Can't Create DVD!

[fonz]

I'm getting really frustrated because I can't create a DVD with PicturesToExe. I have version 4.47 and have followed all the instructions in the Help and from this forum.

I can create AVI files of all different kinds - VCD, SVCD, and DVD. But when I try to play those files with anything such as Windows Media Player, Pinnacle Studio, Ulead DVD Movie Factory 4, etc., the video won't play back - I just get a blank screen with music. And if I go ahead and try to burn the AVI to DVD, I get the same thing when I play it back on my DVD player - sound but no video (just a blank screen).

I think what is happening is that the PTEV video codec is not getting initialized when I try to use the above programs. Therefore, the video is not getting played back or getting converted correctly to burn to a DVD.

Please help!

[Hawk]

Hi fonz

And if I go ahead and try to burn the AVI to DVD, I get the same thing when I play it back on my DVD player - sound but no video (just a blank screen).

When you click the VIDEO button in main screen of Picture to EXE, and the Video Box opens.

Can you advise what happens when you click " PREVIEW " - before clicking create.

Does Windows Media Player open, and play the video & music at this point ?

ADDED:

Question if I may.

When you have created the temp .AVI, are you locating the file and re-naming it ?, then burning the re-named file. - This is a NO - NO

No video and music playing will occur if this is what you have done.

You must burn the created temp .AVI that PTE produces while PTE is minimized and still running in the background.

Give the file the final name at this point.

[Lin Evans]

You have your slideshow created then you click on "Video" at the bottom of your screen on the tab between Project Options and Timeline. A popup box will appear. Click in the top choice "Create Custom AVI Video File" then click in the "Video Codec" box and another popup window will appear which is named "Video Compression". Under the word "Compressor" in this box, click on the checkmark in the small blue box to the right of whatever is written beside the checkmark and a drop-down "picklist" with the available codecs will appear.

I suspect you do not have the necessary codec to encode or decode the video for the AVI. Please report back the list of available codecs and we can go from there.

Lin

[Ken Cox]

you must NOT click Finish until the burn is complete, if you do you will get a black screen and only sound

- see screenshot

ken

[fonz]

Thank you all for your replies.

Lin, I know what you mean, but I don't necessarily want to use a custom Codec. I want to use the one that is built into the program.

Ken/Hawk, I was copying the output AVI file, clicking Finish, and then trying to burn the copied file with Ulead Movie Factory 4. So, according to y'all, this is a no-no.

So, I then tried previewing the file just to see what would happen. That worked. Windows Media Player would open and show a 10 second preview.

But then when I tried making the complete AVI file and burning the result with Movie Factory BEFORE clicking Finish, Movie Factory could not recognize the file. I then played around with PicturesToExe by previewing another clip and then went through the same process again. Then, Movie Factory magically opened the AVI file and I was finally able to burn my DVD. After that I then clicked Finish in PicturesToExe and I was done. Finally! Hallelujah!

It seems like there is serious problems about when this program loads/unloads its Codec to/from the system to be used by other programs such as Movie Factory.

The question I have is why does it have to be so difficult to do this whole process of making a video file that can be burned by another program to DVD, SVCD, etc.? Why doesn't the program simply output a video file that you can burn at any time without having to worry about previewing the video or clicking the finish button? It seems so crazy to have your file deleted after you click the Finish button and even crazier to not be able to play back a copy of that same file after you’ve clicked the Finish button.

Again, thank you all for your help!

[Ken Cox]

FONZ

in order to keep the overall program small,Igor designed it that way.Less problems in the long run.

Hawk and I both use the nero suite [$100 +-] and we generally do not have any problems making the dvd

if you take the time and go back thru the forum you will find that the Ulead software seems to give people problems.

ken

[Hawk]

fonz

Glad to see that you have it burning as it should.

We use Nero as our authoring / burning program and sorry I cannot answer your question as to Movie Factory.

And to your last question, maybe Igor could better explain. Maybe someday a burn section will be added.

You could use a program such as TMPGEnc, which has a free version and create as a MPEG-2, then be played back at anytime.

Enjoy your DVD's

[Lin Evans]

Thank you all for your replies.

