Menu for multiple language and subtitle tracks

[Mylenium]

I don’t think you get a workable solution using Encore… This type of stuff is usually done using using explicit parameter chaining (we use Scenarist for this stuff) to temporarily store language commands and have them process at once on exiting the menu. Another method would be using multiple title sets and domains, but Encore doesn’t support these features, either.

Mylenium

[Pour Myl

[Gerhard123]

Thanks Mylenium
I suspected that it may be difficult with Encore. Does anyone know if this can be done with Apple’s DVD Studio Pro4 (with scripting)? I may have to switch programs (I never worked with DVD Studio Pro).
Thanks,
Gerhard

[Joe Bowden]

Unless I don’t fully understand what you are trying to do, this should be possible with Encore 2.0 by setting the menu default buttons to Active Audio/Subtitle Track, along with the Specify Link dialog, indicate which audio and subtitle track to play in the timeline.

[Gerhard123]

Hi Joe,
This is the problem: Let’s say the viewer starts choosing at the beginning of the DVD German as the menu-language, then all his future menus are in German and when he presses on the “main-menu” (which comes after the menu-language-selection menu and a copyright notice) the “filmstart-button” the movie will start in German (because the filmstart-button is linked to the timeline with the link-dialogue stating that audiotrack should be “1” (for German) and subtitle-track should be “OFF”. When he however wants to change the language of the film to English, he is pressing on the “main menu” the “language settings” button which brings him to the “language settings menu”. This “language settings menu” has two submenus, one for setting the languages, and one for setting the subtitles. When on the “language settings submenu for languages” he selects as language “English” he is connected back to this menu to the “play movie” button (and I change the Link settings to “change audio” to “2” (this is for English). The “play-movie” button connects directly to the timeline (and in this connection I don’t change the Audio or Subtitle track hoping that Encore will remember the change I made before when the viewer choose “English”). Also because I still have various subtitles to choose from, I give the viewer the option to also change the subtitles. So after he choose “English” as his language he can instead of pressing the “play movie” button go to the button “subtitle selection” and is connected to the “language settings submenu for subtitles”. He will now for example select “German subtitles” and will be connected back to this menu to a “play movie” button (in this linking I change the subtitle track to “2” (for german subtitels) and leave the audio as unchanged) and again this “play movie” connects to the timeline (in this linking I select no change for audio and subtitles).

So Encore would have had to remember the Audio track (2) he selected in the “language settings submenu for languages” and the subtitle track (1) in the “language settings submenu for subtitles”. However Encore does not remember it correctly.
Actually the result is that the first time the viewer does the language selections (as I descriped above) when he starts the DVD it works correctly, but when he changes languages and/or subtitles again a second time it gets mixed up, Encore does not correctly select audio and/or subtitle tracks.
I suppose that Encore in that case does not remember the parameters correctly.
Gerhard

[Joe Bowden]

If there is more than one timeline, do they all have the same number of audio and subtitle tracks? That’s crucial for this type of project to work correctly. If this is true, then as long as you are switching the audio/subtitle tracks correctly (by specifying them in each link), then it all should work as expected.

If it does not, can you break the failure down to a set of reproducible steps?

[Gerhard123]

No, unfortunately the other two timelines have different audio and subtitle tracks. One (a trailer) has only one audio tracks and no subtitles. A video interview has one audio track and the same subtitle tracks as the feature film.
Does this mean that it is not possible to work with my timelines as they are now?

On the other hand do you think it would be possible if I make “fake” audio tracks and subtitle tracks, let’s say for the trailer I make 5 audio tracks (each has the english version in it) and also five fake subtitle tracks (for example a “.” which is not visible), and I also do the same for the interview, that it would work? This is quiet theroretically because if the user is trying to switch with the audio button (for the trailer for example) during playback on the TV screen, he would see 5 language tracks but all are only in English.

And in addition I have a slideshow as timeline (which I have to put in as avi because it has over 200 stills and I would have to create 3 slideshows and link them together, but than if the user presses the remote menu on the remote control in the 2nd or 3rd slideshow, one can’t control to which language menu he gets back. If I have an avi I can create chapter playlists and control it individually where he ends according to the language menu he is using. But this is another problem which is easily solved with a timeline).
Gerhard

[Joe Bowden]

If each timeline has the same number and order of subtitle tracks, then what I suggested should work. It would be a real spaghetti to link up, but it should work…