What is the smallest font that is practical to use in menus?

[sync]

I'm creating a chapter selection menu and I want to fit as many chapters in as I can. I know what is readable on my tv but I have to make this so it's readable on a variety of screens. So I'm not sure what is the smallest size I can use. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[guns1inger]

To a degree it is suck it and see. Generally, anything below 16pt is starting to get too small, however if it is a clear, san-serif font (e.g. Verdana) you can go smaller (maybe down to 12pt). Also remember that the smaller you get, the more prone to interlace flicker it will become as well.

Finally, there is a finite limit to the number of chapters you can have in a title (99 ?) and the number you can have on a single menu (36 rings a bell).

[beartums]

Also, It greatly depends on the font. Some fonts are fine at 16 pt, and some look awful below 24 pt.

The bigger the better.

[sync]

I realize that the font makes a big difference. What I can't figure out is how a specific size font will look on other size screens. Is there a target screen size that is good to use as a reference point?

[Beldvd]

Why don't you burn a DVD-R(W) with menus in different font type and size to try it out on YOUR tv? I made a "test" DVD myself a long time ago to see how the fonts looked on my (big) screen. Called one menu "Arial 16" another "Times New Roman 20",...
It's a bit annoying to do, but it's a great help for future home-made DVD

[mats.hogberg]

Yes, 36 menu items/menu screen is a limit somehow.
As for screen sizes, I don't think it matters. They all have the same resolution, so if it's readable on a 36", it will be equally readable on a 14" (if we're talking about CRT TV displays). Of course, some TVs have a "sharper" picture, where you ought to get away with a smaller typeface, but that's not a fuction of screen size, more of quality.

/Mats

[sync]

As for screen sizes, I don't think it matters. They all have the same resolution, so if it's readable on a 36", it will be equally readable on a 14"

Yes, they are the same resolution. But that doesn't mean they are the same size. Presumably someone with a 14" tv sits closer to it than someone with a 36" but I doubt that they sit so close that the perspective is the same.

[mats.hogberg]

The eyes wont be the bottle neck. The TV resolution will.

/Mats

[lordsmurf]

Usually about 14 is my lower limit. Depends on font. Sometimes 16-18 is needed, sometimes just 12.