Slideshow photo quality?

Once creating a slideshow in Aperture 3, does it maintain the photo quality and not change?

Actually, Slideshow images do not appear to retain the detail +even of the Preview on which they're supposedly based+. I have been using Previews carefully scaled to the maximum resolution of my monitor but have been dissatisfied with the apparent sharpness.
Here is an enlarged screenshot of a landscape image's Quick Preview generated at 1920x1920 max resolution and displayed in Full Screen mode on my 1920x1200 monitor:
!http://homepage.mac.com/steve_hoge/.Pictures/QuickPreviewDetail.jpg!
However, here's a detail of the same image displayed full screen as a Slide Show:
!http://homepage.mac.com/steve_hoge/.Pictures/SlideShowDetail.jpg!
In these examples the difference in sharpness is most obvious in the contrasting areas around the circular mirror.
Edges are clearly softer in the slideshow, and while the difference may appear relatively subtle at this scale, when the entire image is viewed - especially on a large display screen - there is an overall perception of softness across the whole image.
I've worked around this by scaling up the Preview size to around 133% of my monitor resolution; beyond that there's little apparent increase in detail in the Preview when displayed at the monitor's lower resolution, and it successfully increases the sharpness of Slideshow images. I backed off one notch on the Preview quality and for most of my images the resulting Preview actually has a smaller file size than before.
Here's a screenshot of a newer, sharper Slideshow image generated from a 2560x2560 Preview but still displayed on my 1920x1200 monitor:
!http://homepage.mac.com/steve_hoge/.Pictures/ImprovedSlideShowDetail.jpg!
According to the Aperture documentation and [knowledge base article|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3781] covering this subject, a Slideshow image based on a Preview size larger than your display shouldn't appear any sharper - but it does.
-Steve

Similar Messages

IPhoto slideshow photo quality?

I am working on a slideshow and it appears that the photos are losing resolution in the slideshow...how can I keep the clarity and sharpness in the photos?

You'll need to give a fuller description. Is this in the slideshow as you prepare it? Or is it after export?

IPhoto library slideshow - to iDVD photo quality

Hi,
i'm new to Mac computers, just got my first one - and I've created a photo slide show with iPhoto and exported/burned it with iDVD with my own menu and everything and all went well, except the photo quality is AWFUL. The pictures are jagged and not as sharp as they appear in iPhoto. I checked and watched the mpeg file it created in order for it to go to iDVD, and that was great - is it the Mpeg2 encoding that is ruining the quality?
I tried creating it in iMovie and it's the same thing.

I am trying to create a project for a client. It is a slideshow with music. Seems simple??? NOPE!
I thought to use imovie and burn it to a CD, but am I crazy?
I have questions and need answers please!
-best program to make a slideshow in with about 150 CD's able to burn onto CDR with music
-have to be compatable with both mac and pc's
-and every time I am importing good quality pictures into imovie they look like crap. pixels gallore and cant seem to make it better.
freaking out a bit, have a deadline...
please help!!!!

Slideshow - low photo quality and resolution

In AP3 and slideshow mode I have tried to make some slideshows, but the images are of low quality and resolution. I guess this is due to my previews setting of 1680 x 1680 with a quality level of 6. By increasing the preview settings to 2560 x 2560 and quality 9, the images in the slideshow seems ok. But the increase in quality increases the size of the library file. One can choose to only apply the increased quality settings only to the images in the slideshow and then go back to the preference and change to the default setting of lower quality, but I find this rather cumbersome. Any solutions to a faster workflow?

As you have figured out, Aperture unfortunately re-uses the Preview image settings for its slideshow images. There's not much we can do about that short of waiting for an upgrade to give us the same quality settings for Slideshows as it does for any other type of export. That said, however...
If you're concerned about Preview storage requirements (totally legit concern, since it affects preview loading time) the "Preview photo quality" setting you choose in Preferences->Previews can have a huge effect on file size without much perceptible change in quality at the higher settings. For most images, for instance, I can't tell the difference between a "quality 7" Preview and a "quality 10" Preview. Yet the difference in file size can be a factor of 10! That's much bigger change in file size than going from 70% to 100% in pixel resolution alone.
So I'd suggest you err on the side of larger resolution but (slightly) lower quality previews to retain maximum detail. Do your images typically reveal the difference between quality "9" and "7"?
-Steve

Recommendations for best photo quality in a slideshow video?

