still trying to get that map for my show

[lanita33 Profile Private messageWebsite]

The saga continues as I attempt to get the map for my show with the moving route. Someone on the forum suggested using "Road Trip Effect" which I bought am I'm very happy with. I got my map from "Microsoft Streets and Trips". I need a map that includes from Texas and the rest of the US going East.

Now to my problem. I get the map on my screen and I've both copied and pasted it into PS and also printScreened it. No matter what I do, when I put the map into PSP it is horribly pixelated.

I am embarressed to tell you how many hours I have put into this one slide and how many software packages I've bought.

I would be very appreciative of any ideas anyone has.

By the way, in the "Road Trip Effect", I generted the QT video the map creates both compressed and uncompressed. It didn't make any difference.

I hope I have posted this in the correct forum. If not I will gladly post it in another one.

Lana

[nannybear Profile Private messageWebsite]

Might sound strange, but have you tried scanning a map of what you need??? Cheers Jan

[ChrissyC Profile Private message]

I also was going to suggest what Jan suggested..find a map of what you need..cut out a square of the part you need..scan it in then you can adjust the size to what you need. I think I'd do it that way.
Chrissy

[lanita33 Profile Private messageWebsite]

IHi Jan and Chrissy,
It doesn't sound strange at all. If I could find a map like that. I have several atlases but in all of them the fold comes just east of dallas/ft. worth, so it looks sloppy.

I guess I just never dreamed that in the computer age, I couldn't find a map file that I could use. I guess I will have to do it the old-fashioned way and find a map, like you said. Thank you for bringing me back to earth.

I guess I'll go to the bookstore tomorrow and see what I can find in the way of a map of the United States.

Lana

[nannybear Profile Private messageWebsite]

I totally understand you wondering why you can't find it, but remember images posted on the web are done at a far lower resolution as they aren't intended for anything but web view usually. Printable ones can be found on the web but you would have to buy them.... good luck.....

[Sixty Vette Profile Private message]

Lana,

I am not sure why you are having problems. I went out to MAPS.LIVE.COM and did a simple CTL & PRINT SCREEN, opened Photoshop and pasted the image. I saved as JPG image and loaded it into PSP. The image was perfect - even if I zoomed in all the way the image was clear!

[lanita33 Profile Private messageWebsite]

This just doesn't seem possible but I took a photo of a map this morning (very high resolution) and when put in a show is just as pixelated. I also tried downsizing it and it didn't make any difference.
I must be missing some basic concept here.

the photo slide didn't look any better than the ones I got off Microsoft Streets and maps.

Lana

[Studio7Productions Profile Private message]

The best way I have found to solve the pixel problem, is to have the map on screen, and re-photograph it with your Digital Camera on the highest level, then edit that Image in your PC....it works...try it......

M

[nannybear Profile Private messageWebsite]

Ok I grabbed what Mike did and saved as a PSD. The site background is the jpg of what I used, and then in Producer I zoomed. Too pixelated?? Let me know how I can help...cheers Jan

http://www.featherstonesolutions.com/dallasflash.html

Same thing but a Photodex show with the amount of zoom posted;

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewsho ... 7490&alb=0
didn't like full screen tho, kept not responding.....

[lanita33 Profile Private messageWebsite]

Jan and Mel,

Jan, your photos were perfect. I will definitely try that. It is the only thing I haven't tried.

I did make a interesting discovery last night though. The process (pulling up map in Microsoft Streets, then copying and pasting into Photoshop and then into PSP) worked well on my laptop that is running XP.. My desktop uses Vista. I don't know what that could have to do with it, but that was my aha moment last night.

Lana

[lanita33 Profile Private messageWebsite]

As an addendum to my previous note, the reason I need this map is because I'm trying to use "Road Trip Effects" with the map to show my route of travel in my show. It's very cool software where a little car runs on a red line over your route. It makes a QT show. Of course, that led to other problems (which format to save in and which format to compress in). I guess it never ends.

Lana

[amycramer Profile Private messageWebsite]

Hi Lana, I recently needed a map for the same kind of thing. A background in a Lake Powell DVD. I printed a high quality picture from my Delorme Topo program. (It's for my gps.) I think any gps mapping software would work. Then I scanned the picture into the computer saved it as a high quality jpeg. It is working very well. I can zoom in 200% with no problems. I spent days looking online for high quality maps that didn't cost me a fortune. Anyway, this worked for me and was pretty simple to do. Good luck, Amy

[lanita33 Profile Private messageWebsite]

Thank you Amy. I did basically the same thing with Microsoft Streets and Trips GPS. But for some reason when I brought it into my computer running Vista, it pixelated it terribly. My next plan is to photograph the map on the computer like someone on the forum suggested.

Lana