MediaMenu

When there are multiple types of media stored on a single CD, sometimes the standard menu doesn't display them all efficiently and it can be difficult to access them. MediaMenu is an application that allows users to both create and customize full screen menus for CD based media, making them more accessible and presentable.

Unfortunately, MediaMenu is not an easy application to use. To make the most of MediaMenu, some basic knowledge of how to edit INI files and how to access the files of a CD is needed. MediaMenu relies on configuring the root directory of a CD and inserting different executables into the INF, and provides no interface that allows direct editing.

For users looking for a more streamlined, automated software, they will be disappointed with how much work is required just to begin editing. The program is made worse by how many aspects of the editing is handled by minor, additional applications included with MediaMenu. To launch every aspect of MediaMenu with an autorun CD, users will need to script over three different executables to launch with it.

Despite the fragmented nature of MediaMenu, it does provide the ability to create unique menus for a CD. The background, font, text, menus, submenus and images can all be changed, with the option to add background sound and link different media players to various content.

There is an additional option to install Media Tools to the hard disk, which allows users to have a menu automatically in place. This option is especially useful when there is more than one CD for a specific film, enabling menus to be stored in the menu on both disks automatically.

MediaMenu is competent at what it does, but relies on far too much file editing to do most of the creation. There are several aspects of the program that shouldn't have to be scripted into INI files manually, instead they could be created and edited from a proper interface. The application operates more like a file editor that several users might be uncomfortable with.