When to edit photos, before or after reducing resolution

[robbie410]

OK so we are there. Downloaded VLC and dragged the video into the window and it started to play. Able to pause and take screen shot. Have video screen shop and the original photo resized to 640x480.
Yes there is a difference between these, on some photos worse than others. If you would like I will upload these for you to view and see if they are acceptable. If you would like me to do that please tell me and I will use "Upload Attachment" and upload two examples. One OK and one poor


many thanks Robbie

[Steve Grisetti]

Please do. Just upload a side-by-side JPG with your next post.

The screen caps need not be more than 400 pixels in height.

[robbie410]

Screen Shot 2013-02-08 at 15.35.33.png

Screen Shot 2013-02-08 at 15.35.33.png

Well, you have managed to guide me through quite an exercise for me, so I am quite proud. Would be pleased to hear your comments but as you can see from theses two uploads one is quite good and the other so so. You can tell the original photo, that being the slightly better one. Managed to get position of the original on different sides between the screen shots
Robbie
PS have written two good reviews of your books on Amazon yesterday

[Steve Grisetti]

Hey, thanks for the Amazon reviews on the books, Robbie! Those are always much appreciated!

Thanks for the side by side comparisons. In all, they results are pretty good, aren't they?

As I say, the biggest challenge is that your DVD is going to be interlaced. That means that each frame of video is created in two passes -- with the disc drawing 240 even-numbered lines of pixels in one pass and the 240 odd-numbered lines of pixels on the second. That's based on traditional television technology.

Your computer and many newer TVs use progressive scan -- in which all 480 lines of pixels are drawn in a single pass. So, when you view interlaced video on a computer, it often looks softer or you can see the horizontal interlacing lines through it. VLC Media Player does a pretty good job of interpolating that -- but it does it by adding blur.

That said, I think you're getting pretty good results! Naturally, if you were working with high-def video and BluRay discs, you'd get cleaner results and more details. But any reduction you're seeing in clarity isn't likely to be even noticed by your audience.

Hope that helps!

[robbie410]

Steve, thanks. I am going to create a few slide shows now and see how they look on the TV. My problem/ objective is to get a lot of photos, which I have taken as well as many which were originally slides, in some easy viewing format for our children and younger generations. I know that I could package the photos, in selected order, and then get them to use a photo viewer program, such as preview if they have a Mac. Then I could play around with Blu ray, which will not doubt take off for many in the future.
I notice, from reading your book, that when using Windows you can make slideshows using Organiser. Is that a route that I could follow to improve situation. This is not available using OS X.
In the meantime a great forum, and to help simple people like m in such a professional, understanding way, has been wonderful
Robbie

[Steve Grisetti]

Glad you're finding our site helpful, Robbie!

Yes, you are correct. The Mac version of the Organizer doesn't include a slideshow creator. It does, however, include the option to make a PDF slideshow (Under the Share tab). PDF slideshows aren't terribly exciting. They won't include any pans & zooms. But they look pretty good and they're cross-platform, so you can play them on any machine. You may want to experiment with this feature.

If you were on a PC, I'd very much recommend for slides, you check out a program called Pro Show Gold. They offer a free trial.
http://www.photodex.com/proshow/gold

From this program you can output to DVD, BluRay, Vimeo and YouTube and to a number of computer formats.

I know that doesn't do you much good. But there must be a Mac equivalent. (The iLife Suite would be a good consideration.)

[robbie410]

Hi, Robbie. Thanks for supporting our books!

There really is no reason to reduce the resolutions of your photos unless you're going to use them in a Premiere Elements project. Photoshop Elements is perfectly capable of working with even very high resolution photos with ease.

But if you do need to reduce the resolution of your photos for any reason, you definitely should do most of your color correction and clean-up on the higher resolution photo.

And, when if and when it does come time to reduce the resolution of your photos, be sure to use the Image Resize tool as we describe on page 87: Don't just change the resolution -- set the tool to Resample using the Bicubic Sharper. You'll get much sharper results!

Hey, and welcome to Muvipix! We're glad to have you aboard!

