Fit slideshow to music VMS8

Deloresw wrote on 7/26/2007, 1:03 PM

First of all--Eugenia--I would LOVE for you to babysit me, and I wish I COULD just send my file to you to fix!!

I have a new Dell E520, VISTA OS. I created four slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 and have one more to make. All of the slideshows have five songs that total 15:94 minutes in length with 130 to 171 slides.

I installed VMS8.0 with the DVD Architect Studio 4.5 last week. I started the 130-slideshow with Architect Studio, but gave up when I could not get the music to play correctly.

I recreated the slideshow in Vegas Movie Studio and now have two "test" files in VMS8. I trimmed the ending of each of the five songs so the ending of one song easily transcends to the next song.

I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about making a movie or making a DVD. I have read and printed the instructions that I felt pertained to my project and have been using the "Show me how" feature, but cannot get my "still" pictures to fit the music.

In one "test" file I have the pictures lined up together, e.g., XXXXXX so there would not be a "black" screen between each one. In the other "test" file, I have about a slide's width between each picture to try to stretch the pictures over the length of the music, e.g., X X X X. The problem with this is I now have a black, blank slide in between each of the video slides. Am I trying to do something that can't be accomplished or is there a simple solution? I have adjusted the timing several times but nothing seems to work. I used the "show me how" to insert transitions, but that process seemed to be a tedious process to use for 130 slides. I guess I am missing something in the process.

Also, I am having problems with the selection tool when I try to move the picture slides. Sometimes I can move a group all at once, but most of the time I am lucky to be able to hit just the right spot to move only one. The moving a group has strictly been a "hit or miss" effort.

Sorry this is such a long post, but like I said, I know NOTHING about using this software.

I would appreciate any input anyone may have to offer.

Thanks!
Deloresw

Back to post

Comments

4eyes wrote on 7/29/2007, 7:38 AM

Burn a DVD-R and give it a try.

BTW - The sony recorder will do this. If you have packetwriting software installed on the computer the reverse can happen. If you record on a DVD+RW disk in the Sony recorder when you put the disk in the computer it will be mounted and play, but when you eject the dvd+rw from the computer the disk will be updated by your computers packet writer and then won't play in the Sony recorder anyway.

Can get complex, maybe try a standard DVD-R dvd?

Deloresw wrote on 7/29/2007, 8:31 AM

Would this have anything to do with Media Player not playing a DVD?
Also, in Architect Studio was I supposed to save the file as a .dar before I burned it? Next time, I will try to see the end of the filename that was automatically placed in the wizard.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316992

Moving Pictures Experts Group (.mpg, .mpeg, .m1v, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .mpe, .mpv2, .m3u)

The Moving Picture Experts Group develop the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standards. These standards are an evolving set of standards for video and audio compression.

MPEG-1 (.mpeg, .mpg, .m1v)

Versions of Windows Media Player that support this file type:

•
Windows Media Player 7

•
Windows Media Player for Windows XP

•
Windows Media Player 9 Series

•
Windows Media Player 10

•
Windows Media Player 11

This standard permits the coding of progressive video at a transmission rate of about 1.5 million bits per second (bps). This file format was designed specifically for use with Video-CD and CD-i media. The most common implementations of the MPEG-1 standard provides a video resolution of 352x240 at 30 frames per second (fps). When you use this standard, you receive a video that is slightly lower-quality than typical VCR videos.

Files that use the .m1v extension typically are MPEG-1 elementary streams that contain only video information. Files that use .mpg or .mpeg extensions typically are MPEG-1 system streams that contain MPEG-1-encoded video and MPEG-1 Layer II (MP2)-encoded audio.

However, MPEG-1 system streams do not exclusively use the .mpg and .mpeg extensions. MPEG-2 program streams also frequently use .mpg and .mpeg file extensions, but they contain MPEG-2-encoded video. Because Microsoft Windows operating systems provide only an MPEG-1 video decoder, Windows Media Player cannot play MPEG-2 program streams without an additional MPEG-2 video decoder (also known as a DVD decoder pack) installed. For more information about purchasing DVD decoder packs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx)

Chienworks wrote on 7/29/2007, 9:19 AM

There is no way for DVD Architect to burn the .DAR file to the disc instead of the video. It just cannot do this. However, what you will end up with on the disc are two folders named AUDIO_TS which will be empty and VIDEO_TS which will contain an assortment of .VOB .IFO and .BUP files. The .VOB files correspond to the .MPEG file that you created in Vegas.

