[Help Wordpress] Images centered and cut off. Transitions not smooth.

2 Problems:

1. My image dimensions are all 820px wide x 440px high. The images should fill the slider area completely. However they always get cut off and centered. Can you help, please?

http://tonystromberg.com/wordpress/royal

2. The fading transitions between the slides are not very smooth. I would like to have the same quality fade as for example in the Nivo Slider for Wordpress. How can I adjust the fade?

Thank you

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help.dimsemenov.com