TMPG Author 2.0

[Kevinh]

I just got this version of the program and I'm really frustrated with it. I want to make the little icons on the menu aminated parts of the video. I don't want to use the first frame because in most cases, it's just a black screen. This was easy to do in 1.6, but when I try in 2.0, I get this error:

Video preview position has changed but the playback start and end points are not finalized yet. Set the background picture start and end points by clicking no and return to the settings window and set the start and end points.

Number 1, I'm not trying to change the background picture, but the little window on the background that represents the video clip. And I can't figure out where this settings window is. I swear I've tried every button on the screen a hundred times. The only thing I've found that says settings is back on the source tab. When I click on that, it brings up another screen and there is a button for cutting and editing the video. There are buttons for starting and ending the video clip. They are set to the start and end of the video which is what I want. If I set it to anything else, won't that cut out part of my video.

I hope someone else uses this program besides me and can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

[DeLorean]

HI,
I too use this program and think I know what you mean and the error message. Once you have the video clips that you want with there respected start and end points. You can alter this when doing the menu and like you say when you double click on the small thumbnail it will bring up a screen. Inside this screen it will allow you to change where or when you start the tumbnail clips 'motion'.
Just select where you wish it to start from using the relevant icon on the row below the image. Click OK and when error message comes up it should allow you to select OK again. This will then apply the changes, make sure that you also select Global DVD tab at the top. This will allow you to select Motion Menus in which the thumbnails will then provide footage from where you have started it from.
Hope that this helps.

[Kevinh]

Thanks. I must be looking at the wrong screen or I've missed a step because I don't get any icons under the main video screen. I'm on the menu tab and I select one of the video clips so that it displays the background with the little thumbnail and then the I double click on that and it brings up a screen where I can play the video. I stop it at a point that I would like to use for the thumbnail and click ok. That's where I get the error.

I think version 2 works differently than version 1.6, or I was doing something that wasn't how it was suppose to really work. In version 1.6, I would add my tracks. One video click per track and then create my menu. Then I would go to the page where it showed the tracks. (I didn't create any chapters.) I would click on each thumb nail and then select where I wanted my animation to start. When I played the video, I would see the small animations I created and when I clicked on them, my entire clip would play.

In version 2, it doesn't appear you can do that. I have tried creating chapters and then doing the menus and that gives little thumbnails for each chapter, but it doesn't seem to let me start on of them wherever I want unless I cut part of the video away.

Anyway, thanks for you help.