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Creating Menus on DVD's like in store brought DVD's
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RishiRich
Newbie
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13. July 2004 @ 19:24 |
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Hi everyone,
i was wondering if anyone knows of a way to make DVD Menus like the ones that you find in the Store Brought DVD's. Currently i am using Nero Express Vision 2 and i convert .avi file movies to DVD's but the Menu creation in Nero is very limited. I want to be able to make something more flashy. I was wondering if anyone had a program that can still convert .avi files to DVD, so that they play in regular DVD's, but also have more Menu creation options than the ones in Nero.
If anyone has any ideas, i'd be really greatful.
Rishi Rich
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. July 2004 @ 19:38
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Senior Member
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13. July 2004 @ 23:32 |
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A lot of professional types use Adobe Premiere, but it is spendy. You might have a look at Ulead products. Here is a link, and they have a free trial download.
Ulead VideoStudio 8:
http://www.ulead.com/vs/runme.htm
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Added On. As Nephilim points out below, DVD Lab is also a good choice. If you read through previous AD threads, you'll find that many serious users do prefer DVD Lab.
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I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. (Pablo Picasso) This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. July 2004 @ 23:56
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Moderator
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13. July 2004 @ 23:39 |
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My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33 |
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RishiRich
Newbie
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14. July 2004 @ 15:56 |
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Thanks for the help. I'll see if i can get any of those programs. Just one question though. Which version of Adobe Premiere would u recomend?
Rishi Rich
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Senior Member
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14. July 2004 @ 16:13 |
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I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. (Pablo Picasso) This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. July 2004 @ 16:19
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Newbie
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14. July 2004 @ 23:27 |
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On the topic of s/ware for menus. I create video using Vegas (editing s/ware) as AVI files dvd PAL format. My version does not have a menu making component.
So I use s/ware that I got with my dvd burner. Its called ULEAD DVD moviefacrory 3. I import the file and create the menu. The during the rendering process it stops and comes up with err and asks if I want to send to msoft. Once I got a blue screen of death. Since then I have uninstalled it.
Im running 2.2gig processor, 256 ram. Anyone have any ideas.
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Senior Member
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14. July 2004 @ 23:36 |
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Donuthead...
What OS are you using?
I believe you are having a memory problem. W2K and XP both use over 100MB of your 250MB available. Crunching video files is memory intensive, and if you run out, your system will freeze. You also have to be concerned with virtual memory on your hard drive. Once you tell me your OS (operating system), I can tell you how to check these.
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I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. (Pablo Picasso) This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. July 2004 @ 01:55
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Staff Member
2 product reviews
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15. July 2004 @ 08:18 |
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@Donuthead: You might also want to check the temperature of your CPU. Encoding uses even more CPU than memory (although I also agree with Doc - check your virtual memory - and preferably get more actual RAM) and a poorly cooled CPU can get very hot working nearly all the time during encoding. What kind of heat sink/fan does your PC have? How many and what kind of fans does the case have?
Edit: You might want to test your CPU and memory with these tools:
CPU Burn-in - http://users.bigpond.net.au/cpuburn/
Memtest86 - http://www.memtest86.com/
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. July 2004 @ 08:58
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Newbie
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15. July 2004 @ 14:48 |
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Hi,
Thanks for your responses, the operating system Im using is WinXP.
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Senior Member
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15. July 2004 @ 15:25 |
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DonutHead...
XP has a nice utility that you can see your CPU and memory usage in action. Do Ctrl-Alt-Del >> Task Manager >> Performance.
Now, choose a file to encode. CPU should jump to 100% regularly. If physical memory is a problem, you will see it bottom out in the Physical Memory-Available category. When I encode video files, I normally use 130MB to 160MB of RAM. Add the 110+MB that XP uses, and any background programs, and you are out of memory!!! I would suggest at least another 128 MB, but 256MB would be better.
You can also run out of virtual memory (page file). I would suggest that you make sure XP is not managing this for you ... as it will do things like fragment your drive and cause a slow-down, or crash. I suggest a value no less than 2000 MB (I now use 4000). Set this to the min and max values.
