DLP: Whats better: using switched menus or menu cells?

[Alain2007]

I make extensive use of switched menus but i find the delay on the standalone unit a bit long...I think I recall reading that using menu cells would reduce this delay. Is anyone familiar with the pros/cons of each method?

[guns1inger]

There are two basic ways to create a switched menu. The old fashioned way is a series of separate menu objects, called as required. The menu cell way is exactly the same amount of work to create, however each menu page is in a cell of a single menu object.

Old method Pros : Works on every player
Old method Cons : can be slow on older/cheaper players

New method Pros : Generally faster switching because it never leaves the menu, just jumps cells
New method Cons : May not work on older/cheaper players

That is pretty much it. The DLP help file covers menu cells pretty well. You still have to set up all you separate menu pages etc as you would for traditional switched menus, so you aren't getting any real saving at development time. However if the player supports them (and most do), menu cell based switched menus are generally much slicker.

[GeorgeW]

There are two basic ways to create a switched menu. The old fashioned way is a series of separate menu objects, called as required. The menu cell way is exactly the same amount of work to create, however each menu page is in a cell of a single menu object.

I agree with guns1inger on the pros/cons. The only thing I would comment on is that I believe the "old" way is easier to create because DLP helps "automate" the setup of the separate menus...

Regards,
George

[guns1inger]

I haven't used the wizard in DLP as it doesn't really work with assets prepared outside DLP. Like the effects and transitions, this always seemed to me to be a dinky toy add-on that was out of place with the rest of the tool set.

[GeorgeW]

I haven't used the wizard in DLP as it doesn't really work with assets prepared outside DLP. Like the effects and transitions, this always seemed to me to be a dinky toy add-on that was out of place with the rest of the tool set.

For switched menus the "old" way, I'm not sure what wouldn't work with externally prepared menus. I've done it with menus I setup in Photoshop. Once you setup a menu, with the buttons properly linked, the wizard simply clones the menus and sets up the button auto-activate accordingly on the switched menus. That's a pretty good time-saver for anyone doing switched menus (imho).

Regards,
George