DVD@ccess and replication

I'm just getting into this issue, and I've researched some past threads on DVD@ccess for linking to urls and also pdfs. It seems the conventional wisdom is that, for maximum compatibility and interactivity, Sonic's eDVD is preferred to DVD@ccess. Is this a fair assessment?
Also, does replication alter the equation in any way? What I mean is, will the replication process smooth out any operational issues that might plague simple burning a disc?
G4 Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Yeah I'd say that is fair. eDVD is prefered. But not having links can often be best! as both have their issues...
Nope replication doesn't alter the equation regarding the 'Enhanced'features,
-Jake

Similar Messages

DVD@ccess and PDF linking

So I've successfully linked a 94 page PDF document, and it works no problem. (Although I can't wait to run the DVD on a PC) I use a track and set the DVD@ccess through the chapter points.
My question is; *does anyone know if DVD@ccess can direct a PDF reader to a specific page in the document?*
A client wants to be able to access certain pages of the PDF document from the DVD menu, as opposed to a menu within the document. And while I've read many articles on how to direct the reader via HTML, this doesn't seem to translate over to DVD@ccess.
Any thoughts, notes, hints, etc.
Thanks.

Hi Gary - I'm not knocking Intellidisc or how it works, but am bemoaning the fact that there isn't a reliable cross platform solution available. eDVD was as close as it got IMO, and I am of the opinion that the 1% of people do matter. The fact is that we as authors cannot reliably create a blended content disc that plays seamlessly on all platforms.
The issues with Vista will no doubt eventually be resolved. It is, after all, a new (ish) product and software will need to be revised in order to catch up. I also agree that a lot of folk won't migrate to vista very quickly, but there is inevitably a percentage who will do so. The proportion of folk who cannot play the content therefore increases beyond the 1% of mac users (until Vista issues are resolved) and thus, until Intellidisc, eDVD or @ccess can be made to work they are not providing a total solution.
We therefore come down to a numbers game. Which of these apps will give us the best coverage of end user machines, and best flexibility for the content we are adding? For example, @ccess can launch any app where the file type is known... as can eDVD, but Intellidisc works better if the file is a web based link?
I don't think I can say which is best - none of them give us what we need and each of us therefore has to choose between them when creating a disc with enhanced content. I ought to give Intellidisc a try - I have used the other two with fair degrees of success and ought to have some first hand knowledge of Intellidisc. I would like to know, for example, if the end user needs to run the .exe file and install some software - if so, what is the benefit over @ccess in that respect? If the install is automatic, then the argument will surely be why not include the same function with @ccess? The issues for me come back to the fact that @ccess and eDVD will launch any content (if they work at all) and Intellidisc is restricted to web based links and files.
But I agree entirely with the need for DVDSP to have this kind of thing built in - the software already does at least go some way towards it with the ROM content tools. All we need is a version of @ccess which reliably plays on a PC under all circumstances. Or for eDVD (or interactual) to fix the issues with the player in vista AND mac and make it available as a stand-alone... or for intellidisc to launch different types of content, and we should be home and dry... right?

I cannot see why DVD @CCESS and DVD-ROM content are not working properly

Hi,
I am very new to DSP, and I know I am missing a piece of the jigsaw, but I do not know what it is. I used a tutorial from creative cow to try and make the @CCEESS function work, but no dice… for now at least. When I did a build/format (to the HDD) everything went fine. I mounted the image, and I could see the DVD @CCESS folder and the DVD–ROM content on the DVD image. When I went to play the image, the button did not work. The content I am trying to use with @CCESS is a PDF file.
The tutorial I followed was this: http://library.creativecow.net/articles/alexzander_alex/dvdaccess.php
By the way, I am using is 4.2.2
Help or just counsel is appreciated.

As Eric said - DVD@ccess is really not that useful. It was a way to get documents like PDFs to automatically launch in the application (like Acrobat) when watching a DVD on a computer. Since they can't launch on a set top player the technology was already limited. Then the whole issue of getting it to work on a PC arose - it simply wasn't reliable. I managed to produce one disc that was replicated with @ccess links, but I knew the parameters for it's use in advance and managed to get it to work. It doesn't work on modern machines.
For a while there was a Sonic app which was much better at getting this sort of thing to work, but you had to work on a OC to set it up. Sonic pulled the app shortly after I bought it (sigh) and never replaced it. The fact is, automating document launches and web links is actually pretty tricky on a DVD, the results were variable and it never really enhanced your discs like you wanted to think it would!
If all you want to do is include a PDF file on the disc, and alert viewers to it being there, you only need to use the ROM content functions not @ccess, and you can use a menu screen to give instructions to people to let them know how to find it.

