The Slick Network

One of the best free photo editting editing and manipulation programs out right now is offered by Google. If you can’t afford photoshop, this just may be the program that will save the day. This isn’t a Picasa vs Photoshop article because they both offer great ways to manipulate photos. Picasa adds the photo organizer aspect that Adobe Bridge adds to Photoshop.  Please take a few minutes to view the video overview that I created.  If you want to try out the program you can click on the button that says “Google’s Photo Organizer”.

Google’s Picasa Photo Management Overview from mrslick on Vimeo.


If you are just a casual weekend hobbyist photographer, Picasa will work wonders for you.  The simple layout and one touch features have save you hours in the re-touching and resizing of photos. You will ofen times find that you get the perfect results with the click of one button. I was amazed by this program and I find myself using it more than Photoshop.  Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t have half as many features as Photoshop does, but for the casual user without photoshop experience…this is the way to go.

Let’s take a look at some of what this program can do.

Here is the library section where you can have your photos organized.  Picasa will automatically search your computer for photos and organize them for you. You can see that this program also lets you create Screensavers from pictures and export photos to CD or DVD.

Let’s start off with photo from my library and see how Picasa lets up fix it in just a few steps. We can see a picture of Jordan Farmar from the Los Angeles Lakers. The picture is basically pretty good, but I would like to liven up the colors and crop out some of the unwanted background.

Picasa quickly pops up a menu with some basic fixes that I can do.

I really want to crop out some of the unwanted back ground. All I have to do is click on the “crop” button to acheive this. I would like to eventually print this image out to a 4×6 print to I will select that option.

Wow, that looks cool.  I can quickly see what is being cropped out and modify it if necessary. I will be cropping out the parts of the picture that I don’t want included in my print.  When I click apply, the images will be cropped.

Picasa also gives me some more options :

It also gives me the ability to tune the picture. I can adjust the fill light to brighten up the background, adjust the highlights, modify the shadows, and even change the color temperature.

Download now by clicking the button below!

If also gives me the option to add effects to my photos. Below is another photo of a statue of Magic Johnson that can be manipulated to sharpen, add a Sepia tint, turn Black and White, Warmify, and many other cool effects.  These all get processed with the click of one button.

For the final step to our Jordan Farmar picture, I will add the warmify effect.

That’s it !!! In just a few quick steps I have changed this picture into something that works better for me. I didn’t need a three to six hundred dollar program to do it. This program is completely free. It will aslo let you upload your pictures to the web or send your pictures to be printed and mailed to you. I can’t say enough about this program. Photoshop is stronger and more robust, but Picasa will work like a charm for a more casual software user. Even if you don’t plan on modifying your photos, this program works great to organize and back up your photos. The slideshow feature works great in full screen mode.

Google’s Picasa Photo Management Overview from mrslick on Vimeo.


 

The quick answer is yes…or maybe.

Everyone has been talking about how the Blu-ray/HD-DVD war is similar to the VHS/Betamax war of the 80’s.  Format wars seem to have skipped a generation and didn’t really come into play with the DVD.  We are not that fortunate when it comes to this newest format of the century.  Right now, it only makes sense to consider the move from DVD to Blu-ray or HD-DVD if you have recently purchased an HD television set.   Will the difference in quality/resolution make you want to make the switch?   You all remember VHS and the move to DVD, right?   This could be a similar comparison because HD-DVD and Blu-ray offer fantastic resolutions.   Movie make in the past few years have mainly been shot in digital format.  This will make a huge difference is the quality and resolution that we will be seeing in our home theaters.  Your Blu-ray or HD-DVD can never be more clear than the original that it is made from.  Many companies will re-release remastered versions of their old libraries.   I don’t really care if I get an remastered copy of Star Wars or E.T., but I would love to experience the new films originally recorded in HD in the new formats.  The clarity and interactivity are bound to amaze you. 

