DVD menus in Ulead Video Studio 9

[lordhutt]

I am in the process of making a few dvd's. I have Video Studio 9.
I am trying to get the menus done and notice that there does not seem to be as many options as I hoped for of this part.

I have used DVD Workshop before and I remember being able to do much more with DVD menus.

I want to be able to have it just play certain clips and return to the main menu.
Example...I have about 35 scenes in my dvd.

1-5 go together
6-12
12-20
21-24
25-30
30-35

So that is 6 different scenes in 35 chapters.

I want ,for example, 1 menu page with six pictures.
If I click pic 1 I want it to play chapters 1-5 and return to the main menu.
If I click pic 4 I want it to play chapters 21-24 and return to the main menu....and so on.
I also want a 'play all' button.
I also want to be able to scan through the chapters with the FF/REW buttons.

I can't seem to be able to do any of these.
When I select one of the pics in the menu it just starts playing there and plays the whole movie....I want it to go back to the main menu after that set of chapters is done.
Also, let's say I start at chapter 24...when I hit FF/REW nothing happens...how the hell do I skip chapters??

I seem to recall being able to link menus like this in DVD Workshop.
Can it be in Video Studio?

Obviously DVD Workshop can't do all the things that Video Studio can editing wise....can these 2 programs be used together?

Help me please!!!

Thank you.

[edDV]

ULead Video Studio has little to no end action controls.
I'm still on version 8. Here is how I would do it. There may be a better way.

Edit your clips into your 6 continuous segments (1-5, 6-12, etc.).

In the "Create Disk" menu "add Video" one segment at a time. Then add chapter points for that segment. Import the next segment, add chapter points, etc.

Check create menus. Select next.

You should have your 6 segments with thumbnails. Each thumbnail will bring up a submenu with your chapter points when you preview. You can navigate to the submenus with the "currently displayed menu" arrow selector at the top of the "Create Disk" window.

You can edit the look of the menu, edit thumbnail pictures, change titles, customize the menu layout.

Next gets you to the preview player.

Hope that gets you what you want.

[lordhutt]

I think what you are saying will solve some of my problems.
But what if I want to watch the whole thing straight through. Would I be able to have transitions between each set of segments?...I don't think I will.
If I am going to make 6 different segments would'nt I be better off getting DVD Workshop and using it to finish so I have total control of the menu like moving the thumbnails exactly where I want them and so forth.

Thanks edDV.

[GeorgeW]

DVD Workshop 2.x certainly gives you more control over VS, and even Ulead's other Authoring application -- DVD MovieFactory. But if you only need control of thumbnail movement, then have a look at DVD MovieFactory 4.0 DC -- it allows you to move the thumbnails and text around on your menus, and has more Authoring features than VideoStudio's Disc tool. It's sort of in the middle between VideoStudio and DVD Workshop (actually, not in the middle, maybe more towards the VideoStudio end, becuase Workshop brings many more features to the table).

[frankhad]

I think what you are saying will solve some of my problems.
But what if I want to watch the whole thing straight through. Would I be able to have transitions between each set of segments?...I don't think I will.
If I am going to make 6 different segments would'nt I be better off getting DVD Workshop and using it to finish so I have total control of the menu like moving the thumbnails exactly where I want them and so forth.

Thanks edDV.

I don't know if there is anything that will allow you to have the option of either watching one clip and returning to the main menu or beginning the next clip. There are many authoring programs that will allow you to direct where you want to go when a clip has completed play, but usually you get one choice and one choice only, not an option of one of two choices.

One thing you might consider is simply adding the entire video as a seventh menu option on the main menu and link it to another seperate, duplicated copy of the same (full) video. I realize this will double the size of your video but, depending on how large it is, you might be able to compile it to your hard drive, bring that compilation into DVD Shrink and reduce it in size to fit your DVD.

Don't know if this is practical or not, but it's a thought.

f

[p_l]

In Ulead DVD Workshop 2, use the Playlist to make, well, playlists and control end actions, and use a Play All button to, well, play all.

[lordhutt]

In Ulead DVD Workshop 2, use the Playlist to make, well, playlists and control end actions, and use a Play All button to, well, play all.

Yeah, that's what I meant in my last post but I am doing the editing in Ulead Video Studio 9 with transitions straight through the whole movie.
If I make each group of movies a seperate video like edDV mentioned I can use the playlists but when I select to play all there won't be any transitions between each group of vids....not a great catastrophy but if I can have it all I would like to be able to do it.

I suppose I could make one video file with Video Studio and then load it into Workshop and put in all the chapters...although there are over 30 of them so this will take a little time.

It would be nice if these 2 programs could work together a little better ...or if UVS just had Workshops menu power.

[p_l]

I suppose I could make one video file with Video Studio and then load it into Workshop and put in all the chapters...although there are over 30 of them so this will take a little time.

That was going to be my next suggestion. Yup, it would take more time but you would be able to accomplish exactly what you wanted.

[edDV]

I would find VS's DVD authoring more useful if they would just allow simple end action choices like (return to menu or play a specified chapter).

As it is you need to play the segment/chapter point tricks. Most medium level dedicated DVD authoring programs provide end action choices.

VS 8 does have limited menu customization features available from the Customize button on the lower right of the Create Disc Menu.

[Bstansbury]

Lordhutt,... What you want to do should be easily done in VS9 or VS8, as I do it all the time in VS7. You don't have to split your video into any segments at all. The "Create Menu's" is the function to use. VS9 has many more features available (from what I read at the Ulead web site) and it has built in tutorials to show you how to do it.

On your "Share" menu, select "Create Menus" and go to the next screen. Here is where you use the very small preview window to "Define" the scene where you want that segment to begin. You start with the first scene and when you've moved the preview to the frame (0H:0M:0S:0F) where you want the segment to start. At this point you "ADD" that fime point to the "Submenu" window. Then add the next, and the next, etc.

Once all the segments have been added, you can edit each of them in the submenu and change the thumbnail that will be view (not the time), add a title to the menu and to all the thumbnails.

Granted it is not simple or intuituve but with some practice you can get it done. Once you have it, you can go forward and preview the submenu and prove to yourself that the menu and times you have selected are correct. All of what I've described is built into VS5, VS6, VS7, and I'm quite sure it is in VS8 and VS9 but I can't prove it since I only have the others.

If I've missunderstood what your are trying to do, I apologize.

Bud