Create High Definition Slide Shows

[Tom at Roxio]

Did you know that Roxio's Slide Show Assistant can create High Definition slide shows? HD slideshows have as much as 6 times the resolution of standard definition slide shows (up to 2 Megapixels of resolution, whereas standard definition (DVD) slideshows have only about .35 Megapixels). Your high resolution photos from your digital camera will really look great in HD.

 

To create HD slide shows just use the SlideShow Assistant. Make sure you choose an aspect ratio of 16:9, as all HD video formats use this aspect ratio.

 

On step 2 you can choose a theme. If you deselect "apply pan and zoom to all" you can add custom pan and zoom to each photo. This is sometimes known as the "Ken Burns effect" (you can start each slide zoomed in on part of the photo, then pan back to reveal more of the shot... or vice versa). Just select a photo and click on the "Edit Pan and Zoom" icon (the hand with the pencil).

 

On step 3 choose "Create File", then choose "High Definition" (under "Purpose"). Choose one of the available formats for your movie.

 

You can transfer your slide show to an HD camcorder, or you can transfer it via a USB drive to an XBOX 360 for playback on a HDTV (use Windows Media Video 1280x720 for XBOX 360).

 

Enjoy!

[joedq]

I think you miss my point. You can put the data on a DVD using H264 AVC and play it using a Blu-ray player or an Xbox which people typically have connected to a TV and play back the data in the high definition in which it was created just as you could with a PC (as the Xbox or PS3 are PCs).

 

The opportunity is that I can edit video on my PC, convert it to H264 AVC, burn it to a data DVD and play it back on most PCs, a blu-ray player, PS3, X Box 360, and possibly any HD-DVD player as well. The opportunity is that I can see this HD video with current equipment connected to my TV (X box) or buy an HD-DVD player ($98 this week at Wal-mart) or a BD player ($450 at sam's) and not necessarily have to author and burn an expensive 25 gig BD. Nor would any consumer need to spend $500 for a BD burner for their PC but could play with their HD home movies using their current DVD burners and 25 cent disks.

 

Full high definition 1920x1080 24p can be achieved at 7-8 Mbps using H264 AVC well within the ability of most DVD drives that are in the 9-10 Mbps range. and indeed Sony has several models that do just that as well as a transfer device that takes HD video off a hard drive or tape based model and burns HD video to standard DVD disks. http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...m:dg_cc_gglsrch

 

 

You can't have it both ways…

 

If you want HD you must have BlueRay or HD Burner/Players. Otherwise you must use the work around that Tom has outlined.

 

Just as you cannot put a short DVD movie on a CD you cannot put HD on a DVD. No Player could play it.

[ggrussell]

The opportunity is that I can edit video on my PC, convert it to H264 AVC, burn it to a data DVD and play it back on most PCs, a blu-ray player, PS3, X Box 360, and possibly any HD-DVD player as well.

According to Wikipedia:

The BD-ROM specification mandates certain codec compatibilities for both hardware decoders (players) and the movie-software (content). For video, all players are required to support ISO MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, and SMPTE VC-1. MPEG-2 video allows decoder backward compatibility for DVDs. H.264, sometimes called MPEG-4 part 10, is a more recent video codec. VC-1 is a competing MPEG-4 derivative codec proposed by Microsoft (based on Microsoft's previous work in Windows Media 9).

 

Although the players may support the file format doesn't mean that they will play back a 'data' disc. Like today's DVD players. Make a data DVD with MPEG 2 files on it. They won't play in most DVD players on the market. Most players require the disc to be in 'video DVD' format for proper playback.

[joedq]

absolutely understood, that is why I bought a BD burner in my laptop and DVDit Pro with Blue disk authoring thinking that was the only way I would be able to make any use of my HD video I shoot..... but while the Dumb DVD players will not play back many of these data disks, Sony's BD player, X-box 360, I presume PS3 and HD-DVD players will as well. Again, what I am looking at is the work-a-round for many people who have a chicken and egg dilemma when it comes to HD video and how to view it because no one wants to watch it on a PC or go through the bother of connecting a camera. Maybe you can afford the player but not the burner to create anything that will play on it.... so buy the player watch HD movies because you CAN create and play with HD video on DVD that is cheap and easy to use and view. You are also correct in that EMC 9 or 10 may not be able to do it in the exact form that the Sony BD player requires... but the first step for me was knowing it could be done and that is what I found exciting and why I asked the original question as to whether anyone had actually tried it with an HD-DVD player.

