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Review by Ron Risman
September 2006
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ArcSoft Photo Montage VE
Product Summary
ArcSoft's Photo Montage VE software allows you to create
unique "montages" using both video stills and digital photographs. Photo Montage
uses a collection of "micro-images" or "mosaic tiles" to build a larger photo that when
viewed from a distance only the larger (main) photo can be seen, however upon closer inspection
the viewer see's that the photo is actual made up of thousands of micro-images - all perfectly
aligned to make up the larger image. Photo Montages make very unique gifts for all occasions
specially when printed out at poster sizes - where the impact is greatest. Read our review to find
out whether ArcSoft's Photo Montage is for you.
What is Photo Montage VE?
ArcSoft's Photo Montage VE software is a unique program that allows you to create Photo Montages using your own digital photographs and/or video stills.
The program uses "micro-images" or "tiles" to recreate the original image, so that from a distance you see the one image but as you move
closer you'll notice that the image is actually made up of these thousands of micro-images.
Bad News First
Something you'll discover when you read this review is that I really
like the final product that this program creates, however if you plan
on creating your own micro-images using the video capture capability,
getting to this end result is neither easy or fun, and might only be
possible using a "work-around" that I'll explain a bit later in the
review. While there is a lot to like about Photo Montage, there are
some aspects of the program that are unforgivable:
- The manual for this product comes on CD, however the manual doesn't tell you how to capture video clips from your camcorder. It is
as if this feature was added at the last minute and no one took the time to add it to the manual - and even worse - to make sure it worked correctly.
- The manual states that the software includes micro-images in small and large versions. However, Photo Montage VE only seems to include the small micro-image collection with the program -
at least that is all I could find on the CD. I remember that the original Photo Montage program did include both a small and large micro-image collection. What gives?
- There is a button on the Output Screen titled "Cool Extras," which
includes a link to a service for getting your Montages printed as
a Big Poster. Unfortunately, this page links to a web site that
is no longer there. A "Page Cannot be Found" error appears on the
site "http://www.photoisland.com/photomontage/index.html" It doesn't
bother me that they no longer provide this service as there are
many print services out there, but it is very unprofessional to
have a button within the software that links to an old web site
that no longer exists.
- In the Setup screen for creating your own personal video collections there is a button labeled 'setup'. When the camcorder isn't attached you'll get a "Cannot connect to a video capture device" error,
however when the camcorder is connected, this button doesn't seem to anything - thus I wasn't able to capture video from tape from within Photo Montage. Instead I downloaded a free program called
STOIK Capturer from CNET Download.com. I have created a free tutorial on page two of this review to help step you through the video capture process that I used.
Capturing Video for Use with Photo Montage
I have contacted tech support today about the problems mentioned
above and the support person didn't have the answers. He has escalated
this issue and I should hear back in the next 48 hours. I'll update
the review when or if I learn more about this problem.
Movie Poster from "The Truman Show"
Many of you may have seen a Photo Montage in the past. The one that introduced me to Photo Montages was the 1998 marketing poster for the movie "The Truman Show" with
Jim Carrey. The poster was of Jim Carrey, but as you got closer to the Poster you could see that it was actually made up of thousands of micro-images from scenes from the movie.
It wasn't long after the movie was released that computer users were able to create this same effect using the original ArcSoft Photo Montage program.
While I owned the original Photo Montage program, I really never did anything with it since I wasn't able to create my own micro-image library. I
didn't have enough of my own images and I couldn't find a way to automatically capture still frames from video - though I did try. This was a big reason I wanted
to give this new VE (Video Edition) version a try.
It has been over 6 years since I used the original version and very little in the way of user-interface has changed - which is a good thing. The only thing really missing
(for me) was the video capture capability, which this new version touts as the big new feature - "Photo Montage VE (Video Edition)." While there are definitely some problems
with the video capture feature, there is another useful feature called "color variation" that allows for much higher quality Photo Montages by tinting each micro-image to help
better match that particular section of the original (full-size) image.
Is Photo Montage the only option?
No. There are a few shareware applications on the market that will create
Photo Montages, however their buy price is near or higher than ArcSoft's.
What sets ArcSoft's Photo Montage apart from these other applications
is in its ease-of-use and the new video capture capability included
with this version of Photo Montage VE (Video Edition). The video capability
is very important if you want to be successful creating your own personal
micro-image library.
