best photo resolution to go for when preparing images for PS 3

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I've hitherto taken all my photos (including many copies of still images from
old - out of copyright! - magazines) at 1600x1200 using a Canon A20. It does
a good job as a copying tool and the images end up as DVD programmes, well
watchable on 23" home tv's. But now that 36" flat plasma screens seem to be
entry level, is there any point in upgrading to a 3, 4 or even 5 or 6 megapix
camera? I mean, for work with stills for Photo Stories to go onto dvd's? I
understand that the resolutions of even advanced plasma screens, when playing
PAL or NTSC dvd's are below 1600x1200 pixels and anyway the DVD format
imposes its own limitations? For the sake of better colour, maybe? But
sharpness...?
 
the point would be for the pictures you want to pan and zoom in Photo Story
3... to keep the pixels for the tightest zoomed area high enough.
 
Thanks, you make it very clear. Now knowing what to look for, maybe some
trial and error checks will tell me what resolutions, if anything, I need,
and avoid too much maths!
 
Jeremy said:
Thanks, you make it very clear. Now knowing what to look
for, maybe some trial and error checks will tell me what
resolutions, if anything, I need, and avoid too much
maths!
Click to expand...
===================================
Seems to me that high resolution images
and using the correct profile would be a
good place to start.

Have a look at the following:

Photo Story 3 - Saving and Distributing
http://www.papajohn.org/PS3-Saving.html

You might find some useful info at the
following site also:

Beginner's Guide to Photo Story
http://www.windowsphotostory.com/

--

John Inzer
MS Picture It! MVP

Digital Image
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

Making Good Newsgroup Posts
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Thanks, John. PapaJohn's reply made good sense to me, I thought I'd put a
short Photo Story on DVD in my usual way ( i.e. using the 1024x768 Computer
Profile and getting it transcoded and burned in Nero as a high-quality PAL)
but making sure I included some zooms which began with a very, very tight
still frame, and seeing what the acceptable limits (when viewed on a flat
plasma screen) really were, then take it from there. (Incidentally, I do not
pan or zoom for the hell of it, only when the story-line - or aesthetics,
dare I use with word? - require!)Now you have given me more food for thought if not for action. Having been
to the links you suggest, and spent time with PapaJohn's "Photo Story 3 -
Saving and Distributing", I have now downloaded a recommended DVD profile,
PAL 1280x960.prx, which is all of 7 KB. But - er-hm-m-m - What do I now do
with it?!
And (bit off-topic, this) is there a "constant" somewhere which gives one a
clue to the minimum camera resolution to start off with? And... last point: I
find the memory trap in building a complex story increasingly annoying. I
have now read two views about increasing my 1GB memory, one that it 's
pointless, because of a PS3 built-in limitation, the other that it could be
helpful! Maybe I'll just go ahead, install another GB and see... Regards,
 
Hi Jeremy,

About the downloaded profile... you put it in your Profiles\1033 subfolder
of Photo Story 3, with all the other profiles.... it checks there when it
opens, and includes any custom ones in the drop down list.
 
Jeremy said:
Thanks, John. PapaJohn's reply made good sense to me, I
thought I'd put a short Photo Story on DVD in my usual
way ( i.e. using the 1024x768 Computer Profile and
getting it transcoded and burned in Nero as a
high-quality PAL) but making sure I included some zooms
which began with a very, very tight still frame, and
seeing what the acceptable limits (when viewed on a flat
plasma screen) really were, then take it from there.
(Incidentally, I do not pan or zoom for the hell of it,
only when the story-line - or aesthetics, dare I use with
word? - require!)
Now you have given me more food for thought if not for
action. Having been to the links you suggest, and spent
time with PapaJohn's "Photo Story 3 - Saving and
Distributing", I have now downloaded a recommended DVD
profile, PAL 1280x960.prx, which is all of 7 KB. But -
er-hm-m-m - What do I now do with it?!
And (bit off-topic, this) is there a "constant"
somewhere which gives one a clue to the minimum camera
resolution to start off with? And... last point: I find
the memory trap in building a complex story increasingly
annoying. I have now read two views about increasing my
1GB memory, one that it 's pointless, because of a PS3
built-in limitation, the other that it could be helpful!
Maybe I'll just go ahead, install another GB and see...
Regards,
Click to expand...
==================================
Bear in mind, I'm no expert on Photo Story...
the links I provided are your best source of
info.

