Menu Manipulation Causes Program Locks - Roxio Mydvd

[MightyLampshade]

I'll start with my system specs then go from there. I don't picture if being a hardware issue but I'm not ruling it out.

Desktop - i5 3570K 12GB 500GB SSD 300GB WD Velociraptor Windows 7 x64 SP1

Laptop - i7 4700MQ 16GB 128GB SSD 1TB 7200 RPM Disk Windows 7 x64 SP1

 

I have a few .avi files I made of old VHS tapes that I'm trying to convert to DVDs. The files are all approx 25GB and I can open the Roxio MyDVD software, add the video(s), change the background, usually adjust the text, and mute the menu sound. When I try to move a chapter up a level VideoWave15.exe goes to not responding and I'm forced to try and start over. I have not been able to find any consistency between the different video files and where this crash occurs - in the instance of the attachment I can move chapters 2-6 up to directly under Disc 3, but as soon as I drag chapter 1 up the program locks up. On a different disk I was able to move chapters 1-5, only to have it crash when I attempted to move 6.

 

Equally annoying (though somewhat refreshing) is that if I wait an entirely random amount of time (sometimes a day, sometimes 2 weeks) and come back to this I've been able to successfully get a few discs to burn. I've tried saving at certain points along the way, just after adding the movie to the project, after creating the chapters, etc but if I jump back to a previously saved project it seems to consistently fail at the same point. The only discs I've had work were from start to finish in one sitting no problems.

 

I run into similar issues regardless of the machine, the install location of the NXT 3 software, the location of the video files I'm trying to make a DVD out of, or seemingly how many times I attempt to allow the program to repair itself. I have ensured that the software is fully up to date and it isn't always failing at the exact same point, but always during an attempt to move some chapters around.

 

I'd appreciate any advice you may have regarding fixing this issue. I purchased this software specifically for this use and I'm far from thrilled with its behavior and functionality

 

Thanks!

[MightyLampshade]

Just following up as promised.

 

I have spent some more time trying to get the menus the way I'd like them to be on this particular DVD and it turns out I can't even click Chapter 1 under the Project View on this disc without it crashing. I have tried re-creating the project from scratch and putting the chapters back in again manually but it consistantly refuses to allow me to click on Chapter 1. I'm wondering if my source file is bad for this particular movie but that wouldn't explain the issues I've had with other discs, or why eventually they seem to work

 

For the time being I threw my typical need to go strictly in order to the wind and gave Disc 4 a shot. First attempt this go around it worked, and this time I made sure to save the project. Attached is a copy of the menu structure the way I want it to be on all my discs, the way I've been able to get it on several discs, and totally working!

 

Which continues to confuse the ever living daylights out of me, but progress has been made!

[bimicher]

What folder is not needed? "Disc 3" is not a menu folder, it is just a identification label on the main DVD menu page.

 

The image you show is of course not at all what the menu will look like when you play the DVD.

 

The menu in the image you show will not work.

By moving the chapters 1 to 6 up under "Disc 3" they are at the same level as "captured Videos 3" and would now no longer be Chapters but Titles. This will scre up the whole menu structure/navigation

[MightyLampshade]

Thank you for continuing to work with me!

 

I get a blank background with a link to Captured Videos 00003 as the main DVD menu. I have to navigate to that link before being brought to my chapter view. All I want to do is eliminate that first step as it isn't necessary. I may just need to take a screen shot when I'm back at home in front of the desktop of what the first screen of the DVD looks like before I move the chapters.

 

I want to be able to move the chapters up, then delete the Captured Videos 00003 from the menu structure (in this instance is locked before I could perform that deletion but I promise I've been able to do these exact steps at least 4 times) I've done it before and it has worked exactly the way I want it to. More often than not though it causes the program to crash. If this is expected behavior to prevent me from screwing up the whole menu structure this software has an absolutely abysmal method for getting that point across.

[bimicher]

Thank you for continuing to work with me!

 

I get a blank background with a link to Captured Videos 00003 as the main DVD menu. I have to navigate to that link before being brought to my chapter view. All I want to do is eliminate that first step as it isn't necessary. I may just need to take a screen shot when I'm back at home in front of the desktop of what the first screen of the DVD looks like before I move the chapters.

 

I want to be able to move the chapters up, then delete the Captured Videos 00003 from the menu structure (in this instance is locked before I could perform that deletion but I promise I've been able to do these exact steps at least 4 times) I've done it before and it has worked exactly the way I want it to. More often than not though it causes the program to crash. If this is expected behavior to prevent me from screwing up the whole menu structure this software has an absolutely abysmal method for getting that point across.

 

Exactly what are the steps you are doing to create the menu?

As far as I know there is no menu style that has a "blank background"?

Of course that "Captured Video 000003" has to be on the main menu. If you delete it you also delete the movie and everything else..

 

Perhaps a screen shot or two may help to explain exactly what you are doing. I have no idea how you would move the chapters up and then delete the movie.

[MightyLampshade]

I add the movie using Movie > Add New Movie. After that I right click the movie in the project view on the right hand side, go to edit chapters, and play through the video stopping and adding chapters where I want them along the way. The end result is the menu seen in this image.

 

When I leave the menu structure the way it is in the original image and this picture this is what the main menu of the DVD looks like. I have to click where it says Captured Videos 00003 to then be taken to an actual menu where I can see six chapters per screen and navigation menus.

 

Another way I could phrase it is that this screen is my home menu and I want to remove it and just have the chapter thumbnails show up to begin with (as the home menu).

[bimicher]

THat is how I create menus. I have never considered removing the main menu page since that destroys the whole project. You need the main menu page containing the Title to be able to select the chapter menus.

 

If you know a way of doing it, I would like to know. You say you had done it before and it worked. Do you still have that project?

[MightyLampshade]

I haven't saved any of the successful projects because by the time I finally brute forced my way through and get everything arranged the way I wanted it to be I haven't really thought to save them . I'm quite sure that if I give the remaining discs enough time and tries I'll be able to get them set up the way I want them too, the inconsistency of complete lock ups vs working is what really bugs me about this issue.

 

The way I've been able to do it in the past is simply drag chapters 1-6 and the first Next button up as seen in post #5 and then delete the listing for Captured Videos 00003 at which point my first screen becomes the first six chapters list. I know I used to be able to perform these exact steps in Creator 10, but that doesn't run properly in Windows 7 which is why I upgraded to the NXT 3 version.

[bimicher]

I am sorry I cannot help you anymore. What you are doing is a completely non-standard way of doing menus and I know will corrupt a project. I cannot drag any of the chapters up. Perhaps someone else can pop in and add something

[MightyLampshade]

Not a problem! I appreciate you trying to help me through it. I guess I can't understand why if this action is going to break the project it is even an available option - or why I can move Chapters 2-6 and the next button perfectly, but then as soon as I try to move Chapter 1 it just locks on me.

 

I'll keep at it and try to remember to follow up when I get another one working.

[bimicher]

How long in time are the avi files? At 25GB, I would guess them to be around 120 minutes long. They will of course not fit an a standard 4.7GB DVD since a DVD can only hold 60 minutes of video at the best quality setting. Any longer and you lose quality.

 

How did you create the chapters? Why do you want to change the order/sequence of the chapters?

[MightyLampshade]

The .avi files are between 1:58 and 2:02 in length. Some of the tapes were broken into several shorter files but the total length of video I'm trying to put on a disk is approx 2 hours. I know I won't be at the highest quality level but I'm more concerned with getting these old VHS tapes into a digital format than having the absolute best quality. The tapes themselves have also been watched and rewatched to the point where the original source wouldn't do the best quality settings justice.

 

I am creating the chapters by right clicking the video (in this case Captured Videos 00003 under Attached Images), selecting Edit Chapters, and manually moving through the file to several points and creating chapters where I want them to conincide with breaks in the footage.

 

I want to change the chapter structure because the chapters are putting themselves into a sub-menu upon creation. I'm just trying to move them up a level so I don't have to navigate through a menu to access the menu - if that makes any sense?

 

More than anything I'm confused about it working some of the time, but not most of the time, but not failing at the same point. That to me sounds a lot more like a software thing than a hardware thing.

[bimicher]

The .avi files are between 1:58 and 2:02 in length. Some of the tapes were broken into several shorter files but the total length of video I'm trying to put on a disk is approx 2 hours. I know I won't be at the highest quality level but I'm more concerned with getting these old VHS tapes into a digital format than having the absolute best quality. The tapes themselves have also been watched and rewatched to the point where the original source wouldn't do the best quality settings justice.

 

I am creating the chapters by right clicking the video (in this case Captured Videos 00003 under Attached Images), selecting Edit Chapters, and manually moving through the file to several points and creating chapters where I want them to conincide with breaks in the footage.

 

I want to change the chapter structure because the chapters are putting themselves into a sub-menu upon creation. I'm just trying to move them up a level so I don't have to navigate through a menu to access the menu - if that makes any sense?

 

More than anything I'm confused about it working some of the time, but not most of the time, but not failing at the same point. That to me sounds a lot more like a software thing than a hardware thing.

 

Why dont you simple put a 2 hour tape on 2 DVDs. That way you can at least retain some of the quality.

 

"so I don't have to navigate through a menu to access the menu" - I don't understand what you mean by that. Are you trying to put chapter 7&8 on the same level as chapter 6?

[MightyLampshade]

It's tricky to explain. When I add the video and create my chapters the program is creating a blank menu with a link to the Captured Videos 00003 and the menus are beyond that. I am just trying to move all the chapters up a level so that rather than being under Captured Videos 00003 they're under Disc 3. I attached an image of what I want the menu to look like and you can see it shows that it moved Chapter 1, but as soon as I did that the program locked up and I can't do anything else. When I've gotten it to work I can then delete the Chapter Menu under Captured Video 00003 and the chapter structure looks like I want it to. The program just locks at seemingly random intervals when I try to move the chapters. I bet if I tried again tomorrow night without making any changes it might let me get further, or it might not even let me get that far.

 

Edit - No, I'm not trying to add additional chapters to existing levels. I'm just trying to sort of move the whole thing up a level. I may be going about this the wrong way but I picture it like a folder structure. My folders (chapters) are currently in one folder deeper than they need to be so I want to move everything up a level and remove the extra folder. Some of the time it lets me do that. Most of the time it hard locks and I see that process peg itself at 25% CPU usage and I have to force close it.

[Jim_Hardin]

One more thing you should consider...

 

In Video you can never Render UP... meaning you can never make your project better than your source!

 

Now, VHS tapes are only 333 X 480 to begin with and Authoring them to a DVD in anything less than HQ (720 X 480) will degrade the quality below the original!!!

 

With QUALITY brand DVDs in 4GB & 8GB doing for 25¢ to 30¢ why degrade your memories...