Early DVD releases often touted interactive menus as a selling point. Coming from VHS and Laser Disc, which had no menus to speak of, this was a genuine improvement. Not all DVDs had interactive menus, however. Many of the earliest releases, and some cheaper ones, simply entered straight into their content. Once the format became widespread, publishers began to embrace its capabilities. The format was first released in late 1996, but it wasn't until the 2000s that menus really took off. With the medium's strengths and foibles known, players widely adopted, and technology ready, DVDs hit their stride, producing some brilliant and memorable menus.
The technical foundations of DVD video explain many design constraints. In NTSC regions, video almost always has a resolution of 720 × 480 pixels, while in PAL regions it is almost always 720 × 576 pixels. These resolutions trace back to the D-1 digital recording standard from 1986, which derived its resolution from the Rec. 601 standard of 1982. The DVD carries metadata telling the playback device how to stretch the video to the correct display aspect ratio.
The move from 4:3 to 16:9 displays shaped menu design. Critical information was kept within the 4:3 safe area, while decorative imagery extended into the 16:9-only area. Even long after most viewers had moved to widescreen, menus continued to keep everything within this small safe area, making it a design consideration that has lasted even when no longer strictly necessary.
DVD menus typically offer a play button, a chapter or episode select, special features, and settings for subtitles, language, audio, and picture. Simple menus use a static background, while elaborate ones feature custom animations and layers of hidden content. Technically, menus rely on 2-bit subpictures that support four colours at a time, drawn from a 16-colour palette. Subtitles are also handled as graphics rather than text.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing