Using DVDA

[mikiem]

Nothing new, but thought it might be helpful posting a few, mostly compatibility tips for those using DVDA (particularly v. 2).

Probably the biggest issue is importing mpg2 files. A standard video only stream (m2v) won't work -- run the file through a muxer (TMPGEnc's MPEG Tools works well) without supplying an audio stream or file.
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Checking File -> Optimize, you might find DVDA still decides your video needs recompression, often because the bitrate is too high. If the reported bitrate is a problem, changing the bitrate in the 1st header, using something like DVDPatcher on your muxed mpg2 video can work.
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You might want to replace the video in the DVD layout DVDA created -- it's not difficult if you follow the guides at VideoHelp.com, using VobBlanker & Ifoedit. If you're adding English subs to an NTSC DVD, you might be able to skip that step... A DVDA produced DVD will have captioning turned off, whether its in the video or not. Using IfoEdit open the vts & title ifo's (VTS_01_0.IFO, VTS_02_0.IFO etc. & VIDEO_TS.IFO), double clicking on the video under Title Set (Movie) attributes -> check the box for field 1 (& Optionally field 2) in GOP under CC for Line 21. If the MPG2 video contains captioning, you should now be able to view it.
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Its easy to create a DVD layout in muxman using non-text (sup) subs, then use VobBlanker to merge the results with your original, DVDA authored menus, but using/having chapters can muck things up.

Use Chapter-X-tractor on the original, with format set to DVD Maestro, save 1 file (ie. chapt.txt). With format of %f\n save a 2nd file (ie. chapfrme.txt). Using PgcDemux on the original vob files, save the celltimes.txt.

To duplicate original chapter times in DVDA, navigate into your video, so you view the video on the timeline. Copy the 1st non-zero time from chapt.txt, double click on the time display in DVDA (above and left from timeline), press cntrl-v to paste, press enter, click the icon to add a chapter, press enter, then cntrl-s to save -- repeat this for all desired chapters.

For the muxman layout, there are a couple of potential problems... There are usually more cells in a DVD then chapters used, & Celltimes.txt from PgcDemux will reflect that. Chapter-X-tractor will usually disregard the extras, producing a list that matches the original, but the results are in my experience often inaccurate when used with muxman.

Open the celltimes text file & compare it to the chapfrme.txt file from Chapter-X-trackor, deleting any lines in the celltimes.txt file that don't match up (you probably won't get exact matches, but they should be pretty close). Ignore the first line if 0 in chapfrme.txt.

VobBlanker replaces the video cell by cell, and if the cell counts don't match between the DVDA & muxman layouts, you'll get errors. Usually not a problem, & in muxman, importing the edited Celltimes.txt will provide the same chapter count as DVDA. Occasionally though, muxman will show one less chapter then your DVDA layout. In this case, add a first line with a 1 to Celltimes.txt. [muxman doesn't take a zero first time (& DVDA won't let you remove it)]
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Using VobBlanker to replace vob files to add subs etc., if you check boxes to remove POUPs, on playback when you select menu, it might show Title, Root, & Chapter menus when a chapter menu does not exist. Selecting the chapter menu takes you somewhere else on your DVD.
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Text subs work well if formatted to (saved-as) MAC DVD Studio Pro in Subtitle Workshop. After importing to timeline, click icon in the subtitle track title bar to show subs. Zoom in on the timeline so you can see & click an individual caption in the timeline. Click on a caption in the video window, setting font, size etc... - right click on that caption's block in the timeline and select apply format to track.
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Menus with DVDA can be a problem I think because of what I consider poor documentation. To create simple highlights (other then the usual underlines etc...), start with your menu background in an image editor. Place whatever black/white or grayscale shapes you want to use on a separate layer (or as separate objects depending on your software). Save your shapes/objects as a .png image using a transparent (no) background.

In Photoshop I've found it convenient to use graphic or symbol fonts, pasting characters copied in character map -- these will automatically be placed on separate layers. When I've got them all in place I save the file under a new name, turn off (hide) all the other layers, merge visible, and save-as to .png.

Back in DVDA, drag or set your menu background. Select a button, set it to image, then clear the image (hit the red X), to get an image-map frame. Drag and size this frame over the desired button area, making it big enough to include the shapes or objects you want to use as highlights. Set the "Highlight" style to "Image mask overlay" in the properties window to the right of your menu page... Repeat for all remaining buttons.

Now go to "Background Media" under "Menu Page Properties", and set the "Highlight mask" to the .png graphic you saved with the transparent background. Below that, set Highlight mask mapping to transparency. Test.

