Clean DVD Studio Pro menus?

I've never figured out how to get 'clean' DVD Studio Pro menus. It is as if the quality of the menu is sub-standard. Every year or so I ask in the forums about this ... if there is some way to get a quality that at least matches the MPEG 2 of the master that is being authored.
I've been through the app countless times to see if there is somewhere I can set the quality of the 'menu' ... nope, or I'm missing it somehow.
I've done my backgrounds the exact pixel size of the menu, I've included the text in the graphic, I've added the the DVD Studio Pro text, used their templates ... the end result is ALWAYS sub-standard.
I'm wondering if anyone has had similar issues ... and discovered a solution?
Or. If someone can recommend a Mac software DVD authoring app that can deliver nice clean menus ... ?
And that doesn't cost $2,500 if possible.
All ears,
Ben

Hey Russ,
I was wondering about that. What is the rental thingie? I will go check it out. Not crazy about shelling out hundreds and hundreds of big bucks. Though once my FCP 7 (which I love) starts to not-work because of system upgrades, I'll probably move to Premier et. al. After being an utter fan and faithful since the inception of FCP. Sigh.
Much appreciated,
Ben

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DVD Studio Pro Menus

Hi,
I am getting very pixelated text in Menu buttons. I can see this when I am creating the buttons and still very obvious when it have been output to DVD. Any ideas???
Catherine

Howdy,
You can create a slideshow in imovie or iphoto,
convert/export to a video,
place it as a background or drop zone for your menu page,
and place your buttons over it.
(adding music will require a little more thought as to timing of images)
that would accomplish what you describe,
But, the video will restart at the top every time you return to the menu,
so keep that in mind when deciding on the duration of each image in the
slide show.
J>H<L

Medium Scale Production Question? (DVD studio Pro, FCP and Compressor)

Please Help Me,
Ive made it to the last faze of 50 dvd production project with UNDERWATER video. Im trying to find the most efficient way to begin the DVD formatting process and Id like to think compressor could speed this up.
The underwater video is DV source captured in Final Cut 5, edited and marked with chapter markers for use with the custom DVD Studio Pro Menus.
Each DVD Menu is unique and each chapter marker corresponds with a button already prepared in a DVD studio pro menu.
Im trying to determine:
1. Whats the best setting to use for DVD quality (the tapes are no longer than 30 minutes)? My thought was a one pass CBR at 9mpbs.
2. Can I create a batch process for the video and audio that WILL include the preset chapter markers and be useful in DVD studio pr? Ive attempted this process with the export to compressor setting in FCP 5 and then my custom 9mbs CBR setting in Compressor, but the "chapter" markers do not show up in DVD Studio Pro.
3. What if any filters should i run over the video in Compressor to improve the quality of the underwater video? de-Interlacing? Color correction?
4. Does it save me anytime to create this independent .m2v files for use in DVD studio pro or should I just create a export to quicktime file and let DVD studio Pro do the encoding? Does DVD studio pro re-encode the video when i burn my DVD with it?
Please help, ive got to get 29 done by monday and it took me months to get this far. Custom menus, editing, capturing, menu flaws, etc...
Ryan

Hi,
9mbs is too high if the discs will be duplicated (as opposed to replicated). 7 would be better. Be sure to compress the audio as Dolby Digital.
Do your color correction in FCP before compression.
Best Wishes,
Mitch

