Using UVS8 as a photo player

dazzler · Post by **dazzler** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:19 pm

Hi,
I've been looking for ways to view didital photos on my TV via a SVCD because my DVD player plays only retail DVDs, VCDs, SVCDs and CDs.

It seems that perhaps my Video Studio 8 program could be used to create a digital photo slide show on an SVCD disk. Hopefully the remote would allow me to play a sequence of timed photos or select individual photos for timed display.

Has anyone tried this and found it to be workable?

Is there a better solution that will work within the limits of my player?

Regards,
Don

jchunter_2 · Post by **jchunter_2** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:17 pm

Don,
Don't waste your time on SVCDs because the resolution (480x480) is way to poor to show digital photos (e.g., a 3 MP camera shoots 2048x1536) with any clarity. Also, SVCDs don't work on many players. Burn directly to DVD and you can get 720x480 pixels. Moreover, you can integrate your videos with your slides if you burn DVDs.

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:59 pm

You can certainly use VideoStudio to make slide shows - just put your pictures in the top track of the timeline and set them to any length you want ( if you want them all the same length set your default "Image Duration" BEFORE inserting any images), you can then add transitions between them , a music track and maybe some narration and even a title.

BUT - I dont know of any easy way in VideoStudio to select individual photos for display - other than pressing the pause button on the image you wish to view as you get to it.

faskham · Post by **faskham** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:26 pm

I created a slide show using exactly the method you suggest. Very easy. The only problem is that, while landscape photo's are fine, photo's taken with the camera in portrait position are shown on playback (burnt to DVD) with a band of interference shown in the top fifth of the picture. This happens on every portrait photo.

Any ideas?

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:03 pm

Make sure you set the Resampling Quality to Best in the Preferences, and use the Keep Aspect Ratio option to keep the image from getting squished.

dazzler · Post by **dazzler** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:04 pm

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies and good ideas.

I guess one of the issues is the 4:3 aspect ratio that the picture must be forced to fit to be shown in its entirety on TV.

Perhaps this could be approached by creating a picture frame with the 4:3 aspect ratio and then insert the uncropped photo inside the frame, adjusting the photos size while maintaining its proportions to fit fully inside the frame.

The more I think of this the more I think this could be made to be an additional feature for UVS8, using it to present photos on a TV in VCD, SVCD or DVD format, allowing users to manipulate photos on the TV screen with the DVD remote.

Don

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 1:27 pm

Well yes it might be nice but there are already a large number of software packages around designed specifically to produce slide shows from still images and these will usually have more refined methods of showing still images.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:11 am

MovieFactory 3 does better slideshows than VS7 or VS8. You have to
tailor the settings and use Frame-Based(david reese) using VS7 or 8.
(Haven't used PictureShow). Using VS if one uses interlaced and then
frame-based the difference is obvious.

After installing MF3 one must download and install all the updates for the
slideshows to work properly. But, they are nice and making them is a
no brainer. Very easy and very fast.

A VCD created using MF3 actually looks very good. One would think that
it would look like a VCD video but not so. Of course the pictures have to
be good quality.

MD

faskham · Post by **faskham** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 3:34 pm

Make sure you set the Resampling Quality to Best in the Preferences, and use the Keep Aspect Ratio option to keep the image from getting squished.

In response to my earlier post, THoff posted the above.

I have tried this and it doesn't make any difference.

In addition to the above I have tried changing the format from JPEG to Bitmap. I have also tried applying the anti-flicker filter. Nothing seems to be making a difference - the top fifth of the portrait photos are shown with a flicker/band of interference.

It doesn't happen when I'm previewing. It only happens when viewing the finished DVD (and it isn't the DVD player - I've tried three DVD players and also viewed the DVD using my computer - all have interference).

Can anyone help?

thecoalman · Post by **thecoalman** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 3:50 pm

faskham wrote:

In addition to the above I have tried changing the format from JPEG to Bitmap. I have also tried applying the anti-flicker filter. Nothing seems to be making a difference - the top fifth of the portrait photos are shown with a flicker/band of interference.

Try softening or blurring the image in a photo editor.

Actually it might be your DVD/TV combo, some do a better job than others displaying static images.

Also most new DVD players will play JPG's right from a regualr data disc.

faskham · Post by **faskham** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:58 am

Actually it might be your DVD/TV combo, some do a better job than others displaying static images.

That's not the problem - I have the same problem on every DVD/TV that I have tried.

I fiddled around some more yesterday. I found that I don't get the problem if I set a static, full screen image as the background, and put all of my photo's in the Overlay. The problem is that the image quality is very poor and I have to re-size each Overlay photo to make better use of the screen.

I don't really see this as a solution but perhaps it will spark a thought in someone's mind as to why I get the intereference I have been talking about.

david reece · Post by **david reece** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 1:29 pm

i raised this with Ulead and got an unsatisfactory answer.

I discovered this as follows.

1) make sure your pics are converted to

Baseline 4:4:4
progressive 4:1:1

(could be the other way around)

2) set pics correct to your TV system (PAL you need it to be 768x576)

3) dont have pics above 1 mb

4) if you get pulsating pixels use a guassian blur on the picture

I found that these fixed half the problems.

As said by maddrummer pics tend to be better quality if you use the framebased filter instead of field. and yes they do play back on TV no problem!

The only thing that doesnt seem to work in VS8 which did in 7 is a montage. ie picture over a picture.

I have a rose picture in the timeline and then added a picture to overlay and reduced it within the pal safe area. plays perfect on VS8 in preview.

As soon as you create a movie the rose picture is perfect but the overlay picture ends with quality akin to MPG1, blurred of lines over it jagged edges etc......

I didnt have this problem with VS7.

Also one big final no no. make sure that you do not have nonsquare pixel rendering checked.