What Authoring Software Generates the best CUSTOM menu's?

[crazycory23]

I am looking for the best software to design truly custom DVD menus with my own logos and everything. Full motion is a must and of course sound.

I have been hired to design a dvd for a local band, and i really want to do it right. For all my home videos, I just used the built in menu features for Sonic MyDVD and Ulead DVD moviefactory2. Any help would be great guys. Thanks

[BJ_M]

photoshop is not only the best method - its the only method used on high end authoring applications (though elements used in photoshop may be created in other appications) .. and as well, motion menus may be created in a number of programs - all of which will require some creative aspects of the user..

[Vejita-sama]

The thing is terms like 'best' and 'custom' are pretty meaningless. The best DVD Authoring program is normally considered to be scenartist. Why? Because it's what the studios use and you can do anything with it. But it costs alot, is not user friendly, and is overkill for most people.

Most DVD authoring programs ONLY auhtor DVDs. They do not make menus. You might want to look at a program like DVD Menu Studio for that.

In the end making DVD menus is really nothing more than taking a motion MPEG (or MPEG still), and drawing a subpicture with the desired buttons/overlays. Ie. it's how create you can get now how good the software is.

With that said, you still need an authoring program to accept those custom menus you just made. DVD Lab, DVD Maestro, Scenartist, Reel DVD (and I believe TMPGenc's authoring program) should do the job. But you'll have to make the menus in another program besides the one you author in.

[housepig]

check out DVD Lab - www.mediachance.com

great app, lots of customization options, not as much hand-holding, so you will probably have to read a tutorial or two.

can't beat a 30 day full-function free trial...

[BJ_M]

yea i forgot DVD Lab - www.mediachance.com (which i use also), GREAT PROGRAM .. but you asked for the Best method and even using DVD menu from above - you will need to create some graphics most likely..

[rsuave5]

most authoring programs do make menus. which ones dont? i like photoshop and dvdit to make the menus and author them. but no motions! so dvd workshop or scenarist. scenarist being the best but also a long learning curve!

[GangstaMo]

DVDArchitect is easy to use ,comes with motion menu & AC3
u can position thumbnails & text to your liking,also u can import
backgound and music from other software if needed...

Also like DazzleComplete,awesome menues,but not much flexability..
use for quickee

[DivXExpert]

What do yall use to make the motion menus? A mix of 3DSudioMax Or Maya, Along with Premiere, and Photoshop, might do the trick.

[Vejita-sama]

rsuave5 - DVD Maestro, Scenartist, Reel DVD, etc. do not make menus. They support menus, but you do not make your menus with these programs, you import you menus into them (the same as you import your video/audio files).

Some programs like Ulead, DVD Lab, neoDVD, etc. allow you to capture, edit, encode, and author in the same program. But these are often considered 'low end' programs (note - I like DVD Lab, I'm just saying ).

At anyrate, if you want those 'super sweet custom menus' that you see on commerical DVDs, you'll end up using a 3rd party software (from your authoring app) to make them. You'll need to draw (or cut/paste) the graphics, make the subpictures, etc. The authoring program is simply where you setup the transitions and what the buttons map to.

[rsuave5]

ok. i use templates sometimes in dvdit and movifactory and ive constructed them in scenarist i thought also from a template. but ive been making my own buttons and backgrounds so long i forgot which had templates and which did not . i took it for granted that they all did like dvdit,all uleads,spruceup etc. thanx for clarifying. reel dvd has no menu templates? i thought it was dvdit - ish

anyway i like the flexibility of dvdit but i normall make my backgrounds buttons etc. in photoshop then construct the menu in dvdit adding text and linking buttons to movies i love it!

[Doggiedaddy]

DVD lab with DVD Menus Studio make a great twosome. By the way DMS can import and export to and from Photo Shop and most upper end authoring systems. I am still new to the two programs but I see great potential in each.

Dd

[Specialist]

There's a new tutorial out about how to use Ulead Cool 3D Studio to create 3D menus in Ulead DVD Workshop:

http://www.dvdcreation.com/2003/05_may/tutorials/ulead_whitetut0527.htm

There is also a huge list of tutorials for using Ulead DVD Workshop's motion menu and compositing tools for custom menus:

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

The ultimate creative package, in my view, would be the Ulead StudioQuartet bundle:

http://www.ulead.com/products/studioquartet/runme.htm

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[mkelley]

Well, since he said *any* help...

