Best software (pref freeware) to make a music DVD that will play in a DVD

[Trollheart]

Sorry, didn't manage to get the full title in!
And sorry if this has been asked a thousand times, but I'm trying to find the best, pref free but not vital, software that will allow me to burn MP3s to a DVD, which will play in a standalone DVD player, ie not on the computer. Ideally, I'd like something that will allow me to add an image per track (maybe even automatically randomise them) so that the pic plays as the track does. Shuffle play would be essential.

At the moment I'm using Roxio Media Creator 9, and it's great, but I have to link each pic with each track manually. I know it sounds lazy, but a way to do this either automatically/randomly or batch would be great. Oh yeah, and Roxio doesn't seem to give you any indication of how many tracks plus pics will fit on the disc, so you just have to guess and cross your fingers, The finished product on Roxio is great, but it takes a lot of doing to get there. I know: nothing worthwhile was ever easy!

Anyway, all comments and suggestions welcomed.

Thanks

TH

[guns1inger]

I don't believe it can be done.

Your choices are

1. Author a DVD. This will let you add images and even get some pseudo random playback if you program it correctly, but you won't be able to use shuffle and random play settings on the player.

2. Burn a data disc with a mixture of JPG and MP3 files, and if the player will do both, you will get the images and music. However support will be player dependent, and some players will play the audio or the images, but not both, and some will play both, but not give you the random functions you want.

Basically, the DVD specification isn't designed to do what you want, and the ability to play back images and music is a vender specific extension outside the spec that varies from player to player.

There are a couple of authoring tools that may simplify creating the disc, but you won't get random images associated with songs, as DVDs are based on videos, so each clip will be a video and audio track (i.e. your image and your song) and these are intrinsically linked. The only way around this is to create multiple clips with the same song but different images, or to make small slideshows for each song. You might be able to do it with multi-angles, but you would have to program the angle changes yourself, and slideshows would be simpler.

[freebird73717]

Here is a guide for creating an audio only disc with dvdlab pro
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=287574

Very long and drawn out process.
I tried it once and gave up. Just too much involved to get it done.
Good luck to you

[Trollheart]

Thanks guys.
Well, it CAN be done, minus the randomise picture thing, as I already mentioned: EMC9 does it very well. It is just something of a laborious process, but if there's no alternative I can live with that. Anyone trying to do this I would definitely recommend Roxio EMC9 or 10.
As for DVDLab, yes I know. I tried it once, but as I hadn't completed the advanced course on quantum sound mechanics I hadn't a clue, so like you, gave up!
Thanks anyway: the search continues....
TH

[guns1inger]

The problem with your solution is that it involves installing Roxio on my PC, and frankly, I cannot think of a good reason to ever install Roxio on any PC.

[hech54]

I did one the hard way once. No pictures - just a black screen showing while the songs are playing. Encoded each song from each CD (about 10) with TMPGEnc Plus then created titles for each album and chapters for each song in TDA....plus menu art/pics. Turned out very well but I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon.

[jman98]

The problem with your solution is that it involves installing Roxio on my PC, and frankly, I cannot think of a good reason to ever install Roxio on any PC.

I agree. As I always say, "Friends don't let friends use Roxio".

[AlanHK]

GuiForDVDAuthor can do this, using its Audio titleset feature.

You need to convert your audio to AC3, which many audio tools can do in a batch.
Then you select an image for each audio track.
GfD can generate a text title from the filename if you want, or you can override that.

Once you get the hang of it it takes only a few minutes to set up a whole disc.
But I suspect you won't have the patience to work through this.

[freebird73717]

Sounds simpler than the dvdlab approach. Thanks for posting that Alan.

[AlanHK]

Sounds simpler than the dvdlab approach. Thanks for posting that Alan.

It's pretty cool. I use it for adding soundtrack albums to features, or podcasts or radio plays to TV show compilations.

[0cymraeg0]

DVD2one is another option, not freeware though i'm afraid.