DVD Menu Systems (1 Viewer)

[NeilDakeyne]

Hi,

I am multimedia student UK and I am conducting a research project into DVD menu systems, well 3d immersive menus to be precise. I am looking into how easy they are to use and identify any recurring problems with them. I ultimately aim to produce a set of guidelines that 3d menus systems should include.

Confused.. Well what I mean by 3d immersive is by when you select a option from the menu it takes you to say a different room or part of the environment. Each section within the menu would be located within a different area or location within the environment.

What i would like to know is if anyone knows of any great examples of these types of menu structures and if they have had any problems with them? For example the Red Dwarf DVD (region 2) is a great example of this type of menu.

Any help suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Cheers guys!!

 

[Matthew Todd]

It's been a while since I played it, but I think the "Independence Day" 2-disc set includes 3D menus. Also check out "The Abyss."

As far as "recurring problems," personally I don't like that it often takes a considerable amount of time to get around in the menu and do what you're trying to do. I find that sometimes annoying.

Matt

 

[Tom Tsai]

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but I think Panic Room 3-disc has that kind of menu...i think...

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

Yeah, I also find it annoying when you have to wait for the "camera" to move from one room to another before you can see the next menu. If the menu is made so you can press the skip button to go directly to next menu (or have a separate, non-animated menu) then I have no problem with it.

 

[Leo Kerr]

...although I think I'd prefer the very first menu to have two simple options: plain or fancy.

All the plain ones are simple still menus (maybe with audio) and no transitions; the fancy ones are whatever they want to do.

Leo

 

[Charlie Essmeier]

I hate menus, period. I particularly hate having them forced upon me every time I insert the disc, when all I want to do is watch the film. I want to press "play" and watch the movie. If I want to see a menu, I'll press the "menu" button.

Menus should be as simple and unobtrusive as possible. There's no room in my life, DVD player, or theater for 3D menus.

Charlie

 

[Mike_G]

Here's my "recurring problem":

I don't like them at all.

They were cool at first, but dammit, I want to get to the options. Worst example is "The World is not Enough" where the camera goes down this tube and whizzes by each word in the title. *sigh*. What's worse is that some DVD players don't override the "do not fast forward" flag so you're forced to watch it where on some you can just hit the >>| buttom.

I don't want to sit around waiting for some animation to finish. I don't put moving animations on my DVDs at all.

Mike

 

[Matthew Todd]

Hey Charlie. Another Utah man! You sound like a great candidate for an HTPC running Theatertek. I'm using that and this is one reason I love it.

Matt

 

[Ben_@]

A good example would be the Oz DVDs. Season Two is exactly as you described. Unfortunately, once you've seen that, you really just wish it would jump to the next menu (though the "travel time" is no more than 10 seconds).
It seems like thats a common complaint about 3d menus.