Good and free DVD Menu Software

[PDX Ghost Hunter]

Hi

Wondering if I could get some suggestions for free DVD menu creation software. I am expecting some projects upcoming in the future and will need to create DVD's where a menu loads at startup and you can select audio files, video files or text files (as main menu items) that will then take you to each corresponding section depending on which of the three you click on.

Once in the video section you select a video to watch, same with the audio section. For the text choice, I'm not sure what format works on DVD's (.PDF files or something proprietary to DVD's).

This needs to work on standalone DVD players as well as computers which is why I'm not sure a .PDF for the text portion of the content will work or not.

The software will be used on Windows XP.

Thanks in advance

[Baldrick]

dvdstyler or guifordvdauthor

[PDX Ghost Hunter]

Thank you. Can you tell me how DVD's work with text files? I will need to import Word documents or PDF's onto the disc to be read on standalone players as well as computers. Do you have to manually type everything over again, cut and paste into the menu software or does menu software convert or display pre-existing text files?

Thanks again

[filmboss80]

Thank you. Can you tell me how DVD's work with text files? I will need to import Word documents or PDF's onto the disc to be read on standalone players as well as computers. Do you have to manually type everything over again, cut and paste into the menu software or does menu software convert or display pre-existing text files?

Thanks again

Standalone DVD players will not display Word documents or PDFs, as they are not computers with Microsoft or Adobe software loaded. They require a DVD-compliant file structure (https://www.videohelp.com/dvd#struct). However, .doc and .pdf files can be added to DVD discs as data that can be accessed on your computer, though not within the normal DVD playback structure.

The workaround: Text documents can be turned into bitmap images that can be incorporated into the program using any DVD authoring software.

[manono]

Right, generally text is displayed as a menu item. You could encode it as video, but that's kind of a waste of bits, if you ask me, and the quality might not be nearly as good. PDF and the like can only be accessed from the computer, as filmboss80 said.

You might even have trouble with audio unless it's DVD compliant audio and accompanied at least by a 720x480 BMP or similar. Then it can be authored as any other DVD.

Do you have to manually type everything over again, cut and paste into the menu software or does menu software convert or display pre-existing text files?

Create the BMPs yourself before authoring. It's your responsibility to prepare your assets. An authoring program ... authors. Particularly the freebies which have been mentioned (although I'm partial to DVDAuthorGUI).

[chowmein]

Ditto the DVDAuthorGUI recommendation! It really takes the pain out of DVD authoring, IMO. I love it! The latest version 1.026 really is quite flawless and a pleasure to use, and it can do everything I want out of a menu with sheer minimum of fuss, due to it's intuitive & streamlined layout. Big thumbs up!

[PDX Ghost Hunter]

Thanks for the help everyone. Take the .doc and capture it as a .bmp and add it to the menu to be viewed. Sounds good.

Thanks again

[filmboss80]

Thanks for the help everyone. Take the .doc and capture it as a .bmp and add it to the menu to be viewed. Sounds good.

Thanks again

Actually, the bitmap image will need to fit your video frame (like 720x480), and the text letters will likely need a bit of anti-aliasing to avoid a shimmer effect. It is best to copy the text from the .doc file and paste it into the bitmap graphic using software like Photoshop or MS Paint or whatever. (Use backgrounds, fonts, shadows, and color schemes that are easy on the eye.) Then drop your text graphic as a menu file in whatever DVD authoring program you choose to use.