7 Replies Latest reply: Nov 13, 2009 8:15 PM by AndrewStrugnell RSS

    Question about End Action.

    Doryphoros Community Member

      Let say I have 10 chapters in a timeline, and set End Action for that Timeline to Back to Menu.

      So when the movie plays until the end of the timeline it will automatically go back to DVD Menu right.

       

      However.

      While the user watching the movie and press Next Button on their dvd remote, basically it will jump through the chapters and when it hit chapter 10, and the user keep pressing the Next Button on the remote, it will take them to DVD menu.

       

      Question.

      Is there a way to prevent this, so when the user keep pressing Next Button until it reach chapter 10, they won't be able to skip again. And just have to wait until chapter 10 reach the end of timeline then it'll go to DVD Menu by itself.

       

      This question migh be confusing. I can try to rephrase if no one gets it.

       

      Thanks in advance.

        • 1. Re: Question about End Action.
          Jeff Bellune CommunityMVP

          Because of the way that Encore constructs its timelines, I don't think this is possible.

           

          -Jeff

          • 2. Re: Question about End Action.
            Jon Geddes Community Member

            You won't be able to do that in the exact way you want to, but by using some logical problem solving, you can achieve the exact same functionality:

             

            So ultimately you don't want the next button to function during the last chapter of the video.

             

            Does Encore support disabling the next button on DVD's? Yes

             

            Does Encore support disabling the next button for an individual chapter in a timeline? No.

             

            So your solution is to place the last chapter on a separate timeline, in which you disable the user operations for that timeline.

             

            By setting the end action of the first timeline to that of the second timeline, your video will function just the way you want, except you won't be able to chapter backwards once you reach the last chapter, although if you wanted to, you could allow for searching backwards to at least give them the ability to go backwards somehow.

            • 3. Re: Question about End Action.
              Doryphoros Community Member

              Thanks again for the reply.

               

              Jon, your reply is exactly the point where I'm stuck at. If we split the timeline that way (ie. timeline A1 and A2), the user can't go back to "previous chapter" which is in a separate timeline. Whenever the previous button is pressed on the dvd remote, it will just go to the begining of timeline A2, it just won't go to timeline A1. It will be nice if Encore adding a feature to not just set End Action, but Previous Action as well perhaps. That way End Action timeline A1 - Go To timeline A2. And Previous Action timeline A2 - Go To timeline A1.

               

              Will a Playlist or Chapter Playlist solve this problem? I never use them.

              • 4. Re: Question about End Action.
                Jon Geddes Community Member

                A playlist (not chapter playlist) might resolve that issue, you should test it out.

                 

                I recall authoring a disc long time ago in Encore where we had 2 separate timelines configured in that fashion, and we were able to skip back to the previous timeline using the chapter previous button. Although on a different project, this was tested again and it didn't work.

                 

                I'm not sure if it was a playlist that was used that allowed this to work the first time, or just the dvd player that remembered the previous timeline and did it (having nothing to do with the authoring). We did not do any extensive testing to figure it out.

                • 5. Re: Question about End Action.
                  AndrewStrugnell Community Member

                  If the suggestion to create a playlist doesn't work out, I would recommend  creating a timeline for each chapter, then link each timeline from end actions -  if it's not a hassle.

                  • 6. Re: Question about End Action.
                    Doryphoros Community Member

                    Thanks Andrew, but that's the same as what me and Jon been discuss. To create a separate timeline. The downside to this method is, users can't go back to previous chapter/timeline. However users "might" be able to use scan back (like rewinding) until it jumps back to previous timeline.

                    Still digging on how to use Playlist, since I've never use it before.

                    • 7. Re: Question about End Action.
                      AndrewStrugnell Community Member

                      Ahh... My apologies - you're right. Users are able to jump back a timeline, provided they press "|<<" or "Back Chapter" in quick succession.

                       

                      It would be brilliant if there was an option to mix both chapters AND timelines in a playlist. I understand one can only create a "playlist" with timelines only OR create a "chapter playlist" with chapters only from a single timeline.

                       

                      I hope it all works out for you.