Thanks for the reply. In fact each menu page has End Action under properties. This property has 3 buttons hold, loop, activate button. It looks as though one can select what will happen when any item in the menu page reaches the end of the clip. It is at menu level. It is preferable to have it for every scene. I wonder whether this is possible.

It is not possible to set chapters to return to a menu. They will always play to the end of the title, then go to wherever the End action dictates.

To achieve what you want you can either create each event as a separate clip, and link to these in the menu, or import the single title once for each event and then set the start and end of each copy to correspond to the specific event.

When the disc is authored only one copy of the title is placed on it, so there is no waste of disc space.

You can add the movie to the DVD multiple times. Then set the IN and OUT points for each chapter.

If you want each chapter to return to the menu, it may be easier to just render each chapter out as a separate file.

I have already tried forming each clip separately and then putting them together under a menu. In that case it works, but then what good is it to use scene markers and use the "insert scenes menu"? A remark that may help the development team. Another point is the following question: Is it not possible to suppress or hide the thumbnail "Play all" while displaying the "Scenes menu"?

The limitation concerning chapters not returning to the menu has nothing to do with SCS, it's the way DVDs work. You can achieve what you want with a bit more bother in two ways, as already described.

Very interesting conversation. If we need to have several copies of the VMS project placed into DVDA (one for each button)....I have done this withgreat success.. BUT..what I do not understand...what is the purpose of "Chapters."??????

lcdrdan

You are saying it is the way DVDs work. I am not sure of that. As far as I can remember I could achieve that in Pinnacle and MyDVD. Since I do not have them installed any more I can not verify. This why I am asking the question. Since Vegas is certainly a better product why should this feature be missing.
As to the chapters, let me say this: As an amateur video producer I generally produce at least 3 DVDs after every discovery voyage to a different part of the world. According to the type of audience the interesting and attractive parts of the DVD collection changes. The best way out of this is to have independent chapters under each menu of the DVD. This requires the chapter concept to be applied in such a way so that the speaker chooses the right chapter and at the end of the chapter the film stops and the control comes back to the menu or submenu containing the chapter.

Just to clarify....I never use "chapters" in VMS...or DVDA. I just bring one copy of the VMS Project for each menu button that I want to play.
Although you bring several copies of the VMS project into DVDA...it only recognizes the one. Once you click on a button...you set the in and out points for that button and set the "end actions". I'm sorry if I'm not grasping the need for chapters, but I am very confused about "chapters" and do not see a need for them. Can someone explain to me the advantages of setting chapter points?

lcdrdan

BUT..what I do not understand...what is the purpose of "Chapters."?

To allow the viewer to quickly skip between content of the movie. This is also exactly the purpose of the Next and Previous Chapter buttons on the player remote. If I was interrupted while watching a movie, but didn't get a chance to pause it, I use the Previous Chapter button to return to an earlier chapter. If I had to stop watching a movie and have now reloaded the disc, I use the Next Chapter button or load up the Chapter Selection menu and use it to start where I left off.

Nearly every DVD I've ever bought, even the most bare bones, has a Scene / Chapter Selection menu that does exactly as TOG62 describes -- jumps to the selected chapter and continues playing the title from there. MovieExpert may want to describe his goal as a "chapter concept," but what he is trying to do are not chapters; they're distinct titles that happen to be related in some way.

Rob

I think I'm getting close to understanding....(PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH AN OLD MAN)....
Is there a need to import "chapters" AND...to import multiple copies of the VMS project and assign mulitple buttons?
In other words....I made a video of a cruise where we visited several islands. I imported several copies of the video into DVDA and assigned a button for each island and set "in and out" points. I could then select a particular island without viewing the whole video till I reached that portion that I want to watch. The "end actions" would then take me back to the main menu and I could select another button (island).
Question: How would I use "chapters" in this scenario? Or am I essentially accomplishing the same thing....without using chapters?

Thanks for your patience.

lcdrdan

In the example you describe, there's no need for chapter markers unless you want the viewer to be able to skip around between sections within each island's video. For example, if you visited Islands A, B, and C, but spent multiple days at each one, you might have a chapter marker for each day. Then the viewer could navigate to the video for Island B and then skip to the chapter for the Day 2 if they're not interested in Day 1.

If you just want the viewer to be able to choose between Islands A, B, and C without instant skipping between days (or neighborhoods or whatever), you don't need chapter markers.

Rob

Ahhhhhh....I'm beginning to see the light....Thanks for turning it on.
Just one more question...is it best to set the chapter makers in VMS..and adjust in DVDA? OR.....just add chapter markers in DVDA?


Thanks again all of you for working with me. This has bugged me for some time.

lcdrdan

If you have set the markers in Vegas why would you want to move them in DVDA? If you want the chapters at significant events then it is easier to select the exact point in Vegas.

Movies often have chapters that are arbitrarily spaced so that you can skip through the movie to get quickly to the neighbourhood you are interested in (or skip boring bits). These could be inserted in either Vegas or DVDA.

Ahhhhhh.....now it finallly makes sense. Now can skip through a long video to see a small segment rather than "fast forwarding."

Again...thanks everyone for your patience. I learn more from this forum every day....

lcdrdan

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this discussion. Adding the same video file repeatedly and inserting the IN and OUT points at the chapter markers proves to be the best solution. In this way I do not have to chop the clips into shorter pieces and I do not have to bother about the PLAY ALL and INSERT SCENES facilities.
In the discussion the NEXT CHAPTER and NEXT CHAPTER remote buttons were mentioned. I never used this possibility. Is it widely used? Advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

I have been waiting for a response to MoveExpert's question on the usage of "next chapter" on remotes. If I understand correctly from the above comments....it is a "faster, more controled way to "fast forward" through a DVD. Is there any other benefit?

lcdrdan

Chapter points can be arbitrary in which case they function like a fast forward but in steps. Chapter points can also be tied to significant scene changes so that you can step from one scene to the next. It would be common in this case to use a scene menu page so that you can identify them better, but is not necessary.

Thanks to everyone that contributed to this subject....I've learned a lot.

lcdrdan

I'd suggest you pick your favorite movie and pop the DVD in the player. Find the "scene selection" menu and you'll see chapters in action. I'm sure you've done this many times but you probably just hadn't made the leap to this being what markers and chapters in Vegas & DVDA are for.