High Quality DVD Slide Shows from jpegs

[cabinetman]

Hi all. I hope you can help me!

I've been researching through the past posts here at this forum but have not found what I've been looking for. I'm truly hoping that someone here will finally be able to answer my questions.

I've got a nice home theater system with a Mitsubishi digital RPTV in 16:9 format. I'd like to be able to produce high-quality slide shows using my DVD player.

I've make dozens of SVCDs so I'm familiar with that process and format. The problem is that even the best SVCD slide shows only provide a fair photo on the large screen. And, yes, I'm converting the high-resolution photos down with my editor before I burn them. Still, even with my best efforts and a ton of experimenting, slide shows are not very attractive. The jpegs are all high-resolution, well taken photos, btw.

I'm now looking into using a DVD burner (Pioneer has one that interests me) but before I jump into the cost of a DVD burner and some good software, will I see a noticable difference in the quality of a DVD slide show?

One of the other reasons I'd like to abandon the SVCD format, other than poor quality, is that some DVD players don't support the format. Everyone has a DVD player, however, so creating a DVD slide show would just about guarantee that all of my family members will be able to see the slides on thier systems.

So, to recap, the questions I have are :

1) Will a DVD burner and a good software program markedly improve the quality of the slide shows over the SVCD format?

2) What software program would you all recommend, with cost not being an object?

3) Do you have any suggestion for me about how to proceed?

I apologize if this discussion has come up in the past but I did take time to research through the past posts. I'm just at my wits end trying to dig throught all the technoloty to find a process that will produce excellent photo resolution using my DVD player and home theater system.

Thanks, in advance, for tolerating these many questions.

Rome

[DVD_Ripper]

So, to recap, the questions I have are :

1) Will a DVD burner and a good software program markedly improve the quality of the slide shows over the SVCD format?

Yes, absolutley.

2) What software program would you all recommend, with cost not being an object?

Either Photodex Proshow or MemoriesOnTV (Memories is my personal favorite - Dear ole dad just got done doing his 80 years of pictures DVD)

3) Do you have any suggestion for me about how to proceed?

Dowload trials of both... please, test on some RW, buy your favorite one.

[cabinetman]

Thanks! That's just the answer I was looking for. I'm going to trial download both software programs and experiment a bit. I'm not looking for anything fancy but just some good quality pics on my Mits.

I'll let you know how I make out when I'm finished.

Rome

[snafu099]

I may have missed something, BUT

IMHO, AFIK, etc.; going from cd to svcd to dvd is not going to change or improve the visual quality of the slideshow. That is going to be dependant on the quality of the jpg pictures that you burn to whatever media you use.

Not having your high end TV, I can only make these generic comments:
1. By resizing your high res. jpg files you are reducing the quality to begin with.

2. Most new standalone dvd players will display jpg burned as data on a cd

3. Don't know of any that will display jpg burned as data on dvd

4. Determine what jpg resolution displays best on your TV, then resize to that resolution before burning to cd


pic's shared in this manner can selectively used by others, whereas jpg on dvd are actually in video format, not as individual files.

If my understanding is incorrect, bash away, as I too am looking for a method to share a growing collection of family photo's with distant relatives, not all having computers.

[trossin]

I was under the impression that SVCD used MPEG 2 at 480x480 resolution while DVD can do MPEG 2 720x480 resolution for video. But, if your software uses still image mode, SVCD can do the same resolution as DVD (704x480). So I would guess that you will be disappointed if you buy a DVD recorder for making pictures. You won't be disappointed if you consider all the extras you will get from a DVD recorder:

• Easy backups of your computer(less media to swap).
  Ability to back up your DVD collection.
  Ability for more DVD players to play your photo disks (SVCD is not everywhere)

Good luck. If possible find someone with a recorder and do some experiments before you drop all the money. Having a DVD recorder is a way of life!

[Rogue3]

So, to recap, the questions I have are :

1) Will a DVD burner and a good software program markedly improve the quality of the slide shows over the SVCD format?