Finally set the colors used for your new highlights. It's possible to get more involved, but I usually keep it real simple. I usually leave it at color sets 1 & 2 for button select and press, changing their colors as needed...

TO change colors expand the color set to show all 4 colors, click the bar for the top one, exposing the drop-down arrow. Click that arrow, then click on the color bar, dragging the cursor until I come up with the color I want. Then close the drop-down, and double click on the color bar this time to bring up the color selection window. It's set to my new color, so all I have to do is click add to custom colors & click OK. Now by double clicking the 3 remaining color bars, one at a time, I can update the rest of the color set without having to enter the color numbers.
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DVDA titles each page, and plants that title in the way of everything. Delete that title and it's a hassle -- they're handy for navigating DVDA from page view to page view. Instead, name pages as you would a web project, something descriptive, then set the text transparency to 100%, turning the title's shadow off as well. If the bounding box is still in the way, resize it to a tiny corner of the page,
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[mumdigau]

@mikiem

Highly appreciate your reply. I also read through your 'Using DVDA'.

Before going more into detail, I'd like to answer you my basic question: How to create buttons in DVDA? In DVDMaestro I simply put an rectangle around the area I'd like to serve as a button, and then set colors and transparency for inactive, selected and activated state. How do I do this DVDA? Insert empty button?

Second, on my menus the buttons are not included on the background, but sit altogether on one subpicture which is set to full transparency for inactive and activated state. Thus a button is only visible when selected. How do I achieve this in DVDA (I'm on version 3.0c)?

Last, I'd like to have a menu in one layered .psd file as I'm used to so far with DVDMaestro. I made all menus with DVD Menu Studio, and then exported them for DVDMaestro which gave me those 2-layered .psd files. Unfortunately, there is no export function for DVDA, so I have to build the .psd files manually in Photoshop. If you think layered based menus are too cumbersome in DVDA, I'd change to single .png files as you proposed in your 'Using DVDA'.

Actually, it's a onetime task fo make my menus working in DVDA. Once done, everything else is quite easy to accomplish especially music compilations (the main reason why I change to DVDA).

Would be nice if you could help me jumping the menu hurdle.

Best regards

mumdigau

[mikiem]

"How to create buttons in DVDA? In DVDMaestro I simply put an rectangle around the area I'd like to serve as a button, and then set colors and transparency for inactive, selected and activated state. How do I do this DVDA? Insert empty button? "

Drag your mpg2 vido onto menu screen -- this should automatically create button & link. Or Insert empty button. then set links in right side properties panel. Right click button and set to image only for type. Select button & in panel at right, you'll see image for thumbnail -- click x to eliminate image, use empty thumbnail. Drag & size empty button wherever you want it. Set highlight type in right panel with button selected. At the top of the properties panel for the menu page, you'll see the color sets used by this page -- you can change to any combo of 4 colorsets available. Towards the bottom of the menu page properties (still in that right side panel), you'll see 4 color sets listed in order.

To change the colors of the 1st colorset for example, click the plus arrow expanding the tree to show all 4 colors. Click on the right 1/2 of 1st line where it shows a color (yellow by default) & it turns into a drop down box. Can either expand that box clicking the arrow or double click to bring up pallet. Once you've selected your color, can use the pallet to add it to custom colors, which makes it easier to add the same color to remaining 3 lines of color set (which is the default), or can use different colors.

"Second, on my menus the buttons are not included on the background, but sit altogether on one subpicture which is set to full transparency for inactive and activated state. Thus a button is only visible when selected. How do I achieve this in DVDA (I'm on version 3.0c)?"

To my knowledge, can't. You could try using an empty button, and display a simple graphic in the mask, but as far as I've been able to determine, there's no way to create a normally invisible button, or normally invisible complex graphic. Also couldn't find a way to use a graphic element or animation on the menu background, and cover it up with a button thumbnail image that turned invisible or transparent when selected.

"Last, I'd like to have a menu in one layered .psd file as I'm used to so far with DVDMaestro. I made all menus with DVD Menu Studio, and then exported them for DVDMaestro which gave me those 2-layered .psd files. Unfortunately, there is no export function for DVDA, so I have to build the .psd files manually in Photoshop. If you think layered based menus are too cumbersome in DVDA, I'd change to single .png files as you proposed in your 'Using DVDA'. "

Again, as far as *I've* been able to determine, the only use of layered graphics in DVDA is for masks, where they use the alpha (transparency channel) of the graphics file. Otherwise I think DVDA just converts any graphics to a simpler format -- don't have to use png, but Sony apps like Vegas seem to like it, it has a small file size, and the extra data in photoshop files seems to just be discarded anyway.

