Menus

[Kuliraga]

I've been trying to figure out how to apply menus to my VCD's and SVCD's but after burning the discs, when I try to play them in my DVD player, it freezes on the Menu Screen. I'm using NERO and would appreciate any help out there. I have been using the guide from this site. I'm very new to VCD/SVCD authoring, but would really like to make this work.

[zzyzzx]

It pauses after displaying the menu. Then you have to hit the "play" button. Have you tried this yet?

[vitualis]

Nero made still menus are authored incorrectly hang on most software DVD players and even some hardware DVD players.

If you are interested in making menus, I suggest that you try VCDImager +/- a GUI (e.g., TSCV). If you search for TSCV on the forums or the net in general, you will find places for download and guides.

For more info on the underlying VCDImager system itself:
http://www.vcdimager.org
http://www.geocities.com/medinotes/vcd or the mirror
http://www.vcdimager.org/guides

[zzyzzx]

Can VCD Imager make menus with movie clips in them, just like DVD's?

[vitualis]

Menus on VCD/SVCD/DVD can have a background of either a single still image, or a video clip.

DVD menus with the little video clip "chapter" selections don't really have 4 or 6 video clips playing at once. Rather, it is just one large video clip (the whole screen).

If you have a source video clip (in MPEG -- e.g., if you ripped it off a DVD menu), then you can author it onto your S/VCD as a menu. I have done so plenty of times.

TSCV (a GUI to VCDImager) has the capability of creating "motion clip" scene selection menus de novo as does VideoPack 5 I believe.

Regards.

[Kuliraga]

Thank you all for your replies. I think I've figured out how to deal with Menus in NERO. However, I'm interested in this VCDImager as it seems to have a lot more flexibility in terms of options. My only question is am I going to have to learn a "language" in order to use it? How complicated is it to use, and if it is a complex process where do I go to learn how to use the program. I'm a very quick study and only need to read instructions to make things work. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Again, thanks for responding! )

[taxi man]

The trouble I have with menu in nero is sometimes the menu
page isn't there when I play it back on my pioneer 340.The chapters are ok.

[pepehdez]

Use Ulead DVD Movie Factory. I've been using it for a while and it's reliable and very friendly.

[vitualis]

Someone up the thread mentioned Nero and chapters. Nero can't make chapters, only multitracks (which every VCD authoring program can do).

As for use of VCDImager, you don't have to learn a "language" if you use one of the GUIs (e.g., TSCV).

However, if you want absolute flexibility and power, it is a pretty good idea to learn the underlying XML scripting system behind VCDImager. Although there is a learning curve, it isn't really that hard. The "language" is similar to HTML. The real hard part is learning just what exactly you can do within the S/VCD specs.

For anyone interested, I've written some fairly indepth articles on practical VCD Authoring with VCDImager (without GUIs) here:
http://www.geocities.com/medinotes/vcd or the mirror
http://www.vcdimager.org/guides

The documentation that comes with VCDImager has chock full of info too.

Good luck!

Regards.