 

So you think that Sony handy cams or this DVD device that transfers HD video to DVD actually authors the disks in a way that makes them playable on an BD player? That could be, but then there must be a way using software that any PC could do the same thing... Sonic Solutions provides Sony with it's DVD authoring engine for their software so they should know how to do it.

 

Thanks.

 

According to Wikipedia:

The BD-ROM specification mandates certain codec compatibilities for both hardware decoders (players) and the movie-software (content). For video, all players are required to support ISO MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, and SMPTE VC-1. MPEG-2 video allows decoder backward compatibility for DVDs. H.264, sometimes called MPEG-4 part 10, is a more recent video codec. VC-1 is a competing MPEG-4 derivative codec proposed by Microsoft (based on Microsoft's previous work in Windows Media 9).

 

Although the players may support the file format doesn't mean that they will play back a 'data' disc. Like today's DVD players. Make a data DVD with MPEG 2 files on it. They won't play in most DVD players on the market. Most players require the disc to be in 'video DVD' format for proper playback.

[teejmac]

I can tell you I just created a slideshow in VideoWave and the output options included MPEG2 High Definition 1080i and 1080p, both at 1920 x 1080, and the output file looked great.

[james_hardin]

Without the ability to utilize a DVD, this 'feature' is of very limited value…

 

I don't have an Xbox and am not inclined to drag out my $1,100 camcorder and wire it up as a playback device.

 

Granted it will be of use to some, so would ring tones for satellite phone users.

[Tom at Roxio]

I'm not satisfied with scaling my 6 Megapixel photos down to 720 x 480 (DVD).

 

Obviously the challenge is to get the HD slideshow movie from your PC to your HDTV in another room. I mentioned a couple of possibilities. Another solution is through a home network to a media extender capable of HD playback. A Windows XP Media Center Edition PC or a Vista PC with Media Center would also allow you to play back your HD movie (with the appropriate graphics card). Other media extenders are on the way.

 

Of course, if you have a Blu-ray drive (and a Blu-ray player or a PS3) you can burn your HD slide show to a Blu-ray disc with DVDit! Pro HD, or the quick Blu-ray assistant (in EMC 9).

 

Tom

[joedq]

Ok this is very cool as play back devices get smarter. So I can edit and then burn HD code to a DVD and I know it will play on a Sony BD player in HD, will an HD-DVD device ($98 this week at Wal-mart!) do the same thing? There is no need to "author" a DVD blank to view HD content? I bought a BD burner with my laptop but don't have a BD player so if I burn content to a BD or author a BD I still need to hook up the laptop which is a bit of a pain. Most home movies do not require or merit 25-50 gigs so having a cheap way to play HD video using DVD would be very nice. Roxio should really play this up - that you can edit HD video and burn it to a cheap DVD disk that will play back HD video on sony BD or HD-DVD players - because I have been holding up buying a new PC until BD burners come down but I could hold off on the burner and expensive disks a while, get a player instead, but still enjoy HD home video via DVD and worry about moving it all to Blu-disks sometime later.

 

Will X-box play back WMV HD from a DVD? (I will find out shortly and try it) and does anyone know it Toshiba HD-DVD will play all those codes as well?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Hi Jay,

The Slide Show Assistant, along with VideoWave in Easy Media Creator 10 will do what you want, except that 1080P is not supported (full 1080i is supported, with 1920 x 1080 resolution). For a slide show the difference between 1080i and 1080P should be trivial.

 

Slide Show Assistant gives you full control over pan and zoom, and you can export the finished slide show to VideoWave (our favorite NLE). In VideoWave you have up to 32 video tracks, titling, effects, etc.

 

Slide Show Assistant and VideoWave support H.264 (Advanced Video Codec), MPEG-2 MP@HL (High Definition MPEG-2), Windows Media Video HD or DivX .... all either 720P or 1080i.

