Create DVD that acts like slideshow

[ronritz]

I am trying to create a DVD that acts like a slideshow like in Powerpoint but I would like the DVD to pause after each slide. Then I would have to hit play to advance to the next slide. Kinda like a flip chart on video.

[Constant Gardener]

Search "slide show" and a list of tools will appear, such as DVD Slideshow.

[Cornucopia]

Even without "tools", you should be able to do this in ANY non-crappy DVD authoring app by using the "menus" as the slides. There is a limit to the number of slides done this way (either 99 or 999 per title depending upon which way you do it). However, if you need to go beyond that, there are more complicated ways that will do that and have nearly unlimited amounts of "slides". Then you would be limited to the more professional encoding & authoring packages.

Scott

<edit>@Constant Gardener, your suggestion is not what the OP wants, as that and apps like it would convert the stills to a single piece of video and not allow the show->stop->show->stop feature that would be necessary for his setup.

<edit #2>With most modern players, it might be just as easy to export your PPT to JPG pictures and burn those to a data disc. Then they (the jpgs) would play in sequential order stopping at each one...

[_Al_]

just a reminder to keep correct aspect ratios for those pictures and prevent double encoding or resizing if loaded manually into DVD authoring to import them as menu background for example for that slideshow:

1. open new empty picture in Photoshop with these presets: DV NTSC 720x480 or NTSC DV widescreen 720x480 or PAL DV 720x756 or PAL DV widescreen 720x576
2. paste your picture in it, use Ctrl+T with Shift pressed while resizing to keep aspect ratio and to zoom out or to reposition them correctly
3.export them as bmp or png
4.import into DVD authoring as menu background, then you need to create subpicture in each menu , link them together, if you have more then 99 images, you need to create another VTS for them etc., you can link last menu from one VTS to other VTS through VMG only, this is more advanced...

there must be some easy tool to do that, how about ConvertXtoDVD ?,

[Constant Gardener]

DVD Lab Pro does slideshows - not a feature that I've used but it looks promising. There's a free trial...

[transporterfan]

there must be some easy tool to do that, how about ConvertXtoDVD ?,

As far as I know ConvertX can't (at least, not without a lot of effort). I have an old version of 'TMPGEnc DVD Author 3 with DivX Authoring' and I include short slide shows by using the 'Notes' function. This is effectively a chapter screen (think single chapter with no information), a blank screen I can change the background, and have other scalable pictures overlayed, and text with various effects. Each screen has jump buttons (forward, back, first and last page, and Return (to main menu)). Very useful. Limited effects unfortunately. The bonus is that text is as a direct input, so there is no degradation as with jpg artifacts etc.
I have no idea of the Notes page limit. The most I ever needed to do was 32 pages.

The downside for those who don't have it already is...it's no longer available, superceeded by TMPGEnc Authoring Works 5. I don't know if this new version still has the ability. Perhaps someone can let me know as I am thinking of upgrading.

[_Al_]

That was on my mind also, that for this feature skideshow with user control - can be done through some chapter menu feature, where there is a variable for how many chapters there can be on the screen at one time, one in our case , and all links and subpictures would be created automaticaly, this feature would have to allow manually input background for each menu.

DVDLabPro slideshow is a video slideshow also, so user would have to use pause/play button to go through pictures, not an OP requirement.
And DVDLabPro automatic chapter menu is created without possibility to input number of chapters for one menu (I could not find it).

[_Al_]

well, never mind, that variable is not needed really, because those chapter items needs to be deleted anyway ...

[misermidas]

An other way to reach your purpose could be just making a data CD with the .jpg files of your photos.
Most DVD players will be able to play these well and you will have best quality when viewing these on a bluray player or on a computer.
If you convert your pictures to DVD video (wich means SD) , you will lose much definition.