Comments on: How to make the perfect DVD slideshow in iLife http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/ Making Apple and Apple Users Think Different Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:54:39 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Judy http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-108939 Judy Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:15:25 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-108939 Since I, too, have not had success with iDVD can anyone suggest software that can be used with my Mac that will allow me to make DVD's that I can use with my DVD player on my large widescreen TV? I want to include photos, short movie clips, sound effects and music. I simply want to share family and vacation photos with others. About iLife...I can make great movies in imovie, but when I burn them with iDVD the photos and movie clips all look "squished" and "squatty" on the widescreen TV. I've tried creating and burning them in both aspect ratios. I've tried adjusting my TV...can't figure this one out. What am I doing wrong? I certainly don't like looking fatter than I already am. Since I, too, have not had success with iDVD can anyone suggest software that can be used with my Mac that will allow me to make DVD’s that I can use with my DVD player on my large widescreen TV? I want to include photos, short movie clips, sound effects and music. I simply want to share family and vacation photos with others.

About iLife…I can make great movies in imovie, but when I burn them with iDVD the photos and movie clips all look “squished” and “squatty” on the widescreen TV. I’ve tried creating and burning them in both aspect ratios. I’ve tried adjusting my TV…can’t figure this one out. What am I doing wrong? I certainly don’t like looking fatter than I already am.

]]> By: Mike http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-108929 Mike Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:45:13 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-108929 iDVD - so slow, so slow, so slow! In copying anything! (and ugly transfers in the long run). Dreadful. I love my mac pro, overall... However, , as many have said, too often, the applications that come with it are down-right slow, non-compatible with anything else, and tiresome (lousy consumer interfaces, in particular). Again, love everything about my Mac, EXCEPT, what I got it for in the first place - - high "quality" audiovisual media development and support. Ain't much there, sadly, unless one uses third part software, and even then, the mac shows its weakness. Back to iDVD. Could be way better in not taking 3 hours to transfer 20 minutes of digital media. iDVD – so slow, so slow, so slow! In copying anything! (and ugly transfers in the long run). Dreadful. I love my mac pro, overall… However, , as many have said, too often, the applications that come with it are down-right slow, non-compatible with anything else, and tiresome (lousy consumer interfaces, in particular). Again, love everything about my Mac, EXCEPT, what I got it for in the first place – - high “quality” audiovisual media development and support. Ain’t much there, sadly, unless one uses third part software, and even then, the mac shows its weakness. Back to iDVD. Could be way better in not taking 3 hours to transfer 20 minutes of digital media.

]]> By: Rikx http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-108360 Rikx Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:21:32 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-108360 I have recently made an iDVD slide show with great success. On a big TV the quality was AMAZING especially considering some of the images I had started with. It was shown on a 50" plasma TV at a surf club reunion to high acclaim. Well, it ran 24 minutes and they replayed it 3 times so I am assuming it was a success. This is what I did... 1. Imported all the images I wanted to use into iPhoto 09 and arranged them into albums. 2. Launched iMovie, started a new project and used the photo browser to access the albums I had made in iPhoto. 3. Dragged and dropped the images I wanted into iMovie. Shuffled them where required and changed their length for group shots where more viewing time would be required. 4. Added the standard cross dissolve between images. (It really is the only one you should use if you want the result to look even remotely professional.) 5. Added the Ken Burns effect - and, yes, adjusted it for each image. It really doesn't take long and gives you full control over the start point and the end point for each image... quite important for shots with people. 6. Used the Title browser to add 'Title,' 'The End,' and various captions. 7. Used the Music browser to add background music from my iTunes library. 8. Under the menu selected 'iDVD.' Once the movie of the slideshow had been prepared and when instructed, inserted a blank recordable DVD and hit 9. Tested the resultant first DVD copy in a standard DVD player on a TV... AOK, so then back to the Mac and burnt a few more copies. I now have orders for several more copies which will be as easy and launching iDVD again and hitting 'Burn' a few more times. Too easy. I have recently made an iDVD slide show with great success. On a big TV the quality was AMAZING especially considering some of the images I had started with. It was shown on a 50″ plasma TV at a surf club reunion to high acclaim. Well, it ran 24 minutes and they replayed it 3 times so I am assuming it was a success. This is what I did…

1. Imported all the images I wanted to use into iPhoto 09 and arranged them into albums.
2. Launched iMovie, started a new project and used the photo browser to access the albums I had made in iPhoto.
3. Dragged and dropped the images I wanted into iMovie. Shuffled them where required and changed their length for group shots where more viewing time would be required.
4. Added the standard cross dissolve between images. (It really is the only one you should use if you want the result to look even remotely professional.)
5. Added the Ken Burns effect – and, yes, adjusted it for each image. It really doesn’t take long and gives you full control over the start point and the end point for each image… quite important for shots with people.
6. Used the Title browser to add ‘Title,’ ‘The End,’ and various captions.
7. Used the Music browser to add background music from my iTunes library.
8. Under the menu selected ‘iDVD.’ Once the movie of the slideshow had been prepared and when instructed, inserted a blank recordable DVD and hit
9. Tested the resultant first DVD copy in a standard DVD player on a TV… AOK, so then back to the Mac and burnt a few more copies. I now have orders for several more copies which will be as easy and launching iDVD again and hitting ‘Burn’ a few more times. Too easy.

