LyteByte » Graphics

How to View DSLR Photography RAW Format Files in Windows 7 and Vista

Mr.Byte — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:13:00 +0000

Probably you are done with all the summer vacation and maybe not yet but you would have taken a lot of pictures while you enjoyed. If you are a beginner in Digital SLR photography like me then probably you also would have taken the images in RAW format to retain the original features of the image. By default these files are not supported in Windows 7 and Windows Vista. But you can download these DSLR RAW formats to support these so that you it can show the thumbnail view of the image and also full view. It works well in both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7.

For the beginners, first lets see what is RAW Format in Digital SLR Photography?

RAW formats are nothing but unprocessed or very minimally processed data from the digital camera. They are equivalent of negatives used in film photography and from this negative format other positive formats like TIFF or JPEG for storage, printing and other manipulation(More from Wikipedia).

When a picture is taken, the light goes through the lens and they are captured by the image sensor and they are converted from analog to digital signal. This initial unprocessed content is called as RAW image. This is then processed based on the other parameters given to the camera such as White Balance, Contrast, Sharp, Saturation, special image effects etc and then they are compressed using some algorithm like JPEG and stored. Since they are compressed, it loses most of the data and therefore the unprocessed RAW format usually holds a large memory space.

This RAW format varies from camera manufacturer to another, some of them are

Canon – .cr2, .crw

Nikon – .nef, .nrw

Kodak – .dcs, .dcr, .drf, .k25, .kdc, .tif

Sony – .arw, .srf, .sr2

So how to view download RAW format codec and View RAW format images in Windows?

First you need Windows Live Photo Gallery to view these RAW formats and to enable the thumbnail view when you view them in the Windows Folder.

Download Windows Live Photo Gallery if you don’t have one yet.

When you include the library or the folder which has these RAW format pictures for the first time, it will ask you to install the codec to view these formats. Click Download.

Depending on the RAW format, it will take you to the particular website to download the codec. I have a Canon Rebel Eos and the RAW format was .cr2 and it took me to the following Canon codec.

If you want direct link, click here to download Canon RAW Codec 1.5.0 to .CR2 Format

Now, you will be able to find what those images are in the RAW format when you view them in the Windows Folder though thumbnail and without opening them in Adobe Photoshop or high end photo editors.

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How to setup Windows 7 default Automatic Desktop Background Switcher?

Mr.Byte — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:06:48 +0000

There are lots of desktop background switcher for Windows Vista but with Windows 7, this feature is inbuilt within desktop personalization. You can set the location of the desktop wallpapers and the frequency and this will rotate these wallpapers.

So how to setup the default automatic desktop background switcher in Windows 7?

Click Start button on the left bottom of the Window

Search for Desktop Background and from the search results click Change Desktop Background

You can also open from Control Panel –> Appearance and Personalization –> Personalization –> Change Desktop Background.

Click Browse to select the picture location and select all from the group.

You can set the change picture every 10 seconds to 1 day with different frequencies in between. You can also set it to shuffle. Click Save changes after you set it up.

Now you can view different wallpapers using inbuilt default automatic desktop wallpaper switcher

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How to watch DVD files in Mobile Phone 3gp for Free?

Mr.Lyte — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:20:43 +0000

Its always useful to have a freeware to convert DVD files to 3gp mobile format so that you rip the video files to watch in your mobile devices while you are travelling and to show your friends or for other reasons.

Gogo DVD to 3gp converter is one of the very easy tool to do this and the best of all its free!

First lets see some of the features which are great with this freeware:

High Speed ripping from DVD to 3gp format.
High quality video to view in mobile phone.
Split the file and rip only the part you want.
Select target subtitle and audio track.
Preview the video while ripping.
Status of ripping progress.
One can select the source frame rate to PAL or NTSC.
It has precise CODEC settings – input and output settings with the required bit rate and frame rate settings.
One can include subtitles and original colors.
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) supported.

Here you can view the available Input Settings in the program

And the output settings for DVD to 3gp converter

Download Gogo DVD to 3gp Converter

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How to add Copyright Watermark to Images using Windows Live Writer?