DVD studio pro will not burn menus PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE HELP!!!
I have created a project, a DVD with menus and subtitles in 2 languages, yet when I burn the DVD (both using build/format option and build format options separately)the resulting DVD has no main menu, actually it has no menus at all! it goes straight into the DVD film where I can change subtitles language only from the remote buttons. The project compiles successfully but once formatting it gives me two hilghlighted errors in the log (which I gather are the layouts/menus)HERE IS THE LOG (highlighted part is error message):
Building Project Treesitting DVD with sub+menu
17/12/2007 14:12:01
Build Folder /Users/adelitahusni-bey/Library/Caches/DVD Studio Pro Files/HVDVDTS/HVDVDTS/nomad/treesit dvd
Starting DVD Build TREESITTINGDVD_WITHSUB...
Compiler Initializing...
Precompiling Project TREESITTINGDVD_WITHSUB
Compiling VMG Information...
Created 15 PGCs in VTSM1
Created 8 PGCs in VMG.
2 Menu(s) will be created...
Compiling Menu PGCs...
Compiling Menu#1 (Menu 1)...
Skipped Rendering Menu:Menu 1,Language:1.
Compiling Menu#2 (Menu 2)...
Skipped Rendering Menu:Menu 2,Language:1.
Writing HV000M02.EVO
1 VTSs and 1 Titles will be created...
Compiling VTS#1 (Track 1)...
Preparing Subtitles...
Muxing HV001T01.EVO
Done.
Linking VMG...
Linking VTS#1...
Writing VTS#1...
Writing VMG...
Writing Layout Info...
Compile Completed Successfully
+*Warning: The file ‘TREESITTINGDVD_WITHSUB.layout’ found in the VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder will not be included in the final disc.*+
+*Warning: The file ‘VOB_DATA.LAY’ found in the VIDEO_TS or HVDVD_TS folder will not be included in the final disc.*+
Start formatting
Formatting as Standard DVD
Simulation mode is off
Lossless linking is on
Number of layers is 1
Doing side 1 of 1
Playable in region 1,2,3,4,5,6,8
Disc size is 12 cm
Disc has no copyright material
Writing UDF 2.50 structures
Writing files
Writing final UDF information
Formatting finished.
Formatting finished.
DOES ANYONE PLEASE KNOW THE REASON FOR THIS???? AND HOW TO SOLVE IT???? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...HAVE TO SEND THIS PROJECT OFF SOON.
I have burned another project with menus succesfully..

Hi
FIRST check that your Play Movie button in your menu has NOT an Auto Action selected that make it plays automatically your movie when the Menu loads. You'll find that setting in the Advanced tab of Inspector. If not . . .
You can try a workaround, no matter that if you have your Menu as First Play it must work. Try yhis:
- Create a simple black JPG file i.e. in Photoshop
- Create a Slideshow
- Add a the JPG to the slideshow, set duration 2 secs
- Set the Slideshow as First Play
- Set Slideshow End Jump to your Main Menu
Build and burn again.
Alberto

I am making multiple DVD's of roughly 50 hours of footage on DVD Studio pro with 4 separate menus for 4 different 'parts' or series if you will. 50 hours - 20 episodes - 4 parts of 5 episodes each. What are my options in terms of burning these parts on to

I am making multiple DVD's of roughly 50 hours of footage on DVD Studio pro with 4 separate menus for 4 different 'parts' or series if you will. 50 hours - 20 episodes - 4 parts of 5 episodes each. What are my options in terms of burning these parts on to separate DVD's, what is the process, what size DVD RW should I buy, what bitrate should I use, and what quality I should expect for the burn. Any advice or insight is welcome.