]]> By: JOHN C http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-102712 JOHN C Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:50:33 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-102712 WHEN I EXPORT A IMOVIE FINISHED PRODUCT TO IDVD I GET A STREAM OF SILVER WAVING BACK AND FORTH ON MY DVD IS THIS A IMOVIE PROBLEM? A IDVD PROBLEM? IT IS VERY ANNOYING AS YOU WATCH THE DVD ON THE PLAYER (THIS EFFECT HAPPENS WHEN ANYTHING THAT IS SILVER IS ON A CLIP) PLEASE HELP I HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH THIS FOR WEEKS WHEN I EXPORT A IMOVIE FINISHED PRODUCT TO IDVD I GET A STREAM OF SILVER WAVING BACK AND FORTH ON MY DVD IS THIS A IMOVIE PROBLEM? A IDVD PROBLEM? IT IS VERY ANNOYING AS YOU WATCH THE DVD ON THE PLAYER (THIS EFFECT HAPPENS WHEN ANYTHING THAT IS SILVER IS ON A CLIP)

PLEASE HELP I HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH THIS FOR WEEKS

]]> By: MAC ANNOYS ME X100 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-102639 MAC ANNOYS ME X100 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:06:20 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-102639 Same problems here. I've learned if you want to do anything on a MAC, you can never use any included software. When talking to Apple techs or some hotshot MAC vet, here are the typical responses I get: "Oh, you want to do professional music, buy Logic." "Oh, you want to do real photo editing, you have to get photoshop or aperture". "Oh, you want to make a high quality slideshow with no compression, that you can play on a dvd? You, silly, you can't do that, why on Earth would you want to do that? You, can't do that on iphoto, idvd, or imovie, you need 3rd party software to do that". Switching to Apple 2 years ago has been one of the most incredibly annoying events that I have ever undergone. I hate PC and windows garbage, but when we are brainwashed with Apple phrases saying, "Apple is so easy, even a monkey can do it, etc" are complete lies. Even down to calling Applecare is a complete waste of time. Out of the hundred times I have called trying to get some kind of assistance, there have been maybe 2 or 3 times that I have actually gotten a resolution to the problem I was calling about. What it comes down to is, it shouldn't require "tricks", "hundreds of attempts", or a freaking "blog" with a thousand other people complaining they have the same problem about something, and then Apple not having a fix for it. If I want to burn a high quality dvd slideshow that I can play on my HDTV, am I asking to much? Should I have to research for hours and hours and hours to try and find an answer to this problem? Should it even be a problem in the first place? Why has Apple not taken care of this yet? The end results of any attempted project I have made, have been laughable. Apple needs to fix these issues. Just an example: If I want to make a hi res dvd picture slideshow, there should be an option to do so. A realistic approach for solving this would be: insert dvd, drag pics onto dvd icon, then picking a resolution from a pull down tab (including HD, etc. and in real time telling you how much space you have left to add additional pics), then clicking burn. What do you think Mr. Apple? No wonder somebody took a bite out of the Apple logo. They were so frustrated with it, they bit a chunk out of it. Same problems here. I’ve learned if you want to do anything on a MAC, you can never use any included software.

When talking to Apple techs or some hotshot MAC vet, here are the typical responses I get:
“Oh, you want to do professional music, buy Logic.”

“Oh, you want to do real photo editing, you have to get photoshop or aperture”.

“Oh, you want to make a high quality slideshow with no compression, that you can play on a dvd? You, silly, you can’t do that, why on Earth would you want to do that? You, can’t do that on iphoto, idvd, or imovie, you need 3rd party software to do that”.

Switching to Apple 2 years ago has been one of the most incredibly annoying events that I have ever undergone. I hate PC and windows garbage, but when we are brainwashed with Apple phrases saying, “Apple is so easy, even a monkey can do it, etc” are complete lies.

Even down to calling Applecare is a complete waste of time. Out of the hundred times I have called trying to get some kind of assistance, there have been maybe 2 or 3 times that I have actually gotten a resolution to the problem I was calling about.

What it comes down to is, it shouldn’t require “tricks”, “hundreds of attempts”, or a freaking “blog” with a thousand other people complaining they have the same problem about something, and then Apple not having a fix for it.

If I want to burn a high quality dvd slideshow that I can play on my HDTV, am I asking to much? Should I have to research for hours and hours and hours to try and find an answer to this problem? Should it even be a problem in the first place? Why has Apple not taken care of this yet? The end results of any attempted project I have made, have been laughable.

Apple needs to fix these issues.