In viewing films on both a Blu-ray and an HD-DVD player, I was quick to put HD-DVD ahead in the race.  HD-DVD looks great on a small 27 inch screen.  King Kong in HD-DVD was quite possibly the clearest movie that I had ever seen in my life.  The Blu-ray player was also nice, but didn’t offer the clarity that I found on the HD-DVD player.  This was only a quick test, but HD-DVD won the format war in my book.  One of the major factors in this war coould be the price.  Blu-ray units are currently running for several hundred dollars more than HD-DVD players.  The most affordable HD units are currenltly offered by the Sony Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 console units.   The PS3 can currently be found for about $500 with a Blu ray player included.  The Xbox 360 is selling an add on unit for about $200.   I have tested both these units and they look wonderful.   HD-DVD players are usually plagued by slow loading times, but the Xbox 360 unit loaded a disk in under 30 seconds.  The Sony PS3 unit loaded and played perfectly.  If you have one of these units, you will most likely be the first to truely experience the HD revolution.  THe PS3 in currently offering 1080p resolution, but I hear that the Xbox 360 has offered firmware upgraged that will offer the same resolution.  Currently, the Xbox 360 HD-DVD unit only offers 1080i resolution from the optional  HD cable.   

To give this issue a little “real world” perspective, I have have come up with a few figures.  I own 400 DVD’s and I would estimate that I paid an average of about $13.00 for each disc.  That comes out to $5,200.  Wow, that sounds like way too much to pay for friggin’ movies.  The same Blu ray discs would run you around $30.00 a pop and end up costing you $12,000.  You can buy a car with much money.  I suggest that media companies offer a trade in value if you own the disc in the DVD format.  They should give you a $7 credit if you turn in a DVD version of an HD-DVD or Blu ray disc that you are purchasing.  That is just my idea, but how many times can I buy Indiana Jones?  I own the VHS and DVD copies already.  We should have all known to sell those VHS copies of movies when DVD was first released, but for some reason, it just kills you to sell a movie that you spent $20 on for about $5.  It kills you even more when the same VHS sell for 50 cents today.  You can’t even unload that crap on Amazon because the shipping charges would eat up any profit.  Don’t let that happen to you.  Start unloading your DVD’s now if you plan on upgrading to the High Definition formats. 

Both formats offer considerably better resolution than the standard DVD format.  Both formats have seen dramatic hundred dolloar or more price drops since the middle of the year.  Several companies are developing media players that will play both HD formats.  The players in development will not be released for at least a year or longer.  Several television and movie studios have already made partnerships with one of the formats, but once a clear winner is picked, all of the media companies will have no choice, but to join.   It has been debated that DVD, HD-DVD, and Blu ray will become obsolete because of the emerging streaming video to television market.  That still requires huge bandwith that cable and satellite companies are many years away from being able to provide. 

Heck, why am I writing this?  I have no clue to what format will win out, but I dread the day when I can’t even sell my used DVD’s for more than $1.

 

 

Here is a bare bones non-technical guide to HD Televisions.  I am not an expert in this field, but I just wanted to discuss a few things that I had questions about when searching for an HDTV. If you have already started doing research, this guide will be too basic.  This is for the person who has interest in buying an HDTV set, but wants to know the basics before they start researching it more.  When I first started looking to purchase an HDTV I was surprised to find out that limited content is currently available.

Prices of HDTV’s are dropping each month, so many people may be considering spending the cash for the upgraded experience of watching High Definition broadcasts.  I have put together a little guide to helping the people who are just starting their search for an HD television.  This is not an expert guide and will only contain information on the basics of what to know and look for when starting your search for an HDTV. 

One thing to remember is that not all content is broadcast in High Definition.  I think that this is the major disappointment when someone brings home a new HDTV.  After spending thousands of dollars on a TV, you want to see a major improvement in the quality of your tv picture.  Many of the major networks offer primetime and news coverage in HD, but most cable TV only networks  are still broadcast in standard definition.  You may have to buy upgraded HD converter boxes from your cable or satellite provider in order to view HD content on your new HDTV.  These converter boxes are usually offered for an additional monthly fee.   You will often hear stations advertise that they are “available in HD” and that to call your cable or satellite provider to find out the details.  Many cable companies offer pre-packaged HD content for a fixed monthly rate and not all stations that are “available in HD” are actually part of the packages.   My cable provider currently offers around ten channels that are broadcast in HD and that includes the big four network stations.   All other tv channels are broadcast in only standard definition and they normally look fairly poor on an HDTV.  I had a friend who moved into a new apartment building that offered satellite tv as part of the lease agreement.  He was surprised to learn that the building’s satellite provider did not offer HD and he was stuck with watching standard definition content on his new HDTV.  It would be a good idea to call up your local cable or satellite provider before buying a new HDTV.  