Lin, I know what you mean, but I don't necessarily want to use a custom Codec. I want to use the one that is built into the program.

snip

The question I have is why does it have to be so difficult to do this whole process of making a video file that can be burned by another program to DVD, SVCD, etc.? Why doesn't the program simply output a video file that you can burn at any time without having to worry about previewing the video or clicking the finish button? It seems so crazy to have your file deleted after you click the Finish button and even crazier to not be able to play back a copy of that same file after you’ve clicked the Finish button.

Again, thank you all for your help!

It does it both ways - can make a permanent AVI or use the AVI template which translated by Ulead, etc., results in the DVD. That's why I asked what codecs you see when you click on the "custom AVI". Usually you will have a number of codecs already on your computer from different installs. There are free codecs available in a single group which you can install one or a hundered different ones incuding Microsoft's mpeg 4 which is recognized by almost all software.

You are not using "custom codecs" - that's misleading, what you are doing is "choosing" a codec which is widely recognized. The ptev codec is not widely recognized but works well with the Ulead and other programs on the list. If you want to create an AVI using mpeg 4 then you simply need to have the mpeg 4 codec installed on your computer. Go here and download the free package and you will have the opportunity to create using about every imaginable codec available. I suggest mpeg 4 for video simply because it's a very good codec and widely recognized by burning software.

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/ACE_Mega_CoDecS_Pack.htm

The simple answer to your question is that you "can" do exactly what you want to do by choosing the "custom AVI" selection then choosing a codec, bitrate, etc., which will make you a permanent AVI file which you can do whatever with.

Best regards,

Lin

[fonz]

Lin,

The only problem with choosing a Custom Codec is that if you don't choose one that is DVD compatible, you may end up encoding the file in PicturesToExe, and then turn right back around have Movie Factory (or Nero, etc.) have to re-encode again in order to make a DVD. Not only is that very time consuming, but I've seen instances where if you encode several times, your resulting video may have problems - such as artifacts, pixelation, jerky video, etc.

So, PicturesToExe in my experience worked great with the DVD output option when it worked. What I mean by that is that things were not repeatable with the DVD option. Sometimes I can open the resulting AVI file in Movie Factory, Windows Media Player, Nero, etc., and then other times I can't. Maybe the AVI "template", as you say, is not getting translated correctly for some reason??

All I am trying get across here is that in all other video/DVD editing programs that I use, when you choose an output file for DVD, you end up with a file that is MPEG2 DVD compliant. No questions asked - it is simple and just works. You end up with a file that doesn't get deleted, is playable by such things as Windows Media Player or PowerDVD, and programs like Movie Factory or Nero do not have to re-encode the file to get it out onto a DVD.

The way you have to do it now with PicturesToExe is just way too confusing and misleading. If you're going to have to choose Custom Codecs to make a DVD, then why have a DVD button in the first place? And if it was really that easy, then why is there so much talk dedicated to this topic on this forum?

Thanks,

Fonz

[Lin Evans]

Lin,

The only problem with choosing a Custom Codec is that if you don't choose one that is DVD compatible, you may end up encoding the file in PicturesToExe, and then turn right back around have Movie Factory (or Nero, etc.) have to re-encode again in order to make a DVD. Not only is that very time consuming, but I've seen instances where if you encode several times, your resulting video may have problems - such as artifacts, pixelation, jerky video, etc.

I guess I'm not making this clear. The point is that you're not choosing a "custom codec" when you click on the that choice, you're choosing a codec which is not the ptec (PicturesToExe Codec). It's only 'custom" in the sense that it's not using the ptec codec which is specifically designed to work ONLY with certain specified programs. The codec that you might want to choose is mpeg 4, the most widely compatible of all codecs; it's anything BUT a "custom" codec. Remember, the authors of P2E are not native English speakers so sometimes the choice of words in the menu may not be optimal for the English speaker.

Let me repeat, when you click on the "choose custom codec" choice, that doesn't mean that the "CODEC" is custom, it's the "CHOICE" that the word "CUSTOM" is referring to. Rather than saying "custom codec" it should read "Select an Available Alternative codec".....

