Creating A DVD Menu

[557953]

Hi guys, now first of all I have searched the forum and found many topics on DVD menu's, but im not very good with this kind of thing, and the softwares i found were very complicated to use (for me at least). Really im hoping to make a very simple menu for my discs, Im thinking add a couple of pictures in the background, and add a audio track to play over the menu. Thats all, chapter menus are not really important.
Basicly i hoping for "title" at the top, couple of pics, play all option, with the audio playing. Very simple.
Any advise on the simplest tool to use to create such a menu.

Thanks in advance.

[bourboner]

Don't spam, it ain't free.

Try DVDAuthorGUI, it's simple & straightforward and truly FREE.

[usually_quiet]

DVDAuthorGui is fine, if it your system will allow it to run as intended. Not everyone encounters problems with it, but it's a little flakey on my system, and apparently for some others as well. If it proves too unstable, there is always GUI for dvdauthor. Also free, though not quite as simple and straightforward. However, once you become comfortable with it for doing simple menus, you may find its more advanced features useful. If a pay solution is acceptable, try TDA. While it is obviously not free, it offers a free trial, and it is fairly easy to use.

[557953]

Thanks for you help guys, will try a couple of these out, ill let you know if i have any issues.

Cheers

[bourboner]

DVDAuthorGui is fine, if it your system will allow it to run as intended. Not everyone encounters problems with it, but it's a little flakey on my system, and apparently for some others as well. If it proves too unstable, there is always

Have you tried the latest version? I too had some "flakiness" at one early stage there, with regard to chapters specifically. Not anymore though! I think it's one of the best and most overlooked dvd authoring softwares!

One of the things I like about it is that it forces you to get your hands a bit dirty (eg design your own menu from scratch, instead of TMPGEnc template shit).

And it is simple!

[usually_quiet]

I did try the latest release of DVDAuthorGui in late winter, to help someone else with a problem, and it was unstable then. However, since that time, I had to re-install Windows XP, and all the rest of the software I use on a new hard drive. My OS is set up differently this time, and there were a number of programs that I did not bother to install again. Earler this evening, I decided I should install and try DVDAuthorGui again to see what would happen. It works fine now, though at this point, I'm so used to GUI for dvdauthor that being able to use DVDAuthorGui doesn't matter anymore.

I personally found TDA's templates and guided work flow to be very helpful when I was first learning to author DVD's, so I continue to recommend it. For those who don't have or know how to use a better graphics program than MS Paint, it would be even more of a blessing.

While some users will want more freedom eventually, others will not see a need for more options than TDA provides. The only reason I didn't buy it was a tight budget when the trial ended. So instead I struggled to learn how to use GFD, and a few other free tools, which I might have given up on if I had not gathered a little bit of understanding of the process from using TDA.

[Alex_ander]

I'd also recommend TDA for menus, only version 3 is currently available as trial but unlike the older 1.6 version, it doesn't limit you with built-in templates which were already described here in stronger words. It is as easy to use and the only limitation in comparison with complicated programs is that it doesn't create animated transitions between pages or sophisticated multi-cell structures. It even has some advantages in menu building over the popular DVDLab:

1.You don't have to double-encode motion objects (in DVDLab you re-encode them from MPEGs, this spoils text at least).
2.You can even load video for your objects (background, thumbnails) from AviSynth script.

If wanted, you can even create DVDs by loading source video directly from AviSynth script. The built-in TMPG encoder is good enough, supports multi-thread etc.

A disadvantage of TDA3 as an authoring tool is that you can't completely turn off smart rendering (re-encoding GOPs at chapter points etc.) for compliant source MPEGs. For this reason I only use it for menu building, then combine with main material authored separately.

[noemi7]

Alex_ander, TDA 1.6 is not limited to templates as it's possible to use external backgrounds, videos, also for buttons.

All version of TDA render menus much better than DLP, imo. Text and graphics are sharper. The only minus of version newer than 1.6 is 'smart rendering' which cannot be turned off, and it's unpredictable for DVB streams, even full compatible with MPEG2/DVD specification.

See you on Dime

[lordsmurf]

TDA3 is pretty decent to work with. I still prefer DVDWS2.