I'd really like to see the following features added to TDA's template editor:

*) custom "highlight"- & "action"-color (per element would be nice)
*) "inverse highlight" option (for "grayed out" thumbs that are not selected)
*) custom text-fields
*) a "dont show" attribute for standard buttons (to "delete" buttons like the nasty "play all" button)
*) editing of attributes like the "drop shadow" and the "shadow color/range/etc."

Also nice would be an option to specify a "trailer" track, that plays before the menu and does NOT show up in track/chapter-selection

And the all-perfect-master-of-the-universe feature would be custom menu structures - like the one used in the "Blue" template :)

I know the "per element" custom colors are tricky because subpictures are limited to 16 colors, but even to change the default yellow/red to some other colors would be a HUGE step forward!

So far I really like the program because it just does what it says it does, doesn't crash, and doesn't complain all too much about some minor stream-errors, it can handle VCD-standard mpeg files and other stuff that makes life MUCH easier then with other DVD authoring apps!

I'd even like to pay for some "external" menu-template-editor (as an addon to TDA) if that would allow me to make some nive menus - some extra 20-30$ should not be a problem :)

Maybe you let me know what to expect in future versions of TDA, and when to expect them :)

Anyway, thanks for the great work, also for TMPGEnc Plus,
bye,
--hustbaer

Excellent program , easy to use , does exactly what its supposed to without any fuss.

I've been capturing video and audio Separately . After a lot of trial and error , I get good quality results at the end of it.

But because I'm using separate files (not started at the same time) , I have to keep quitting TMPGEnc DVD Author , trim the start of the audio file in a separated audio editor restarting TMPGEnc DVD Author to view the files , until , finally I've got them in sync.What with having to save large files over and over ,it probably costs 15-20mins getting it right this way.

What would be real handy would be the ability to be able to alter the audio sync in the Chapter Cut Edit page. Maybe work with sound files up to 5 seconds longer than the start of the video file.

I know there is a section in TMPEnc plus where you can alter the audio sync but its not really that usable because you dont hear the sound , you see the sound bar so, until youve encoded a file, you still dont know if its in sync or not.

One big audio sync button please...!!

Posted this on the dvdrhelp.com dvd author forum but got no responses. Thought I'd try it here:

I've been using TDA for a week or so and have a question about title and track menus and remote controls.

What I wanted to accomplish was making a dvd of my son's 3 dvd videos and to have a simple menu. I wanted the dvd to start up automatically and loop at the end and for the menu to appear if I pressed the menu button on my remote - profound I know.

I used dvdshrink to rip the movies separately and made 3 tracks in TDA. In menu options I chose Main Menu Only and for the tracks to play on startup and for them to loop. I burned it to disk and tried it out on my 4 dvd players.

Everything played ok but nothing happened when pressing the menu button on my remotes. On two remotes pressing Title would display the menu, one pressing Top Menu would display the menu, and my fourth and newest dvd/vhs combo wouldn't display it at all - no title or top menu buttons.

So I made a new dvd choosing automatic with the same play options and hitting the menu button would now display the Track Menu with the same thing as above happening when attempting to get to the main menu.

My awe-inspiring intellect quickly concluded that the Title button only works with the main menu and the Menu button only works with the track menu. I also wondered why my new dvd player didn't have a title button. Stupid new dvd player.

Just for fun I made a test dvd with roxio dvd builder with only a main menu and 3 tracks and when pressing menu OR title/top menu the Main Menu displays. Go figure.

So how do I get TDA to do the same thing? Going into this I natively thought hitting menu would open the menu. Is there something I'm not understanding? Thanks.

well.
there are several different menus on DVDs.
-> title, root, subtitle, audio, angle and chapter.

most dvd-players can only access the title and the root menu directly via the remote.
seems like TDA just assigns a command to the "title"-menu, not "root".

something like that :)

Just started using the software. I need to save the cut/edited VOBs for future use. Currently, the only way I know how to do it is to author the project, then save the resulting VOBs; and if I have a few cuts, I just separate them into different tracks, they they come up separate VOBs too.

Is there an easier way - meaning, not having to go through the authoring step, like a save clip button or something ?

Just creat a TitleSet without a Menu, that's all.

I would like to be able to relink to clip source mpeg files without loosing all my chapter information. For example, if I have a saved project which references some source files, and I have already put all the chapter breaks in, but then I decide that the source file should be moved to a different folder, I can't update the project to point to the source files new location without loosing all the chapter information.

good point, i second that!
should be easy to implement...

I can't download the trial of TmpGEnc DVD Author... I wanted to try it because I have some VRO files and have been told that this program is the only one that can convert them to a "DVD package" to play on my computer... any help please??
jenn

I think DVD Author should re-encode the mpeg file if the mpeg is slightly corrupted or damage.

I have some MPEG files can be played by WinDVD or RealPlayer but are refused by TMPGEnc DVD author. TMPG DVD Author would stop encode if there is a slight mpeg error. When tried to use the TMPGEnc Plus' mpeg tool to multiplex/demultiplex the mpeg file, it also stoped at the same place.