So, PicturesToExe in my experience worked great with the DVD output option when it worked. What I mean by that is that things were not repeatable with the DVD option. Sometimes I can open the resulting AVI file in Movie Factory, Windows Media Player, Nero, etc., and then other times I can't. Maybe the AVI "template", as you say, is not getting translated correctly for some reason??

It's difficult to say why it works correctly for you sometimes and not others. It works correctly for the majority the majority of the time which means the problem isn't specific to P2E but rather something in your system which is causing the issue. The code doesn't work one way some times and another way at other times - software furnishes the identical code each time. If things are not working consistently, there is something in your system or setup which is causing the problem.

Believe me, this is one of the MAJOR issues with burning DVD's. It's not something specific to P2E - I have half a dozen different DVD burning slideshow software's including Media@Show, ProShow Gold, P2E, Memories on TV, etc., and I frequent forums on each where these problems are discussed on a daily basis. If you think this is unusual go to the ProShow Gold forum and listen to the complaints by people who can't burn DVD's or have intermittent issues with this. The problem is that there are competing technologies by Nero and Roxio (formerly Adaptec code) and they are incompatible and can't co-exist on the same system without causing serious problems. If you have EVER had one or the other on your computer then erased it and installed the other, you seriously need to get a registry cleaning program to erase all vestiges ot the deleted program. I don't know that this is your situation, but it's a VERY common situation.

All I am trying get across here is that in all other video/DVD editing programs that I use, when you choose an output file for DVD, you end up with a file that is MPEG2 DVD compliant. No questions asked - it is simple and just works. You end up with a file that doesn't get deleted, is playable by such things as Windows Media Player or PowerDVD, and programs like Movie Factory or Nero do not have to re-encode the file to get it out onto a DVD.

You must not be using very sophisticated video/DVD editing programs. All the MAJOR programs such as Adobe Premier, Vegas Video, etc., offer a wide choice of codecs for encoding. Vegas Video offers mpeg1, 2, 3, 4, and a host of others as well.

I'm just trying to help you solve your problem. P2E is extremely flexible in that you have choices. If the ptec codec doesn't work, then use the alternative which I've explained in earlier posts. If you don't have mpeg 4, click on the link I provided, download the ACE codecs and install mpeg 4. Choose it, make your AVI file and ALL standard burning software will work fine with it. We burn literally hundreds of DVD's, make Flash 8 movies from AVI and mpeg files, divX movies, install standard mpeg and AVI files on the web for customers etc, on a regular basis using P2E, ProShow Gold, Media@Show, Memories on TV, Windows Movie Maker 2, Riva Producer, On2 Technologies Flix Pro, WildForms, Sorenson Squeeze, Vegas Video, ImageMatics Still Motion, etc., and have zero problems because we convert everything to mpeg 4 before we start. There are no issues with any program needing to re-encode to create a DVD.

The way you have to do it now with PicturesToExe is just way too confusing and misleading. If you're going to have to choose Custom Codecs to make a DVD, then why have a DVD button in the first place? And if it was really that easy, then why is there so much talk dedicated to this topic on this forum?

Again, it's not the codecs which are "custom" it's the choice for using other than the ptec codec. Forget the word "CUSTOM" it's confusing you. There are hundreds of codecs for compressing and de-compressing video. The ptec codec is non-standard because it was designed to optimize the output of PicturesToExe, but it only works with the specified programs. Try ProShow Gold - you have no choices. If the standard output fails you're up a creek without a paddle. With P2E you have "choices". That's not a deficiency, it's an advantage because you get to choose from a number of different codecs which may have specificity for certain applications. You're making this much more difficult than it needs to be. Just install the mpeg 4 codec, follow the instructions and get on with making your DVD's.

Best regards,

Lin

Thanks,

Fonz

[Ken Cox]

Fonz

get this free proggie

http://avicodec.duby.info/

it will tell you where every codec is installed on your system

if you think you need more

K Lite have also just issued updates

http://www.codecguide.com/about_kl.htm

http://www.codecguide.com/features_kl.htm

ken

[fonz]

Ken, thanks for the info.

Lin, I'm just trying to provide some end-user feedback. PicturesToExe and making DVD's or making AVI files isn't clear and easy.

