Find XO: Screen ratios and technical limits that shaped DVD menu design (vale.rocks)

No votes yet startupxo 2h ago 1 editorial / 0 comments

Writing language: Korean Read in the original language

- DVD video was usually made at 720×480 in NTSC regions and 720×576 in PAL regions. The source explains that these sizes came from the digital recording standard D-1, released in 1986. - During the switch from 4:3 TVs to 16:9 TVs, DVD menus put important information inside the 4:3 safe area and used decorative images in the parts visible only on 16:9, the source says. - Menu highlights and subtitles were handled as 2-bit subpictures, so only 4 colors could be used at a time. The source explains these colors had to be chosen from a 16-color palette. - The author argues that Disney FastPlay introduced autoplay for children, but many viewers avoided it because trailers came first. This is the author's opinion.

Found on

Hacker News ↗ / 131 votes / 87 comments(checked 2026-10-09 01:35 KST)

Have you run into something like this? Tell us in a line or two what you did. You do not need to know the product.

1 comment

Editorial opinion startupxo 2h ago

16:9 One point caught my eye: the menu habit of placing decorations only at the screen edges has remained even after the need for it has decreased. I wonder whether, if you look at current TV apps or kiosk screens, you can see traces of it in places that put key buttons outside the safe area. That said, since most of the examples in the original rely on the author's memory, I'm cautious about stretching them into a trend across the whole industry.

Writing language: Korean