Slideshow:vcd burning problem

[salvee2004]

Please help! I am a new user to elements 3 slideshow. I made one with 50 photos, burned to vcd and can watch it on any tv/dvd player (so far).

Now when creating a second project, the slides will run on the preview window in Elements fine, so then I click "burn to vcd", save it first as they indicate and burn it. But when I go to watch the vcd on tv/dvd player, the slideshow will not move to the next slide -- it stays on the first photo.. Even while the counter-numbers on the dvd player are moving.

I was making this show with about 25 photos/slides, but last night in frustration tried 3 photos. Same thing happens -- it shows on my computer/the elements screen ok, but when I view the actual vcd on a tv it does not move past the first slide.
Oh, and at the end of burning, it tells me I created a vcd "successfully".

Am I missing a step to allow the slides to progress in the vcd??
Thanks so much for any help.

[Wendy]

Hi ...

... and welcome to the forum :)

Being a Mac user (and our version doesn't have the organiser) I can't help on this one ... but hopefully one of the Windows users will be along soon and will be able to help you ..

Wendy

[salvee2004]

thanks so much Wendy. I hope so!

[Wendy]

Hi ...

Due to the different time zones this tends to be a quiet time of day ... but later on there will be a lot more folks around :)

I'm in the UK ... whereabouts are you ?

Wendy

[salvee2004]

Oh, I never thought of the time difference. It is 8:10am here in New Jersey, USA.. Close to New York. I spent a week in London and then Manchester last summer with friends.. Beautiful...
Thanks!

[ATR]

salvee2004

I was not sleeping. I saw your post earlier and was busy thinking about it, doing some tests, and finally typing the following. I type slowly. Besides, New Jersey is my favorite place, so it is essential that I find the answer to your problem.

Questions, Some Tests….

Is the TV/DVD Player being used now different from the TV/DVD player that played your 50 slides Slide Show to your expectations initially?

You say that your current slideshows (25 or 3 count) will not run properly on your TV/DVD player. If it is the same player as before, will the 50 slides Slide Show still play OK?

Forget about the TV/DVD player for the moment; let us look at the VCDs that you are now producing. You say they look OK in Elements’ Preview. What about after the slideshow is in VCD format?
Put the VCD in the computer drive. Open this VCD via My Computer/the drive you are in. You will see a bunch of files. Double click MPEGAV. Next right click the AVSEQ01 file that you will see and go to Open With and set to open with Windows Media Player. How is the VCD playback that follows?

When you have your slideshow window open, before you start your creating, have you gone to Edit Menu in this Window and checked out your Slideshow preferences to correspond to VCR NTSC Output, etc?

Confirm that the route you are using is: Create/Slide Show/Custom Slide Show/File Menu/Burn As Video CD?

What is the make and model of this TV/DVD player? Have you searched its User Manual for any of its features that would impact this situation? Players differ in their support of VCD and some features.

Let us start with this.

ATR

[ATR]

I just thought of the following questions that may turn out to be unnecessary, but I will be away from the computer for several hours.

Will the Remote of the TV/DVD player allow you to advance manually the slides? Maybe using fast forward?

What is the slide duration set at? In this regard, if you wait long enough, will the slideshow TV/DVD player playback continue to slide 2 without any intervention on your part?

ATR

[salvee2004]

thanks ATR so much!
I am back at the computer now and will be answering your questions.
I appreciate the time spent thinking on my problem....

Ok -- I'll be back!

[salvee2004]

Hi and thanks again.. I have been busy trying and testing what you suggested...

Ok -- here goes...

The tv/dvd player used is both the same one -- and I tried an additional one. Still these new VCD's don't advance....

Yes -- the original 50 slideshow still plays on the original dvd player as when I first made it.

I put the new VCD (not-working) in my computer and followed your instructions re:playing on Windows media. Again, the first slide played and that was it. It doesn't advance...

I am going to retrace my steps/start (yet another)new slideshow and look for/indicate what you suggested -- ( VCR NTSC Output, etc) -- but yes, I have been using "burn as a video cd". But, I will try all this again..

I've been trying 2 different dvd makes/models, but since my original (50 slide) vcd still works on them I can assume the problem is not with the player(s), right??

