Slide Show with Music?

[dennykyser]

Want to make a slide show with music, I want to make both a CD version and DVD version so it can be seen on television. I have Microsoft Power Point, can a presentation made with powerpoint be used on a computer that doesnt have Power Point?

I believe I can do the DVD show with my DVD software but not sure about the CD Rom Program?

Thanks for any help

[cpc1225]

can a presentation made with powerpoint be used on a computer that doesnt have Power Point?

The answer should be "yes", after your slide show is created, save it as powerpoint show (*.pps).

I believe I can do the DVD show with my DVD software but not sure about the CD Rom Program?

Ulead has a software(picture show) that can produce high resolution slide show with music in vcd format.

Hope this help.

[dennykyser]

Thanks for the quick response and help
Denny

[Jack W.]

Several programs that are very popular:
ProShow Gold
www.photodex.com
MemoriesOnTV
http://www.picturetotv.com/

I'm using ProShow Gold. The latest version has pan and zoom, which have become known as "Ken Burns Effects", along with motion effects for text and transitions. You can add music, and burn dvd's and cd's that also include a pc executable so it can be viewed on both a computer and tv. It's a terrific program, but it's been going through growing pains since the latest version (2) was released a few months ago. The problems were mostly related to burning dvd's. Photodex is good at releasing updates, and the latest build seems to be quiet stable. You can download a trial version and see how it works for you. Video cd's (vcd) should play on most set top players. SVCD's may not play on some players, as I understand it's a somewhat finicky format. DVD's on a set top should play, but there are different formats there too (dvd-r, and dvd+r). New players should play both (my player is about 2 years old and doesn't support SVCD). You can also save your slideshow as an mpeg file (dvd compliant) and then bring it into one of the dvd authoring programs and add even more very cool stuff like motion menus and special effects.
I haven't tried MemoriesOnTV yet, but it's also supposed to be excellent, though not quite as full featured as ProShow. They also have a trial version.
Here's a site with a load of info:
http://www.videohelp.com/

[dennykyser]

Thanks alot, wow, alot to learn again, Why is it every learning curve brings out another. Who knew when I first fell in love with photography that I would have to be an electrician(studio) now this.. guess it keeps the mind from wasting.

One quick question. If I burn a DVD-R will that play on most DVD Burners? Or am I better of burning to CD (I guess VCD)

[Jack W.]

A dvd will give you much better picture quality than a vcd when played on a set top player. SVCD is almost as good as DVD, but the set top player has to be able to read it, and, as I posted above, can be a bit finicky. The pc executable will look great on your computer monitor.
From what I've learned so far, I believe DVD-R is, at this time, more compatible with players than DVD+R. But that depends on the age of the player. New ones can usually play all the different formats. But DVD burning on a pc is still a work in progress. A pc created DVD, either +R or -R, may play fine in one player, and have problems in another. Check the manual for your player to see what formats it supports. If it supports SVCD, try that when you burn your show to a cd, then try it and see how well your player does with it. I built a slide show in ProShow a while back, and burned it in SVCD. Put it in my player, and voila! Nothing happened! Read my manual and discovered it doesn't read SVCD's! LOL
Yep, lots to learn about with burning slide shows, but that's part of the fun. But, while blank cd's are cheap and no big deal if you burn some coasters, blank dvd's are still a bit pricey. Not so much fun burning dvd coasters. heh heh So, while DVD's will give you the best picture quality, don't be afraid to burn some VCD's to start off with while you learn whatever program you go with.
One last thing: don't skimp on blank dvd's. It's important to use good ones. Read the posts on the forum at http://www.videohelp.com/ about blank media for recommendations on brands, etc.
One more last last thing: if you get in to this thing of working on your photos to make sure they look their best, and then bring them into one of the slide show programs, be prepared to spend a lot of time in front of that computer having a lot of fun! :-)

[mat]

ive use memories to tv for past year and is soo easy and gives good results i really like the bit that you can make the image transistions fit exactly the music with the autosync , very ggod

[4walls]

Try this little program (free version limited to 10 slides) called Pictures to
Exe. It is an easy to use program and does a great job.

I make a slideshow every year for my daughter's year-end program at
school and we put in about 100 pictures and three or four MP3's and the
whole thing takes about 10 minutes to make from scratch.

The new version of this program will also make SVCD and DVDs,
although I have not tested these functions.

You can make stand-alone EXE files for the slideshows (runs on any
Windows platform) or screen saver SCR files.

Check it out at: http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/main.htm

With this program you can also create a time limited slideshow (stops
working after preset time that you specify). You can also enable or
disable the print screen function to copyright your work. It is a good
way for clients to preview their orders.

[dennykyser]

PicToEXE

Thanks I downloaded the program then purchased it after using it. it is great.

One question though, how can I make an Auto run Cd?

[4walls]

When you burn the CD you will need a file in the root directory called <autorun.inf>. Here are instructions for the inf file contents...

http://www.phdcc.com/shellrun/autorun.htm

AutoRun runs a program when a CD is inserted into a Windows computer.

If Windows finds a (plain text) file called AUTORUN.INF in the root
directory of a CD then it follows the instructions in this file to run a
program. This example AUTORUN.INF file tells Windows to run program
setup.exe (from the root directory of the CD):

[autorun]
open=setup.exe
icon=snazzie.ico

Use the Windows Notepad application to edit plain text files (it is in the
Start+All Programs+Accessories menu).

Your CD users may have switched off AutoRun. This might be because
they are concerned about viruses. Also, if they press the Shift key down
while inserting the CD, AutoRun is disabled. In Windows NT4, 2000 and
XP systems, only Administrators and Power Users can use AutoRun.


There is no way to force your users to use AutoRun. It is therefore good
practice to provide instructions so that users know how to start your CD,
eg tell them to open file index.htm in their browser. These instructions
are also required if your CD might be viewed by non-Windows users.


So why is ShellRun needed?

Until recently, it was not possible for Windows to AutoRun a file rather
than a program.

OK, that's not strictly true: you could use the following AUTORUN.INF to
show web page index.htm

[autorun]
open=start index.htm

However, if you do this, Windows displays a DOS box briefly, which looks
nasty. (And start might not be available on some systems.)

If you are only targeting recent Windows systems, then you can use the
shellexecute command to open a file without a flickering DOS box:


[autorun]
shellexecute=index.htm