SVCD menu w/ background music?

[2397to2997]

I want to create a SVCD menu that includes thumbnail picture(s), a background picture, and background music. The SVCD will contain 2 movies, the menu will let the viewer choose which movie to play.

No chapters, since the movies are short enough.

I tried Nero 5.5, but there is no option for background music, and Nero places a number (1, 2, 3 ... etc.) in front of the text below the thumbnail (which I don't want).

According to the guides, my only choices for SVCD menu authoring is VCDEasy, and TSCV.

What is the best program to use for creating SVCD menus for the above mention purpose, and what is the best way of authoring the SVCD menus.

TIA.

Peace.

[adam]

VCDEasy is easily the best available. TSCV showed promise but the latest version was still buggy as hell. There are guides on the VCDEasy site on how to use it and I wrote a guide that covers the program as well.

http://users3.ev1.net/~CavemanLawyer/

To make a menu with audio you'd just make an mpeg video stream the same as if it were the track for your movie. The downside is that you must use 480x480/576 as your resolution if you want it to be compliant...as opposed to using the higher 704x480/576 that you can normally use with mpeg stills.

[2397to2997]

VCDEasy is easily the best available. TSCV showed promise but the latest version was still buggy as hell. There are guides on the VCDEasy site on how to use it and I wrote a guide that covers the program as well.

http://users3.ev1.net/~CavemanLawyer/

To make a menu with audio you'd just make an mpeg video stream the same as if it were the track for your movie. The downside is that you must use 480x480/576 as your resolution if you want it to be compliant...as opposed to using the higher 704x480/576 that you can normally use with mpeg stills.

Thanks for your reply.

Your guide is missing alot of pictures.

When I check the page, there are large blank spaces (where the pictures should be?), so it's hard to read.

Also, there's nothing about background music, and most of the guide is about chapters, which I don't need.

Can someone else post a more appropriate guide.

TIA.

Peace.

[adam]

Yikes, I'm not sure what happened to the guide. I'll have to reupload it to my server. It does cover background music but the main part I was referring you to is the section on using VCDEasy. Like I said, creating a menu with background music is no different than creating a regular video track with audio, such as your main movie. You can just take your still picture and load it as a video source in TMPGenc and then load your audio as the audio source. Encode to SVCD compliant settings and use this as an asset in VCDEasy. Then author it in VCDEasy as if it were any other menu.

There are guides for VCDEasy on its homepage (including mine ) and there are several others on this site. And I can tell you that VCDEasy is most definitely the only viable option for authoring SVCDs unless you want to do it all by hand in VCDImager with XML scripts (VCDEasy is just a gui for VCDImager.)

[2397to2997]

Yikes, I'm not sure what happened to the guide. I'll have to reupload it to my server. It does cover background music but the main part I was referring you to is the section on using VCDEasy. Like I said, creating a menu with background music is no different than creating a regular video track with audio, such as your main movie. You can just take your still picture and load it as a video source in TMPGenc and then load your audio as the audio source. Encode to SVCD compliant settings and use this as an asset in VCDEasy. Then author it in VCDEasy as if it were any other menu.

There are guides for VCDEasy on its homepage (including mine ) and there are several others on this site. And I can tell you that VCDEasy is most definitely the only viable option for authoring SVCDs unless you want to do it all by hand in VCDImager with XML scripts (VCDEasy is just a gui for VCDImager.)

Thanks for the reply.

I'm sorry, I didn't notice that music was covered. My bad.

I'll definitely check the VCDEasy site for guides.

BTW, I noticed that VCDEasy is trialware, according to the "tools" section of VideoHelp (in the comments section), version 1.15.02 (or something like that) was the last freeware version. I also noticed that TSCV is dead, since development stopped years ago, so I'm not using TSCV.

Since my last post, I authored an SVCD w/ the Nero 5.5 SVCD menu. It works, but I can't pick the thumbnail, edit the layout, edit the font size to make the text below the thumbnail easier to read, or use the next/previous button to select movies. So I definitely would like to try VCDEasy.

I'll book up on the guides, download the freeware copy, and then I will post any questions I have.

BTW, can I use the trialware version (3.x) for the menus. I really don't need any other functionality. I read there is some kind of "hidden bomb", so I'm nervous about installing the trialware VCDEasy (version 3.x).

TIA.

Peace.

[adam]

Yes you can use the trial version to author a working SVCD with menus. Later versions just have more features. The "bomb" referred to the fact that the author released a supposed trial version that would time out and cease working without a paid registration. But the versions prior to this one still worked completely.

Nero is extremely limited when it comes to menu authoring in (S)VCDs. As you've found VCDEasy or manual use of VCDImager is the only viable option.

I've rechecked my guide and it appears to all be there, I just can't get it to work in Firefox...maybe that's what you are using. It works fine for me in IE Explorer.

To create motion menus or still menus with audio (they're the same thing) read the section on "Making Motion Menu's." With motion menus, the only way to make a selection is with the # keys, so you have to edit your pictures to add #'s next to each button. Its impossible to use the next/prev keys to cycle through your buttons unless you don't mind the audio and/or video starting over each time you go to a new button.

To use Next/Prev keys to scroll through your buttons on static menus, read the section on "Editing the Menus" and read from Step 2 down.

For an example of all of the techniques you want to accomplish, download my sample disc image from my guide.

[2397to2997]

I've rechecked my guide and it appears to all be there, I just can't get it to work in Firefox...maybe that's what you are using. It works fine for me in IE Explorer.

You're right! I was using Firefox 1.5.0.4, I guess I need to check the site w/ IE (oh the horror, lol).



Peace.

[nightcat]

Hi.

The MPEG Video Wizard DVD will solve your problem. As I know, the lastest update can suppor the SVCD menu and background music. You may try it.

-nightcat

[2397to2997]

Update:

I used PhotoImpressions & VideoImpressions to create my slideshow movies w/ background music. I'm satisfied w/ the results.

However the VCDEasy is anything BUT easy.

With no help file at all, and no context help w/i the application, VCDEasy doesn't help teach you to use it at all, and there is no automation of the SVCD authoring itself. I read the guides on the VCDEasy website, but I ended up w/ a SVCD w/ menus that didn't work correctly.

The menus work so unexpectantly and the interactive tab has so many options that I will have to post a new thread to ask the question(s), instead of posting it here.

I really wish there was something better than VCDEasy, because I hate it. But I guess when you use freeware, you have to work harder.

Thanks you all you help, everyone.

Peace.