DVD menu

pingu · 09-19-2005, 07:43 AM

I created a DVD using Q-DVDauthor, as far as I can see the xml-file is correct.
Problem is that I can't select anything from the menus.

The DVD consists of 3 small movies (15 sec each - this is just for testing),
one main menu with 2 choices: "Start playing" and "Go to submenu MovieChoice" (=Filmval)
The submenu "Filmval" has 3 entries, for selecting which movie to play.

When I insert the DVD in DVD-player, main menu pops up but there is no way I can make any selection.
In computer it simply plays, showing menu a few seconds and then plays the movies.
Both menus look correct, but no way to select.

I have compared the file dvdtest.xml with example-files found on the 'net, can't find anything wrong?

Code:

<dvdauthor dest="." jumppad="yes" >
 <vmgm>
  <menus>
   <video format="pal" resolution="352x288" />
   <pgc entry="title" >
    <vob file="/tmp/Unnamed/Main Menu VMGM_menu.mpg" pause="0" />
    <button name="1" >jump titleset 2 menu 1; </button>
    <button name="2" >jump title 1 chapter 1; </button>
    <post> jump vmgm menu 1; </post>
   </pgc>
  </menus>
 </vmgm>
 <titleset>
  <menus>
   <pgc>
    <post> jump vmgm menu 1; </post>
   </pgc>
  </menus>
  <titles>
   <pgc>
    <vob file="/usr/local/tmp/astro576.mpg" chapters="00:00:00.000,00:00:06.000" />
    <post> call vmgm menu 1; </post>
   </pgc>
  </titles>
 </titleset>
 <titleset>
  <menus>
   <video format="pal" resolution="352x288" />
   <pgc>
    <vob file="/tmp/Unnamed/Filmval_menu.mpg" pause="0" />
    <button name="1" >jump title 1 chapter 1; </button>
    <button name="2" >jump title 2 chapter 1; </button>
    <button name="3" >jump titleset 1 title 1 chapter 1; </button>
    <post> jump menu 1; </post>
   </pgc>
  </menus>
  <titles>
   <pgc>
    <vob file="/usr/local/tmp/astro704.mpg" />
    <post> call menu; </post>
   </pgc>
   <pgc>
    <vob file="/usr/local/tmp/astro720.mpg" chapters="00:00:00.000,00:00:08.000" />
    <post> call menu; </post>
   </pgc>
   <pgc/>
  </titles>
 </titleset>
</dvdauthor>

patrick.waring · 10-08-2005, 04:33 PM

DVD menu - doesn't work/can't select anything ( post #1)

I created a DVD using Q-DVDauthor, as far as I can see the xml-file is correct.
Problem is that I can't select anything from the menus.
[...]
When I insert the DVD in DVD-player, main menu pops up but there is no way I can make any selection.
In computer it simply plays, showing menu a few seconds and then plays the movies.
Both menus look correct, but no way to select.
[....]
In Pingvino Veritas!

Ave Pinguinum!

I have been struggling with these symptoms for three weeks also, under Linspire. I learrnt all I could about DVD formats and command line control of the DVD authoring tools and the dvdauthor xml file. I then hand crafted a test similar to yours without Q-dvdauthor which should have been guaranteed to work. Same symptoms, still. So I stopped blaming Q-dvdauthor, installed Debian Sarge onto a spare disk, and it all worked under the Totem media player.

So in my case the problem was because my DVD player could not cope with the computer burnt DVDs. It could just manage the initial menu VOB, and even highlighted the buttons as I navigated around, but just became lost on the big jump from a menu command. I verified this by producing a DVD with no menus. The player started playing it, but would fail randomly, do lots of searching and then freeze requiring a power off reset. Linspire has no free tools to play a DVD properly so I could not test there. I think there are legal problems with software that breaks DVD encryption, so there are not many linux apps that do it properly. I think some just play the non menu VOBs in order to get around this and yours may be one of those. (Of course if it plays commercial DVDs properly then that is not it.!)

I am assuming that there are no error messages when you generate the DVD data structures from Q-dvdauthor: These symptoms might occur if the video VOBs are no good. It took me a bit of time to realise that you need to use option 8 in mjpegtools (or kino...) in generating the type 2 MPEG source file from captured video.

So far I have tested only on DVD+RW. When I am happy that the image is perfect I will write a DVD+R and see if that works in the DVD player. I will post again with the result when I get there!!

Vale,

Patrick, ex Corvus Concept (pre-PC!) programmer.

patrick.waring · 10-18-2005, 09:32 AM

I Tried the DVD+R and it still did not work even when I ensured that all the (sometimes bizarre seeming) entries in the xml file which appear not to be optional in the man format were present. The DVD+R works in other players.

My player only moved around the buttons when the first playing of the audio on the menu was complete and then the only buttons which worked were ones which are to some extent hard wired: exit, root and title. A DVD+RW with all the film but no menus played perfectly and jumped to next/previous chapters and fast forwarded and rewound as you would expect. There must be something odd in the firmware (latest, Y13Z14) on my CyberHome AD/L-528 player. If anyone knows of a work-around I would be interested!!

Patrick, ex Corvus Concept (pre-PC!) programmer.

TacticalJack · 10-31-2005, 09:33 AM

All - -

I have been using "dvdstyler" for about 1 yr now. I burn tv shows to DVD. The DVDs have a simple menu with 4 buttons to select the show to watch.

As of this week, the menus no longer work correctly. I am able to access the 1st and 3rd menu entries only. Entries 2 and 4 are not accessible. They can not be highlighted. When moving the cursor, it just skips from #1 to #3 menu entry.

This is a brand new problem within the last week.

Now, to confess, I have updated a number of packages on my Gentoo system. It seems pretty clear that this is what broke the DVD burning/playing. Unfortunately I am unable to determine what upgraded package has caused this breakage!!!

This is really bad!!!

TJ