Photo to Movie Slideshow compression problems

Hello!
I am trying to compress a slideshow that has come out of a program called Photo-To-Movie for DVD. But the quality is not good when i have motion in the frame inspite of all different bit-rate, vbr, field order, motion estimation setting variations.
Actually the motion is not so flickery on TV, but it should be viewable on a computer screen also. I notice that the flicker is worse when the motion is vertical.
Photo-to-Movie has Full Quality DV (NTSC) setting on, so the picture coming out of there is top-notch. Seen through a Quicktime player the slideshow is also alright.
Does anyone has any suggestion what to try more?
I use latest Compressor and DVD studio pro and Photo to movie.
Thanks in advance!
Timo

Try a flicker filter in FCP or a blur deinterlace in Compressor. A blur deinterlace filter followed by a mild edge sharpening may be all you'll need (try a setting of 5 to 10 for the edge sharpening filter).<small><hr width="75%"><small>If this suggestion helps in any way, a confirmation or acknowledgment would be appreciated, since that would also help others who may be having the same difficulty. Do for others as you would have them help you.<center>Thanks for sharing, Waymen.</center></small>

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I did a quick simple test to see how iMovie's Ken Burns and Photo to Movie manage high resolution, high frequency still images as their input:
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I inserted 1 pixel thin horizontal and vertical black stripes at every 100 pixel. That kind of thin (high frequency) lines tend to flicker on a TV unless they are blurred.
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The input TIF and 2 second output .dv files are below (to my surprise the 15 MB input zipped to only 1.8 MB with this material). I turned ON the high quality display for you in the .dv files, but verify that the setting sticks when viewing them with QuickTime Player Pro. You can advance one frame at a time via the left/right arrow keys.
http://www.saunalahti.fi/~shmhav/kenburnstest.zip

Discussing DVD playback on a TV, Matti said:
The output that used the original TIF as its input
was full of artifacts and lots of flicker with the
moderate zoom factors. Gaussian blur was also quite
bad while the 875x480 downsampled TIF was very
peaceful. Of course the 875x480 was somewhat fuzzy
with the extreme zoom factors.
Photo To Movie's Higher Quality setting was very
peaceful with practically no flicker on the TV.
I admit that this is an artificial and a very
difficult test image. But I have seen the same
artifacts with real JPGs as well if there are hard
lines in the image (buildings, wires, waves, fine
patterns etc).
I've seen similar results here too, burning perhaps a hundred DVDs in the last few weeks. The goal was to compare DVD slideshows created by iMovie, Photo to Movie and FotoMagico. Matti's conclusions look familiar.
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Downsizing is easily done with iPhoto's File > Export command. It takes just a few seconds to export new copies of photos at the new size.
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Note: Our tests may have little in common with the pictures you often shoot, the people pictures, the landscapes, the other "soft" images. They are WAY easier for iMovie to handle, and may not require downsizing. It depends on the photo's content.
Karl

I have set up our school ipads to be supervised by Apple Configurator and am using VPP to buy apps. I now find the supervised ipads do not allow the pupils to download photos or movies etc. Any suggestions would be great please.

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I assume you are wanting to take the photos and movies off the iPads?
Connect the iPad to a Apple computer. Open "Image Capture". Any photos or video can me imported to the desktop or other location on your computer.
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Photo To Movie - A solution to Jaggy edges to a moving still? (Ken Burns)

Hello Hello
I know folks have talked about this before ......
I recently received a tip about 'Photo to Movie', and how it improves those Jaggy images (the outer parameter of a photo), that can be seen in both Quicktime (on your computer screen), AND from a burned DVD on your TV.
Well I have to admit that 'Photo to Movie' definitely helps remove the Jaggies.
BUT
Is is just me - or is it true that there is less quality in those panned and zoomed images as compared to iMovie? It certainly looks so to me ...... perhaps less detail .... on the TV screen
Ya know when iMovie HD came out, I immediately saw an improvement in the resolution of burned movies onto a DVD on the TV.
I've read the other posts about the Jaggy problem in Pans and Zooms including these solutions:
Workaround #1 is to turn ON the Ken Burns Effect before importing an image.
(I always do that)
Workaround #2 is to convert still images to good quality video with Photo To Movie. Photo To Movie and Still Life have more features than iMovie's built-in Ken Burns effect. Photo To Movie's High Quality setting renders still images into very good quality video that doesn't flicker when viewed on a TV.
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But again is there a trade off in perhaps less detail in the images?
Thanx

When you look at movies, or frames of movies, in iMovie, you're looking at the entire frame. So if you import photos into iMovie, and don't use any panning or zooming, you'll see the entire photo ..but - as Karsten and Matthew say - at a reduced quality than the original photo(s), because movie resolution is lower than photo resolution.
To create a zoom out or pan effect across a picture, you obviously have to start with a smaller area of the picture than the area of the full photo. You then travel across the photo, still using a smaller area than the full photo, or you zoom out until you're looking at the entire photo.
If you start with a smaller section that the full photo, then if the photo has only a little higher resolution than video (..say it's a 3 megapixel photo..) then that smaller section has to be automatically enlarged to fill the entire video frame, so the apparent resolution of that smaller area of the entire picture will probably appear to be less sharp than the overall, entire photo.
It's like examining a newspaper photo with a magnifying glass: you'll start to see the detail of the dots which comprise the photo, instead of seeing the overall photo as a whole.
The higher the resolution of the original photo - e.g; 8 or 10 megapixels - the less will seem to be the quality loss as you pan or zoom across a small region of it.
But if you start with a 2, 3 or perhaps 5 megapixel photo, then - depending on how far you zoom "into" it - you may well see a poorer quality image in the panned or zoomed sections than you would see on the overall image.
..As in the film "Blow-Up" ..the more you magnify something, the less clear it can become ..unless maybe you're using an electron microscope..

