Do you mean putting that fade in the .VEG project? Or, is there some way to accomplish that within DVDA?

Thanks.

put a fade in vegas.

i've only seen what you describe when there's a black frame at the start/end of a menu background though.

Sometimes it seems DVDA adds a black frame (or so) to the end of media used for a menu background. The way I work around it is to adjust the menu length/time to remove the black frames. Under "menu page properties" > "General", change the "Menu length" from "auto calculate" to "specify" like this.

Reduce the background menu length slightly until the black frame(s) are eliminated...just be careful you don't clip any audio playing in the background. This method worked well for me using DVDA3.

My custom "Amadeus" menu sample. The background image remains solid during the loop and only the second audio clip appears to loop.

Doc

BTW, in case you hadn't figured out how to do a loop in Vegas, there is a clever trick I learned awhile back.

1. Put the video on the Vegas timeline.
2. Rough cut the video to the length you want to use, but leave a lot of extra at the beginning and end of the clip.
3. Cut the clip anywhere in the middle. The exact cut location doesn't really matter.
4. Here's the trick: Take the first clip (the part to the left of the cut) and move it to the right so it is now exactly at the end of the second clip.
5. Play around with the point at which the two clips join. You can trim either clip and, most importantly, you can overlap them to create a cross-fade.
6. When you get a nice smooth transition at the point where the two clips abut (or overlap), export the clip and then bring it into DVDA for your background, button, or whatever.

The beauty of this trick is that when you get to step 5, the beginning of the first clip and the end of the second clip are guaranteed to be exactly one frame apart. This ensures a seamless loop.

You guys have some clever solutions. I'll check these out tomorrow and report back.

Many thanks!

jim

Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly, but doesn't this simply move the loop break to the middle of the clip? I mean, the beginning and end will be seamless but won't there be the chance of a glitch in the middle?

I mean, the beginning and end will be seamless but won't there be the chance of a glitch in the middle?

No. That's the whole point. If you don't do this trick, and just import a clip, there is no way to get the two endpoints to match. If instead you follow the advice I gave above, you move the point at which the loop restarts. Instead of looping at the two endpoints, which you cannot control, the loop restart point is instead moved to the center where the two clips overlap. You can then easily trim or overlap these points to create an absolutely perfect loop point. The "trick" is extremely clever (I didn't invent it). Try it, and if you've tried to create a loop without doing it, you'll instantly appreciate the difference.

Excellent tip - thanks for sharing that one johnmeyer!

Rudi