All you techy people

[LadyGodiva]

I need some help with technology again please. We'd like to put together a DVD with photos of my daddy, and was wondering if any of you own or know of the type of equipment that is used to do this? Yes I know we could send them out to be done, but I want to do this my way.

HELP :bow:

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[kwangtzu]

Get an external DVD burner. This one plugs into one of your usb ports (flat plug about 1/2" wide, 1/8" tall--probably one on the front of your computer case.) and comes with editing software.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827191011

Newegg is a good company with excellent customer service. I bought all the components for the computer I'm using from them.

Jerry

[kwangtzu]

You can use this to scan photos (also works with slides and negatives) into your computer. It also uses a USB port.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16838111116

You could also go down to the local drugstore and scan in the photos to get a CD, then load them into your computer that way. Not sure which way is more economical, it depends on the number of photos--I'm guessing a lot.

Good luck,

Jerry

[sandbagger]

I need some help with technology again please. We'd like to put together a DVD with photos of my daddy, and was wondering if any of you own or know of the type of equipment that is used to do this? ..... Before you go out and buy parts and pieces, let's start with the basics. What kind of computer are you going to do this with? I assume you already own it? :uhh:

and by "what kind" I'm looking more for processor speed, memory, version of operating system, etc.

It's entirely possible that you already have much of what you need. It's also possible you need to go shopping for more than a burner or scanner. :D

[tileguy_n_ky]

Sandbagger is right. Once you start the encoding process (creating the DVD) it can be slow. Even slower on an older computer.

[bbcamp]

If your DVD player supports picture CDs, then burning a CD with your photos is the simplest solution. You can do a simple slide show, without music and with uniform display intervals (kinda boring after a while, but great if you just want to leave it running as backround).

I went the external DVD burner route. I'm using Roxio Creative Video 7 software. You can control a number of features to make your slide show more interesting, including panning, zooming, fade in and out. You can add narration and background music, and mix still pics with video (if you have digital video clips) The DVD rendering and burning process was very slow on my older Pentium III computer, but tolerable in my new Pentium 4.

[LadyGodiva]

Here is what we have to date. Pentium IV, 2.8 MHz, 2 GB RAM, Scanner, 300 GB Drive. DVD +- RW burner. Are we on the right track thus far?

[bbcamp]

Yes, that's a good system. Get the right software and get busy!

Your software may already be on your computer. As stated previously, many times DVD authoring software is bundled with the DVD burner.

[LadyGodiva]

Why did you choose Roxio? Is it different from Nero burning software? I know there are others, but I'd like to get the best. They don't seem as expensive as I first thought.

[bbcamp]

Didn't look at Nero. I saw a demonstration of Roxio Creator 7 and though it was right for what I wanted to do.

When it came out about a year ago, price was about $90. Within a few months, there were rebates. Now the price is about $40 after rebates. Not expensive for what it can do.

[LadyGodiva]

Well Roxio is the way we will go then. Thanks for your input. I always knew the mud guys would come to my rescue with technology related questions :bow:

[bbcamp]

...if I were a mud guy...:D

[sandbagger]

Why did you choose Roxio? Is it different from Nero burning software? I know there are others, but I'd like to get the best. They don't seem as expensive as I first thought. "Best" is relative. Roxio (the company) has been around for awhile, and is generally considered the "leader" in this area. I believe they started with Toast but now sell a whole bunch of stuff that honestly can be quite confusing. you really have to understand just what it is that you want to do - both today and near future as you "grow." (virtually impossible, btw :D )

your system is probably good to go as is if you just look closely (windoze XP, I presume?). But the pre-installed stuff is usually pretty basic and you'll probably want more.

first thing to do is look closely at your computer. there is often a "starter" version of one of the Roxio (sometimes Nero) programs already on your system. This may actually work well for you, but if not it can often qualify you for a discounted price on a "full" version.

btw - check out Costco too.

enjoy :)

[tileguy_n_ky]

If you are going to make a slideshow, check to see how many photos can be used in one slideshow. For instance, I use Apple's iDVD and it will only allow 99 pictures for each slide show. So, I had to break down the 320 pics of my nephew's birthday into smaller segments.

[LadyGodiva]

...if I were a mud guy...:D



This is the Mud Box, therefore we're all "mud guys and gals." Get over it :D

[LadyGodiva]

We don't have anything like Costco. Our deal out here is a zillion Walmarts :rolleyes:

I know we need something that could handle music, narration and all the extra stuff these people are charging an arm and a leg for. Besides, we have tons and tons of pictures and that's not counting what my parents have, so it would be cheaper to do it ourselves in the long run.

Technology changes so fast (like a woman's mood :D) so what's the best now is going to be outdated next year, but we can't stop that, can we? Thanks for the advise though.

The Mud gal who hasn't laid a tile...YET :D

[dufus]

If you haven't received enough opinions already, I'll add one more consideration.

Not all DVD players will adequately handle all the different formats of DVDs and CDs. There's enough difference in the way the lasers write the tracks to the media that sometimes they don't play very well in DVD players. Factory made DVDs are not written in tracks, but etched/burned with a different process which makes them more compatible across the board. Before you go nuts on your final project, I recommend you do a test to find out what media/writer combo works best in your DVD player(s).

So, create some kind of slideshow or movie or both and use the software to burn it to DVD (if you know your DVD player will handle CD formats, then you can try that also). You said your burner handles DVD+R and DVD-R formats, but it might do one better when it actually plays in your video device. Burn both kinds of media on exactly the same content and then try them in your player. If they both play well, then you're good to go, but more than likely one will play better (clearer and no skipping/stalling). However, one or the other might not play as well in somebody else's player.

Therefore, if you're going to give away your final product, you may have to give them both formats to be sure it will work.

Both writers and software are trying to get more and more compatible with the various players on the market. However, there are enough older players out there that there are still problems. That's just the current situation with different DVD formats and technologies. It used to be worse when there were no DVD+-R drives, only DVD+R and DVD-R (separate drives) and they are NOT the same thing.

If you go to the following link, you'll find a free download (30-day trial) of a DVD creation package that is one of the most compatible with players. It imports files, allows the creation and editing of chapters, compresses it for DVD playing, and then writes the contents to media.

http://www.tmpg-inc.com/download/tsda.html

Good luck. By the way, there are forums and websites dedicated to teaching novices about DVD creation - much like this forum teaches weekend idiots like me to tile - only those forums are filled with one-dimensional techies and this site welcomes all kinds! ;)

[LadyGodiva]

Lance, thanks for the link. Will be reading it and sending it on to my husband. He must wonder where I get all this info from :uhh:

You can never learn enough, so I don't mind other's responses.

[sandbagger]

Not all DVD players will adequately handle all the different formats of DVDs and CDs. which is why a couple of us recommended going with CDs as a first alternative, then DVD if really necessary. As long as you don't use the "rewritables" CDs don't have the compatibility issues you run into with DVDs. Sure the CD only holds 700 megs, but that is still a LOT of pix. I'm not a big fan of DVDs just yet - too many issues with compatibility. :shake:

Remember, actually burning the media is the last step in your production process. You'll want to put everything together on you hard drive, test it, then burn it. At that point you'll know if you need a DVD. And even if you do exceed the capacity of a single CD, consider breaking the photos into groups that cover a particular period of time, activity or whaterver. Keep in mind that bigger is not necessarily better.

If you were doing movies I'd answer differently, but you're not. :rolleyes:

[LadyGodiva]

Well we bought the Roxio creative media thingy, and all I have to do now is figure out how to use it. Hoping that it won't be too techy for me. Thanks for all the help!!! ;)