Memories On Tv Photo Slide Show ?, looking to purchase Slide Show software Options

[georgia]

Hi, I have tried out a couple of Free Slideshow software and am not satisfied as I want to do a bit more and each program had limitations.

I have googled for a couple of weeks now and have eliminated Pro Show Gold as a couple of friends have it and it needs a lot of space to insure no "freeze" up issues.
And I have looked at Wonderware, I believe it is "Photo story", but there have been some A/V issues that seem to be unclear on what the problem is and I don't want to invite trouble.

I am down to looking at "Memories on TV" which seems to offer what I need. It is the Pro version. There is a free trial and the app has what I want:
1. ability to normalize Sound that I will d/l to mp3 and include in with the pics that I want in the show and there will be no erratice hi/low volume b/c of bad Sound mixing which some CD's have as an inconsistency. (so that area is covered).....this has been the biggest shortfall lacking in other programs as there was no control over the source audio when burning the final project which meant the Slide show audio could be poor !

2. Ability to insert Text, scrolling at beginning and at end and other "bells and whistles" that I could use at a later time as I grow on the learning curve which is described as User Friendly and that is what I am looking for.

3. Nice transition effects.

I have looked at Neros product specifically for pics and don't like the app reviewing your HD and assembling the pics in Alpha format in your storage and again the Audio was a Concern.
Ulead had a product but it required too much space on the HD. It did a lot, of which I did not really need all of the features.

So I have come to the "Memories on TV" and hope that there are some users in this Forum.

I look forward to replies, thank you for your time.

[Vaerli]

I've never really messed around with slideshow software, just because I've never needed it really. I'm just really going to suggest that you get a demo or something first.

[raw]

And I have looked at Wonderware, I believe it is "Photo story"

Photo Story is a Microsoft product and from the Google searching I did it seems
to be highly recommended.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/d...ry/default.mspx

I take it you already tried Windows Movie Maker?

[georgia]

Sorry I meant to type "Wondershare" which is the software company for "Photo Story Platinum" which I had suggested to me but then after some googling found that there maybe an A/V issue with the application. There was some discussions with a lot ofconfusion re the A/V problem that surfaced, and there was no clear answer that I could find and so I decided to stay away from that app.
Yes I did try Windows Movie Maker and I want a little more than that and as well the "normalizer" for the Audio input so that the background music is consistently the same volume throughout the slide show. Some programs don't have this feature, nor do they have the Auto Sync with the fad and the music.

This is why I am looking at Memories on TV which has an unlimited Trial period and no maximum of pics that you can try out, all it has during the Trial period is a "water mark" and once you have fully tried it and are pleased with the quality and performance of the app and decide to purchase the product, when the licence is given and number typed in the program is fully functional and the water mark is removed from the pics in the Slide Show.

A lot of the Trial periods for the software limit the number of pics that you can practice with and also there is a time limit on the Trial useage which does not really give one a full opportunity to see if the app will do what you want it to.
Thus I have after a lot of googling and into slideshow forums have come up with "Movies to TV". There are a number of more sophisticated apps out there, however the learning curve is steep and I want to do this as a hobby and not end up with my hobby being learning software !
Just thought that I would add this and BTW, I did look at "Photo Story" as well.
Thank you for the comments and any others would be appreciated.

This post has been edited by georgia: Aug 11 2008, 03:25 AM

[georgia]

Hi I am still trying out different Photo Slide Shows and some have steep learning curves. I did try Windows Movie Maker and it has its limitations. I am going to look at Photostory.
As I mentioned I really want:
- the ability to control "normalization" of sound so that all of the music is at one level during the show
-the ability to write Text in various fashions....either so you read it as a Book or that it Scrolls before you on the screen as an example
-that audio and pictures Sync in fading
-that the app has different versions of transitions that can be used.
Again, all discussion welcomed.

[MaraM]

As others have already mentioned, there are a lot to choose from out there. If I may offer a hint ... always download at least 2 programs that offer a free fully operational trial period ... makes it much easier to compare the final results (especially if you choose exactly the same photos to use).

And I couldn't agree more - few of us want to make a career out of figuring out how to run a program! Have worked my way through a few different programs but while some were great, felt they were hardly worth the agony of struggling with them - gentle smile.

Went back to using Microsoft Photo Story 3, simply because it was the easiest and I found it really easy to add music, etc ... so do hope you'll pop back here and let us know which one you decided on, please.

[georgia]

Thx for the reply, I am getting so frustrated as there is a lot of software out there without any Forum support and it is costly.
The needs I have I listed and few apps have them. I post in a lot of forums and hear from virtually no one.
Strange, but I guess people's needs for slideshows are unlike mine or else they have not done as much research.

[raw]

I absolutely feel your frustration. I tried a few different
"slideshow" programs before finding the one I use.
Unfortunately I can not recommend it to you because it
is not a Windows program. (I use Linux)
The only limitation was the soundtrack. I had to use a separate
program to create the audio file before adding it to the slideshow.
This program is available for Windows, is free, and works
wonders on audio files. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
I suspect you may have to go the "2 program" route to get the
results you are wanting.

[georgia]

Thx for the reply, I feel the most frustrating issue with a lot of these programs is that you can try them out for only a few photos and there are no support Forums for them.
Then you try to look for books on general photo slide shows so that you can become familiar with the terminology that one should know of AVI, MP3, JPeg conversions etc. and there is nothing out there.
Only books on specific programs like Adobe etc. (which I have no plans for...I have managed to get the Memories on TV Photo Slide Show operational and the. Audio Normalization is great. Of course I have to convert to mp3...we don't own players at a baby boomers age and so music is something that I am trying now to deal with.
The app even has an Audio Trim feature so that you can Edit the Audio to exactly what you want.
There is a Forum, however not much participation it seems.
The Guidelines are cumbersome and you have to read between the Lines. I printed it and have read it several times and made notes.
I just bought the Moyea converter which I am really please with its ease of use and the number of conversions it does. I have not bought the Memories on TV yet until I know that it totally fits my needs.
The Footprint is not big which makes me happy.
Again any other comments would be greatly appreciated.
It seems from what short projects that I have done that this is an all in one app for both photos and Audio Edit and Normalization, which makes a Noob like me very happy. And there is no limitation on how long you use it nor the number of photos used. All the company does is put a large print over it that it is for temporary use, before you buy it and get the key and license.
I hope this might help others as well.
It's a jungle out there trying to find the right program. I have been at this since mid July.
Cheers.

[lolmeo]

I like photo story platinum and will keep it as an alternative to use along with MS Photo Story 3 and MS Movie Maker. The MS duo has much better graphics, filters, etc and is more consistent in performance but the output options and more than 200 templates that Wondershare offers makes it a worthy tool,i like burn the photos to dvd slideshow and display on TV not just share online.
http://www.ourpix.com/photo-story-demo.html?page=150