DVD-lab PRO: connections in multiple VTS compilation

[DRP]

How can I get a multiple VTS compilation to progress through the movies one by one until the entire disc is played? DVD-lab PRO won't let me create connections between VTS.

I have 3 VTS in my compilation because not all the movies have the same resolution but I want the next movie to start when the previous one finishes regardless of whether it's in a new VTS or not.

[guns1inger]

Create dummy menus with a single auto-action link on each. When the movie ends, it will hit the menu, then the menu will load the next wovie. Make sure the timeout is set to 1 second.

[DRP]

I've just read through the DVD-lab PRO help extensively looking for the answer but can't find anything relevant. The closest I got was a mention that connections can be drawn between movies *in the same VTS*. It didn't specifically say it wasn't possible to have a multiple VTS disc just play from start to finish.

My compilation is very simple. No menus, no title screens etc. Just the movies alone and I just want them to play one after the other until they're all finished without any button pressing required.

The thing is that I *know* this is possible. I have in fact already done it. My very first attempt at it worked. I was just mucking around clicking things blindly and ended up creating a test DVD with 3 VTS and different resolution videos in each VTS. I burnt the disc and played it in the DVD player and it did indeed play from start to finish without me touching anything. The trouble is now I have no idea what I did to get it to work. Somehow DVD-lab PRO created the links automatically for me and it just worked. Now I can't reproduce that again.

If there are any DVD-lab PRO experts around, I'd really appreciate some help on this.

[guns1inger]

is there a reason they are in different VTSs'?

[DRP]

Create dummy menus with a single auto-action link on each. When the movie ends, it will hit the menu, then the menu will load the next wovie. Make sure the timeout is set to 1 second.

Thanks for your reply. I'm very n00balicious with DVD-lab PRO I'm afraid and I've never donw anything with menus before. Will the default NORMAL project at startup do this for me?

[DRP]

is there a reason they are in different VTSs'?

Yes. I didn't know it at the time but apparently you can't mix different resolution movies in the same VTS. I have a mixture of SVCD and VCD resolution videos and I got a warning from DVD-lab PRO that you can't have that in the one VTS. It recommended I separate them into different VTS where each VTS only contains movies of the same resolution. I am just following the recommendations of DVD-lab PRO

[DRP]

Create dummy menus with a single auto-action link on each. When the movie ends, it will hit the menu, then the menu will load the next wovie. Make sure the timeout is set to 1 second.

Any chance you could show me how to do this?

I can add new empty menus but I can't find the auto-action link bit.

[DRP]

Create dummy menus with a single auto-action link on each. When the movie ends, it will hit the menu, then the menu will load the next wovie. Make sure the timeout is set to 1 second.

How do I set the timeout value? Where on earth is the timeout value? DVD-lab PRO won't let me compile the disc because it says my menus have timeout values set to infinity which will lock up the player but it doesn't tell me where to edit the timeout value

[DRP]

Create dummy menus with a single auto-action link on each. When the movie ends, it will hit the menu, then the menu will load the next wovie. Make sure the timeout is set to 1 second.

I think I've managed to do this now but it still isn't moving on to the next movie when that movie is in a new VTS.

Can you diagnose where I've gone wrong from this screen cap of my connections for me?

[GeorgeW]

In DVD LabPro, just add a PLAYLIST that has all the Titles in it (even from different VTS's). Then link to the PLAYLIST, and it should play through all the Titles...

[DRP]

In DVD LabPro, just add a PLAYLIST that has all the Titles in it (even from different VTS's). Then link to the PLAYLIST, and it should play through all the Titles...

Okay thanks! That works well but just has one annoying aspect I'd prefer wasn't there. It repeats the playlist endlessly. When it gets to the end of the last movie it returns to the first one again and keeps playing.

Is there anyway to make it stop playing entirely when it reaches the end of the last movie in the playlist?

[GeorgeW]

in the connection window, click on the playlist. You should see "End Link" under the preview area, make it go to a menu instead of itself.

[DRP]

in the connection window, click on the playlist. You should see "End Link" under the preview area, make it go to a menu instead of itself.

Thanks for that but I still have one problem. I've had to add an empty VMG Menu (whatever the hell that is) for DVD compliance according to DVD-lab PRO and so I used that to link the end of the playlist to.

Everything played as it should but the menu at the end just looped around continously after the last video. I put the timeout at 1 second, but it still looped endlessly. Then I created another empty menu (not VMG this time) and tried to use that instead but the same thing happens.

I just don't get this. Why is it so hard to just make the DVD stop playing? How do you say to it "just stop". I can't find an option that says END or STOP or FINISH anywhere.

I honestly would have thought that just making a bunch of clips play through once and then stop without any menus or other flash stuff would be just about the simplest thing you could possibly ask of a DVD and yet it seems to be incredibly hard.

[DRP]

I need something that will give me the option of Root Menu for the End Link I think to make it stop. Neither the Play List nor any kind of Menu will give me that option. An empty movie will but I can't compile the DVD with an empty movie in it.

I'm going around in circles here. How on earth do you make a compilation stop playing?

[DRP]

2guns1inger: I've given up on the play list option because I can't find a way to make it stop which leaves me with your suggestion.