No -- the fast foward/remote does not advance slides.. It stays on the first slide or advances through the counter #'s quicker and then "ends".
I've patiently "waited" forever, but the slides never advance...

The slide duration is set at 5 seconds (I haven't changed that throughout all my trials and the original). What happens as I play the 'defective' newer ones is the first slide plays, then the counter/#'s on the dvd player advance as if all slides are playing, but they don't. When it gets to the "end" -- the first slide plays again (or, still)...


I think that's it for answering/testing except for trying a new slideshow checking the preferences you indicated. I will let you know what happens. Please excuse if this takes a little time -- I am working on a phoneline so am not constantly connected online..

Thank you SO much for taking the time and thought and all the effort your answer/questions took! I appreciate it.

[salvee2004]

Hi Again ATR

I tried a new 'slideshow' with 3 photos using the specifications you indicated (VSC NTSC output) and it worked! The 3 slides advanced!

Then, I tried burning the larger (25 slide)show I'd already made that had been saved -- it DIDN'T work....
So, I am going to delete that and start entirely from scratch again with a new (25 photo) slideshow using the settings you suggested and see it THAT works.


Thanks and I will keep you informed.

[salvee2004]

Oh, No!

I just redid the slideshow -- 24 photos and burned it as previously (3-slide success). I put a blank slide to begin. It advances to the first photo, then the counter #'s on the dvd player advance, but the first photo remains -- the pictures do not change. The counter goes up to 3:37, and then it starts at the first blank slide/"0" and the first photo again.

And, yes -- the slideshow shows (& advances) perfectly in the preview window..

Any ideas??
Thank you

[ATR]

Sorry to hear that the 24 slide Slide Show was not successful like the 3 slide Slide Show was today. Since I posted here last I have done some additional thinking, searching, and testing.

First, searching….check through
TechNote from Adobe “Troubleshoot VCD creation in Photoshop Elements (3.0 – 5.0 on Windows)”
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=330745

TechNote from Adobe “VCDs have poor image quality (Photoshop Elements 3.0)
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=330847
Specially look at the Background Information at bottom, re: VCD compression and resolution.

The results from today appear to point to the writing of the VCD as the core issue since
(1) You cannot advance through the slides using the TV/DVD player as well as the MPEGAV route with Windows Media Player for viewing the finished product.
(2) Your slideshow in Photoshop Elements in Preview before the burn is OK.

As I said, I have Photoshop Elements 3.0 and cannot replicate your problem creating 3 or 27 slides Slide Shows with/without music, text, transitions, audio…the works. Maybe, next let us focus on the content of the slide show from conversion of the Creation to writing of wmv before finally ending with the slideshow in VCD format on your CD. Specially, let us think about the writing of the wmv file. Please describe the content of your slide show: music files (file type), stills (pixels dimension W & H,), transitions, text, audio files (file type), captions, blank slides, etc.

The following are possible areas to explore:

(1) Browse through the links above for hints.
(2) Check your pixel dimensions of the stills being used to see if still size is impacting the writing of the wmv. Guess, maybe program is having a problem writing the instructions for VCD display.
(3) Make sure that no other programs are open and you are not multitasking when you are burning to VCD.
(4) Make sure that your Slide Show preferences are OK.
(5) Have you checked out the CD discs? What are they, CDR, CDRW, brand???
(6) Photoshop Elements 3.0 burn software is Disc Creation by Sonic Solutions. Do you have any other software on your computer to take the slideshow saved as wmv and author it to VCD? You might be able to use the burn software that came with your DVD/CD writer. Check it out.

Let us see what we can put together for tomorrow.

ATR

[BrianZero]

Hi Just picking up on this
Had a quick skim through the mails
Couldn't see if you had checked out the actual disks ?

Bad batch / Rogue batch ?
Burning at right speed ?

Have you tried burning something other than slide show ?

[salvee2004]

Thanks BrianZero and yes, I have checked out the CD-R's and they are ok -- and my cd burner has successfully burned other items so it appears to be working ok.

ATR -- thanks so much for all your careful and clearly presented research and thoughts. I appreciate it and am trying to go through step-by-step. At the very least, I am learning a lot trying to solve this problem!

First -- from the first link/article you provided --
My system meets all the requirements, but I don't know what this is --
"2. Install the latest driver for the display card, or adjust the display settings."