Interesting problem. Installed early version. Now when I try to upgrade with later version, cannot locate TMPGEnc DVD Author 1.5.msi to remove older version, leaving no option but to abort install. Is this a registry edit. Operating system is XP Home.

Hello,
I was wondering if there are any plans for supporting VOBs with more than 1 audio track. I tried importing a VOB off my HDD that contained 3 audio tracks (1 main English track, and 2 commentary tracks) and your software only supports 1.
I don't think any other product has this feature. You could be the first!
I think it would make TMPGEnc DVD Authoring an even more valuable product.

Dave.

Any professional (and expensive!) Auhtoring-Tool is able to do that. An ohter Tool ist DVDLab, but only 2 Audio-Tracks and only be using IFOEdit and some Tricks in assistance.

Hi,

Created 2 Video_ts files with DVD-Shrink (ver 3.0) -about 1.9 GB each-
When I burn one of them with Nero everything is o.k(also the orther)
When I use TMPGenc author and add the two files (with import DVD video ),the files are imported, but the audio is missing.

What I am doing rong??

Thanks

Does it show the audio settings information in the "Add Clip" window after you add the DVD Video? Perhaps the audio isn't being recognized by DVD Author for one reason or another?

Maybe this is the solution of audio missing!

http://forum.digital-digest.com/archive/topic/30640-1.html

if made an image with a HighLight layer in Photoshop. I add this picture to my DVD-Menu. and after creating the menu and i don't select the button it is normal, but when i select the button it is not the Exactly the highlight that i have created.
[img]http://members.tripodnet.nl/FutureCow/wrong.JPG[/img]
the above image is the image i have created (the stripe is the Highlight, and is not vissible on the normal image) and the other image is the image on my DVD-Menu. How can i fix this?

hi!

highlights dont work that way in TDA.
and they dont work that way in any authoring app i know.

what you can do in TDA is, make a Photoshop file with a layer called "highlight".
every pixel in this "highlight" layer that is not 100% transparent will get highlighted by TDA - unfortunately with its standard unchangeable highlight-color -- which is yello (as you might have guessed :-)

the think yellow line comes from pixels which are probably some 98 or 99% transparent, but not 100% - so TDA counts them as highlight.

to make a nice straight line for your highlight:
-> load the psd up in photoshop
-> select the highlight layer
-> select the area above the line using the rectangular selection tool
-> hit "DEL" on your keyboard
-> repeat for the areas below, at the left and at the right of your image
-> save the PSD file again

re-open TDA, edit menu, reload the PST -> done.
however i have not found a way to change the annerving yellow to some other color :(

if you find a way, please let me know...

You can do so quite simple with a hexeditor. (You may also use vobedit where a hexeditor is included). A very interesting text on topics like this can be found here: http://home.mn.rr.com/dvdmaster/AdvancedDVD.pdf

To change the annerving yellow lets say to blue just load the file containing the menu (i.e. Vts_XX_0.vob) into a hexeditor and change the bytes 0xA3 and 0xA4 from 44 44 to another value like 33 33 for blue, 22 22 for green or 11 11 for orange.
Example:
1. "Normal" HighLight color yellow
[img]http://www.boraxsoft.de/other/TDA_Menu1.png[/img]
2. HighLight color set to blue:
[img]http://www.boraxsoft.de/other/TDA_Menu2.png[/img]
results in
[img]http://www.boraxsoft.de/other/DATA2-0.jpg[/img]
("Chapter #1" is selected)
The change applies to all buttons in this menu. If you want to change the HighLight color for different buttons to diffenent colors, some more bytes have to be changed. Have a look the the above mentioned article.

There are three features missing that would prevent me from purchasing this product:

1. First Play Video
The ability to have a track play before the first menu, but NOT show up in the Title or Track menu's

2. Ability to remove the Play all button.
I don't need a play all button on any of my menus, just the abiliy to select tracks

3. Ability to add arbitrary images or text in the menu editor.
I would lkike to be able to add images (with alpha) and extra text anywhere on the menu.


Are any of these features planned for future releases?

1. That's no Problem, TMPGEnc DVD Author can handle this.

2. Hm, no Chance (by now)

3. Create a Picture with the Text by using PhotoShop or any other Picture Editor and use it as a Background.

4. Don't ask me..., i'm just a Guy who helps other people ;)

Can you tell how Number 1 can be accomplished? With everything I've tried, the first track still gets its own track menu.

2. Ability to remove the Play all button.

All I do is shrink it as small as possibel and oout it down in the bottom LHS in the overscan area, not a solution but a rough workaround, you shoudl be able to delete that button !. Like you I often have the first chapter set as a "Play Feature"

3. Ability to add arbitrary images or text in the menu editor.

I do this with Photoshop, if I want music as well, I drag the resultant image into Adobe Premier, tell it change the duration to 30 secs, add a music background and crate an M2P from there. Using Preimer also allows me to use motion settings on logos etc and fly or scroll images or text onto the screen background. I would prefer to do it this way then try and have DVD Author do it,

Hiding the button really instal a solution. It is still selected (just can't be seen) when the menu is displayed, and the used has to press the correct direction (up or down depending on where you hid it) to get to the entries on the menu.

The ability to delete this button should be an easy feature for the programmers of TDA to add.