Software for making Slide Shows

[hummingbird]

I use PSE and love it. Now I would like to put my pictures on a slide show DVD to play on my TV. I can't do that in PSE. Does anyone have special software for slide shows? Or any helpful ideas on how to do it? I thought this would be a great way to preserve and pass on my several scrapbook albums to my sisters and brothers.

Kathy

[Janet]

http://www.codejam.com/motv.htm Memories on TV is one I have and have used. Makes DVD's that will play both on the TV in any DVD player and on the computer as well. I see they also have DVD Composer, a new software. May need to try that one in the future. I know there are other programs out there that others have used which will give you a nice variety to choose from. :)

[morayo]

I use PSE and love it. Now I would like to put my pictures on a slide show DVD to play on my TV. I can't do that in PSE. Does anyone have special software for slide shows? Or any helpful ideas on how to do it? I thought this would be a great way to preserve and pass on my several scrapbook albums to my sisters and brothers.

Kathy

Hi Kathy, I'm new here, but I'm glad to be able to answer this question.


You can use Photo Story 3 which is available free from Microsoft (requires windows XP and genuine advantage validation.) You can download it here - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx


With Photo Story 3 you can create slide shows from digital pictures that you can send by email, play on any computer the has Windows Media Player 7 or later (also a free download from Microsoft for a windows XP computer) or Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC, Smartphone, or Portable Media Center.

You can use Photo Story 3 to edit the photographs, fix minor problems like red eyes, add your own narration or a soundtrack to the slide show.

Now, here comes the catch - to get the slide show onto a DVD, you need a plug-in called Sonic DVD for Photo Story 3 which costs $19.99. http://www.estore.sonic.com/enu/photostory/default.asp

However, if you already have software that can create VCDs or DVDs from WMV files (Windows media video), you won't need the plug-in.

HTH - let me know if you need more info

Regards, Morayo

[elr104]

I have tried many photo slideshow softwares and i have to say my favorite is Roxio Easy Media Creator 7, it contains many different transitions and effects and your able to add your finished scapbooking pages. Furthermore you can add music which adds a finishing touch to the product. It also lets you save your slideshow in various formats including DVD. :)

[Pam]

Be sure you check the manual to see which formats your DVD player will play. Mine will play MP3 music files, MPG movie files, and also - if I just fill a CD with JPG photo or layout files, it will show them in a slideshow format. Not all DVD players will do this. I have used a program called OnDVD that came with a Dazzle appliance - it made a DVD presentation from individual photos and allowed me to add background music.

There are many -- check out what Janet, Morayo, and elr104 (all above) have said (I'm going to). Those that create a true DVD presentation should play in any DVD player.

[davisfour]

Go to the Adobe website and you can upgrade your PSE to Photoshop Elements Premiere. That adds the whole DVD component. I bought mine together for double the money. Brenda :)

[Black Razor]

Well,
I happen to particularly use Proshow Gold by Photodex Software (www.photodex.com)

This software is amazing. You can purchase it for only $69, and it will allow you to make amazing slideshows, score the soundtracks, and even mix in movies. ProShow make it easy to create stunning slide shows. All you have to do is just select your photos and drop them in the show sequencer...add a custom soundtrack or pick from over 280 stunning transition effects to add that final touch. THATS HOT!

Now, what makes this even better is that you can now combine your stunning layouts and using your home movie footage, which you can easily edit with stunning special effects using a program like Video Edit Magic ($69 @ www.deskshare.com) you can produce amazing DVD presentations of your memories. Scrapbooking gone wild!

Now, to add to this already amazing scheme....you can even go as far as to score your own special soundtrack by mixing your MP3's and sound effects using software like MixMeister Express ($49 @ www.mixmeister.com) and making your own DVD Cases/Inserts and custom disc face labels.

Hope everyone likes...

[TsMom]

I'm trying to find something too. There are precisely a million and one choices give or take a couple. I'm very overwhelmed. Found this overview of some of them, though not all of these allow for DVD burning. PhotoShow Gold looks appealing but $70 is a bit steep for me, for something I'd only use occassionally. I haven't completely ruled it out though.

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photopresentationswin/

I've also downloaded Microsoft's Photo Story 3, which looks great, and is simple to use and can be used in conjuction with Movie Maker 2. My only problem is that my DVD software doesn't support the WMV file it produces.

In addition to slide show capabilities, I'd like to find something that can do some limited video editing and DVD authoring. I want something simple but not so simple that I don't get to be creative when I want to.

Does anyone have any experience with Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 4? I'm downloading it as well as Magix's PhotoStory CD and DVD, which appears cheaper but more difficult to learn than Photoshow Gold. When I review these I'll let you know what I think.

Oh yeah. I've also tried Pictures2Exe, which is great if you want to do simple slide shows, create screen savers, and self-executing EXE files. But it doesn't do the pan and zoom effects that I like. You can also make VCDs and DVDs with it.

LaWanna

[Black Razor]

LaWanna,
Please send me an pvt msg.

I will show you how to get ProShow and Adobe Premier Elements at a major discount.

Also, your layouts are beautiful. I hope to get some tips from you.

[TsMom]

I ended up trying and really liking a program called Magix Photostory on CD and DVD. It is kind of quirky, and difficult to learn because so much of it is hidden behind the interface but it does some very cool things and unlike so many of the other programs out there the effects are not corny looking. It was also only $40 at CompUSA. You can also get an e-version a little cheaper from the company site that is missing some of the features. The boxed version comes with tons of transitions, many of which can be further customized. It also comes with several instant Photoshows that are pretty neat and not at all corny, that include classic slide show, beach vacation, silent movie, Christmas . . . It also has an organizer with it and an image editor that opens from within the slide show program. I'm really enjoying playing with it. I'm planning to do slide shows for both my boys' birthdays, and also burn a video to the same DVD. One big draw to this program for me was that you can use WMV files from Photostory and Movie Maker with it. You can add music. Blend two photos together, pan and zoom, add special effects and even optimize the audio features. It also has separate tracks for narration and music. I haven't tried ProShow Gold, because I wasn't willing to spend the $80, and I'm not the least bit sorry. It is a resource hog, but that's probably true with all of these programs and sometimes it shuts down unexpectedly, so you have to remember to save often. So far that's my only gripe.

Black Razor,
Thanks for the compliments. What would you like to know? Let me know, but here are two. I always add drop shadows to my photos and elements and to my photos I add a very slight bevel. Also, I'm a texture-a-holic. I add texture to all my paper elements like backgrounds, tags, etc. Also, I like clean lines, simple layouts. I put the pictures on first, decide how I want those, then add titles, journaling. The embellishments are the last thing I do, because those are not the most important parts to me. If I have time to do them I put them on. Otherwise they get left off. Also, I like my embellishments to be doing something, like holding my journaling block to my page, holding a photo on, displaying a title or something like that. Sometimes I add one for effect or to further the theme, but if it doesn't have a purpose I leave it off. I also like to play with brushes and layer styles to get varying effects. Oh, that's more than two. Oh well. Email me if you want at desjardin75@yahoo.com and I'll answer anything I can or point you toward some resources if you want.
LaWanna