DVD Learning Curve (Heinz?....)

[AKav]

To Heinz Oz (dear, sir) or anyone else who might be able to help me with my learning curve.

I'm asking this because DVDs are more expensive than CDs...sorry if there's an answer on the Ulead web site or if the answer is simple.

When I first purchased this program, I only had a CD burner. I found my way around thanks to help here and am now comfortable with creating VCDs for my family and some of my friends for special occasions.

I figured DVD would be better quality so I arranged to get an external DVD burner which I can use at work on my lunch hour. It's an HP DVD Writer dvd640 and appears to be functioning fine.

My problem is that I'm missing something in terms of settings. I took a VCD slideshow I had already created, opened it up, changed the setting on the bottom left of the Ulead screen from VCD to DVD and then saved it with a new name. I then burned a DVD thinking I was all set. When I opened the DVD to watch it, rather that scrolling individual images in my original slideshow, I saw little tiny images with solid colored backgrounds (because my "gallery" selection was "general" from the pull down menu, third selection which is the solid colors).

It's hard to describe what I'm seeing in words, but since I was able to make the VCDs which play fine in WMP, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong in trying to create a DVD.

Any thoughts are appreciated. I'm sure this is something simple that I'm overlooking but would rather not burn through a dozen DVD blanks in the process of trying to educate myself.

[heinz-oz]

Unfortunately I'm already with one foot at the air port and can't be of much help right now. Not knowing what exactly you did with which version makes it rather hard to pinpoint where you went wrong.

I get the feeling that you basically changed an mpeg1 VCD project to output to DVD, right? If you want to get a good quality DVD slide show. Start with a new project at DVD settings and add your images to that. Hopefully, your images are of a sufficient size and don't have to be enlarged by the software to fit the new screen size.

The thing is that you have to re-render the output to be DVD compliant because DVD is different to VCD. Frame size, bitrate, compression etc. are all different for DVD. You can convert your output file but I would prefer to do it again. I know I did with my only VCD project I ever did. I didn't like the quality and redit the project as a SVCD. Even that I redid again when I got my first DVD burner.

I'm sure others on this board will help you while I'm gone. Good luck.

[sjj1805]

Very briefly unless you still have your source material and are prepared to recreate everything from scratch in DVD format then I would tend to leave the VCD in its current format.

Whatever you had as source material for the VCD had to be reduced in size and quality so that it would fit in the 650/700 Megabyte CD disc.
Moving it onto a larger 4.3 Gigabyte disc will not improve the quality and could in fact make things worse.

If I were you would simply just make my next project a DVD now that I have the necessary equipment.

[AKav]

so much for helping. I believe I figured out my brain error but realize that since I started in VCD format, any DVD I create will lack quality. I'll just do DVDs from now on.

On the theme page, I had the motion menu selected and I misunderstood the use of the preview pane. Once I read back through the manual, I realized my error and am now all set.

I know this is a support forum and not customer service but I simply must say how much I love this product. As a somewhat technolgically challenged person (obviously), I've been able to find my way around and create some priceless tributes for my family and friends...I couldn't be happier.

Safe travels, Heinz!

And Mr. SJJ - I'll wave toward "our" Birmingham in your honor. Alabama, that is! Just a short drive from me.