[mistynbrian]

I want to turn my digital photos into a vcd viedo disk that can be used in a dvd player. How do I begin? I admit I don't know much about this kind of thing but want to learn.

[jac]

Here are a few links to help you out: http://www169.pair.com/lukifer/dvd/faq/index.html http://www.vcdhelp.com/ (mostly pc stuff, but still kinda helpful. Check out the forums for Mac specific stuff.)
In short you'll have to convert your photos to mpeg-1 streams and burn them as a vcd. The simplest way is probably to get Toast 5 which does this straight from iMovie.
If you need more specific pointers post back and I'll try to help you out.

[bluehz]

I have played with making VCD's on a Mac for months with limited success. It is possible to put straight movies converted to MPEG format onto VCD format and that will play, but in terms of other things like slideshows, super vcd formats, menus and navigation, etc. you'll have to venture into the darkside (PC). Unforthunately all the current tools are PC. I have had some success using Nero in Virtual PC then burning to disk image, transferring to Mac and then burning with Nero for Mac. Still no menus, or navigation. Straight playthrough. The sad state of affairs is revealed by this sceanrio - saw an 8x/4x/32x CD-RW Iomega in the paper Sunday for $79 at Compusa. Picked on up - through it into an old PC I rescued from the dumpster and fired it up. Burned a beautiful slideshow immediately. Playes on my home DVD player (Apex) with navigation and all....sigh. I don't know what the problem is - I mean if the technology exists (and apparently it does if the PC users have tools) then why can't the developers write the software for Macs.

On a related note - IMHO the format of the future is not VCD but instead it is what they are calling "Mini-DVD". Basically this is a DVD you author in a DVD autoring pkg like iDVD or DVD Studio Pro and then burn to regular CD-R(W) media. Better quality than VCD and you can build menu structures, etc. Unfortunately not many home players at all play this format yet - but I believe they will all very soon. I found one of those players yesterday called a Sampo DVE620 and picked it up at Electroni Express http://www.electronicexpress.com for $139. I have not received it yet - but I am dying to try burning a "mini-DVD".

For lots of great info regarding VCD and mini-DVD, etc try looking here:
http://www.vcdhelper.com


[This message has been edited by bluehz (edited 04-04-2001).]

Hi!!

If any of you out there who can not afford the high-end G4 733MHZ with Superdrive, and want to create Video CDs as esay as pressing a
button, then the stand alone VideoCD(VCD) recorder is the answer. It costs about $500.
It records video from boardcast TV, DVDs, VCDs, Video tapes, and video camcorders into Video CDs(VCD) by using CD-R/CD-RW discs.
I think this VideoCD Recorder is even better than the Apple's SuperDrive. It doesn't need a computer to operate. So, it is just like a VCR.

Just go to the following, read about it, and buy it if you want.

http://us.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?C...ex.asp?lang=en

OR

http://us.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?C...pid=1001808044

[tonton]

Toast 5 can burn MPEG-1 files as VCD automatically. Creating an MPEG-1 slideshow from still images I'm not sure of. I know you can do this with many video authoring programs.

[bluehz]

Toast 5 will burn MPG VCD's, but not slideshow type of still images. You would have to assemble your still images in an video editing app like iMovie or Premieres, etc.

[GORDYmac]

First, number your images in the order you wish to have them viewed.

Next, open Quicktime Player and select "Open Image Sequence". You will be prompted to show how long you'd like each photo to show, along with other options.

Save this file, and use Toast 5 to create the VCD.