SpruceUp 1.0 questions re: play items returning to menu; use

[AntnyMD]

Is there a function in SpruceUp 1.0 to have your first play item automatically play the next play item without automatically returning to the menu?

So far I've only wanted the item to return to the menu, but as I was considering making longer miniDVDs (for example, applying Sefy's SxVCD template to the DVD spec) I'll have more need to have mpegs play sequentially.

Is there also a surefire program that will fix errors in the Dolby Digital audio stream that is ripped from DVDs via SmartRipper when I rip by chapter? SpruceUp supports Dolby Digital audio, so my idea was to make an MPEG-2 program stream via Sefy's SxVCD template, using Dolby Digital audio instead of MPEG 1 Layer 2 audio.

Any useful feedback is thoroughly appreciated in advance!

[alkieman]

What you are referring to is End Actions which SpruceUP and every other budget DVD authoring package does not support. You will need to buy one of the more expensive authoring packages like DVDitPE from Sonic or DVDVirtuoso from Spruce.

You should also be aware that if you deviate too much from the DVD standards then most stand alone DVD players will spit out your disc. In fact, most DVD authoring software will reject the file too). The DVD standards are looser than VCD standards but still have their limits.

For SpruceUP and DVDVirtuoso the standards are:

Video:

MPEG1:
SIF Standard only, either NTSC:352x240 or PAL:352x288
Bitrates up to 1.856mbps

MPEG2:
FullD1, NTSC:720x480 or PAL:720x576
Cropped D1, NTSC:704x480 or PAL:704x576
1/2 D1, NTSC:352x480 or PAL:352x576
SIF, same resolutions as MPEG1

GOP size:NTSC maximum 18 frames, PAL maximum 15 frames.

Chroma Format: 4:2:0

Audio:
MPEG-1 Layer2 audio (*.mpa, *.m1a, *.abs).
Dolby Digital AC3 (*.ac3 - mono up to 6 channels).
WAV uncompressed PCM format (*.wav).
PCM uncompressed audio (*.pcm).
AIFF PCM for MAC audio (*.aif).

Deviate from any of these and SpruceUP (and most other DVD authoring packages) will not accept the MPEG files.

I've been trying to find a cheap AC3 encoder but the ones available are all designed for professional applications and therefore, way to expensive.