help with downloading photos to dvd

Hi I am really, really new to this. I am trying to make a dvd of old photos for my mom to play on her dvd player. I just bought a dvd rewriter and it came with the nero program. It seemed like everything went well, but I can't get it to play on my tv. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

In what file type did you use? Most stand alone DVD players read JPG files? Did you just burn the files to the DVD or did you use a program to make some slide show and burn that to the DVD? Also what type of DVD did you use? There are different types, DVD-R,DVD+R,DVD-RW,DVD+RW to name a few. You have to use one that your DVD player will read?

 

This is how I do a project like your describing. First I would make a slide show using a program like Photo Story 3. Its an excellent program, its easy to use, and it works well.

Once the story is made it can be saved as a .wmv. Now we have a couple of options to burn it to a DVD. You said that you have Nero. For burning DVD's, I prefer Sonic MyDVD or TMPGEnc.

Now if your using just the Nero Burning ROM, you can't make a DVD that will play in a standalone DVD player. The Burning ROM was made to burn a VIDEO_TS folder to a working DVD, and you don't have a VIDEO_TS folder. You will need to re-author your files. If you have Nero Ultra, it will have Nero Vision, which can make your DVD.

Now if you just wanna try to make a playable DVD, then create a slide show using Photo Story 3 or Windows Movie Maker and save it as a .wmv file. the download DivxtoDVD
http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_encoders/vso_divxtodvd_free.cfm
and use it to make you playable DVD.

 

photos to dvd

Thanks guys. I used the picassa program and made a slide show then downloaded with the nero that came with the dvd rewriter. I used an HP DVD+R double layer disc. I did get the dvd to play on one dvd player, but not the other. I think I will try your other suggestions like saving as a .wmv. Do I have to buy photo story 3? I have sonic record now that came with my computer, but not Sonic my DVD. How do I know if the DVD player will read my DVD? This is turning into a much bigger project than I thought Thanks for your help.

 

Photo Story is a free download from Microsoft. You should also be able to make a simple slide show using Windows Movie Maker.

Please don't get discouraged, it will work out in the end. Which version of Nero are you using? Also, your slide show is not a large file. You should be able to use a single layer DVD. My preferences are DVD+r.

Almost forgot, if you have Vista, Movie Maker Should have an option to burn a DVD. I've never tried it, but I believe it will make a playable DVD.

 

dvd help

Thanks Ranger. I am downloading Photo Story now (I have dial up, so should be done by Christmas! Sounds like I just need to work out a few things and should be good to go. Looks like there are several options I can try. Enjoy your holidays! Thanks again. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

I might want to suggest one other program, it is a free DVD authoring tool. It can take most video formats and convert them to a VIDEO_TS folder (a fancy term for the correct structure that your home DVD player needs)

The program is called DVD Flick. It can convert your .wmv to a VIDEO_TS folder which Nero can burn to a workable DVD

http://www.dvdflick.net/download.php
a user guide is also there

Keep in mind that making a VIDEO_TS folder takes time, I just finished converting a friends Baby Book to a DVD and it took just a little over an hour for the computer to finish everything.

 

Go to http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers and put model number and make of the player in the search player box. If your player is listed it will tell you what type of discs it will play. This site has a lot of information on doing video. I have just burned JPG files on a disc and the players have been able to read them. Then if I want spend more time and make a slide show. Photo Story will do a good job when you use Nero Vision to make the DVD. http://www.windowsphotostory.com/ has a guide for Photo Story.

 

Thanks for all your help! I just finished downloading photo story 3 and am trying to finish scanning all the slides. Hopefully all will be well by Christmas! Thanks again.

 

Just want to say thanks for all your help. I was able to get the software and did a test DVD with great results. Not sure if part of the problem was that I was using a DVD +R disc. I used a DVD -R disc and everything went smoothly. Hope you all have a great holiday. Thanks again.