Hello again, going back over my history of communication because, after a recent trip to Canada I have a lot of photos, and I am trying to make a slide show. This time I want to use Pan and Zoom
I have reduced size down to 1000x750. Drop down box showed just Bicubic. So far OK. Then have copied over photos to Photoshop Elements and tried automatic Pan and zoom, from tools, and adjusted scene 2 of pan. When setting the pan and zoom of a the picture I do get a haze over. This seems to correct when playing project in Pre 12. Is this normal? Is it only there in editing mode? Using Publish and Share I created a quicktime file on my Imac. It plays Ok, pan and zoom Ok, but sharpness not great. (original problem from earlier communication.
I retried from the beginning but resized photos using setting from drop down box Bicubic Sharper - best for reducing size> Re created a quicktime file on my Imac and compared slide photo from Bicubic, with slide photo from Bicubic Sharper. There did seem to be an improvement of sharpness, more so on the final part of the panning in aspect, closer in, of the photo.
Am I still looking for too much? Do you consider that I am doing things right within Premier Elements? If I burn to DVD and play on TV would the result look better?
I am not wanting to give up, and the result in fact is to a certain extent acceptable but just want perfection without buying another program as you suggested in communications last time.
What do you think
Robbie

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm not sure what the "haze over" is you're seeing in the slideshow creator -- but, if you're not seeing it in Premiere Elements, then it's probably not a real issue and it won't affect your final output.

As for the Quicktime file you output -- well, it depends on the specs of your Quicktime file. If you just used the generic DV preset for your Quicktime file when you output your slideshow, you created an interlaced video, which is not the best format for viewing on a computer. A DV-MOV will have sharpness issues on a computer.

I'd recommend you Publish & Share/Computer/AVCHD with the YouTube SD preset if you're going to view your slideshow on your computer.

Did we ever determine if your goal is to create a slideshow that you're going to show on a DVD or BluRay and play on a TV, if you plan to share it online or if you plan to just play it on your computer? That will ultimately determine what your best output options are.

[robbie410]

Right, right and right again. Just for information the "haze" I wrote about is a type of shimmer, moving irregular pixels, as you ad pan and zoom. It does correct itself when playing in Pre 12.
I am sure you are right about QuickTime. Not really sure why I chose that setting other than I did not want to burn DVD at this early stage, when all I wanted to do was see how the quality might be and how the Pan and Zoom worker. Will try MOV output setting.
My goal is to burn slide show, which will include mostly photos, pan and zoom, also small video clips and audio. Transitions and titles. It will be DVD, not Bluray, but I will need a few DVD copies for family. Mostly to show, via DVD player, or otherwise computer if no DVD player available.
I will firstly re do small test, already created, using DV MOV, or not sure about AVCHD, which I guess is HD, high definition, which might not play on ordinary DVD player.
I have to get this right because although I am still changing analogue video to digital, then DVD, photos, to use in slideshows, are also important.
Any further guidance would be appreciated, if there is any, otherwise I will let you know what I find.
Thanks
Robbie

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[robbie410]

Steve, have tried again to save project from Pre 12, to be viewed initially on Imac, before finally burning to DVD when all is completed.
Have looked again at my first try using Quicktime. The settings were DV PAL. (This I think is the use for email and playback on iMac) As mentioned I was not to pleased. Moving onto ADCHD. I used the settings YouTube SD - also not great. Trying one or two other settings under ADCHD, I used MP4 - H264 1440x1080 25. This produced very good result when playing on Imac. As saving, and playing, on Imac whilst working, was for continuing to improve final version before burning. So I will now do a trial burn to DVD and hope that the quality produced by this last ADCHD setting, will be as good on DVD.
Further update to follow
Robbie

[robbie410]

Having seen on Imac, the good result using MP4 trial version, I burnt the original project onto DVD RW. Have so far tried to play back the burnt DVD on Imac, DVD PLayer. Disastrous result. Shimmering affect, glittering, jumpy etc. Will now try playing Trial DVD on DVD player but am worried. More tomorrow
Robbie

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

...Shimmering affect, glittering...

I noticed effects like this when producing a DVD based slide show using lots of head and shoulders/face close up shots. The eyes of the subjects would look very wierd - almost as though in a horror film - where they glimmered eerily. I now always make sure that the output file from the video editor/input file to the DVD creation process is progressive. Problem solved.

[robbie410]

Thanks, could you expand a little on what you mean by "progressive"

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[robbie410]

Having slept on my problem I am going to start totally again. First option then is not to use Pan and Zoom and see what happens leaving that out

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Thanks, could you expand a little on what you mean by "progressive"

With acknowledgements to http://www.serif.com

"When watching a video on screen the picture will be transmitted in one of two ways. The first method, used by computers and some media players, is to output full-frame images, displaying whole frames as single images, one after the other. This is called progressive (p) video. The second method is to use interlaced images (i), that are made by blending elements from two adjacent frames one after the other, splicing odd and even lines together to form each frame."