Apple TV vs. PS3 for photos & home movies

I'm sure some of you have both of these units and have a comparison as to which unit displays photos & home movies better (sharpness, color, etc.) I recently bought the Apple TV and I'm not that impressed with the photo quality and 960x540 home movie recoding quality. The PS3 outputs at 1080p, and should be superior to the Apple TV in quality. I know you can use the Medialink software on the PS3 to interface with my Mac's iphoto & itunes.
Looking for some real world comparisons from owner's of both systems.
Thanks guys

I own both, use a Mac for my computer, and have owned my PS3 longer than the Apple TV.
Honestly, the PS3 sees more use than my ATV. However, for simple viewing of iTunes media on my HDTV, the ATV works well whereas I know I'd have issues with the PS3.
I use a transcoding media app on OSX that allows me to browse through my videos on my PS3 as if my iMac were a media server. The system works quite well, honestly. I'd say that it is EASIER in a way to view non-Apple-formated videos this way, but if it is a standard that iTunes or ATV can play in HD, then the ATV works better and outputs it at the HD res without transcoding loss like I'd see through the PS3-media server linkage.
For example: I have all of Farscape and Babylon 5 bought through the ITMS and thus watch it on my HDTV via the ATV. Also, my other videos that iTunes plays play though the ATV perfectly well without some of the network hitching I get when trying to view them transcoded via the PS3 media server (I'm convinced this is a case of my iMac needing more RAM to let my 2 cores do their work..... if only I had the new 27" iMac.... drool . . . . 4 cores available do to the encoding.....) for the HD versions (for example, the HD version of the popular "where the **** is matt" youtube video).
As an iTunes interface to an HDTV, the ATV does its job and does it well (with some caveats). Outside of that, the PS3 excels. Also, HD movies through the ITMS are nothing compared to their blueray counterparts. Then again, the PSN video store pales in comparison to the ITMS. Star Trek is available in HD through the PSN video store, but the audio is only in 2ch stereo. Sad. I have the movie on blu-ray (which has the audio in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD), so I'm not sure what the HD version is on the ITMS.
I see the 2 systems (ATV and PS3) as complementing each other. My PS3 is my blu-ray player, non-iTunes video player, and game system. My ATV is my iTunes interface for my Home Theater system. However, as I live in an apartment, I more generally just use my apple remote and control the audio on my iMac directly. Still, the ATV is quite useful for nights when I just want to rent a video (the PSN video store is lacking,and the new netflix service for the PS3 requires a Netflix authorization disc to use in the PS3.... most likely due to contractual agreement..... (thankyou M$ for binding Sony's hands like that, you know you're the ones who did that with your money paid to Netflix). The ITMS through the ATV is therefore easier for me to use and more expansive on video selection (though I still have yet to see Gods and Generals appear on the ITMS video store.... grrr), so for HD rental, the ATV is the choice I make.
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So, like I said, the 2 systems complement each other. Still, for the specific use you're talking about, I think the ATV does just fine. However, if you're looking for a comprehensive system, I might suggest the PS3 first, as you get the PSN, blu-ray player, and game system all in one. If you can, though, BOTH is even better (and affordable since the PS3 Slim now came out.... though I have been hearing gripes about some problems with people's PS3 Slims.... but that's in Sony's Disc. forums, and it is like the ones here: kind of an emergency room).

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Hey all,
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Hey all,
I'm a new Mac user and do like iPhoto 6 quite a bit
for making slideshows with all the slick transitions
and the Ken Burns effect. I ran across Photo to
Movie and am wondering if anyone has had recent
experience with this program? What's that general
consensus when compared to iPhoto 6? Is it
better/worse/indifferent? Any thoughts are much
appreciated!
Hi saavy seamonkey! I hope you love your MacBook! (I am confident you will.)
I have also been wondering about Photo to Movie, so tonight downloaded the demo (did you see the free trial button at:
http://lqgraphics.com/software/)?
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Best,
Patty

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Photo to Movie - a little jerky

Hi - im sorry if im in the wrong forum, but I think this is the closest match. And its regarding third party software but I know you guys a such a knowedgable bunch
Ive just bought Photo to Movie (great app) and exported a DV slideshow 16:9 at its default 29fps. However, after ive burnt to a DVD some of the transitions appear a little jerky on the longer pan/zoom shots.
I was wondering if this was to do with the frame rate maybe? Ive always been a little hazy on the subject of framerate - but should I be using 25fps and does it make a difference that Im exporting for a UK tv rather than the US pal?
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