View Full Version : Strange DVD Navigation Issues...


Ryan Krickow
May 22nd, 2008, 04:18 AM
I created a fairly complex DVD with multiple menus, tracks, stories, and slideshows in DVD Studio Pro (Version 4.2.1) on a MacPro running Mac OS X (Version 10.4.11). In Simulate mode everything worked perfectly. Next, I created an image file and everything worked perfectly. Finally, I created a DVD and ran it on the computer and everything was still working perfectly. I took that same DVD and played it on multiple home dvd players and suddenly there were a number of navigational errors. At the end of a slideshow (set up for manual navigation) I'd press the next button on the remote be taken to the first image of a completely separate slideshow. The same thing happens when pressing the next button during a track without any chapter markers- suddenly you end up at the beginning of a unconnected track. In both cases the slideshow and tracks were set up to take the viewer back to the menu screen from which they came. Also, there are times when I press the title menu button and get taken into the middle of the film rather than back to the title menu- I press the title menu button a second time and finally make it to the title menu. One idea I have is to disable the Next and Previous buttons for the tracks but that still leaves the problem of the slideshow jumping and the title menu disfunction. I thought there might be some navigational tools that I ignored but I'm almost positive that's not the case. Has anyone experienced similar problems or know what could be causing these strange issues? Thanks!

Don Sullivan
May 22nd, 2008, 04:49 AM
Ryan,

I've run into this same symptom a couple of times with complex DVD projects on DVDSP. Even though DVDSP is supposed to allow you to set global parameters for buttons, not all DVD players work the way you thought it would. Whenever I've run into this I end up going into the project and manually setting the menu controls to do exactly what I want them to do throughout the project so that behavior is predictable. It can be tedious to do on some projects but at least when I'm done it does exactly what I want, when I want.

You need to look at the Remote Control parameters for each menu, story and sequence to be absolutely sure but it's likely in going through those you'll see some things that are creating the inconsistencies in response. What commonly happens in project development is you'll copy a menu or a story and use it as the base for another in a different place on the disc. When you make the copy it will come with the menu commands from the old location and bring them to the new even thought that's not what you wanted.