Mike -

Are you talking about a looping background video, rather than within a "button"?

If so, Set Background Image or Video is what you need.

Cheers - Tony
Visit PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials, tips, free resources & more. Subscribe!
Full linked Tutorial Catalog PDtoots happily supports fellow PowerDirector users!

Hi Tony.

Thanks for venturing a guess!

No, in PD vernacular, I think I want to add a "button" to the root menu.

When adding a button on a subchapter menu, it will play a short looping video clip, while when adding a button on the root menu, it adds "item 4", whatever that is.

I cannot figure out how to display video on the root menu (other than the Set Background Image or Video), which I don't think is what I am supposed to do. Maybe it is? It's undocumented and unclear.

(I just want a short 1 minute looping clip on the root menu, taken from the master video track -- just like all of the menu templates seem to do. I woudn't think that adding another Background Image or Video is the right way... maybe it is?)

When downloading templates, they almost all include some sort of video on the root menu. But I haven't figure out how to edit that. I cannot move the postioning, for example. I suppose that it involves editing or creating a new mask, but I cannot find any instructions on how to do that.

So, I thought I'd start from scratch and build a new menu. But that doesn't seem to work either, because I don't know how to have the video show up on the root menu.

Mike -

Yes - clumsy guessing and making mistakes are some of my greatest attributes.

I think I understand what you're trying to do, but I don't know the answer.

When I was first learning PD, I wanted the same thing on a menu. This was how I did it (in my uneducated, novice way). All I know is, it worked!

1. Made a little looping clip (it was actually just a slide show, but that's irrelevant) - produced it - named (say) "Menu Loop"
2. Inserted background image in main video track & "Menu Loop" in PIP (it looked like a button)
3. Produced it - named (say) "Menu Loop Back"
and then used that file as the background video for the menu in my project.

When you find a better way to do it (there has to be!), let us know.

Cheers - Tony
Visit PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials, tips, free resources & more. Subscribe!
Full linked Tutorial Catalog PDtoots happily supports fellow PowerDirector users!

It's really a bummer that there is NO DOCUMENTATION on this. I've looked through the manual, and would sure be happy if someone proved me wrong and could point to a section that covered this topic! :

Here is what I have learned:

In the My Documents\CyberLink\Custom Menus\3.0\Menu_XXX\LayerTemplate folder....

Within that folder are more subfolders. It would appear that LayerTemplate2 folder = the root menu. Likewise, the LayerTemplate1 folder seems to equal the chapter menu.

In the LayerTemplate folder is a file called std_LayerTemplate.xml.

I have not yet constructed the "decoder ring" for the XML file, but it would appear that "Layer 2" (begins with <Layer ID = "2") seems to contain the code for the root menu.

Buried in those lines of code are references to JPG files, PNG files, and CPT files.

This xml file is in the LayerTemplate folder, and the files are in the LayerTemplate2 subfolder.

<NAME="filename.jpg"> seems to refer to the background image.
<MASK="maskname.png"> appears to refer to the mask... the area on the screen where the video should loop. The mask file should contain a shape (such as a square or rectangle) that is black, and the video will appear in those black areas.

There is another field that reads, "StretchMode=". This can be set (at a minimum) to "CROP" or "STRETCH". This controls how the video will be placed in the black shape mask area.

The positioning of where that black shape will be is controlled in a second file, which is referenced in this section of code:

<SCRIPT = PiP(x).cpt>

In this PiP(x).cpt file (again, it's in the LayerTemplate2 subfolder), towards the end of the code, there is a section that reads as follows:

<Position1List><MetaPosition1 CenterX="0.659560" CenterY="0.553368" Width="0.310791" Height="0.544112" Degree="0.000000" Alpha="255" TangentVectorX1="0.000000" TangentVectorY1="0.000000" TangentVectorX2="0.000000" TangentVectorY2="0.000000"/></Position1List>

The CenterX and CenterY numbers seem to position the black shape mentioned earler. The Width and Height seem to be self explanatory.

In both cases I have no clue what unit of measure is being referenced. For example, CenterX = 0.659560... I don't know if that number is inches, pixels, or what. It might be percentage down or across? CenterX = 0.658560 might mean approximately 65% of the way across the screen (from left to right)?

Through lots of trial and error I was able to position the mask in the approximate area desired.

While experimenting, I did set DEGREE to 45.0, and it did rotate the video 45 degrees clockwise.

To edit these files, I used NOTEPAD.

I would open the application, navigate to the right folder, and then change the VIEW FILES to ALL (it defaults to *.txt).

During this process, I would generally be in the CREATE DISC area of PD8. After making a change, I found I needed to get out of that area, and then reenter the area. (I would switch to the EDIT area, and the back to the CREATE DISC area). This seemed to be necessary because PowerDirector seems to load the XML scripts upon entering the CREATE DISC area. I discovered this because I would make a change, and it would not seem to have any effect until I did this EXIT/RENTER dance.

I must say that this is really an absurd exercise. There should be a simple utility included with PD8 that will let you do this Picture-In-Picture without all of the guesswork. Or, if the utility does exist, it would be help if it were not so carefully hidden, and properly documented. (I do know, by the way, that there is a PiP section in PD8, but it is designed to include graphics within your video, and there is no documentation that I could find that explains how it can be used to create menus)

Finally, it would not surprise me if someone else has documented this somewhere in this forum, but I got tired of looking after a few hours. Feel free to blast away at me for not finding it, as long as you post a link to it! :

Hopefully this will save some other poor soul the hours I spent yesterday.

==> Mike.

Mike -

That is interesting. I am not aware of any similar investigations and posting, so many will benefit from what you've uncovered.

PowerDirector is, primarily, a video editor (rather than a disc author).

Thank you for taking the time to investigate & share your knowledge/findings.

Cheers - Tony
Visit PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials, tips, free resources & more. Subscribe!
Full linked Tutorial Catalog PDtoots happily supports fellow PowerDirector users!

Thanks Mike,

This is exactly what I was looking for. But did not find your wonderful post before I have burnt my BD. Oh well I will use it for my next project.

Thanks once again.