Working with 16:9 menus, How the menu will be displayed on a 4:3 monitor, Fewer buttons can be used – Apple DVD Studio Pro 4 User Manual
Page 222: 9 graphics must be anamorphic in sd projects, Creating menus for hd projects
Working with 16:9 Menus
When using 16:9 menus in your project, you need to be aware of several things.
How the Menu Will Be Displayed on a 4:3 Monitor
Be sure to choose the proper display mode in the Menu tab of the Menu Inspector. Also,
a default Display Mode setting in DVD Studio Pro Preferences sets all new menus, tracks,
and slideshows to the proper display mode.
The options include 4:3, 16:9 Pan-Scan, 16:9 Letterbox, and 16:9 Pan-Scan & Letterbox. If
you select Pan-Scan, be aware that areas at the left and right edges of the menu will not
be visible. See
for more information on this and other aspect
ratio issues.
Fewer Buttons Can Be Used
When you set a menu’s display mode to 16:9 Pan-Scan or 16:9 Letterbox, you reduce the
total number of buttons you can have on the menu. For SD projects, the total number
of buttons drops from 36 to 18; for HD projects, the total drops from 48 to 24. This is
because DVD Studio Pro must create two menu overlays, one for each aspect ratio, and
automatically select the one to use based on the DVD player’s aspect ratio setting. When
you set a menu’s display mode to 16:9 Pan-Scan & Letterbox, the total number of buttons
you can have on a menu drops to 12 for SD projects, and 16 for HD projects, because
three menu overlays must be created.
16:9 Graphics Must Be Anamorphic in SD Projects
All graphics for 16:9 menus in SD projects must be anamorphic (horizontally compressed
to fit the 4:3 aspect ratio). See
for details on creating graphics
for 16:9 menus.
Creating Menus for HD Projects
Creating menus for HD projects is not much different from creating menus for SD projects.
The most common issue is understanding how the HD-based DVD menus handle
background video assets with respect to their resolutions.
There is a Resolution setting in the General pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences that
defines the default resolution of all new menus (and tracks and slideshows) you create.
However, the actual resolution of a menu is usually defined by the background video
asset you assign to it.
For example, if your default resolution as defined by the preferences setting is 1280 x
720p and you create a new menu, its resolution is 1280 x 720p. If you set the menu’s
background video to a 1920 x 1080i asset, the menu’s resolution automatically changes
to match it.
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Chapter 12
Introduction to Creating Menus