HELP!! I need a good slideshow maker

[jwphishy]

I have NERO and its too basic...also have Ulead DVD picture show...also too basic....I need it to Have audio and multiple transitions to choose from....It needs to either burn to VCD or be an MPEG file save so I can let NERO burn it.....any Ideas?????

[patsym1]

Try Sonic Foundry Video Factory does everything you want.


Regards: Patsym1

[jwphishy]

thanks for the input....but I guess I should have mentioned....COST IS a factor....I have alot of photo and video/audio tools already....I dont want to shell out another 70 bucks just to make good slideshows.....any Ideas on a low or no cost program???

[jwphishy]

Come on folks....a little help here....anyone....ANYONE?? is this thing on??? not askin for much...am I?? just a GOOD slideshow...thats all!!

[speedy]

Actually, you are asking for a lot. You don't want anything basic, yet you don't want to pay for anything that has more advanced features. I agree with patsym1, VF is excellent.

Don't know if you're near one of those super computer stores like Micro Center, if you are look in the cheapo area. For example I go regularly to A Micro Center (36,000 SF store) and they have a whole row about 100 feet top to bottom of hundreds of titles from days gone by for $4.99-$14.99. Found lots of bargains and some really good older version software. One example; VideoWaveII only $9.99 and it makes very nice slideshows with custom transitions in between, you can add a sound track. etc.. Only problem is plan on investing some time looking through the racks. Their book selection is great too, About 10,000 titles- all computer related.

[vitualis]

Remember, if you want transitions between photos, then you must encode the photos as a S/VCD compliant MPEG stream. You are then limited to the standard resolutions of 352x240/288 or 480x480/576 (unless you travel down the path of X/S/VCD).

With using still images on S/VCD, you can get a resolution of 704x480/576 which looks brilliant on a TV (near DVD quality).

Furthermore, in terms of putting photos on a S/VCD, there is an aspect ratio issue that no existing program (that I know of) corrects. It is described here: http://www.geocities.com/medinotes/vcd/mpeg_still_images.html#aspect_ratio

Good luck.

Regards.

[tuan711]

Quote:
Furthermore, in terms of putting photos on a S/VCD, there is an aspect ratio issue that no existing program (that I know of) corrects.

Hi Micheal,

Not sure what you meant by a program that correct aspect ration, but the PhotoAlbum created using WinOnCD3.8PE looked OK when you enable "keep aspect ratio" option.

Is this what you are looking for or are you looking for a stand-alone program that prepare your images (any size) to make them for S/VCD authoring?

PS: I think the "keep aspect ratio" option is also available in Premiere when you import stills to create a single AVI then convert to Mpeg1/2.

I use the Premiere method when I want transitions since WinOnCD does not. However, I use WinOnCD for most cases because it's simple, quick, and since there are no transitions, the quality is closed to DVD. In both cases, the photos look right on the TV. I did run into the aspect ration problem when I forgot to enable this options so I know what they look on the TV. It's been a while, but I think it makes your photos looked thinner like mentioned on http://www.geocities.com/medinotes/vcd/mpeg_still_images.html#aspect_ratio

Cheers,
Tuan

[EricB]

It's a shame that Roxio doesn't offer WinOnCD in the US. IMO it is the best slide show producer ever. Drag & drop production, pictures stored on the disk in their original resolution (great for archiving), same disk will play on DVD player, PC, and Mac!

Why this product is only offered in Europe is beyond me.

[gsashok]

My first choice is WinOnCD 5.0
second is Ulead DVD PictureShow

[vitualis]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-12-20 03:33:00, tuan711 wrote:
Quote:
Not sure what you meant by a program that correct aspect ration, but the PhotoAlbum created using WinOnCD3.8PE looked OK when you enable "keep aspect ratio" option.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

The keep aspect ratio means that it maintains the 1:1 pixel aspect ratio on the photos (i.e., it puts black boxes on the top and bottom, or left and right as necessary to fill in to 704x480/576 ).

I do not believe that it address the problem as stated in the aforementioned link.

Whether or not you see a problem with the aspect ratio depends on your eyes/brain. Some people can see it straight away. Some people don't notice it.

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>PS: I think the "keep aspect ratio" option is also available in Premiere when you import stills to create a single AVI then convert to Mpeg1/2.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

Since I use Premiere quite regularly, I KNOW that this means that Premiere will maintain the 1:1 pixel aspect ratio (rather than stretch the image to fill the frame).

The issue I mentioned in the above link is definitely not addressed.

Regards.