So I keep reading about these intros that people use.

But I guess I'm not getting something.

Do you actually put in an intro dvd... play it... and then take it out and put in the film or content you want to watch? (e.g. movie, etc)

Or is there some system where it automatically adds it?

Just a little confused as to why someone would take the time to put in one dvd. Get up and then put in another :)

You have couple different options. You can buy an inexpensive DVD player, say at Sam's for $40.00 to dedicate to this and use as a backup, or burn it to an HTPC (Home Theater PC). You will need a way to switch your sources to pull it off smoothly. You could use a HDMI Switcher with a remote. Some people go nuts and script the whole process on their remote.

I put mine on one of the slots in a 5 disc Sony upconverting carousel player. It's in the third slot right after the Intermission Shorts/Countdown disc and the cartoon compendium disc, leaving two slots free for two feature film discs or one feature and bonus disc.

After cuing up each of the discs to the exact spot I want to start playing, I play one and hit the "next" disc button on my remote to the next disc and so on. That's about all the programming I usually do on it although I know there are more detailed ways of doing it.

That's one of the reasons I like multi-disc DVD players. You don't have to get up and change out discs. The Sony I have upconverts but it isn't a Blu-Ray or HD player. In fact, I won't buy a Blu-Ray DVD player until a multi-disc player is available.

I put mine on one of the slots in a 5 disc Sony upconverting carousel player.

I do something similar. My 5 disc Sony has 4 demo discs in it and one intro disc. I can watch demos or the intro and then I switch over to my other DVD player (soon to be BD) and start watching the feature, all without getting out of my chair.

Imatk: Thanks for asking the original question - I've always wondered this myself. Had been thinking about uploading the into file into my apple TV and somehow scripting it...Have not quite figured it out yet....

Just to toss out another suggestion regarding HTPCs, TheaterTek supports a "previews" playlist so it can be told to play files from disk automatically before playing the feature movie. So for example when you pop in a DVD and TheaterTek autoruns, or you use MCE w/ MyMovies to launch a DVD, etc. TheaterTek reads filenames out of a text file and plays each of those files first before taking action on the DVD.

It's a nifty little feature that doesn't require scripting, just setting up the text file properly and configuring TheaterTek. Unfortunately, mine started goofing up at one point and would wind up not playing the previews at all or not playing the main movie once they finished (causing an infinite loop of sorts as when I then press "play" the previews start all over again...:rolleyes:). I'm not sure what happened but it did used to work great, so anyone with an HTPC should be able to do something similar.

I use an HTPC and burned my intros to Hard-Drive. It takes about a minute and a half to queue up the DVD I want to watch on my Sony 995 Juke so during that time I run the intros - the timing is such that when the intros are done playing, the Juke is ready and: the HTPC dims the lights, switches input on the PJ and tells the DVD player to "PLAY" and the movie begins. The program I wrote to do all this picks a sequence of intro "playlists" at random and adjusts the timing so I get variety which is nice.

I simply put several 1080p HD intros as movie clips on my PS3 hard drive. I run them first and then click play on the BluRay. Not too much latency. Most people are forgiving for the slight inconvenience to be able to enjoy a more complete cinematic experience. :)

Just to toss out another suggestion regarding HTPCs, TheaterTek supports a "previews" playlist so it can be told to play files from disk automatically before playing the feature movie. So for example when you pop in a DVD and TheaterTek autoruns, or you use MCE w/ MyMovies to launch a DVD, etc. TheaterTek reads filenames out of a text file and plays each of those files first before taking action on the DVD.

It's a nifty little feature that doesn't require scripting, just setting up the text file properly and configuring TheaterTek. Unfortunately, mine started goofing up at one point and would wind up not playing the previews at all or not playing the main movie once they finished (causing an infinite loop of sorts as when I then press "play" the previews start all over again...:rolleyes:). I'm not sure what happened but it did used to work great, so anyone with an HTPC should be able to do something similar.

I would also like to thank the OP for asking the question, I was wondering the same thing.

Magius,

Could you expand on how you are doing this? I am using an HTPC and the My Movies 2 add in to control my Sony 777 DVD player. I contol my HTPC with a Pronto remote. How would I configure MyMovies to play an into after a dvd was selected?

Mike

Here's another possibility, and would be useful for HTPCs using copied DVDs (not that I would suggest anyone do something like that!).

I use a TVIX home theater jukebox, and an option that is useful when copying files (such as home movies ;) ) is to actually physically put the intro in front of the movie when copying, so when you pull up the file to watch, it automatically plays the intro first.