Additionally, since I have never received an error message when burning the VCD's, (it always says it's been successful) can I assume that creation size, additional devices, other applications, DMA/IDE, CD drivers, CD Autoplay, startup items, writing speed and cd-r's are not impacting my not-successful results? Especially since I did burn the 3 photo slideshow ok yesterday?

Regarding your questions --
I am using CD-R's and have consistently used the same ones from the same spindle starting with the original 50-slide success through all the ones not-successful and the 3-slide one that was ok yesterday.

I am only using photos/stills (and sometimes 1-2 'blank' slides from Elements, but that hasn't made a difference in successes) for this slideshow. No music, titles, transitions etc.. Pretty simple. These stills are all from scanned photos/slides that I had on a cd, downloaded onto my computer and then transferred into organizer. The successful 3-photo creation that I did burn ok yesterday was also from this bunch of photos.

I am checking through all the other possibilites you indicated. I do have Nero software on my computer that might be a possibility, but I need to check that out and see how to do that. But, if possible, I'd still like to know what this problem is and be able to burn on Elements.
I also have InterVideo WinDVD4 and Drag'n'Drop CD on my computer (as I scan through "all programs").

I looked up the pixels of the photos used as you asked. They range from 454x434, 570x575, 1158x990, to 3084x2358.
Now, incidentally -- the 3 photos in the successful slideshow were all 454x434. I also tried one with 3 photos all 570x524 and it wouldn't advance. My original 50 photo success used photos 1932x2536, 2576x1932, etc. So, that doesn't seem to be an issue??

I am going to read more carefull through the links you provided. I am trying to understand "17. Troubleshoot the temporary WMV file." -- I'm not totally getting that. Or, I can try burning slide-by-slide as they suggest, but that's an awful lot of cd's wasted!


Thanks again for all your help -- I appreciate it!

[cats4jan]

In all the information presented here, the things that jump out at me is the comments about -

"duration of slide"-

If you wait - will the CD eventually move to the next photo?

Maybe you accidentally changed the duration to a longer span of time that makes it seem as if the CD is not playing - when it's just taking too much time going from photo to photo.

and "will it play on the computer"

VCD's aren't the best format for playing on a DVD player.

I really suggest you save as a WMV and then use a DVD burning program like Nero to burn an actual DVD

You are making glorified - long length CD's not DVD's - they are not very compatible with DVD players.

When you use a program like Nero - you are making actual DVD's

I tried and tried to solve this problem while working with Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements to make my "movies" and the frustration and the quality of the result wasn't worth it.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is not a good program for burning movies - even in the VCD format.

Adobe Premiere Elements is the program you need for making quality DVD movies.

However, I have tried Nero, too - and I highly recomment Nero over Premiere Elements.

Of course, this doesn't answer for you the fact that you were able to make a VCD that played on your DVD player at one point and are no longer able to do so.

My unsolicited recommendation not having anything to do with your present problem?

If you think DVD making is the direction your hobby is taking - I suggest you invest in a DVD burning program and skip all the hassle of working with a program not designed for DVD making.

[ATR]

I do not want to abandon the goal of solving your Photoshop Elements 3.0 slideshow problem, but I would like you to try the Nero burning route as a diagnostic tool to narrow/rule out possibilities.

Save your Photoshop Elements Custom Slide as a wmv. Specifically, instead of File/Burn a Video CD, go to File/Output as wmv (Beforehand make sure your preference is set to VCD NTSC. Check off for places for Organizer/hard drive saves. Let us say that this wmv will be saved in Documents/My Videos.) Close out.

Open Nero. Nero has several interfaces: Nero Express, Nero Vision, Nero Start Smart. In this example, I am using Nero Express 6. You will see a dialog that say "What would you like to burn?" Select Video/Pictures and then Video CD and follow the instructions for Adding the wmv from its saved location in My Videos. In my test run of the finished product, the slides advanced nicely in playback. The only difference that I noticed in this quick try was that the slideshow did not automatically loop as with VCD produced with the Elements burn software. But, right now we want to see if you now get the slideshow to advance during playback.

I will be watching for your progress.

ATR

[salvee2004]

Thanks ATR -- I will try the route you suggest and post results.
I appreciate all your help!