 

I hope this helps you. Perhaps other Creator customers will be willing share their HD slideshow experiences here, to give you some unbiased opinions.

 

Tom

[joedq]

Ok, as of yet HD-DVD players will not playback home movies burned to DVD in high def. Sony and Panasonic BD players will playback home made DVDs recorded in AVCHD. It looks like Vegas and many other software programs will edit this but will EMC 9 and 10?

 

from Wiki: Technical details

As its name implies, AVCHD uses an MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video codec. AVC's better compression (compared to the older MPEG-2 codec of HDV) lets it record video of the same quality of MPEG-2 but in less space. The audio track can be stored as uncompressed 7.1 linear PCM or compressed AC-3 5.1. The compressed audio and video data are encapsulated in an MPEG-2 Transport stream called BDAV. This stream format and most of the structure of AVCHD are derived from the Blu-ray Disc BDMV format. Consequently, AVCHD recordings can be played without modification in most set-top Blu-ray Disc players, such as the Sony BDP-S1, Panasonic DMP-BD10, and the PlayStation 3. Sony claims the format has a total storage time on a MiniDVD of about 20 minutes of high-definition video using "average" bitrates. By comparison, today's 8 cm discs can store 30 minutes of standard-definition MPEG-2 video, and MiniDV tapes can store a full 60 minutes of either standard-definition DV or high-definition (HDV) video. At the maximum resolution, a standard 8cm DVD will hold just 15 minutes of material. The newer dual layer disks will hold 27 minutes. AVCHD camcorders using hard disks or flash memory such as SD or MemoryStick overcome this constraint and typically offer USB connections to access their content.

 

Among the touted advantages of AVCHD over MiniDV tapes is random access, since AVCHD does not need to be fast-forwarded or rewound as on tape formats such as MiniDV. For advanced users, however, digital video-footage is rarely edited in-camera anyway; instead, it is transferred entirely to a computer, where the operator uses video editing software. So random access is less important to some professional users but may prove valuable to professionals in electronic news gathering.

 

CyberLink's PowerDirector 6, Sony Vegas 7.0e, Vegas Pro 8, and Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 8, Corel's Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus, Pinnacle's Studio Plus 11, Canopus' EDIUS Pro 4.5, and Apple's Final Cut Studio 2 and iMovie '08 video editing software support the AVCHD format. Other developers have pledged their support but it may still take some time for the implementation. Canopus's AVCHD Converter can convert AVCHD clips into a format which can be edited using Canopus' EDIUS 3/4. A related tool, Canopus' ProCoder, can perform conversions that produce files which are usable by other video editing applications that do not support AVCHD natively. Cineform also offers the Neo HDV product that allows AVCHD clips to be converted into I-frame wavelet .avi files designed for editing and post-production. These .avi files can be accepted by many popular consumer non-linear video editors, including those from Sony, Adobe and Corel, which has acquired Ulead. Another useful product is CoreAVC, a reasonably cheap and quick h.264 decoder for Windows, which can decode AVCHD as well as a variety of other h.264 formats.

 

Nero 7 Ultra Edition Enhanced, is a software suite which contains the AVCHD editor Nero Vision. Also included in this suite is Nero Showtime, which plays AVCHD files natively. Nero Vision can convert AVCHD files to other formats such as MPEG-2 or AVI and can import them for use in video editing projects. Nero Vision can also export Sony's M2TS format to MPEG-4 files that can be viewed by Quicktime 7. Edited video can also be burned to DVD discs in AVCHD format for playback on hardware players or in Blu-ray format.

 

The biggest problem with editing and converting these files is the sheer amount of resources they require—decoding and re-encoding AVC is much more intensive than, say, MPEG-2. Furthermore, AVCHD employs long-GOP frame storage, which while space-efficient, introduces problems into editing and decoding of material. Even so, just as MPEG-2 was originally taxing to home PCs, even needing special PCI decoder cards, AVC's challenges will be overcome with time, especially on multi-core CPUs.

[james_hardin]

You can't have it both ways…

 

If you want HD you must have BlueRay or HD Burner/Players. Otherwise you must use the work around that Tom has outlined.

