DVD MENU MAKER HELPER OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS (A COMPANION PROGRAM FOR THE PRV-LX1 DVD MENU MAKER APPLICATION) Table of Contents 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Operation Requirements............................................................................................................ 3 1.2 Additional Requirements ......................................................
Menu Maker Helper Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
Menu Maker Helper 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Menu Maker Helper (MMH) application is a Microsoft® Windows®-based, companionprogram to the original PRV-LX1 DVD Menu Maker. MMH acts as a wizard for managing repetitive actions within Photoshop such as duplicating buttons and creating mask layers. The program includes several background images and button templates; however, your custom backgrounds and button designs can also be pulled into MMH.
Menu Maker Helper • If your disc includes Title menus with Chapter menus under each which would require a Top Menu button as well as Previous and Next buttons • If the Disc Title and button labels will be part of the background or pulled from the PRV-LX1’s Function menu Although the PRV-LX1 supports both Title-only and Title-Chapter menu structures, MMH currently supports a single menu layout (background and button layout) per project/disc.
Menu Maker Helper Button and Thumbnail Areas must be a particular color as this delineates the button order (more information on these colors is available in the operating instructions for the original program, DVD Menu Maker). Custom menu name (folder name) may include dashes or underscores between characters but spaces in the name cause the PRV-LX1 import function to fail. PRV-LX1 DVD Menu Maker is compatible with operating systems Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and XP® and with Photoshop 7.0 or later. 2.
Menu Maker Helper The MMH application window is comprised of five sections; (1) menu bar, (2) color table, (3) Settings, (4) primary command buttons, and (5) information dialog box. Each section becomes available only when an action or modification is possible. For example, although the Color Table appears active when MMH is opened, the color has nothing to work with until the Create New Menu button is selected.
Menu Maker Helper 4.0 CREATE NEW MENU Click on the Create New Menu button to begin building your custom menu. For learning purposes, we’ll use a background and button template provided with MMH. 1. Select a background from the list. The example below uses Boards.jpg from the Wood folder for the background. 2. Choose a button template. For demonstration purposes, please use the Shiny Ring Button.psd template. 3. Click OK to begin building the menu. This process takes a short period to complete.
Menu Maker Helper A series of multi-layer files are created in Photoshop. These individual files eventually merge in to a single PSD that will be converted using the DVD Menu Maker program. Do not delete or merge any layers or files during the menu building process. MMH handles all merges for you. Note: The red border on the Build Menu file indicates the Title-Safe area. Text should be kept within this border.
Menu Maker Helper Our selected button template includes a note about deactivating an Option from the Menu Bar. Un-checking the Remove Hilite from Button Image Area option for this template causes select/activate button highlights to appear on the shiny ring rather than filling the button image. Note: When making your own button templates, copy an existing template file with a new name then experiment with the layers. Once the Photoshop files are built, MMH provides a way to try different backgrounds.
Menu Maker Helper To revert to the original background, follow the directions below. 4.1 4. Click on the Undo button at the lower left section of the MMH window. The MMH application returns you to the original view with the Create New Menu button available. 5. Click on the Create New Menu button again. 6. Choose No to select the previous background image and button template. Changing Highlight Colors There are several changes available at this stage of menu development.
Menu Maker Helper The chart below provides a guideline for identifying which cell reflects which value.
Menu Maker Helper Examples of buttons with Color 2 and Color 3 applied according to the previous chart: (A Menu Layout) (Normal View) (Roll-Over Select) (Activate) (Color 2) (Color 3) Highlight colors are affected by opacity levels; shown as gray cells on the Color Table. The darker the shade of gray, the less of the color shows through as a highlight. For example, the Normal color is blue (RGB: 75, 50, 250) and the Select color is gold (RGB: 240, 200, 5).
Menu Maker Helper The shade of gray defines the opacity level within Menu Maker Helper. MMH matches the selected gray to the closest value in DVD Menu Maker. DVD Menu Maker’s sixteen opacity levels / values range from 00 (black) to 15 (equal to >3% gray). The Shiny Ring Button template uses black and white to indicate highlight areas. For this exercise, do not change Color 1 from all black or Color 2’s Photoshop and Normal color from white.
