Nero 5.5.4.3 question about Menus and the Apex AD-1100W

I have had some trouble with the creation of menus that display on
my Apex 1100w. I have created a test cd-rw VCD that worked but
when I burned a cd-r VCD the PBC ON message came up and I did
not have a menu.

I am using Nero 5.5.4.3 and I am burning an mpeg movie that was
encoded with TMPGEnc to the specs for a Video-CD. I have played the
test on my player and it worked great, so I know it plays fine. The cd-r
VCD plays just as good as the cd-rw but I have no menu.

Basically all I need to know is if I need the following checked off
in Nero to make sure the menus will display:

'Create standard compliant CD'

'Use CD-i application'

I do not want any more coasters, that is why I am posting this question.
I have read the 'Authoring' guide for Nero but I would like to hear from
some people that have actually done this.

BTW: I have tried VCDEasy but I cannot burn with it. When I do and I
look at the cd with Windows Explorer it says I have an Audio CD
I would like to stay with Nero as it is what came with my burner. If
anyone has any experiences with it OR with an updated version
I would like to hear from you. I have considered updating mine but
why fix something if it is not broken.

Thanks in advance.

[cvannest]

Here are some quick tips that I've learned:

(*) CD-RW discs are actually more compatible in set-top/standalone DVD players than CD-R discs are; it supposedly has something to do with the reflectivity of the former being closer to regular DVDs.

(*) Nero may not make 100% compatible VCD menus (?!). However, all the VCDs I've made with Nero 5.5.9.0 play very well in my inexpensive Apex 1500 player.

(*) In Nero 5.5.9.0, I use the following settings under FILE/COMPILATION INFO:

VideoCD Tab = "Use CD-i..." NOT checked.
"Store source pictures..." NOT checked.
ISO Tab = "ISO Level 1" IS checked.
"ISO 9660" IS checked.
"Joliet" NOT checked.
"Relax ISO..." NONE checked.

You might checked out VCDEasy if you're having compatibilty problems-- it's a bit harder to learn and doesn't automatically create thumbnail menus (or any menu), but supposedly creates 100% compatible VCDs. You can also create a motion or still VCD menu externally (exporting it as an MPEG from Premiere, etc), but that takes some additional time.

BTW, check out my post about 100% VCD compatible authoring software on this board for a brief rundown of my findings so far.

-CV

[markums2k]

I can vouch for VCDEasy. Menus work GREAT with my 1100W player, and you can make menus under menus (like a "Special Features" section or whatever). I can't recommend it enough, seriously...

Yet, I never had trouble with Nero menus in my player. You might wanna pic up a different brand of CDR or something if you're hellbent on Nero menus. They should work okay.

[Greg12]

Upgrade your Nero.


It may be a bug in the menu generation that has been fixed.


Your only at 5.5.4.3 and they have 5.5.9.4.

Thank you, Thank you, and, did I say "Thank You"!
This is what I have been looking for, for 2 weeks.
Thank all of you who responded. I will be trying this out in the following week.

I kinda thought it might be the disk (cd-rw cd-r). I have read about how
some players like different brands. Right now I am using Fuji cd-r's.
The cd-rw I used for my test came with the burner. It is some off-name
brand. I do have some memorex cd-rw that I will be testing out.

Sounds like I will be fixing something that is not broken (updating Nero).
I also thought this may be the problem but with my luck on updating
software I wanted to get a second opinion.

I have tried VCDEasy. I can do everything BUT burn correctly. When ever
I burn with VCDEasy it likes to make audio cd's, not VCD's.

Thanks for all of the input. I will update with my findings asap.

[markums2k]

Just a quick note on VCDEasy (just because its sooooo much more wonderful than Nero menus). Just make a CD image and burn the .CUE file seperately with Nero. I get 100% compliant VCDs every time. I run Win XP so I couldn't use the "built-in" burning software... or whatever they include with VCDEasy.

Also, I checked, and my version of Nero is 5.5.1.8. Menus were working fine for me. Using Sony 700MB CDRs and 650MB CDRWs.

[trekkermaster]

markums2k (or anyone else)

Ok, i have tried VCDeasy and i have an Apex AD-1100W as you do (the 1Mb unit). I made my menu as explained on the authoring guides and i have tested my cue/bin on WinDVD (mounted with Daemon) and all menu works great, all the functions go where it should go. I also ran my svcd burnt on CDwr through winDVD and it works as well.

Problems come when i try on my Apex, I can go through the chapters with Previous/Next or selecting them with the numkeys on the remote. However, i cannot access my menues, i tried everything but none shows up. The movie plays great otherwise, no problem with that.

What should i do to correct that? Do the still pics have to be the same resolution as the motion Mpeg? Is there a special way to burn my Cue/Bin files with NERO and what settings should i use (knowing i cannot access the s-vcd menu since i burn a cue/bin). And i have 5.5.9.0

Thanks for any help.