DVD Architect – Default start button??

[Joe Mantaratz]

On your sub menu buttons have you already defined the action for them under properties? Have you also set the button order for that page? Make sure that you have show navigation and button masks display options selected under the views menu/workspace overlays.

If you created your sub menus by clicking on the main menu and selecting Insert Menu it will automatically create and arrow and it will be masked. Check these basic steps and let me know id I understood your problem

[Laura Kozikowski]

The actions are set up as they are on page one, with each button command set as a link, the destinations are the correct pages and the buttons that go to the submenus are set to the hold command. I did add the pages by using the insert menu. It seemed to do it automatically on that first page, but on pages 2 and 3, something must have been changed (I’m not aware if I did it).

Is there a chance that even though the preview shows the highlighting on the first page (main menu) and not on the other two pages (submenus), that it is in fact there and will show up on the DVD?

Just wanted to know what the steps were to get this to occur and if I had by chance missed one (though I thought it was automatic with the insert menu).

What do you think?

[Joe Mantaratz]

The hold selection tells it to do just that hold after the whatever is on the timeline for that menu. It has no action on what is selected or highlighted when the page is navigated to. The Hold command is only for the menu page properties.

I would delete the menus you added and start again making sure that you complete on piece at a time for your links, button order, highlighting etc.

The question to your last answer is no. Everything you do should show in the preview as it is the only means of checking navigation, timing and the like. Fix it in DVDA before wasting a DVD.

[Laura Kozikowski]

Well thank you very much!!

I scrapped it and started over and my navigation (and highlighting) now works fine (I guess inadvertently screwed it up last time), but I have a new question… during the prep process, DVD-A decided that it wanted to compress essentially all of my media files. The music files (background music for the menus) seemed untouched but half of the videos have been cut off –why is this? Is there a particular format that DVD-A gets along with/doesn’t get along with? Songs were fine to render with Vegas but DVD-A, not so much. They are .avi files, no longer than ten minutes maximum. What gives with that?

And thanks again! You have no idea how frustrated I was getting with the whole thing…

Oh, and one quick question on looping and top menu, if you don’t mind:
How do you make sure that at the end of a media piece, the DVD will automatically loop back to the menu from where you made your selection (a submenu, say)? I believe it’s automatic, but I know in the first version I had some issues, just wondering where the set up is for that. Also, I noticed in that first version that my ‘top menu’ commands were a little messed up. Is the idea just that if you have ‘Top Menu’ selected to ‘on’ for each ‘page’, it should return you to the main menu/your set start point? Or do you need to select each media piece/link/button and turn it ‘on’ or–?

Thank again, you’re a lifesaver!! I’ve yet to find the ‘Help’ on DVD-A helpful, nor can I find any tutorials that seem to be what I’m looking for. I really do appreciate your time 🙂

[Laura Kozikowski]

Update:

I now have the complete video clips. Had to convert the longer one (9 minute) to something other than .avi. Still curious as to why, but so far so good. I believe the video was clipped before DVD-A compressed the file, so I think we can cross that problem off the list. Hopefully I’ll be done soon and reburn this and see what happens. Just wanted to update you so you didn’t waste time on that part of my collection of issues 😉

Thanks!

[Joe Mantaratz]

You should be rendering all your files in Vegas using the Template for DVD architect Video Stream Mpeg2 for either widescreen or 4:3. Then render the audio separately using AC3 format. Be sure to give both renders the same name so architect will find them. This is why Architect is compressing your files, MPEG2 is the DVD standard format and anything else will cause your problem.

[Joe Mantaratz]

What you need to do is set your in and out points on the timeline so you will have a reference for looping. You can also add markers and it will loop to any of those. You add them the same way you do in Vegas …M…
In your media properties for any of you video clips you need to select an end action. From there you’ll see a drop down list and if you have done the prior you will be able to select those markers or the loop point if you have chosen that route.

If you are seeing a portion of your video cut off that is also due to your out point offset from the end. Look at the timeline and if you see a greyed out area that is the portion not playing. You can drag those points

[Joe Mantaratz]

I would not use the Top menu command unless that is what you want it to do. It goes back to the highest level of your menu hierarchy. I’d prefer to tell it where to go using the END ACTION LINK selection. If you would like some ideas on creating better DVD menus and such email me and I’ll help you along. You need to remember that DVDA is not an editor and cannot be considered as such. All of your work much be in Vegas and brought back in. If you add anything to you menus in DVDA it will recompress that menu to add the new elements. Email me and I’ll go into more details if you like

JMJProductions@Live.com

[Joe Mantaratz]

Curious to know how you made out?

[Laura Kozikowski]

Well I’ve got the menu and the highlighting down, seems the format in that sense is solid. My only issue now is that it seems to be ‘compressing’ (not sure if that’s the right word) one video file. It’s maybe a 5 minute clip and it plays for about 1 minute and then just cuts out and goes back to the menu. I rendered it exactly the same as the others in Vegas, and it shows as complete when you’re working in DVD-A. I guess I need some specific directions on how to separately render everything (as I did not do that with the other files). When I tell Vegas to render the file the menu that pops up asks me for the file name, and the type (options being ATRAC, AIFF, ac3, FLAC, m4, mpg, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP3, OGG, mov, rm, wav, avc, mxf, pca, w64, avi, wav (Microsoft), wma, wmv. Under template the only choices I have are default (which says the audio is AAC and merely gives a frame rate for the video details) and two versions of Apple iPod videos.

I had been using the default and saving it as ‘main concept AVC/AAC (mp4)”. When it comes time to prep/burn it notifies me of the file size (around 8gb), throws up all the error messages about compressing the files. I hit the optimize button, cleared out the errors and it allows me to proceed to the next button.

And well, you know the result. So yes, I’m getting there, but not quite. Should I just re-render that one file in a different manner, or do you think it will simply choose another to play around with. I thought I had it since everything was perfect in DVD-A until I burned it.

Thanks 🙂

Btw, under the optimize menu it lists the video as MPEG-2 and the audio as AC-3. Under the video and audio tabs, everything is set to default and has ‘recompress’ as ‘required’. Let me know if you need anymore information.