[salvee2004]

Thanks Janice
Nope -- I have waited forever for the slides to advance and they don't.. And, the duration is definitely set at 5 seconds -- I can see it on each slide.

I have Nero for an external DVD drive, but can not burn DVD's on my computer as I only have a cd burner.

And, yes -- you are correct. The first VCD I burned plays perfectly and is fine for my purposes right now. I would just like to be able to do it again. :)

Thanks for all your help and advice!

[cats4jan]

There is nothing more frustrating than accomplishing a task and then not being able to duplicate it. Been there - done that - so many times

I can see it now - a DVD burner on your wish list. LOL

Good luck solving your problem

[salvee2004]

Hi
Tried making another slide show -- saved to wmv and then tried to burn on Nero Express 3. Message said error and could not be burned and included a very long error report........

I will try again.....

[ATR]

Just saw your latest post.

Hope the next try with your wmv and Nero is a success, but, if not, please post outline of the steps that you followed through Nero.

Good luck.

ATR

[ATR]

Depending on how things are turning out, you may want to run another control. Take the slides (the ones that have been going into the Photoshop Elements slideshow) and make a VCD slideshow with them in Nero Vision interface of Nero.

ATR

[salvee2004]

Thanks, ATR -- yes, I will post my steps when I try again.. I saved the first Nero error report, but it was pretty huge...

And, I will try to figure out the Nero stuff you suggested..... I have a few other (non-related!) activities to do so it might not be as quick as my other tries, but it will be soon..

Thanks for keeping track of my problem!

[Barb O]

ATR,

I have just read this thread and thought I would add a few thoughts for your review -

How did you interpret this previous response ?
"I have Nero for an external DVD drive, but can not burn DVD's on my computer as I only have a cd burner."
My perception is that most external DVD drives would be burners, so I wonder....

Currently, I would lean toward the theory that some of the specific photos are causing a problem. Other likely sources like not choosing VCD and NTSC or a problematic music/audio file seem to have been eliminated. And the DLA interference problem seems to show as a crash rather than a error in the final result.

If the problem can be recreated by just making the WMV file saved to the hard drive and playing it back in Windows Media Player - then it would be easier to experiment taking photos in and out of the slide show.

[salvee2004]

Hi and sorry for the delay..

I just made a slideshow using 15 of the photos in Nero.
The disc burned would not even load in the DVD player -- ended up with an
"error -- can't read disc".

Steps to burning were --
Dragged photos from my Picture file into NeroVision Express 3 to make a "video cd".
It played ok on the small preview screen -- slides advanced.
Settings were for NTSC -- I saved the slideshow, then "burned to device" --- the only option I was give to burn to. (Called "image recorder").
Note: I could not choose any other option. TEAC DW 224E was lightened and not able to click on..

It burned a "VCD" (supposedly)... But when put into DVD player the results were as noted above..

I hope this is enough info.. I am not sure WHAT to try next??
Thanks!

[ATR]

I have been delayed with my next suggestions.

Hold off on the Nero as a control for now. If you have an OEM version of Nero that came with your burner, sometimes certain plugins may or may not be included or the OEM has not been updated at the Nero site. If you have the full version of Nero 7, it should work. We can explore that later. The intent of that procedure was as a quick control.

I have reread this thread and will get back to you with details later today. I have been dealing with computer problems I think related to installation of a new version of my browser. For this morning maybe try another control approach, maybe quicker and more productive.

We have already tried VCD Photoshop Elements 3.0 slideshow playback via the MPEGAV and its dat file using Windows Media Player. You said you get the same result as with TV/DVD playback. So,.....

Barb O mentioned you using the saved wmv slideshow from Photoshop Elements 3.0 to do some studies. Based on her focus, at this time I would like to know just this:

If you use Windows Media Player to playback the wmv slideshow from its saved location, what does it look like? Do the slides advance?

To be continued....

ATR

[ATR]

Describing the wmv slideshow playback with Windows Media Player is a quick control. But, it should produce some interesting results. In addition, could you prepare a very detailed description of what burners you have on your computer.