While you may have hundreds or even thousands of photographs, you will
most likely have a difficult time using just your photo library to get
to the 10,000 - 20,000 images that are really needed to make quality
Photo Montages. Using the video capture feature, connect your camcorder
to your PC - if it has the correct drivers, record the video, then tell
the software to grab a micro-image every 1,2,3,5,10 frames (you choose).
After just one hour of video tape the software will have created upwards
of 1800 additional micro-images for your library. Photo Montage will
also convert previously recorded video clips that are in .avi, .mov,
.dat, .mpg, or .mpeg format.
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History of Photo Mosaics
Joseph Francis' work on a 1992 Kodak television commercial led him to invent the idea of assembling meta images out of mosaics of smaller, often thematically related images - Photo Mosaics.
The Computer animation department, which Francis was running, was called upon to create the illusion of a stadium full of "flipping cards" for a this 1992 Kodak television spot.
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How does it work?
Photo Montage VE works by analyzing the colors, pattern, and brightness levels of the full-size (master) image. The software then searches its
collection of micro-images to find the one that best matches the color, pattern, and brightness of a particular micro "tile" of the image.
For example, if the final image will be made up of 2,000 micro-images the software will need to analyze the full-size image and internally break up the
image into 2,000 tiles. It then analyzes each tile to find the best matching micro-image. While a completed Photo Montage is made by using up to
2,000 micro-images, the actual library of micro-images needs to be much larger in order to allow the software to find the best match for any particular
part of the full-size image. Photo Montage allows you to choose from 8 presets to determine how many micro-images you want in your final Photo Montage.
Micro-image presets: 600 or less, 800 or less, 1000 or less, 1200 or less, 1400 or less, 1600 or less, 1800 or less, or 2000 or less
To get you going, Photo Montage VE includes a huge collection of over 20,000 micro-images to insure that you can create quality montages right away, but to
really make your Photo Montage special you will eventually want to create your own collection of micro-images, with photos of family, friends, etc.
This is where the new video still capture capabilities come in.
Capturing Stills from Video
Photo Montage allows you to capture frames from video to use either as your main (full-size) image or as a micro-image. You can also use the software to automatically capture micro-images
from a video file at set intervals, This helps when creating your own micro-image collections.
Turn Low Res Video Stills into Large Photo Montage Posters
One of the unique features of Photo Montage is its ability to create fairly large "Montages" from very small (video or still) originals. Since the software uses 80-pixel wide
micro-images to replace each section of the original image - the resulting Montage can be larger than the original. If your original is already fairly large,
the final image size probably won't be too much larger since breaking apart a larger image into 2000 tiles will yield sections that more closely match the size of the micro-image
that will replace that area.
This table shows some examples of large final output size even when using a small original.
| Original Image Size | Approx. Final Size | Number of Micro Images |
7.0 Megapixels
3456 x 2304 | 9.3 Megapixels
3780 x 2480 | Approx. 2000 |
7.0 Megapixels
3456 x 2304 | 4.6 Megapixels
2640 x 1760 | Approx. 1000 |
0.5 Megapixels
800 x 600 | 9.3 Megapixels
3520 x 2640 | Approx. 2000 |
86,400k
240 x 360 | 8.6 Megapixels
2400 x 3600 | Approx. 2000 |
Creating Your Own Micro-Image Collections
As mentioned previously, Photo Montage VE includes a stock library of over 20,000 micro-images on the software CD. These images were specifically chosen to represent the widest possible
color range found in photographs, which helps to create incredible Montages. However, would you rather give someone a Photo Montage made up of stock images or one made up of images from
their life. This is where the automatic still-capture-from-video feature comes in to play.
Photo Montage has the ability to capture up to 2 frames from each second
of video. Using this setting, a 2 hour home video would provide for
14,400 captured micro-images that would be saved into a micro-collection.
Capturing this many frames per second may not be the best idea since
there are not a lot of changes in a video scene within 1/2 second. In
order to create a better variety of micro-images you might try setting
the capture to 1-frame every 2-seconds. With this setting, a 2 hour
home video would provide approximately 3,600 micro-images. Do this with
four or five home movies and you'll end up with a great micro-collection
for creating truly personalized Photo Montages.