>>What are my options in terms of burning these parts on to separate DVD's<<
20 episodes totaling 50 hours equals about 2.5 hours per episode assuming all episodes have the same duration. Fitting 2.5 hours onto one single layer DVD would require a low bit rate which means quality wouldn't be anywhere near best, but that's a judgement call you'll have to make based on several factors. For example; if there is not much motion in the video (talking heads, etc), you can get by with a lower bit rate and may not notice any quality difference.
>>what is the process>>
The process is essentially the same as it is when authoring a regular DVD with 2 hours or less of content. However, with as many discs as you'd need to complete this "set," you'll need to create a separate DVD Studio Project for each disc. Basically, you'd use one of Compressor's DVD Presets (or customize a preset) to create an MPEG--2 video file (.m2v) and a Dolby Digital audio file (.AC3). Import both of those assets into your DVD Studio Pro project for authoring and burning.
If you want to keep one episode per disc, DVD Studio Pro does have a 150 minute preset or you could use dual-layer discs with a higher bit rate for better quality. Again; your call.
>>what size DVD RW should I buy<<
Size? 12cm. Capacity? Single layer, single sided DVD discs (DVD-5) have a rated capacity of 4.7Gb (4.37Gb actual), including menus. If you use single layer discs and want to keep the quality reasonably good, you'd need at least 50 discs to complete this "set" with each disc holding roughly 2 hours of footage if you keep the menu on each disc simple. Or, you could use dual-layer discs (DVD-9) which have a capacity of about 7.95Gb - almost doubling the recordable capacity. There are also dual-sided, dual-layer discs available (DVD-18) but they are relatively expensive and have to be manually turned over to continue playback ... but they do have roughly 15.9Gb capacity.
>>what bitrate should I use, and what quality I should expect for the burn<<
Exactly; the quality is dependent on the bit rate chosen, as well as the quality of the compression. Using compression markers where needed can greatly increase the quality of playback but will most likely increase the file size of the compressed video. For the best quality, keeping the bit rate as high as possible allowed under the DVD specification will yield the best quality but some DVD players may choke if the bit rate is too high. For best quality I typically aim for a bit rate around 7.6 to 8.0Mbps but that will only allow about one hour of footage.
Naturally, if you decrease the bit rate, you can fit more footage onto the disc but quality will be sacraficed.   Here's a chart approximating DVD bit rates and durations for single layer discs (does not include space for menus):
3.5Mbps - 120 minutes
5.0Mbps -   95 minutes
6.0Mbps -   82 minutes
7.6Mbps -   65 minutes
8.0Mbps -   60 minutes
-DH

Get menus 16:9 in DVD Studio Pro?

I am trying to get my menus in DVD Studio Pro to be 16:9, but can't seem to figure out how. I tried to change that in Preferences, but it did nothing. Can somebody help me out?

Click the menu icon in the graphical representation at top left.
Go to the Inspector at bottom right and set the Display Mode button:

Cleaner 6 Mpegs seems to crash DVD Studio Pro 4

I have slow motion clips that DVD Studio Pro can't seem to encode properly, I get lots of strobbing when played back on a regular monitor. I began an experiment with Cleaner which involved rendering a small QT movie with every DVD mpeg 2 setting, with the exception of 16x9 and Pal. I then import these into a new project and the second I lay one of these files onto a track I get the never ending spinning beach ball. Anyone know why this would happen?
Tried on laptop running Panther and G5 running Tiger.

Hi Byron,
Welcome to the forum.
I take you have experimented with the filters in compressor!
My suggestion would be to do the slow mo work in something like FCP and get the uncompressed quicktime file the way you like it. Then encode using Compressor.
Cleaners mpegs have always been of poor quality (visually that is). I am surprisedd that its output is not MP@ML though.

My slideshows and menus look pixelated after I burn a DVD in DVD Studio Pro

Hello to all! I'm new to DVD Studio Pro and this posting. I have finally finished setting up my DVD, and it looks great in DVD Studio Pro. However, whenever I burn a final copy, the menus and every picture in my slideshow looks pixelated and crunchy. I'm pretty sure I have all my settings right, I had help setting up my project by a guy who creates films and promotional shorts in DVDSP all the time. The pictures/menus are jpgs (original size is something like 1800 pixels, 180 dpi). I have tried saving them smaller (720x543) then importing them. I have tried saving them as tiffs and importing them. I have tried saving them smaller AND saving as tiffs and importing them. I have tried different media types. I have gone into "menu" under DVDSP Prefs, and changed the Final Rendering from "hardware based" to "software based". Nothing works. I don't know what else to do. I just feel like DVDSP is "compressing" the crap out of these things for no reason at some point, and I can't figure this out. They do look lovely in the simulator though, it's only when I play back the burned DVD that it looks terrible. Am I overlooking something very simple? Please help! I really appreciate any thoughts people have on this.

