How do I create my own backgrounds ?

[Merlin]

Not finding anything suitable in the wizard for menu backgrounds, can I create my own and what should the pixel width and height be ? No doubt they are rgb files. Can they be bmp or jpg ?
Tried browsing to the backgrounds via photoshop to suss sizes and file types but upon opening template>background there is nothing in there Pshop recognises, with all file types option selected. I see they are *.tda2bg so no wonder !
Will TMPGenc see bmp or jpg once placed in the template>background folder ?

Merlin

[LT. Columbo]

.bmp and .jpg are fine, i use them all the time

[Merlin]

Thats good news,
What should the pixel width and pixel height be of the images I create ?
I dont want to make something file size wise too hefty if TMPGenc shrinks the artwork down to fit the screen but doesnt resample it in doing so.

Merlin

[LT. Columbo]

images of 1024x768 or 800x600 will come out nice

[Merlin]

Thanks for info,
Would that be for PC screens ?
16:9 widescreen comes out at 1365.5 x 768 doing my maths, whilst my PC is 1024x768

Merlin

[LT. Columbo]

anything larger than 600X800 i found excellent, better on pc. 1024x768 you can't go wrong.

[Merlin]

Oooooh look what Ive found ...having chosen a background image from those offered with the prog, double click it when in Menu mode and there is the chance to browse, so browse for the actual movie file this is about, play the movie and select a scene to have as the background. I use the set as start frame and set as end frame and move the movie on by one frame for the latter, no doubt a moving background is possible. Saves on time and looks very clever and Pro.

The only thing is though, keep aspect ratio saves the image getting distorted to 16:9 if its intended for 4:3 viewing as mine is, but I wish the display slider allowed the image to fill the entire screen, it doesnt, moving it sees the image grow but with white margins...so useful a method if only fill screen was the default, who would not want to do so. Hope TMPGenc can improve on this, else the only option open in using movie as background pic source is to see the scene stretched east west.

For the moment then I must capture image with WinDVD, mod it in Photoshop and save as jpg and use that.

Merlin

[LT. Columbo]

i agree, i tailor my images before i load them into TMPGEnc most often

[Merlin]

Lt.Columbo, cheers...so they have a bit of an issue then...

Thought I would try for something clever and go for a moving background in the track menus. I have two tracks, each is a different documentary and I wish to use footage from documentary A in the background of doc A's track menu, likewise footage from doc B' in doc'Bs track menu. I selected the mpg file in menu item editor, and the start and end frames,...but got two problems.

1) I cant get it to move under simulation

2) the image is stretched east-west .

Whilst one can make a still image from the movie big enough to fill the background, how can a moving image be made to do so ? The original broadcast was 4:3 but playing this on a current widescreen TV with smart mode or similar selected it looks fine, so opted for 16:9 menu, but TMPGenc doesnt seem to allow the enlargement of a still to fill that size.

I want to use frames from the footage from now on, yet getting stretched images. Keep apsect ratio ticked sees the image from the program I am using shrink to the right proportions but with great white margins. I want to keep the proportions BUT enlarge it to fill the 16:9 screen, so chopping off some of the image at top and bottom.

What am I doing wrong ?

also what is reason for problem #1...some setting not ticked or ?
What should I check for ?

Merlin

[LT. Columbo]

you are using 2.0, yes? i'd say screw the simulation, author the sucker and play it back when done with media player classic and see how it turns out.

Whilst one can make a still image from the movie big enough to fill the background, how can a moving image be made to do so ?

you should have kept menu all as 4:3.

[Merlin]

Hi Lt.columbo.
Yes 2.0

i'd say screw the simulation, author the sucker and play it back when done with media player classic and see how it turns out.

With simulation though, I can see if the footage selected looks ok, I can't tell otherwise and dont wish to keep burning discs to fine tune my extract.

As I shall be viewing all my footage on the widescreen TV and so will others, to have menus with black margins is a shame, just requires TMPGenc to add an option to enlarge up a 4:3 footage image keeping proportions.

Unable to contact their tech support to ask more of this as the registration email never arrives !

Merlin

[LT. Columbo]

not sure if this even can be done, as far as tech support, you'd have a better chance of playing pick-up-sticks with yer butt cheeks then getting anything useful out of them.

[Merlin]

Managed to get tech support and few distractions in life but back at this now
Determined to see my 4:3 movie clip fill my 16:9 menu !
They say to make a 16:9 menu moving image background if footage is 4:3, take it into the encoding program and re-encode it to 16:9. Now I have chopped out of the footage the portion I shall take my moving background from, and opened it into a prog I have called AVS Video Converter 5.3, which gives output sizes in edit profile>frame sizes 720x480 or 720x576 or 352x288 or...and so on. Which one do I choose to make my 352x240 original (4:3) naturally take up the space of that 16:9 menu ? There is also custom where other numbers can be entered. I hope this prog and choosing that in that menu is sufficient to do what I need ? I gather PAL is 720x576 whether it be 4:3 or 16:9, the letterbox thing is instruction to pixels to go stretched !

Well I tried a few and I get the following results when file taken into background for menu :-
720 x 480 gives stretched east-west and narrow margin.
720 x 576 not stretched but wide margins
744 x 480 stretched east west
840 x 576 stretched

not making any progress here !

Need help folks !

Merlin

[LT. Columbo]

i don't know about AVS, but with TMPGEnc just use 720x480 (if you are NTSC), but select a custom ratio under "video arrange method".

[Merlin]

Hi Lt Columbo,
Many hours experimenting and pulling hair out. Now sussed it I hope. Purchased TMPGenc 4.0 Xtra which has crop ability. Take my 4:3 footage and crop off 66pixels top and 66pixels bottom, and trim black margin at RHS by 22pixels (dont know why thats there but now trimmed )

Without crop the 4:3 after being made 16:9 refused to take up proportional shape and fill out the menu space of a 16:9 TMPGenc DVD author 2.0 menu. After this cropping and encoding at 16:9 using Xpress, it fits

size is 682 x 444 px and saved as 16:9 aspect ratio.

I get the feeling from having done just two so far that one will need to vary the crop to suit each footage, certainly given the variations of captured analog.

The next pain with dvd author was getting a blunt end to what should be a fadeout sound, adjusted global setting, too long and get start of loop, too short and cuts end off, just too darn fine a situation to win through on, I had this on two different fade sound motion menus out of two. I ended up using the fade functions in Xpress to create a pre faded file to drop straight in !

Merlin