Still photos to DVD

[Rudyard]

I am trying to make photo albums on DVD. I have Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 which just recently had an update that allowed the 'save original image to disc' option in DVD builder which is meant to improve results (so it doesnt compress it like a movie file I assume??)

I would like a high quality image slide show on my TV and my sister using a sony cybershot digital camera has some software that makes VCD that look outstanding on TV.

Would the Roxio program be able to give the same results on a DVD (where I can store more) or will a program that is specific to this task only give better results?? Is it the same thing or would it be worth spending more money on a seperate program?

Also as a lot of photos I would like to used will have to be scanned does it make a difference what resolution I scan it at? I have made a test with Roxio DVD builder with the same image scanned at 300,400,600 and 720 DPI played stright after each other and it doesnt appear to make a difference. I am viewing on a 140cm Widescreen Rear projector and I thought the higher scanned resoultion would take effect on a big screen but they all appear the same.

Again could that be the Roxio program compressing them the same resolution or something??

And finally does it make a difference if you add some video (and transitions animations) to your DVD as well as a Still photo slideshow in that does having video mean it becomes compressed and you loose still photo image quality??

I ask because before the Roxio update you used to be able to create 'high quality still photo slide shows' on VCD or SVCD but once you added a transition or video to your production it said it could no longer make a high quality image slideshow. It doesnt say this with the update to allow you to use the DVD part but I just dont know if its a common thing or not?

Any help you could give me would be really appreciated. Thank you

[guns1inger]

The original resolution of the photos, their DPI, and the TV you are viewing on makes little to no difference in the end. They will all end up 720 x 480 or 720 x 576 (depending on format). VCDs present stills at the same resolution. If it includes transitions then it is compiling the photos into a video clip at the same resolution. If it presents then as single slides that you use the next/prev buttons to traverse, then they are probably menus. The two things that will most influence the quality are the abilities of the resize function to produce nice clear images, and the quality of the mpeg encoder. I don't use Roxio, so I can't comment on it's quality other than to say many around here would only use it for burning.

Personally, I use Memories on TV if I want a dynamic slide show, and Photoshop and DVD Lab Pro if I want just stills.

[hech54]

'save original image to disc'

If I'm not mistaken....this option will also make the original photo available in it's original format(jpeg, bitmap) to the recipient of the DVD, SVCD or VCD....meaning it will be there for them to print or do whatever they want with....in addition to being part of the slideshow on the DVD.

[clairew]

Hi,

I have personally tried a couple of programs to make a DVD slideshow of ones digital photos including Ulead video studio 8, Nero Photoshow elite, VSO’s PhotoDVD, and InterVideo DVD Copy 3.

All programs were easy to use. All had options like adding special effects of snow falling, captions, etc---except VSO’s product, but the quality of the photos was above the other programs.

For personalizing the photos, Neros was the easiest to use, but the end result seemed very cheesy.

All programs allow sound to be added to the slideshow.

claire

[clairew]

P.S.
Those four programs mentioned about can all be tried out for free

here is the like for VSO's PhotoDVD,

http://www.vso-software.fr/download.htm
now just missing Nero's link-----claire

[mats.hogberg]

I've settled for ProShow Gold when it comes to stills to DVD. Simple, but with enough features to keep my attention.

/Mats

[mike909]

I too have used pro show gold a lot. if your looking for simplicity with features...It has it. I have since moved on the Premier for more advanced stuff, but that's another story.

[GeorgeW]

I like muveeAutoProducer for how easy it is to use. it's not suited for everyone, but maybe add that to the list of trial software to test drive...

[Shadarr]

Just some other suggestions...

You could also try saving your slideshow as a high quality MPEG-4 (divx, xvid) which would keep the quality very well for your stills.
Then, try a number of encoding programs to see what works best for you - for instance, trying Tsunami (tmpgenc) and messing with the settings (sharpness, color correction, dc precision) to keep the pictures looking 'how you want' and making them into dvd-compliant mpegs.
After all that, you can usually throw the mpegs into most authoring programs and they will not 're-encode' them.. the end result should look closer to what you 'want'.

Hope that helps,

~Shad

[drwho]

On the subject of sharpness I have a serious issue
I have tried most of the programs mentioned above but most resulting DVDs still pics without transitions the rendering is of much lower quality than the original? The resulting pictures look like I had used a gaussian filter.
I got a satisfactory result the last few days trying Magix Photostory but it wasn't the full version.
Is there a codec fault or transcoding problem and does anyone know how to fix this?
Thanks