When your DVD recorder claimed that the disc wasn't formatted and offered to format it for you, that erased anything you previously had on the disc. That's why after that happened nothing else would play it either.

My suggestion at this point is to try a DVD+R blank and burn to that. Some players have trouble with RW discs. I wouldn't worry about wasting an R disc for this, they're generally pretty cheap (if you're paying more than 70 cents for a few or 40 cents in quantity, you're buying them in the wrong place).

It is not necessary to save the .dar file before preparing and burning the DVD. It is recommended, but not required. Just like it's not necessary to save a .veg file before rendering in Vegas, but it is recommended so that you don't lose your project. All the .dar file is is a project file for how your DVD is layed out. It doesn't contain any video or other media.

Lessee ... what else ...

Absolute minimum steps in DVDA to create a DVD: (1) drag your .mpg file onto the menu page. This will create a button that links to the video. If you rendered the audio as a separate file but gave it the same name except .ac3 or .wav instead of .mpg and put it in the same directory then DVDA finds it automatically. (2) put a blank DVD in the drive. (3) Click Make DVD, Burn. Choose "Current Project". Then click next, next, etc. finish.

Any other steps are unncessary. True, many of the other steps listed in this thread are useful and nice and make a better looking presentation on the DVD. However, if you do the three steps i listed you will get a functional DVD. I'd suggest you start with these minimal steps until you get one that plays for you. Worry about fanciness after you know the process is functional.

Deloresw wrote on 7/29/2007, 5:04 PM

HALLELUJAH! IT WORKS!

I used the DVD-R disc, and it works in Media Player AND in my DVD player! I don't plan to try it in the DVD Recorder/Player until I make some extra copies.

The only problem that came up was when I played it on the DVD player, the last song with the pictures had some static and a few of the pictures in that segment had some jitter. The rest of the songs and pictures were fine so don't know why the one segment was affected.

I will be forever grateful for all of your help and suggestions! I am sure I will have more questions in the near future, because I have four more slideshows to recreate in Vegas Movie Studio.

Thanks again!

Deloresw

Deloresw wrote on 7/29/2007, 5:12 PM

Sorry, I forgot to add that the burn time for the DVD-R was 2:48 minutes versus the one I did on DVD+RW was 17:23 minutes. When I saw the 2:48 minutes, I wrote myself a note saying, "This can't be good," because I thought I was getting an almost empty file. :-) I think the key was clicking on "current file" rather than the other option.

Chienworks wrote on 7/29/2007, 5:32 PM

You don't have to worry about putting a DVD-R in the DVD recorder. If the disc is already burned then the DVD recorder cannot do anything to it.

Many RW discs have a maximum burn speed of 4 or even 2.4x. In contrast, many R discs have a burn speed of 8 or even 16. This means that buring an R disc can be somewhere between 2 and 6.667 times faster than RW. Add to speed difference the fact that DVDA has to initialize or erase an RW disc first before it starts burning and the time difference can be huge.

4eyes wrote on 7/29/2007, 7:15 PM

The only problem that came up was when I played it on the DVD player, the last song with the pictures had some static and a few of the pictures in that segment had some jitter. The rest of the songs and pictures were fine so don't know why the one segment was affected. Another suggestion if you would like to try it. The jitter and static could possibly be some data errors (burn errors) on the dvd at the end.
Before you make a copy try burning another dvd. This time adjust the burning speed down to 4X if you can. Technically your not putting enough information on the dvd so the program has to perform something called padding. Anyway, burn another one to get the hang of it. If the 2nd one burning at 4X plays correctly then chuck the other one out (or use as a coffee cup coaster).
Burn a few of them to get the hang of it, I think experience is the best teacher.

You can play a dvd-r in the Sony recorder. The sony recorder can't hurt dvd-r dvd's, same as it doesn't hurt commercial dvd's. The Sony Recorder will be sensitive to re-writeable media such as Dvd-rw or dvd+rw disks.

BTW - You can also use the DVD+RW disks you bought in your Sony Dvd recorder over & over again because they are re-writeable. I use them all the time in my sony dvd recorder.

Deloresw wrote on 7/29/2007, 8:07 PM

Thanks to you both for your comments and suggestions!

I don't know if this pertains to what you are talking about, but the static and jitter did not happen in the last segment, which is six text slides with part of another song. The first part of the slideshow consists of 130 pictures with five songs. The static and jitter happened during the 5th song, i.e., before the six text slides and another song. Would this still apply to what you explained?

