Create multiple file format DVD

[robart6]

Hi!

I'm new to the forum so forgive me if this is posted in the wrong place.

I want to make a DVD for viewing on TV. DVD will contain the following:

Video files (.vob)
Still picture files (.jpg)
Text files (.pdf, .doc)
Possibly a picture slide show

I have the following related software:
Nero 6 Ultra Edition
Nero Photo Show Deluxe 5
Digital Photo Slide Show 2006
Office 2003 Professional
Roxio and Sonic CD/DVD writing software
Creative Media Source 5

I don't mind buying additional software but would like to keep the max cost at $100.

Can anyone tell me if what I want to do is possible and if so, how to go about it. My skills are at an intermediate level. All help is appreciated. Thanks!

robart

[filmboss80]

Where does one begin? There are so many, many holes to fill in... Mixed media would require you to author to DVD-ROM (mixing DVD video with data), yet it appears that your Roxio/Sonic authoring software is consumer-level. Also, you say it's for "viewing on TV" (as opposed to viewing on a PC), but you won't find a set-top DVD player that will display .doc and .pdf files. It is not difficult to author the DVD so that still .jpg images can be viewed (much like DVD submenus), but this will need to be incorporated under DVD structure using the authoring program. You do not mention your video source formats or how they will be edited and encoded to mpeg2 prior to authoring into a .vob structure under a VIDEO_TS folder. More details would be needed from you, but in the meantime, please consult "What Is DVD" in the menu at the top left of this website.

[robart6]

filmboss80:

Thanks for the response.

Yes, the Roxio/Sonic software is consumer level. Regarding the .pdf/.doc files - - how can I convert them to a format that will be recgonized? Can you recommend an authoring program? I have Video_ts.bup, ifo,vob and VTS_01.bup, ifo, vob files in a Video_TS folder so I don't think that part will be too difficult. I guess the real difficulty is the .pdf/.doc files. Thanks again for your help.

robart

[Cornucopia]

Even most consumer authoring apps (like Roxio/Sonic) allow additional files to be included, just depends on what preset is used...

PDF/Doc is a bugger. I've done this before, but you have to decide on where you're going to compromise--big picture that you have to Pan/Scan, or screensize thumbnail that is illegible (or reformat text to fit screen with, say PPT). Lots of ways, all difficult.

Scott

[robart6]

Scott,

Thanks! If I use PPT would I just past the entire text article onto one slide and then format that slide to fit screen? You state "Lots of ways, all difficult." so I don't think I'm getting the full picture in regards to PPT.

robart

[filmboss80]

Your main challenge is incorporating the documents. For a .pdf file, I would think you could open it in Adobe Illustrator and export to .jpg. However, an 8.5" by 11" page in a portrait orientation will not fit well on a TV screen, so you would have to reorient the frame. I'll give you a case in point of something my company did a few years back. We were commissioned to produce an educational DVD on U.S. Government. Besides the main movie, we incorporated the full texts of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Amendments into the program where they could be accessible from the main menu of the program. The "pages" of text were actually a series of 720 x 540 bitmap images (our authoring software took .jpg, .tif, .bmp, and .tga images -- check your manual to see what yours will take). Each image had soft backgrounds, and text were pasted in as nice, antialiased titles. Using the DVD authoring program, each page was given a remote function for Next Page, Previous Page, or Main Menu. The final DVD had a main menu with Play Movie, Chapters, and Extras. It was under the Extras menu that the image files with readable texts could be found. Different sets of texts were grouped under submenus, so that the viewer could easily access what they were looking for. All of this, mind you, was incorporated into a single DVD Project using the authoring software (a much higher end of Sonic software than you are using). Everything went under a single VIDEO_TS folder.