I have a project that I'm working on where photo quality is a priority to the customer. I'd never paid attention previously that the final product was less than perfect with the images...
Can someone recomend what best procedure would be and what settings I should be using on the sequence to preserve the quality? (or point me to a link that could walk me through it) The photos are all 1024px wide at 300dpi, currently saved as .jpgs. I can resize and save them from Photoshop into another format if needed...
Thank you!

Saw that you were going to DV. Your images will be scaled, but not by that much. If you will be doing and Pans with an image Zoomed out to max, you'll have a bit of wiggle room. In general terms, 1000x750 is recommended, though I size all of my images as needed, usually 720x480. The resizing algorithms in PrPro are not as good as those in PS. Still, you're talking such a small amount of scaling and already have JPEG's to start, that I would leave them, as they are.
In the future, you might try to go to before the JPEG compression, where quality is the biggest concern, and resize to suit in PS. Save_As .PSD.
Here's an ARTICLE on resizing in PS, if it's of interest to you.
Good luck,
Hunt

Photo quality in Imovie

I have Imovie HD 6 and Final Cut Express. I am creating the typical slideshow with photos from a digital camera and adding transitions and music, blah, blah.
When I export in each application I get the same quicktime export screen. No matter what I do I get crappy photo quality in the imovie export and amazing photo quality in the FCE export. Are they not both using the same quicktime export? Why is there such a difference in quality?
I did notice that if I render the imovie video as "uncompressed" ir in HD I get ALMOST the same quality as the FCE render on a typical MP4 export.
Just wondering why this is since they seem to both just be using Quicktime to create the compression.

I don't own FPE (or have any "video" camera) but you're mixing apples and oranges when using image formats in "video" apps.
iMovie is a DV editing app and converts your single image into 30 similar files per second (.dv). The same is probably true with FCE but it may be set for "high quality" which may appear better. And the newer option to use MPEG-4 does make a bit of difference.
Neither is appropriate for using still image files because of this conversion.
First rule would be to use the appropriate dimensions for your destination. Standard definition video would be 640X480 and not your multi megabyte source files.
I would add (scaled) the 640X480 sized image to a few seconds of audio (you decide the duration), extract the new video track and then export that as DV Stream (.dv) using QuickTime Pro.
Same as if it came from a DV camera.

Photo Quality in iDVD

I work with still photos only. Want a slideshow that maintains photo image quality. iMovie coverts to video file & degrades the quality. Changed to FotoMagico. Maintains photo quality in slideshow & offers transitions, KB effect & title slides. It exports to iDVD or Roxio Toast to burn DVD. After the burn in iDVD, the images are distorted and the transition movements are very choppy. Is iDVD coverting this to video images, thereby degrading the photo quality? Is there a way to use iDVD and maintain quality? Would Toast be better? My goal is to produce a photographic quality "still photo" slideshow using transitions, KB, etc. I am selecting NTSC 4:3, best quality in both programs. Getting very frustrated trying to output the quality I can see on my display in a DVD...any suggestion?

Hi,
I feel like I am back at school...
1. I have the BETA version because when I tried to export or burn a DVD neither worked. They knew that was a problem & sent me the BETA fix. Now I can burn or export.
2. My problem is whatever I do with the burn results in loss of image quality. I have been corresponding with Werner at FotoMagico who has been very helpful. He says image quality from still photos which have been authored & burned can not maintain image quality the technology just doesn't exist unless I go to a pro DVD lab and have them work with compressions per frame. He specifically said it is due to limitations with the MPEG-2 stream, which is standard in DVD playback. The little I have read on this is over my head.
3. Right now I will forgo the idea of playback on a TV. Let's just deal with computer. When I burn to DVD as my option and it opens in iDVD it results in degraded images. I don't know what to select in iDVD and or FotoMagico to change this result or if it is even possible. I run a G5 with a 23" monitor, most current software on ALL prgrams. Picture files are digital froma Nikon D200 and a mix of negative and slides scanned in with a Nikon CoolScan 5000 and moved into iPhoto via the scanner or a transfer from Adobe. I am having the problem with all these types. What do you mean by resolution in iPhoto?
4. I transfer from FotoMagico to iDVD by selecting 'Burn DVD' and it opens to 'iDVD'. I have left all settings on FotoMagico and iDVD at default settings and Werner said that should be okay. FYI - I have tried changing slideshow setting from display reolution to 23" monitor to NTSC. Nothing seems to change image quality.
5. I would like at this point to be able to maintain image quality for transer in Quick time, upload to .MAC web account, etc. Help me there I am lost.
6. Someone on this discussion also suggested burning to iDVD using the data portion only of the DVD using disk utility. I need help there. Also will that reproduce sound or only the photos. I understand that TV's and DVD players will not accept this mode and that is okay until someone figures out a way to maintain image quality for TV w/o an expensive lab.
7. Werner said this is possible but they suggest copying the entire package (document as well as images and audio) and move it to iDVD or Toast. On the target devise install a FOtoMagico demo version & run it there. or if the target machine is not a Mac & FotoMagico can 't be nstalled there, you can export manually to a QuickTime movie by selecting 'export' frpm the File menu. Use 'HD preset or 'QuicltTime' & burn the resulting file to a DVD. My husband & I will work on this (with a tech if nec) and maybe you have some thoughts as well.
At the end of this I think I will know more about video and FPS and MPEg's than I ever intended. Oh well, a little knowledge never hurt anyone!
One last thing, what is a BETA for NTSC. I hate to bug Werner again without knowing what this is!

