minimal menu - Video Play on Demand

[gorfeas]

Hello there, this is my first post here. After searching through the forums I have decided to post this in hope for some simple answers.
The objective:
Create a DVD containing various (3 to 6) movies.
The menu should be a simple slideshow with music and NO visible buttons. The remote control buttons (numbers 1 to 6) should activate the equivalent movie playback. At the end of each playback the initial menu should return on screen.

It's quite simple but every application I have tried seems over complicated, allowing for very advanced interactivity.
Which software would you recommend to use? What would be your approach in making the slideshow?
Thank you for your answers

[borax]

...The menu should be a simple slideshow
Do you create the slideshow (with a special slideshow generating program), or do you expect the authoring program to create it? What pictures and how many do you want to include?
Are the movies already dvd compliant (elementary) files?

[guns1inger]

You should be able to do this with any authoring tool that correctly supports motion menus and auto-activation of buttons. I use DVD Lab Pro, so to use it as an example, I would create a motion menu, add the buttons and set their visibility to Invisible All, and tick the Auto Action box.

I have just tested this idea, and it works with one exception. The first button will not auto-activate or activate by number. I assume this is to prevent the menus slipping into an infinite loop. You may be able to avoid this happening by setting the first button to link back to the same menu, and start your numbering from 2 onwards, or simply accept that the Enter button starts the first title, and the rest fire from the number keys.

[gorfeas]

borax: I would prefer the athouring software to do that. For example I tried Encore DVD and it looks really fine with the random pan&zoom option. Problem How do I put this slideshow in the background of the menu?
The movies are extracted from DVD-r media passed on from the producers, so I have the audo_ts&video_TS folders on my hard drive
guns1inger: I don't quite understand the point of infinite loop. Why would number one button trigger that?
Thanx again for your responses

[borax]

...Problem How do I put this slideshow in the background of the menu?
I don't know Encore DVD, but usually you render the slideshow as avi or m2v and use this as menu background.

[guns1inger]

If all the buttons auto-activated then you would never stop on a menu long enough to make a choice.

[gorfeas]

guns1inger: I get it, but why should auto activate be on? I just want to start a video when a button is pressed from the remote control. When the disc is loaded, I just want the motion menu to be visible

[guns1inger]

Auto-activate is needed because just pressing a number only takes you to that menu option. You still have to press Enter to choose. Using auto-activate would make it happen in one press.

[gorfeas]

So, after trying to achieve it in encore has failed, here is a scheme of what is desired.
Please do help me if you can, as this project is very important for a volunteer work I am doing for a museum.
Thanx again

[guns1inger]

I don't use Encore, so I don't know if it is capable of doing what you ask. Like I said in an earlier post, I have been able to pretty much do what you want using DVD Lab Pro.