slideshow software

[Jim556]

Does anyone know a working s/w package which handles HD / high quality digital photos when creating a slideshow with transitions, etc. I have tried a few but they can't maintain the pristine resolution of the original photo.

 

[Big Mike]

Is it the software that can't handle the large files...or is it your hardware? (or maybe both)

My slideshow software of choice is ProShow Gold, but I'll use Lightroom for just a simple slideshow.

 

[The_Traveler]

Your resolution is limited by projector resolution so no matter how 'pristine' your images may be, they end up being pushed through the projector.

 

[Jim556]

Well I don't know about my hardware. When I download my pics from my NIKON D7000 their resolution using is fine. But when I import them into any movie type software to drag th down onto a timeline to make a slideshow they lose resolution quite markedly.

 

[Jim556]

Well re projector. I am talking about making up a slideshow on my pc and viewing it there.

 

[The_Traveler]

yes, and that is because any software re-sizes pictures so they can be managed and displayed.
If, for example, your monitor is 1024 x 768, the picture which is 4,928 x 3,264 must be re-sized to be displayed on the monitor.
The proper way to do this for best results is to re-size and resharpen the images yourself and not leave it for the slide show software to do it arbitrarily.

If you don't understand what I am saying, you need to do some reading about the basic issues of digital photography and re-sizing images.

 

[Jim556]

Thanks for your comments. Yeah I am not sure I understand what you are saying. All I want to do is download (or import) my pics into a package where I can make up a slideshow with transitions etc. I am unsure how to resize them and what to reside them to.

 

[The_Traveler]

You have two options: 1) allow software to do it and get a not optimum result or 2) learn enough to re-size them yourself.

 

[Jim556]

So I have to resize all my pics before importing them into the slideshow or movie making package?

 

[The_Traveler]

Since you are unfamiliar with digital photography, you are probably using a non-calibrated monitor and your pictures are probably unedited.
My guess is that any good software, like ProPhoto Gold, would provide a result that would be good enough.

 

[Jim556]

Thanks again for your help. You are right I am unsure how to get to an end point on this slideshow photo quality/resoltion. I downsized one of my pics from 4928 x 3264 to 50% of this. When I then opened this pic in my software (which is Power Director) the resolution was worse - I guess by the 50%. So that doesnt work for me. Basically when I download the pics from my camera they are totally high res and pristine on my monitor - no problems at all. Its when I load them into any movie making or slideshow software (and i have tried quite a few) this resolution is comprimised severely. Thanks again

 

[The_Traveler]

Jim,

You aren't doing anything by downsizing to 50% because the resulting image is still much too large for the screen and so your software is re-sizing it to the screen size.

There is no trick that will allow you to get what you expect, just learning how to do it right.

The honest answer is that you are getting bad results because you don't know what you are doing.
You don't know enough for any of us to walk you through it.

Either start reading about re-sizing images and get someone to help you with it.

 

[Jim556]

Look thanks for answering my queries. I appreciate you taking the time to read my topics and help me. In the end you haven't actually told me anything - I have read 2 very long and detailed articles about resizing photos but neither of them mentioned my issue - when you say I dont know what I am doing - I will explain it to you again.
1. i download photos from my Nikon to my PC using ViewNX 2 - the software that came with the camera.
2. Those photos look fantastic on my screen - high resolution - no problem
3. I want to make a "movie" or "slideshow" that I can have as a file and then run this through my projector (1080HD) from a pc which is dedicated to that projector.
4. No matter what slideshow or movie package I use, when I import my photos to that package and process them down onto a time line and add transitions, etc I lose the high resolution on my photos and they become chunky.
5 If you cannot give me (as you say - a rank amatuer who knows nothing) an answer as to why that is happening and how I can solve that issue, then I guess we are finished our discussion and hopefully someone else might be able to help me on this forum.

Your reply initially was
If, for example, your monitor is 1024 x 768, the picture which is 4,928 x 3,264 must be re-sized to be displayed on the monitor.
The proper way to do this for best results is to re-size and resharpen the images yourself and not leave it for the slide show software to do it arbitrarily"

My monitor resolution is 1900 x 1200 and all my pics display pristine on my monitor - no problem whatsoever here.
I do not need to re-sharpen my images - they are fine before I use them in the slideshow software. Re - size - WHY?

 

[The_Traveler]

Jim,

I've told you what I think is happening and how you could avoid it. The slideshow resizing app is not doing a good job.

For you to understand the issue, I would have to write - and you would have to understand - a long explanation of pixels, aspect ratios, digital images, monitors and what might be happening.

That already exists in books and other places on the web and it is your responsibility to educate yourself.

 

[MarkF48]

I'm a ProShow Gold user. I generally resize images to be imported to ProShow, but more so to decrease the file size, rather than image size. Image quality/resolution in a show has been more than adequate for my purposes, but may depend on settings that were used when it rendered and converted to a specific output file type.

I found the following link in a search and it comes from a ProShow forum site which discusses image and file sizing ...
ProShow Enthusiasts