Trouble Burning Slideshow

[annkuick]

When I burn a slideshow I end up with several dropped pictures. Doing it again drops different pictures.They show as black squares. Our computer is new and more than adequate. Can anyone offer a suggestion?

Thanks; Ann

[sknis]

Progression (maybe/hopefully). I've tried Nero (totally inflexible menus), Ulead (too basic) and returned to persevere with Roxio, which, apart from the dropped frames bug, I really like.

 

Re-did my movie from scratch. Saved. Opened up msconfig, went to Services and disabled all except the Roxio services, went to Startup and disabled all except point32 (mouse) and ctfmon (because I don't know what this is!). Restarted my PC, and re-opened my project. Saved as an image (.iso) file. Came back 2plus hours later. Restored msconfig to Normal. Restarted my PC and then used Burn Image to burn to a DVD. No dropped frames!! I've a few minor changes to make and will try again later tonight and report back.

 

From Microsoft:

 

What Is the Ctfmon.exe (Ctfmon.exe) File?

Ctfmon.exe activates the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft Office Language Bar.

 

What Does the Ctfmon.exe File Do?

Ctfmon.exe monitors the active windows and provides text input service support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard, translation, and other alternative user input technologies.

Can I Remove the Ctfmon.exe File?

Removing the Ctfmon.exe might cause problematic behavior in your Office XP programs, so removing it is not recommended.

[The Mekon]

I have the same problem as all of you...namely dropped pictues. However, in my case, I have found that it is the larger jpeg files which are dropped. Appears that the "processing" of these larger files requires too much time and the program jumps to the next picture. I have used a program called "end it all" to shut down all background processes. this has helped some but the problem persists to varying degress (as determined by sunspots, tides, etc) . This is occuring regardless of how I create the slideshow. My system is a P4 3.4 with 1 gig RAM running XP pro. I am surprised to be having these difficulties. Registry has been cleaned with JV16 power tools with no effect. Roxio support is useless in trying to address these problems.

 

any suggestions?

Try Serif's MoviePlus 5!

[rat]

I have the same problem. I've spent days trying to resolve this problem. Tried your fix above with no success.

 

I have figured out mine seems to display a picture and then skip two. It breaks that pattern occasionally and then goes back to it. Wierd.

 

I have other projects that burn fine. I've redone this project from scratch at least a dozen times in the various Media Creator applications after various changes. No change. I have no idea what's happening.

 

Thanks for the great code Roxio!!! Guess I'm buying an iBook for video editing needs.

 

I have the same problem as all of you...namely dropped pictues. However, in my case, I have found that it is the larger jpeg files which are dropped. Appears that the "processing" of these larger files requires too much time and the program jumps to the next picture. I have used a program called "end it all" to shut down all background processes. this has helped some but the problem persists to varying degress (as determined by sunspots, tides, etc) . This is occuring regardless of how I create the slideshow. My system is a P4 3.4 with 1 gig RAM running XP pro. I am surprised to be having these difficulties. Registry has been cleaned with JV16 power tools with no effect. Roxio support is useless in trying to address these problems.

 

any suggestions?

[510man]

I have the same problem. I've spent days trying to resolve this problem. Tried your fix above with no success.

 

I have figured out mine seems to display a picture and then skip two. It breaks that pattern occasionally and then goes back to it. Wierd.

 

I have other projects that burn fine. I've redone this project from scratch at least a dozen times in the various Media Creator applications after various changes. No change. I have no idea what's happening.

 

Thanks for the great code Roxio!!! Guess I'm buying an iBook for video editing needs.

[Gerard]

To clarify: I do all my preparation work now in Videwave, restart Windows on my minimal settings as described above, re-open Videowave, re-open each of my projects in turn (videos and slideshows) and output them as mpeg files. I then shut Videwave and, still in minimal Windows, open MyDVD and assemble all the items with a suitable theme. I then burn the finished project to an .iso file and finally, from the EMC control panel, burn the .iso file to disc.

 

A pain, but it works for me.

 

Incidentally, I did forget to go into my minimal Windows setting the other day before outputting a slideshow to a mpeg file from Videowave, and, lo and behold, dropped frames on the finished DVD!

Thanks Mekon,

I am glad to hear it works for you ... but don't be too optimistic!

I don't mind admitting to an mistake or an oversight, so I went back to work .. as you suggested. Step by step ..

 

1) my project is ready, and I am not going to re-enter it ... again

2) ran msconfig

in Services:

* clicked "hide MS services"

* disabled absolutelyall that was visible, except:

Roxmedia DB

RoxUpnRenderer

RoxUpnPserver

Roxio Hard Drive Watcher

in Startup

* disabled everything, including ctfdmon (not relevant, I think), and RoxioWatchTray

* Pressed "Apply" (??)