If your CPU begins to run substantially below 100% during encoding, chances are that you have a CPU heat problem as verbal suggested above. Also, to put CPU usage in perspective, apps like burning and word processing use less than 10%.
Let us know what you get for your CPU and RAM values, OK?
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I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. (Pablo Picasso) |
Moderator
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15. July 2004 @ 18:10 |
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My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33
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RishiRich
Newbie
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15. July 2004 @ 18:18 |
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Well, i got Adobe Premiere 1.5 and wow, what a confusing program. I have yet to figure out how to create chapters and all the rest of it. I don't even wanna think about what i will have to do for menu creating. I had a Ulead Program once, never figured out how to use it. Is VideoStudio 8 or MovieFactory 3 any good??
Rishi Rich
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Senior Member
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15. July 2004 @ 19:48 |
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Both VideoStudio8 and MovieFactory3 offer 30 day trial downloads. There are a lot of in-depth reports on these on the web, and these will give you a very good idea as to their user friendliness. To google it, just type in the name followed by "review."
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I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. (Pablo Picasso) |
Newbie
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16. July 2004 @ 08:02 |
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When Im rendering with Vegas, my CPU is 95% and memory is using 44000k.
Does not crash or blue screen.
When rendering (to include a meny) with dvd moviefsctory 3, my cpu is at 100% and after about 2-min drops to starts to fluctuate down to 0.
Memory is using 80 000k.
Under performance tab Physical Memory -Total is 261,616k -Available is 92500k.
Increased my virtual memory to 700
Ran CPU Burn-in v1.01 for an hour - did not notify me of any problems.
I would say that my CPU may have overheating issue's but Im not so sure, would this be the case ?
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Senior Member
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16. July 2004 @ 08:54 |
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Off hand, I don't think 700 MB is enough for the page file and that you should try the 2000 MB. You could be running out of virtual memory.
If increasing the page file doesn't help, it would point to a corrupt MovieFactory3 file. I would uninstall/re-install it.
I don't believe you have a CPU heat problem. If Vegas ran the whole time at 95%, and never dropped, you're OK.
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I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. (Pablo Picasso) |
AfterDawn Addict
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16. July 2004 @ 09:45 |
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Hi Rishirich,
Just FYI, Premiere Pro is an editing program that cannot create menus. It is great for adding effects and transitions and other stuff, so you could use that to create your text and motion clips etc. For menus you need a program that will allow you to create a navigation structure. Premiere Pro can't.
DVD Lab Pro is the way to go, IMHO. Although I have heard that their might be problems getting DVDs made with it to work in some players.
I have tried my "Lab" DVDs in 5 different players. My brother's Sony seemed to freeze a bit on the parts where I had added a lot of special effects. They played normally in my cheap Emerson and expensive Pioneer, my friend's Toshiba, and a Panasonic as well.
A couple of DVD Lab tips:
Download the trial version of both 1.3 and Pro. Pro has no "assets" like backgrounds or objects, so just go into explorer and copy them from the 1.3 folder and paste them into the Pro folder. This is what Oscar (the author) recommends.
Read the help files! Takes a bit of practice to get it right. I still make rather simple menus. Motion thumbnails for your chapter selection is possible but it's a lot of work.
Don't forget to buy Oscar's programs! His stuff is really good and a lot cheaper than a lot of comparable stuff from the big companies. His free beta programs seem to go on forever though so you can really spend some time with them before buying. I think I've had Pro beta for about 3 months now.
When you are using programs like Premiere Pro make sure you have enough computer power. My Premiere Pro book says these programs work best on PCs with at least 3.0 Ghz cpus. I can get my Vaio to lock up if I try to do to much at once so I shut off everything I can. And go slowly.
Cheers,
Frank
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totos
Suspended permanently
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16. July 2004 @ 11:59 |
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Hi. I think that Ulead DVD Workshop, Roxio Videowave, and Pinnacle Studio 9 are some very good (not professional) programs, that offer ease of use and some very nice results (although they do not offer maximum flexibility).
Of course, as far as I know, Adobe Encore is one of the best professional DVD Authoring programs that integrates well with other Adobe software, but as such it is expensive and difficult to use.
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