Menu Maker Helper 4. Click on a Select or Active color cell from the MMH Color Table Set area. The selected cell changes to teal on the MMH color table and a dashed line appears around the corresponding cell on the button template. 5. Change colors using the Fill command from within Photoshop. Color Table assignments must be 100% opacity and Normal blending mode. 6. Return to the MMH application window to select another cell to change avoiding the Photoshop and Normal color cells for this exercise.
Menu Maker Helper 7. Practice selecting one or more color and/or contrast cells still avoiding the Photoshop and Normal color cells for this exercise. • Single Cell – click on a cell from the MMH window • Multiple Cells With Common Borders – hold down the Shift key then click and drag over the appropriate cells • Multiple Cells Without Common Borders – hold down Shift and click on the cells 8. 4.2 Continue toggling between MMH and Photoshop to make your changes.
Menu Maker Helper 5.0 CLONE BUTTON TEMPLATE The second menu development stage is to duplicate the appropriate number of buttons for your custom menu. Click on the Clone Button Template button to enter the number of buttons. This generation of the MMH program supports up to ten buttons. 5.1 Arrange Button Layout The MMH program creates the buttons and places them on the background in numeric order. This process may take several seconds depending upon the quantity and complexity of the button template.
Menu Maker Helper Some possible button layouts: If the buttons do not fit the menu, take the following steps to resize the buttons again. 1. Bring the MMH program window to the forefront. 2. Click on the Undo button located in the lower left section. 3. Return to the Photoshop window. 4. Bring the button template file to the forefront. 5. Select the Btn Tmpl layer from the Layers list. 6. Resize the button template. 7. Recall the MMH program window. 8. Click on Clone Button Template again.
Menu Maker Helper 5.2 Additional Settings Available After Button Creation There are two additional settings that become available only after the buttons are created. These settings are Preview Menu and Re-link Related Button Layers. Clicking on Preview Menu causes the buttons to appear on the Photoshop background image as they will appear on the final DVD menu. Clicking again removes the preview. The final Setting button, Re-link Related Button Layers, re-joins the layers on an individual button.
Menu Maker Helper 6.0 BUILD COMPOSITE LAYERS The Build Composite Layers command creates a significant number of layers on top of the background image file. These new layers provide the button, thumbnail, mask, and highlight information for a menu that complies with the DVD Forum specifications. To see all layers before creating the final PSD file, collapse each layer to a single line item. 7.0 FINAL PSD DOCUMENT To create the final PSD file, Click on the fourth button, Final PSD Document.
Menu Maker Helper The next step is to convert this PSD file into a form recognizable by the PRV-LX1. Follow the directions below to prepare the file for conversion. 1. Minimize the MMH application window. 2. Enter a name for the custom 9-layer menu file. The file must end with the Photoshop file extension (PSD). 3. Bring the MMH program window to the forefront. 4. Click on File from the menu bar. 5. Select Exit to close the MMH application. 6.
Menu Maker Helper 8.1 Create The Import Folder/Files Follow the steps below to create your import folder/file. 1. Create a new folder to receive the custom menu files. The folder name becomes the menu name when imported in to the PRV-LX1. This name cannot have spaces and should have fewer than 12 characters. 2. Launch the Pioneer PRV-LX1 DVD Menu Maker program. 3. Locate your custom Photoshop file on the hard drive. 4. Click on the Open button to select your .psd file.
Menu Maker Helper Background is for preview only, no changes are available Subpicture (Highlight Area) is for preview only, no changes are available Color Table provides color change options Note: Choose a color block from the right side of the window to change a highlight (select or active) color. The numbers (lower right) represent degrees of opacity (range 00 to 15).
Menu Maker Helper Button Area is for preview only, no changes are available (this view integrates the Button Image layer) Button Mask is for preview only, no changes are available Thumbnail Area is for preview only, no changes are available Page 23 of 38
Menu Maker Helper Thumbnail Mask is for preview only, no changes are available Button Action allows directional and button advancement order changes Text allows changes to the Disc Title and/or Button fonts when using labels generated from the PRV-LX1 Function Menu Page 24 of 38
Menu Maker Helper 8.2.1 Change Highlight Colors from within DVD Menu Maker The third preview screen provides a method to change the highlight (Select and Active) colors and shades. Being as the color table is linked to the Subpicture layer, the Original and Normal colors should only be changed on the Photoshop (.psd) file. However, if a Select or Active (action) color clashes with other menu colors, clicking on an action color lets you choose a different shade or another color.
