Slideshow on CDs

[Radtech1]

A thousand pardons if this is an old subject.

I am looking to burn my images onto CD's so that they will play a slide show on the Television (voice-over if I can get it) when placed into a commercial (non-computer) DVD player. The only problem is that I dont have software to do this.

Freeware is best, Cheapware is OK. Budget is limited, but I suppose I could go $50 if need be.

Thanks,

Radtech1

[jd_D60]

Adobe Photoshop ALBUM is a great extra for slideshows (as well as other stuff like calendars etc) in the UK it costs about £30 UK

[Jerry Vanderberg]

Does Adobe PhotoShop Album play AVI clips as part of slide shows? This is a must for me. I use Cyberlink MediaShow for this, as it is one of the few programs able to include AVIs but I have mixed feelings about the program.

[markbach]

I tried the Adobe Photoshop Album and the resolution on the TV screen was terrible, it looks like 1 mega pixel at best. Adobe tech rep agreed and said that it wasn't designed for high res files. uggh

Any help

[Nibby]

Hi Radtech1

There are heaps out there but one of the cheapies and quite good is Prowshow gold, It's downloadable and has a free trial, check it out on

http://www.photodex.com/products/proshow/

cheers

Nibby

[psk4363]

Hi Radtech1,

Having tried the slide-show facility in Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5 and 6, I've now settled on 'PicturestoExe' available via download as a trial initially then purchase the serial number for $24 for a personal licence from www.wnsoft.com/apr.

Multiple music tracks can be attached to the show, and voice commentaries too. Take a look and give it a go.

Hope this helps,
Barry

[Vegas Poboy]

I'll back up the statement for Proshow!!! It's simple and effective.

[SereneSoft]

PhotoGift 1.2

Create unique self-running multimedia photo albums, screensavers, e-cards, HTML galleries with transition effects, sounds, music, voice comments, synthesized computer voice.

WebSite: http://serenesoft.com/photogift/
Screenshots: http://serenesoft.com/photogift/scrshots.htm
Download (2.1MB): http://serenesoft.com/photogift/photogft.exe

[snapperv6]

Vegas Poboy wrote:
I'll back up the statement for Proshow!!! It's simple and effective.

Ditto

[slejhamer]

For the Proshow (and any other software) users:

How good is the image quality when the S-VCD or X-VCD format is viewed on a 35-inch or larger television (via a DVD player)?

I've been very disappointed with the results I got from the basic VCD format. Right now I am leaning toward the DVD format (maybe Ulead DVD PictureShow?) unless I learn that one of the other VCD formats can better meet my needs.

Proshow Gold looks great but does not appear to support the DVD format. Does that mean that I can not use it to burn to a DVD+R disc, even if the slideshow format is S- or X-VCD? Finally, how many high-quality images can you get on a CD-R with stereo background music?

Your comments will be appreciated!


(P.S. Snapperv6: that banner in your sig is scary! :) )

[ashforth]

I have a number of programs, but find Flipalbum the best of the lot.

Herb

[Vegas Poboy]

slejhamer wrote:
For the Proshow (and any other software) users:

How good is the image quality when the S-VCD or X-VCD format is viewed on a 35-inch or larger television (via a DVD player)?

I've been very disappointed with the results I got from the basic VCD format. Right now I am leaning toward the DVD format (maybe Ulead DVD PictureShow?) unless I learn that one of the other VCD formats can better meet my needs.

Proshow Gold looks great but does not appear to support the DVD format. Does that mean that I can not use it to burn to a DVD+R disc, even if the slideshow format is S- or X-VCD? Finally, how many high-quality images can you get on a CD-R with stereo background music?

Your comments will be appreciated!


(P.S. Snapperv6: that banner in your sig is scary! :) )






It all depends on the gear you're using, It's a great piece of software & I was fairly happy with the VCD results but looking for more. So I'm waiting for the new line of DVD burners to be release this winter to see if the quality improves.

[PacAce]

Vegas Poboy wrote:
...So I'm waiting for the new line of DVD burners to be release this winter to see if the quality improves.

Quality of what? The quality of the images on a DVD vs VCD? Or the quality of the DVD burners that are currently available vs those that may be coming out this winter?

If it's the former, a slideshow on VCD doesn't even come close to matching the quality and resolution of slideshows on DVD. It's like comparing movies on VHS tape to those on DVD.

If it's the later, the DVD burners on the market are already of good quality, assuming you buy the brand name ones.

[markbach]

Ok, so now that we have it established that VCD format does not give high enough resolution, we need DVD format.

What prorgrams are best for creating a DVD slide show.

And does anyone have any info on DVD writable drives, cause I guess the old CD burner is not enough.

As I write this I must question, if I can store hundreds of photos on a CD at high res, why can't I show them on the screen, my camera can do it from the card?

[slejhamer]

markbach wrote:
Ok, so now that we have it established that VCD format does not give high enough resolution, we need DVD format.



I'm not yet convinced. Here is resolution (NTSC standard) by format:

VCD: 352x240
SVCD: 480x480
XSVCD: 720x480
DVD: 720x480

So it seems that the XS-VCD format ("extended S-VCD" ) should come very close to DVD in image resolution. However the video bitrate is about 1/2 that of DVD. Also, as you might expect, the DVD format is more compatible with stand-alone DVD players than XSVCD. My player does support XSVCD so I am considering this format as an alternative to buying a DVD burner in order to get better resolution. I'll test ProShow in XSVCD format and report back...

[Vegas Poboy]

PacAce wrote:
Vegas Poboy wrote:
...So I'm waiting for the new line of DVD burners to be release this winter to see if the quality improves.

