Help needed! - Menuedit button importing problem

[blutach]

I am trying to replace a motion menu with a still using Menuedit and obviously retain the buttons.

My steps are:

[list=1] Opening Menuedit, navigating to the VOBID in question and saving the button file (.MBL)
Replacing the relevant VOBID with a "still" (i.e. a small VOB), which has been based on a bitmap
Importing the MBL file back
Saving the new menu VOB (which Menuedit does automatically)
Closing Menuedit and doing a mock strip in IfoEdit of the menu to correct the VOBU pointers
Changing the cell still time to infinite[/list=1] Now, here's the rub. Menuedit, PgcEdit, VobEdit and VobBlanker all report that the menu has buttons! Menuedit's and PgcEdit's menu preview show them clearly (and indeed they have the correct positions, commands, adjacent buttons etc - the only thing that's different is that the color table needs updating - which I have done).

HOWEVER, the darn things do not show in a played DVD, either software or hardware.

What am I doing wrong?

Can anybody help me to get the buttons visible?

Thanks

[lark]

aren't the actual buttons in a subpicture?
regards
t :)

[blutach]

Not that I know of :confused:

Regards

[lark]

where does it then get the highlight info from?

regrds
t :)

[blutach]

No idea (possibly the color table), but it isn't just the highlighting. If that were the case, the buttons would work, but just not be visible.

In my case, they just don't work - it's as if they aren't there.:(

[2COOL]

Originally posted by lark
where does it then get the highlight info from?
Alot of the button and highlight information is in the VOBs. Open up a menu VOB in VobEdit and check "button" at the bottom. Select a Nav Pack, scroll down on the right pane, and if your menu has buttons, it'll give set up stuff like highlight, button commands, coordinates, button menu direction, force activation, force highlight, etc. You'll know what I mean. MenuEdit dabbles in this area. Back in the days, we did things manually or with a hexeditor. ;)

[sweetness]

Hi blutach, I have some suggestions.
1. Try without doing the mock strip. Just to troubleshoot where something went wrong.
2.Try using dvdremake
3.use a authoring tool DVDAuthorgui(free) or TMPGEnc DVD Author(trial)to make the menu then import/replace the vob with menuedit and change the color scheme.
You don’t have to do all these steps. they’re just suggestions to get the motor running.

[blutach]

Originally posted by 2COOL
Alot of the button and highlight information is in the VOBs. Open up a menu VOB in VobEdit and check "button" at the bottom. Select a Nav Pack, scroll down on the right pane, and if your menu has buttons, it'll give set up stuff like highlight, button commands, coordinates, button menu direction, force activation, force highlight, etc. You'll know what I mean. MenuEdit dabbles in this area. Back in the days, we did things manually or with a hexeditor. ;) Done that 2COOL. It's all where it should be. :(

EDIT: Just checked again, comparing the starting LBAs of the VOBIDs. All is the same EXCEPT the highlight info. I guess I just change that from 0 to 1? Or do I need to play around with the start/end times, too?

@sweetness, thanks for the ideas :thanks:. However, problem is not with replacing the cell - it does that fine. But after importation of the menu button layout (MBL), the buttons aren't there - even though they are!

[Msc_Alex]

You are still missing the "overlay" subpicture that the original vob had. You should demux the original Cell ID of that menu, then remux you bmp based m2v with vobedit and use menuedit to place this vob in to the menu. In this way you will keep all buttons and subpicturs and only chance the background.

[blutach]

Thanks Alex, but what I have now is a VOB which Menuedit has already replaced the VOB/Cell ID. Is there a quick way to do this overlay with say, VobEdit?

My practice has been to create a blank VOB and use DVD Shrink to change the blank to the bitmap. Then I have used Menuedit to substitute this one celled VOB for the lengthy motion based cell and then load in the menu button overlay. But it don't work.

Otherwise, suppose I start with a BMP alone and a menu button layout file. What then?

Regards

[Msc_Alex]

There are tools to mux a bmp "subtitle" into a vob but i think it would be more easy to demux the original menu vob by cell id and use
it. maybe this (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83630)post will help you out.

[blutach]

LOL Alex, I was just reading that post while you were typing in this thread!!

Clearly your method works, but forgive me, isn't this what DVD Shrink does in one step with its "Still Image" function?

What DVD Shrink does is replace the motion with a still image (any format actually) and does not reduce the playing time.

I've tested your method and it does exactly the same. Of course, the only thing that changes is the video stream - the audio and subpics are constant. But if the motion is there for say 2 minutes, the menu will still be there for 2 minutes, with a still image together with the original audio.

What I was hoping to do was to cut it down entirely - to a single GOP - just 12 frames, while retaining button functionality, of course. :)

Best regards and thanks for the help so far.

[Msc_Alex]

Originally posted by blutach
Clearly your method works, but forgive me, isn't this what DVD Shrink does in one step with its "Still Image" function?


I am not sure what shrink does, I havn't used it alot. But i know people have tryed it before using shrink and failt, looks like shrink is also removing button info/overlay subs.

Your at a point were i would suguest a compleet reauthor, as i understand you want to remove a moving menu with sound and replace it with a still menu with no sound.

ok... I remember messing around with somthing like this but that was some time ago. I used subrip to get the overlay bmp of the menu and a screencapture of the menu, then i used Maestro to make a menu out of this with all the buttons and funtions. Compilled it and used this menu vob to replace the old one. It was something like that.. it worked but don't remeber all the steps.

[blutach]

Appreciate the help Alex.

Anyways, you have given me a working method.

And yes, I think you're right, DVD Shrink only gives you the image - no buttons either!

Regards