Hi Jim -

I'm pretty sure that this answer is not what you want to hear. It may not even be the answer to your question.

A good while back, I struggled with the same thing & was never able to resolve it. I decided that, in order to manipulate the templates & save them as re-usable others was way beyond me. I assume you'd need to know how to edit the .XML files that make up the template.

What I came up with, back then, was (at best) a workaround... but it has done the job for me every time. I've used it to prepare (a) first play videos & (b) menu backgrounds.

I used it recently when I recorded a 2 day dance workshop for my daughter. She wanted all her students to be able to refer back to the workshop content, so it all went on DVD.

I threw in a first play video (i.e. plays before root menu page), even though it was unnecessary. You can refer to the attached screenshots of the timeline, but here's how I did it:

1. Grabbed an image (filmstrip) and made some parts transparent
2. Cut out 15 second sections from some of the workshop recordings to use in the first play video
3. Inserted, resized, repositioned & masked each of the clips to match the overlay image
4. Added the dance school logo (STEPZ) which I'd made separately - it was masked off too
5. Produced the whole thing (you'll see the produced file in the media library)
6. Once all the other editing was done & I was up to disc creation, imported the produced video as a first play. It could easily have been the menu background but the menu was already cluttered!

Jim - in the forum over the years there have been some members who know the menu system of PD inside out. I've read & digested every word Jeff (JL_JL) has ever written on the subject... but I've never - not ever - seen anything like the answer to your question.

I think the answer to your question about the cyclist image is a quite firm no.

Cheers - Tony
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Jim -

Attached is a low-res version of the 15 second first play video (minus audio).

Cheers - Tony
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Hi Tony,
Thanks for the update, on the problem. I basically did one the same as you for a project, but it is not suitable as a template file to upload to directorzone as the clip I used stayed with the template. I really appreciate you help and response. If I ever get it straightened out I will certainly let you know.
It is a shame that the Intro Video that are with some of the template aren't customizeable along with the template.
JIm
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Hi,
Well I was experimenting today to see if the 'First Play' movies can be created and saved as a directorZone template...but apparently there isn't a way.
Here is the link to my creation
http://youtu.be/sVX_GsaCOvo

Thanks to Tony for his feedback.
Jim Intel i7-2600@3.4Gz Geforce 560ti-1GB Graphic accelerator, windows 7 Premium 12GB memory

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