Most of the posts here are right on -- while there are authoring programs that can create some limited motion menus, that's not really the place for it, anymore than you'd want to edit your images in a word processor.

For special effects (like most music video stuff) almost nothing can beat After Effects, from Adobe. It's kind of the industry standard in this respect, particularly the high end package (it comes in a low and high end version). If there's something you need to do with an image that moves that can't be done in After Effects, I sure don't know what that would be.

After Effects is really the Photoshop of video -- so as others note here, if you think of using Photoshop to create superb still images, then you will want AE for motion menus.

[DivXExpert]

Forgot about After Effects. Haven't checked it out. Maybe I will. Getting the Trial now.

[housepig]

Some programs like Ulead, DVD Lab, neoDVD, etc. allow you to capture, edit, encode, and author in the same program. But these are often considered 'low end' programs (note - I like DVD Lab, I'm just saying ).

just want to correct - DVD Lab doesn't capture, edit, or encode. It just authors.

(but DAMN, it's good!)

[Doggiedaddy]

Specialist = Flagrant Sales Pitch

To Specialist,

Do you not feel some sense of remorse using this site as a venue to sale/promote Ulead products. If not you should at the very least be honest and identify yourself as (Ulead affiliated and or staff) in your posts. NOT SIG.
I have seen a lot of [advertisement] posts by you for Ulead products. I can only speak for myself. I do not like or dislike Ulead product but the way you use this forum offends me and should do the same to others who are looking for user based input.

jm2c
Dd
We all pay in the end!!

[mkelley]

Doggie,

Glad you brought this up -- I've felt a little uncomfortable about this myself in the past. I don't know exactly what Specialist's standing with Ulead is, but he certainly seems to be making some money from the sale of their products.

Obviously anyone can give advice to anyone here, regardless of their agenda. I myself feel a little guilty about recommending DVDLab all the time -- I don't make any money from it, but I really like the product and want to see it succeed. As always in any situation where information is being provided, you need to Consider the Source.

Considering how bad Ulead support is, if Specialist provides some kind of third party support this is probably a Very Good Thing, and he should make more of an effort to identify the great service he provides to users of these products. But pushing a product without disclosure of your affiliation with it just smacks of dishonesty to me.

[housepig]

wow... and all this time I thought it was just me.

I mean, I'll pimp for DVD Lab like a fiend, but like mkelly says, I'm not connected with it or recieving any kind of gain from it - I just think it's a good product.

I also advocate iuVCR, VirtualVCR, Virtualdub, TMPGenc, Vegas Video..

I don't know, it's absolutely possible that Specialist feels that the best solution for anything is a Ulead product. Fair enough.

But it would be nice if some of the posts didn't sound like they came from Ulead's promotions department, and instead from a satisfied customer or pro user.

(and while we're at it... can we refrain from quoting an entire product description in a post? I keep seeing more and more posts that are nothing but paragraph after paragraphe of cut-and-paste from a company's website, when one sentance of one paragraph [and maybe a link] would suffice)

[Specialist]

Actually, I've used Ulead products and have been recommending them for years.

Here in Boise, Idaho, I am still somewhat of a widely recognized TV personality.

I worked for 9 years as a television news anchor and reporter here in this city plus 2 years in the cities on the other side of the state.

Here are my former publicity photos:

http://www.jonesgroup.net/publicity.htm

I began using Ulead's MediaStudio Pro several years ago to edit compilations of my television newscasts.

I found it to be far more user-friendly than the Avid editing systems still in use at my TV station.

When I later went to work for the City of Boise (where I spent the past seven years), I was one of the early adopters of the first three-chip DV camcorder - the Sony DCR-VX1000.

Using the Sony camcorder, I used my experience in TV to shoot, write, narrate, and edit pieces for neighborhood association meetings and city council meetings.

In addition, our Boise City video maintenance crews who record video of underground pipelines have been moving gradually from VHS storage to all-digital DVD disc storage.

My success in using the Ulead tools is something that I feel good about sharing.

One of my video pieces won an Idaho Press Club Award and my most recent submittal garnered praise from the judges:

"Great script writing & strong use of sound bites."

I use all kinds of software products and I can recommend them all.

But many of them have nothing to do with DVD.

So I recommend those products to users on other forums.

For example, I feel one of the most forgotten desktop publishing applications is Corel's Ventura:

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel/Products/productInfo&id=1042152776424

I recommend it all the time.

