LaserSoft Imaging

In July 24 topic, "Best dpi for Photographs" the answer was
"set the resoloution to 300 DPI and then change the Output Value to whatever you want the picture to be viewed or printed later on."

What should the output value be for pictures to be used as a slideshow on a dvd to be played on a tv or projected onto a screen by a computer?

Could I have posted a reply to the July 24 topic instead of orginating a new topic? I am new to this forum.
Thank you for you help.
Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

as I told you in the post you just quoted just select 300 DPI and than give in the destination resoloution which is the one that supports your TV
please have a look at your TV specs there is the maximum resoloution stated. As your TV resoloution is in Pixels please set the measure to pixels as well.

best regards,

Thomas Lübker
- LSI Software Support Specialist -

Here's an 'expert' answer from a guy who does video ....

1. Scan at 300dpi or multiples thereof so that you aren't introducing any resolution mathematical fudging from the scanner or software. The goal is to obtain a scan that has more than enough data for the end usage.

2. Use a copy of Photoshop CS2 or later. Even if you only download a 30 day trial version. Photoshop has the ability to display and work with non-square pixels which is what we have in television / video imaging.

3. Once you have your scan, create a new image which is 720px wide and 576px high (for PAL, not NTSC) and set the pixel aspect ration to that for PAL video. Go ..... Image --> Pixel Aspect Ratio --> and make your selection.

4. Copy and paste your scan in to the new document. Photoshop will automagically convert/fudge the pixels to fit the new aspect ration that is required for video. In a normal square pixel display your new image would look horizontally squeezed, but on video it will look perfect ... which is what counts.

5. Don't sharpen the image. Just don't. Video is interlaced and on a real television screen (not a computer) it will only give you grief of the flickering variety. In fact, you may even have to give it a very slight blur if this problem already presents itself.

From this point you can save your file to the format of your choice and bring it in to the timeline of your video editing software.

I've donated a zipped template file for Photoshop to help (naked .psd files not liked by the forum). Enjoy.

Andrew

One could also use the video actions that ship with Photoshop CS2 or later, which would make it possible to prepare batches of images. There are actions for both NTSC and PAL. When I add images to a video I use full resolution images and allow Adobe Premiere Pro to automatically handle any changes. One reason I do this is that it makes getting high quality Ken Burns effects a snap.

When scanning an image I always scan for the largest intended usage without exceeding my scanners OPTICAL resolution to avoid any interpolation. Once I have this scan I am able to easily create lower resolution derivatives without severely impacting image quality.

Thanks to all for the information. It has been a big help.
Carolyn