Quality of what? The quality of the images on a DVD vs VCD? Or the quality of the DVD burners that are currently available vs those that may be coming out this winter?

If it's the former, a slideshow on VCD doesn't even come close to matching the quality and resolution of slideshows on DVD. It's like comparing movies on VHS tape to those on DVD.

If it's the later, the DVD burners on the market are already of good quality, assuming you buy the brand name ones.

The Quality of the VCD's I've been blowing cash on camera equipment for the past 8 months :) not on my PC. VCD is a decent format but I want more & from friends I've been told that DVD format is way better than the VCD also if they Mpeg 4 really gets going the way the industry is headed I might just jump to that.

[snapperv6]

markbach wrote:
What prorgrams are best for creating a DVD slide show.

And does anyone have any info on DVD writable drives, cause I guess the old CD burner is not enough.


FYI:

When using DVD for slide shows there is 4.7Gb available approx. To take advantage of this I like to create several slide shows per DVD. This highlights some of the shortcomings of the more popular reasonably priced prosumer-down DVD authoring packages (or at least the ones I have researched) - specifically, the area of menu configuration.

I use ProShow Gold to create my slide shows and then Mediachance's ( www.mediachance.com) DVDLab to author the DVD as it gives total control of the menus and flow of the slideshows - it's very easy to use.

As for writable drives - I use Ricoh 5125a it's a DVD+R/RW model (UK price

[PacAce]

markbach wrote:
Ok, so now that we have it established that VCD format does not give high enough resolution, we need DVD format.

What prorgrams are best for creating a DVD slide show.

And does anyone have any info on DVD writable drives, cause I guess the old CD burner is not enough.

As I write this I must question, if I can store hundreds of photos on a CD at high res, why can't I show them on the screen, my camera can do it from the card?

There are several dedicated slideshow programs out there but since I don't use any of them I can't give you any recommendations. Take a look at Ulead DVD Picure Show. Ulead has some pretty good programs but their tech support sucks.

I do a lot of video editing so I use my video editing softwares for creating my DVD slideshows. I've used both Ulead Video Studio and Adobe Premier Pro and they both do a good job of it. However, if you don't do any video editing, these programs might be a bit overkill.

As for hardware, I'm a Pioneer fan. I have the A04 which only supports the DVD-R/W format. However, their current model, the A06, supports both the DVD-R/w and the DVD+R/W formats. Sony also makes dual compatible formats but a buddy of mine has one and he's been having problems getting consistantly perfect burns with his Sony DVD burner. I"ve never had any problems with my Pioneer A04.

And, to answer your last question, you CAN show your images stored on CD on your computer monitor. You just need the proper software to do it. I use Ulead Photo Explorer but there are other softwares out there that'll do it. You can even use Canon's Zoombrowser. However, if you're talking about displaying the RAW images, then all bets are off. :)

[Jack W.]

I recently started using ProShow Gold. Overall, I like it very much.
The pc slideshows are terrific. Image quality is outstanding, and the transitions look great.
But the image quality in a vcd is only so-so, and you can't use transitions. My DVD player doesn't support SVCD etc., so I can't test ProShow in that format.

[Namagemo]

To All:

I've been looking into this subject ever since I got my first digital camera...~5 years ago. I have tried many, many programs of this type.

MemoriesOnTV here:

http://www.picturetotv.com/

is looking like a real winner. I've only just "discovered" it and have not burned a "show" yet, but I have made a show and am impressed. Second choice so far would be ProShow Gold as others have stated. Unlimited free trial download, fully functional but with watermark across photos until purchase. Definitely worth a try. Oh yes, and it has the "Ken Burns" pan and zoom feature that really adds polish to the presentation.

Regards,

[marcel wouters]

slejhamer wrote:
For the Proshow (and any other software) users:

How good is the image quality when the S-VCD or X-VCD format is viewed on a 35-inch or larger television (via a DVD player)?

I've been very disappointed with the results I got from the basic VCD format. Right now I am leaning toward the DVD format (maybe Ulead DVD PictureShow?) unless I learn that one of the other VCD formats can better meet my needs.

Proshow Gold looks great but does not appear to support the DVD format. Does that mean that I can not use it to burn to a DVD+R disc, even if the slideshow format is S- or X-VCD? Finally, how many high-quality images can you get on a CD-R with stereo background music?

Your comments will be appreciated!


(P.S. Snapperv6: that banner in your sig is scary! :) )





search at vcdhelp.com, you will find your DVD compatibility and a lot of software!
Resolution for VCD
NTSC 352X240 but 704X480 in big resolution
PAL 352X288 but 704X576 in big resolution
Resolution for sVCD
NTSC 480X480 but 704X480 in big resolution
PAL 480X576 but 704X576 in big resolution
I play with Pinnacle express one year ago (now Expression)
If you want to see picture on PC it's better to use VCD (non interlaced mode) but on TV sVCD (interlaced mode) is a must and give a better look.
Be carefull the pixels isn't the size ratio! The horizontal line is stretched on a TV!

Be carefull X-sVCD is not a standard! I am happy with the sVCD results!

If you want to use the index facility (direct access to pic XX) you are limited to 99 pics per CD's, i don't know if this is a software or a standard limitation!

If you burn to a DVD you don't write vcd or svcd but DVD data!

For fixed pics the data rate is not very important, the main reason to increase data rate is to avoid pixelisation during film movement so your only concern is the definition! I do some clips (films) at 2,5 mb rate(30minutes) with a good result in sVCD.