[mumdigau]

@mikiem

Many thanks. Things getting clearer now. I'll try out what you proposed.

Just two comments:

1. Concering hiding buttons, what do you think of mapping their color to black with no transparency for inactive state (they have just one color (which is red) and are sitting on a black background)? Shouldn't they dissapear when not selected or not activated?

2. Did you ever deal with subtitles? My question is: Does DVDA allow to create/import graphical subtitles? It seems to be that creation just supports textual subtitles. Therefore to precise my question: Can imported .sub files refer to image files? I tried, but didn't manage so far. I ask because for my music compilations I'd like to mask/show on demand the images associated with the audio tracks by switching on/off the subtitles on the dvd player's remote in order to avoid burn-ins. This can easily be done by taking full sized black images as subtitles. perhaps now know an easier/alternate way in DVDA?

Hope to bother you not to much. Many thanks again

mumdigau

[mikiem]

"1. Concering hiding buttons, what do you think of mapping their color to black with no transparency for inactive state (they have just one color (which is red) and are sitting on a black background)? Shouldn't they dissapear when not selected or not activated? "

I think it would work. DVDA uses the mask to determine where to apply the colorset, & matching the background in the colorset assigned to "Inactive button colors" should cover it completely if you set no transparency for the (in this case black) color set. Could then set selected button colors to all transparent, and if you wanted, apply a color tint for activated button colors.

Something I came up with for your sub question... Navigate into the video so you display the timeline -> add sub track by clicking icon -> add sub event by clicking icon -> display subs by clicking icon on track header in timeline -> drag sub bounding box to size of video frame/preview -> set color set 4's colors all to black with 0 (no) transparency. Can drag sub event as long as you want. If you create more then one event, select altered event, then right click on it in timeline selecting apply to track.

Regarding subtitles in general, DVDA will only create graphic sub tracks rendering text -- in order to use graphic format subs I create a second DVD layout in muxman, open the DVDA-created layout in VobBlanker, then replace the title(s) with those from muxman. This retains any menus etc. that were created in DVDA.

An alternate way might be to use angles -- I believe that was the big change in DVDA 3. The potential problem with that approach would be the additional file sizes since you'd have essentially 2 complete video files, one black & one with images. They could be made smaller, but you'd still have 2.

Another option (though time consuming), might be to create many menus, the potential prob. being that couldn't switch the image on/off without starting the audio from the beginning. Or could add motion periodically to the images, panning, changing colors, maybe overlaying some sort of pattern, the sort of thing they use in film to add interest or use in screensavers to prevent burn-in.

[mumdigau]

@mikiem

Seems to be that I hit two major leaks of DMA: weak psd import., and no graphical subs. At least the sub restriction is rather poor for a (semi-) professional product after years of development. To solve this via Muxman/VobBlanker is not adaquate, i. e. too time comsuming and error-prone, especially knowing that all of this can be done in good old DVDMaestro. The only reason I want to move away from DVDMaestro is to save time, because in music compilations the associated images (here as dummy video track) have to manually be stretched exactly to the length of the corresponding audio titles, and additionally for each audio title an exactly matching sub has to be defined (for masking the image), as subs cannot cross chapters which separate the audio tracks.

To use angles was my first approach in DVDMaestro, but I wasn't allowed to place a dummy-video (black stills) on the 2nd video track, only on the 1st. But here sit already the images. So I moved to the sub approach.

I also heard rumours DVDA should have problems with imported ac3 tracks which is the only audio format I use for all my DVDs. Altogether I don't feel comfortable to change to DVDA in the moment.

Many thanks for your feedback. Very helpful.

mumdigau

[mikiem]

If it helps... Hopefully anyway

Using the 1st method I posted, setting the sub display to full frame and setting the background to black rather then transparent, will give you a full screen black sub, regardless the text used.

I agree it would be nice to tackle graphics subs within the prog. but, not that many do. To me it's roughly on a par with most other mid-range authoring apps., with the advantage of having a decent means of timing text subs, but otherwise DVD Lab Pro I think is more powerful (to me it's just a pain to sync a sub track by trial & error & yeah, I could do it in Subtitle Workshop).

As far as ac3 files, I've actually only found one that DVDA would not accept, but then nothing else would touch it either. But it does take longer to import ac3 because of the way it draws a waveform by default -- something I never saw much use for.

Good Luck