Mr.Byte — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:57:02 +0000

Content stealing and Image hotlinking are one of the unresolved problems of the blogging network. Though there are attempts to solve this, none provides an ultimate solution to end it and without thinking about it ever again. I was trying some plugins and changing .htaccess to avoid image hotlinking but none worked for me so far as it removes the images when people view from feeds.

Watermarking may be one of the solution to avoid people from hotlinking but the main disadvantage of that is, it would make the image a little clumsier.

(Pic: Screenshot of my Desktop)

Anyway, if watermarking is what you decide, then Windows Live Writer provides the solution which watermarks all the images on the fly when you publish.

To watermark the images, click on the image and go to the effects tab on the sidebar. Click the plus sign and overlays -> Watermark.

You can give the website or blog name, change the font and its size. Also choose the location where you want to position the Copyright symbol.

To make sure these settings are applied for every image you add using Windows Live Writer, go to the image tab and at the bottom, click Save settings as default. From now on copyright watermark will be added to every image you publish using Windows Live Writer.

You can also do other Transformations for images in Windows Live Writer like Black and White, Sepia Tone, Adjust Temperature, Sharpen, Gaussian Blur, Emboss, Color Pop etc.

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How to adjust Vista for best performance by changing Visual Effects?

Mr.Byte — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:09:57 +0000

Whether one like it or not, Windows Vista is one of the high memory resource intensity operating system that is available. Most of the applications that are running are set to improve the aesthetic look of the Windows by Visual Effects and are not necessarily adjusted for performance. If you have low memory (RAM) in your PC, you may want to change these settings from best appearance to best performance or you may want to choose settings manually. By doing this, one can greatly improve the performance of Windows Vista PC.

So how to adjust the settings in Windows Vista from best appearance to best performance?

Go to Control Panel Home (Start -> Control Panel) -> System and Maintenance -> System.

On the left side pane, under the Tasks, Click Advanced System Settings.

Click Settings under Performance.

You may have the setting, Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer. If you have good enough Memory (RAM) according to Windows Vista then almost all the settings would be checked.

You can change the settings between Adjust for best performance or if you believe you have really good RAM and you want the best appearance then you may choose Adjust for best appearance.

If you don’t want to compromise the full appearance but still want to improve the performance then you can manually uncheck the items that you don’t want.

You can change the following settings and you may be surprised by the different features that are actually present in windows to improve the appearance.

Animate controls and elements inside windows
Animate windows when maximizing and minimizing
Enable desktop composition
Enable transparent glass
Fade or Slide menus into view
Fade or Slide ToolTips into view
Fade out menu items after clicking
Show preview and filters in folder
Show shadows under menus
Show shadows under mouse pointer
Show thumbnails instead of icons
Show translucent selection rectangle
Show window contents while dragging
Slide open combo boxes
Slide taskbar buttons
Smooth edges of screen fonts
Smooth-scroll list boxes
Use a background image for each folder type
Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
Use visual styles on windows and buttons

Another tip on reducing the Vista Startup time and improving the performance by removing unwanted startup programs.

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How to get the details of Shared Video and System Memory in Vista?

Mr.Byte — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:40:11 +0000

One of the readers asked the question where to get the details of Shared Video Memory in Vista? One of the important specification while buying a desktop or laptop is amount of graphics memory and the other details related to it like Shared Video Memory. So here it is…

These details are in the display settings. So right click on the desktop -> Click Personalization -> Click Display Settings -> Click Advanced Settings.

Under Adapter Information you can find the following information. These data is taken from my HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook PC dv6500.

Total Available Graphics Memory : 895 MB

Dedicated Video Memory : 128 MB

System Video Memory : 0 MB

Shared System Memory : 767 MB

Also you can find other information like,

Chip Type : GeForce 8400M GS

DAC Type : Integrated RAMDAC

Adapter String : GeForce 8400M GS

Bios Information : Version 60.86.44.0.14

So if you want to change the settings of the Shared Video Memory, you will have to do through BIOS.

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Yet Another HP Pavilion Entertainment PC at Home – dv9700

Mr.Byte — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:56:51 +0000

5 months ago I mentioned that I got a new customized HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook – dv6500. Now my roommate got another HP Laptop as I recommended him to buy it.

