Poor Image Quality in Slideshow

[Vonner]

I'm creating a slideshow of only images in VS9 and the image quality is very poor. Most of the pictures seem to have jagged /pixilized edges around words and people. The picture sizes vary, but all of them are large (at least 1600x1200).

Anyone know how to make them appear as clear as they appear when viewing them normally?

Thanks.

[Ken Berry]

I never use Video Studio for doing slideshows because I had far too much trouble doing so in versions 7 and 8. VS 9 is supposed to be very much better at this, but I continue to use Movie Factory 3 and now 4 for it as it has been totally problem free since I started doing so.

All that being said, I would hazard the guess that you are having a Field Order problem. Try selecting 'Frame Based' in your project properties, rather than Lower Field First, as it possibly is currently.

[Vonner]

Thanks for the reply, Ken.

I am trying to build a seperate video file now in VS9 with the "Frame Based" field order. I'll see how that looks. I also have MF3, so I can fall back on that if needed, but I like the customability that is available in VS9.

[Ken Berry]

I am not quite sure what you mean by the 'extra customability' available in VS 9 for slideshows. If I recall correctly, you can also do pan and zoom with MF3 (and certainly you can with MF 4). One of the other things I love about MF3 and 4 and slideshows is that you can time a slideshow to the exact length of any background music you might include. I still don't think that is possible with VS 9 (though correct me if I am wrong), and it certainly wasn't with VS 8.

You may initially think that this would limit you in the length of your slideshow e.g. if you have a 3 minute piece of music, then you could only have a 3 minute slideshow or else have the slides change far too quickly. But in reality, as I have just done a week or so ago, with a 19 minute slidshow, I used five different songs, but joined them all into one audio file using the audio editor which comes as part of the Nero suite. It was dead easy, and you could certainly do the same with any other audio editor. And it is just that much more professional having the music end at exactly the same time as the slideshow, rather than is often the case, having the same piece of music playing over and over in the background and then break off 20 or 30 per cent of the way through the final run-through because the slideshow finished.

[TomRogers]

I am also having image problems with some photos but not others in the slide show. All images are JPEG but it seems that those at 200-300kb are OK and those from my digital camera at 1.4mb have jagged edges. My project properties were already set at 'Frame Based'. If anyone can explain what is going on I woudl be grateful.

Tom Rogers

[Click]

I use VideoStudio 8 to edit my home video captured by using SONY Network Handycam DCR-IP7E (in MicroMV format), therefore the format is always pre-determined to be:

720 x 576 pixel, MPEG 2, CBR 12000 kbps, 25 fps, MicroMV
MPEG Audio-Level 2, 48000Hz, 256 kbps, Stereo

I also insert photos taken by using SONY DSC-F828 (8 Mega-Pixels) or SONY DSC-P10 (5 Mega-Pixels) digital camers. Usually I take photos using the max resolution that the camera can reder (i.e. 8 mega-pixels or 5 mega-pixels).

I have problems on the images created when buring the project to DVD. The project properties are:

PAL (25 fps)
MPEG files
24 Bits, 720 x 576, 25 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-PAL), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48 KHz, Stereo

Some of the still images recorded on DVD have parallel jagged lines on the 1/4 top of the images, the affected area of each problem image is the same (i.e. 1/4 of the image on the top). If I burn the DVD again starting from scratch, the result is the same.

Anyone can help please? Or Ulead can help?

[heinz-oz]

I would reduce the images to as close as possible to the frame size of your video standard in a good image editing program. It certainly does a much better job of the reduction because it uses a better algorithmn than a video editor. You can also resharpen the image there after the reduction. Unless you use the "Closest Neighbor" algoritmn when reducing a jepeg image, there will always have to be a sharpening effect applied. Just the nature of the beast. The program can only reduce your image to the required frame size by combining adjacent pixels into one. Video editors are not the best instruments to do that.

[Click]

Thx heinz-oz

I did what you suggested by reducing one of the photos from 1944 x 2592 to 720 x 960 pixels. Both the original photo and the reduced one were inserted to the project. I created the video file first as suggested by jchunter_2. The result is ok, the original photo still has garbled parallel lines on the top while the reduced size photo appears ok.

I used MS Office Picture Manager to reduce the photo. However I found it inconvenient if I want to convert all the photos from my album for the this purpose.

Anone has other suggestions, please. Thx again heinz-oz.


thx
Click

[heinz-oz]

I don't know your system spec's but would suggest Ulead PhotoImpact for this task. It gives you by far the most bang for your buck.

I would download the trial version to give it a try. For the latest version, you will need Win 2000 or XP though.