Hi JenRem, another idea you may consider is to export your content prior to DVDSP3 workflow as follows:
• set destination resolutions for your DVD as 576x720 (PAL) or the non pal version (480 x 720) and
• export ain APPLE ANIMATION CODEC (this is the thing that may fix you issue maybe).
I base this suggestion on some experiences in 2005-2006 when making a DVD title from micr$oft's powerpoint .app. I just wanted animation (transitions) slides in a DVD for mat with an audio track and "stop on chapter".
I feel the same these days with a workflow using KEYNOTE.app - just export the QT in APPLE ANIMATION CODEC at the correct res for the DVD SP3 input.
I can't account for the look of your menus though.. perhaps another unrelated issue.
I noticed that exporting as a QT movie looked ok until I noticed dreadful compression artifacts in the final M2V after the DVD was encoded.
Additionally, I noticed somilatr issues when using content created by MOTION.APP into a DVD SP3 workflow when letting DVD SP3 do BACKGRAOUND or BIULD encoding.
SO.. simpe rule for me is to always use APPLe's ANIMATION CODEC as the input source for any CGA type stuff.
Naturally the objects are rather large when using the ANIMATION CODEC so just delete these transient objects when your work in comlete. You can always create them again as you know.
varies to taste I image but always works for me.
worth a try!
w
Hong Kong

DVD Studio Pro quits when encoding menus with video

Im using DVD Studio Pro 2 on a G5. Whenever I try to burn using either a menu template containing video or use a drop zone containing video, the software crashes.
I always use m2V video and ac3 audio created in FC4. Have tried usuing an existing file asset as my target with duration time set as well as separate imported files as the target. All imported assets are in the same folder
On burn, when it gets to the menu containing the video it crashes. If I remove the video from the menu its a smooth burn.
Any suggestions wouldbe greatly appreciated.

tomd63,
Before you read this remember I am new to FCP and DVDSP. I think I remembered why I couldn't burn the DVD. I did a video for a friend and when I was editing it I put in several markers. I then decided to send him a clip via email of about 30 seconds to see if he liked the theme I set. I did an "in and out" in FCP... made it into a QT then just dragged it into iMovie then sent it from there. Later I thought I would use that same 30 second clip in the intro menu.
My guess now ( having a little more experience) was that the chapter markers left in the 30 second clip screwed things up.
Rob

Color corrections don't get processed when burned in DVD Studio Pro

I am working on an FCP project that has alot of darkened day for night clips. I export using compressor at best quality, and project looks great in viewer in DVD Studio Pro, but for some reason when I burn the final DVD and watch it, all the darkness changes are gone, and the footage is in it's original state. What is causing this? How can I burn a DVD that looks like what I am exporting?? Other thing is that when I burn a quicktime of the same project to a DVD using toast, the color changes remain, and they look more accurate- I thought Quicktime would be lower quality than Compressor?

I have acutaly been using this technique on a recent project, and have a few additional observations:
One is that, even if you use a black background in your menu, and map your button colors to black, not all players generate the overlay colors the same way, and the black patches sometimes appear lighter then the background, particularly on software players, since computers are generating RGB vs. YUV.
Another detail is that when a button is activated, the overlays disappear, and all the button graphics embedded in the background are visible while the player switches to the new menu. I have however used the following workaround for this: Generally players will display a freeze frame of the background of the menu while switching to the jump target, usually the first frame or loop point of a menu with motion assets. By creating each menu as an animation where the buttons fade up in the first few frames, I can create a "clean" background for use as the freeze frame displayed during the switch.
This particular disc hhas a tight bit budget, and lots of menus, and so I am creating very short motion assets (1 second) and setting them to "still" at end. I haven't acutally checked this on a player yet, to see whter the still or the beginning of the asset gets used as the freeze frame, I'll post back with the answer after I have tested it.

DVD Studio pro 4 no longer builds a DVD that will play in any player, is there an update or comparable program?

DVD Studio pro 4 no longer builds a DVD that will play in any player, is there an update or a comparable software available? Or are there some internal fixes that I have not found. Preferences that will allow a clean product to be delivered?

Thank you for your prompt reply. I first import all my assets, build my DVD, which may include one or more menus, pictures, music, etc. I use the simulator to test all aspects of video before burning. Making sure that the end jump works, if I add chapters, going to each chapter making sure buttons and end jumps for the chapters work. When I am satisfied I then go to burn/format function and delete or reuse any folders that the computer advises. The resolution is SD, display mode 16.9, Lossless linking, red laser, single, one side 12 cm. Thats about it. Haven't had a problem in the past just wondering what I could be doing wrong now. I am workingo on an imac, MAC OS X, 10.7.4, 2.93 GHz, Intel Core 17, Memory 8GB, 133mHz,DDR3.
Response I get is, unknown disc, please check disc again."