It’s a customized HP Pavilion dv9700 Entertainment Notebook PC and its little bigger than what I have as its 17 inch. As I told before, I am a fan of HP and I love their sleek design!

Check out different imprint finish they have for laptops.

HP Imprint Artist

HP Imprint Verve

Other imprint finishes include Influx, Dragon, Radiance (this is what I have in my laptop), Echo, and Trace.

(Imprint details and pictures from HP Shopping)

Here are some of the details regarding HP dv9700:

Operating System : Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7250 (2.00 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Memory : 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Display : 17.0? WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
Graphics Card : 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS with DirectX 10
Networking : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
Hard disk : 320GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (160GB x 2)
DVD Drive : LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
Battery : High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
No TV Tuner with Remote Control

Other features :
HP Imprint (Radiance)
Fingerprint Reader,
Webcam,
Microphone ,
Remote Control.

Slots, Pins and other features on the Left Side:
Security cable Slot,
S-Video-out jack,
External Monitor Port,
Expansion Port 3,
RJ-45 (network) jack,
RJ-11 (modem) jack,
HDMI port,
2 USB port,
1394 port,
Digital Media Slot.

Slots, Pins and other features on the Right Side:
Express Card Slot,
Optical Drive,
USB Port,
Power Connector.

Slots, Pins and other features on the Front Side:
Power light,
Battery light,
Drive light,
Wireless Switch,
Wireless light,
Consumer infrared lens,
Audio-in (microphone) jack,
2 Audio-out (headphone) jack.

Windows Experience Index:
Here is the list of subscore for all different parameters.
Processor (3.9) : Calculations per second
Memory RAM (3.4) : Memory operations per second
Graphics (3.2) : Desktop performance for Windows Aero
Gaming Graphics (4.4) : 3D business and gaming graphics performance
Primary Hard Disk (4.9) : Disk data rate transfer

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Lyte Byte’s New Header and Logo

Mr.Byte — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 07:38:14 +0000

Its been a year since I started this blog and I had the old header image for my blog all through that time. I also wrote a post earlier on how did I make my own web 2.0 logo and icon for my blog. So it was time again to redo the whole thing and update to a better interface. As I needed to include the main categories in the header to improve the visibility of those sections, I had to extend my header image a bit.

So I sat down and made the new header image during this weekend. Also changed the angle of the icon with a better look. Everything was done in Adobe Photoshop CS3. Transparency, gradient overlay, inner glow, outer glow, gaussian blur are some of the features that were used to create these web 2.0 look.

The Old…

and the new

Also made the buttons for the popular categories. Since I made these buttons to be partially transparent, they merged well with the header and formed a better darker image.

Also changed the logo of the blog to look much more appropriate to the header.

These are formed by the characters L and B. Small b is inside the L and they were turned upside down to form the number 97 but later I turned the angle to give an arrow look.

If you are looking for some good articles to start with, you can read my earlier post on how to create a web 2.0 icon and header for your website or blog. Last time, after I posted many had requested me to create header image for their websites. However as I am at school, I don’t have much time to devote to create for others. But, If you need some help I can give some pointers.

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How to Create a Mosaic Picture using all your Photo Collection for Free as a Valentine Gift?

Mr.Byte — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 06:05:27 +0000

A photographic mosaic picture is usually made of hundreds and thousands of other photos, which acts like an individual pixel, to make a final image which resembles one particular photo of your choice. In simple words, you give the collection of photo and a final image, set the parameters, wait for some time and you get a picture which has all the other photos embedded inside. If the resolution is high, you can zoom in to see the other photos.

This makes up a perfect gift for valentine! Put all the pictures and photos from your childhood until now and that reflects your love. Best of all you can make it for free and all that you need is some patience and time at hand. You can also print it as a big size photo, put it in a frame and gift it.

So how do you make photographic mosaic picture for free?
There are lots of free software that you can get on the net. There are two types, one is web based and another is desktop version. My suggestion is use the earlier one, if you don’t have good amount of memory on your computer. Also usually you don’t have the choice to upload all your photo collection (esp if you have thousands of them). You just give the final image that you want and the software uses its own photo collection, which defeats the purpose of putting all your memories into a single photo! There is one exception here, mosaickr, which allows using all your photo collection from flickr. So if you have your pictures on flickr, that maybe the best way to do it. For the rest, for good quality and control, the desktop version maybe the best one.