Capturing Video Stills with Photo Montage
Capturing a single frame for use as an original "full-size" image
Note: This still capture mode is just for those times when there's a particular shot on the videotape that you would like to use as the full-size part of the Photo Montage.
See the section below titled "Capturing Micro-Images from Video" to learn how to use that feature.
Photo Montage doesn't give each screen a title. To help guide you I have given a name to each screen based on the link that lead to that particular screen within the program
- First. Make sure you have connected your camcorder to your computer
and that it was recognized by your computer. Not all camcorders
are PC friendly, but most from the past few years should be. Your
camera probably came with software to install on your PC. Once installed
and connected, a options box will most likely pop-up to alert you
that it found your device (Windows XP). You can close this pop-up
box, it is only important to look for it as a sign that your camcorder
was recognized.
- Open Photo Montage and select [Get Photo] on the Main Screen.
- Now look, find, and click on the [Acquire] button.
- A small "Select Source" window will pop-up asking you to select the appropriate TWAIN driver for your camcorder.
My Canon Camcorder shows up on the list as (WIA - Canon DV Camcorder 10 (32-32). Highlight the correct option and click on "Select."
- Another window titled "Capture Pictures from Video" will appear. The left side of this window will display the moving video from your video tape,
while the right side will display images you have manually captured (See Photo Below).
- When a frame from the video tape appears in the left "video" window click on [Capture] to "grab" the image. If you continue to capture additional frames
they will appear in order (top to bottom) in the right window.
- Once you are done selecting individual photos from your videotape, you can then scroll through the list of "grabbed" images to highlight the ones you want
to turn into Photo Montages. Once you highlight the selected images (using CRTL-SHIFT on your keyboard while you click with the mouse) click [Get Pictures].
This will add the selected photos to your Montage library. Remember, these images are NOT for use in the Micro-collections so there's no need to go crazy
selecting frame after frame. This still capture mode is just for those times when there's a particular shot on the videotape that you would like to use
as the full-size part of the Photo Montage.
View Our Convert Video to Micro-Images Tutorial
If you want to capture images from your DV camcorder, please view our
workaround tutorial that we created since we were unable to get Photo
Montage to do this for us. This tutorial also includes a link to a free
video capture utility.
Capturing Micro-Images from Video (Tutorial).
Using Multiple Collections
You might even want to create multiple collections that are more event specific (i.e. daughters tennis matches, family vacations, birthdays, sons football games, etc). The software
will allow you to combine micro-image collections when you create a Montage, but you may prefer to use a specific collection depending on the intended use of the finished Montage.
For example, I would use micro-images from my daughters tennis matches in order to create a team picture "Montage." The team picture would be made up of thousands of images captured on
video from their different matches.
Poster Print Prices (as of 9/07/2006)
Adorama: 30x40" Poster: $39.95
Shutterfly: 16x20 Canvas Prints ($89.99)
Shutterfly: 20x30 Canvas Prints ($129.99)
Shutterfly: 24x36 Canvas Prints( $149.99)
Photo Montage Settings
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Color Variation
Selecting "Color Variation" when creating a photo montage tells the software to tint each micro-image to match the original image.
While the software still searches for the best match, sometimes there just isn't a perfect match within the collection.
By tinting each tile they end up looking like a perfect match, helping to make the finished Photo Montage sharper and better defined.
The comparison on the left shows the difference in the final montage when using the Color Variations setting. On page 3 of this review you can
view these actual images in a larger size.
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Signature
The Signature option allows you to place a "signature micro-image" of your choice (company logo, self portrait, etc.) as the bottom right micro-image.
Hidden Treasure
The Hidden Treasure feature works similar to the signature feature, but instead of placing a micro-image of your choice in a set position, it will get hidden somewhere within the
photo. The more photo-like the hidden image is - the harder it will be to find.
Pattern: Aligned
Photo Montage provides the option to align each micro-image or offset each row of images. From my testing, using "aligned" tiles seems to produce a sharper Photo Montage, but this
may depend on the original image. Since it only takes about 1 min, 45 sec. for the program to create a Photo Montage, it is easy to try different settings.
Pattern: Micro-image repetition
Photo Montage gives you the ability to control how often a micro-image will be used. The settings available are: Never Repeat; Limited Repeat; Unlimited Repeat. It looks to me that
if you select "Never Repeat" you still might get a some images repeating, but it wasn't all that noticeable.
