We've recently moved from Encore (too expensive to upgrade because of 'package' deal) but are completely flummoxed by Menu creating & linking.
We are creating a showreel, so we have about 60 short clips, linking animations, and some compilations (all currently as HD avi's no problems using them).We want to create menus & sub-menus from scratch (with looped movie and sound backgrounds), and put buttons we create where we want them, link them to sub menus or tracks, specify 'end' actions for the plays etc.etc.
Is there any clear source of information on how to do this.
The menu creation wizard/ custom menus stuff just seeme to offer lots of preset pretty patterns all tound with no actual derict control of what actions a button initiates.
We were used to encore's 'timelines' - each of which could contain one or more video clips, and where video clips could be used in more than one timeline. Is there any equivalent structuring?
Like I said, we're baffled, and any help would be appreciated.

There is no timeline display mode in this software.

Menu creation is automated, even for custom menus. In other words, it will create the menu pages automatically depending on your page layout settings, whether or not you have subtitles, multiple audio tracks, etc.
You basically have two levels: top menu (for selecting tracks), and track menus (for selecting chapters). So you can't make another track menu within a track menu.

Buttons are created automatically depending on your content, but with custom menus, you can replace the buttons with your own images or simply use text.
You cannot create a button after the fact and set what it does.
You can however, move the buttons around to where you want them and change how the remote control navigates from one selectable object to the next.

You can specify what happens after a track is finished playing so that it goes back to the track/top menu, continues to the next track, or continues to the next track and loops all tracks indefinitely. This can be set in the Menu Wizard or in the Global Menu Settings.

You can create motion backgrounds with audio by activating the motion menu options in the Global Menu Settings in the Menu Stage. Once activated, you can insert video/audio as your background and set looping settings.

I suggest creating a custom menu using the Menu Wizard and using layouts similar to what you need and then editing the positions, size, graphics, etc. after the Wizard creates it.

Authoring Works 4 is still very much consumer software, hence its simplicity and relatively lower price point. That said, its menu creation is definitely not on the same level as Encore. I think you'll have to unlearn a lot of what you learned with Encore and think on simpler terms with Authoring Works.

If you need specific instructions on how to do something, just post it on this forum and I'll try to help you.

we are encoding m2t files (with avs scripting to overlay a logo into the movie, approx 30 / 45 minutes each - 6 tot 10 gigs per file) with tmpgenc xpress with all updates installed.
encoding is to wmv VC-1.

It goes ok until the third file. (always the third file).
the first 2 files are perfect and everything but a soon as the encoder is into the first 2 minutes of the third file it gives the 8007000e error and the memory the program consumes is approx 1 gig then (growing from 150 mb at the start)

i have set the program so it removes the done conversions from the batch when done, but it does not do that.

anybody has any idea why the memory keeps piling up? looks to me that that is the problem here..

Just installed Tmpgenc AW 4 and am unable to open the Disc Writing tool. Keep getting the message the "writing drive is stopped". Everything else works. Tried removing things but still no luck. My two drives works with Nero just fine. Using XP64 SP1.

yeah ive been stumped by this myself as ive had many friends and clients sayin there is an issue.

i believe its a bug which should have been seen before the verison as released.

shame really as i hear that this tool was rather good.

Just to appease my curiosity I just installed it on my Laptop running on Xp32 SP2. Works perfectly! Wonder if it has an issue with Xp64 or SP1?

you say this, my system is also a xp x64

Writing tool does not work with XP64 system. I found out through trial and error on both my system XP64 and XP32

Right click My computer -> Manage->Services and Applications-> services there you can see B'S Recorder Gold Liberary General Serives...(you can see it must be stopped) you have not make automatic and start -> click ok..

Re-start tmpeg dvd authoring works.. lol....

I was encoding a VOB to mp4 with a 2 pass setting and everything was going fine but the encoder got stuck at 78%. From the preview window, it appears the encoder got stuck trying to encode "Snow". (The interference type like an untuned TV channel.) This is part of the program so it's not something I want to edit out and I don't believe it appears on screen for very long either. The strange thing is that it never locked up the program as I could still adjust encoding setting in the R-Click flyout menu and had access to the options menu, but it will not quit the program when I try to hit exit.