If you want something playable on a set-top DVD player, you will need to abandon the mixed-media idea, as no standalone player has Microsoft Office or Adobe Acrobat loaded for play over a TV set. I don't know about your slideshow software, but I doubt it could be incorporated in your authoring program where movies and images can all be accessed through a single main menu. Thus, if you want to have moving stills with music, I suggest you make what is essentially a "slideshow movie." Most non-linear editing programs will allow you to import stills and create such a movie. In the end, you will need to encode all movies to MPEG2 to import into your DVD authoring program. It is the authoring program that will tie everything together, and it is up to you to create user-friendly navigation menus to make everything accessible for viewers.

Whew. That's all I have time to write for now.

[robart6]

filmboss80:

WOW! Thanks! Great idea to put the text pages into bitmap images. A guy at work once told me he created a DVD with menus; I'm going to see which tool he used and how much it cost.

You've made me realize I need to get everything into video format for this to work. That alone will get me over the biggest hurdle.

Thanks again for your expert advice.

robart

[Cornucopia]

I concur with filmboss80 (and that's essentially what I was referring to re: Pan/Scan vs. Thumbnail).

What I would also suggest is...

For .DOC, using Word's OUTLINE feature, create RTF outline file (with appropriate recurring headings) which can be imported into PPT and will generate individual slides for each Level1 Heading. Then create overview/index slides
For .PDF, using Photoshop or AI, convert to BMP/PNG at both HUGE and Formatted-for-Screen Thumbnail page sizes.

For either, it would make sense to author in 2 separate-but-parallel (and interlinked) pathways: Indexed Overview (where you see whole page on 1 screen, maybe even multiple pages with greeked text) and Close-Up view (where you navigate, say N-S-E-W to see different sections of individual pages).

Do a 24bit color at least, and do at least a 2x oversampled image size (non-square pixels done correctly), then downrezzing (with overscan borders) and 0-255RGB <-->16-235YUV color scaling. Will make the image much clearer and smoother.

Scott

[robart6]

Scott,

I don't know a lot about Photoshop but from what I hear it is a very powerful program. We have it at work so I'll try playing around with converting the .pdf files into 720 x 540 bitmap images, as suggested by filmboss80, and using remote functions for Next Page, Previous Page, and Main Menu as filmboss80 also suggested.

Regarding your last paragraph: Are these steps accomplished in Photoshop?

Thanks again for your help; greatly appreciated.

robart

[guns1inger]

If you use a recent version of Photoshop then you will be able to choose preset image sizes, complete with safe frame guides, when you click on File -> New. There are templates for both 4:3 and 16:9, and you can work with non-square pixels so you can see how it will turn out.

Be aware though - small text does not reproduce well on most TV screens. Given the low resolution, and the fact that often it will be viewed on interlaced displays, your choice of font is very important. Choose a simple, son-serif font. I would suggest you stick with the standards - Arial, Tahoma, Verdana or Century Gothic. Keep the point size reasonably large - 16 pt is probably about right. It may mean that you need 4 - 5 screen pages for every real page of text, but at least it will be readable, and hopefully will not suffer from interlace flicker to any great degree. Finally, you may fin that you need to apply a slight motion blur to the text in a north/south direction, or use drop shadows. Again, this reduces flicker and improve readability.

[filmboss80]

Guns1inger is correct about the small text on a TV screen. The only thing I would add is to make sure your text is anti-aliased. This will soften the edges of the letters just slightly, but it will look much better on a standard TV set. Experiment with one image until you get something that looks right to your eyeballs.

[Cornucopia]

I agree also. 1 pixel vertical-only motion blur takes care of interlacing flicker. 12-14 pt is bare minimum you should EVER use for text on a TV. That's why I suggested combo of full page overview+navigable portions of pages, gets around pointsize problem fairly smoothly with a recognizable analogy for users.

more later...

Scott

[robart6]

filmboss80, Cornucopia, and guns1inger:

You people are great! Thanks for all the advice. I will begin tackling the .pdf files this weekend. Give me a week or two and I'll post an update as to how it's going.

robart

[robart6]

All,

Update: This project is progressing slower than expected. I now have Photoshop; am playing with creating .bmp files and testing them on TV. I don't want to create the full DVD only to learn that certain parts are not viewable - - so I'm testing each format as I go. Thanks again for all the help.

robart