Borders and Grids
The option to add borders or a tile grid is another nice little touch.
Adding a border is the perfect touch when placing a printed Montage
into a poster frame. Selecting the Grid option (Grid, No Border), separates
each tile with a thin black line and really makes each micro-image standout.
I haven't printed a Montage with a grid but on-screen it looks great.
See page 3 (Sample Photo Montages) for examples of Photo Montages with
Grids.
The options for borders are: No Grid, No Border, No Grid, Thin Border, No Grid, Wide Border, Grid, No Border.
Caption
Photo Montage allows you to add a Caption to your Montage. You can select the Font and Font Size and position the caption on the top of bottom of your image. Here is a list of
caption positions available: Bottom, Outside Image; Bottom, Inside Image; Top, Outside Image; Top, Inside Image. (Example Right)
History of Photo Mosaics
Joseph Francis' work on a 1992 Kodak television commercial led him to invent the idea of assembling meta images out of mosaics of smaller, often thematically related images - Photo Mosaics.
The Computer animation department, which Francis was running, was called upon to create the illusion of a stadium full of "flipping cards" for a this 1992 Kodak television spot.
Review Summary
In the end, Photo Montage is one part success, one part let down.
The software creates some of the best Photo Montages I have seen, features
a very simple interface, and only sells for $39.95. The ability to convert
videos into micro-images is what truly makes this software special.
Converting frames from video (there are up to 15 - 30 individual frames
per second) is really the only time-effective way of creating the thousands
of images needed to make a truly personal Photo Montage. ArcSoft includes
a micro-image collection of over 20,000, but giving a poster-sized print
as a gift, made up of personal images relating to the subject is, in
my opinion, truly priceless.
Photo Montage has also added another new feature titled "Color Variations." This feature tints each matching micro-image to match the section of the full-size image that it is representing. By tinting
each micro-image, your Photo Montage will take on a much more polished look. I cannot find a reason why I wouldn't want to use this feature, but there is the option of turning off.
The big let down is in the Video Capture section of the program. Photo Montage has the ability to not only convert videos into micro-images, but also to capture them from your DV Camcorder.
However, I was unable to get the "setup" or "capture" buttons (within the Video Capture screen) to respond. I spent 40 minutes on the phone with ArcSoft's tech support and still came up
with nothing other than to wait up to 48 hours for the issue to be escalated. This will give them time to test this feature and get back to me. I will update this review when I hear back from them.
Since I was not able to get the video capture function working I have come up with a work around using a free video capture utility. View my tutorial on page two to learn how to capture video
from your DV Camcorder without spending a dime. You can then use Photo Montage to convert these video clips into micro-image collections.
Capturing Micro-Images from Video (Tutorial).
If you plan to purchase this program for the new video capture capability and want everything to work as it should then I cannot recommend Photo Montage at this time. However, if you have no desire to
create your own micro-image library from video clips or you don't mind working around the video capture problem then I can say that it is well worth the $39.95 price ($19.99 at CameraWorld.com). As I said when I started this review
summary, Photo Montage is one part success, one part let down. The success is the programs ease-of-use and the quality of the Montages it creates, the let-down is that the new video capture feature doesn't
seem to work.
My Suggestions to ArcSoft
- Get rid of the "Cool Stuff" link that links to a site that is no longer online.
- Fix the issues mentioned with the Video Capture*.
- Rewrite the manual to reflect all the features in the Video Edition (VE) version and explain in detail how to use them.
- The CD includes 20,000 (small) micro-images, yet the manual says there should be both a "small" and "large" collection. Is the manual wrong or are there micro-images missing from the CD?
- Allow web users to share their micro-collections. This way users of the software could share or download themes of micro-images that others have created. Example: An "Elvis" micro-collection
could be downloaded to create an Elvis Photo Montage or a collection of vintage car photos could be downloaded to create a poster for a Vintage Car Show, etc.
* Since I cannot guarantee that the problem with the video capture isn't just with my setup I will make any necessary updates to this review once I hear from Tech Support.
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Special Offer
For a limited time, WolfCamera and Cameraworld (Both owned by Ritz Camera) are offering
a special Buy 1, Get 1 Free offer on ArcSoft's PhotoMontage VE. To make things even
sweeter, their price is only $19.99.
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