screen size

[RoMeRz]

What is the DVD menu screensize, so i can make a background.

[Baldrick]

720x480(NTSC) or 720x576(PAL) but it will be resized to 4:3(or 16:9) when you watch it. So make the background in a 4:3 size like 1024x768 and then resize to 720x480/576.

[RoMeRz]

I made it in 740x480, will that be ok ?

[thecoalman]

To add to that, better image editing applications will have presets to crop an image to either 4:3 or 16:9 so you can maintain the correct aspect ratio. Here's the method I use for static images:

1. Crop the image to the desired aspect, either 4:3 or 16:9. Usually 4:3 for menus, I only use 16:9 in video. Make sure to leave a enough space around the subject for the overscan area for playback on a regular TV.
2. Resize to 720x480, this will skew the image especially if your aspect is 16:9. What is important is that it will be displayed at the correct aspect during playback.
3. Apply a slight blur, this will remove hard edges eliminating the flickering they can cause.

[thecoalman]

I made it in 740x480, will that be ok ?

Sure it will work, depending on your authoring application you could probably use any size image and it will resize it. To maintain aspect so it displays correctly try the method I posted above.

[RoMeRz]

Ok i got the screensize thing working, but when on the actual DVD the background image looks crap. The quality is really low, and doesn't show everything that was in the orginal image, how should i save the image i want to use as a backgroun in future.

im using DVD-Lab btw

[thecoalman]

You can expect to lose some amount of detail in your image, also the colors supported by TV differ than those you'll see on your monitor. I did forget to mention one step I also use which is to convert the image to NTSC safe colors in the image editing app (would be PAL for you I guess). That is not absolutely necessary because the authoring tool will do it but it gives you a better idea of how the final image is going to look.

When you say it doesn't show the entire image if you mean the outside edges:

. Make sure to leave a enough space around the subject for the overscan area for playback on a regular TV.
.

When you playback a video on a regular TV there's a certain amount of space around the oputside that will not be viewable. You either have to compensate for this by cropping less or adding borders to the image.

[guns1inger]

DVD Lab menu backgrounds should be 720 x 540 for 4:3, regardless of PAL or NTSC. When pixel aspect ratios are applied during authoring the images look correct. Set your image size to be whatever suits your format (NTSC 480, PAL 576) and work on it. Once you are ready to import it into DVD Lab, resize to 540. Learn to work within title safe areas. Usually 10% all round should be enough.