Photodex ProShow Gold or Memories on TV for DVD Slideshow

[jet757f]

I have an enormous amount of old family pictures that I want to put on DVD as a slideshow.

I have narrowed it down to these two software programs........both mentioned here on VideoHelp.

They are Photodex ProShow Gold and CodeJam Memories on TV.

I was just wondering if anyone could recommend one over the other for whatever reason.
I have been trying to compare the two but they almost seem the same.

Any opinions or recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks

I have been doing a lot of searching and found another one that sounds good.
WnSoft Pictures to EXE..............anyone heard of that one?

[SCDVD]

I have been looking for a good DVD slideshow program as well. I will be interested to see what recommendations people have. Another program that I have wondered about is Magix PhotoStory on CD & DVD.

[fritzi93]

I also had my choices narrowed down to Proshow and Memories on TV. This was a few years ago, so I can't provide much of anything specific. As I remember, Memories was a bit easier to use and certainly had a prettier interface. But I went with Proshow, as it was more flexible. Maybe not true any more, I dunno. I still use Proshow, it's more than adequate.

[Des]

I am using Proshow Gold as I type this (OK, I'm taking a break) and I love it. There's very little it can't do. I used it this past winter to edit my wedding video with pictures, video (from 2 bad 8mm camcorders) and a lot of music. When all was said and done I had a 2 hour and 10 minute DVD iso file that I used dvdshrink to put onto a regular dvd 5.
On the more mundane I am right now doing a 50 image show for a customers kids sweet 16. I just can;t recommend it enough.

I have actually upgraded to the professional version but haven't had a chance to do much with it yet.

Hope this helps, obviously I am a fan

--dES

[jet757f]

Thanks for the info. I guess I am going to have to download the demos to see which one I like to best.

On either one of them is there a limit to the amount of pictures that you can have on a DVD slideshow as far as software goes?

[dwill123]

I too have had good luck with ProShow Gold in the past.

[Des]

I just checked Proshow's website and all versions of their software can have unlimited images. Looks like you'll need at least Proshow Gold to get full DVD quality.

--dES

[jet757f]

Seems like I am getting more positive reviews for ProShow Gold so I will give it a try first.

Thanks

[noki]

take a look at similar stuff from Ulead. one of them allow you make real slideshow versus a movie of a slideshow. big difference in resolution.

[Des]

take a look at similar stuff from Ulead. one of them allow you make real slideshow versus a movie of a slideshow. big difference in resolution.

Other than using the DVD players built in slide show function from jpeg files, how would one make a "Real Slide Show" to watch on DVD if it were not a "Movie of a Slide Show?" And, what is your basis of comparison vs. the 'movie of a slide show' programs (such as the Ulead programs make to DVD).

Frankly, the better your elements in the better your production out (Garbage in Garbage out!), good resolution and sharp clear pictures in give good DVD slide show out, I'venever experienced differently and I do a lot f these.

--dES

[noki]

"...how would one make a "Real Slide Show" to watch on DVD if it were not a "Movie of a Slide Show?...

at least one of the Ulead products will allow you to create a very Hi-RES CD of JPEGS with at least a 1,000 pics if "produced" as a photo slideshow (no effects such as pan/scan, transitions, etc.) vs a much lower resolution CD (with a whole lot LESS pics) if produced as a movie. you will have to go to Ulead's site for the details. It's been a long time since I dabbled with it. I do recall the quality as being visibly better (on a 32' CRT TV) though. mind that we are talking CD, not DVD (sorry). but if what you want can be accomplished with a lesser media (your DVD player can play CDs, right) why not? plus CDR technology will probably outlast DVDR from a storage point of view.

[ozymango]

I have and use ProShow Gold and I love it -- it's easy, it's fast, and it allows cool effects like zooms and pans and, again, it's easy to use. Really, really easy. And the quality is very good! I made a DVD slideshow for a wedding and it came out great, if you use the best quality rendering the photos look awesome, even on a big screen.

I edit video in Adobe Premiere and I love it, I'm not opposed to learning how to use good software and yet I do all my slides/photos in ProShow Gold because it's just so much simpler (and very intuitive) to do exactly what I want in ProShow.

So here's one very satisfied customer!

[jet757f]

I went on the Ulead site but didnt see any mention of a higher resolution slideshow.
Like I said I may have to download some demos and do some tests before buying.

[Des]

"...how would one make a "Real Slide Show" to watch on DVD if it were not a "Movie of a Slide Show?...

at least one of the Ulead products will allow you to create a very Hi-RES CD of JPEGS with at least a 1,000 pics if "produced" as a photo slideshow (no effects such as pan/scan, transitions, etc.) vs a much lower resolution CD

Looks like Ulead CD & DVD PictureShow is the product you are talking about. The highest output it will produce according to their faq is:
"Q: What kind of photo resolution do I need for a good-looking slideshow?
A: CD & DVD PictureShow 4 slideshows can display at DVD standard resolution (NTSC: 704x480, PAL: 704x576). This means you can take advantage of the full DVD resolution using images considerably smaller than 1 mega-pixel (1280x960). Good quality results can also be had from VGA resolution photos (640x480). "

This is the same as Proshow or Memories on TV or any of the other slide show producing programs so I fail to see where the Ulead product can create a higher res show. Also, the Ulead program gives the option of using or not using transitions, etc. and can hold 1900 images on a CD but it still creates an Mpeg video movie of the show just like everyone elses. 1900 images isn't really anything remarkable it's the output of an average 2megapixel digital still camera onto a 700mb CD. Roughly 1200x1600 resolution which surpasses DVD resolution anyway. Even 1 megapixels looks really good on most TV sets.

My point here is not to lobby for one program over another but just to show that apples are apples here, how they are produced might be different and everyone has their own preferences. I'm just going for accuracy.

--dES