Just an example:

If I want to make a hi res dvd picture slideshow, there should be an option to do so. A realistic approach for solving this would be: insert dvd, drag pics onto dvd icon, then picking a resolution from a pull down tab (including HD, etc. and in real time telling you how much space you have left to add additional pics), then clicking burn. What do you think Mr. Apple?

No wonder somebody took a bite out of the Apple logo. They were so frustrated with it, they bit a chunk out of it.

]]> By: Effie http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-101991 Effie Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:37:02 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-101991 Has anyone found a solution to the lack of disc settings that iDVD 08 has? The formatting and content of the DVD project I am creating is all widescreen, 16:9 ratio. However, since the disc itself does not have the settings noted that it needs to be played in widescreen format, the playback display on the TV is 4:3 ... thereby cutting off valuable image details on the left and right. I don't see any comments about this being resolved in iDVD 09, so I am hesitant to upgrade until I know I can count on this feature. Has anyone found a solution to the lack of disc settings that iDVD 08 has? The formatting and content of the DVD project I am creating is all widescreen, 16:9 ratio. However, since the disc itself does not have the settings noted that it needs to be played in widescreen format, the playback display on the TV is 4:3 … thereby cutting off valuable image details on the left and right.

I don’t see any comments about this being resolved in iDVD 09, so I am hesitant to upgrade until I know I can count on this feature.

]]> By: Big Rich http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-101495 Big Rich Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:35:05 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-101495 The quality issue is relatively simple to over come by selecting "revert to original" which discounts the iphoto thumbnail and uses the original image in the slideshow. However since upgrading to ilife 09 I am getting a crash of iphoto when exporting to quicktime. Any ideas anyone? Cheers. The quality issue is relatively simple to over come by selecting “revert to original” which discounts the iphoto thumbnail and uses the original image in the slideshow.

However since upgrading to ilife 09 I am getting a crash of iphoto when exporting to quicktime. Any ideas anyone?

Cheers.

]]> By: April lynn http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-101298 April lynn Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:41:13 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-101298 I too have been having terrible problems essentially moving this slide show from app to app in order to get it to play on a TV or a projector. I used Andreas suggestion of the following and it worked: 1. make piece in imovie 2. save it using the quicktime / share choice....SEE ABOVE FOR EXACT SETTINGS (they are compression = photo > jpg) 3. import it into iDVD using the "file one step DVD from Movie" that will suck it into iDVD and prompt you to insert a blank disc. 4. enjoy. I too have been having terrible problems essentially moving this slide show from app to app in order to get it to play on a TV or a projector. I used Andreas suggestion of the following and it worked: 1. make piece in imovie 2. save it using the quicktime / share choice….SEE ABOVE FOR EXACT SETTINGS (they are compression = photo > jpg) 3. import it into iDVD using the “file one step DVD from Movie” that will suck it into iDVD and prompt you to insert a blank disc. 4. enjoy.

]]> By: Walrus http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-101073 Walrus Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:55:17 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-101073 Nice to know I'm not alone....I've been having issues with all of the above for a while now and again tonight I viewed a simple slideshow made in iPhoto with straight forward dissolves. Burn it to disc through iDVD and the dissolves are gone! This is not good enough from a company that claim to be for the creative media industries! Come on....Ken Burns effect looks great and iMovie 09 has great control features but the end product is rubbish! My question is, would Final Cut Pro be likely to overcome all of these issues....does it have Ken Burns and will it export/burn and not compress the quality/ass out of your work? And if so, would Final Cut Express do the same? Nice to know I’m not alone….I’ve been having issues with all of the above for a while now and again tonight I viewed a simple slideshow made in iPhoto with straight forward dissolves. Burn it to disc through iDVD and the dissolves are gone! This is not good enough from a company that claim to be for the creative media industries! Come on….Ken Burns effect looks great and iMovie 09 has great control features but the end product is rubbish!

My question is, would Final Cut Pro be likely to overcome all of these issues….does it have Ken Burns and will it export/burn and not compress the quality/ass out of your work? And if so, would Final Cut Express do the same?

]]> By: Jim B http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/comment-page-1/#comment-100151 Jim B Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:07:00 +0000 http://www.appleology.com/2006/09/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-dvd-slideshow-in-ilife/#comment-100151 I have struggled with imovie, iphoto and idvd for the past few months. The main problem has been dismal results on finished dvds, particularly with footage shot on an AVCHD high definition camcorder. It all looked great on my Mac, but the finished DVD was pitiful on all platforms. Finally did the export to Quicktime before bringing into iDVD and finished product was useable. Now struggling with slide-shows from iPhoto. Works sometimes not others. Will try Jared P's solution. Good thread. I have struggled with imovie, iphoto and idvd for the past few months. The main problem has been dismal results on finished dvds, particularly with footage shot on an AVCHD high definition camcorder. It all looked great on my Mac, but the finished DVD was pitiful on all platforms. Finally did the export to Quicktime before bringing into iDVD and finished product was useable. Now struggling with slide-shows from iPhoto. Works sometimes not others. Will try Jared P’s solution. Good thread.

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