0\Favorites