Regretfully, I did not take note of the burn rate. I will try another one at least for practice. The static and jitter was not distracting to me, but it could be to someone else. I plan to make five copies for relatives so would like for it to be as error free as possible.

Thanks again!

4eyes wrote on 7/29/2007, 8:19 PM

When you go to burn copies again in architech just point the program to the same folder you performed the pre-render at. Architech won't have to re-build the dvd again. I forget the exact procedure but in the workflow to burn a dvd there should be an another choice to use a folder again that was previously pre-rendered.
Somewhere's the burning attributes are available, options, advanced etc. before you click on the button to burn where the burning speed can be changed.

Ivan Lietaert wrote on 7/29/2007, 9:52 PM

I'm glad you were successful. Remember that DVD-R is the best choice if you give dvds to your family/friends, because all players, even the older ones, will play them.
Good luck, and see you around!

Deloresw wrote on 7/30/2007, 9:37 AM

I'm back! :-)

My first DVD's burn speed was 16.0x for 2:48 minutes. This morning I used the 8.0x burn speed--3:04 minutes. The choices were: 4.0, 8.0, 12.0, and 16.0.

I first tested both in my DVD player. The sound was even worse in four of the 6 songs. The sound distortion happened in the bass and the two songs affected the most have drums and guitars. Also, today was the first time I noticed a brief skip near the beginning of the first two songs on the DVD with the 16.0x burn speed. I found two, small scratches on the DVD which would be in the general area so feel like that is the cause. I have no idea how the scratches got there unless they were there originally.

I then tested both of the DVDs in my DVD recorder/player and the music was fine, except for the DVD with the scratches. The picture flickers seem to only happen during the distortion of the bass.

This test proved to me that something is wrong with the speakers in my SONY TV or the SONY DVD player or both. The Sony DVD recorder/player is connected to an older Sony TV I purchased in 1993, but I had have the audio replaced in 1998. I digress, but I hope the sound is not going out in the Sony TV I purchased in 2003!!

My options now seem to be should I be satisifed with the 8.0x burn speed or try the 16.0x burn speed again on another DVD. My main question is do you think the burn speeds affect the quality in any way?

Thanks for any input!

Deloresw

4eyes wrote on 7/30/2007, 10:53 AM

My first DVD's burn speed was 16.0x for 2:48 minutes. This morning I used the 8.0x burn speed--3:04 minutes. The choices were: 4.0, 8.0, 12.0, and 16.0.
Are you burning DVD-R or DVD+R dvd's.
When burning dvd's I suggest starting at the lowest setting (your case 4X), when that works you progress upwards to the higher burning speeds. Then by experience you know the correct media & burner combination at speed X works reliably.

To test your existing TV's sound equipment I would play a commercial music dvd in it, or any commercial dvd that has some music on it.

Ivan Lietaert wrote on 7/30/2007, 11:52 AM

In my humble opinion, the sound problems are not related to the speed the dvd was burned with. My guess is that it has to do with the render settings of your mpg file. Also, it could be related to the original quality of the sound files. I'll check this thread right now, but I'd go for standard templates and stay away from customizing them. (My guess is the setting 'progressive scan' may have done the damage.)

EDIT:
I've reviewed the earlier posts in this thread and here is my opinion. You have customized a template on the level of video and audio under file properties.
Still, as I understand this is really the first dvd you're trying to make, I'd really stick to a standard template: go for NTCS Standard (or PAL) in the project properties (under file) and for rendering choose Mainconcept, mpg2, DVD NTCS (or PAL). Render your movie, burn it to a dvd (-r or rw) and overlook the sound and video quality in both players and both televisions. It should play just fine. I know there are exotic settings for exotic hardware, but it seems to me you have standard machinery, so why not stick to the standard?

Deloresw wrote on 7/30/2007, 3:34 PM

Thanks for both of your suggestions! I used the DVD-R disc for both of the last two burns.

I did not customize anything that I know of. The only editing I did to the sound files was I trimmed the endings so they would flow smoothly into the next song. When I rendered the project, I used the instructions that '4eyes' posted July 27, 2007.

If you don't think it is my newer TV causing the audio problems, how do you explain why it plays perfectly on the older TV and DVD recorder/player plus in Media Player? The original quality of the sound files are fine. I copied all of them directly from the CDs I own and converted them to .mp3 files. They all sound great.