I've found the auto action link in menus now. Can you please expand on how this will make it play the next movie in a new VTS?

[GeorgeW]

Are you linking to the Playlist from a menu button? Create a MENU, put a button on it, and then link the button to the PLAYLIST.

Using the ENDLINK of the PLAYLIST, set it to the menu that you called it from.

I don't understand why it isn't stopping for you -- I do this procedure all the time -- it is the easiest way to play multiple titles -- figure out how this works and you will be able to do just about anything with the other Playlist types (Chapter, Case, etc...).

[DRP]

Are you linking to the Playlist from a menu button?

No. I don't want or have any menus at all unless they are empty ones that do nothing. I don't want to have to be pressing buttons to make the disc play. I was just aiming for something that will be completely automated. ie. put the disc in and it plays through all the titles until it reaches the end and then stops. Pretty simple and straight forward I would have thought.

[GeorgeW]

Create a dummy menu that you want the ENDLINK to go to. You have to save the project, then re-open it. Now the dummy menu should show up in the ENDLINK dropdown choices.

Alternatively, you can right-click on the last title in the playlist, and EDIT VM commands. Edit the POST Command sequence, and add an EXIT (the EXIT command sometimes works differently in different DVD Players -- either the disc will stop, or it will just "freeze" until you press eject).

[reboot]

You don't need a VMG.
You don't "link" VTS, you BRIDGE them.
You don't need multiple VTS.
On the connections tab, link ROOT to movie 1.
Do NOT put each movie into a separate VTS, unless it has different aspect/framerate/audio.
Link movie 1 to movie 2, movie 2 to movie 3, etc.
When it's over, it will return to ROOT.

[DRP]

You don't need a VMG.
You don't "link" VTS, you BRIDGE them.

Okay, how do I do that?

You don't need multiple VTS.

Well DVD-lab PRO says I do. It is a warning that comes up when I go to compile the DVD. Because I have a mixture of MPEG-1 & MPEG-2 files, some in 480x480 resolution and others in 352x240 resolution. some @ 2500kbps, some at 1600kbps and others at 1150kbps it says I should not mix up different files in the same VTS.

On the connections tab, link ROOT to movie 1.
Do NOT put each movie into a separate VTS, unless it has different aspect/framerate/audio.
Link movie 1 to movie 2, movie 2 to movie 3, etc.
When it's over, it will return to ROOT.

Sounds good and this is what I want, but I can't get it to shift seemlessly from VTS to VTS. Can you expand on how I "bridge" VTS together? I have tried linking from VTS to VTS but that isn't allowed as you already pointed out.

[reboot]

OK, different sources, multiple VTS.

Look in the help files. It's easy to use.
The other option is to just right click in Projects, and Add Menu. It will create the VTS for you (in dvdlab pro) and allow you to link Movies, no matter what the aspect.
Click Project properties, advanced, and put a tick in "allow non-standard..."
It may not play exactly as you planned in your player, but it's the easy way around it.
If your player can play VCD and SVCD, then it usually works fine.

[DRP]

Thanks for that bridge tip reboot. Finally I feel like I'm on the right track here. That seems to be the key I was missing.

I've done a test compile and run it in PowerDVD to see what it does. There is just one unexpected result however. Everything plays through as it should but when movie 7 finishes, instead of the player just stopping, it goes back to movie 2 and starts playing that again. It loops continously through movies 2 - 7 after the initial play through of 1 - 7.

The End Link for movie 7 is Root Menu. The End Links for all the other movies are as per the connection lines. I had to add the empty VMG menu for compliance with DVD specs according to DVD-lab PRO.



Can you tell me how to fix this please? If this one thing can be sorted it'll be perfect.

[DRP]

I thought the cause might have been having movie 7 in the same VTS as movie 1, so I've removed that, created a 3rd VTS and put movie 7 on it's own in there. Unfortunately that hasn't made any difference. It still plays in the sequence...

1,2,3...7 then
2,3,4...7 recurring

[GeorgeW]

I don't see a ROOT menu (unless it's out of the picture). Make the ENDLINK for movie7 go to VMG Menu 3 instead...

[DRP]

There isn't one and no you aren't missing seeing anything - I have captured the whole thing. When there is just a bunch of movies in a straight forward connection line the last one always End Links to Root Menu however and that causes the DVD player to stop playing, but now in this configuration it doesn't for some reason. Instead it sends it back to the first bridge and continues playing from there.

I can't End Link movie 7 to the VMG menu because that just causes the player to loop endlessly around that menu instead. There are no End Link options for the VMG menu that will make the player just stop. This is the major issue I had yesterday. I can't make the player just stop after movie 7.

[GeorgeW]

did you try the right-click of the last title, and EDIT VM Commands (adding an EXIT command to the POST commands)

[DRP]

No I didn't. To be honest that was starting to sound a bit like going WHOOSH over my head - I'm not a programmer afterall - but I'll take another look at it right now and see if I can figure it.

[DRP]

It WORKS!!

Thank God for that too. I really need to get this stuff burnt to disc once and for all to clear up some space on the HDD!! Operating with just the bare minimum free space is no fun at all.

Thanks for all the help guys. It works exactly as I want it to in both PowerDVD and on both my standalone DVD players with no warnings or errors from DVD-lab PRO.