Looking for a little help here from folks familiar with Encore. Creating a custom menu in Photoshop using one of the stock Encore Menus as a template. Got nice looking icons in the Photoshop file, but they turn into blobs when they get into Encore. See below.
So here's how the menu appears in Photoshop. Notice the icon next to "Original Songs for Projects" is a nice bow and arrow icon and you can see the file naming structure to the right is correct from Encore.
So now look at the button as it appears in the Preview Mode in Encore next to "Original Songs for Artists." It's just a red blob. And yes, it also appears this way on a burned DVD.
So anyone have any thoughts on why my icon turns into a blob?
Yes, DVDSP is our first choice for DVD authoring but in this case, we're creating both DVD and BluRay versions of the shows. The idea was to use the same menu and project for both discs. Since there's no BluRay support from Apple, we've been using Encore successfully to create BluRay titles.
If and when Apple does support BluRay, we'll use DVDSP again, though I have to be honest and say building a custom menu is much much easier in Encore. But stability is definitely not there in Encore.
Never used Encore but I'd imagine DVDSP might be better at dealing with those pesky 8Bits. Although, looking at your overlay, it might be difficult.
For complex 8bits like this I will use this Photoshop plug-in:
http://home.comcast.net/~c.linke/dvdsub/
It may help. Another thing that will definitely work, is use DVDSP layered menus. I don't like them because they are slow to user responses, but your button will look mighty nice!
E
Tiger is more stable and we only have one machine left that will be running it so we will be de-activating it off our Octo Core. But even there with the older OS and older machine, you can pretty much guarantee a crash about every 30 - 45 minutes. So it's more stable, but not what I would call "stable" software.
Maybe you could break out a slightly older operating system you have stored somewhere, put it in a corner and load the Encore and go by every few hours and restart whatever DVD authoring project you have going when it crashes. That's pretty much how you have to do it unless you want someone sitting at a station all day long doing nothing but watching for Encore to crash and restart it. Maybe a slightly older system will be more stable. More bugs worked out.
we're just creating very simple shapes now for our menus, though Encore is so incredibly unstable on our new Octo Core 3.2 (crashing on average every 10 minutes) I will probably relegate Encore to BluRay only projects from here forward. I thought Apple Final Cut Pro was the buggiest public release software, but Encore wins that trophy hands down.
I'm sure Walter has tried this or moved on, but this is one of those times to practice the Ancient Chinese Interactive Media Proverb..."When odd shape will not work, create a square with odd shape and paintbucket the background of square with exact project background color".
I worked with Steve Holmes to design many of the templaets that shipped with Encore in CS2, but he did the buttons, I did the BG videos - so forgive me if I'm wrong.
However, if I recall, Encore doesn't like button overlays/highlights that are anti-aliased. So... Only sharp angled stuff. Squares and the like. Round stuff has to be anti-aliased for smooth edges, so no go.
This may have changed in CS3, but I haven't used it since CS2.
I've only worked in templates IN Encore. I'm no expert but is there any way you can make your changes in Encore with some elements imported from Photoshop instead of saving the template TO Photoshop?
Just taking a stab...
Oh, and I think Encore is one of the more buggy CS products...
Professional Video Editor, Producer, Director since 1990.
Credits include multiple Emmys, Tellys, Aurora and CableAce Awards.
Owner / Operator of Biscardi Creative Media, a full service video and film production company with about 65% of our work in HDTV. The show you know us best for is "Good Eats" on the Food Network. I developed the HD Post workflow and we also create all the animations for the series.
Favorite pastime is cooking with pizza on the grill one of my specialties. Each Christmas Eve we serve the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a traditional Italian seafood meal with approx. 30 items on the menu.
If I wasn't in video production I would either own a restaurant or a movie theater.