Brand
Model
How attached to computer (External, Internal)

Next, I would like you to right click My Computer and select Properties. From there:
Hardware
Device Manager
DVD-CD-ROM
Next expand the DVD-CD-ROM category by clicking on the plus sign next to the category.
What writers do you see listed there. Please name.

From your details, you are using the Photoshop Elements 3.0 burn software to create your VCD. But, for these VCDs, what burner have you been using from the list you will be furnishing in response to the above question?

I was planning on going into aspect later today if necessary, but your mention about your burner options (rather lack there of) in your last study peaked my curiosity.

To be continued......

ATR

[salvee2004]

Thanks for all the help, suggestions and thoughts..

Yes -- the WMV slideshow does play back from it's saved place with Windows Media player and the slides do advance..

I will try to answer your questions, but I am not very computer savy so will do my best!

I am working on a Toshiba Satellite (laptop)
Model # 1135
Internal CD player/recorder.


The writer listed where you asked me to look are:
TEAC DW-224E

That is is only burner I have on this computer.

I also have an external Sony Video Recordable DVD Drive (DV Direct -- VRD-VC20) which I use to burn DVD's from a digital camcorder. I can not use this in conjunction with my computer because it does not have an "s" link (I think that's what it's called) connection for the camcorder so I record directly from camcorder to DV-Direct..

But, I do have the Nero software that came with the DV Direct installed on my computer which is how I was able to use it....

I hope this answers what you asked...
Thanks so much for your help and clear, questions!

[mom to 4]

I just caught the last post on this thread. so, you do have NERO???? I will find the thread on here that gives EXACTdirections for burning through NERO. It worked for me like a charm!!!

Be right back..

[mom to 4]

Here is the link to the thread. the actual instructions are on page 3, post #27 (by johnfranklin). I had the nero that came with my exteral HP burner, it has NEROVISION EXPRESS included, and think that is necessary. but check out the thread.

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15635&page=3

This method worked so well for me that I actually printed out his instructions and pasted them in my notebook. I hope it works for you as well. let me know. Now, I will go back and read your whole thread!!!!!

[mom to 4]

OK, I just read your thread, and you have had lots of knowledgeable people weighing in. One thought just popped in my head. Are you using DVD -R's???? I have been told that they are the better DVD's to use as they are more universally recognized, but I don't think that would mess up a BURN.

Oh, and my notes say:

Before any burn do:
diskcleanup
defrag
disconnect the internet
disable antivirus
(these are the notes from when i used my PC)

Well, I sure hope I didn't step on any toes here...:o

Also, just saw that you are from NJ!!! Me too!! Send me a PM and let me know where you are, if you don't mind (and if you do, I understand!) I was born in Orange and lived in Jersey 43 years! I went from West Orange to Middletown to West Long Branch to Flemington. Small world huh????

[Barb O]

I agree with Coleen's suggestion to try her steps for burning your slide show to a DVD disc using your Sony VRD-DC20 connected to your laptop with the USB cable (a PC magazine review said that it came with the USB cable). I suggest connecting the VRD-DC20 to your laptop before you open Photoshop Elements.

You will now be burning to a DVD disc and not a CD disc. You will NOT be using the VCD (video CD format): you will be using the DVD format which is higher resolution. The PC Mag review said that the VRD-DC20 can burn both -R and +R DVD discs. So I would use whichever type of DVD disc you used when you transferred from your camcorder and then played on your TV DVD player.

You probably do need to make a new WMV file and save it on your hard drive with the Output command of the slide show process and specifiy DVD,NTSC as described in Coleen's instructions - see the instruction for the specific steps.

P.S. - ATR, Coleen, salvee

We still are not sure exactly what type of software package came with the drive for Nero. At this point we know that it has Nero Vision Express. As ATR pointed out we can't be sure if it has all capabilities. Yet I do think it is worthwhile to use Coleen's instructions and then post your results back to this thread.

[mom to 4]

Ah, duh!!! Brain still not functing correctly!!! I didn't realize we were trying to burn a CD. I just assumed it was a DVD!!!!

[ATR]

I have read, re-read, etc., and this is my latest assessment of the situation…open for further discussion, if necessary……..

