DVD-Video Menus

  • 项目

Menus are the principle means by which users interact with the content on a DVD when played in a traditional player. Menus enable users to choose which video title to show, which audio soundtrack to play, which subtitles to display, which camera angle to view, and what other special features to enable. Applications that use the DVD-Video API can simulate user interaction by programmatically selecting and activating menu buttons.

Video Manager Menu

The top-level menu is the video manager menu (VMGM), also called the top menu or title menu. This menu usually has buttons that enable the user to go to the main titles or groups of titles on the disc. A group of titles is called a title set. For example, on a disc that has a feature film, a title set called "Interviews with the Director and Cast," and a title set called "Coming Attractions," the VMGM would probably have three buttons. Clicking the "Coming Attractions" button would take the user to a video title set menu (VTSM) with buttons for each separate title in the title set.

A disc can contain soundtracks in up to eight languages. It can also contain multiple VMGMs in languages that correspond to those on the soundtracks.

The VMGM appears when the user starts playing the disc unless the first title on the disc is authored as an autoplay title. In this case, there may not be a VMGM.

Video Title Set Menus and Submenus

A VTSM is a submenu of the VMGM. There can be from 1 to 99 titles in a title set. The VTSM has buttons enabling the user to go to any of the titles in the title set. In addition, the VTSM can also have submenus that enable the user to go to choose options for the audio stream, camera angle, subpicture stream, or chapter. These submenus are always valid for all the titles in the title set. VTSM submenus are not used on most DVDs. The root menu and all other submenus are optional, so never assume that all submenus in a VTSM have a common root menu.

 Last updated on Thursday, April 08, 2004

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