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*** Why do my Button Highlights always look crap !? ***
Hi,
I’m fairly new to Encore CS4 but have tried to make a few DVD menus now. I usually make the basic elements (background/text/buttons etc) in Photoshop then import various layers into Encore. Everything looks fine up until the point when I burn the DVD and play it back in a DVD player, then I’ll notice that the highlights on my buttons (the alternative colour that changes when the remote control hovers over a particular button), always look really low res compared to the button its highlighting. Is there something I’m doing wrong? If anyone had any advice it’d be massively appreciated as this drags down the production value of my work and is very annoying.
All the best.
John Bowen
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3 Replies
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Sub-picture highlights are 2-bit graphics. It is part of the dvd spec, and not specific to Encore. This means that each pixel is either 100% opaque or 0% opaque. You cannot have smooth gradients or semi-transparent pixels around the edges to smooth it out. Any pixel with a opacity of less than 50% in photoshop will automatically be 0% opacity once authored. You can of course change the opacity of the entire subpicture highlight in the Encore menu color set configuration, but this will not help with anti aliasing around the edges of the highlight. When deciding on a graphic for the subpicture highlight, it’s important to keep this limitation in mind, and do very simple shapes. You will notice all Hollywood dvd’s have to abide by these same limitations. Maybe try a simple box or underline instead of whatever you are trying to do. Good luck.
Jon Geddes
http://www.precomposed.com -
Here’s a PS plug-in I use on every title – good way to fake the anti aliasing. The same or similar tools are use in most studio titles.
https://home.comcast.net/~c.linke/dvdsub/
Works great in DVDSP and Scenarist. Maybe it will help.
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I’ve been back here twice looking for answers.. so for future visitors: the best tutorial I’ve found on the subject is: https://www.adobe.com/designcenter-archive/encore/articles/enc15subpic.html
One technique suggested is to make the buttons part of the background, and only use the subpicture elements for highlighting around that button.. the whole process is mind bending from a web design perspective!
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