what program lets me increase menu thumbnail size? Do Any?

[joeAgain------]

I think most of the authoring program's menu thumbnails are way too small to really see what's in their chapter thumbnails.

Is there a DVD authoring program that lets me increase the size of the menu thumbnails to a larger size that a user can choose?

[sparker]

If you use something like DVD Maestro you can create your own menus, therefore you can have your thumbnails any size you like.

[Rond66]

Selection Menu

MAGIX video deLuxe 2.0 can supply your movie with a graphic selection menu. It is also burned onto the disc and appears when you insert the disc into your player. You can then preview your movies or chapters as you would with a purchased DVD.


Preview


In the middle of the screen you will see a preview of the Selection menu. This menu also appears when you insert the disk to be burned into the player. The numbers refer to the number keys of your remote control (be it real or virtual).
The "Background image" button allows you to load your own background images into the menu page. Use “Menu page +/-“ to leaf through the menu pages.


Menu entries and previews

A double click on the preview window or on a menu entry opens the editor from where you can alter the name of a movie or chapter, or select a preview. You can also scroll through a movie or a movie chapter in order to find a suitable preview. By activating “
Use other graphics”, you can load your own bitmaps for your menu images.


Menu modi


Mode 1: No menus. Movies are burned one after the other onto disc. The first movie is played automatically when the disc is inserted into the player. Use the skip buttons on the remote control to jump to the previous or next movie. As there’s no menu burned onto the disc, there’s also no menu preview.

Mode 2: Movie menu only (preset): After inserting the disc, a menu appears from which you can choose a movie on the disc by using the remote control. The selected movie starts immediately. If you fail to select a movie, the first movie on the disc starts automatically.

Mode 3: Movie menus and chapter menus. In addition to the movie menus, there is a chapter menu for each movie. Select a movie and switch to the applicable chapter menu. Now you can select individual chapters via the remote control.


Disc Navigation structure

By clicking “Open navigation structure” you can view the structure of the menu.
Movie menu: All movies are listed as primary entries. This menu level is the movie menu

Chapter menu: All chapters are listed as secondary entries to the right of the movies to which they belong. This menu level is the chapter menu, and is only available in menu mode 3. If you deactivate the red “tick”, the chapter entry in the menu is also deactivated. The applicable chapter markers in the video editor appear in grey.

Layout


At the bottom of the screen is a whole row of menu layout templates from which to choose. Use the scroll bar to view them all.
- If you want to select a complete template, choose Layout and then double click the layout of your choice.

- You can also choose to combine elements of different templates. For example, you may wish to use the text format from one template, and the background from another. Easy. Simply select “Text” and double click the template containing the text you wish to use. Then select “Background” and double click the applicable template. The preview in the middle of the screen displays the result immediately.

[housepig]

DVD Lab lets you import whatever size you want for thumbnails.

and it has some really nice features (the Change Size command) for sizing the photos and aligning them (which I just found... now I can go back and fix all the ones I did by eye).

And if you come up with an arrangement you like, you can export it as a template to reuse it later.

[joeAgain------]

thanks, Rond66
I'll look into MAGIX video deLuxe.

Housepig,
Just where is the "Change Size" command, please? And when you say photos, are you speaking of the chapter thumbnails as I'm interested in resizing?

[housepig]

okay, I'm at a loss because I'm at work, but if I'm wrong I'll edit this post later...

but I'm pretty sure the Change Size is a right-click on the selected item.

so click on the picture you want to change to select it, right click on it once it's selected, and select Change Size.

the Change Size dialog has 4 boxes, one each for horizontal and vertical alignment (the two left-hand boxes) and one each for horizontal and vertical size (the two right-hand boxes).

So if you have two boxes, one underneath the other, and you want to make sure they are aligned, you can Change Size and make sure that the top left number is the same for both boxes. Likewise, two side by side boxes, the lower left number should be the same.

hope this helps..... on a 17" monitor, it's a lot easier than lining stuff up and resizing by eye!

[joeAgain------]

Rond66,
Can't I import ANY other video file types into it that aren't capped by that program itself?

That is a HUGE handicap for me.
I already have an excellent capturing hardware/software Mpeg-2(SVCD or DVD compliant) or Mpeg-1(VCD compliant) system.

?????
(the program indicates with a popup that Nothing I try to import is a valid file type!)

That makes that program totally unusable for me.

[Rond66]

MAGIX video deLuxe 2.0 can Import and export almost any format.

Import and export

Video and image formats: AVI (also non-compressed), MPEG-1/-2 (Ligos Motion Encoder), MPEG-4, DivX, Windows MediaTM, MOV (Quicktime Movie), MXV, MJPEG, BMP, JPG as well as MAGIX video deLuxe project files (for integrating into a new project).
Audio formats: WAV, Audio CDs (Ripping), MP3 and MIDI files.
Additional Export formats: Real MediaTM, rendered DV AVIs, Snapshot function (unlimited export of film motifs as BMP or JPG files).

Possible Applications

From MAGIX video deLuxe 2.0, all movies and videos can be directly...
- burned onto a playable CD-ROM, (S) Video CD or DVD

- played back on a video captureer or on a digicam

- integrated into a presentations program (such as MS PowerPoint)

- uploaded to the web and placed on your own website or on www.magix.com

- sent to friends via E-mail

- exported using high-quality compression procedures in different file formats

Capturing

MAGIX video deLuxe supports the most diverse analog and digital source devices: DV video captureer, VHS captureer, digicams, TV cards, graphic cards or USB cameras.