I can't burn a dvd using any method, Idvd tells me that my super drive is missing, dvd studio pro quits when i click burn and disk utility keeps spitting the disk out when i click burn and enter the disk??? how do i repair my superdrive for imac

I can't burn a dvd using any method, idvd tells me that my super drive is missing, dvd studio pro quits when i click burn and disk utility keeps spitting the disk out when I click burn and enter the disk??? how do i repair my superdrive for imac, or how do I do whatever I need to do to get it working: I have already tried using a lens cleaning cd and also restored my nvram or something i forget what it was called but i restarted my computer holding down command+optoion+p+r and still nothing???
Free solutions are the best, although if I have to pay I will, I would prefer to not have to buy an external burner if possible and already know that is an option so please don't give me that answer... thank you for any help you can give

Unless your iMac is still covered by AppleCare, get an external DVD burner.
You can get perfectly good ones from Amazon for less than $40.

DVD Studio Pro 4.2.2 hangs when I go to burn a project

I was putting together a DVD and had it ready to go. Hit the button to burn and the formatting in progress window came up and started chugging away. I left for 15 minutes. When I got back I had the spinning beach ball and an "Unrecognized Device" error message. I've tried burning a different project that worked a few days ago and got the beach ball again. Also, now I can't open the DVD drawer. I had imported several projects from DVD shortly beforehand, so something I did with Studio Pro has caused this problem.
There were no weird files in the project. One main QT from FCP with chapter markers, 4 short QT (1 with audio) for the buttons, 4 stories so you can play each chapter by itself and return to the secondary menu, 2 menus. Everything worked fine in the simulator. Everything else in SP still works fine, I can start new projects, until I go to burn, then I get an instant beach ball.
What I've tried:
Deleting render files from the project in the cache
Repairing permissions
rebooting and holding down mouse to get the drawer to open, no luck
When I press the eject button I do get the arrow icon on screen, but there is no noise or indication from the tray that anything is going on
I do see the drive in disc utility
DVD player won't let me eject, selection is grayed out
There is a blank disc in tray, so it doesn't show on screen to try dragging to trash
I am using an Intel quad core Mac with Snow Leapord and 12 G RAM, have to update profile
And I'm at a loss as to what to try next. Any ideas?

Seems to me that your DVD burner has died... it happens... The fact that you were using DVD Studio Pro is just a coincidence... My old iMac and powermac G5 both had their DVD burners replaced.
Do you have AppleCare? Is it still in warranty? If so, take it in...

How do I make my DVD playable in DVD Studio Pro?

I never use to have problems with DVD Studio Pro until I got my new MacBook Pro.
I'm making a wedding DVD with a couple menus and projects and it seems to all work just fine.
I only encouter a problem when I go to check to DVD after it is done buring.
When I pop it in both a DVD player and the computer, nothing happens. It says the disk is unreadable or nothing at all happens.
I'm not sure what to do because I don't even know what is wrong.
DVD Studio Pro isn't telling me anything is wrong and that it is buring just fine.
I have also tried multiple different exported versions of my projects and nothing has imporved or even changed.
Any tips on how to make my DVD playable?

Did you do a build and format? If so, check out the contents of the TS folder.
Often people report similar problems and it turns out they inadvertently made an HD DVD…though I would think it should play in your Mac if that were the case. But check your settings nonetheless.
Are you doing the encode in Compressor?
Russ

Final cut pro x/DVD studio pro

A need an advice, I been using Final cut pro to edit my professional wedding videos and DVD studio pro to burn and make menus, can anyone recommend me another professional software to to create menus and burn DVD, my mac has an dvd drive built in, if I buy an external DVD burner drive, would I get better quality (on standard DVD's)

I don't know why you want to change because Studio Pro is about the best software available.
An external burner will have no effect on the quality of the DVDs.
If you burn large numbers of DVDs an external burner might save wear and tear on your built in one.

Clean DVD Studio Pro menus?

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