I have the EXACT same issue, I have tried everything, including contacting both CL and Smartsound. All my other SS applications work fine.
A full re-install of PD fixes it, but only till you close the program.

A workaround is to use the track you want in a timeline with a colorboard up top. Actually, any image will do.
Extend your SS track to perhaps 1 minute.
Produce a "video".
Take that new video and place it into a new project, then RIP the audio from it using PD, essentially creating an audio file WAV, use that WAV in your menu.

Sound lengthy, but it will take just a moment.

Yeah, I know, not the answer you are looking for. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Thanks I will give it a try

It works, thanks for the help. To bad I can't get it to work the right way but this is a good work around.

Hi Barry/Mathew

Sadly, whilst waiting for my life to become more exciting (still waiting) I had a look at the SS issue on PD8 1930.

The SS track seems to go to a temp file which is then cleared out when PD closes - why I don't know.

Choices :-
Replace it into the temp file - but PD may empty it each time??

Hack the .pds file to give another location - tedious and confusing?

Pack the project before exiting PD - good housekeeping anyway but that doesn't work either ( I stupidly chose a 44GB project to test - another waste of 10 mins watching the progress bar)

or

Find the SS track in the temp folder, copy it and place it in one of your own folders for selection

My temp file is located at
D:\Documents and Settings\Adrian\Local Settings\Temp\PP_MUSIC.TMP
EDIT - This is a hidden folder

If you have this open or open it when you select the SS track in PD menu view - the track appears and then can be copied as normal (actually you can also drag it to the Media library) into your own project folder, and it is then available for selection as normal from there.

This means you don't have to exit out of PD or plan in advance - just choose the SS track, watch it generate, copy it from the temp folder, paste it into the new folder and choose it from the new location as your background music.

If you have dual monitors this is very quick and straightforward.

Your menu music choice is then saved with the project - I think???

Cheers
Adrian


Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Having now reloaded PD 2207 and done the same process, although the SS selection seems to be applied in the menu view, the temp folder is generated but no .wav file is produced, hence no sound plays.

In this regard 1930 generated the file but didn't keep it, 2207 doesn't generate any SS .wav file at all.

Cheers
Adrian Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Hi there, Adrian!
I'm sure your life is not as boring as you would imply, with fancy motorcycles, exotic diving locales, and the likes of Dafydd and Tony to spice things up.

Do we have a bug here?

I am sure you've got hi-tech goodies (as compared to my rubber-band powered laptop), so if YOU have an issue, it MUST be an issue.

CL was no help here, neither was Smartsound. To be honest, it is a difficult nut to crack. I wish someone could figure this out.

Thanks for poking about.

BG HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Hi Barry,

Far be it from me to call it a bug - perhaps more of a menu malfunction, a la Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction - still basically, it's useless and confusing.

Just checked with PD7 2519.

SS file generated into C:\documents and settings\Adrian\my documents

Remains there when PD exits
Available again when PD reopens project.

What's up with PD8 is anyone's guess???

Cheers
Adrian

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

I hope we hear from other folks regarding this issue, maybe CL will look at it.
It is an important function, and it should work.

Please folks, test the Smartsound function in the menu module and let us know. It just takes a moment. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Barry,

Much as I respect Dafydd and Tony, I am unsure as to in what way you are imagining they should spice up my life. Are you sure you're not sick and having nightmares ?

I think I might prefer diving in a swimming pool of soup rather than give Dafydd the chance to spice up my life! It doesn't bear thinking about.

Yours anonymously Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

I'm not here very often anymore, and I wish to stir the pot a bit. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

OK, in that case - just send a message to Dafydd saying "Man overboard, skipper - I think he's somewhere astern?"

Cheers
Adrian Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Astern? That's where the poop deck is, what are you implying? HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Hello. How are you today?

Try this:

Copy the menu template folder that PDR8 saves after you edit or create a menu to the Menus subfolder where you installed PDR8.

On Windows XP Pro SP3, PDR8 saves my new and edited menus to c:\documents and settings\xerox\my documents\cyberlink\custom menus\3.0

The folders are named Menu_000, Menu_001, Menu_002, etc.

Copy one or more of those folders to the MENUS subfolder where PDR8 is installed. On my machine it is here:

C:\Program Files\CyberLink\PowerDirector\PowerDirector\Menus

The available SmartSound variations for each style depends on the length of the background video. The longer the background video, the more variations will become available for a particular sytle, such as Blues.

Both copies of your menu template will show up in the Menu Preferences list. The first one is the one in the Menus subfolder where PDR8 is installed and the second one will be the one that is in the Custom Menus folder. The first one you'll be able to use SmartSounds while the second one you won't.

Good fix and gets back to the PD1930 position of being able to use SS but not "save it" with the project unless you use the copy and paste approach then it seems to work.

Interestingly, on these trials for me, when the SS track is not available (the 2207 current default) and you choose ignore when the browse/ignore etc message comes up for the SS track, the menu template also defaults.

When the SS track is available, the saved menu template is loaded.

Given I don't use disc burning much I haven't explored all options maybe someone else can confirm this??

Cheers
Adrian Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Quote:
Interestingly, on these trials for me, when the SS track is not available (the 2207 current default) and you choose ignore when the browse/ignore etc message comes up for the SS track, the menu template also defaults.

When the SS track is available, the saved menu template is loaded.

Given I don't use disc burning much I haven't explored all options maybe someone else can confirm this??

Cheers
Adrian

Those are my findings as well.

And when I exit PD, those temp folders and files are deleted. So it's important to do the copy and paste routine before exiting PD.

Right after I add Magic Music to the menu, I click on the "+ Set Background Music" button, and then navigate to where the temporary wave file is located, copy it, then navigate to where I want to paste it, paste it, select it, OK.
Gateway DX4380, AMD A8-5500 Quad Core 3.2GHz with ATI Radeon HD 7560D; 16GB RAM; 1 TB SATA 7200 RPM; Windows 8 Pro 64-bit; PDR11, PDVD12.

Wow, this is really odd...
I rolled back to 2013. I mean TOTAL rollback.
The Smartsound function appears to work in the menu, only with some of the ACT-PAK menus, Template 1 and 9 being 2 of them. Funny thing, NONE of those menus work in my program. They appear, but SOMETIMES I get an error message indicating a possible missing source file/out of memory, during preview that fails.
The SS function will not work in ANY downloaded menus. The menus work, SS appears, indicates I own SS files by being bold print, but gives me only one choice, and that choice will not work.

Other than that, all is well.

I will not pursue this any further, it's too time consuming. CL can send me a link if they find a solution.

R&D is now aware of this. Here is a silent vid screncap that demonstrates the issues.
http://seemyworldonvideo.com/view/746/menu-issue/ HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Want to add SmartSound as background music to a menu? Clicking "smartsound" icon won't work. Do this instead.

1. click on note + icon to right on background music line below preview screen in "menu preferences" tab in "create disc."

2. Go to folder where smartsound files are stored. For me, it's c:\programdata\smartsound...\sound files.

3. Select the file you want to use.

DON'T ASK ME WHY?

PD8 IS LIKE DRVING A NAIL WITH AN EGG.