Menu Maker Helper 8.2.2 Change Button Actions from within DVD Menu Maker The Pioneer application presets directional arrows for the menu. To set remote control or front panel arrows for different operations, select the button from the drop-down menu on the right then choose the advancement and reverse order. Each button, (including Previous, Next and Top Menu if present) may be independently set.
Menu Maker Helper 8.3 Prepare The Custom Menu For Transfer to the PRV-LX1 Once all modifications have been applied to the preview screens, convert the Photoshop file to a custom menu for the PRV-LX1. 7. Click on OK to store the menu files in your custom menu folder. 8. Copy the custom menu folder to recordable media (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R. DVDRW). The entire folder must be copied rather than individual files in the folder. The folder name appears as a selectable Menu name in the PRV-LX1.
Menu Maker Helper 3) Access the Cpy/Impt/Bkup option from the App menu section. 4) Select Menu Import from the menu options. 5) Set the following options: • Type is Layout • Source is the drive with the disc (DVD1 or DVD2) • Source File is the folder name 6) Activate the Add To Library button. 7) Select Back to return to the main function menu. 10.0 SELECT YOUR CUSTOM MENU Follow the steps below to select your custom menu. 1) Access the DVD Menu option under the Edit menu section.
Menu Maker Helper APPENDIX A HELPFUL HINTS This final section deals with common issues you may experience when creating custom menu designs. As you build button layouts, refer to this section for hints or further clarification. • DVD Menu Maker or MMH will not launch (open) on my computer 1 – Verify that the free Quick Time 6 player (from Apple) is installed on your computer. 2 – Confirm that Picture Viewer and File Converter are included in the installation.
Menu Maker Helper • Highlights are not showing on the Previous/Next buttons 1 – Verify that Previous/Next buttons are part of the Highlight Area (Subpicture) layer. 2 – Check that the Previous/Next button shapes are included on the Button Image layer. • Button text/labels are missing 1 – Enter the text through the PRV-LX1 Function menu/DVD Menu option.
Menu Maker Helper APPENDIX B BUILDING A BUTTON TEMPLATE Although the MMH application provides a selection of button templates, users have the ability to create/add custom button templates to the program. Add your button template to the Button Templates folder under the MMH application folder. The next time the application is launched, the new button template will be available. The MMH application requires that each layer to be present and correctly labeled.
Menu Maker Helper Btn Tmpl The mandatory layers within a Btn Tmpl layer set are as follows: Text Area – block indicates where text appears on the button Thumb(nail) Mask – white shape indicates the thumbnail as it appears on the menu (can be any shape but must be white) Thumb(nail) Area – block shows maximum dimensions of the thumbnail image Button Image – graphic of the button Hilite Mask – shape and size of Select/Active highlight; colors must match the Photoshop/Normal color from the Color Tables (some
Menu Maker Helper Try the following manipulation: 1. Expand the Btn Tmpl layer set. 2. Click on the Thumbnail Mask layer. 3. Move the layer away from the button image. 4. Turn OFF the Thumbnail Mask layer. White disappears revealing the Thumbnail Area block (red in the test template). 5. Turn ON the Thumbnail Mask layer again. 6. Drag the linked Thumbnail layers down below the Button Area (green block).
Menu Maker Helper Prev Tmpl The mandatory layer sets within a Prev Tmpl layer are as follows: Button Image – graphic of the button The Shiny Ring template includes several blending options applied to the Previous button template.
Menu Maker Helper Note: “Remove Hilite from Button Image Area” The optional layer, Notes, provides any mandatory Option settings information. The Notes layer on the Test-Template.psd file indicates that the Option, Remove Hilite from Button Image Area, needs to be activated for highlighting to appear for the DVD menu buttons. MMH automatically discards this layer during the merging to the final PSD file.
Menu Maker Helper 4. Flatten all layers into the Background layer. 5. Access the Image Size dialog box. 6. Set the dimensions to 220 pixels by 165 pixels. 7. Use the SAVE AS command to convert the image to a JPG file and store it in Preview. Leave the PSD file in the Button Template folder but store the new JPG file in Preview (folder under the Button Template folder). For continuity, keep the PSD and JPG file names the same.
Menu Maker Helper There are certain colors that assign button sequence. Using these colors on the Color Table can cause MMH to create faulty menus.
PRV-LX1 Professional Recorder Menu Maker Helper Operating Instructions Property of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. All rights reserved Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
