Microsite owners are now able to upload their own images without having to worry about the exacting TV platform requirements regarding images. Their image is now automatically resized to the correct format of .jpeg (v1.01) and compressed for the best combination of performance and quality. However, there are still a number of guidelines that should be followed if you are to get the best out of your images on your Looking Local service. Many of these are common sense and some are not so obvious. The full technical requirements are available for those who are interested. We cannot police these guidelines, but to get the best from images within your service you should do your best to follow them.
Guidelines
Highly saturated colours can look very 'gaudy' or may 'flicker' when viewed on a TV. This gaudiness and flickering will not be apparent on a browser or TV emulator. Some colour combinations listed below can cause screen flicker and cause "barber pole" effects.
Black and White
Red and Blue
Yellow and Purple
Red and Green
Blue and Yellow
Green and Blue
Images with high contrast, fine lines (1 to 3 pixels wide - such as maps) can also cause a flickering effect on TV.
Particular care needs to be taken when using images with graphic designs.
Maps and diagrams are not recommended for use on TV as they may be difficult or impossible to read, especially for partially sighted or people with small TV screens.
If you are in doubt about an image contact one of the Looking Local team who can advise you and view the image on a TV screen through both Virgin TV and Sky Set Top Boxes.
