A menu for my .iso file

[stlboi]

Okay, I use Visual Hub to create a multi-episode DVD from .avi files. About 8 episodes.

It looks like Visual Hub creates 8 .vob files and then combines them into a single .iso file.

I burned the .iso file and basically the 8 episodes are setup as 8 chapters. This sucks because I like nice visuals and want a nice menu.

Is there a way I can create a menu for my .iso file? All I want is 1 menu with a nice background and animated buttons for each episode.

I have an intel macbook, and when I use iDVD for the .avi files, the quality is fuzzy. Visual Hub is the only thing I've found that will convert the .avi and not mess up the quality.


Thanks!
~Tim

[terryj]

First, Have you tried Toast 7 or 8?

Second, are you trying to fit all 8 episodes through iDVD,
or are you trying to create say 2-3 episodes per DISC?

If you are trying to fit all 8 episodes onto one DVD,
yes your quality is going to suck hard in iDVD.
iDVD is lousy in this regard, as it doesn't allow for much
variance in compression, as it looks at the total run time
of the content to determine if the compression should be
overly high ( say, to squeeze 4 hours onto 1 DVD)
or if it should be overly low ( compressing say 2 hours to 1 DVD).
Factored into this run time is the total time of your content, plus
the total time of your menu animations ( 15mins per menu IIRC).
That 15 mins can mean all the world in say, trying to fit 3 to 4
hours of content on a disc.

If for instance your .avis are 30mins an episode, then using iDVD
you would want to keep it down to 3 episodes minimum
per disc to maintain high quality, low compression.
if they were an hour long, then only 2 episodes per disc would
yield really good looking discs.

Because of this limitation, many, many of us switched to
DVD Studio Pro, which in using its Compressor component app,
you can manually adjust, with the help of a BitRate Calculator,
your encoding and get results of four to five episodes per disc
at decent quality ( medium compression, medium quality).

[stlboi]

Thank you for responding.

1) Okay, I only have Toast 6. Does 7 or 8 have menu creation capabilities?

2) With iDVD, I did a lot of testing. One episode (25 minutes long) with no animated buttons and it still didn't look as good as the original .avi. I mean, the quality is watchable but I'm shooting for the best quality equal to that of the original .avi.

I only found that with Visual Hub. Through multiple tests, I found Eight episodes can fit on the DVD while still maintaining the excellent quality.

I have DVD Studio Pro, but it is very complicated. It will take me more time to figure out. Like I put a button on the screen and then add a movie. I can't figure out how to link the button to the movie. And I have no idea how to use a bit rate calculator/compressor component app.

4 episodes on 1 DVD is what I am use to, so discovering I could put 8 in this .iso file was great. I understand now that adding the menu with the short clip animated buttons (5 seconds or so) would reduce the number of episodes I could put in there without disturbing the quality.

[Case]

1) Okay, I only have Toast 6. Does 7 or 8 have menu creation capabilities?

Even Toast 6 can create menus. You may find them quite plain/neutral, but they are menus. Toast 7 comes with a variety of (wacky) top level menus, but nothing like the splashy movement in iDVD. I haven't had a look at Toast 8 yet.

[terryj]

Thank you for responding.

1) Okay, I only have Toast 6. Does 7 or 8 have menu creation capabilities?

as Case has said yes, yes, and yes. Toast 7's DIVX component is robust, and I'm
guessing that is what is need for your avi files to transcode properly into MPEG-2.

Still, at best, Toast 7 would benefit from the 4 epsiodes a disc maximum approach,
the menus would NOT be animated, but they would be menus nonetheless.

2) With iDVD, I did a lot of testing. One episode (25 minutes long) with no animated buttons and it still didn't look as good as the original .avi. I mean, the quality is watchable but I'm shooting for the best quality equal to that of the original .avi.

I only found that with Visual Hub. Through multiple tests, I found Eight episodes can fit on the DVD while still maintaining the excellent quality.

Not using Visualhub ( I do use iSquint so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me)
but I guess they too have a specific built in compression engine that balances between
iDVDs " time total" approach and a higher end compressor like Apple's Compressor or
Sorenson Squeeze that uses a "constant/variable bitrate quality" approach.

I have DVD Studio Pro, but it is very complicated. It will take me more time to figure out. Like I put a button on the screen and then add a movie. I can't figure out how to link the button to the movie. And I have no idea how to use a bit rate calculator/compressor component app.

4 episodes on 1 DVD is what I am use to, so discovering I could put 8 in this .iso file was great. I understand now that adding the menu with the short clip animated buttons (5 seconds or so) would reduce the number of episodes I could put in there without disturbing the quality.

its not that hard. Put the button on the menu, select said button and in the
inspector link to the track, etc.

For simplicity sake's, best for you to use Toast 7.
But when you have time, get Martin Sitter's DVD Studio Pro Quickstart Guide and
read it cover to cover, and do the exercises.
It'll get you up to speed FAST.

[stlboi]

Thank you for all your help. Very useful.

[KMJvet]

You can take the VIDEO_TS folder and break the single title as many times as you want by exporting each piece to a VOB using DVDxDV. That's fast and the quality is the same as it doesn't re-encode.
What I'm trying to figure out now is VOBs to DVD authoring to give it menus. iDVD will not do it because you can't import VOBs.

[terryj]

again, Toast 6, 7, or 8. Or DVDStudio Pro.

[KMJvet]

again, Toast 6, 7, or 8. Or DVDStudio Pro.

DVDSP is out of my price range. Toast 8 does it, but only with problems. At least that I can figure out, it'll only do it with re-encoding, even if you open "Custom" and choose never re-encode. Then the burned DVD ends up with a skipping problem not present in the original vob. It skips a "frame" (although I don't think they're called frames in dvds) about once a minute.
I don't know if that's the re-encode or the burn, I suppose although I've been doing other burns without trouble.....thus, so far Toast 8 is failing me.