The online gallery site SmugMug has added large image displays and video hosting to the features it offers subscribers. The new “Smugmungous” photo gallery display sizes are designed to improve photo display for viewers who have large monitors and dual-monitor setups by filling the screens. New photo display sizes include XLarge (up to 1024×768), X2Large (up to 1280×960), and X3Large (up to 1600×1200). New video hosting features include support for VGA-resolution footage and even HD video.

SmugMug subscribers — beginning at the $39.95/year Standard user level — will be able to set their photo galleries to display images in the extra-large sizes on monitors that can accommodate them. Gallery thumbnail displays will also expand to fill large display areas, with more thumbnails appearing on a page and thumbnail image sizes of up to 150 pixels wide. The new “Smugmungous” galleries can also stretch across two screens for viewers who have dual-monitor setups. SmugMug’s system automatically sizes images to be displayed at the optimal size for a given display by ascertaining the browser area.

Subscribers at the Power User ($49.95/year) and Professional ($149.95/year) levels can now also upload video in numerous formats to their galleries. SmugMug converts video files to the h.264 standard so that they can be displayed on a wide range of devices. Copies of uploaded videos are created at 240×320 resolution for display on very small screens, while viewers with a larger screen or a computer monitor will see 640×480 VGA video, assuming it was uploaded at that resolution. Professional-level users can also upload high-definition 1280x720x24p and 960x540x30p video. Clip lengths for uploaded videos are limited to 2.5 minutes and 5 minutes for Power and Professional users, respectively. SmugMug subscribers can make their videos available as podcasts via iTunes and other RSS readers that support RSS enclosures.

SmugMug also recently introduced integration with Photoshop CS2 and CS3 via a direct upload tool in Adobe Bridge. The tool is available as a free update to Bridge users.

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