And yes, I do have Adobe Premier, Premier Elements, Vegas Video, Pinnacle Studio, and Movie Factory. And it's a piece of cake to make a DVD or any type of video file - AVI, VCD, SVCD, MPEG. I’ve never had issues like this before.

I know a professional photographer who bought PicturesToExe and loves it for making executable slideshows. However, he has the same EXACT problems as I do. He has never once successfully been able to burn his projects to DVD. So, it's not just my system and configuration.

I don't care to argue anymore about how or what I should be doing with the "custom choices" or whatever you want to call them. That's not the point I'm trying to make. Making DVD's or DVD compliant files is just not an easy and straight-forward thing to do with this program. Period.

Please use this as constructive criticism and maybe some good changes to the program will come as a result.

[jezzaf99]

Almost likewise, Fonz - I'm a pro photographer wanting to make put slidesows onto a DVD to offer to my clients, and I'm finding this software just not user friendly at this stage. Great for making slideshows to play on the PC, and burn to a CD and play on other machines, but when it comes to the DVD side of things, I think I'm going to just give up. I really haven't got the time or energy to be checking codecs and so on - I just want to burn a slideshow to a DVD quickly, easily and efficiently!

I know you guys like Ken, who seem to all about codecs and such like have no trouble doing this, but it seems to me from the posts that an awful lot of people are failing to achieve this. It makes great slideshows, but that last stage of burning to DVD is such a nightmare. My dream for 5.0 would be for DVD authoring to be fully integrated! I would just add that I am running a good up to date well resourced PC, so it's not like I'm struggling on an out dated piece of kit.

All the best

jez

[Ken Cox]

I am supplying sources for codecs that i have came across, i never used a different codec for a show until Jeff Evans brought it up and i did not have the codec that he used on my system and then i went hunting to get it so that possibly we could work togethether to solve the problem

making a dvd is very straightforward using the standard default as supplied by Igor -- using the temp avi/vid and importing it into nero suite -- good luck trying to make the dvd if you are trying to do it with anything less than the full suite of any softwware - the suite's have wizards to help you thru until you get an idea how things work

A few of us are into experimenting and spending considerable time and material trying different combinations -- we are looking to the future tv's and seeing exactly what we can and cannot do. Along the way we are coming across tips and tricks and utilities to aid us.

ken

[Lin Evans]

Almost likewise, Fonz - I'm a pro photographer wanting to make put slidesows onto a DVD to offer to my clients, and I'm finding this software just not user friendly at this stage. Great for making slideshows to play on the PC, and burn to a CD and play on other machines, but when it comes to the DVD side of things, I think I'm going to just give up. I really haven't got the time or energy to be checking codecs and so on - I just want to burn a slideshow to a DVD quickly, easily and efficiently!

I know you guys like Ken, who seem to all about codecs and such like have no trouble doing this, but it seems to me from the posts that an awful lot of people are failing to achieve this. It makes great slideshows, but that last stage of burning to DVD is such a nightmare. My dream for 5.0 would be for DVD authoring to be fully integrated! I would just add that I am running a good up to date well resourced PC, so it's not like I'm struggling on an out dated piece of kit.

All the best

jez

Hi Jerry,

The issue is that there are a great number of users who have zero problems - you don't hear from them because virtually no one who has zero problems comes to a forum and posts a comment saying so. In a large percentage of cases when people are having difficulty burning DVD's it's because they either don't have the proper software or they have previously installed Roxio and then installed Nero or vice versa. Because these two are incompatible and because they do not fully uninstall (vestige information is still in the registry) no matter which software is being used to attempt to burn DVD's there are going to be problems. The number of problems and complaints on the ProShow forums about this issue is huge.

PhotoDex and some other companies have elected to include their own burning software in their packages. When it works correctly it's fantastic. You just click on the DVD choice, load your blank in the drive and wait until the process has ended. But, and this is a very large issue, when it DOESN'T work properly because of various issues such as the aforementioned Roxio/Nero install or the presence of other software which also burns DVD's and is incompatible with the PhotoDex burning engine, the user is stuck big time with no alternatives. They do not provide an alternative way of burning a DVD if their internal engine fails for any reason.

