Joy

That is very interesting, LumenLux. I admit I have not tried P2E for DVD in quite some time because I was very disappointed in the DVD results. Maybe the program has improved (for DVD). As I said, I love it for exe.

All this info is very interesting, but as far as I am concerned, P2E produces a low quality DVD, period. I have made slideshows with other software and burned to DVD and then used the same pictures, music, etc. in P2E, burned the file to DVD and there is definitely a noticable difference. P2E just does not produce good DVDs. I love it for exe shows.

Yes, Oleg, I have figured out how to do it with my graphic editor quite easily. I was happy to accomplish this as I have seen it in quite a few of the shows at Beechbrook and wondered how it was done. Now I know.

Thank you Oleg, That is a very impressive slideshow. Unfortunately, the process is too involved for me to understand. I do not have Photoshop, but I think I can do what I want with my current graphic's editor. Not as impressive, but good enough.

Thank you both. That is exactly what I needed to know. Will give it a try.

I don't know if I can explain what I want, but I have seen it on a few P2E shows. One photo stays on the screen and another photo appears on-screen over it. Like a photo is used as a background. I can only find the option for a tiled background. Sometimes the photos appear in sequence and the first remains on-screen while the second appears; first and second remain while third appears, etc. Thanks.

Zoom in/out and Pan transitions. Thanks Igor.

Jim, I've made svcd using just Pinnacle Expression and also using P2E first and then Pinnacle. (Sorry Igor), P2E show was not as good. But then Pinnacle Exp alone has few transition options. I think you misunderstood me. The MovieMaker2 wmv>Tmpgenc avi>Pinnacle Exp svcd gives as good a result, maybe a little better, than just Pinnacle alone and it has the unique title and credit animation and good transitions. I save the wmv at High Quality Video NTSC which is 720x480, 4.3 aspect ratio. Tmpgenc avi file is huge but I have 2 - 80G hard drives. This MM2 wmv>Tmpgenc>Pinnacle svcd process gives the best svcd quality of all the processes I have tried. I'm sure DVD is better, but I don't have a DVD recorder. I am disappointed in svcd results using the P2E avi and although slau says not to blame any one thing, I do get good results using the MM2/Tmpg/Pinnacle process. Frankly, I am searching for a program that will import wmv files and then create the svcd and (when I buy a DVD recorder) DVD. This would allow me to eliminate the Tmpgenc step. I found one program, but although the photo quality was retained and good, the transitions were not rendered properly.

I replied before, but my post got lost so if it shows up again........ Jimbo, Thanks for the reply, I thought svcd was mpeg2, but I might be wrong. I find Roxio Movie Creator very confusing. I downloaded it (436MB), only to find out if didn't create svcd, only vcd. It will make some kind of DVD-VCD that will only play on a PC DVD player not on a standalone DVD (TV) player. Would have been nice if Roxio had said that on their website so I wouldn't have had to download 436MBs . I made a show in P2E and Pinnacle Expression (svcd) and the quality was NOT good. Too much jitter. Transitions were smooth, but lots of that jitter. My best results with SVCD so far has been Movie Maker 2 wmv>Tmpgenc Avi>Pinnacle Expression SVCD. Surprisingly converting the wmv to mpeg2 in Tmpgenc and then using Pinnacle Exp. gave a worse resulting quality than the plain avi file. Ronnie, I saw PhotoShow Gold before but didn't try it. Any scrolling titles and credit available? Thanks.

What the difference between Neo Plus and Neo DVD and does either one create SVCD? It says only VCD or DVD video using a CDR. I tried the DVD video with another program (Roxio Video Movie Creator) and the quality was not as good as SVCD. Of course Neo may be a better program.

Ronnie, thanks for the reply. This is precisely the reason I don't purchase another program; I am afraid I will be disappointed after using Movie Maker and other programs don't give any examples of their titles and credits. Why are these scrolling credits and flash titles so difficult for other programs to create. I have been successful making svcds of still photos and video using Movie Maker, Tmpgenc and Pinnacle Expression. My svcds look very good to me and other people say they look good also. I have only seen svcds that I have created, so none to compare to. I also view them on a 20 inch TV with DVD player, so I don't know how they would look on a big-screen TV. I have created svcds using P2E also. What Pinnacle software are you using?

