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Touch up your pictures with Media Center


You can touch up your photos with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Fix red eye, adjust the contrast, and crop your pictures, all with your remote control. First, copy your pictures from your camera to your Media Center computer. Then, follow these steps to make your pictures look better:
  1. Press the Green Start Button on your remote to open the Media Center Start menu, and then select My Pictures
    2. Media Center Edition Start menu with My Pictures selected
  2. Highlight the picture you want to edit, and press the MORE INFO button on your remote. Select Picture Details.
    3. Tip: Repeated changes to the same image can affect its quality. Before you edit your pictures, it's a good idea to make a copy of the original image and edit that copy. Your original image will be preserved in case you need it.
    Pictures page with Picture Details selected from the MORE INFO dialog box
  3. On the Picture Details page, select Rotate repeatedly until the picture is oriented the way you want it.
    4. Picture Details page with Rotate selected
  4. To perform additional editing, select Touch Up.
    5. Picture Details page with Touch Up selected
  5. On the Touch Up page, select from the following options:

    • Red Eye. Select Red Eye to automatically fix red eye caused by using a flash.

      • Red Eye: Before:
      Touch Up page with Red Eye selected, before version
      Red Eye: After:
      Touch Up page with Red Eye selected, after version
    • Contrast. Select Contrast to automatically adjust the contrast of the picture. Use Contrast to fix pictures that look too dark or too bright, or that are washed-out.

      • Contrast: Before:
      Touch Up page with Contrast selected, before version
      Contrast: After:
      Touch Up page with Contrast selected, after version
    • Crop. Select Crop to trim the picture. Select the arrow buttons below the picture to adjust where the picture will be cropped. Select the magnifying glass buttons to adjust the size of the cropped picture.

      • Crop: Before:
      Touch Up page with Crop selected, before version
      Crop: During:
      Touch Up page with Crop selected, during version
      Crop: After
      Touch Up page with Crop selected, after version
    • Preview. View your edited picture full-screen.

      • Touch Up page with Preview selected
      Preview image
      Preview of image
  6. Select Save.
    7. Touch Up page with Save selected
  7. In the Apply Changes dialog box, select Yes. Media Center will save the changes you made to the picture.
    8. Apply Changes dialog box with Yes selected
  8. On the Picture Details page, press BACK to continue browsing your pictures.
    9. Fix any flawed pictures immediately after copying them to your computer so your pictures will always be ready for printing or a slide show. For more advanced picture editing, including automatically adjusting color, fixing poor lighting, and removing blemishes, you can use a photo editing program like Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006.

    Now that you have touched up your photos, show them off. With Media Center, you can do a lot with your pictures. View, share, and organize your digital photos—even play them in a slide show on your TV.
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