Menus - How Can I Use A Plain Background?

terrypin wrote on 1/31/2013, 5:53 AM

Hi Sparky,

I've never found a single tutorial or manual that covers MEP DVD menu authoring comprehensively. Magix documentation in general has never been a strong point anyway, largely I suspect because of German/English translation difficulties. But for DVD menus it's exacerbated by other factors. For a start the dialogs are poorly designed, unintuitive and inconsistent between templates. Worse, there are various obscure bugs. Search here and on our old and sadly discontinued site at http://support2.magix.net/boards/magix/index.php?showforum=113 if you want to explore those.

EDIT: Don't bother - even the large archive has now disappeared. 🙁

In short, MEP's menus are great if you want to stick close to one of the many templates provided, but much more difficult to customise extensively than all other programs I've used. One major handicap for me is that I use an image editing program, PaintShop Pro 8, which has layering and transparency capabilities similar to those in PhotoShop, but unfortunately not integrating properly with MEP when used as an alternative external editor to Photo Designer - a program I have never and don't want to get to grips with! (Discussed for example in http:// )

It can be done. For example I eventually succeeded a year or two ago in making this menu:

But it's hard work arguably not worth the effort.

However, let's get practical. Can you be more specific please? What MEP version do you want to discuss? The details have varied a lot from MEP 11 to MEP 2013. By 'the book' I assume you mean the PDF manual? And your menu description implies it should have no main title, no buttons, just a single string of text which when clicked will play a single movie from start to finish. Is that correct?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

johnebaker wrote on 1/31/2013, 6:01 AM

Hi

When you are on the Burn menu, click the edit button next to preview top left of the screen.

Select one of the menu templates that uses text and apply it to the menu eg this one

Click the button shown below, this will open up a second dialog box where you can change the background colour - second image

To change the text colour, font, size double click the text object in the menu preview window.

HTH

John

cpc000cpc wrote on 1/31/2013, 6:29 AM

TheArtfulDoger,

Wow! Two answers come in while I type. @John, I tried your suggestion and it changes the color of the entire background, not just the button/text area. :-(

This is my contribution to the discussion (with late additions)...

The tutorials section here has about 20 from a search for 'DVD menu' but they are in German or French so I'm not sure even if they are applicable to your question. Some years ago one of the regular users of the old forum wrote a DVD menu generating program but most of its useful features, like auto alignment of items, have been incorporated into the latest version of MEP. IIRC it did not include button design,

From what I've tried there are three issues: [1] how the template folders and files are organized, [2] the actual graphics, and [3] the stuff in the .tpl file.

[1] I've never really figured out just how the organization works with .ini files and .csv lists etc. There is an option from a right click in the menu editing window to 'Save in last templates' folder, but that folder has (in its .tpl file) only the changes you've made eg font or position of buttons. Everything else is just referenced back to the graphics in the original folder.So, if you want to experiment I'd suggest picking a template folder, make a backup copy and do your graphic editing in the 'original' so that it will appear on the DVD creation page.

[2] So what can you do about buttons (real buttons, not clickable text areas as John suggested) and frame graphics? Each has typically sets of three .BMP files: The image, an alpha mask for color change when your mouse is over it and an alpha mask for when your click on it eg:

templatename_next.BMP
alpha_templatename_next.BMP
alpha_templatename_hl_next.BMP

If you want plain color with text you will have to design three corresponding versions for each button and border type. (Noting Terry's suggestions and comments)

[3] Each template folder has a .tpl file with stuff in it like:

TranspColor=255,0,255

and

[ColorSet3]
backGround=0,0,0,0
group1=0,0,0,0
group2=0,0,0,0
group3=230,130,50,15

Which is about where I've given up. I assume this is what to edit if you don't want strange color changes when the menu is being used, but I've not tried.

Added (easier?) suggestion: The usual 'real' buttons are for navigation eg 'previous' or 'next' menu page are the ones I've described above. Chapters are usually selected by clicking on a thumbnail image. These need not be the default fame at the chapter start so you could presumably pick a suitable plain color with text .BMP file designed in any paint program.

Regards,

Carl

TheArtfulDodger wrote on 1/31/2013, 7:34 AM

Hello, John:

I guess I didn't provide enough information for anyone that knew what they were doing to make sense of it!!

I am using MEP MX Plus 18 on Windows 7 x-64 Home premium.

I use it either for movies I've recorded off SKY or for TV shows that I want to keep (24, The Followers, Last Resort, etc. I use MEP to remove the front and back fluf (plus commercials if appropriate), produce an MPEG video. Then I go to DVDStyler (for my menus), the DVDShrink to make them fit on either a single or dual-layer DVD, and finally ImgBurn to burn the DVD. But, that takes a lot of extra programs and for simple things, like a movie, I only need a menu that allows me to click to start. I don't make use of chapters so it makes it simple.

I'll look at your suggestions, as well as the others that have answered, later today because I've got another movie to burn. I'll let everyone know how I get on!!

Thanks for the replies,

Sparky

terrypin wrote on 1/31/2013, 9:59 AM

Hi Sparky,

OK, in MEP MX it's identical to MEP 2013:

Or for better quality: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/MEP-PlainTextMenu-01.jpg

Or for better quality: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/MEP-PlainTextMenu-02.jpg

Or for better quality: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/MEP-PlainTextMenu-03.jpg

Or for better quality: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/MEP-PlainTextMenu-04.jpg

John: Was that MEP 17 you used for your screenshot? In MX and 2013 here it's slightly different, as you can see, with no Background entry under Design page.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

johnebaker wrote on 1/31/2013, 10:15 AM

Hi Sparky

Wow - what a convoluted method.

. . . MEP to remove the front and back fluf (plus commercials if appropriate) . . . No problem there

. . . produce an MPEG video. . . Unnecessary step - stay in MEP, do not need to export anything

. . . Then I go to DVDStyler (for my menus) - again unnecessary stay in MEP and modify a DVD menu - see manual pp 241 - 251

. . . . DVDShrink to make them fit on either a single or dual-layer DVD - unnecessary MEP can do this - see manual pg 254 - Adapt bit rate

. . . . ImgBurn to burn the DVD - unnecessary MEP can do this - also gives you a complete video folder with the IFO, BUP and VOB files in which you can archive.

If you want to get more than one episode on one disc and have menu to match MEP can do this - see image below - this was my last multi movie project - 7 movies on one disc.

One of 7 movies in the same project - film reel icon clicked - see p37 in the manual

The menu open for editing.

John

johnebaker wrote on 1/31/2013, 10:18 AM

Hi

@ Terry

You are correct that was from MEP17 - thanks for the MX/2013 correction.

John

TheArtfulDodger wrote on 1/31/2013, 12:43 PM

Hello, All:

Well, I followed all of your suggestions, including the Adapt Bit Rate, and everything went well until it wrote the DVD - then, it reported that it needed more room and I was to insert another DVD!

Well, that's the kind of problem I've had in the past! So, I guess it's back to my previous method which, although it uses a lot of steps, it doesn't waste time and DVDs!

Thanks for all of your help, though.

Sparky