3) re-booted

* selected "Selective startup"

then exit w/o restart (? why did it ask me?)

4) ran msconfig again to check what I expected was in place >>>> OK

 

5) ran Videowave, make movie, Mpeg-2 (HW render)

 

And I ended up with the picture of my son graduating being blacked-out (unacceptable!)

 

So, I start again, w/o re-boot: I just inserted/duplicated my son's picture ..

End result: the 2 pictures of my son are blacked out, and for good measure, so his my daughter's graduation (which is the next picture) lost as well.

 

The funny (??) thing about it is that it always is in the same area of the movie.

[The Mekon]

To clarify: I do all my preparation work now in Videwave, restart Windows on my minimal settings as described above, re-open Videowave, re-open each of my projects in turn (videos and slideshows) and output them as mpeg files. I then shut Videwave and, still in minimal Windows, open MyDVD and assemble all the items with a suitable theme. I then burn the finished project to an .iso file and finally, from the EMC control panel, burn the .iso file to disc.

 

A pain, but it works for me.

 

Incidentally, I did forget to go into my minimal Windows setting the other day before outputting a slideshow to a mpeg file from Videowave, and, lo and behold, dropped frames on the finished DVD!

[Gerard]

Yes, providing I use msconfig to shut down all services (excl Microsoft and Roxio) and all startup items (excl. ctfmon), I do not suffer from dropped frames in my slideshows any more. However other problems, like missing/partial highlights on link buttons/text, and chapter links that don't go where they should, still apply!

Well, I have tried that. No difference. I give up.

I have even located the bug within a movie of 2 pictures.

Suspect a glitch within the project file: not with rendering

But enough is enough

[The Mekon]

Have you made any more trials?

Yes, providing I use msconfig to shut down all services (excl Microsoft and Roxio) and all startup items (excl. ctfmon), I do not suffer from dropped frames in my slideshows any more. However other problems, like missing/partial highlights on link buttons/text, and chapter links that don't go where they should, still apply!

[Gerard]

Thanks for that clarification sknis

 

Anyway the good news is that it now works without any dropped frames, so Success! I'm not going to attempt to add back one service/startup item at a time to see which might be interfering with the transformation process (?decoding?). I'm just content to accept that EMC is greedy!

Well, I tried your by-pass, w/o any results.

Before that, I cleaned my system with jv16 Power tools (went well, system OK, some 400 Registry entries fixed..)

Seems I will have to live with black slides .. ste them to minimum display time?(if they are always the same!). Type of picture (JPG, etc), type of transistion seems irrelevent.

 

Have you made any more trials?

[The Mekon]

Thanks for that clarification sknis

 

Anyway the good news is that it now works without any dropped frames, so Success! I'm not going to attempt to add back one service/startup item at a time to see which might be interfering with the transformation process (?decoding?). I'm just content to accept that EMC is greedy!

[The Mekon]

Progression (maybe/hopefully). I've tried Nero (totally inflexible menus), Ulead (too basic) and returned to persevere with Roxio, which, apart from the dropped frames bug, I really like.

 

Re-did my movie from scratch. Saved. Opened up msconfig, went to Services and disabled all except the [later edit]Microsoft and[/edit] Roxio services, went to Startup and disabled all except point32 (mouse) and ctfmon (because I don't know what this is!). Restarted my PC, and re-opened my project. Saved as an image (.iso) file. Came back 2plus hours later. Restored msconfig to Normal. Restarted my PC and then used Burn Image to burn to a DVD. No dropped frames!! I've a few minor changes to make and will try again later tonight and report back.

[sknis]

Ah! If it were only that simple! Regrettably, no. Any more suggestions, before I decide the product is not capable of doing what I want it to? (I notice Nero let you download a free trial!)

 

I do not think this applies to you but Roxio offerers a 30 day money back guarantee. Contact them.

[LarryD]

I am having similar problems with dropped pictures. I am using a Toshiba M30 laptop with a Centrino 1600MHz, 1.60 GHz processor with 512 MB RAM and a Matshita UJ-820S DVD burner running XP. I am attempting to create a 1,000 picture slide show in two sections with jpeg files. The software creates the shows and I can watch all the pictures being added in the preview panel. The first show with 300 pictures works fine when shown on either the computer or various DVD players. The second with 700 pictures skips about half the pictures, always in the same place and starts back always in the same place. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the software, checked for firmware upgrades for my burner (there are none) and recreated the show three times. Result, 9 DVDs with the same exact problem.

 

I then tried to load the program on my desktop. HP AMD Athalon XP 2400 with 225 Mb ram and a Generic 4X DVD burner running XP. After installing twice I cannot get the Menu preview to show anything but a black hole. Pictures appear to load but preview panel is black as well. Disk indicator at bottom of menu display shows 300+ Mb used but burned DVD will not play on computer or DVD player.

