tassie Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 HiI am brand new to all of this and have had a struggle to get this right. And I think I'm still doing something wrong.I read all posts and managed to finally get my slideshow onto DVD. But the quality is horrible. How can I get the DVD quality to match the quality of the EXE?TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Cox Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 tassiewelcometo the forumthe latest advice we gave re similar problemhttp://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4831hawk displays his shows on a 50" hd plasma tv the exe/monitor combination is the ultimate -- pretty hard to duplicate the quality on dvd/tv not apples and applesken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Evans Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 HiI am brand new to all of this and have had a struggle to get this right. And I think I'm still doing something wrong.I read all posts and managed to finally get my slideshow onto DVD. But the quality is horrible. How can I get the DVD quality to match the quality of the EXE?TIAHi Tassie,The quality shouldn't be "horrible" but you can't match the quality of the executable file unless the executable is only about 800x600 resolution. DVD shows are typically designed to run on PAL or NTSC television receivers which have low resolution and generally a different aspect ratio than computer monitors. An executable show with PicturesToExe will produce resolution equal to the original images or your display system, whichever is lower. Unless you have a very high resolution screen display (the highest right now available is a bit over 9 megapixels and very expensive) you can expect something in the neighborhood of 1600x1200 on normal high resolution settings. This is much higher than can normally be achieved on a DVD played back on TV so the best solution is to get the quality on the DVD up to the standards of the television receiver you play the slideshow on. In addition, typical DVD quality output is 29.97 frames per second interlaced while executable output can be as high as 60 frames per second progressive.To do this there are two approaches. First is to use one of the supported programs such as Ulead DVD Movie Factory, etc., and output an AVI template using the techniques described elsewhere on this forum and let the program burn the DVD. The other alternative is to use the "Create Custom AVI" and choose a good codec such as Microsoft Mpeg 4 Video Codec. Once the AVI is created then use a program such as Nero or Roxio to burn the DVD.This will all become unnecessary when PicturesToExe Deluxe is released with the internal DVD burn engine, but for now the above is the best way to approach the issue. If you will tell us more about the software you are using to burn the DVD, perhaps we can help you sort out the proper steps to get the best quality possible for your display device.Best regards,Lin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tassie Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Thanks for your replies. I don't know what I did but I tried again and it's OK. I seem to get inconsistent results each time I try. I'll read through the info and the links you supplied and see if I can work out how to get it right EACH time.I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewcomb Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 The varibility is not surprising given the number of variables involved in creating a DVD movie file (for any program, not just P2E).Assuming you are using motion in your shows (P2E 5 betas), the most important factors I have found for P2E are Smart Anti-Flicker Filter (checked) and resizing the images closer to the resolution of DVD if your original photo files are large. The on-the-fly resizing algorithm used by P2E is not as good as those in photo editing programs. I have found 1024x768 works well for the resolution of the photos files (it doesn't matter what the screen resolution is). Large zooms require keeping a higher resolution.Using the Create Custom option with the P2E Codec and setting the resolution to 720x480 will show more of the image and maintain the correct aspect ratio of the image (P2E crops the output by putting 40 pixel black bars on either side of the image).If you have particularly bad looking slides in a set of otherwise good looking ones (on the TV), try clicking the Blur checkbox on the Properties tab for those slides in the Object and Animation window. Many of the unsightly artifacts in DVD movie files are caused by sharp or contrasty edges found in some photographs (often seen in leafy trees and water).I would avoid using a non MPEG2 codec (such as MPEG4) since this will only introduce a cycle of decompression/compression to the process. MPEG2 is the format for standard DVD movie files.SteveTucson, AZ USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewcomb Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 I should also add that my most recent slideshow DVD creation gave much better results when the Progressive Video was selected, particularly for diagonal and fast pans. Since there is an Auto option for this parameter, it may be leading to your inconsistent results. But there are also other possible sources for the problem, as well as differences between us in the software/hardware/DVD players we are using. Worth a try, but not sure if it will help.SteveTucson, AZ USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.