MF6+ TBYB 16:9 slideshow p&z anomaly

richardnau · Post by **richardnau** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:19 am

Hi,

In my ongoing quest to find the 'ideal' app for making slide shows on DVDs, I'm now trying DMF6+.

A big step up from DMF5 is the ability to set custom pan and zoom for each slide. The two-click mechanism to reach the custom p&z dialog is a little clunky, but I could live with it.

Now, I'm planning to make 16:9 slide shows. Yes, I know that digital pictures are not 16:9 - but I want the opportunity to use the full screen area when it suits.

It seems to me that, when MF6+ is set to produce a 16:9 project, the custom p&z dialog still shows a pair of 4:3 previews of the pan and zoom start and end points. Based on my trials, this results in a slide show where the pictures move partially off the (16:9) screen even though they were fully 'on screen' in the custom p&z dialog box previews.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there some setting I haven't found that will change the preview windows in the p&z dialog box to be correct 16:9 format?

Thanks.

PS: I reckon the best (easiest to use) implementation of custom p&z controls in a slide show program is in PhotoShop Elements. But that app is blighted by complete inability to set the slide show aspect ratio. ProShow Gold, otoh, has heaps of flexibility in this regard, but the dialog box is very complex (some would say flexible) and small.

etech6355 · Post by **etech6355** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:13 am

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, it's somewhat hard to discuss that interface.
MF keeps the proportions correct (which I like).
When you click on the Custom Icon to change the pan & zoom settings maybe you need to set the anchor box to the center.

If I need to resize a 4:3 picture I pick the 1st zoom -> custom -> click on the custom icon.
In this pan & zoom I set the anchor to the center then
The 1st key frame = 133%
2nd key frame = 133%
I also put a check in the No Panning box.
This crops the 4:3 picture in the 16:9 frame nicely without squishing the heads etc.

I think you need to set the anchor (left side of the customize screen) to the Center Point.
To save you some time the zoom ratio to crop a 4:3 picture into a 16:9 and keep the proportions correct is 133%. You will lose some outside picture information but this can't be helped.

richardnau · Post by **richardnau** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:11 pm

Let me add some photos to explain what I mean...

First, I start a project with the settings at 16:9:

When I view photos in the slideshow window, I see them in a 16:9 box (which is good):

When I view photos in the Decorate window, they are shown in a 16:9 box (which is good):

But when I view/edit photos in the cutom pan and zoom window, I see only 4:3 boxes and the pan/zoom guide frame is also 16:9. I think this may be a problem - unless I have missed a setting somewhere.

Thoughts?

etech6355 · Post by **etech6355** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:30 pm

But when I view/edit photos in the cutom pan and zoom window, I see only 4:3 boxes and the pan/zoom guide frame is also 16:9. I think this may be a problem - unless I have missed a setting somewhere.

I guess the preview screen in this module could be 16:9. Not really a problem for my editing needs. When you return back to the slideshow creation screen there is a play icon right above the pictures timeline. You can preview the true 16:9 framesize there.
Really depends how picky you want to be. I use this zoom feature anchored to the middle of the screen without any movement. This will zoom the 4:3 to fit nicely into a 16:9 display and keep the correct proportions.
133% is the normal percentage for zooming a 4:3 picture to 16:9 and fill the 16:9 screen correctly, maintaining the correct aspect ratios.