[mythtv-users] FW: Creating a DVD With a Menu HowTo

Wed May 19 18:12:38 EDT 2004

The below HowTo has been submitted for inclusion with the www.MythTV.org
<http://www.mythtv.org/>  documentation and an updated copy is kept at
www.mythtv.info <http://www.mythtv.info/> .  I am sending this to the
mailing list to be searchable in the archives.  So, however someone wants to
access this, it's their choice. 

Also, search for related threads:

Burning MythTV Recordings to DVD HowTo

            Burning MythDVD VOB Files to a DVD HowTo

CREATING A DVD WITH A MENU HOWTO

This How-To assumes that you have already formatted the videos in a
DVD-compliant format that works with dvdauthor. 

1. CREATING A MENU

I find this to be the most difficult part of creating a DVD with a menu.
Basically, you have to capture or create a background image with the
appropriate resolution.  Then, mplex that together with an audio file
(typically empty sound, though you can use sound) and then create overlay
images that show 1) the menu text, 2) the buttons when highlighted, and 3)
the buttons once selected.  You then use spumux to combine the background
video with the overlay menus.

The background image must be saved as JPG and the overlay images must be PNG
with only three colors used (four colors are allowed, but the transparent
background counts as one of those colors).  For this how-to, the background
file is called menu.jpg, the menu text is called menu1.png and the
highlighted and selected buttons are the same and called menu2.png.  

The Steps:

Create a Background 

To get a background image, I use avidemux2 and find the frame that I want to
use as a background image.  I then save the frame as menu.jpg by going File
-> Save -> Save JPG Image.  Or you can create your own background image in
the GIMP.  Use the following settings:

     For NTSC Video 

     width: 720

     height: 480

     x-axis: 81dpi

     y-axis: 72dpi

     Convert the background JPG file into a M2V video file

        jpeg2yuv -n 50 -I p -f 29.97 -j menu.jpg | mpeg2enc -n n -f 8 -o
menu.m2v 

     For PAL Video 

     width: 720

     height: 576

     x-axis: 75dpi

     y-axis: 80dpi

     Convert the background JPG file into a M2V video file

        jpeg2yuv -n 50 -I p -f 25 -j menu.jpg | mpeg2enc -n p -f 8 -o
menu.m2v

Merge the background you just created with audio  

You will have to have some sort of audio to mplex with the M2V file you just
created, so either capture some audio using avidemux2 or another program, or
to create empty audio to mplex, use this command

     dd if=/dev/zero bs=4 count=2000 | toolame -b 128 -s 48 /dev/stdin
menu.mp2

This command requires that you have toolame installed, of which I had
difficulty finding any packages other than source.  It's a hack, but I would
just try and find a period of silence at least one second long in a PVR-250
recording and save that using avidemux2.

Merge the M2V video with the MP2 audio with

     mplex -f 8 -o menu.mpg menu.m2v menu.mp2

Create the menu buttons in PNG files

This next step is creating the PNG files for the menu text and buttons.
This is another 

step that I find difficult to explain and the steps here are not the
cleanest way, but they 

work for me.  If anyone can describe a better way of doing this, please do.

A. Open the background menu.jpg file in the GIMP.  Add a transparent layer
over the background and mark where you will want the different buttons to be
located.  This layer will later be deleted, so it doesn't have to be clean.
When creating this layer, use all the colors you want to use with your
buttons.  Remember, no more than three colors.

B. Delete the Background layer.

C. Change the image to an indexed color mode.  Do this by right-clicking on
the image and selecting Image -> Mode -> Indexed.  Enter "4" in the number
of colors.

D. Create two new layers.

E. In the top layer, you will enter the text for your buttons.  Select the
color you want for your text either in the color palette or by using the
Color Picker Tool.  To use the Color Picker, you must make sure you have
that bottom layer selected.  Enter the text for all the buttons on the top
layer according to whatever layout you decided on.

F. Now you will create the actual buttons by drawing boxes around the text
and filling that area with the Color Fill Tool.  Be sure and select the
color you want (contrasting to the text) and to create your boxes in the
second from the top layer.

G. Delete that bottom layer that I told you we would eventually delete.

H. Save the current image as menu2.png.  Do that by right-clicking and
selecting File -> Save as, and make the name menu.png.  Click "Export" and
make sure that "Save Background Color" and "Save Resolution" are selected.

I. Select the bottom layer and change the Opacity to 0%.  Now save the image
as menu1.png.

Create the final menu video 

To create the DVD menu, an XML file is used.  An example menu.xml file is
shown below.  The autoorder line is used to decide what takes precident for
ordering.  If your buttons are ordered primarily by rows, then select
"rows".  If your ordering is by column, then choose "columns".  

###begin menu.xml###

<subpictures>

  <stream>

    <spu

     force="yes"

     start="00:00:00.00"

     image="menu1.png"

     select="menu2.png"

     highlight="menu2.png"

     autooutline="infer"

     outlinewidth="6"

     autoorder="rows"

    >

    </spu>

  </stream>

</subpictures>

###end menu.xml###

 Then create the final menu with

     spumux menu.xml < menu.mpg > menu_final.mpg

You should see some lines in the output to the console that show

     INFO:  Autodetect ...

The number of these lines that you see should be the same number of buttons
you created.  If there are, then good job!

2.  AUTHORING THE DVD 

To create the dvd structure, an XML file is used.  The below file is an
example dvd.xml file.  This example file allows for the 4 buttons in the
menu created earlier and has three video segments making up each of the 4
video titles.  Each of the separate video segments will be treated as
separate chapters of one consistent video title.

### begin dvd.xml ###

<dvdauthor dest="DVD">

  <vmgm>

    <menus>

      <pgc>

        <button>jump title 1;</button> 

        <button>jump title 2;</button> 

        <button>jump title 3;</button> 

        <button>jump title 4;</button> 

        <vob file="menu_final.mpg" pause="inf" /> 

      </pgc>

    </menus>

  </vmgm>

  <titleset>

    <titles>

      <pgc>

        <post>call vmgm menu 1;</post> 

        <vob file="1a.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="1b.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="1c.mpg" /> 

      </pgc>

    </titles>

  </titleset>

  <titleset>

    <titles>

      <pgc>

        <post>call vmgm menu 1;</post> 

        <vob file="2a.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="2b.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="2c.mpg" /> 

      </pgc>

    </titles>

  </titleset>

  <titleset>

    <titles>

      <pgc>

        <post>call vmgm menu 1;</post> 

        <vob file="3a.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="3b.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="3c.mpg" /> 

      </pgc>

    </titles>

  </titleset>

  <titleset>

    <titles>

      <pgc>

        <post>call vmgm menu 1;</post> 

        <vob file="4a.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="4b.mpg" /> 

        <vob file="4c.mpg" /> 

      </pgc>

    </titles>

  </titleset>

</dvdauthor>

### end dvd.xml ###

Create the DVD file structure with 

     dvdauthor -x dvd.xml

Test the created DVD file structure with

     xine dvd:/full/path/to/DVD/VIDEO_TS/

Then burn the DVD file structure to a dvd with

     growisofs -Z /dev/scd0 -dvd-video DVD

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