The authors of P2E elected to do it another way by providing an AVI template which works with several leading DVD authoring programs and IN ADDITION provided a means of creating an AVI using the codec of your choice from the ones available on your computer or from ones you elect to install on your computer.

By not FORCING you to use the ptec codec, they have made it possible for virtually all to be able to burn DVD's. If you have problems one way, you can always use alternate ways. What these complaints seem to boil down to is that Fonz and you would prefer P2E to have an internal DVD burning engine so you don't need to rely on other software. That's fine and it may indeed be something Igor decides to implement in the next version. But even if he does this, it will not obviate the issue of NEEDING an alternative.

The issue is that it's exceedingly simple to use the PicturesToExe alternative and burn an AVI which is compatible with virtually every burning engine in every piece of stand-alone software.

Ken and I have linked numerous times to the free ACE Codec pack which contains, among dozens of others, the MPEG 4 codec which is perhaps the best, if not one of the best codec available for producing superior quality AVI files which can then be burned with virtually any stand-alone package such as Nero or Roxio or authoring packages such as Vegas Video, Ulead Movie Factory, etc.

I'm perplexed as to why anyone who has read the instructions would have any problems at all brining an AVI which can then easily be made into a DVD.

I can understand complaints about not having an internal DVD burning engine in P2E - but that's another issue entirely. What I can't understand is the reluctance to take the very simple step of ensuring that you have the MPEG 4 codec on your computer then choosing this from the list and creating your AVI file......

Lin

[Ken Cox]

this is what myseldf and others are trying to get across to people

one has to create the show

then if one so desires to burn it

one has to select something that is going to make the avi

then one has to click make dvd -- in whatever program one wants to use to make the dvd direct it to do the job

the problem seems to be that people do not want to read the instructions and/ or buy the proper software to do the job

when we had the first oppurtinity to make an avi , i couldnt even get the help file open so i winged it and made vcd's and svcd's until i got a dvd burner - and until Igor advised me of windows protocol violation that i had committed i was not able to open the help file

ken

[LumenLux]

Lest anyone feel your comments are in vain - they are not. This is a very good discussion with everyone describing well their own experience and perception.

On the codec issue - is there a danger of indescriminately installing multudinous codecs ? When one downloads Ace or other pack of codecs - should you just have them "available" for some program to use them if needed? How does this all fit together? Take for instance the Roxio-Nero pains you tell us about Lin. That is very useful information as I have experimented with both programs and may well (even now) have a problem with one that could be attributeable to such a conflict. But Ken, don't you successfully use both programs on an on-going basis on the same PC?

Oh so much to do - and oh so much more to understand.

[Lin Evans]

Lest anyone feel your comments are in vain - they are not. This is a very good discussion with everyone describing well their own experience and perception.

On the codec issue - is there a danger of indiscriminately installing multudinous codecs ? When one downloads Ace or other pack of codecs - should you just have them "available" for some program to use them if needed? How does this all fit together? Take for instance the Roxio-Nero pains you tell us about Lin. That is very useful information as I have experimented with both programs and may well (even now) have a problem with one that could be attributeable to such a conflict. But Ken, don't you successfully use both programs on an on-going basis on the same PC?

Oh so much to do - and oh so much more to understand.

Think of a codec as you would a "program". There is no conflict with having multiple "codecs" reside simultaneously on your computer. These (the relevant ones) are programs which are used to encode, decode (CoDec) and compress mpeg data into AVI files.

With ACE you can install as few or as many different codecs as you desire. The codecs you have installed will show up when you choose the "Custom AVI" feature with PicturesToExe. The only one you really need to burn a DVD with the "Create a Custom AVI" choice on P2E is the mpeg 4 codec because it is compatible with all current DVD burning and authoring software, but there is no "penalty" or "conflict" for having numerous different codecs reside on your computer.

If you have both Nero and Roxio software on your computer and you "don't" have issues, you are very lucky. For the vast majority they are incompatible when simultaneously installed on the same computer. As I remember, there are caveats in the installation instructions which warn of this.

Best regards,

Lin