Photo Quality horrible in iWeb....any ideas?

Hey everyone. I just finished making my website. Its very early, and Im just working out the kinks until worrying about making it a bit more appealing. Anyways, one of the issues Im having is photo quality. I am taking my photos on an 8mp camera. When I import them into iWeb they look compressed and horrible when viewed (once enlarged through slideshow or just clicking). If you want to check out the website to see what I mean, the adress is:
http://web.mac.com/jon_leibowitz/iWeb/Site/Home.html
go to gallery and click on any of them. The main aim of my website is my photography, so its crucial for the photos to look top notch. btw, Im using high resolution pictures, imported them into iPhoto, and then used the multimedia button to import them into iWeb. Thanks!

Hello Jonathan!
Really nice photos! You, no doubt, have a much better eye than I do for details and such and it's no wonder that various compression artifacts would be more noticeable to you! Your photos look very acceptable to me.
The downside to the iPhoto-to-iWeb one-click automatic process is that you the photographer lose control over two things... the quality of resolution scaling and the quality of jpg (re)compression. Preprocessing of your images in something like Photoshop would definitely give you more control over these variables and would most likely allow you to see more acceptable images as posted online.
For your information, the max resolution for the Apple enhanced slideshows is 800x600. If you import a photo at any higher resolution, iWeb will take over again and resize and recompress your photo. So my recommendation to you would be to preprocess your images to make them look good at 800x600 and prevent iWeb from doing anything else to your images.
I hope this helps.

The SOLUTION to bad iDVD Photo Quality

I have been a fairly silent member of this forum for a long time now, and have seen many supposed "solutions" with the known issue of how iDVD compresses, and ultimately destroys, image quality in DVDs. Granted, much of this compression is normal, considering a full-quality photo from iPhoto looks quite different after being smashed into the standard NTSC 720x480 format of a DVD and compressed to a variation of MPEG-2. That being said, this workaround has been well-tested, and will give you a very high quality slideshow that you can play on your TV. (take note that low quality TV will come into play in making the final product look bad, not the slideshow itself!)
NOTE: I only tested this in iPhoto 6/iDVD 6 on a 10.4.8 PowerMac G5. I would love to get confirmation it works on Intel Macs and other machines.
1. Select an album or group of pictures in iPhoto
2. Go to File > Export and click the Quicktime tab
3. You will have several options...
- Width/Height: Defaults to 640x480 (4x6 image). This will result in about 100kb per image file, which gives you over 90 pictures for a 10 MB slideshow that you can e-mail to your friends.
- Display image for: Obviously controls how long each image is displayed in the slideshow.
- Background: Can be an image or a color. This is what you will see as a border if the slideshow image is smaller than the window.
- Music: This is actually kinda complicated. What is the "currently selected music?" When you select an album and press the "Play" button to do a quick slideshow, there is a tab for Music. Whatever is selected here will be added to the slideshow when you export it.
4. Click 'Export', choose the filename and location, and then save it.
The resulting Quicktime file will be quite small, while still retaining the quality of your images. It uses a default crossdissolve transition that can't be changed. It keeps this quality when you drag the Quicktime file into iDVD and burn a disk/save a disk image.
Downsides...
- no ken burns
- can't use different transitions
- no other advanced slideshow options
But it gets the job done! If you're wondering why this works while other methods don't, it's all in the .Mov container that's created. If you open the file in Quicktime and got to Window > Show Movie Info, you will see that it lists each JPEG within the package, along with a transition component. It doesn't compress the images into a video file, but rather references the original images within the .Mov package! Cool huh?
Let me know if this works for you guys. I've offered this advice to many people with good results, which is why I'm posting it here.
smi1ey =)

