Logo
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
Home
programming4us
XP
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server
programming4us
Windows Phone
 
programming4us
Windows 7

Creating Video DVDs with Windows DVD Maker (part 2) - Adding Your Pictures and Videos, and Setting the Play Order

- How To Install Windows Server 2012 On VirtualBox
- How To Bypass Torrent Connection Blocking By Your ISP
- How To Install Actual Facebook App On Kindle Fire
3/28/2011 8:59:28 AM

2. Adding Your Pictures and Videos, and Setting the Play Order

With Windows DVD Maker, you can create video DVDs that include and combine pictures, videos, and recorded TV. Windows DVD Maker works with these different media types in different ways. Digital videos and recorded TV shows you select are added as individual items on the burn list. Pictures you select are added to a Slide show folder. Each video DVD can have up to 998 videos or recorded TV shows but only one Slide show folder. The Slide show folder is handled as a media item separate from videos and recorded TV, and can itself hold up to 999 pictures.

2.1. Selecting pictures and videos for your DVD

Windows DVD Maker gives you several ways to select the pictures and videos to include in your video. My favorite way is to select all the pictures and videos I want to use in Windows Live Photo Gallery first and then add the selected items automatically to Windows DVD Maker. One way to do this is to click the first picture or video to add, hold the Ctrl key, and then select each additional picture or video to add individually. When you are done selecting items, you release the Ctrl key, and then click Make→Burn a DVD in Windows Live Photo Gallery. Unfortunately, once you’ve selected an initial list in Windows Live Photo Gallery and accessed Windows DVD Maker, you can’t go back to Windows Live Photo Gallery and select an additional set of pictures and videos to add. This means you’ll have to select all the pictures and videos first to make the most out of this shortcut.

Sometimes, though, you want to add hundreds of items to a video, and it isn’t always practical to select each item individually in Windows Live Photo Gallery before starting Windows DVD Maker. Here’s one handy workaround I’ve come up with:

Figure 4. Selecting pictures in Windows Live Photo Gallery


  1. In Windows Live Photo Gallery, turn on the Info pane by clicking the Info button.

    NOTE

    Only one instance of Windows DVD Maker can be open at a time. Because of this, you must start Windows Live Photo Gallery and then click Make→Burn a DVD to open Windows DVD Maker.

  2. Select one or more items that you want to add to the video DVD.

  3. In the Info pane, click Add Descriptive Tags, type a unique name that identifies the video you are creating, such as Stanek Family DVD Volume 4, and then press Enter (see Figure 4).

  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you’ve added this tag to all the pictures and videos for the video DVD. You don’t have to type the tag each time, however. Instead, when you click Add Descriptive Tags, select the tag in the list provided, and then press Enter.

  5. In the Navigation pane, select Descriptive Tags to view the list of tags associated with your pictures and videos, and then click the tag you’re using for the video.

  6. In the work area, select all the items for the video by clicking the first item in the list, holding the Shift key, and then clicking the last item in the list. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl-A.

  7. Click Make and then click Burn a DVD to open Windows DVD Maker with these items selected.

I often find myself creating video DVDs related to specific dates on which I took pictures and videos. With that in mind, here’s another handy workaround I’ve come up with:

  1. In Windows Live Photo Gallery, right-click Date Taken and then select Expand All. If you don’t see an Expand All option, right-click Date Taken and then select Collapse and then right-click Date Taken again and then select Expand All.

  2. In the Navigation pane, click the node for the first year, month, or date to include in the video.

  3. While holding the Ctrl key, click the next node to include in the video and repeat this step until you’ve selected all the pictures and videos for the video.

  4. Release the Ctrl key.

  5. In the work area, select all the related items by clicking the first item in the list, holding the Shift key, and then clicking the last item in the list. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl-A.

  6. Click Make and then click Burn a DVD to open Windows DVD Maker with these items selected.

  7. In Windows DVD Maker, the total runtime of all selected items is shown in the lower-left corner of the main window.

In Windows DVD Maker, you can select the items to add to your video by completing the following steps:

  1. On the “Add pictures and video to the DVD” page, click the “Add items” button on the toolbar.

  2. As shown in Figure 5, use the “Add Items to DVD” dialog box to browse to a folder containing pictures or videos you want to add.

  3. Select the items to add using one of the following techniques:

    • Select an individual item by clicking it.

    • Select a series of items by clicking the first item, pressing and holding the Shift key, clicking the last item, and then releasing Shift.