Creating a DVD-VIDEO has always been an option, provided that you have the authoring software to complete the task started with the slideshow outputted in the Photoshop Elements process. We all know that in this respect Photoshop Elements is not equipped to do it alone….wmv slideshow to DVD-VIDEO. Nero is an excellent choice for authoring the saved wmv slideshow from Photoshop Elements, provided it has the required plugin in Nero Vision. No problem with the full version of Nero. But, with OEM versions of Nero that is a whole new adventure. All Nero OEMs are not created equal. Often the manufacturer of the DVD/CD drive dictates what features of Nero are to be included on the CD installation disc that they are including in their package. You need to see the option of DVD-VIDEO at the top of that list where you are being asked what you want to do. You are not going to be able to follow the instructions that Colleen referred to unless you see that option. If it is not there, you buy the plugin from Nero or make other plans if you want DVD-VIDEO format for your Photoshop Elements 3.0 slideshow.

1. Check out your Nero software for this DVD-VIDEO plugin before you go down this path. If you do this procedure, please post back with the version of the Nero software that you have as well as the results.

This all started out as a VCD troubleshooting project…essentially, why can’t I do what I did before?. Unfortunately, the solution has not been forthcoming. So like the software, I am asking what do you want to next? Say, forget about the VCD, I’ll settle for a DVD-VIDEO with all its advantages AND/OR want to know why my Photoshop Elements 3.0 cannot produce a VCD without the problem described. If you want to go the DVD-VIDEO route, then read no further.

But, If you want to invest more time in the VCD, then these are my latest recommendations/comments: It is up to you what works for you, time-wise, quality-wise, and otherwise.

1. Download about 7 photos from your browser, Image offerings. Save to My Pictures, JPEGS. Make a VCD slideshow from them with Photoshop Elements 3.0 and see if you get a VCD slideshow that advances when viewed on TV/DVD player and/or via MPEGAV/dat file using Windows Media Player on the computer. I am not inclined to think that your photos are the cause, but this would nail down the issue of something wrong with these photos that you have been using. This should not take much time, just use up another CD.

2. If you still get the same results, then I suggest that you uninstall/reinstall Photoshop Elements 3.0 and give this VCD slideshow business another try. If you go this route, be sure to save whatever needs to be saved. This step suggestion is based on possible file corruption considerations.

Whatever your choices and results, please let us know the outcome. We all have a common goal…getting you to solve the puzzle or workaround it.

ATR

[ATR]

Colleen,

I decided to comment to you in this additional post. My last is so long that I thought I would blow a Photoshop Elements Techniques fuse if I added anymore to it.

It sounded as if you and BarbO were both suggesting DVD-VIDEO as an alternative to VCD to bypass the current VCD creation problems. The reference that you gave is really great for DVD-VIDEO, provided you have the DVD-VIDEO option which usually appears at the top of the What Do You Want To Do List (if it is there). Underneath that option (if it is there ) is the VCD option (CD) if that is there. Depending which Nero OEM you have, both DVD-VIDEO and CD options may not be included.

Depending on what salvee2004 decides, we can always post more how tos for Nero. Sometimes, Nero can be a project onto itself. I would hope we can avoid that.

ATR

[Barb O]

ATR,

Yes I was suggesting trying to make a video MPEG2 DVD. The Sony VRD-DC20 can write MPEG2 video DVDs as a standalone device, so I thought it worthwhile to attempt to make an MPEG2 encoded video DVD with the software that came with it.

[mom to 4]

ATR & Barb:

I would like to say I was suggesting making a dvd instead of a cd, but, unfortunately, I never noticed that it was a CD issue to begin with!!!!!!

I got my verson of NERO bundled with my HP(740i???) external DVD burner. That one apparently came complete with all the nero bells and whistles. I really loved using it and it is still hooked up to my pc even though I am now a mac user:o:D .

I am happy to help in any way that I can!

[cats4jan]

Here is the link to the thread. the actual instructions are on page 3, post #27 (by johnfranklin). I had the nero that came with my exteral HP burner, it has NEROVISION EXPRESS included, and think that is necessary. but check out the thread.

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com...t=15635&page=3

This method worked so well for me that I actually printed out his instructions and pasted them in my notebook.

Colleen - I used John Franklin's advice from that former thread - and it was "easy as pie" - my DVD played in all my DVD players.

I printed out those instructions, too. I think we should consider his posting our "Nero DVD Tutorial"

[ATR]

Just an additional "where to find" how to....

