Ram & Reason: Photo Story 3: An Almost Perfect Slideshow
     By Rob Rice    November 2005


      It’s FREE! There, with that out of the way you have learned about one of Microsoft Photo Story 3’s most intriguing features. And it creates easy-to-assemble slideshows from your photos, complete with music and special effects. Sounds pretty good? You bet it is -- that is, if you have Windows XP and have the $19 plugin to burn your creation to a DVD. If you don’t have XP then forget it. It won’t even install and that includes on Windows 2000. Media Player 10 is also recommended but Media Player 9 will work.
       While testing Photo Story 3, I also looked at several other programs that do slideshows and I must admit, although it is free, Photo Story was at the top and probably one of the most stable that I encountered. It didn’t even hiccup at the 165 photos that I added to my show (Yes, 165. Just be thankful you’re not one of my relatives who must view this epic!)
      Installation was trouble free and the resulting program is polished and intuitive. A large button keeps fiddling to a minimum allowing for easy navigation to your photos that are to be imported. The selected photo appears in a large window with the sequence of photos for your slideshow appearing below in a storyboard/timeline. Wizards guide you through the process, allowing you to easily create text and add narration to individual slides.
      With a right click on any picture, you can add special effects such as Glow or Black and White. Effects and edits are applied only to the copy in the program and will not modify the original photo. With the Edit dialog box you can:

 

• Correct color levels.
• Correct red eye.
• Correct contrast.
• Rotate the picture clockwise or counterclockwise.
• Manually crop the picture.
• Remove black borders and automatically crop the picture.

Multiple songs can be added to your slideshow and is easily accomplished by a drag-and- drop process. Small trim-handles allow for the unwanted portions of songs to be removed. Just select a clip on the storyboard/timeline to display the trim-handles, click one of the trim-handles and then drag it to a new point on the storyboard. The length of the music can be matched to the length of time the pictures are shown. Therefore, if you add or delete a picture, the music will also change.
      One irritation that some might experience is that copy-protected music, such as those songs bought and downloaded from various Web sites may not work, according to Microsoft, “Copy-protected music cannot be added to a photo story. The license that was purchased with the music does not allow for republication”. Hence the trouble you run into with Microsoft’s protected files.
       Still, even if you do not have any “non-copy protected music” Photo Story 3 comes through with the ability to “create” music by selecting from numerous genres and setting the tempo to fit your production. The music is matched automatically to the length of time the pictures are shown. Narration can also be added with a press of the record button.
       A single button will compile your slide show, saving it as a Windows Media Video (WMV) file. Various “Profiles” are available that allow for the saving to fit a particular need, such as e-mail or Smart Phone format. To view your slide show, a media player that can play a WMV file is need, such as Windows Media Player 10, which is recommended.
       If all you want to do is save your production as a DVD or video CD, well tough luck. What looks like an incredible deal suddenly turns sour as you realize that it is not possible. What you can do is watch the show on your computer, a Pocket PC, Smartphone, or send it as an e-mail. As mentioned earlier, a $19 plugin, available from Sonic Solutions will incorporate the burn-to-DVD feature. A potentially more useful program for some might be WinAvi, which will convert your file to a format that most DVD burning software can recognize, as well be used to convert other types of video files. It costs $29. However, if you have MyDVD (version 5 or later) by Sonic Solutions, or InstantCD\DVD by Pinnacle Systems, these should be able to burn your slideshow to a DVD disk without any additional plugins.
       Another annoyance is that Photo Show 3 will not accept video clips, unlike other top rated programs. Adding an 8-second video clip to your photo storyboard makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience. Yet, Photo Show does automatically add a pan and zoom feature to your photos; panning and zooming from one section of the photo to the other, which creates a feeling that you are watching video and adding a nice professional touch to the mix. However, if it goes on too long, it can get darn right nauseating!
       Animated titles would be another nice addition, such as those found in Photodex’s ProShow Gold.
       If you have Microsoft’s Digital Image 9 or 10, both include versions of Photo Story. Still, you need Windows XP to use it, even if you paid for it.
       Photo Show 3 is certainly worth a look. In a future article, I will compare it to some of the other programs available and at least one of which had me reaching for my wallet!
 

       Photo Show 3: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
 

Sonic Plugin: http://www.sonic.com/products/consumer/photostory/
WinAvi: http://www.winavi.com/
 

ProShow and ProShow Gold: http://www.photodex.com/products/proshow/
 

 

        Rob Rice is a computer specialist working in Anchorage, Alaska. Rob can be contacted at articles@isp.com