Chrome II problem with 16:9 menus

[tmproductions]

I wanted to create a custom menu in DiscWelder Chrome II by using 720x480 pics in 16:9 aspect ratio ("letterbox/pan & scan" option). I used similar pics for the stills.
The first result was that the stills were displayed properly on a 4:3 display (letterboxed), but the menu pics appeared stretched on full screen.
I redid the whole process of menu creation - this time I've chosen the "letterbox only" option and the second result was quite interesting. Now the menu background pics appeared letterboxed as intended but the subpicture was still full screen - so the two pics didn't properly overlay anymore and all buttons were slightly out of place.
Any idea what went wrong and what to do?

tom

 

[JonUrban]

Good question. I can never figure out this part of Chrome myself.

Maybe Neil can help?

 

[mandrix]

Generically, this is what I do for all pics for DiscWelder for display on 16x9;
Import the pic into DVD Menu Studio, resize the pic by dragging the edges so as to leave some blank area around the pic. Export the pic as JPEG then open up in Photoshop and resize to 720x480 with the proper pixel aspect ratio.
I usually don't use a background pic for the menu itself, just the slides, but this should work the same.
Using this method helps overcome improperly adjusted TV's and some Universal players propensity to FUBAR the pic.
Also works well when you have an odd sized pic (tall, rather than wide).
HTH.

boondocks

 

[tmproductions]

I usually don't use a background pic for the menu itself, just the slides, but this should work the same.

I'm not talking about the slides - as I said above, the stills were always fine in 16:9. It's the menu pix only, particularly the subpictures, which were wrongly displayed.
Anyway I "solved" the problem - redid everything in 4:3. *sigh*

 

[neil wilkes]

With the subpictures, the problem seems to be that it is not properly resizing for Letterbox.
I have similar problems in Sonic's DAC, as in that you have to supply separate overlay image files for each screen type.
So, for the 16:9 display it is one SPHL, for the Letterbox it is another.
What build of chrome are we talking about?

 

[0tto]

i found image made in 800x480 and then resized to 720x480 (NTSC) most optimal variant in this situation.
same apply to overlay images.

 

[tmproductions]

I used to produce both background and subpicture images from the same Photoshop PSD-file with different layers enabled/disabled, so they perfectly fit together. Starting with 800x480 is not recommended, by the way, because this would still appear slightly stretched on screen as the aspect ratio is wrong. Instead, for 16:9 the original size would be 853x480, but I use to start with higher resolutions like 1600x900, then resize to 720x480 or 720x576 (PAL).

But again, my problem is not the making of images. My problem is, the 16:9 background pic is properly displayed (letterboxed), but the subpicture is stretched to full screen, so they don't match anymore in overlay mode (button selected or activated).

 

[neil wilkes]

Try this:
Create/Edit at the proper resolution:
72DPI, 720 x 480, Correct PAR of 1.2. There is a preset in Photoshop for this, or else PM me & I will send you a PSD.
Create your background.
For the SPHL, Create/edit at the same resolution as your Main Background. Index it. There cannot be more than 4 colours including the background, no anti-aliasing, no drop shadow.

It's really, honestly pointless using higher resolution here, as the final images must be 72dpi & must be 720 x 480, 1.2 PAR.
Alternatively you can use Square Pixels at 854 x 480 and scale to 720 x 480. The images will look distorted in the menu editor but will compile properly.

I also recommend using uncompressed TIF or BMP files - never use JPG as the resulting loss in quality will be very noticeable around the edges.

For letterboxing, I believe there is a box to check for this. Unlike Sonic's DVD-Audio Creator, there is no provision of importing a separate LB SPHL image, so you have to use the Abstraction Layer.