All capturing cards compatible with Video for Windows or DirectShow can be used for analog capturings. DV capturings are carried out via an OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 host adapter (Firewire or iLink). Digital camcorders can be controlled remotely with MAGIX video deLuxe 2.0.

TV cards can also be used to capture directly from a video captureer or from a broadcasting TV program. To make it easier, a timer such as to be found on a video captureer is integrated.

The usual maximum file length of 4 GB is a thing of the past. You can capture for as long as your hard disk offers enough memory. Real-time compression during capturing ensures small file sizes and thus more memory.

[Specialist]

Have a look at Ulead DVD WORKSHOP AC-3 version.

Here's the features list:

http://www.ulead.com/dws/features.htm

Good deal for the money - with lots of menu flexibility.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[joeAgain------]

thanks, Specialist
I like all Ulead's products, but I'm trying the trial version of MAGIX video deLuxe 2.0 to see if it will work for me also.

Rond66,
WHERE is the "Import" function?

I see "Export", but I don't see the word "Import" in any option or place I've thought it would be?

[joeAgain------]

OK, I finally found how to drag and drop my Mpeg-2 clips into it.(Wow, that was not obvious in any normal place)

But for the life of me I can't see how you chapter.

Can you tell me how(in relative detail), Rond66?

[killmore]

For this exact purpose I used Ulead DVD Workshop 7 + Ulead photo-editing software (can't remember the name)
You can open Menu templates in PhotoEditor and change them - just be carefull don't delete anything

[txpharoah]

DVDit! (all versions) can increase/decrease thumbnails sizes.

[joeAgain------]

thanks, txpharoah
But I find Sonic's products don't work well for me(too bad it does that resizing thing).

Where in Texas are you?

[rsuave5]

i also didnt care much for dvdit until i recently gave it more of a chance and i now use it almost exclusively. easy,fun and there is no end to the menus, thumbnails , chapters that i can do all with and pretty easy

[Rond66]

Movie

Every “movie” can be divided up into as many “chapters” as you wish.
Every “movie” can be saved on the fixed disk as an MVD file. Such files contain chapters, effects settings, cutting markers, sound material – basically, the whole movie. The title of the disk project is automatically positioned in the uppermost part of the Selection menu hierarchy, which is also burned onto disk.


Chapter

A “Chapter” is a freely definable range (a sequence, an episode, a passage, a take) within a movie. As mentioned above, you can picture it as a roll of film within a larger film box. If a movie is not divided into chapters, in theory it is made up of just one chapter. In such a case, the Filmbox contains just “one film roll”.
The breakdown of a movie into chapters is performed either automatically through scene recognition, or manually through cutting “by hand”. A movie’s chapter land automatically in the Selection menu as a secondary “sub menu” entry.

In order to achieve meaningful chapter partitioning in the selection menu, each film must be divided into chapters. This is done in the video editor with the assistance of the edit menu. Place the start marker where you want a new chapter to be set, and select the “
chapter marker” option. The blue chapter markers appear in the timeline above and are movable via drag & drop or can be deleted via the “Delete (all) chapter markers” menu option.

In a nutshell: “disk projects” contain “movies”, “movies” contain “chapters”. Movies and chapters within a disk project appear later as menu entries on the CD or DVD.

[Rond66]

Some info.

Cutting: There are many different ways to ”cut up” longer videos into individual takes. This will not destroy the original video as it only sets scene markers, which are actually play instructions.

1. The easiest way to do the cutting is to select the automatic ”Scene recognition” in the context menu. The editor searches the material for prominent movements or color changes and will find a number of takes, which varies according to your sensitivity adjustment.

2. You can cut the video by placing the ”S” marker at the start and end of the take before pressing the ”Cut” button. This will create individual objects, which can be copied by dragging and dropping them into the ”Takes” directory.

3. If, for example, you only want to use a particular take without loading the complete file, you can cut up a longer video in the Media Pool. Select the video file in the explorer and click on the ”Expl.” button below the video screen. Now the functions of the transport control are valid for the selected video file in the explorer, not for the objects in the arranger. The ”Extra” button allows you to set in and out markers. This way you can copy takes into the ”Takes” directory.

The takes directory is a special directory for administering scenes with which complex storyboards can be created: Firstly the individual scenes are cut, then pulled on to the storyboard from the takes directory (via drag & drop) and arranged.

If want, I can email you the help file?

[Jolard]

Ok, first, you have had lots of suggestions of apps to use. The truth is, all dvd authoring programs (except for a very few like Sonic My DVD) will let you resize the buttons, links, pictures, whatever you have to any size you want. Most allow you to simply click on the button to activate it, and then drag the corners to resize. Or often you can right click on the picture, and then select resize.

My suggestion to you would be to use SpruceUp, DVDIt, or my favorite, DVD-Lab. All will allow you to do this (as well as many others)

[txpharoah]

Ok, first, you have had lots of suggestions of apps to use. The truth is, all dvd authoring programs (except for a very few like Sonic My DVD) will let you resize the buttons, links, pictures, whatever you have to any size you want. Most allow you to simply click on the button to activate it, and then drag the corners to resize. Or often you can right click on the picture, and then select resize. My suggestion to you would be to use SpruceUp, DVDIt, or my favorite, DVD-Lab. All will allow you to do this (as well as many others)

Very good suggestion, though I'd suggest staying away from SpruceUP. Why? Well, as much as I liked it in 2001, now I find it 1) old, 2) difficult, 3) time consuming, 4) expensive, and 5) for the newbie, hard to find. It's day is passed, and it has been a discountined product for about a year now.