I won't be able to test a music CD in the DVD/VCR player until tomorrow, because I have the VCR programmed to tape some TV shows tonight. I have never played a CD in it, because I have a CD player.

Again, thanks for you input.

Deloresw

Deloresw wrote on 7/30/2007, 4:08 PM

I tested the DVD (burn speed 16.0x) again in Media Player and it does NOT have the skips in the first two songs. This tells me the problem with playing it in the DVD players must be the burn speed and not the scratches.

I have the Dell A525 30-watt 2.1 stereo speakers with subwoofer and all of the music played perfectly.

My humble opinion for whatever it's worth is I think the 8.0x burn speed on the DVD will be fine, because it played okay on the DVD recorder/player. I will test it again on one of my daughters' DVD player before I make copies. If it doesn't, I will be back to square one.

Any ideas?

4eyes wrote on 7/30/2007, 7:35 PM

Burn one at 4X so you know for sure.

Deloresw wrote on 7/31/2007, 10:26 AM

I tested a CD on the DVD/VCR player and it had the same distortion in music that I heard on the DVD-R slideshow. I read the manual about the audio setup and changed each option one at a time and tested the CD after each change. The distortion was still there with each of the changes. I tested the same CD on the DVD recorder/vcr and it played fine.

I have not rented a movie DVD for awhile, but I have never had this problem with them. I have only noticed that I always have to turn the volume way up when I watch the DVD movies and VCR tapes.

I could try using the 4.0x burn speed, but do you think it is necessary since the 8.0x burn speed works in the DVD/recorder/vcr? Of course, I will try it if there is a problem on another DVD player.

I am getting weary of reading manuals and testing, but it has to be done so do not plan to give up until I get it right.

Deloresw

Ivan Lietaert wrote on 7/31/2007, 10:53 AM

The fact that you point out that the original CD gives the same distortion on one of the players opens up a whole new insight. Seems to me that that dvd player as opposed to the other one, has a less sofisticated error correction. Your 'better' player will be filling in the digital gaps caused by scratches (or bad burning of the original CD) , so you won't hear it...
So this kind of concludes one issue: not your dvd, but (one of ) the player(s) cause the distortion.

4eyes wrote on 7/31/2007, 11:07 AM

Deloresw,I am getting weary of reading manuals and testing, but it has to be done so do not plan to give up until I get it right. We have all been there, it's a lot of work. Burning at 4X and using DVD-R will give you the highest compatibility when you give your dvd's to others in the family to playback on their dvd players.
It's disappointing to spend countless hours on a project, distribute dvds to the family and they come back saying the dvd's will not play in their dvd players. Just because a dvd is rated 16X doesn't mean it will work or is a better dvd, there's to many other factors that can affect the burning process. It does get complicated, rule of thumb is to start at the lowest speed and work upwards with the burning speed to know what's reliable & what isn't with whatever brand of media you are using.

Good luck.
So this kind of concludes one issue: not your dvd, but (one of ) the player(s) cause the distortion. Sounds crazy but check your audio cables & connections first, sometimes it can simply be a bad audio cable or loose audio cable or a loose connection on the speaker(s).

Deloresw wrote on 8/1/2007, 4:31 AM

Thanks for saying: "Burning at 4X and using DVD-R will give you the highest compatibility when you give your dvd's to others in the family to playback on their dvd players."

This statement gave me more of an incentive to burn a DVD at the 4.0x speed. I burned one this morning--burn time 7:08. I still get the exact same music distortion on the DVD/VCR player. I can't check the connections, because the TV and player are enclosed in an entertainment center cabinet. That is the downside of having the cabinet. I will have to have one of my sons-in-law check it for me.

Both DVD manuals have a warning about playing DVDs and CDs with DTS signals on equipment that is not capatible with DTS. They describe the sound distoration that this can cause and states it can blow out your speakers. The TV and player are connected to my Pioneer receiver, purchased in 1991, but has Dolby surround sound, and four Boston Acoustics speakers are connected to the system. I was tempted turn off the TV speakers and try playing the DVD through the receiver, but the manual only shows TV, CD, VCR, Tape, VDP/CDV, and Phono. I certainly do not want to chance blowing out those speakers!

Thanks again for your help! I am sure this won't be the last you will hear from me, because like I said previously, I have four more DVDs to create and burn. I copied all of the questions and answers from this topic and placed them in a Word document, so hopefully I won't have the same problems. :-)

Deloresw