    • Select multiple items individually by clicking the first item, pressing and holding the Ctrl key, clicking each additional item in turn, and then releasing Ctrl.

  4. Click Add.

Figure 5. Selecting items to add


As Figure 6 shows, Windows DVD Maker lists the runtime of all selected items as a portion of the total running time possible in the lower-left corner of the main window. This runtime may change if you modify the slideshow properties. Most single-sided DVDs can have a total running time of up to 150 minutes. Most single-sided double-layered DVDs can have a total running time of up to 300 minutes.

NOTE

If you want your video to play on home DVD players, ensure wide compatibility for your video by using a single-sided single-layered DVD rather than a single-sided double-layered DVD. In addition, if your DVD burner supports multiple formats, the type of disc you use will determine the format. DVD-R and DVD+R have the widest support, with DVD-RW and DVD+RW close behind in terms of support.

Figure 6. Checking the video runtime


2.2. Setting the play order

In Windows DVD Maker, the listing order sets the order in which items are played (see Figure 7). The first item on the list plays first, the second item plays second, and so on. You can control an item’s play order using the Move Up and Move Down buttons. Click an item you want to move and then click the Move Up or Move Down button until the item is in the desired position on the playlist. You can also drag and drop items to reorder them. When setting the play order, note the duration and status of each item.

NOTE

On video DVDs that include both digital pictures and digital videos, I’ve found that it’s often best to have the picture slideshow first. One of the reasons for this is that you can sync the slideshow to a music soundtrack, and this helps to keep the audience engaged. Additionally, if you show the live video first, it seems anticlimactic for you then to start showing a slideshow—even if that slideshow does have a cool soundtrack. After all, it is hard for digital pictures to compete with live action.

Figure 7. Setting the play order of your picture slideshow and videos


Pictures in the Slide show folder also have a play order. If you double-click the Slide show folder, you can then view and set the play order for pictures, as shown in Figure 8. You can control the play order of pictures in the slideshow using the Move Up and Move Down buttons. Click a picture you want to move and then click the Move Up or Move Down button until the picture is in the desired position on the playlist. When you are done working with pictures, you can click the parent folder button to go back to the main burn list. This button is displayed as a folder icon and an up arrow.

Figure 8. Setting the play order of pictures


NOTE

If your pictures span a period of months or years rather than hours or days you may want to ensure that the pictures are viewed in the order that they were taken. This seems to be one of the best approaches. But there’s one interesting effect when you’re doing a tribute to an individual, and that is to work from the present to the past, especially if you have pictures that go through the person’s life from the present to when he was a child. Alternatively, you can go from a person’s childhood to the present, but it is sort of fun to slip back slowly into past memories.

By default, each picture in the slideshow is displayed for seven seconds. You’ll be able to change this setting and sync the slideshow length with your soundtrack later.

Other -----------------
- Sharing Your Data (part 3) - Accessing Shared Folders Offline & Working Offline and Syncing
- Sharing Your Data (part 2) - Configuring Standard Folder Sharing & Accessing Shared Data
- Sharing Your Data (part 1) - Enabling Sharing
- Controlling Access to Your Data (part 4) - Inherited Permissions & Effective Permissions
- Controlling Access to Your Data (part 3) - Ownership Permissions
- Controlling Access to Your Data (part 2) - Special Permissions
- Controlling Access to Your Data (part 1) - Basic Permissions
- Securing and Sharing Your Data : Securing Your Files
- Fixing and Tweaking Your Network : Managing Network Connections
- Fixing and Tweaking Your Network : Changing Network Settings
 
 
Top 10
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 2) - Wireframes,Legends
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 1) - Swimlanes
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Formatting and sizing lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Adding shapes to lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Sizing containers
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 3) - The Other Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 2) - The Data Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 1) - The Format Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Form Properties and Why Should You Use Them - Working with the Properties Window
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Using the Organization Chart Wizard with new data
- First look: Apple Watch

- 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 1)

- 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 2)
programming4us programming4us
Popular tags
Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft OneNote Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Project Microsoft Visio Microsoft Word Active Directory Biztalk Exchange Server Microsoft LynC Server Microsoft Dynamic Sharepoint Sql Server Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2012 Windows 7 Windows 8 windows Phone 7 windows Phone 8
programming4us programming4us
 
programming4us
Natural Miscarriage
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server
programming4us
Game Trailer