Free Desktop Version of Mosaic Software
The main advantage of the desktop version of this software is that it allows more photos to be put on the mosaic, gives higher quality mosaic picture with high resolution (Imagine a picture with around 50 Million Pixels and more), gives a higher control on the number of duplicates, minimum distance between duplicated tiles, number of tiles in a row, change resolution and quality which changes the size of the final image.

The best software to create photo mosaic that I have found so far are all shareware except for Andrea Mosaic. This software wizard comes with lots of good features and also come with a handy manual for all the features. It even allows creating a mosaic picture from a video where pictures are extracted from the clip at regular interval.

Steps to make a mosaic picture using AndreaMosaic
When you install andreamosaic, it comes with a very detailed manual. But the steps are simple.

First, put all the pictures in a folder or multiple folders within a directory. Click on Find Tiles under step 1. Click on create collection. Browse to the folder where you have saved all your photos and give a name to AndreaMosaic Image Collection and click on save (This allows the software to go through all the photos and store information about them in this file). Now it will browse through all the pictures to find information about them and save. Click on close and come back to the main window.

On Step 2, Change features according to your need like, Width of Mosaic, Number of tiles per row, Width of tile, thickness of black like around every tile, Minimum distance between duplicated tiles, number of duplicate tiles, modify image for better final image, algorithm to use etc. When you change the features, just make sure the status is All parameters are correct.

From Step 3, load the picture that you want your final image should look like using add image and click Create the Mosaic. Now all that you need is patience and wait for it to work on. The time may vary depending on how big the final image is and what is the memory of your computer.

Other features of AndreaMosaic:
Other cool features of this software is to create very big mosaic’s of up to 50 Megapixel using its image splitter and joiner, mosaic with very few tiles, mosaic from video, use a maskfile etc.

Collection of Other Mosaic Softwares:
Mazaika – Shareware
Imosaic – Freeware
Mosaic.net – Freeware + Opensource
Mosaic Creator – Shareware
PictureMedley – Freeware
Rich Mosaic – Freeware

Update: If you are planning to buy photo printer, read my article on ‘what to look for when you buy photo printer? – A Buying Guide‘

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How to get Windows Vista Transparency when the Windows are maximized?

Mr.Byte — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:39:05 +0000

Windows Vista Aero has cool features of transparency which are not available in Windows Vista Basic. But these transparencies are not available when the windows are maximized. The corners and the top portion of the windows are transparent when they don’t occupy the whole screen but when they are maximized to full screen; these transparent areas are replaced with black color or with base color of your choice in the windows personalization.

So when you set the transparency to maximum even when all the windows maximized, you don’t have the non-transparent regions anymore but rather the dull background of what’s beneath. These features can be not only seen on the top of the windows but also the taskbar. Also, in applications like Windows Media Player where you get the transparency in the control panel region, at the bottom of the player even when it’s maximized.

Here are some pictures for you to understand what I am referring.

Windows Not Transparent when Maximized

Click here to see the full screen view

Windows Transparent when maximized

Click here to view to the full screen view

So how to get full transparency in Vista when the windows are maximized?

Note: These tweaks require registry changes. If you are not comfortable with registry changes, do take a backup of registry files and I am not responsible of other consequences of the change.

With few changes in uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll and shsvcs.dll you will be able to get the desired effect but there is a setup provided by VistaGlazz which does the same thing which can help you to patch the files safely and unpatch it if necessary.
VistaGlazz helps not only to keep the maximized windows transparent but also unlock Windows desktop Manager so that it allows adding custom Visual Styles.

Download VistaGlazz from Download.com or VistaGlazz

Steps to follow:

After downloading, Run the setup file (VistaGlazz.exe) to patch the settings.

Click the system Icon and click patch originals to patch the system files. You will need to reboot the system for the changes to effect.

Run VistaGlazz.exe again and click the Style file and click patch style. This doesn’t require restarting the system. The theme service will automatically restart and apply the new theme.

Now you will have the transparent feature of Vista Aero even when the windows are maximized.

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