DVD-ROM/DVD@ccess

I want to include some .pdf files on my dvd. I think I have followed the instructions in the manual correctly and can access the files directly on the burnt dvd so I am obviously getting part of the process right. However, I want the user to click on a button and a particular .pdf to open up. I have done the DVD@ccess bit on a menu and wonder if I am getting it wrong on the file path bit. Anyone got experience of doing this process?
Thanks in advance.
Niamh

I have in the past got internet access working and I do agree with you on the client situation if they have a PC. I've checked out Roxio eDVD on the internet and Sonic. Alas, these packages only work on a PC.
Since my first posting I have managed to get the internet and .pdf access working on the simulator but not on the burnt disc. I'm wondering if this could be a memory problem on my laptop and I'm about to visit the local library to check it out the disc on a PC.
Thank you for responding.
Niamh

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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-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.

Using DVD@ccess on DVD-Rom builds

I have been able to test creating a project using DVD@ccess but it seems that it only supports 1 of either file, email or web links. Is this correct? If not how do I set multiple links using the DVD@ccess program or is there another way?
If not I may simply have to create a pdf file with the document and other links embedded in it and use this.
Thanks
Rob

You can associate only one DVD@cces link per menu or chapter marker. If you'd need more than one link, you'll need extra menus or markers. I generally start with a single menu with all the links as buttons. I'll target each button to a new menu that looks identical, but has a specific DVD@acces link and have that menu immediately time out and target back to the original links menu.

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 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 / eDVD alternative

Hi There,
I've recently finished a project where I used eDVD to enable links to PDFs and the Web for PCs and I used DVD@ccess to make a Mac copy. The Mac copy seems to work flawlessly on Macs, but I'm getting mixed results with the eDVD PC version.
Is there an alternative to eDVD? One which is more stable/reliable?
I downloaded the trial version of eDVD on a friend's PC to get this job done. I found it fairly straight forward and easy to use, but before I go ahead and buy the program proper I thought I'd just check if there is a better program out there.
Any suggestions?
Cheers.

The thing to do here is to test the software and see if it works for you
I have used both E-DVD and Intellidisc a quick comparison on how I found them:
E-DVD is an basic level DVD authoring application which has the ability to create links-it is complicated to use and is not that effective in doing so. Its major draw back for users is that the user must install software to allow the links to work.
Intellidisc is a dedicated application for creating DVD discs which allows a seamless link with DVD-ROM content or the Internet.
it is very easy to use-it is very effective in linking to other content and the user does not install software.

DVD@ccess & eDVD together?

Hi There,
I'm making a DVD-rom with a lot of PDF material. I was recently well advised to use Sonic eDVD for better compatibility with PCs, however this looks like it will reduce functionality with Macs. So here's the question:
Can I use the Mac's DVD@ccess feature AND the eDVD feature on the same project ?
I imagine I just link the @ccess links to track markers, then build the VideoTS file and do it again in eDVD? So in theory a Mac will play the DVD through DVD Player and a PC will play it through whatever PCs play with.
BTW: I tried to post this on the Creative Cow forum but I can't seem to access it right now. Anyone else having this problem?
P

Hi Peter, I just caught this on the other thread...
My advice would be to stick to one or the other, not both. The reason being that whilst I think that you are right in theory, I don't think it would work in practice, simply because of the erratic way @ccess seems to work on PCs. Imagine the links all opening at once for no real reason, and the user not understanding why - this is a very likely prospect with @ccess present on a PC, regardless of whether or not the user has installed the @ccess.exe software, it seems (I am only going by what others have said about it, so apologies if this is incorrect).
If you can guarantee that no @ccess links will open on a PC (and this could be as simple as not providing the .exe software to install) then your idea might work. I am being particularly cautious as I simply don't know the answer, I'm afraid.

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@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?

Alternative to DVD@ccess

Aloha,
I need to create a DVD project with button that link to a website, I understand that DVD@ccess is a can of worm and will create headache on window machine, Does anyone came across an alternative, a different application (mac or window) in order to be able to web link.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as well as any idea to resolve this issue.
mahalo

No....Unfortunately web access directly from a DVD is a thing of the past. You could provide HTML link in the ROM section though.

*** Setting up DVD@ccess

I would like on the main menu of my DVD for users on computers to be able to click on a button that I have layed over a part of the text on the screen that will bring them to my website. Is this possible? I've already created the new button and placed it over the text and then gone to the DVD@ccess part of the menu in the inspector, but I'm not sure where to go from here. I don't seem to be able to target my drop zone over the text to launch my website when someone clicks on it.........how does this happen?

1. DVD@cess works VERY spotty at best. VERY. I am not the only one who thinks so:)
2. By default, DVD@cess is turned off in the Mac dvd player. Most people will have no knowledge of it unless you inform them that it exists and needs to be switched on.
3. PC's do not have it so you will have to include the software in a ROM folder on the dvd if you want them to be able to click to your website--they will have to install it on their computer.
Still interested in using it?
You can't really put dvd@ccess on a button, it has to go on a menu. When the user goes to that menu, the dvd@ccess is triggererd, hOPEFULLY doing what you want it to do. The work around is to have a button that say "Go to website". When the person clicks the button, it jumps to an identical menu which has the dvd@ccess attached and then times out at 1 second and sends you back to the real menu...
Good luck!

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

DVD-ROM/DVD@ccess

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