DVD@ccess on PC

Hi guys
I'm authoring a DVD for PC and the client needs links to pdf's and websites.
Now as far as i'm aware i need to include software on the cd for it to work on a PC.
Is there no easier option?
My client assumes that the end user will not have the technical know-how or time to load this app.
would greatly appreciate any insight
jammy
ps: if no one helps me i'll probably end up hurting my client so pls help

You have only a few options, but two require the end user to either already have the right software installed, or to install the software themselves.
The first is to use DVD@ccess and require the PC user to install that on their machine. This is a Mac based system and so works easily on Macs.
The second is to use a PC and write the interactive stuff using eDVD from Sonic and make use of the Interactual player. It is much more versatile, but suffers from the same problem of needing to have software installed. A lot of PCs do already have it because they have used it before and previously installed it - it is a widely used player. Macs will need to install it.
The only other thing to do is to include the content on the disc but not make it open automatically. Just inform the viewer (by using text in a menu) that there is additional content and tell them how to get to it. If you include the PDFs in a folder they will be able to open them with whatever PDF reader they use. You could do the same with a web site - place a single page in a folder which, when it is opened in a browser, has text to tell the viewer that they now need to be online and a link to click which takes them to the right web site.
That way, no interactive players or software needs to be installed, but your viewer needs to be made aware of the content.

DVD-9 reliable for encoding and replication?

I was talking to someone at a replication service who mentioned dvd-9 replicated discs are less reliable than dvd-5 because there are more problems in the authoring stage of a dvd-9 disc? Truth to this?
If I encode my 2 hour standard def 720x483 project using DVD SP 4 onto a dvd-9 disk, will the replication be reliable?
I would imagine if I encode the project on dvd-9, watch it on my dvd and the quality is good then my replication would be good as well? Thanks.

I wouldn't say its a problem in the authoring tool but would say it would be a problem with some not knowing the correct steps to take. Not sure who your replicator is but are you talking to the replicator themselves or a broker? Its very possible the person your contacting has no idea what they're are talking about.
Also your about to make the mistake of sending a burned DVD-9 to replication. DVDSP allows you to output DDP images which should be sent to the replication facility via HDD. If a replicator says "send me a burned disc and we'll take care of the rest" you should walk away.
Also its important you receive check discs from them before they do the entire run.

DVD@ccess gor Visto and seven

can you tell me if you known a software DVD@ccess update for Vista and Windows seven

There is no update. DVD@ccess is unreliable on Windows. You are best not using it.

DVD@ccess folder copy

Hiya - does anyone know if there's a way to PREVENT DVDSP copying the DVDccess folder during a build? I'd rather place the DVD@ccess Windows installer in a folder with other items, which I can in the DVD-ROM content but a redundant DVDccess folder is created no matter what. I can use other tools (like mkisofs) to get rid of it from a disk image, but this is a DVD-9 project and I need to make layered DDP2.1 files for replication, which means the build and format steps need to happen within DVDSP.
I've also trawled through the various project xmls like ObjectDatB (plutil is my friend) but there seems to be no switchable option to prevent inclusion of this folder once DVD@ccess links are in place.
Ideas? Thanks in advance.

DVD@ccess looked promising but it's a non-starter. The technology was unreliable when it was new and I do not believe it has seen neither improvement nor revision. I have used it successfully only once back in DVDSPv2 and that was for a Mac-only release.
Can you accomplish your goals with any other technology? Does Adobe Encore offer you any better solution for a Windows client (never used it myself)?
sorry not to have ay better advice for you other than to forget DVD@ccess. Please come back and let us know if you find a workable solution; it will help others in similar situations.
bogiesan

DVD-ROM Feature (DVD@ccess)

I recently finished creating a DL DVD and in one of the videos I put a DVD@cces marker to connect to a website. I followed the instructions in many tutorials and books to a tee. I burned the DVD and tried it in my Apple DVD player (after enabling DVD@ccess web links in the preferences) and it doesn't work.
Any thoughts?
One more concern:
Assuming I fix the problem, will this marker work on PC DVD players?
Thanks.

