Slide Shows

[RNJR]

I recently completed a slide show and burned it to DVD using MYDVD which is parcelled as part of Easy Media Creator 7.5. It seemed to work quite well but since then I have been reviewing a number of sites and I have come across other software that may do the job better. I have read good reviews on both "MemoriesonTV" and also "Proshow Gold". Does anyone have any experience with these products and how they might compare to MYDVD?
Thanks
Ron

[Almost Human]

I have not tried MyDVD. MemoriesonTV is very powerful, but clumsy. Proshow Gold would be excellent if it didn't cost $70 (regular Proshow will only output to VCD).

DVD PixPlay is the slideshow creator I use. The three recent updates have corrected almost all of the downsides I noted in my review of v2.62. The new v2.70 is powerful and easy to use, but still only accepts .wav or .mp3 (I use lossless .wma). For $29.50 this is the best of the bunch.

[classfour]

ProShow Gold and Proshow Producer (same interface, higher price, extra features) will produce a nice video slideshow on various output media: VCD to DVD, mpg, screensave, etc..

With the exception of having system lockups on earlier versions, the later ones seem to be more stable on my computers. ProShow is actually very easy to use: Select the folder where your music and photos are stored, drag it in; select all photos, set your transition time, select random motion effects (if you want them) and random transitions; name the file and RENDER.

Final video quality is very good.

The last DVD Slideshow that I produced took longer to scan the photos than to produce: About 14 minutes of video, 8 hours at the scanner, 3 hours in production - including authoring the DVD.

I can't speak for Memories on TV or other programs as I haven't used them.

I can say this is much easier than using MediaStudio Pro, setting each slide's duration, transition effects, etc. while trying to sync everything to the music.