The holidays are a perfect time to preserve those precious memories and moments in a photo slideshow DVD. You can create gifts that will keep on giving for years to come, and also make quick-and-easy keepsakes of this year's activities to show even before everyone heads home. You already have everything you need: your digital camera pics, boxes of old photos, scrapbook items, and perhaps audio and videotapes, plus Easy Media Creator 9!
By turning all these items into a slideshow that plays back on any TV with an ordinary DVD player, you can share your treasure trove with the rest of the family. Even the grandparents can enjoy them, no computer experience necessary. They are also easy to copy and mail, even overseas (have any family among the troops?).
Making a photo show on Video CD or DVD has many advantages over traditional prints, or even emailed photos:
- You can store literally hundreds of photos on a disc, far more than you could print or email to each recipient;
- You can include the full-resolution original photos on your disc along with your slideshow, so that recipients can print the ones they want for themselves;
- You can add music and Hollywood-style effects and transitions to create an entertaining presentation;
- You can organize your pictures into multiple shows on one disc, using standard DVD-type menu navigation.
- The Video CD option also has the advantage of being playable on standard DVD players, while not requiring a DVD recorder or DVD media. You can burn a VideoCD with your regular CD burner.
All this for a little time and spare change per disc when you own Easy Media Creator 9! Here's how to get started.
Slide Show Options
Creator 9 actually offers three ways to produce great photo slide shows: with the Media Manager's QuickShow feature, with the SlideShow Assistant, and with the CineMagic Assistant. Each has its place. If you only have still photos to share, and don't need a lot of audio and effects features, QuickShow is the fastest way to go -- you simply select the pictures you want to display in the Media Manager, click the QuickShow button, and then save the resulting slide show from the QuickShow options bar (below). Settings are available for adding an audio soundtrack, setting slide duration, and adding global transitions and motion effects.
You can also open your QuickShow in VideoWave for further editing or combining with video clips. Finally, you can bring your QuickShow into MyDVD Express, to save as a DVD. Multiple QuickShows can also be imported into MyDVD as different menu items.
If you want even more control over your slideshows, try the SlideShow Assistant, which is accessible from the Media Manager, the Roxio Home screen, or the Windows Program menu:
Three Steps to Custom Slideshows
Here's how to use Creator's SlideShow Assistant to create rich slide shows, in three quick steps.
First, pick the photos you'd like to use in your show. You can select them in the Media Manager, then choose SlideShow Assistant from the Projects menu, or open the Assistant directly and add your photos on the first screen:
If you'd like an audio soundtrack, this is the place to add it. Also use this view to arrange your photos in the order you'd like them to appear. Finally, if you want your DVD to be in widescreen format, select it from the drop-down menu. Then click the Next button to move to Step 2.
In this step, you customize the transitions and motion effects that will be applied to your slides. You can apply effects individually, or across all slides in your show. The Preview button at bottom left lets you view, in real time, how things will look in your finished production. Have fun tweaking things, or simply choose a theme, such as "Kids Birthday," and let the SlideShow Assistant do the work for you.
When you're satisfied with your show, click Next to go to the final step (or go Back to add more photos or audio tracks).
In Step 3, you then save the project for further use in the future and/or burn it to disc. When you select Burn to Disc, the MyDVD Express window will then open, with your slideshow already placed as the first menu item. You can then edit the DVD background image, edit the name of your Disc, and edit the menu title. You can even create and add more slideshows if you like, up to the capacity of the disc:
That's really all there is to it. Click the Create Disc button and your DVD will be burned. But here's one more tip: Before you burn, click the Project Settings button at right, and check the box to Archive Photos. This will put copies of the original photos on the DVD along with your slideshow. These photos can be copied off the disc or printed, when the DVD is inserted in a computer.
Now be sure to make lots of copies to give to all your friends and family! Also save your DVD project so you can edit or add to it later.