FAQs: GENERAL | HD MEDIA | BLU-RAY | DESIGN GUIDELINES
CINE-O-MATIC DVD MENU DESIGN GUIDELINES * download pdf
If you are providing your own menu designs, it's best to provide them as a layered Photoshop files. Include your source files and any fonts that were used in the design. Layered files allow the greatest flexibility and allow the author to make changes when necessary. We also recommend providing a flattened JPEG, or TIFF, of the final design as a reference.
Video has limitations not found in print or web design. If you plan on providing your own menu designs, we recommend the following guidelines:
PIXEL ASPECT RATIO
Standard Definition Video pixels are rectangular, not square like computer pixels. This is why computer generated images brought directly into video will appear distorted. To compensate for pixel proportion disparity, we recommend one of the following two options:
Option 1. Work with rectangular pixels from the start.
Photoshop is capable of working in rectangular pixels and can accommodate any square pixel images imported into the document. To utilize this feature in Photoshop, select the following preset: "NTSC DV 720 x 480 (with guides)", or create a new 720 x 480 pixel document and select: Image > Pixel Aspect Ratio > D1/DV NTSC (0.9).
Option 2. Resize the document when you export.
Start with an RGB 720 x 540 pixel document. Complete your design. Then go to Image > Image size, uncheck "constrain proportions", and change the pixel dimension height from 540 pixels to 480 pixels. The document will distort visually, but when brought into video, it will appear normal.
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COLOR GAMUT
NTSC video cannot reproduce the full spectrum of color available on a computer monitor or in print. If you include colors outside of the NTSC color gamut they will blow out, vibrate, or bleed when displayed on a television.
Computer RGB color values are measured on a scale of 0 to 255. The darkest color black would have the RGB values of R=0 G=0 B=0, the brightest white as R=255 G=255 B=255. "NTSC black" should be set to: R=08, G=08, B=08, and "NTSC white" should be limited to: R=235, G=235, B=235. Any value below 08 or above 235 will not be accurately reproduced in NTSC video.
NOTE: Very bright colors, even those within the gamut, tend to bleed. Avoid very bright reds and greens in particular.
INTERLACING
All Standard Definition NTSC video is interlaced. This means that a television does not show complete frames of video all at once. Instead televisions show two opposite interlaced fields consisting of every other line of pixels. As a result, any line, object edge, or pattern that is a single pixel thick will flicker 30 times a second. Using a 0.3 pixel Gaussian blur will often smooth the edge and reduce interlace flicker.
Avoid hairlines, high contrast edges, and thin diagonal lines.
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OVERSCAN
The majority of televisions do not show the entire video picture. They cut off the edges of the image. To ensure that all, important elements, such as a menu buttons and text, do not get cut off, it’s customary to observe the "title safe" guidelines.
The “title safe” area is approximately 72 pixels from the top and bottom, and 48 pixels from each side.
FONTS
Cine-O-Matic recommends using San Serif fonts of no less than 18 points. Smaller fonts often become illegible when displayed on a television and serif fonts tend to flicker and break-up due to interlacing. If you would like to use a font with serifs we recommend bolder fonts no smaller than 30 points.
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