I also love the GlobalScape products for the Web:

http://www.globalscape.com

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[willy_annand]

I am looking for the best software to design truly custom DVD menus with my own logos and everything. Full motion is a must and of course sound.

I have been hired to design a dvd for a local band, and i really want to do it right. For all my home videos, I just used the built in menu features for Sonic MyDVD and Ulead DVD moviefactory2. Any help would be great guys. Thanks

For the money, DVD-Lab hands down.

http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/index.html

[BJ_M]

i dont know if Globalscape makes good or bad products but i do know that all thier products are listed as spyware (registered or not) (they use Aureate)

just a heads up on that ..

[Specialist]

Thanks for the warning, but my understanding is that GlobalScape's CuteFTP no longer utilizes Aureate.

At least that's my understanding.

I'll try to find the article I read that explained that.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[BJ_M]

Thanks for the warning, but my understanding is that GlobalScape's CuteFTP no longer utilizes Aureate.

At least that's my understanding.

I'll try to find the article I read that explained that.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

i think you are right --- i just checked thier knowlagebase and they claim they have removed it in the new 5.x version (and not to use 3.x versions)

http://help.globalscape.com/robo/projects/cuteftp/CuteFTP_3.X_advert.dll_problems.htm

[Doggiedaddy]

Nothing personal but still sounds like a sales pitch to me?

http://www.ulead.com/userstory/msp/jerryJ.htm

Good luck
Mayor "Doggiedaddy"
Camano Island

[SIRCOOKS]

i stand firm alongside ulead dvd movie factory only for the time being until my ulead dvd workshop comes in the mail...that program can make motion menus and everything, but i heard it was a lil difficult to figure out in the beggining...holla back

[mkelley]

Nothing personal but still sounds like a sales pitch to me?

Yeah, as I said earlier, I'm kind of with you on this one. But Mr. Jones does seem sincere about his love for Ulead (god knows *someone* has to love their products -- it sure ain't me :>).

But Mr. Jones -- a word of advice to you: at least for god's sake vary your presentation (hey, you *must* have learned this in your years on local television. I sure did -- hey, I'm "world famous" in my old little hometown myself). That was the thing that screamed out at me you were some kind of shill. Don't present things as if you're at a sales meeting ("And here's a good link for you...")... just talk about them, sincerely and honestly, in a few lines and try not to repeat *exactly* the same message over and over again in each forum thread (heck -- I dunno, maybe it isn't *even* the same message, but it's formatted with links to look exactly the same each time so it sure looked canned to me).

I wouldn't even provide links unless they were asked for -- for one thing, internet studies have shown quite conclusively that 90% of people don't click on sublinks even on a main page (who knows what the percentage is inside of a forum response?) or unless they were *so* to the point they said it all (in that case one link per response is *more* than sufficient).

That's just my opinion -- no need to take offense and if you choose to keep up your present style no problemo.

[Specialist]

i stand firm alongside ulead dvd movie factory only for the time being until my ulead dvd workshop comes in the mail...that program can make motion menus and everything, but i heard it was a lil difficult to figure out in the beggining...holla back

It's really not that difficult.

The work flow is divided into steps...

1. Start

2. Capture

3. Edit

4. Menu

5. Finish

...and there are tutorials on the Ulead Web site that give step-by-step instructions on how to create the motion backgrounds and buttons:

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

Plus there's a pretty good book out called "How To Use Ulead DVD Workshop."

It's also available on the Web site at this location:

http://www.ulead.com/partner/learntool/dwsbook/runme.htm

Good luck,

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[willy_annand]

Yeah, as I said earlier, I'm kind of with you on this one. But Mr. Jones does seem sincere about his love for Ulead (god knows *someone* has to love their products -- it sure ain't me :>).

Nor I, I don't want every DVD I make to have the same canned look.
To my company, variety = professionalism. I don't want all my clients DVDs to have the same few templates...

DVDLab is amazing, more power than DVD Workshop, more variety, Simple menus/chaptering, motion menus, switched menus. Total customization. Plus the price cannot be beat, less than $100.00

Why spend 3x more for the same thing???

[willy_annand]

Specialist = Flagrant Sales Pitch

I wonder how much that clown gets paid from Ulead to constantly plug their mediocre software?

[housepig]

I wonder how much that clown gets paid from Ulead to constantly plug their mediocre software?

Dunno. How much are you getting paid to be rude?

If you don't like his posts, skip 'em... they're certainly not hard to recognize.