DVDSP 4 or iDVD templates for multiple continous play AVI's to DVD please

[Iceman67]

This is a request for templates in DVD Studio Pro 4 or iDVD 5 that will let me load up multiple AVI or mp4 movies so that they will play. Currently, I can add chapter markers in iMovie. But what I have wanted to do is have a simple template or Theme that will let me put 6 or so movies and regardless of which I choose, the following one will play right after. YES, I KNOW that Toast can do this. But hey, I want this to be fancier than Toast menus (even with the Photoshop trick).

There use to be some DVDSP templates hosted on .mac by someone but they aren't there anymore. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[lordsmurf]

Make your own, forget templates.

[Iceman67]

Gosh, thank you sooooo much. Maybe I'll go invent a new object. I think I'll call it the "wheel." PUNK!

[terryj]

STF for tgpo, hhe used to host some of his templates.

However, Smurfy, in his shortness, is on the right track:
You can create what you want very simply from an
existing DVDSP template. The trick is just setting
A Story for a "Play All", and then with the video
all on one track, and using chapter markers,
you can build a template to accomplish what you want
in a matter of moments.

1. Place your video on the V1 track, and audio for the video
on the A1 track, of your Main Track.

2. Where each video stops, place a chapter marker.
Label the chapter markers something easy to figure out,
I usually use either "ep1" or "e1" for "episode 1".

3. Assign each chapter marker to end jump-->same as track.

4. Assign the track's end jump to either the main menu, or the
Scene Index menu, whichever you prefer.

5. Assign a Story to the Main video track.

6. Place in order ALL of the chapter markers, including the first
one.

7. Set the Story's end jump to the Menu of your choice, main or
scene index.

8. Assign the Story to a button, I usually call it "Play All Episodes".

9. Simulate. Change any order if need be.

That's pretty much it. And once you have done this, you can save
the project to re-use again and again. I have several built
like this that I use for the TV shows I watch, that I re-use,
you just need to "dump" or "remove" any files it tries to
look for the next time you use it.

[lordsmurf]

Yes, the easiest "templates" are to simply re-open project files for work you've done in the past. I do this all the time on all sorts of software (design, editing, authoring, etc).

[indijay]

I am not too sure if I understood question but is it only putting 6 movies in one DVD project?
Why can't you make one movie project for each movie that you have and import movie one by one in iDVD project.
(Again not too sure if I have understood your question)

[terryj]

your half right indijay.

the 6 movies have to be on a DVD Project,
but he wants them to play one right after the other,
not have six buttons to access six individual movies,
like iDVD would generate.
( I'm only going off of knowledge of iDVD3 the last version
I ever used. I have no knowledge, nor do i want to, of
iDVD4 or iDVD 5).

[Iceman67]

Thank you for the advice so far. I have tried importing multiple iMovie projects into iDVD but it doesn't allow me have them play continuously and even kind of freaks out sometimes on importing. Here are my goals:
1. A menu to choose any of the 6 movies with continuous play ability. E.g. if I choose Movie3, at the end, it flows into Movie4 and so on - like a big loop. Currently, the iDVD project ends at the end of Movie3 and takes me back to the menu.
2. Toast would let me choose Movie3 and continue playing to next movie. It seems that iDVD is lacking the Continous Play option from all that I have read and tried to do.
3. Since Toast isn't all that pretty and iDVD lacks this feature, I know DVD Studio Pro can do this but the built-in ones kinda suck. IMO. Kinda forces you tolook to buy a ThemePak.

If I can generate some Templates, I'll offer them for anyone who wants to host like I do my Filemaker templates.

Thanks and I'm willing to hear suggestions.

[lordsmurf]

If you have some high-quality DVDSP template, I'll host them, depending on file size.

But they need to be sleek and high quality, not something that looks like it was generated from Nero or MyDVD or something amateurish.

[indijay]

Iceman67,
Why don't you pull all 6 movies in iMovie timeline one after the other and make it one continuous film and when you make DVD out of it, you can set chapter at every movie start point.
By this way, you will be able to jump to specific movie using chapter or run it as one movie. You will have main movie and scene selection on first menu and scene selection would offer you facility to hop on certain movie directly.
It isn't that difficult or still I am not clear??

[tgpo]

STF for tgpo, hhe used to host some of his templates.

I still host templates....

[Iceman67]

The weird problem I was getting using iMovie was that when I tried to export the project to iDVD, the DVD was super huge and iDVD would not let me create it even in disk image mode. I mean, it made it huge in time which makes no sense since it was just over an hour total. Crazy... I've been playing with DVDSP4 and it's complicated but oh well, I needed to learn it eventually.

Ice

[tgpo]

Once you go DVDSP, you'll never go back.

[Iceman67]

I actually like the control now and it's not tooooo overpowering. But what I can't figure out how to do yet in DVDSP is program the Previous/Forward buttons to play the previous and next tracks. And Ithought that you could place chapter markers directly in DVDSP but am I correct that you have to do so in iMovie or Final Cut first?

[terryj]

Once you go DVDSP, you'll never go back.

[terryj]

I actually like the control now and it's not tooooo overpowering. But what I can't figure out how to do yet in DVDSP is program the Previous/Forward buttons to play the previous and next tracks.

Its in the manual,
you can either script it, or set up and assign via Chapter Menus..in the manual,
either page 204 ( chapter Menus) or page 287 (specialty buttons setup)

And Ithought that you could place chapter markers directly in DVDSP but am I correct that you have to do so in iMovie or Final Cut first?

yes you place Chapter Markers in the v1 timeline in DVDSP where you want them by hitting the "M"
button where you want them as the track plays in the Viewer. Again, its in the manual.