DVD Format

[Catmandoo]

Hi,
I made a Slideshow DVD with Windows Photo Story 3. I used Nero to burn it on a CD-R. I just wanted to know if there is a way to put it on a DVD-R and whats the best format for quality wise. (When I did it on the CD-R, the quality was really bad. I used a MPEG-2 format for it.) I dont know if it was the converter I used, maybe it was, but if you can suggest a format or a really good converter for these types of files it would be a big help!

Thanks,
Catmandoo

[blutach]

Well, could you please tell us exactly what you did, what tools you used, etc. And where you wish to play it (PC/standalone player etc).

MPEG-2 is the standard for DVD-Video and if your encoder, bitrate and source material are good, it should turn out OK.

Regards

[Catmandoo]

OK,

What I did exactly was I used Photo Story 3 for Windows to make a slideshow with my pictures from Europe. I made a wmv which comes custom with PS3. Then I took a converter (got from Bearshare) and converted it to MPEG-2. Took that new file to Nero, made a menu and put it on a CD-R. The quality was bad and older DVD players dont play CD-R's. So, what do you think? Should I leave the file as a MPEG-1 and try it on a DVD-R or convert it to DIVX?

[blutach]

Tell you what I would do. I'd eliminate all that conversion nonsense and make the slides into BMPs.

Then simply mux them together (with audio if you like) with Muxman (see my sig) and set the still time for each shot in the slide show (many editing tools can do this including PgcEdit, IfoEdit etc).

Muxman creates a compliant DVD and you can then burn your show. Use a DVD-RW first.

A guide for using Muxman with one BMP is here. You will get the idea of what to do as you can add as many BMPs as you like.

Regards

[Catmandoo]

Thank you very much , just one more question. Can you suggest a good converter from wmv to MPEG because the program you gave me use's MPEG's and the one I'm using to convert it, distorts it. Thanks

[setarip]

"Can you suggest a good converter from wmv to MPEG"

(Although it may depend upon the version of .WMV) You should get good results using "TMPGEnc" (Different than "TMPGEnc DVD Author")

[blutach]

Can you make BMPs from your original slideshow? -even a simple screen capture should do the trick! Why not use the source in the first place, instead of converting to WMV?

As to converting WMV to MPG, I'm stumped, but others may know.

Regards

[Catmandoo]

Alright going back to what I said,

I used Photo Story 3 which allows me to add pictures, effects and sound to a storyboard. When I complete that, it makes the file but the file is made into a WMV (because Photo Story 3 is windows) I need to convert the wmv to a file that will work on DVD-R and work. I tried the TMCP one and that distorts it, unless you can help me configure it so it's not. When I use Nero, it wont let me use the MPEG-2 onto a DVD-R, but thats where I think Muxman comes in, and Muxman doesnt let me use MPEG-2 because it needs BMP.

So,

What do you think

[setarip]

"I tried the TMCP one and that distorts it, unless you can help me configure it so it's not."

(I assume you are referring to "TMPGEnc")

Simply explore the difefrent settings for (Source) aspect ratio under BOTH the "Video" and "Advanced" tabs - and the "Video Arrange Method" under the "Advanced" tab...