Menu on a VCD with only one MPEG

[aktayal]

I want to make a multilevel menu on a VCD that gives various choices to play different sections of a single DAT file. How can this be done ?

Thanx

Anil

[adam]

http://www.vcdhelp.com/burnmpg.htm

[aktayal]

This doesn't help. I wanted to know how can I access different portions of a single MPG through the menu. Like I want to make a menu with choices of best scenes from a single clip. I think this kind o menu has not been dealt with in the URL given by you.

Thanx

Anil

[vitualis]

You will need a program that can do this sort of interactivity. VideoPack4 is a good proggy for doing this sort of thing.

VCDImager (open source freeware) will also do it.

You will have to use something called "entrypoints". For more info, search the forums.

A demo VCD is also available that demonstrates how a variety of complex interactive elements (including menuing and entrypoints) were created with GNU VCDImager.

Regards.

[aktayal]

I have downloaded the VCDimager but it is far too complicated for me to make a VCD from the command line. Also I do not know the X of XML. Is there any freeware which can do this in a graphical manner.

Thanx

Anil

[vitualis]

The command line console isn't really that hard to use, and the XML editing is done with a simple text editor like Notepad. Editing the XML is somewhat analogous to editing HTML manually, except easier (there are less things to remember).

There is no freeware nor commercial graphical too to do this for you. A GUI is in development though.

If you want to use VCDImager, you will just have to persevere and get over the learning curve. Once you've mastered it, it is VERY rewarding if you are interested in complex VCD authoring.

For a graphical solution to VCD authoring, CeQuadrant used to make a proggy called VideoPack4. As CeQuadrant has since been swallowed up by Adaptec and then Roxio, you may have difficultly finding this commercially.

Regards.

[aktayal]

Thanx Virtualis,

Sad to know that there are no graphical XML editors for VCD authoring, but at the same time it is a relief to know that learing XML is not very difficult. Ok..I will go the hard way. Thanx again for your help.

Anil

[RFontenot]

aktayal,

You can easily create a VCD with multilevel menus and more with the Philips Video CD Toolkit. It has an easy to use drag and drop GUI and requires no coding of any kind. The program was originally written by Philips, who authored the VCD 2.0 specification, also known as the White Book spec, so the VCDs you create with the program are extremely compliant and should work with any DVD or VCD player or software. The software is now available at no charge.

The program does require the all of the files you use be strictly compliant with the VCD 2.0 spec, if they aren't it won't let you use them.

The program only lets you create VCDs, so if you want to create XVCD or SVCD, then you'll need to use VCDImager.

You can find guides on how to use the product, guides on how to create VCD 2.0 compliant files using TMPGEnc and the ATI AIW capture cards, and guides on how to burn your project to a CD in the Authoring forum, just search for "Toolkit" or "Philips".

RF

[Bardock]

Easy way for a non-teach person to do this is use TMPGEnc to cut the mpg into diff files and use nero, easy cd creator or another for the menus nero should be the easiest.

[vitualis]

Perhaps...

But, then you wouldn't have a seamless chaptered VCD and the menuing in Nero leaves much to be desired.

aktayal, I forgot to mention about the Philips VCD Toolkit. As mentioned before, this allows you to do what you want too, with a GUI. It isn't that easy to use though but RFontenot has done some pretty good posts on this subject. If you search for his name on the forums, you will find a lot of useful info.

Regards.

[aktayal]

Dear RFontenot,

Thanx a lot for your help. Can you please give a link to download the free Philips VCD Toolkit and if possible a link to Videopack also.

Thanx

aktayal