Problem With Menu WideScreen...

[GRAMOPHONE]

Hi,
I have a project that I want to create a menu for it.
My project is widescreen NTSC 16:9 so I want my menu to have
the same aspect, but when I call the piece of video to have as a
background or any picture, it renders as NTSC 4:3.
Is there any way, setting or whatever that I can do to get the result I'm looking for?

Thanks for your help

[GRAMOPHONE]

I'm using TMPGEnc DVD Author...

[MackemX]

does TDA support widescreen menu's?

I know DVDLab Pro does

[FulciLives]

TMPGEnc DVD Author does not support 16x9 menus.

I think that the new TSUNAMI MPEG DVD AUTHOR PRO version does but I'm not 100% on that ... I haven't upgraded myself just yet though I plan to eventually.

Maybe someone usig the new TSUNAMI MPEG DVD AUTHOR PRO can come along and confirm or deny it's 16x9 menu capability.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[MackemX]

thought so , thanks FulciLives for confirming it

I looked at the site but I can't see anything there or elsewhere about whether it supports it or not

[FulciLives]

thought so , thanks FulciLives for confirming it

I looked at the site but I can't see anything there or elsewhere about whether it supports it or not

I was just at the site and there is a small graphic of MENU CREATION and if you click on it to make it big there is an option at the bottom for aspect ratio. In this sample screen shot it is set to 4:3 but looks "selectable" so I am guessing you can change it to 16x9 which is nice.

As soon as I get some extra money I will have to upgrade. 16x9 menus with additional audio support is just the ticket. No subtitle support yet but when I need subtitles I just burn them in the video image anyways which works fine for me since I need them (not like I need to turn them off).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Here is that graphic from the TSUNAMI website.

[MackemX]

Pro version does

http://www.tmpg-inc.com/product/tdap_spec.html

Editing functions -for DVD MENU-
Creation of 16:9 menus - For menus with 16:9 aspect ratio. The standard templates have been made to support both 4:3 and 16:9 menu resolutions.

[FulciLives]

@GRAMOPHONE

Obviously the suggestion here is to upgrade to TSUNAMI MPEG DVD AUTHOR PRO if you want 16x9 menu design.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[MackemX]

do programs like GUI for DVDauthor etc not support 16:9?

maybe he could create a menu using those and then replace it afterwards

[borax]

do programs like GUI for DVDauthor etc not support 16:9?

Yes, GfD supports 16:9 menus. But as 16:9 menus require different subpictures for the buttons (one 4:3 and another 16:9 version), I'm not sure if it is easy to use them as 'replace' menus...

[sullen]

It is funny that this thread just got started. I am working on a HD > DVD conversion of Neil Young on Conan and just noticed this issue with the Menus being 4x3 in TMPGEnc DVD Author. This sucks! I do not want to have to drop more cash to upgrade just for 16x9 menu support. I really like the ease of use with DVD Author and have spent a lot of time getting the pictures for the backgrounds just the way I want them. Any suggestions that don't involve a ton of money?

[FulciLives]

Any suggestions that don't involve a ton of money?

Deal with 4x3 menus. After all it is just the menu. The important part will be 16x9.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[gadgetguy]

I haven't tried this specifically, but I've used this method for other things. Make your menus with your 16:9 images/videos and create your DVD files in TDA. TDA will create them in 4:3. Then open the Video_TS.ifo file with IfoEdit and change the aspect ratio to 16:9.

[MackemX]

It will stretch the picture but I don't think it will stretch the subpicture so then the buttons will be out of place

saying that you could make it so that the buttons are out of position to begin with

[sullen]

Well, I found the solution to my problem and the OP. After thinking about IfoEdit I decided to just give it a try and it worked. Just load your .ifos in it, click the menu(s), change the aspect from 4x3 to 16x9, save, and burn. There is some stretching with this tactic, but I would rather have stretching than mixed ARs.

[MackemX]

that's cool sullen 8), though gadgetguy did mention this method so I hope you didn't think too long

can you tell me if the buttons stay in the same position relative to the image also? I was under the impression they wouldn't but I was probably wrong

[sullen]

that's cool sullen 8), though gadgetguy did mention this method so I hope you didn't think too long

can you tell me if the buttons stay in the same position relative to the image also? I was under the impression they wouldn't but I was probably wrong

I knew I saw an IfoEdit mention, but for whatever reason thought it was in a different thread. I didn't think too long about it. As for your question, yes the buttons stay in the same position relative to the background image. The image is just stretched to fill the full screen. From what I can gather TDA encodes the menu VOBs at 4x3 and the ifo just tells the DVD player how to display it. Changing the ifo just tells the player to stretch the picture out to fill the 16x9 frame. I am using both a 4x3 CRT TV and a Widescreen LCD TV to look at the output. On the 4x3 TV I can have the DVD player set to 16x9 or 4x3 and the menu displays the same in both cases, only the actual video is squished when the player is set to 16x9 when I play the videos encoded at 16x9 on the 4x3 set.

I uploaded two pictures to show the difference. The first screen cap is the menu VOB that TDA created. The second screen cap is the Menu as played using the IFO file.

http://home.comcast.net/~simms3/Neil4x3.bmp
http://home.comcast.net/~simms3/Neil16x9.bmp