Can you play menu's on basic media players?

[sjc]

I have produced a short instructional VCD that I want the average homeowner to be able to view on their computers. Most homeowners don't have DVD drives (yet) so I need to author something that people can view with a CD drive and a basic media player (most people will have these). I have been able to author the video so that it can be viewed on a computer CD Rom using Windows Media Player, *but not with a menu*! My attempts to create a menu fail (I'm using Ulead Video Studio 6).

I believe my problem may be that since a menu is interactive, you simple can't have one if you are using a basic media player. You need to have a special software program to run it.???

Any suggestions? Having the menu is important to my project, and so is making the video accessible to as many people as possible.

Stephen

[gll99]

I recall downloading a small 10mb "mov" cartoon file of "Tom and Jerry from kazaa that had interactive properties. I just checked and its still there.

I don't think its quite menus but that means the "MOV" format must have user interaction built into it.

[gll99]

A bit more........

I downloaded the file again from KAZAA and it is like menus. The mov is quicktime format and it seems to meet your criteria. The short clip I watched has a couple of menu options and the movie plays according to the option chosen. There is also a voice over prompting the user to make menu choices.
I imagine you could design this as simple or complex as you want.
I wonder what software is required and if its user friendly.
I'll have to look into this myself. I am curious to see how the clips are programmed and compiled.

[Thorn]

I think Quicktime allows some basic menu ability to be embedded in the movie, but that may not be the format you want to use if most of your users are on PCs.

With vcd you can't make a menu system that will work on settop dvd players, but it's very easy to make something for the computer.

You have two main choices: an autorun file that simply links to mplayer2 and opens the video file, or have an autorun program with a picture menu and buttons. You can find autorun programs at www.divx-digest.com and other places. It all depends on how much time you want to spend making it look cool

Actually there's a third option, you can author a mini-dvd and include the player on the disc. This won't play on a settop player but it look slick like a dvd. Unfortunately it's much more work than it's worth if this is a one-tiem project.

[gll99]

A bit more.........
Found this brief explanation:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creating Advanced Interactive Movies
QuickTime 4.1 introduced a set of new features for authors and tool developers that allow for the creation of even more advanced, interactive movies. These features included


the introduction of embedded movies
the addition of new wired actions and events
the addition of new ways to communicate between a wired movie and JavaScript in a Web browser
QuickTime 5 also introduced new features for manipulating text tracks in QuickTime movies, along with other capabilities
--------------------------------------------------------------
Me here:

The mov is actually a structure where sprites (eg a picture of your menu) can be mouse clicked to take an action such as play another imbedded clip. These can be built into multiple structures and can even play macromedia "Flash" swf files.

Its not VCD but it looks like you could create the structure you want and the quicktime player is available for download. You could probably get permission to include it free on your interactive CD.

You could design something similar in C++ or VB where the interactive menu is controlled by your app and the user selection just triggers a short movie clip or image display within your app. You can play movie clips using the window api within your program, full or windowed. You don't need an external media player.

The advantage of the mov format would be if it has a generic canned app that allows you to build the interactive structure then you wouldn't need a programmer.

[gll99]

Thorn:

The quicktime format is ported to the PC and plays well on a PC using windows.

Don't let the apple logo fool you.

I run Window98se.

Actually if this was not available I would recommend Browser software like Flash, Java scripts etc.. or for me much easier in good old VB6 (since I don't program C++) cause you can include all the run times on the disk and have everything nice and tidy on 1 cd with minimal install.

[sjc]

Thank you for the replies.

I like the idea of having an autorun file and linking it to a program that will play the video (including the menu). Can you recommend an autorun program that is a free download? (i visited divx-digest.com but there is no search feature so couldn't find any). Is mplayer2 a free download. Once I have these 3 components....my video, an autorun program, and a player......how do i compile them onto a disc so its ready to play? (am i in over my head or what here!!??)

Or, if Quick Time will play mpg files, including a menu, that sounds much easier. What things do i need to do to go this route

So many questions........

Stephen

[Thorn]

Mplayer2 is actually media player 6.4. It stays installed even if you install WMP7 (but I don't know about later versions).

I know there's a QT for the PC (as I use it) but it's not very good. A lot of mac software ported to the PC isn't very polished. The biggest reason quicktime is an inconvenience is that if the user doesn't have it installed, the installation file has to be included on the cd, and the user is inconvenienced (unless there's a non-install version?).

http://www.divx-digest.com/software/index4.html
Scroll down for launchers (autorun). I don't know which ones are good but there's a list of the top three. Also, for win2k read this: http://www.divx-digest.com/software/autorun_w2k.html
That page shows why the usual autorun.inf file doesn't work for win2k. That won't affect how a launcher program works.

I don't think you're over your head. In fact, I think some programs like Microdvd will be the launcher and the player so all you need is that and your movie, plus a little time to learn how the program works. No compile is needed, but a little work designing your autorun is (I know some are as simple as 1. select image 2. select commands for buttons 3. burn onto cd)

[gll99]

Autorun is easy to setup. You just need an autorun.inf file on the root directory of the cd. If you don't know how to set one up just look at most software install disks like the one that came with your video card, modem or other hardware. They usually have one on them. You can edit the file in notepad and start whatever you want. The problem is what will you start? The basic windows media player does not contain menus or anything else. The autorun is not foolproof since most burner software suggests you turn it off in your system settings so it won't interfere with your burns. Some apps suspend it temporarily while it is running but some users turn it off permanently.

Read The articles on this site first :

http://www.installsite.org/pages/en/tt_cdbrowse.htm

The following sites say that they contain some freeware apps which will generate autorun features with menus etc...... They are a little more complex than just a simple autorun.


http://www.timeless.co.zw/soft_cdarfree.cfm

http://www.imagespro.com/programs/725/

Want more autorun stuff???

Do a search : "Autorun Freeware" try msn or google or both lots of options.

I didn't follow up on any of these leads but its just the tip of the iceberg you should have no problem finding "autorun" functions if that works for you.

I only offer the following because some reading this may have similar interests but are looking for other tools.

You may want to look at "Flash" technology" its fully transportable and works standalone as EXE, or within a browser (offline or not) and within a QT movie (mov). With interactive menus, etc....

In a short time I found many sites and samples on the net with examples of interactive tutorials and sophisticated games designed with flash. The graphics are hi quality, respond to user events and the action is smooth. I must warn you that it does require a substantial learning curve if you have no background in programming. Since last night I have already setup a test splash multiple logo screen on my website with a "text button" to open a url at the end of the display.

Today I was looking at a menu only sample which allows multiple branching to display graphics, play a movie, open a website etc.... all within a 30 kb swf (flash) file.