How to make a DVD with Menus using DVD Architect Studio (Part 1)

: By: Derek Moran; In: DVD Architect; Published: 15 February 2011; Last Updated: 02 September 2022

This is Part One of my tutorial in which I show you how to create a DVD that has Menus, Sub-Menus and Navigation, using DVD Architect Studio and Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.

**Part One may seem boring, however it is important if you have little experience with making DVDs. Undertanding the theory makes practice all the more easier to comprehend.

There is quite a bit to learn when making Menus that are linked to further menus in a DVD. Personally it took me quite some time to get the hang of this, but once I did, it became relatively easy and enjoyable. Making "proper DVD's" is a very time consuming process that requires a lot of patience, creativity and planning.

There is a great feeling of satisfaction when you finish burning your own homemade DVD and watch it back on a TV - well worth the effort. If you ever make a DVD for someone as a gift, that contains fully functioning menus, people will definitely be impressed.

You can use the exact same process for making a BluRay Disc also.

This is a follow up to a Two Part Tutorial I made, showing how to make a basic "primitive" DVD with no real menus. Here are the links to the original videos:

How to make a Basic DVD Part 1 using Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 & DVD Architect Studio 5.0
How to make a Basic DVD Part 2 using Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 & DVD Architect Studio 5.0

Special Update - please read

Personally, I think the best way to make DVDs and BluRay Discs with Movie Studio and Vegas Pro, is to learn the "manual old fashioned way". This gives you maximum control over all settings and features. I have written an article in the FAQ section which explains the full workflow for preparing a video in Movie Studio or Vegas Pro for DVD/BluRay Disc production. Please follow this link:
How do I render a video in Vegas Movie Studio suitable for turning into a DVD using DVD Architect Studio ?

Buy the latest version of Vegas Pro here !

About Derek Moran
Derek Moran is the author of all articles on Movie Studio Zen.
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ESP1138 · 11:48 23/04/2020
Hello.
How do I make a DVD with multiple videos that can only be accessed from a chapter menu?

I want the user to select a video and it should take the viewer to the chapter/scene selection screen and NOT the actual video itself. Only the play button should start playback.

I did this before and I forgot how to do this again. When I make a chapter menu for each video I get TWO LINKS. The video link and the chapter menu link. How can I have only one link per video on the main screen?
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  Derek
  
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  · 13:20 23/04/2020
  
  Please copy and paste your question into the MSZ Forum.
  https://www.moviestudiozen.com/forum/index
  I can then upload some screen shots for you, to show you how to create this type of Menu structure.
  
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Sung · 08:11 09/02/2018
hello, I have 2 different versions of DVD Architect Studio installed. How do I force Vegas Movie Studio Plantinum to use the latest version of DVD Architect Studio?
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  Derek
  
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  · 09:09 09/02/2018
  
  Which exact version of Vegas Movie Studio do you have installed ?
  Which build version of Vegas is this ?
  Go to Help/About to find this info.
  
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  Sung · 10:30 09/02/2018
  
  I have Movie Studio Platinum 14
  DVD Architect Studio 5
  and DVD Architect Studio 6
  When I DVD Architect is executed from Movie Studio, it loads Architect Studio 5 instead of Architect Studio 6.
  
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  Derek
  
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  · 11:41 09/02/2018
  
  I also asked which BUILD VERSIONS you have installed ?
  If you have not installed the latest build versions, this is probably what is causing the problem, because there was a bug in earlier build versions of BOTH programs, which caused programs to NOT talk to each other correctly.
  
  Go to Help/About in BOTH programs to find out which BUILD versions you have installed.
  If you have older versions installed, which is what I am guessing, you need to install new versions from links below.
  
  VMSP14 build #148
  Download from link on this page here:
  https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vegas-movie-studio-update-build-127-build-148--108240/
  
  Vegas DVD Architect build #67
  Download from link on this page here:
  https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vegas-dvd-architect-update-2-build-67--107128/
  
  After installing new versions, it would probably be a good idea to also do a full program RESET for BOTH programs. Reset instructions located here:
  https://www.moviestudiozen.com/doctor-zen-faq/573-how-to-reset-sony-software-to-default-settings#a1
  
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Bob · 15:14 06/03/2017
Hi Derek, I am in the US, I am making a DVD of my lessons to send to a customer in Austraila. I am a bit confused as to which format I should use, NTSC 720x480 16:9 where it is being made or PAL 720x 576 16:9 where it will be viewed? Thanks for your time and videos.
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  Derek
  
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  · 17:09 10/03/2017
  
  Hi Bob
  Most modern DVD and Blu-ray players, will play both NTSC and PAL format discs, in any country. Any modern computer or TV can definitely play either format.
  I think it will be OK to burn an NTSC disc and not worry about trying to convert to PAL.
  Where international customers [i]do[/i] have problems, is when the DVD is burnt with [b]Region Encoding[/b] that limits playback to only players from that region (1,2,3,4,...). The default setting in DVD Architect, burns all discs as Region Free, which means they will play in any DVD player from any region. So your NTSC DVD should play OK in an Australian DVD Player.
  Derek.
  
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russ romann · 08:05 18/02/2015
how to fix broken errors in menus when getting ready to render? thanks russ
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  Derek
  
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  · 09:03 18/02/2015
  
  Take a screen shot showing the disc menu tree on left and then email it to me. I will be able to tell you what is wrong.
  
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johan · 19:09 02/09/2014
hi Derek,
i have a question about sony architect:
The disc space used before i add a media file is 2,5 MB.
When i add a 8GB mediafile into the menu 2 the disc space used is 20GB.
What's the 12 extra GB used for? Or do i something wrong?
Johan from Holland
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  Derek
  
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  · 19:33 02/09/2014
  
  DVDs only encode to MPEG2 Video for DVD.
  If you import a video file that is not in the same exact format, DVDA will have to re-render the file. Different codecs using different bit rates, will produce different file sizes. 8GBs in one format does not equal 8GBs in a different format.
  You can only fit between 80 to 90 minutes of MPEG2 video onto a 4.7GB single layer disc. Your 8GB video must be very long if DVDA thinks it will end up being 20GBs in size.
  If you want to fit a long video onto DVD, you will have to watch this tutorial instead:
  [url]http://www.moviestudiozen.com/free-tutorials/dvd-architect-studio-50/493-how-to-compress-a-long-video-onto-a-dvd[/url]
  
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How to make a DVD with Menus using DVD Architect Studio (Part 1)

This is Part One of my tutorial in which I show you how to create a DVD that has Menus, Sub-Menus and Navigation, using DVD Architect Studio and Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.

Special Update - please read

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