SIZZLE - Why can't I get it to appear under OSX 10.3.9 ?

[espidog]

I run OSX Panther 10.3.9 on a G4 Machine. Today I downloaded Sizzle 0.5b2 and popped it into my video apps folder. When I launch it, nothing appears. I get a set of Sizzle options appearing in the toolbar, but no actual GUI at all. I can't find any kind of contact details on the web for the author, Henry Mason, so I'm asking here. Has anyone else had this experience, or can they tell me what I might be doing wrong?

[pianoman719]

I have OS 10.3.9 and am finding that Sizzle v0.5.0b2 launches okay. You might want to try reinstalling it. Install it on the same drive as your System, and don't bury it more than one folder deep.

Dumb question: After launching Sizzle, are you able to choose File: New? Does this give you the GUI?

Anyway, some people people prefer to use Sizzle 0.1 because it's faster and doesn't have compatibility issues with some DVD players. The 0.5 menus seem to create the compatibility problem. 0.1 doesn't create any menus, which is why it's faster and more compatible. You can download 0.1 here:

http://www.thefridgeowl.com/sizzle/sizzle0.1.dmg

-Pianoman

[espidog]

Many thanks for the feedback, Pianoman. I'll download Sizzle 0.1 today.

Adopting a sheepish expression: I was trying to run Sizzle without installing DVDAuthor - didn't realise until later that it was a front-end for all that stuff. I've downloaded DVDAuthor 0.6.11 now, but I'm afraid I'm still having problems.

Following the (somewhat minimal) compile/installation instructions, I opened terminal and typed in the location of the configure file, which in my case is:

/applications/dvdauthor-0.6.11/configure

This is the text of the result that came up in terminal:

checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking whether build environment is sane... yes
checking for gawk... no
checking for mawk... no
checking for nawk... no
checking for awk... awk
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... no
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking for style of include used by make... none
checking for gcc... no
checking for cc... no
checking for cc... no
checking for cl... no
configure: error: no acceptable C compiler found in $PATH
See `config.log' for more details.

If I read this right (I'm not much of a command-line person) it would seem that I've got a bunch of essential stuff missing from my OS. Any ideas as to how I can fix this?

The reason I'm hoping to try out Sizzle is because the new MovieGate 2 (which supports menu creation) only works under Tiger, and I can't afford to buy a new OS. Besides, I suspect that Tiger wouldn't run too slickly on my old 1.4GHz G4!

Cheers,
Espidog

[pianoman719]

It's been a while since I installed Sizzle, but I know you don't need to install DVD Author first. Sizzle is a front end for DVD Author, true. But Sizzle automatically installs all the stuff it needs, including DVD Author. Maybe you should (at your own risk), trash anything DVD Author related, then do a clean install of Sizzle.

Is there anything unusual about the way your system is set up that might make it hard for the Sizzle installer to access the locations where it puts stuff? Make sure your System, Library, and Users folders aren't buried inside other folders. They should be at the first level of your hard drive. (Some of the open source stuff is quirky that way.)

Could it be a permissions issue? Try repairing permissions first, then log in as an administrator before installing Sizzle. A shot in the dark, but maybe that will help.

One strong possibility is that your OS X doesn't have the BSD subsystem installed. Not a subject I know much about, but try this article on Apple site:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=151604

"Some applications require that you have the BSD Subsystem software installed on your computer. The BSD Subsystem is installed by the Mac OS X Installer, but you can choose to not install it. If you did not install this software, you need to reinstall Mac OS X and make sure the BSD Subsystem is selected in the Custom Install pane of the Installer. (Reinstalling Mac OS X does not affect your settings.)"

That last remark may be a bit polyannish. If reinstalling the OS, make sure you're backed up first. But for all this bother, maybe it would be easier to save up for Toast 7 (unless that too requires the BSD subsystem).

I would guess that a G4 1.4 GHz would be able to do okay with Tiger. But hey, I can't afford it either.

-Pianoman

P.S. In answer to the obvious question:

"How do I know if the BSD subsystem is installed and how can I install it on an existing Mac OS X system?

...This component will get installed if you do a standard Mac OS X installation. However, you can also deselect this option when installing Mac OS X. To find out if you have the BSD subsystem installed on your Mac, just open the terminal [in Utilities folder] and type "apropos" [return] . You should get a response like "usage: apropos keyword ..." . If you get "apropos: Command not found." , you should reinstall the BSD Subsystem with the following steps:

* insert the Mac OS X Install Disc 1 in your CD drive
* open the "Optional Installs" folder
* double-click the "BSD Subsystem" icon and follow the installation procedure"

http://www.equinux.com/us/products/vpntracker/faq.html

[espidog]

Hi Pianoman,
Once again, big thanks for your swift and detailed reply, and for taking the time.

I'm profoundly relieved to hear that I don't have to do any more of that command line stuff with DVDauthor, so that's hit the trash. I got Sizzle 1.0 and installed it in the top-level apps folder as you suggested, and sure enough, it launched for me first time! One thing still had me foxed, though: before I got it, I was labouring under the impression that Sizzle had some kind of menu creation facility, but I can't find one. Never mind: I'm sure it'll come in useful now and then.

Re. Toast 7: funnily enough, I have got it, and it's a great improvement on 6 in so many ways ...except one. They've gone and made their fancy new DVD menu templates using PSD files that have nested layers, and they can only be edited/customised using Photoshop 8. You've guessed it: I've only got Photoshop 7, so for the time being I'm stuck with their 'orrible cheesy range of default templates. Honestly, who designs these things? Uuurgh! Hence my interest in acquiring some other means of making my own DVD menus.

Cheers,
Espidog

[espidog]

O.K, I'm officially a fool. You told me that Sizzle 0.1 couldn't make menus, didn't you? D'oh!
Espidog

[pianoman719]

If you have Toast 7, then despite the alleged cheesy look of the templates, you're probably better off using it than any version of Sizzle. I use Sizzle for some things because I don't have Toast. But even if you get Sizzle 0.5 working, you'll find menu creation clunky. Better to live with the least offensive of Toast's templates. (You'd think somebody would have free sourced some cool new Toast 7 templates by now...)

-Pianoman

[terryj]

(You'd think somebody would have free sourced some cool new Toast 7 templates by now...)

-Pianoman

umm....why do that when it's much easier to build templates for a more professional
app like say....DVD Studio Pro?
:P

I attempted to make a slew of templates for Toast 6 when it came out and first had the
"canned menus", as I was still doing VCDs at the time ( circa 99-2000),
but after looking around, I found that NOBODY was
supporting it, and were instead designing for iMovie and DVDSP2!
Since buying DVDSP3 when it ccame
out, I hadn't really looked back...and if you google it, most people giving
away free templates are either leaned towards DVDSP or iDVD.

Big fish...small pond analogy comes to mind....


Not knocking the freeware, guys, but you do get what you pay for sometimes....


and to the OP, with a clean install, Tiger runs fine on a G4 Dual 1, G4 1.25, G4 1.42,
and a G5 1.6. it even runs fine on a eMac G4 1ghz, and a G4 iMac (ilamp style) 700mhz!
just so you know.....

[Alibi]

I had the same problem with Sizzle (no window, no gui). You must activate the Font "Arial Black". After the activation Sizzle works on my mac