If I recall, when you open Nero Vision Express, the bottom left corner has a question mark icon. If you click that, what opens up is essentially a Nero Vision Express User Manual which gives step by step with words and graphics. Check it out.

I am not sure what all the Nero OEM are up to...I know there is a Nero Vision Express 2 and 3. There may be a later one, 4.0, not sure. The offerings in the menus may differ from version to version OEM to OEM, but the descriptions of the offerings have been step by step with graphics.

ATR

[salvee2004]

Hello again and thanks so much for all your thoughts and help. I apologize --I was having Internet problems and unable to get on the site until now..

I have been reading through all the replies since I was last on.. Again -- thanks for all the willing help for my problem.. I am learning a lot and since I am fairly new to all this, it takes a while to read and absorb it all....

ATR is correct in that this problem started out as a VCD troubleshooting problem and why I couldn't do what I had done previously.
And, yes -- I say -- I "want to know why my Photoshop Elements 3.0 cannot produce a VCD without the problem described."
(At some point, I might like to go the other described routes, but that's a separate issue somewhere down-the-road..)

Funny, while I've been away, I kinda did what ATR suggested without realizing.. I needed to do a quick slideshow so I started from scratch with (believe this) over 100 photos from "my pictures" file. I burned a VCD and it worked -- they advanced! I then even added music and that worked also. I even burned 9 more copies and each one plays fine.

So, looking at this result, ATR would I assume as you indicated that my photos in the other slideshow must be the problem?? Would I assume it is that whole batch or one?? I'd tried a few combinations of those photos with the same (no advancing) results...
Is there a way I'd know which/all photos are the problem or how that happened?? I would like to avoid the same problem and also wonder if that means the photos would be a problem in any other way??
As I indicated earlier, the original slideshow photos are from scanned photos/slides which were downloaded from photo cd...

Additionally, I am sorry -- I do not know what "OEM" refers to?
Also -- when I burned these newest VCD's -- each time the process started from beginning, taking a while (saving to wmv even though I'd done that previously). Is there a quicker way to burn subsequent copies after the first one??

I am sorry for such a long reply. And again I appreciate all the help/replies I keep getting. I try to keep up and answer quickly, but am not always online..
Thanks!
Salvee

[ATR]

Salvee,

Great, great news.

1. I have Photoshop Elements 3.0 and cannot locate a multi copy burn feature there in the Burn to Video CD route. Your computer's burner/software should have an exact copy feature that allows for multi copies. Just do an exact copy of the CD disc with the VCD slideshow, with a set for as many copies as you want. But, to start I would try doing just one copy to see if you are happy with the quality.

2. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. A manufacturer of equipment often bundles software from another manufacturer. When that is the case, many times you will see the software described or labelled OEM Version. The OEM version may or may not include all the features of the software if you had purchased the software from the software manufacturer.

3. If your problems reoccur with this new group of photos, please let us know. As for what happened to the original group of photos, that needs more rethinking, if necessary. I will post if I find the key.

Keep up the good work.

ATR

[Barb O]

So, looking at this result, ATR would I assume as you indicated that my photos in the other slideshow must be the problem?? Would I assume it is that whole batch or one?? I'd tried a few combinations of those photos with the same (no advancing) results...
Is there a way I'd know which/all photos are the problem or how that happened?? I would like to avoid the same problem and also wonder if that means the photos would be a problem in any other way??

Salvee

I did have a photo would not advance problem with a VCD slide show with an earlier version and it was the photo one or two after the last photo that displayed that caused the problem.

I suspect that the exact timing of which photo causes the problem versus which photo you see last will depend on how your TV DVD player works: it may read ahead of the photo it is currently displaying and it may not.

If you have an CD R/W disc and if your TV DVD player instructions say that it will play this type of disc, then you could

try variations of the slide show eliminating 1 photo at a time.

If your player will not play the R/W discs, then you will need to use several CD-R discs to make the multiple trials.

Whether it is a single photo or a group of photos that would cause this problem, I don't know. Once you identify one or two specific photos that have the problem, we can do some analysis to determine why. You do have photo files with unusual pixel dimensions and maybe some group of them has other unusual characterisics causing the problem.