 

Just as you cannot put a short DVD movie on a CD you cannot put HD on a DVD. No Player could play it.

[Jay B.]

Hi there,

 

This is exactly the topic that I want to discuss. Right now I have a lot of options for handling image and video editing and management. I already own PS Elements 4/Premiere Elements 2, PhotoStory 3, Video Studio 10+, MemoriesonTV 3 Pro, and so on. My true goal is to generate High quality, 1080p HD photo slideshows with full control over pan/zoom, titling, etc. in certain file formats. Here's my want list:

 

- Slideshow creator/editor with full control and creative tools

- Ability to import slideshow into an NLE or use overlay/multiple tracks, titling, etc. w/o losing image resolution

- Ability to output 1080p video files to play on a Sony PS3 feeding a 1080p HDTV via HDMI

- No BD Burner yet, so the output file format needs to be h.264 (High Profile), MPEG-2 HD or AVCHD that can be burned to regular DL DVD-R

 

Will this new version of EMC 10 fit this bill? If it does, I may buy it right now!

 

TIA, Jay B.

[Tom at Roxio]

Am I talking to Mr. Gadget???

I admit that I have a few gadgets... but I definitely need more. Thank goodness I work at Roxio, where we have gadgets at work! We're always looking at how to help our customers get the most from their gadgets.

[james_hardin]

Am I talking to Mr. Gadget???

 

Those are some interesting solutions! Obviously there is a lot of opportunity to exploit this area of getting 'good stuff' to HDTV!

 

It won't be long until we wrinkle our noses a "DVD Quality" as though it were CGA graphics!

 

Thanks for the ideas Tom!

[james_hardin]

Joe: You get credit for thinking outside of the box but it is just isn't going to happen…

 

When consumer DVD Burners/Media became available there was a cry to be able to burn a short DVD movies onto a CD for cost savings.

 

5 years later and have you ever seen a DVD Player, anywhere, that can play a DVD burned onto a CD??? Roxio's had software that would do it (V6 2003) but it would only playback on a PC and required special player software to do it!

 

How many CD Players can play CD-RW media? Very darned few considering the millions upon millions out there.

 

Did you know there was even some interest in using VHS recorders and their tape cassettes for computer data storage? This was before HD's and floppies only held 146K. Boy that idea took off like a rocket! But it was a good idea and I was seriously looking into it.

[Tom at Roxio]

Hi there,

 

This is exactly the topic that I want to discuss. Right now I have a lot of options for handling image and video editing and management. I already own PS Elements 4/Premiere Elements 2, PhotoStory 3, Video Studio 10+, MemoriesonTV 3 Pro, and so on. My true goal is to generate High quality, 1080p HD photo slideshows with full control over pan/zoom, titling, etc. in certain file formats. Here's my want list:

 

- Slideshow creator/editor with full control and creative tools

- Ability to import slideshow into an NLE or use overlay/multiple tracks, titling, etc. w/o losing image resolution

- Ability to output 1080p video files to play on a Sony PS3 feeding a 1080p HDTV via HDMI

- No BD Burner yet, so the output file format needs to be h.264 (High Profile), MPEG-2 HD or AVCHD that can be burned to regular DL DVD-R

 

Will this new version of EMC 10 fit this bill? If it does, I may buy it right now!

 

TIA, Jay B.

Hi Jay,

The Slide Show Assistant, along with VideoWave in Easy Media Creator 10 will do what you want, except that 1080P is not supported (full 1080i is supported, with 1920 x 1080 resolution). For a slide show the difference between 1080i and 1080P should be trivial.

 

Slide Show Assistant gives you full control over pan and zoom, and you can export the finished slide show to VideoWave (our favorite NLE). In VideoWave you have up to 32 video tracks, titling, effects, etc.

 

Slide Show Assistant and VideoWave support H.264 (Advanced Video Codec), MPEG-2 MP@HL (High Definition MPEG-2), Windows Media Video HD or DivX .... all either 720P or 1080i.

 

I hope this helps you. Perhaps other Creator customers will be willing share their HD slideshow experiences here, to give you some unbiased opinions.

 

Tom