DVD player file manager

videohalp · Member Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Location: Hello world!

Is there a way I can overwrite the default DVD file manager? The one I have is really lousy. It can only display few files before I need to scroll.

Is it possible to include a file manager, navigation menu, custom font, etc. into the disk?

If so, how do I get started? (Also, is there a name for stuff like this?)

guns1inger · So Very Tired Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Location: Miskatonic U

You are being very vague, so I will make some assumptions.

First assumption is that you aren't talking about DVD Video discs, but Divx/Xvid avi files on DVD.

Second assumption is that you are playing these on a standalone DVD player with Divx/Xvid playback facilities.

The short answer is no. The long answer is that the file manager in these players is contained in the firmware, and you cannot influence it from the disc. What you see is what you get.

If the player is Divx Ultra Certified then you can author a disc with menus, chapters etc for Divx content. There are only a few programs that do this - Divx Author, Tmpgenc DVD Author (latest versions) and a complicated freeware tool (can't remember the name of it). As players are few and far between, and the effort required generally does equate to the output, few people seem to bother.

Edit : This might be the simplest way. Note : It still requires a Divx Ultra Certified player, not a standard Divx player. If your player does not say clearly on the front 'Divx Ultra', don't bother - http://labs.divx.com/MenuRaider
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videohalp · Member Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Location: Hello world!

Correct, I am not talking about about a DVD video, but rather the data in a custom CD/DVD.

I am not positive about what this "Divx Ultra Certified" is. But it sounds like it can only be done if I am doing it with Divx-based media. Well, I am not doing any videos yet. For now, I only want to test small stuff like music and pictures on the player to familiarize myself with the tools.

So, even if Divx or videos is not involved at all, is there a way I can change the nagivation or file display without this "Divx Ultra Certified"? Because I hate to go shopping around until I find a DVD player that has a decent navigation menu and file display.

You know how you insert a disk into the computer and a start up shows up. Welcoming you and gives you the option of "Install" "Custom Install" "About" etc.? Well, all that can be programmed to. I thought the same could be done to a disk used in a DVD player. Stick in the disk, and there is the welcome screen and menu that a programmer made. No way to do this at all?

guns1inger · So Very Tired Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Location: Miskatonic U

For a PC it is different, as you create a small program that the computer runs. DVD players are far simpler. They either play a DVD, or they present a file list of appropriate files. You cannot change how they present this list. Divx Ultra Certified is as close as you get, and it requires Divx hardware/firmware to make it work.

Bottom line : no, you cannot do this with a standard, standalone DVD player. If you want this type of flexibility, build a HTPC instead.
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The views expressed in this post are mine alone, unless plagiarised from others
Read my obscure DVD reviews here and my general blah here

videohalp · Member Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Location: Hello world!

Well, I guess it is dead end for what I can do with a DVD player.

About this HTPC. A pre-built one is expensive. I can get a used old PC for a cheap price. What hardware do I need to add into a PC to make it HTPC? Just a TV-out card?

Also, just what does the TV-out project? The entire desktop? As in I am just using a TV as a monitor? Or will it only project the video window?