slideshow help please

[justleesa]

Yesterday I put together a slide show of pictures w/music using Pinnacle Studio 9. I wanted to burn it directly to a cd, but that didn't work so I made an .avi file - but the puppy is over 3GB! What quality should I store it in if I want the best resolution possible?

My options are:VGA, AVI and mpeg

 

[CheddarChick]

Do you have a dvd burner? They hold up to 4.7 GB

 

[justleesa]

yes I do, but the file is so big I can't even get it to transfer to the burner :bawling:

Do you know a trick?

 

[RonFrank]

yes I do, but the file is so big I can't even get it to transfer to the burner :bawling:

Do you know a trick?

There are a number of programs that burn DVD's. Nero is popular. A LOT of low end software does not come with DVD burner support.

You should not have to *move* the file to the burner, or at least that is not how any program I've worked with handles things. Unfortunately the drag and drop option that many are accustomed to using to move files to a CD is NOT supported. You need to use DVD burning software, and go through whatever process that entails.

Sorry I can not be more specific, but I'm unfamiliar with the software you are using, and you did not say what you are using to Burn DVD's.

 

[hvulin]

If you are going to make a video DVD it will require a lot of time and processing power (everything has to be reencoded to mpeg2 + ac3 audio which is a tough job) and there is a chance it won't all fit in a DVD. The easiest solution is to make a data DVD and just copy the .avi file to the media - nero will do a good job of it!

 

[Taxgeek]

Leesa,
Just burn a dvd from Studio9. I can help you with the exact settings when I get home, but here's basically what you do, now that you have the .avi file.

Open a new project. Pull in your .avi file. Add whatever dvd menu you want at the beginning, copyright info, that sort of stuff.

Then, under "make movie", select "dvd" and have Studio 9 burn it to the dvd. This way it will play in dvd players easily, and people without a computer can play it.

No need to mess around with nero etc., although those are good programs. Studio 9 will get it done for you.

A hint though: The way you did it, making an .avi first, then starting a new project, pulling that avi file in, and burning to dvd, is the best way (otherwise you can end up with your sound out of sync if you try to go directly to dvd from the original project).

Send me a pm if the settings for mpeg aren't clear and I'll check it when I get home - I think you want mpeg2, but I think there is a setting that is called "DVD Compatible" or something like that. That one has always worked well for me.

If the avi file is 3g, the mpeg file will be smaller - mpeg is a compressed format. You should be fine, like someone said, a dvd can hold 4.7g. But it does require a bit of processing - your computer will crunch it for awhile, maybe like 15 minutes or something? I can't remember exactly.

Nero etc is good, but you don't need it, you should be fine with Studio.

And while you're at it, burn a data dvd of your avi file to save for the future.
Susan

 

[justleesa]

:bawling: I tried and I get a "could not be opened" message...

 

[Taxgeek]

You got that message when you tried to open your new .avi file in a new project?

:shakehead That sux, I don't know what that error is.

Will your computer play the file if you double click it in the my computer window?

You could *try* using your xxx.stu file to burn directly to dvd. I verified the settings, under Make Movie, you click "mpeg" then go to settings and choose "dvd compatible" in the drop down box. It otta work, although as I said, I end up with slightly out of sync sound when I do that rather than renderinig to avi and pulling the rendered avi into a new project to burn to dvd.

Do you have version 9.3.5? I think that's the best version - the 9.4.x versions are buggy still (say folks who have them). You should also try the pinnacle forums (google "pinnacle studio forum") - they're pretty good at finding causes for problems like that. It may be something more like your computer refusing to handle a file that size? Is your hard drive formatted FAT32? (I remember doing that to mine (my data drive, not the drive the program and OS are running from) on purpose so it could handle big video files) I dunno.

Make a smaller test file and see if you can burn to dvd maybe?

You might want to look into using a slideshow program instead of a video program too, it will make a MUCH smaller file, much better quality. I like Pics to Exe (it's cheap ($20), works much like studio), other people like many more. Pics to Exe shows your slideshow at full photo resolution, doesn't size down your photos like many of the other programs do, so it still looks good if you play it on a big computer monitor. A Studio 9 burned dvd won't look too good at full screen resolution on a computer monitor because it sizes down your photos to tv monitor resolution (640x480ish).

We'll hep you get it straightened out, don't worry. I've had to figure out so many of these dang things over the last couple years, I know exactly how you're feeling right now!!!

 

[bladephotog]

My question is why is it so large? Are there tons of images or big images. For slideshows you don't need big files since, as already mentioned, they get downsized anyway. Huge files slowdown slideshow software. So I downsize my files to begin with.

I use Nero for making slideshows with music and burning the slideshow to DVD is the last step in the process. It's easy to do.

 

[Taxgeek]

The reason it's so large is because Leesa is effectively making a video, not a slideshow. Studio9 is making video of the still shots, so making a half hour slide show creates just as big a file as making a half hour video.

So Nero makes good slideshows, huh? Interesting. Does it have a timeline feature that shows the music on it, so you can line your slides up exactly with the music? And does it maintain the full resolution of your pictures in the slideshow if you want, rather than downsizing them?