New: iPod Video Slide Shows With FotoMagico.

It had to happen. A standard. The new iPods have video and audio playback. Resolution is 320x240 pixels. That’s a standard and now everyone is shooting for it.

With iTunes 6.0 came QuickTime 7.0.3 and with that came the iPod export format of 320x240 pixels. That’s a new “standard” for video programs.

Another one to jump on the bandwagon is FotoMagico, the video slide show application for Mac OS X Tiger.

Slide show applications for the Mac are a dime a dozen, so if you’re looking for cheap, this ain’t it. FotoMagico is good. Very good.

This is not just a slide show application, though FotoMagico excels in ease of use when creating slide shows. Slide shows are easy in iPhoto and that’s free.

What you don’t get in iPhoto and other applications is precise control of the video and audio. FotoMagico gives you control.

What you get is a simple, elegant tool to create dynamic presentations from still digital photos. It integrates with iTunes and iPhoto so your music and photos are a click away.

You also get full control over Pan and Zoom effects, scaling, rotating, moving your digital photos so the part of the photo you want to highlight gets highlighted.

This is really cool. Open FotoMagico and you’re greeted to a large screen with tools on the right, audio and video timeline on the bottom. In a way, it looks like a cross between iMovie and iPhoto.

What you’re doing is adding audio and video motion to digital still photos; zooming in and out, rotating the image, adding text over the image.

Oh, did I forget to mention adding text? There’s no reason why FotoMagico couldn’t produce quality TV commercials or video documentaries. Text can be inserted just like in a good video editing application.

Text effects are there, too. Moving, growing, zooming, changing color, changing location on the screen. All in high resolution.

Once you open FotoMagico, nearly every function is drag and drop, or point and click. Drag digital images from iPhoto albums to the timeline. Drag an audio file for the background music.

Point and click to change settings; special effects, rotate, zoom in/out, pan across an image. FotoMagico is intuitive and outputs high quality resolution.

Once your slide show becomes a movie, it’s a simple click to get it burned on DVD with Toast Titaniaum 7 or iDVD from iLife ‘05.

In short, you can take your digital still images and create an extrordinarily attractive slide show that rivals most any you’ll see produced professionally.

Here’s where the fun begins. The new “standard” for video output is 320x240 for viewing on the new iPod with video. FotoMagico has a pre-set which lets the export take place with, you guessed it, one click.

The iPod with video becomes a personal, hand-held video storage device. Creating professional video output in slide form is simple with FotoMagico.

Beefs? Yes. Multiple audio tracks is a “must have” these days. Tracks for music, tracks for voice overlay. Earlier versions of FotoMagico were not as stable as I like, but the latest versions have been rock solid.

As with most applications, you can’t use music you bought from the iTunes Music Store in your FotoMagico videos. CDs imported into iTunes work fine. My wish list? More transitions, and multiple screen support, but neither are major issues.

Click Here for details and a demo download.

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