Smiley,
What you suggest isn't really a SOLUTION to bad iDVD photo quality, because you aren't creating a DVD that can be played back with a DVD player.
You are simply suggesting an alternate approach for distributing slideshows which requires the receiver have a computer. iPhoto/iMovie give you several options on prepairing slideshows/movie for various methods of distribution (CD, email, etc).
Some DVD players will also play jpg files from a CD or DVD and that avoids the mpg-2 compression quality loss, but a TV set image is still a TV set image.
which gives you over 90 pictures for a 10 MB slideshow
A lot of email programs aren't happy with a file that size, and of course, since you have created a QuickTime movie, your PC friends will also need to install QuickTime. The Flip4Mac Studio application will let you convert your QuickTime movie to a WMV movie for those with PCs.
I'm glad you found an approach that you are happy with.
If you open the file in Quicktime and got to Window > Show Movie Info, you will see that it lists each JPEG within the package, along with a transition component. It doesn't compress the images into a video file, but rather references the original images within the .Mov package
BTW, there are several different CODECs that can be used in the .MOV file container - Photo JPEG is just one.
QuickTime Pro offers more saving options than the standard version, so I recommend you invest in QuickTime Pro. You will be able to create your slideshow directly in QuickTime Pro.
F Shippey

Slideshow final quality

Can anyone tell me how to improve photos quality in the final disk image of an iDVD slideshow? I do not notice any difference from Best to Professional Quality.

There normally is a slight improvement but if you aren't seeing it then perhaps it's time to try an app that specializes in slideshows:
http://www.boinx.com/fotomagico/overview/
http://www.boinx.com/photopresenter/overview/
http://www.lqgraphics.com/software/phototomovie.php

Slideshow's quality

why my slideshow have a terrible image's quality? My photoes have big resolution
What can I do?
Scuse me for my terrible english...

Welcome to the forums.
If you do a search, you'll see there are a number of complaints about slideshow image quality -- some because the DVD format is natively lower resolution than your computer, some because the DVD standard is compressed video (mpeg-2 format). You'll see a variety of solutions, including downsizing your images for the slideshow, so you do the image size reduction rather than iDVD.
John

Poor CD photo quality

After creating a slideshow, adding audio, then burning slideshow to CD or DVD, the CD or DVD photo quality is terribly out of focus. Pictures are blurry, or generally distorted. The photoshop images are clean and focused. What is the problem here, and how might I fix it
Thanks
email at [email protected]
CTP

If you only have PSE and are making a VCD, you bet it's lousy. That's just the limitation of the format. Better to output your slideshow as a wmv file and then use whatever burning software you have (if you have a DVD burner, you have the software) to make it into a video dvd.

Slideshow export quality ( picture detail/file size)

Iphoto has two ways to export a QuickTime movie: Method A via select "Slideshow" and method B via select "Album". A test with two identical slideshows (bare-bones; 4 identical photos, 3 sec displays, no music, no transitions, etc) has following results — Method B picture detail is 9 times better and file size is smaller by a factor of 9 [1/9th] for an overall 81 times better result. An info window on the two QT movies shows they were made with different codecs.
Q1 - Is there a way to get iPhoto's Method A to use the same codec as used for method B?
Q2 - Is there a way to get Method B to use the entire slideshow content?
By the way, the photo quality of the pics in the Method A slideshow is fine, the degredation occurs in the process of conversion to the QT movie.
G4 PowerBook & MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8) Available on request

That's certainly part of the difference. Additional font information if one of the documents uses more fonts or additional glyphs could be some of it, too. Swatches and styles might also be a factor. Vectors don't compress like bitmaps, either.
Have you opened the optimizer and done a space usage audit to see what is taking up all the space? Did you do a Save AS before export?

