Best software for creating DVD menus?

Help me out here, guys

I’m looking for some software where I can just drop in some finished .vob files and slap a menu on the front. I don't need any heavy lifting—no re-ripping, no transcoding, nothing like that. I basically just want to take the files off this mini DVD I shot on my camcorder and move them over to a standard DVD, then add a simple menu at the start.

I've been searching for days and honestly haven't found anything decent.
It’d be awesome if there was a free option out there...

Thanks!

Give WinX a shot—it’s actually available in a free version now: http://www.winxdvd.com/dvd-author/

Benjamin King2 said:Give WinX a shot, they actually have a free version available now: http://www.winxdvd.com/dvd-author/

Hmm, that’s not quite what I’m looking for, but it might do the trick.
The thing is, it keeps crashing on my Windows 7. Such a pain.

Check this out—there's a whole list of lower-tier options and plenty of user feedback on even more freeware if you want to branch out and try something else: http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...g-software.htm

I’ve cycled through about 20 different programs by now, and honestly, most of them seem fine on paper. The catch? Most of them just throw an error at me the second I try to load a .vob file. And even when they actually work, 99% of the time they take my 15-minute .vob and cut it down to a measly 17 seconds. Then, on some apps, you just get audio with no video, and on others, total silence. Even Windows DVD maker is acting up. I’m totally stumped here.

So, here’s the deal: I’ve got two mini DVDs recorded on my camera (specifically from New Year's Eve), and they're already finalized. I have three .vob files totaling around 900MB. My camera is a Panasonic. These discs play perfectly in a standard player, and I can burn them onto a new disc without any issues—except for this annoying default menu!

What I’m trying to do is take those two mini DVDs and consolidate them onto one single 4.7GB DVD. Instead of that lame stock menu, I want to make my own. Nothing crazy, just a simple title screen that says "New Year's 2012 - blah blah blah..." maybe a little picture, and a "Play DVD" button. That's it.

From what I’ve gathered over the last three days, it seems like this might be impossible. Is that really how it works? Has nobody ever successfully done this before?

Just a heads-up: whenever I use these programs with .avi files, everything runs smooth as silk. But it feels like such a massive pain to re-encode everything into .avi when I already have the finished .vob files ready to go, only for them to fail during the burn. What a headache.

Adobe Encore—honestly, such a flawless piece of software... for instance

John Thomas14 said:I’ve cycled through about 20 different programs at this point—honestly, most of them would be perfectly fine if they actually worked—but the issue is that the majority of them throw an error the second I try to load a .vob file. And get this: 99% of them take my .vob file, which should be roughly 15 minutes long, and truncate it down to a measly 17 seconds! (And then, depending on the software, you either just hear audio or total silence). Even with Windows DVD Maker, it’s the same story. I just don't get it.

So, here is the situation: I have two mini DVDs recorded on my camera—specifically from New Year's Eve—and they are finalized. I have three .vob files totaling about 900MB. My camera is a Sony. These DVDs play perfectly in a standard player, and I can even burn them onto another DVD without any issues... except for that incredibly stupid opening menu!

What I really want to do is consolidate those two mini DVDs onto a single 4.7GB DVD, and instead of dealing with that mindless menu, I want to design my own. It’s nothing crazy—just a home screen that says "New Year's Eve 2012 - blah, blah, blah..." maybe a "Play DVD" button, and perhaps include a nice little photo.

From what I’ve gathered over the last three days, this seems impossible. Is that really how it works? Has nobody ever successfully done this before?

Just as a side note—whenever I work with .avi files in these programs, everything goes smoothly. But it feels so counterproductive to recode everything into an .avi when I already have finished .vob files that fit perfectly on a DVD! What a headache.

Adobe has some fantastic menus—you can even download extra ones directly from their site. There is also a stellar program specifically for creating DVD titles called Apple Final Cut Pro which comes loaded with pre-made menus, yet still gives you the freedom to build your own from scratch. Plus, over here you can find a massive variety of templates, ranging from freebies to commercial options.