hi - i am using EMC 8 for the first time and every time a burn my DVD, a handful of photos are blacked out when played w/Cineplayer or on my regular DVD player. any help would be appreciated.

Did you preview the project before burning to disc? Is it the same photos giving you the trouble? Are the pics that give you trouble a different format? Could be a problem with the transition or the result of an effect you used.
Please tell me what you did to make your slideshow and some info on your system.

I'm having the same problem... blacked out photos in my slideshow.

I'm using MyDVD 8, purchased individually (not with EMC 8). I have EMC 7.5 installed on the system.

The About screen for MyDVD 8 says "Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 (Build 805B68J ENU). I have XP Pro on a PC with more than 2GB of memory and a 3.2 GHz processor.

I create a slideshow with 210 photos and mp3 background music. The photos are 2048x1536 jpgs taken with my digital camera.

It seems that which photos get blacked out is random... differrent photos are blacked out each time I burn, about 6-8 each time. It happens when I burn directly to disc (DVD) and also when I burn using Create Folder Set.

I've tried 2 different transitions... Dissolve and Wipe - Down Soft. Blacked out photos with both.

Please help. The program is useless to me until I solve this.

What type of video card do you have? Does MyDVD default to hardware or software rendering when you run the graphics test?

Gary,

Thanks for helping.

I have "software" selected although "hardware" self-selects after the tests. I was having some trouble with the video flickering with it set to hardware.

Here's a partial listing from Belarc:

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600)
3.20 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
16 kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

Drives
_NEC DVD_RW ND-3540A [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]
HDS728080PLA380 40Y9028LEN [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) -- drive 0
WDC WD1600JS-00MHB0 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 1

2038 Megabytes Installed Memory

Display
Intel® 82945G Express Chipset Family [Display adapter] (2x)
Default Monitor (3x)

Software Licenses
Roxio - DivXtoDVD Version 1.0.0.0
Roxio Creator
Roxio, Inc. - PhotoSuite Version 7.5.0.47
Roxio, Inc. - VideoWave 8 Version 8.05.0.0
Sonic - DVDINFOPro Application V4.09
Sonic CinePlayer™ Version 2.0.01
Sonic MyDVD Version 6.1.2.0
Sonic Solutions - Backup Executable Version 1.0.0.1
Sonic Solutions - CommonSDK Version 8.0.6.8
Sonic Solutions - DiscCopier Executable Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Drag-to-Disc Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - DVD Builder Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Label Creator Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Label Creator Version 8.0.5.90
Sonic Solutions - Media Manager Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - MediaCapture Version 8.0.5.96
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Capture Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Creator Classic Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Drive Emulator Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Easy Audio Capture Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio LP and Tape Assistant Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Player Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Retrieve Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Roxio Sound Editor Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - StoryBoard Version 7.5.0.47
Sonic Solutions - Task Assistant Version 8.0.5.90
Sonic Solutions - VideoWave 7 Version 7.5.0.47

Most integrated video chipsets like the Intel® 82945G should be run with the software setting. They just don't support the 3D stuff.

Make sure you have the latest driver from Intel and update DirectX to the June 2006 release. Keep the rendering at software.