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When was the last time you put on a slide show? I use the term loosely, since you no longer need a projector or anything resembling film to showcase your best photos in a big way. Today’s slide show uses a big-screen HDTV and typically includes meticulously synced background music, transitions, titles, and special effects.
Until recently, there were very few devices that could display a digital still image at the top 1080i (interlaced) or 720p (progressive) resolutions of better HDTV monitors. (Resolution of 1080i is roughly equivalent to the detail found in a 2MP photo; 720p, just below that.) And not all TVs labeled HDTV can display 1080i or 720p resolution. How do you make a slide show worthy of the big screen? It’s easy. Creative editing programs, such as Pinnacle’s new $100 Studio Plus Version 10, help you turn your photos into dazzling multimedia shows. You can review your show on a computer monitor and burn it to a CD-R or DVD for playback on an HDTV.
However, most DVD players (except the newest HD-DVD players) can only output still images in standard TV resolution. Accessory devices such as the Roku PhotoBridge HD1000 ($300 direct) can display still images in 1080i resolution from memory cards or networked computers, but without fancy effects or synchronized sound tracks. For these, you need a TV-friendly computer.
In the past two years, more and more affordable, high-powered PCs and Macs have been sold with built-in TV tuners, digital video recorders, and video output connectors. Nearly all the PCs run Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center operating software, which costs about $20 more than regular XP Home Edition.
With Media Center computers, you can easily organize and play MP3 music files, edit digital videos, record TV shows, manipulate high-res digital photos or film scans, and share them with friends via the web. Media Center computers can also talk to each other and compatible devices over wired or Wi-Fi networks, so you can use your laptop to play songs stored on a remote computer, or watch slide and recorded TV shows on multiple computers. And they support remote controls.
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