I would suggest that you use your full size high
resolution image files. As for RAM...1GB is
sufficient but 2GB would be even better...I think
of it as having a larger work bench.

Also...Running Disk Cleanup, Error Checking
and Defrag on a regular schedule is a good idea.

(310312) Description of the Disk Cleanup
Tool in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310312

(315265) How to Perform Disk Error Checking
in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315265
(check the two boxes..."Automatically fix file
system errors" and "Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors") the utility will run
the next time you restart your computer.
(run error checking repeatedly until it finds
no errors)

(314848) How to Defragment Your Disk
Drive Volumes in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314848

--

John Inzer
MS Picture It! MVP

Digital Image
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

Making Good Newsgroup Posts
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Jeremy said:
Thanks, John. PapaJohn's reply made good sense to me, I thought I'd put a
short Photo Story on DVD in my usual way ( i.e. using the 1024x768 Computer
Profile and getting it transcoded and burned in Nero as a high-quality PAL)
but making sure I included some zooms which began with a very, very tight
still frame, and seeing what the acceptable limits (when viewed on a flat
plasma screen) really were, then take it from there. (Incidentally, I do not
pan or zoom for the hell of it, only when the story-line - or aesthetics,
dare I use with word? - require!)
Click to expand...

To expand slightly on PapaJohn's reply, the horizontal resolution of
most large screen plasma displays is about 1366 pixels. For an
acceptable (you may want to check this for yourself) result, you should
have at least 700-1000 pixels across on your tightest zoom. (Of course,
if you're willing for your tightest zoom to be a little blurry, then
you can relax this.)

So, if you are using an original photo with 1600 pixels across, you
should avoid zooming in to an area much less than half the width.

If you just think about it in terms of horizontal resolution, the
math is pretty easy. ;-)

-michael

Music synthesis for 8-bit Apple II's!
Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it is seriously underused."
 
Hi Michael,
That was a useful comment, it sums up the situation very nicely. Before
going for a Canon A540 or better I'm going to carry out a few tests, using my
old A20 and viewing short DVD sequences on a friend's home cinema. I think
what's given me false confidence so far is that although I like to start most
movements with a still frame the frame's held for such a relatively short
time that one is out of the blurry danger zone almost before realising it!
But of course times will occur when I need to hold a still frame for several
seconds - and anyway I've had cases where it's convenient to use the
customizer to set up a small area of a photo as one's full-frame picture,
rather than spend time in a graphics programme selecting and enlarging it.
(I didn't realise plasma displays went up as high as 1366 pixels. Thanks for
that information).
 
Jeremy said:
Hi Michael,
That was a useful comment, it sums up the situation very nicely. Before
going for a Canon A540 or better I'm going to carry out a few tests, using my
old A20 and viewing short DVD sequences on a friend's home cinema. I think
what's given me false confidence so far is that although I like to start most
movements with a still frame the frame's held for such a relatively short
time that one is out of the blurry danger zone almost before realising it!
But of course times will occur when I need to hold a still frame for several
seconds - and anyway I've had cases where it's convenient to use the
customizer to set up a small area of a photo as one's full-frame picture,
rather than spend time in a graphics programme selecting and enlarging it.
(I didn't realise plasma displays went up as high as 1366 pixels. Thanks for
that information).
Click to expand...

I should also point out that if you are burning your show to DVD, the
horizontal resolution of a DVD is 720 pixels, so your resolution
requirements may be lowered proportionally.

-michael

Music synthesis for 8-bit Apple II's!
Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it is seriously underused."
 
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