 

What does 1080i and 1080p mean for me? 

 

Whenever you go to one of the major electronics stores, you will certainly have the salesperson throw out terms like 1080i , 1080p, or True HD.  What does this mean to you?  In simple terms, they are referring to the resolution of the television.  1080i refers to a resolution of 1920(horizontal)x1080(verticle) interlaced and 1080p refers to 1920(horizontal)x1080(verticle) progressive.  What is better ?   Without getting too technical, progressive scan is usually better, but it really depends on the source material.  If you have an HDTV that is capable of displaying 1080p, but the source material is only broadcast in 1080i, you really wouldn’t a clearer picture on your tv.   When the salesperson uses the term True HD, they are usually referring to 1080p.   Currently, you will only get 1080p content if you have a Bluray(Sony Playstation 3) or HD-DVD player.  No over the air broadcast content is currently available in the 1080p resolution.

Cnet explains HDTV Resolutions    

HD Ready or HD Built-in

HD Ready refers to the TV being capable of receiving HD broadcast content with an add on HD converter box.  Buying an HD ready will usually mean that you have to spend a few hundred bucks on an HD receiver box.  HD ready TV’s are great if you plan on using it as a television monitor to display Bluray or HD-DVD content.   An HD built in TV is ready for HDTV right out of the box.  You can hook up an external antenna and have it up and running in as little as 30 minutes.  As a rule, I would say to grab an HD built-in tv and don’t worry about any expensive add ons later. 

The third question down in the guide below offers some more information.

HDTV answers guide

Aspect Ratio

Most HDTV sets are widescreen, but most non-HD content is not.  This may cause you to have to adjust the aspect ratio of your television based on the content.  Most TV’s offer several modes including wide and fixed that help you fine tune your viewing.  For the most part, I usually set the TV to normal, full, or wide mode.   Full and wide modes generally stretch content that isn’t a native HD format. 

LCD or Plasma

 

I really don’t know enough about the differences between the two to really get into this, so I can’t really tell you which format is better.   With my Sony HDTV, the salesperson let me know that I would need a replacement bulb every two years or so.  The bulbs can be found online for as low as $99, but I am sure that you will need a professional to install them.   I’ve read that Plasma screens are better when viewed in dark rooms and LCD screen are better for rooms with more light. The article below should shed some light on the subject.

Plasma vs. LCD -  Which is right for you?

High Definition Multimedia Interface

The future will be the HDMI input .  Try to look for a tv with as many HDMI inputs as possible.  Most HDTV sets should come with two inputs.   As more devices move over to being HD, the HDMI interface will be more important.  For now, you will only need the HDMI interface for your Bluray, HD-DVD, or upconversion progressive scan DVD players.   The HDMI plug is the way your high definition products will interface with your television.  The HDMI cables are the high definition versions of the RCA connection cables.  The more of these you have, the easier it will be to hook up multiple devices to your HDTV.   HDMI cables will generally set you back around $100 or so, but you should be able to find some upconversion DVD players that have them included for free.  I have run into a few Toshiba DVD players that been nice enough to include a free cable.

 

HDMI

 

These are just some of the basics.  Do your research before going out and spending thousands of dollars on a new HDTV.   Generally speaking, you will notice that your standard DVD’s played on an upconversion DVD player look great.  The resolution of the picture will not be the 1080p that Bluray offers, but it will look clear enough for the average home theater viewer.  Hold on to your standard DVD’s for now and wait for the Bluray and HD-DVD units to come down in price.  The Bluray and HD-DVD movies are running anywhere between $19.99 and $39.00.  I don’t know about you , but I don’t want to spend more than $15 for a movie these days.  If you are a home or apartment renter, be sure to contact the property owner to see if they allow satellite or cable service and ask your neighbors if they are able to receive over the air HD content with an external antenna.   If you have a complex television setup with multiple DVD,VHS,receivers, and Tivos, you may have a several hour setup when your new HDTV is delievered.  We had problems connecting the Tivo and kept on getting connection errors that stated that our cable didn’t allow that type of connection.  Call you cable or satelitte provider to make sure that your Tivo will interface properly with your HD Cable converter box.