I let it run over night with a priority of foreground +2 and nothing changed. Also the is no CPU activity. I would hate to to wait another couple hours to find it's going to get stuck again so I would really appreciate any input on what happened and what I might try to remedy it. Please let me know if you need any more information.

Many Thanks,
Eidolen

hi,
There are times when DVD-video files have
special build structure or has weird data or broken, in case of import
directly from a DVD-video there are broken sectors or problems in files
specially in the .IFO files.
Check if it happens the same with other DVD-videos.
Recorded DVD's sometimes there are troubles,
try the following:
At Windows, My computer, please try to copy the DVD (VIDEO_TS)
folder to your HDD, if it becomes a reading error it means that the
recording(copying to disc) is bad, or your DVD media is corrupted, weird,
has some kind of protection, or was wrong created.
- If your DVD-video was recorded
( we think DVD recorders have few DVD burn modes such as
HDD > DVD Auto, LP,SP)

also try to import like this:
-At Source stage click "Add file" button.
-From the file browser choose the folder where your .VOB files are
and select "All files (*.*)" option.
-Choose a > .VOB file for ex. VTS_01_1.VOB file and click "Open".
-There will come out a warning message, please click "No".

- Or... you could try to use an "IFO repair software", search or it
with this keywords in Google or other portal.

Also try the following:
- Start MPEG tool > Multiplexer.
- Choose your .VOB file and click "Start" output it. (You must change
the name or path of the Output file).
- Import the output MPEG file from Multiplexer in a new XPress 4
project and check about it.

good luck

Hi guys

Last week I filmed a concert production. I have it all on a single mpeg file and have set chapters (each song) with tmpgenc authoring works 4. I also have another track of a photo slideshow. My menu currently has 2 buttons doing the following:

Button 1: Track 1 (THE CONCERT) ---> chapter select
Button 2: Track 2 (THE SLIDESHOW) ---> plays the slideshow


I would like to have a layout as follows:

Button 1: Track 1 (THE CONCERT) ---> plays the whole show
Button 2: Track 1 (THE CONCERT CHAPTER SELECT) ---> chapter select
Button 3: Track 2 (THE SLIDESHOW) ---> plays the slideshow

Basically I would like to have a menu where someone can immediately watch the whole show or go to another menu where they could choose an individual song. Is this possible?


CHeers
Lambie

I think the only way would be to use a custom menu design.

In your top menu, you'll have to make the Play All button into "The Concert" button.
You can do this by either making your own button image and importing it into the program, or you can simply make it a text button by selecting the text button layouts in the Menu Wizard.

Then you can rename Track 1 to "The Concert Chapter Select" and that will link to your track menu where you can select the chapters/songs.

Can the disc writing tool write to multiple DVDs at the same time?

No. Just one DVD at a time.

Hi, I have a problem here. Whenever I try to open this file to encode, I kept getting this message:

"Could not open the video part of the file H:\12.avi
Only the audio part can be opened."

There is no problem with the video file; it plays perfectly on any mediaplayer but the file size is just too big and I wanna make it smaller. Is there a patch for it? Been using this program for alot of files with no problems and this is the 1st time I encounter this. Of course, as someone requested earlier, it would be good to have a 'join clips' function as well.

Thank you for reading and looking forward to your reply.

What is the codec used? There may be a codec conflict.

Hi, I am fairly new to TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 and I have a question on figuring out which source files go with which projects. I have a number of projects on my system, some of which have been burned to DVD and some of which have not been, and I'm starting to run out of hard disk space. I would like to be able to delete the source files for the projects already burned but I don't want to risk deleting the ones for projects I'm still working on. How do you identify which .DVDDATA files go with which project? I can't seem to find a way to do this in the program.

Thanks very much in advance.


