new menu templates for TMPGEnc dvd author 1.6

[glenpinn]

hi there.

i sometimes use TMPGEnc dvd author 1.6 to do basic authoring on some dvd projects, and want to know if anyone knows if i can add more menus to the existing (very limited) selection, and if so, where can i find them.

i know i should probably use a better authoring program, i do have DVD-Lab Pro 1.0 and just got a copy of Dvd Menu studio 1.1, both created by mediachance, but its a lot more comlex to use than tmpgenc dvd author, and i dont need the transitions and other fancy stuff that better authoring programs have got, i simply like tmpgenc cos i can author in a few minutes, but just want a better selection of menus.

any help appreciated....GLEN

[guns1inger]

Actually, I find DVD Lab Pro very easy to use if you aren't getting into multi-VTS titles with coding etc. Even then, it isn't to bad.

DVD Lab can do simple menus itself, with text tools and some built-in templates. They aren't great, but they are OK for something quick and simple.

If I want menus that are more impressive, then I will use either After Effects (for motion menus) in Photoshop for still menus. In photoshop, simply create a still image, then add your text. I add two copies of any text that will be part of the selection on a menu. Flatten one version of the text onto the background image, keeping the copy on it's own layer. Save the whole thing as a layered psd. In DLP, from the menu menu, import your psd file. You get a menu with subpictures for each selection. Assign these to the correct assets, and you have a DVD.

[macleod]

unless I am totally off kilter, dvdguiauthor is a good "companion" to TMPGENC DVD Author. To be honest, I am having the same issues that you are. I use my E30panny to cap to ram and then use dvdauthor to author and burn. The menus leave a lot to be desired.

I am wanting to do one in kind of a scrapbooking thing (no I am not gay, my wife has some videos and she is BIG into scrapbooking). Anyway, I found a book pic on another site that had a cool look to it and I am going to do some layers, etc.

Anyway, If I find anything out that is better AND easier, I'll post back.

[glenpinn]

hi again, well i thank u both for your replies, but i think i got a bit carried away with what i was really looking for, and ill re-submit my question again.

tmpgenc dvd author has a great main menu and title menu layout, its image button selection is ok, and the background images i dont need cos i always use a photo (usually a photo of the topic that the dvd is about)

what im actually looking for is a better selection of menu THUMBNAIL FRAMES to add to the very poor selection on tmpge dvd author.
is there a way i can add more thumbnail frames, or am i stuck with the horrible ones already on there (well i like the black frames and the blue curtain frames at least)

another point, would it be true to say that the lower end dvd authoring tools are not going to give good quality text when adding titles to the menus added to a dvd project.
i ask this because when i add any text (or title) to my menus, it looks nice on the interface, but when its played back on tv, it looks very washed out, transparenty, or a bit hazed, is this normal, or is it just poor quality text (i do try to keep my text as small as i can because the smaller the font size the less washed out it looks, but gets hard to see from a distance)

hope ive covered myself a bit better now, and thanks again guys.....GLEN

[alsyed]

you can use your own thumbnail frames i believe. if you customize your menu selection with one of the built in frames, then you right click on a frame and select your own custom frame

edit menu theme
right click thumbnail frame - choose image sub menu
choose specify image for thumbnail frame

[glenpinn]

hi there alsyed..

thx for your reply, what u r saying is what i already know, that will select a different thumbnail image, but not the ftame, what i want is a better selection of frames, not frame images.
i think by all my searching that im not going to be able to add additional FRAMES to the poor selection that tmpgenc dvd author already has.

on all my projects, i use a photo as the menu background image, or i create my own custom background images using different paint programs, and i now have Dvd Menu studio 11 and will try it out to create some custom background images as well with that, and ill just use what tmpge already has as far as the thumb frames go.

if anyone else still has any suggestion re more thumb frames for tmpgenc dvd author, let me know, but i just might have to try and work with dvd-lab pro a bit more.

thx in advance.....GLEN

[alsyed]

why not check out the format of the pictures the tmpgenc uses for its default pictures, and see if they can be loaded in an image editor. If they can, i can't see any reason why you couldn't make copies of those and edit the copies.

[canadateck]

If it supports alpha channels then you dont need temp-plates just size the Video thumbnail over the Alfa of a Image Frame.

[jimmalenko]

Could you make up some sort of frame template yourself, select "no frames" in TDA and just have the frame you've made up "hard-coded" into your thumb images ?

[nic2k4]

While you're creating your custom background picture, make frames where you'd like the thumbnails to appear, then in DVD Author, use the Edit menu function and center the thumbnails over the frames (don't forget to set the thumbnails to no frames first).

[glenpinn]

hi there again.
i think everyone is missing my point here.
what i want to know is whether or not there is somewhere or somehow i can import a better selection of THUMBNAIL FRAMES into tmpge dvd author.
im not interested in making new ones myself, i dont have the time to mess about with that stuff, i simply want to see if i can get hold of a template from somewhere and simply plug it into dvd author for a better selection of thumb FRAMES.
a lot of other software will allow u to add plugins for menu themes etc, just thought i can do the same here, but obviously there is no way to do it.
i just realised i should email PEGASYS, the maker of tmpge and see if they can help, maybe they can put me in the right direction, but anyway, its no big deal to me personally, a FRAME is a FRAME is a FRAME to me, id be happy to use what they got cos im not an ancy fancy kind of person, but some clients want a better selection to pick from for thier dvd and i have to use dvd-lab pro to get a better selection thats all.
thanks again for your help, ill keep searching.....GLEN

[johns0]

Your stuck with the frames unless tda releases any new ones which they havent.