Poor photo quality when importing slide show into Elements 10

Hello,
I'm using Elements and Photoshop Elements 10 on Vista.
What I'm trying to do is import a slide show I made in Photoshop in to a movie I'm making so that the slide show appears as a menu item and I don't have to include a separate disk for the pictures. I've sucessfully imported it, added the menu marker and the disc works, but the photo quality is really crappy. When I play the slide show on its own, the pictures are fine. What am I missing?
Thanks in advance!
Mary

Welcome to the forum.
They work on several levels:
A subscriber comes with a problem/question, and then, hopefully, someone will have an answer
A subscriber comes with a problem/question in mind, and then finds other threads, very similar, and hopefully gets the answer
A subscriber comes to read, to pick up ideas, etc.
In your case, it appears that # 2 worked, just as it should.
As for your question, PrE can produce SlideShows for display from DVD-Video, as good as it gets. Where commercial DVD-Videos enter a different realm, is with Video footage, with motion. There, Hollywood uses special Transcoding software, that allows for many, many more passes to identify the areas of motion, to Transcode at just the right Bit-Rate, for best results. PrE does that with but two passes, unlike the US $ 500,000 programs, staffed by highly-trained experts, who do nothing but Transcoding, all day long. PrE is limited in that respect, but with SlideShows, it will be able to apply the highest Bit-Rate (the DVD-specs. are strict here, so, though higher Bit-Rate = higher quality, DVD-Video can ONLY go so far.) Also, Hollywood uses DVD-9's (DL) so that more Duration can be authored to disc, at the highest-allowed Bit-Rate, for each segment of the Video. With a SlideShow, the Bit-Rate will be as high as the DVD-specs. allow, and per the Duration of the SlideShow vs the capacity of the disc.
Now, there are some other considerations, such as the limited Color Gamut (and Gamma) of DVD-Video vs display on a calibrated computer monitor, or a calibrated Broadcast monitor. One needs to study that limited and different Color Gamut, and perhaps adjust the colors first, in Photoshop. PrE is not designed for Broadcast output, so lacks many of the Tools, that PrPro has. Also, very few PrE users have a calibrated Broadcast monitor hooked up for Color Grading. Last, even if one has produced the ultimate output, with full understanding of the Color Gamut, and used a perfectly calibrated Broadcast monitor, there is no telling what the calibration of the client's monitor (computer, or TV) will be. What is perfect on a calibrated Broadcast monitor might look great on the client's setup, or perhaps not. A Broadcast Engineer can only adjust to standards, and hope for the best, when the disc hits the public. Same for Audio. Who knows what "Aunt Marge" has to play back the DVD-Video?
For ultimate results, I would create a Timeline with a few Still Images, but with each adjusted in slightly different ways in Photoshop. Add a Title, like a Lower-Third, with the Color and Gamma settings over each version, maybe 5 variations, that are slightly different. PS allows one to adjust Colors and Gamma in many ways, so explore. Then, author that Timeline to DVD-Video, using high-quality media, and test on their DVD player/TV setup. See which version looks best, and note the specifics from that Title. Use that to process the actual Still Images for the DVD SlideShow.
Also remember, if one has set things up ideally, they will have calibrated their system and Photoshop. As Photoshop is a Color Managed Workspace, things will be, as good as it gets. DVD-Video, and TV's are NOT Color Managed Workspaces, and most consumer TV's are out of general calibration, having just the generic setting from the factory. Nothing can be done about that.
As mentioned above, if the playback is for a computer (not a DVD player and TV), then better Color and Gamma might be achieved by doing an AV file, and then burning that to a DVD-Data disc, for delivery. However, one still has the variables of the client's computer, its monitor and even the software player used. All play a big role in how that AV file will play for them.
Good luck, and I wish there was an "iron-clad" answer, as to how to achieve the ultimate results, but there are so very many variables involved.
Hunt

Poor photo quality when importing to iMovie

I imported some photos to make a slide show with added soundtrack. When I select a photo and click the "Show photo settings" it looks crisp and clear, just as it was shot. As soon as I deselect the "Show photo settings" button it looks blurred, pixeled and fuzzy, just an ultra low quality photo. The end result of the video slide show it's just a low end work.
I just want to burn some DVD's to show my photographic work, but such a poor photo quality it's not going to help me achieve what I had intended.
Any clues anyone???

I'd like to follow up on your answer re: resolving poor photo quality. It seems the mere act of bringing photos into iMovie degrades the quality. You look at the photo in the preview window and it looks crisp. But then when you "ADD" it to the timeline, it becomes almost fuzzy. Isn't iMovie rendering the photos then and there as you bring them into the timeline? I cannot seem to make the photos look sharper and it doesn't seem to help doing the slideshow first in iPhoto, which I'd rather not do anyway.
Any suggestions?

Slideshow photo quality?

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