Dual authoring - A DVD with a menu and a digital copy for MP3 players

I have a client who wants to put his documentary on a DVD and have it play with a menu system when inserted into a DVD player, but he also wants a digital copy for people to copy to their MP3 players. Does anyone know if this is possible with DVD Studio Pro? Or does it need to be two separate discs? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

-P. J.

Look-up adding DVD-ROM content in the Manual. You can add all sorts of content in this way and bit budget for it BUT it is often 'best' to add a Flash/Director type app for serving up the ROM Content and/or a Menu which lets users know how to get at the goodies on the disc!

Hey Jake,

Thanks for pointing me in a direction, but it has raised more questions then it has answered. The manual is vague about the actual process which seems to point to the DVD@CCESS process which reads:

To enter a DVD@CCESS link:
1 Select the item to add the link to.
Its Inspector appears.
2 Select the DVD@CCESS checkbox to enable the link for the item.

The manual doesn't specifically say anything about adding files for digital download to MP3 players such as those in .mv4 format, it talks more about internet links and make video files play or opening programs. When I try to import .mv4 files into the asset window it tells me its an 'incompatible format' and even if it is compatible, I have selected other files (already in the assets window) and don't see any DVD@CCESS box to check? Am I totally missing something here? How do I get the files into the DVD assets to be selected (even if it's not a supported format) and where should I be looking for the DVD@CCESS box to be checked? Or am I way off on the wrong road?

Thanks for the assist,


P. J.

You can use DVD@CCESS if you want but I strongly advise you against it unless your DVD will be used under very controlled conditions. eg. your mac, that you have tested 50+ times and nothing has changed since your last test etc. DVD(no)@CCESS can be a real nightmare!!

What I mention above would not allow you to access the files via the DVD-VIDEO menu. There would be a folder added to the root of the disc and the User would then browse the content that way. You could give advise (no links) on the DVD-VIDEO menu advising the User how they could access this content and/or put the instructions on the packaging.

The Users experience of accessing the material in the ROM folder could be as basic as browsing the Folder for files or it could require they launch a Flash/Director app you've developed which would allow them to access the content via an interface and give them options to save the files etc.

You won't be adding links to your DVD Menus which open or transfer the files to iPods etc.

Does that help? Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!! I am still struggling along through life with out Broadband at home... sigh.

Cheers

What you have just described is what I want to do. I have been trying to figure out exactly what you just explained. Now, how do I create a ROM folder in the root of the DVD?

-P

Bluecast Wrote:
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>Now, how do I create a ROM folder
> in the root of the DVD?

Ok sorry for not giving the instructions!

What you basically have to do is, make a folder, Project Name or whatever, on your hard drive. Then make another folder in that called whatever you want or something generic like ROM_DATA or DIGITAL FILES.

Add the files to the ROM_DATA folder if you want to keep the root of the disc clean. Copy all your H.264, mp3, flash/director projector files etc to the folder and arrange how you want the user to see them when browsing.

In DVDSP (press F3 unless you're in a custom advanced view) and over in the Disc Inspector you'll see a check box for DVD-ROM Content. Tick it and then browse to your folder. Not the ROM_DATA folder but one level up, the Project Name folder.

Build the Project and then Format a Disc Image. To do that, in the Format window change the output device to Hard Drive and img will auto select. When you mount the image you'll be able to see how your final disc will look!

My instructions assume you want:
VIDEO_TS
AUDIO_TS
ROM_DATA/[all your files]

But if you want:
VIDEO_TS
AUDIO_TS
[all your files]

Select the folder in the folder when you browse in dvdsp.

Hope that helps you a bit?