Problem Viewing Picture Show 4 on Home DVD

[pdaugherty3]

I'm using the 15 day trial version of PictureShow 4. The cd's of the slide show I create play fine on my computer DVD but on my home JVC unit that is only two years old they either don't play at all or I get a listing of folders on the CD. Has anyone any idea why this might be?

Patrick

[michaeltee]

I'm using the 15 day trial version of PictureShow 4. The cd's of the slide show I create play fine on my computer DVD but on my home JVC unit that is only two years old they either don't play at all or I get a listing of folders on the CD. Has anyone any idea why this might be?

Patrick

Hi Patrick,

Are you burning VCD or SVCD? Not all home DVD players are compatible with the VCD format(s). If possible, try viewing your CD on a different DVD player and let us know how it goes.

-Mike

[pdaugherty3]

Thanks Mike- That helped. My home DVD system now plays both the VCD and SVCD disks I burned fine. However, neither the SVCD or the VCD will play back on my computer. I was initially burning to a CD using the DVD setting and it was playing fine on my computer DVD tray but not my home system. Am I required to use DVD media when burning with this setting? Is it correct that there is no one format that will allow people to play the disk on their computer and on their home DVD system?

Patrick

[pdaugherty3]

Thanks Mike- That helped. My home DVD system now plays both the VCD and SVCD disks I burned fine. However, neither the SVCD or the VCD will play back on my computer. I was initially burning to a CD using the DVD setting and it was playing fine on my computer DVD tray but not my home system. Am I required to use DVD media when burning with this setting? Is it correct that there is no one format that will allow people to play the disk on their computer and on their home DVD system?

Patrick

[pdaugherty3]

Thanks Mike-

That helped. My home DVD system now plays both the VCD and SVCD disks I burned fine. However, neither the SVCD or the VCD will play back on my computer. I was initially burning to a CD using the DVD setting and it was playing fine on my computer DVD tray but not my home system. Am I required to use DVD media when burning with this setting? Is it correct that there is no one format that will allow people to play the disk on their computer and on their home DVD system?

Patrick

[michaeltee]

That helped. My home DVD system now plays both the VCD and SVCD disks I burned fine. However, neither the SVCD or the VCD will play back on my computer. I was initially burning to a CD using the DVD setting and it was playing fine on my computer DVD tray but not my home system. Am I required to use DVD media when burning with this setting?

To be honest I didn't even realize PS4 would allow you to select the "DVD" setting and burn to CD-R. Live and learn... LOL! But for the sake of compatibility I would definitely use whatever type of blank media corresponds with the chosen setting. Certainly there would be a potential capacity issue since CD-R is limited to 700mb versus 4.7gb with DVD±R discs. If you don't have a DVD burner, SVCD (rather than VCD) would offer the best video quality for viewing with your home DVD player.

Concerning the problem playing a VCD or SVCD on your computer, could you please describe what happens when you insert the disc?

Is it correct that there is no one format that will allow people to play the disk on their computer and on their home DVD system?

Yes, unfortunately this is true. In theory a VCD could be played on any computer (PC or Mac) equipped with a CD-ROM drive and the MPEG1 codec (supplied by Windows Media Player for PC or Quicktime Player for Mac). However not ALL home DVD players support VCD so this would be the gating factor in terms of universal compatibility. In the case of DVD, not all computers are equipped with a DVD-ROM drive.

-Mike

[pdaugherty3]

Mike

Here is what I’ve found with respect to burning:
I can select DVD and burn the slide show to a CD given that it is under 800MB
My computer will play it back using Windows Media Player. It will not however, play back in SVCD or VCD formats. When I insert the disk I just get a list of files and none of them execute the program when I attempt to open them.

My home DVD machine will play both the SVCD and VCD formats.

I understand that SVCD is most common so this is probably what I would use especially when I want to give slide shows to friends to watch on their home DVD machines. It’s unfortunate that this precludes them from then watching it on their computer. How do you handle this?

Patrick

[michaeltee]

Hi Patrick,

Just to clarify an earlier point, SVCD offers better quality than VCD but it is actually VCD that is most compatible with the majority of computers. If you wanted to distribute a video presentation that would be EASILY playable on any computer it would be better to output your slideshow in MPEG1 and package it as an autorun or autorun executable on CD-R. PS4 can output an MPEG1 file but you would have to use a 3rd party app to create the autorun disc. So for practical purposes, VCD is probably your best bet. Even so, you still face the issue that not ALL home DVD players are VCD compatible AND the fact that VCD (MPEG1) is lower quality than SVCD or DVD.

To play a VCD with Windows Media Player, use ONE of these methods:

1) Insert the VCD in your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM and browse to the MPEGAV folder. Double-click on the ".dat" file (AVSEQ01.DAT) and associate it with Windows Media Player.

2) Insert the VCD in your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM and browse to the MPEGAV folder and right-click on the ".dat" file (AVSEQ01.DAT). From the context menu select "open with" and then tick "select the program from a list". When the list appears select Windows Media Player.

2) Insert the VCD in your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM and launch Windows Media Player. From the "Play" menu select "DVD, VCD or CD Audio". From the list that appears, double-click the drive that contains your VCD.

Note that Windows Media Player will typically bypass the menu and begin playing the slideshow immediately. To display the menu before playback begins, use player software such as Intervideo WinDVD or Cyberlink PowerDVD. Just insert the VCD, wait a few seconds, and click PLAY. Be aware that the menu will not have motion or interactive features however if you added menu background audio it will be heard.

To play an SVCD:

SVCD uses MPEG2 compression which is not a standard feature of Wimdows Media Player. You can use WMP only if it has been properly configured with an MPEG2 decoder. In my opinion it would be preferable to use MPEG2 enabled player software such as WinDVD or PowerDVD. Insert the SVCD in your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, wait a few seconds, and click PLAY.

-Mike

[pdaugherty3]

Thanks again Michael for your input and direction. I'll give it a try. I have another question. I'm shooting with a small Nikon 2 megapixle camera and notice that when the slide show is put on my TV screen (21") the resolution is not that great. Is there anything I can do about this other than burn SVCD and go to a higher megapixle camera? An suggestions on megapixle size camera?

Patrick

[michaeltee]

Thanks again Michael for your input and direction. I'll give it a try. I have another question. I'm shooting with a small Nikon 2 megapixle camera and notice that when the slide show is put on my TV screen (21") the resolution is not that great. Is there anything I can do about this other than burn SVCD and go to a higher megapixle camera? An suggestions on megapixle size camera?

Patrick

Patrick,

If you're talking about VCD, the poor resolution is due to the characteristics of the VCD specification itself. VCD is MPEG1, 352x240, non-interlaced whereas SVCD is MPEG2 480x480 and DVD MPEG2 720x480 (although at a certain point SVCD and DVD quality will vary based upon the length of the content, i.e.; less data = less compression = higher image quality). If possible, burn your projects to DVD and I think you'll be satisfied with the quality when viewing on a TV.

Re cameras, in my opinion 2mp snapshots offer more than enough resolution for a video slideshow. Slideshow programs such as PS4 will actually resize your images down to the above dimensions in order to meet the specifications of your chosen format. Cameras with higher mp capabilities are more useful for printing portrait sized photos.