Question on DAR and best image size for a pal movie menu background

[perfection]

My understanding is that a DVD compliant PAL mpg movie is 720 x 576 causing non-square pixels (PAR of 16:15) in order to deliver a DAR of 4:3.

Does this mean that when i see this mpg on a 4:3 computer monitor (full screen) I am actually seeing a slightly distorted (or is it cropped) video? If not how does it fit on a monitor which i read supports 1:1 pixel ratio

Now if i am using an image background image for a 4:3 PAL movie menu and assuming i do not want the authoring software to make changes and render what is ideal?
option 1 Crop the image to 720 x 576
option 2 Resize the image to 720 x 576 causing marginal though non-noticeable disproportionateness

....or have i got something completely wrong here in my understanding of these concepts

Thanks for any simple explanations or links towards them

[Case]

Does this mean that when i see this mpg on a 4:3 computer monitor (full screen) I am actually seeing a slightly distorted (or is it cropped) video? If not how does it fit on a monitor which i read supports 1:1 pixel ratio

The video frames will get scaled keeping the intended aspect ratio. At full screen and at "100%".

Now if i am using an image background image for a 4:3 PAL movie menu and assuming i do not want the authoring software to make changes and render what is ideal?

With most consumer level authoring apps, you don't. Just feed it a 4:3 image that will be downscaled, e.g. a 1600x1200 pixel image, perhaps 768x576 at the low end.
I suppose you could make a 720x576 image with PAL PAR, if your authoring app lets you stretch it to (exactly) frame width after import. But what's the point? A background image shouldn't have to be pixel-precise and should be low contrast, non-distracting from the menu options, imho.

[DB83]

To avoid rescaling, the menu background images should be:

4:3 = 768*576 pixels
16:9 = 1024*576 pixels

[turk690]

My understanding is that a DVD compliant PAL mpg movie is 720 x 576 causing non-square pixels (PAR of 16:15) in order to deliver a DAR of 4:3.

Does this mean that when i see this mpg on a 4:3 computer monitor (full screen) I am actually seeing a slightly distorted (or is it cropped) video? If not how does it fit on a monitor which i read supports 1:1 pixel ratio

Now if i am using an image background image for a 4:3 PAL movie menu and assuming i do not want the authoring software to make changes and render what is ideal?
option 1 Crop the image to 720 x 576
option 2 Resize the image to 720 x 576 causing marginal though non-noticeable disproportionateness

....or have i got something completely wrong here in my understanding of these concepts

Thanks for any simple explanations or links towards them

You don't have to worry about TV DAR so much at this stage. Assuming you're using a square pixel PC monitor while editing (haven't come across otherwise), use minimums of 768x576 if you're doing a 4:3 menu and 1024x576 if 16:9. This is intended for you to view as you're creating it how it's going to look like on a TV that CORRECTLY displays it later. The authoring program will internally resize all these resolutions to 720x576, with flag unset for 4:3 and set for 16:9. 720x576 or 720x480 are DVD standards and you generally DON'T crop or resize images to them. Always stick to true blue square pixel 4:3 like 800x600, 768x576, etc. or 16:9 like 852x480, 1280x720, etc.