Skip

easy, load the project and see what it is lol

Yeah, that was a real helpful answer. Thanks alot. :-(

I did a little more looking and found the Project File Check Tool under Advanced Project Tools.

60% of all of my mpeg movies are not read right by Tmpgenc xpress. I have the latest version and the mpeg's are not encrypted or copyright protected. For example a mpeg my be 1h28min yet tmpgenc reports it in the clip/edit during import as a 28 min mpeg and the frames in the preview window do not match the ones in the thumbnail viewer. This means that I can't recode but 40 percent of my mpeg's. Does anyone know an answer to this.
FYI: the mpegs are on my hard drive and none of the other softwares on my computer have any problems reading them except for tmpgenc. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling tmpgenc. And have even recently reinstalled my OS with no results. The 40 percent that it does read import and encode correctly without error. All of the mpeg's are from the same source.

Where do the problem mpegs come from? Are they DVD rips, captures, from the web, etc? It's possible they have damaged header files or it may be a transport stream that XPress can't read.

They are DVD rips from the same software. I found a solution on my own. It is to demultiplex the ones that it can't read correctly, then import, and then convert. It has worked on several so far.

Well now the video and audio are out of sync. Great now this software is like trying to get Vista to work. I guess I'll start another thread.

Hi,

I'm authoring a DVD in AUTHORING WORKS 4 and importing a .SRT subtitle file. Everything is fine with the exception of this... when a sub goes onto two lines, rather than centring the second line it aligns to the left, in line with the first line. The whole sub is centred in the middle of the picture, so this isn't a problem, I just want to get the second line centred below the first Here's an example.

descending from your
august throne

whereas I want it to look like this...

descending from your
august throne

Now I've played around with all the alignment settings with no joy... Anybody have any ideas, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Regards

sorry that second example didn't work, but hopefully you get the idea.

Go to the Subtitle editor and click on the "Edit menu" button and select "Layout editor".

In the Layout editor window, uncheck the "Align text" box. That should make everything align correctly.

I have windows vista 64
it is about 4 months I use this program and everything worked well.

for several days but it stopped working.
the process starts, but the application does not appear on the Windows desktop

I uninstall the software, I reboot, I reinstalled the software, the reactive reboot

software this revival finally, I open a file ... and freeze
I kill the frozen process

and again when I relaunch the application, the process is present but no trace of the software on the Windows desktop

problem with the latest updates ". NET Framework" on windows update?
activation system crap?

any case the software has become useless

hi,
Did you update or upgrade your Security system?.
Some times secure software checks actions in the memory, if it is
blocked to run the program correctly comes such crash, please run the
program by turning off your security software, or check its block list
and settings.
-Also try to run the program as administrator.
-Also...please try to update your video and graphic drives.

Did you made a Windows update?, if so try to back the point before such
update, this also provokes errors, possibly is a wrong Windows update.

Also may be there is a problem with your graphic card spec, check about them.

Also try by installing the newest version of .NET framework(version
3.5), This version cannot be update by normal Windows update
use this link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=de&FamilyID=3333
25fd-ae52-4e35-b531-508d977d32a6

Also from this link:
http://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/tme3.html#tabs
run the "System Requirement Check Tool" for Editor 3 and check if your
requirements are completed.

good luck

I recently upgraded Real Player & Miro after which I received a Swish.Zone popup referreing to their FLV-source filter installed on my PC.
This popup only appears when opening TMPGEnc (4.0 Xpress lateate version)and causes it to hang when opening FLV-files for converting.
Anyone with a solution for this?
Unilstaiing Realpleyaer & Miro has no effect.

Thanks

Rob

Uninstall swishzone maybe?

Try to disable the Flv.ax filter. You can use a program like MMCompView or "Sherlock - The Codec Detective!" - that can be downloaded from free-codecs.com - to disable specific codecs.
Using the programs search for "FLV File Source" and disable it.

Or maybe try to unregister the filter typing in the Start > Run :
regsvr32 -u "C:\Windows\system32\FLV.ax" , if FLV.ax is inside C:\Windows\system32, otherwise use your own path for the file.