I use an old Sony DVD player for my intro disc, but my DVDs are loaded into a Sony 400-disc changer. To control it all, I wrote a pretty complex macro into my MX-3000 remote control. Here's how it works:

--Select "Watch a DVD" on the remote
--Projector goes on, receiver goes on, lighting dims partially, etc.
--All of my DVD cover art is loaded into the MX-3000. Once the projector is warmed up, the remote switches to the cover art gallery, and I call up the disc I want to watch by selecting the right cover
--As soon as I hit that button, my screen curtains open and my lighting goes to another scene that keeps some parts of the room highlighted. At the same time, the "play" command goes to my "intro" DVD player. By the time the curtains are fully open, the intro begins to play.
--While the intro plays, the DVD changer is calling up the correct disc based on the cover art I selected. Each cover art button is also loaded with the correct disc slot. For those of you who program the MX-3000, I used add-on programs called "DVD Profiler" and "DMX-3000" to make this work without having to enter disc numbers manually every time I want to watch a disc.
--As soon as the intro is complete, my projector/receiver sources immediately switch over to the DVD changer, and the intro DVD player gets an "eject" command. The intro DVD player drawer then sits open and ready for the next time I watch a movie. This player is hidden away in my equipment closet, so nobody ever sees the DVD player sitting with its drawer open.
--Once I go through the movie's menus and hit "play", the lighting goes to the "all off" scene, and the movie begins.
--The macro includes precisely timed delays so that I don't have to hit anything at all on the remote. I timed out how long it took to play the intro, how long it takes for the curtains to open, etc. It took many trial and error attempts to get it timed out correctly, but the effect now is that I only have to hit three buttons on the remote ("watch a DVD", the cover art, and "play") to make everything look and feel just like a "commercial" theater experience.

It's all in the programming. The simple answer is the $40 extra DVD player. If you truly want the experience, though, you need a control system that can handle very complex macros, delays, etc. (and the patience to program the system to do what you want).

jj

That's an awesome macro program you've got going there. I like it.

Have you ever considered changing out that $40 single-tray DVD player with the intro disc in it for a $120 five disc player that would also include an intermission shorts/countdowns disc, a trailer disc and a cartoon disc for even more of the (historic) commercial theater experience?

Of course, it would require a few more macro steps added to the mix. :D

I considered it, but there were a few things that brought me back to reality:

1) Lag time between disc changes--I would need a different DVD player for each disc in the process (nobody wants to wait in uncomfortable silence while you wait for the disc carousel to change).

2) Overkill--On those rare occasions when there is someone in the theater with me, the existing process is impressive enough. While more might be better, the law of diminishing returns kicks in (as my wife would say, "just get to the damn movie, already"!).

3) Programming complexity--I could definitely write the macro to make it work, but to what end? Easily 90-95% of the movies I watch are solo (nobody else with me), so do I really want to put in the time to write the program for those rare occasions? Better yet--do I want to sit through the multiple intros every time I want to sit down and watch a movie?

I can't say it didn't cross my mind, though.

jj

I think you're right. Especially your reason #2.

I have done it. The lag time between disc changes is about 15 seconds I think. Imo, the trailers (one or two max.) have got to be funny, from schlocky 50's Sci-Fi/Horrror movies that are over the top hoopla and entertaining for that reason in their own right. No "serious" trailers from current or recent movies.

However, I find the best way to utilize those intermission shorts/countdowns, trailers and cartoon discs before the feature is to cue them up and let 'em run in the background with the sound lowered and the lights still on slightly before everyone has settled down with their snacks, trips to the restroom, chatting, whatever.

It's there more to create an atmosphere rather than to be seriously focused on. If anyone wants to stop and watch it more intently, they can. But most everyone begins to get it together sometime during the cartoon and that's the last thing before the intro and feature anyway.

In other words, I utilize the whole sequence as one big countdown to the next feature starting about 15 minutes before.

HTPC ALL THE WAY!!!

Heres what a HTPC gives me that I couldnt get anywhere else.

I turn on the PC and it automatically starts winamp and plays some movie soundtracks for intermission music. The desktop has a black background, no icons, no windows, and no start bar. As far as the viewer is concerned there is no computer running this system. Then when its go time I press f12 which launches a macro program (hidden of course). This macro has been setup to open up yahoo widgets which has a small timer in the upper corner of the screen that begins counting down from 10 minutes. This gives the audience a chance to sit and talk about my theater and listen to some memorable movie scores. They dont yet know how good the quality of my sound system or my projector. Theyve only heard some very quiet music and watched a small timer on the screen. They comment on how cool it is knowing when the movies gonna start. Then when the timer reaches 0 my macro fades out the music, disappears the timer, dims the lights down slowly to off, then launches theater tek which has been setup to play my Cert intro, followed by a dolby digital trailer, a dts trailer, and of course thx. Following the short trailers it goes straight to the movie which has been ripped from the dvd and stored on the hd. So no annoying dvd menus, no extras, no copywrite warnings, just movie.

Its all about presentation. At my house you dont feel like your watching something off a dvd player. In fact people have asked me on several occasions, where do you get the movies? from the comercial theaters? :)