Are you getting best menu background conversions?

[ckhouston]

The video/image and/or audio background duration settings were introduced in version 5 to make it easier for users to set menus up for best play. But what is best play for backgrounds? It can be illustrated with the attached file.

1. Unzip the file and add the 30 sec clock w tenths.mp4 file twice to ConvertX.
2. Pick the Black mirror menu, choose the 30 sec clock w tenths.mp4 for the title menu background, and set the duration to 30 seconds.
3. Play the menu in the preview and note that the entire 30 seconds are shown.
4. Convert and play the VIDEO_TS.IFO file in Windows Media Player (do not use VLC). Note that the background will show 0 to 28 seconds at first and then it will cycle/loop between 2 and 28 seconds until a title is activated, then it will show 28 to 30 seconds and then play the title.

So the converted menu doesn't play the same way as shown in the preview before conversion and using a duration equal to our background length doesn't work well. Now let us try something else to see what works better.

1. Change the duration to 34 seconds.
2. Play the menu in the preview and note that all 30 seconds are shown followed by 0 to 4 seconds. That may not seem intuitive but remember that the converted menu will play differently.
3. Convert and and play the VIDEO_TS.IFO file. Note the background cycles between 0 to 30 seconds until a selection is made, then it will skip and show 2 to 4 seconds before playing the chosen title.

That is the best we can do. And we have found that the menu preview doesn't play the same as the converted menu and that setting the duration to the length of our background doesn't work well. VSO could make the preview the same as the converted menu and also make the best choice of the duration easier but has not done so after more than two years of urging changes.

So the main purpose of this post is to find if there are enough users that want changes to encourage VSO to make them. You can show your opinion with the included poll and are encouraged to post your opinion also.

P.S. Until/if changes are made, the best duration to use is the length of your background plus the intro_duration plus the outro_duration which are shown in the menu's template INI file. Menus are actually videos though that take disc space and time to generate so keep their length reasonable.

[swampdaddy]

I've urged this for more than 2 years among a few other minor things. Finally got a visible "pause" button in 5.

I would also like the ability for a short 'splash' video before the menu (without some complicated work around and a blank spot in the menu). I have 2 SCR makers that allow this and my one (and only) autoplay maker allows it.

Still, all in all, Convert X is a very good program and now the only one I use for DVD making.

Swamp Daddy

[ckhouston]

In case you aren't aware, there is a fairly easy way to add an intro clip to existing DVD files that is professional looking (no blank spot for example). It is detailed in the last post of http://forums.vso-software.fr/is-it-pos ... t7664.html.

[swampdaddy]

Yes, I read that; and, the workaround, as usual is cumbersome and time consuming method prone to problems. I don't want to use two or three programs when one is such a good one. I would prefer it easy and built in where I click a button, point out the intro video, and it is done with no fuss. Not that hard (as other programs I have do it) once the programmers decide they want to do it.

While, in some cases, workarounds are OK; but, it is not my intent to pay good money for software and then have to "work around" various things to get done what I want. My use of ConvertX is usually to turn it loose overnight to do a DVD while I sleep; I am busy doing other things during my little awake time (when not at work) on the computer.

More power to all of you who experiment and try out things. I simply think this is a very needed feature that should be added to ConvertX at some time.

Swamp Daddy