Yes, absolutley.

2) What software program would you all recommend, with cost not being an object?

Either Photodex Proshow or MemoriesOnTV (Memories is my personal favorite - Dear ole dad just got done doing his 80 years of pictures DVD)

3) Do you have any suggestion for me about how to proceed?

Dowload trials of both... please, test on some RW, buy your favorite one.

Do either one of these programs support widescreen? Also, do these programs have issues with flicker? I know some of the other one's i've tried have had issues with flicker.

[noki]

cabinetman
If you want the highest resolution from a slideshow as shown on a TV set DO NOT produce a svcd, vsd, dvd. etc. these slideshows are MOVIES and therefore limited but the resolution of their relative formats (ie SVCD = 480x480). Instead make what is called a disc with DIGITAL STILLS. you can still add music and a menu to this disc, but you LOSE the ability to add transitions ( and of course the Ken Burns Effects) between pics. But hey, you can have music, menu, and about 2,000 Hi-Res digital pics (720x480) on a CD-R
Check out Ulead PictureShow v2.0 (or even 1.0). good luck.

[tlegion]

I own Ulead Pictureshow 2 and it creates VCD, SVCD and DVD videos.

[racer-x]

If money is no object, then you should do it the right way. Read my guide here:
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=192278&highlight=

Make sure to encode "Progressive" or "No Frames" @ either 30p or 24p w/pull down. I like 24p. If you do it correctly, you woun't be able to tell the diference between the images on your TV and the jpegs from your camera. You can also add any music or effect you want.

[cabinetman]

I've been away for a bit and also doing more research on all the data the you all kindly provided.

RacerX, I do have what you'll probably consider a very basic question but I have not found anyone else to ask. Or, if anyone else can clarify it, I'd appreciate your time as well.

You mentioned resizing to 720 x 534. Now, I've been using JASC Paint Shop Pro for all my photo editing. It's very powerful but no where near the quality of Adobe's program. I understand resolution and resizing but I'm confused about the resizing process. Are you saying that you actually crop your photo so that it will equal that geometry? Usually, when I resize my photos, I lock the height and width dims together so that I don't distort the photo. From what I gather from reading your replies here and your wonderful essay about making slide shows, it sounds like you change the size of the photo by cropping it so that it will equal these dimensions.

Let me suggest this example. I've got a 35mm shot that was digitized and whose pixel count is 1818 long x 1228 wide. If I were to try to resize to 720 long and leave the height and width locked together, the width would automatically change to 457 and not the 534 you suggest is optimum. Now, I could cut a piece of the original photo off by trimming it and end up with a size that would change to 534 but before I start figuring this out, I just wanted to be clear about what I have to do.

If you can address that question, I'll understand a lot more. I hope I'm being clear.

Rome

[racer-x]

It's been years since I've used PaintShop Pro. See if it has croping tool that you can set the final demensions on it. For example 720 pixel wide - 534 pixel high and a dpi of 100. If the tool is like Photoshop, it will probably look like two X's.

Basicaly you use it like the cropping tool, you make your selection of the image you want, hit enter and you end up with a cropped image @ 720 x 534. The image will not get distorted this way because you are cropping, not resizing. Note* remember you will loose about 10% of the edges on your image because of TV overscan, so crop accordingly.

You can also use 720 x 540, but remember thes are the correct sizes for NTSC, I'm not sure what the correct size is for PAL.

[cabinetman]

Thanks. To my knowledge, the cropping tool in Paint Shop Pro 8 does not have the option to enter sizes. There are masks that you can elect but they are primarily for standard frames. I'll do some investigating, however, and see if I can come up with a plan. It's even possible that I can create a template for myself within the program.

You've answsered my question, however, and I'll see what I can do to be successful. I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly.

Rome

[bennetts]

Has anyone here had any experience with ProShow Gold software for a slideshow. I have tried the evaluation software and it looks really good. All the effects you can think of plus the "ken burns" effect.
I am also trying to make up my mind on this.