In principle, the idea of DVD@ccess or creating enhanced content DVDs is rather cool. In practice, the experience was never anything but variable. Whilst DVD@ccess seemed to work for Macs, and some PCs the result was never reliable on a PC. Alternative solutions on PCs, including Sonic's eDVD, have also since been abandoned. There is no single standards based system for creating interactive links and that is what is needed for all discs to work.
If you want to put a microsite on a DVD then you can, and you can use a menu screen to inform your viewers that it is there. All that is missing is the ability to click a link in a menu and run the index file. You might get it working for some people, but not for all... but if you include it on a disc then at least there is something there for them to see.
The other thing to consider is that if you do include some HTML pages on your disc, when they are played in an internet enabled PC you can rely on the usual html links to call up further content not based on the DVD.

DVD@ccess problems

I'm using DVD studio Pro 3.0.2 and I can't get DVD@ccess to work at all. I follow what the book tells me to do exactly and it just won't work. It doesn't open my browser and link to the website, it just sits there on the menu that I enable the @ccess on. What am I missing? These are the steps I've taken:
1. Create a new menu.
2. Enable DVD@ccess on that menu
3. Type in the url complete with the http://
4. Link menu to desired button from main menu.
5. Simulate and test
I've doubled checked to make sure "Embed Text Data" is still activated and it still won't work. Please help, what the heck am I missing?!!

You don't mention enabling DVD@cess links for simulator in the prefs - this is off by default in the simulator prefs in DVDSP, as well as off by default in Apple DVD Player.
Also, since typing a buch of slashes and colons always feels like greek to me, and I usually get it wrong, I almost always copy and paste a url from my web browser after checking it there, rather than typing it in. An invalid url will cause DVD@ccess to appear to do nothing, even if it is enabled.
You might consider providing a local html page on the ROM sector of the disc instead of the web url, in case users are not connected to the internet.
Hope this helps -
Max Average

Using DVD@ccess for .PDF (not clear to me in Manual)

So I've got a link typed into a certain page of the DVD to link to a .pdf file. The link is typed as:
file:///DVDname/foldername/file.pdf
This is how it tells me to link it in the Manual, however whenever I burn a test disc, put it in the computer, check the "enable DVD@ccess" box in the DVD Player prefs, and test it, it does not open the file. How is this not working? Do I have to place the folder in a specific location when the DVD begins to build and format, or do I have to include the full line of folder names (folders within folders) when I type in the address above? Am I selecting the wrong folder when I choose the "content" folder before building the DVD?

Good links from Drew...
The process is complicated. I'll try to make it simple.
First off, your pdf file needs to be in a folder somewhere on your machine - let's call it EXTRAS. That folder itself now needs to be in a parent folder as well, let's call that one ROM_CONTENT. For simplicity just set this up on your desktop for now.
From within DVDSP you need to set the location of the pdf file in the property inspector, but you do this in two places. First off, click on the disc icon in the outline view and then look in the property inspector for the ROM section. Use the 'Browse' facility to specify the outer folder you made earlier, and make sure the path in the property inspector points to the location of 'ROM_CONTENT'.
Now, in the menu that is going to hold the DVD@ccess link you also specify the path to the file, but this time you set up the path as it would appear after the disc is built. If your pdf file is called 'products' and your DVD itself is called 'My_Disc' then the URL that you put in the menu needs to be:
file:///My_Disc/EXTRAS/products.pdf
Note that you *do not* use the name of the parent folder... this is very important!
When DVDSP builds the disc it will place the Video_TS and Audio_TS folders at the root level (the first thing you see if you open the disc in your finder). When you use DVD@ccess it will also put a folder to hold the @ccess.exe file with instructions to PC users, and it will also put whatever it finds inside the ROM_CONTENT folder at the root level of the disc. In the example here it finds a folder called EXTRAS and so the root of your disc looks nice and tidy - four folders. If you didn't use the inner folder then your pdf would appear as a file on the root... which to me is plain messy.
Now, since the folder called EXTRAS is now at the root level and holding the file to launch, that's what you MUST specify when writing the menu URL.
Finally, in order to see this working on your Mac (simulator) you need to turn on the DVD@ccess prefs in both DVDSP and DVD Player. Once done, the file should launch your default pdf viewer (probably 'Preview'). If it doesn't then there is either something wrong with the paths you have used inside DVDSP, or there is something wrong with your Mac! I'd suspect the paths before anything else...

Tips for making DVD@ccess works on PC reliably !!!