 

I bought this software (online directly from Roxio) specifically for this project.

 

Help.

[The Mekon]

Are the dropped images the .gif images?

Ah! If it were only that simple! Regretably, no. Any more suggestions, before I decide the product is not capable of doing what I want it to? (I notice Nero let you download a free trial!)

[sknis]

Are the dropped images the .gif images? I wasn't aware that you could add a .gif image to VideoWave. I know that I could not do it in version 7.5.

 

I believe you are correct. The program will handle png files which are the successor to gif. Photosuite will save to a gif image but there are much better choices (like png).

[grandpabruce]

I, too, have exactly the same problem as annkuick: dropped pictures from my slideshow which show as black panels (even though the projects background colours are not black!).

 

I created my project in MyDVD, imported an avi. movie, created menus, added an intro movie, then added a slideshow as a movie previously created in VideoWave 8. The slideshow consists of only 79 .jpg/.gif images ranging from 89Kb to 8690Kb, with the majority in the 1000-3000Kb range.

 

I have an audio track added to the slides, standard dissolve as the majority transition plus a few 'Airplane' ones, no pan & zoom, and two slides with a text effect incorporated in their internal tracks. With a few exceptions all the slides are 5.00 secs long. The exceptions being a few 3.00 secs ones and a final 13 sec one. The majority of the transitions are the default length of .72 secs with a few expanded to 2.00 sec.

 

I have burned to DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW (3 times, the final one directly from the .iso file). I have played the DVD back through CinePlayer on my PC and on my Philips DVD player. Both give exactly the same results of dropped pictures, and as annkuick says, on each burn different pictures get dropped out. Generally the audio is unaffected, but occasionally it does stutter when a picture drops out. Incidentally, to prove it is not totally random at the time of burning to disc, the exact same pictures were dropped from the .iso burn as were dropped from the previous attempt when I burned and created the .iso file at the same time.

 

HELP!!

 

Are the dropped images the .gif images? I wasn't aware that you could add a .gif image to VideoWave. I know that I could not do it in version 7.5.

[The Mekon]

I, too, have exactly the same problem as annkuick: dropped pictures from my slideshow which show as black panels (even though the projects background colours are not black!).

 

I created my project in MyDVD, imported an avi. movie, created menus, added an intro movie, then added a slideshow as a movie previously created in VideoWave 8. The slideshow consists of only 79 .jpg/.gif images ranging from 89Kb to 8690Kb, with the majority in the 1000-3000Kb range.

 

I have an audio track added to the slides, standard dissolve as the majority transition plus a few 'Airplane' ones, no pan & zoom, and two slides with a text effect incorporated in their internal tracks. With a few exceptions all the slides are 5.00 secs long. The exceptions being a few 3.00 secs ones and a final 13 sec one. The majority of the transitions are the default length of .72 secs with a few expanded to 2.00 sec.

 

I have burned to DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW (3 times, the final one directly from the .iso file). I have played the DVD back through CinePlayer on my PC and on my Philips DVD player. Both give exactly the same results of dropped pictures, and as annkuick says, on each burn different pictures get dropped out. Generally the audio is unaffected, but occasionally it does stutter when a picture drops out. Incidentally, to prove it is not totally random at the time of burning to disc, the exact same pictures were dropped from the .iso burn as were dropped from the previous attempt when I burned and created the .iso file at the same time.

 

HELP!!

[sknis]

Since you posted in this "Photo" board and not VideoWave, are you using the Slide Show Assistant? If so, don't. Open VideoWave and create your production in that program, save it and open MyDVD, create your DVD disc menu and burn to an "iso" file (do not select any other options - except for archiving your photos). Once it has finished rendering, open disc copier and copy the iso file to your disc.

 

Although the computer is new, do what GPB suggests. The components may have been sitting on the shelf for some time. Update both your video card drivers and the firm ware for your burner. While you are at it, you might also update any drivers for your sound card.

 

If you plan to do any more posting, it would be great if you put your computer specs in your signature by clicking on "MyControls" (above) and editing your signature. That way people won't keep asking you about your new computer, See GPB's signature or mine or any other guru to see what should be included.

 

 

When I burn a slideshow I end up with several dropped pictures. Doing it again drops different pictures.They show as black squares. Our computer is new and more than adequate. Can anyone offer a suggestion?

Thanks; Ann

[grandpabruce]

When I burn a slideshow I end up with several dropped pictures. Doing it again drops different pictures.They show as black squares. Our computer is new and more than adequate. Can anyone offer a suggestion?

Thanks; Ann

 

The best recommendation that I can give, with the limited information in your post, is to update your video drivers.