Adobe Encore DVD: In the Studio

Encore and Other Applications

As you have seen, Encore is tightly integrated with Photoshop, both as the native file format for editing menus and for sharing menu designs and elements directly between both applications. Encore basically implements the core of the Photoshop graphics engine, so you can directly import and edit complex Photoshop files within Encore, including layer sets, character properties, layer visibility, and even layer effects.

You can use Photoshop not only to create project-wide templates for menu and button design, but also to develop collections of design elements to share through the Library palette and effects to share through the Styles palette. And with the ability to hide and reveal layers, adjustment layers, and effects, you can use a single template to create a variety of visual effects.

Graphic designers can work in the familiar Photoshop environment, DVD designers focused on DVD layout and design can work totally within Encore (as shown in the previous chapter), and each can exchange files directly, without needing to flatten layers, convert formats, or otherwise lose information. Photoshop CS and Encore DVD also resolve the historically unpleasant issues of dealing with different aspect ratios between computer and television displays. Now you can work directly at the target DVD resolution, and the applications will not only maintain the proper aspect ratio, but also stretch the display as needed, so you can work with your menus exactly as they will ...