# Best image size/resolution for displaying photos



## spudnic (Jul 25, 2004)

What is the best image size/resolution for displaying photos on a 16:9 TV?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

640x480 is the best resolution for TiVo display. So if you're creating a collection soely for the purpose of playing on the TiVo then that's the best choice.

Dan


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## spudnic (Jul 25, 2004)

Is the same true in Galleon?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Yes. TV resolution is only 640x480, so that's the maximum any TiVo can display.

Dan


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## thechiz (Oct 3, 2005)

This is a TiVo forum so we assumed you are using a current TiVo model to
get the pictures to the TV screen.

If your 16x9 TV is a HDTV or HDTV monitor there are other methods to
get your HDTV to display sharper images.

Some newer TV's come with digital camera media card slots.

I have a 2-year old 61" Samsung DLP HDTV monitor which I use to display
TiVo SD recordings and to do quick displays of photos from my PC to TiVo/TV
using either TiVo desktop or Galleon.

Of course 640x480 resolution looks nowhere as good as the quality
of the digital camera images you can see on your higher resolution PC screen.

If my PC had a HDMI or DVI output I would feed the PC signal to the HDTV
since my TV has those inputs. My brother-in-law feeds his PC pictures to 
his Samsung DLP HDTV via DVI and it looks really sharp !

To make a bigger impression on friends and family I will often burn a
DVD Slideshow using Nero and then use my DVD to show the pictures.
Then if they like it they get a copy too !

Just like Galleon you can include simultaneous music with the pictures.
I crop my photos to a special widescreen 16x9 ratio to maximize the
screen space available. No black sidebars for me !

Even though the DVD output comes out at 480i to the HDTV, progressive
processing seems to make the pictures sharper and more colorful.

I take my original photos with a 3:2(1.5:1) ratio, not 4:3 (1.33:1) ratio,
then they are easier to crop to 16:9 (1.78:1).

Cropping quite often improves the picture since I still do not always
follow the golden rule "FILL THE FRAME".


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

This brings up the question... Will the Series 3 unit, with it's HDTV output ability, be capable of displaying higher resolution images? At the very least I'd think it would be able to display images at 1280x720, which is 720p.

Dan


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## Testpattern (Dec 5, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> This brings up the question... Will the Series 3 unit, with it's HDTV output ability, be capable of displaying higher resolution images? At the very least I'd think it would be able to display images at 1280x720, which is 720p.
> 
> Dan


I've tried for months to find a way to get TiVo Desktop to play pictures in actual HDTV 1080 quality. I've concluded it ain't gonna happen.

I've cropped jpegs to 1920 x 1080 which should support a true HD experience when viewing the picture. It'll fill a 16 x 9 HDTV screen but the quality is no where near HD. I even purchased a camera which shoots HD formatted pictures... no better via my S3 and Desktop. I've hard wired our network to TiVo, up dated Desktop, and have spent days on this forum trying tweaks and suggestions without success.

I didn't know how bad it was until I just installed our new Blu-Ray player (Panasonic DMP BD30K) which will play SD camera cards or JPEGs from a CD.
The pictures played through this player are absolutely in creditable. The best I've ever seen a picture presented by anyone, anywhere, via anything. It even plays my older pics originally cropped for TiVo in true 1080p. It plays non-cropped pictures equally well and is limited only by the basic resolution used in taking the photograph. The Panasonic Viewing S/W is much better than the TiVo and delays are virtually non-existent.

This solved our problem and satisfied my quest for viewing digital pictures. Frankly, I would still like to use Desktop if it actually provided HD quality, but in it's current state it's nothing more than a boat anchor.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

This thread is old, so the information was pre-S3.

In the new version of TiVo Desktop there is a check box under "TiVo Server Properties" labeled "Preview Photos 2.0". Checking this box enables an HME photos app which is capable of displaying photos in HD on a S3 unit.

Dan


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## Testpattern (Dec 5, 2006)

Thanks for responding Dan. I hadn't noticed how old this thread was. 

I had previously set up the HD transfer from my update to 2.5.1. It did make a big difference in quality but the results remain far below true HD. Maybe Desktop 3.0 will address this limitation.... 

Anyway, my S3 is still the one piece of gear I own I would absolutely refuse to give up.


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