Participating Frequently

Question

Change Menu Background when User Presses Up or Down on Remote

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
November 15, 2018
2 replies
2343 views

Hello,

I am creating a menu for a Blu-ray where I want have some pseudo-animation going on, based on user input. I don't really want to describe it as true "animation" per se, so bear with me here for naïveté, as I'm sure there's a better and more technical term for what I am trying to do. I would like it so that the background changes to a different image when the user presses up or down (or left or right) on their remote and selects or goes through the available menu options. It would have the effect of being animated for all intents and purposes of the application because as soon as they make a selection, the background changes to support the menu option they've selected.

An alternative to this would be for the menu buttons themselves to relocate when the user makes the selection, but that sounds more troublesome and convoluted for what I am trying to accomplish.

I don't want to spoil the design too much because it's for a very special client and I'm trying to keep it a surprise, so I'm trying to describe it without showing actual pictures of what I'm doing. I could set up a mock illustration of what I am seeking if this is unclear.

Thank you for the support and patience.

[Moderator note: moved to appropriate forum.]

This topic has been closed for replies.

Stan Jones

Community Expert

Scripting is one way to do this. But Encore doesn't do scripting. And the equivalent for Blu-ray is highend, and I don't know whether any reasonably priced options will.

You can fake this by using autoactivate to go to a different menu that has a different presentation for that menu.

Mouseover won't autoactivate, so it doesn't work like that on a computer unless you use an option like a remote control in the computer players design.

So you set "autoactivate" on a button and when the remote "enters" that button, it automatically goes to the link for that button, such as a a different menu that changes the image in the background for that button or other elements. You create multiple menus, with an ordinary state for all buttons in all menus, except for the difference for the "selected" button.

BrettallicaAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thanks, Stan! That sounds like a pretty straightforward workaround. Do you have any resources for autoactivate tutorials? Just something where I can see an example in action. It sounds like I will need to have several backgrounds prepared for each "menu scene" or whatever that is called, which is definitely what I had already expected going into it.

While we are at it: is there a preferred playback software for Blu-ray on the Mac these days? Preferably free, obviously, as this would only be used for the purposes of testing this functionality before I burn to disc. I'm wondering if VLC Player would suffice for something like this, as I would prefer not to waste physical discs if I don't have to.

Stan Jones

Community Expert

I don't recall a tutorial.

I'm on PC and use PowerDVD. My old go to was Total Media Theater. For routine use, many players will work, but some use cases don't work on most.

R Neil Haugen

Legend

You would need to ask this on the Encore DVD authoring app's forum ...

Neil

Encore

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

BrettallicaAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thank you, R Neil. I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction. I definitely don’t want to be cluttering the wrong forum.

I am new Adobe video editing applications, so I am trying to get acclimated. I had assumed that this functionality was included with Premiere, based on the cursory studying I’ve done so far.

My last experience with authoring was back in the DVD Studio Pro days, so it’s been a while. I’m hoping something like what I’ve descrobed above is possible, as it will really make an impact on the project.

BrettallicaAuthor

Participating Frequently

The only reason to keep your "original" file is if Encore treats it as Blu-ray legal. First, it must be H.264 or MPEG2 Blu-ray. If so, create a new test project in Encore. Be sure the basic options are set correctly: NTSC vs PAL, max bitrate at 30. Import "as timeline" your file. In the Project Panel, look in the column for Blu-ray Transcode Status. If it says "untranscoded," Encore is going to re-transcode it. If so, there is no reason to skip PR. Do your editing there.

Chapter markers can not be set on GOP boundaries. If your material is BD legal in Encore, but you need very precise chapter locations, you may not be able to place them.

Another reason for transcoding before Encore, of course, is that the bitrate may be too high to fit on the disk. YOu want to max quality while fitting on the disk. You set the bitrate for that when you export from PR.

Oh, there are lots of gotchas in Encore, and that it when there is not an actual bug!

If the extras are part of the main video, you just make sure the beginning and end has a chapter marker, then you create a "Chapter Playlist" of just that one chapter. There are certain situations where EN will duplicate the footage on disk. I don't recall if that is one of them or not.

I wanted to hop in here really quickly just to check-in and give thanks and to ensure that you know I am extremely appreciative of the support. I am going to work on this tonight and hope to have some killer results soon! I downloaded the menu library so I think I have all of the tools I need.

I plan on adding simple sound effects while moving between buttons, too. I'm assuming this is well within the wheelhouse of Encore.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded