Do you use DVD output?

[Igor]

Probably you heard that Apple abandoned the DVD drive in the new series of iMac 2012. Also new MacBook Pro Retina and MacBook Air don't have DVD drive.

They didn't replace it with Blu-ray drive. Apple thinks that time of optical discs is over.

When we can do same for PicturesToExe? In 3-5 years?

PicturesToExe 7.5 has rich video output options - HD video files, AVI, YouTube, video for tablets and smartphones. Personally I create HD video and use USB drive to play it on TV.

[davegee]

Igor,

I think that you will have to continuously monitor this?

As well as using EXE files on computer, I ONLY use HD Video / USB / TV for my own use but have been forced to prepare (Standard) DVDs for distribution of material.

DG

[Igor]

Dave,

I don't like interface of VideoBuilder (DVD part). And no sense to rework it because time of DVD is over. Also we have to pay royalty for each copy of PicturesToExe because we use DVD.

P.S. If I recall rightly, nobody asked me about Blu-ray support in PicturesToExe already 3 years.

[davegee]

Agreed!

Now wait for others with different views???

Is there a danger that the competition will hang on to DVD support and take customers away?

How long has XP been replaced by Vista and then W7? There are still people using XP. (I have all three - and soon iPad).

DG

[Igor]

Dave,

Of course, we will not remove support of DVD at least 2 years.

[Ken Cox]

I have just started using videobuilder again since 7.5 came along.

this week alone i gave away 12 discs of material made with videobuilder.

Big business are going to obsolete consumer's hardware once again -- disgusting -- sounds like the Sony betamax story

the consumer gets the proverbial stick up the you know what

ken

[Guest Yachtsman1]

The only reason I upgraded my De-lux subscription was to use it for making DVD discs. I think this feature is essential. These current cost cutting exercises by PTE does not enamour me & I'm sure many others.

Yachtsman1.

[Rickl]

Perhaps the number of people that do not own computers or are not yet comfortable using them is declining, but I still use DVD format to make slideshows for folks that only know how to slip a DVD in a player. Many would stand in from of their TV with a thumb drive and would not have any idea where to put it.

I play my AV's on my Macbook Pro and airplay them to my Apple TV. Great technology. But the entry fee to do this is significant

I hear what you are saying Igor - And paying license fees for mpg2 is not cool. In fact If I heard correctly, that is why Windows 8 no longer includes the Windows 8 Media player - It is an add on, and is not free.

I would suggest it is not yet time to abandon DVD I fear...

Dick

[wideangle]

It could be a whole new ballgame in two years time with technology, but I have to say that at the moment I produce DVDs for friends on a very regular basis.

Regards,

wideangle

[JEB]

Hi,

In my early days with PTE I was reluctant to use DVD as I had been led to believe the quality was so poor.

My impression is that the technology must have improved dramatically as I am quite satisfied with the results I am getting so would be disappointed to see the facility disappear before a satisfactory alternative was as well established as the DVD.

More recently I have used the DVD facility for giving shows to friends who could not or would probably never bother to watch them on a PC or Mac but would do so on a TV.

I suppose we shouldn't complain about progress otherwise we would still be concerning ourselves with such issues as low performing graphic cards.

It is an illustration of the concern that WnSoft has for its customers that we are being asked for an opinion.

Regards

John

[Barry Beckham]

Hardly ever used VideoBuilder and was never totaly happy with the quality. I wouldn't mourn it's loss at all

[mhwarner]

For myself, I never use the DVD. The quality just sucks so badly! I make EXEs of everything and simply attach my laptop to my TVs or those of my friends or family where I am visiting in person. I don't mess with the other output options very often because it seems to me that it takes much longer to "publish" the output than creating an EXE. Maybe I am misremembering.

Unfortunately, I sell quite a few event DVDs and would hate to see the capability disappear. Also, when I want to share a show with others that I need to send, I need to create DVDs. I agree with JEB and Dick LeBleu. Many people are clueless about video stuff and can only manage to pop a DVD into their set-connected player. Maybe in two years it will be a different story (and maybe I will be retired and won't be selling event DVDs).

[Conflow]

Hi igor,

In my opinion this latest "Apple-Ruse" is an attempt to undermine the "Worldwide DVD-Market" purely to gain sales of Apple-Mobile-Devices.

It seems as if "Apple" want to compete with:- Microsoft, Sony, BMG, and all the World-Manufacturers of DVD products & discs including most

large Industries which use DVD-Conferencing-Utilities.......May I ask the question? ~ With what do they intend to replace the DVD with ??

Surely not another (Non-universal) Apple-System.

'Solid-State-Memory' will replace the DVD in time ~ but it wont be on Apples-Terms ~ because the 'device' will have to be truly Universal to suit

the Computer & Television Industry and Manufacturers (standards) and their Worldwide Audience's.

Concering DVD quality ~ this has vastly improved over the past 4 years with the introduction of (digital-circuitry) TV-Sets and 16:9 Displays

even more so with (Lo-end) HD-TV's running 1280x720 pixel/Images now in Universal-usage compared to the old 4:3 Analog-system.

Its now reached the stage where its nearly impossible to discern the differences between the PTE-Exe Slideshow and an Mp4-H264 Video

provided the latter is properly produced.

Brian (Conflow).

[cgbraggjr]

I use a laptop and not USB for display because there are still a lot of TVs out there that don't have USB inputs. As others have said, distributing shows to relatives and friends usually involves a DVD, but I have other software to make that conversion for me. Plus, it's a rare event. I could live without the feature.

[Igor]

Please don't worry, we'll not remove DVD output. I didn't expect that so many people use it.

[smokinggoldfish]

Now that I am incorporating video into my shows the files are much bigger, and sometimes too big to put on to a CD for distribution to friends. Making an mp4 rather than an exe file makes it a bit smaller, but still some are too big. So I have to use DVDs to get the larger capacity. If I am going to burn DVDs then I might as well use a format that can be run on a DVD player rather than a computer. Then people who are not very computer literate can see my stuff too.

So my vote is to keep the facility to convert to, and burn to, DVD.

smokinggoldfish

[3rd Image]

I'm very keen that DVD should be retained. I have no other way of showing on TV. I'm currently on another thread trying to see how I can get a version of video builder to run with v 7.0.4. I dont wish to upgrade to v 7.5

Ross

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Ross

When did you buy PTE? Which version? If I remember correctly from another thread it was 6???. If it was, your 2 years of de-lux use has expired, so you can only use video builder with the version you bought or upgraded before the 2 years expired.

See http://www.wnsoft.com/picturestoexe/buy/upgrade/

Yachtsman1.

[3rd Image]

Ross

When did you buy PTE? Which version? If I remember correctly from another thread it was 6???. If it was, your 2 years of de-lux use has expired, so you can only use video builder with the version you bought or upgraded before the 2 years expired.

See http://www.wnsoft.com/picturestoexe/buy/upgrade/

Yachtsman1.

[3rd Image]

Sorry for the delay in responding - been busy preparing for our NI AV festival this weekend so haven't been on the forum for some time.

I originally bought v4 in 2006 (I think). Currently have 7.0.7 as advised - I dont like 7.5. I never had the video builder, (so licence is not an issue) but was able to make SVCD disks in 6. This option seems to have dissapeared in v7.

[stonemason]

I think that DVD should be retained for the foreseeable future as it's still used by many people, and one of the attractions of PTE is that it is feature rich, and long may it remain so. Whilst dedicated slideshow workers may not think the quality of DVD measures up to say mp4, I suspect that the average person watching their wedding pictures, along with their favorite music, on a DVD compiled by PTE would take a very different view, so for purely commercial reasons this feature should be retained, and possibly improved, for the foreseeable future. There is a big elitist trap out there which I think Apple is heading towards, and I would hate to see PTE follow.

[cjdnzl]

Just regarding the show quality of DVDs, I have recently done a DVD of a family occasion, an Mpeg2 compilation in PTE.

On a 52-inch LG TV the quality was spectacular, far better that I had expected, so I think that Mpeg2 compilations from PTE are top of the tree.

[Conflow]

Colin & Geoff,

I have been doing this for the past 3 years using PTE-Avi converted to Mpeg2 Video with AC3 Sound, and before that for some 6 years in

the old 4:3 Television-format for Technical-Presentations to Municipal Engineers and such like......I make Video-Reports for these people.

Yes the quality is very good once the files are properly Authored ~ indeed if you want to go to the limits of quality the M2TS-Format is really

absolutely superb even with (standard) Widescreen TVs (16:9 format). The MT2S-format is designed for Blue-Ray Systems but it can be

Authored down to DVD-format containing the necessary Video-TS and Audio-TS folders.

Brian (Conflow)

[Hemjr]

I use the DVD frequently to share shows.I would really miss it.