Anyone here have experience Authoring in DVDSP using DVD@ccess where your DVD will be played on a PC ??
I beleive you need to install the DVD@ccess plug-in but i can't seem to find it anywhere on the net. Also someone told me the plug in ( for PC ) is installed on the DVD once you authored with DVD@ccess but i can't seem to find it either. Any suggestion ??? Thanks

When you burn an image with DVD@ccess checked in your buld and burn window, it adds the file to the image -- NOTE: As I recall this only happens when you burn an image or master to a Tape backup.
Also, you can put an autostart.ini file on the DVD-rom portion of the disk that runs DVD@access, but unless you get a little fancy with you autostart file, it will try to install it every time!!!
Bottom line is, it's a little quirky!!! Good luck.
Jason
PS - there are some DVD programs that flat will not work with DVD@ccess. I think POWER DVD is one, but I can't remember.

Dvd@ccess no button in inspector

I am trying to link my video to a web site, In reading the manual it says to tick the check box in the inspector to set the link, but there is no dvd@ccess button in the inspecter, what the....
Help
rex

Hi Rex, welcome.
The DVD@ccess link is usually placed into a menu, click on the menu background and look in the property inspector...
It can also be used on other disc elements, but it cannot be attached to an individual button.
The way it works is the link is activated when the menu holding it is displayed. You will find that @ccess has a flaky history (to say the least) on PCs and the applicationj of choice for adding interactivity is Sonic's eDVD, which is PC based, but far more robust in its implementation, IMO.

DVD@ccess

Is there a possibility to link an URL via button (i.e. to open a URL/site in i.explorer or safari) DVD@ccess??
any help would be great!
greetings, max

No - not in the way you might think, at least.
What you do is set the button to go to a blank menu which itself has the URL embedded in it (done by using the property inspector for the menu). You set the menu to time out after a few seconds and then set the action to jump back to the menu that held the original button.
When the second menu is accessed the web browser will open in front of everything and obscure all that menu switching activity. To the viewer, it will look as if the web page opened just after they clicked a button.
Of course, if the disc is viewed on a TV then this will look odd - the button click takes you to a blank screen for three seconds and then goes back to where you were... What I tend to do is add a little bit of text to the blank menu to explain what is happening and to recommend the disc is seen on a computer. Leave it long enough to read before jumping back out again. This way, the computer viewer is catered for and the TV viewer is informed.
If you want anything other than this kind of route then you'll need to consider eDVD on the PC platform - there are a lot of other things eDVD can do and it will be a worthwhile investment if you plan to do any more interactive discs.

DVD@ccess Help

I have been charged with including web site access on the DVD. I have been successful with the DVD@ccess on all the Mac's, however, it does not work on any of the 4 Pc's I have tried. I have reviewed the postings here but most seem to highlight it won't even work on the Mac. I have also reviewed the "late breaking news" portion of DSP, no help either.
Any insight you can share would be appreciated!

You may want to look at the suggestions in this thread as to alternatives to use, as noted in there (and as you have found in the other threads and by trying to work with @ccess) it can be a pain
Alternatives to @ccess

DVD@ccess Con

Why offer a great tool that can only work on Macs?? That's ridiculous!! And completely hurts my project. But just to clarify....
The only choices I have for a user to access the weblinks on my DVD are:
1. User needs to download dvd@ccess from my DVD
2. Recreate my complete DVD in eDVD
Can an eDVD be read on a mac?
Oh god my head hurts....
Thanks to whoever answers my questions... : )

If web links and ROM content access is 'mission critical' for you, then your best bet would be eDVD4. It would not necessarily require you to recreate your DVD, but there are some basic 'rules' that must be followed for the links to be created. Because of that, you are most likely going to have to alter your dvd project a bit.
eDVD (as Hal has pointed out) uses Interactual Player to access the ROM content. Not all Mac's can run the latest version of IA, but most recent Mac's can.
It does require a PC to run eDVD4. There are some glitches with the app on certain PC set ups, and although it's been 'debated' whether or not it can be run on a Mac with Virtual PC, I have not heard of anyone successfully doing it, and more importantly, it's not supported. My own personal feeling on this, and mind you I have tried it, is that you would have to be already pretty efficient and experienced with eDVD 4 to run it on a Mac because it would require you to do so in 'no video_ts mode'. In essense you couldn't preview your project builds, and unless you know exactly what you are doing, you may go through a few coasters before finalizing a project.
Jim

DVD@ccess and replication

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