Thanks Bart. They are exactly what I am talking about. But aren't they only available in Movie Maker? And then they have to be converted to avi or mpg to use with a video creating software. I assume you did this. I would like to be able to create these scrolling credits without having to use Movie Maker and then convert. Dana says similar credits are available in Pinnacle Studio DV but I would like to see them before I buy the software. I'm cheap and spending $100 for something that doesn't give me what I want is out of the question .' If anyone using video creating software doesn't mind downloading Barts file, please let me know which software offers these credits and titles. Movie Maker can't be the only software that has this. Thanks.

Dana, I hate to be a pain, but I can't find many details on the Pinnacle site regarding what Studio DV offers in the way of scrolling credits. I would love to see some examples to see how they compare to Movie Maker as I don't want to spend $100 and be dissatisfied. If you are familiar with Movie Maker, can you assure (reassure) me that Studio DV offers the same? The scrolling credits add that special touch to any show. Also I assume you are referring to Studio DV version 8? Thanks again. PS Would you consider letting me send you an email with a wmv file attached, showing how the credits look and what I would like to be able to create in Studio DV?

Thank you all for replying. I am definitely interest in SVCD or DVD so the Flash Me utility is out. Dana, thank you very much for the tip. I have Pinnacle Expression and unfortunately it does not have scrolling credits but I will check out Studio DV. The scrolling credits really make a show look like a movie.

Thanks Jim. That is very disappointing. I did a search and read the topics concerning the FlashMe utility. But it is way to complicated for me.

Does anyone know if it is possible in P2E to create a scrolling type effect that can be used to display credits at the end of a show like they have in movies? If anyone has ever used Windows Movie Maker, you will know what I mean. Would like to create a svcd with this. Thanks and Happy New Year to all.

Thanks Dana, I successfully created SVCD.

Thanks pip. My vcd file created with Pinnacle did view on my DVD player. The photos just looked terrible. So are you saying converting the avi to mpg first will improve the quality? I am not using a DVD burner, just a CD burner.

Hi LumenLux. Thanks for the reply. I did not have to convert the P2E avi file to mpg to create a vcd. I have tried the new P2E beta2 and produced a vcd using Pinnacle Expression but the result is terrible. It plays on my DVD player, but the quality is far below what I see on my PC (as an exe). I'm just curious if this is because of Pinnacle or if I am doing something wrong. I create the file in P2E, then choose to create AVI and open the temporary P2E file in Pinnacle. The CD burning goes very smoothly with no problems, but when viewed on my DVD, well as I said TERRIBLE. My DVD player will play jpegs on it's own (no transitions, of course) and the same photos shown that way are good. The vcd creation seems to really degrade the jpegs.

anyone have any comments for me? why do some of you convert to mpg? I am missing something i guess.

As the title suggests, I have created a few vcds using P2E and Pinnacle Expression. I know nothing about Pinnacle. It was a freebie with my PC. Well the vcds are terrible. Photos are blurry and distorted. I don't think it is the fault of P2E since others seem to be getting good results. WinXP, P4 2.5G, 1GigRam.

I tested my P2E vcd created with Pinnacle Expression on a RCA TV-DVD player and it worked. I actually bought the RCA unit. The file was not the best quality, slight flicker and my photos were not as clear as on my PC. The photos had been resized for the PC and that is probably why they were not as sharp.

I've used P2E beta 2 and created a SVCD using Pinnacle Expression and my CD burner. Unfortunately I don't have a DVD player yet!. I'm going to Walmart to test my CD (if they let me).

OK, thanks alrobin.

In Options, Advanced Options, I have UNCHECKED "Load Last Used Project". It rechecks automatically after I reopen P2E a few times and the last used project shows. I know it is no big deal , but is there a way to set it so that option will stay unchecked? Using version 4.00. Thanks.