If you are outputting to a CD disk (e.g. for VCD or SVCD format) then each CD can contain around 60 minutes of slideshow, so if you set each image to be displayed for 10 seconds then that would equate to 360 pictures per CD.

If you choose a DVD format then you can output a slideshow of around 5 hours (more than 2000 images if each is displayed for ten seconds).

You can add as many music files to play in the background as you like (DVD PixPlay will use as many as required to match the length of the image/video display).

If no chapters are specified then DVD PixPlay will create its own chapter breaks which are evenly distributed at a frequency that depends on the number of images in the show.

• Your images were added from a CD/DVD and it is no longer in your CD drive
• You linked directly to images on a digital camera (rather than acquiring them to your computer) and the camera is not connected
• You have deleted the images or moved them to a new location

1. Run DVD PixPlay
2. Select File>Open Project, browse to your PPT file and click OK
3. Edit the project further if desired (e.g. add background music using Edit>Slideshow Properties, Background Music)
4. Click "Burn Disk"

Note: The project may still appear in your recent projects list until you load/create new projects

When burning your slideshow to disk (File>Burn Slideshow) choose the option to "Automatically stretch the slideshow to match the background music"

Also:
How can I easily time certain frames with my background music?
When I playback the slideshow disk I created, the timing does not match how it was designed

However if you need much more control over your timing you can use the "Align to Frames" function.

Let's say you have two songs named "Song_A" and "Song_B" and six frames named "Photo_1" to "Photo_6". You want each song to play for three frames.

1. Go into Edit > Slideshow Properties, Background Music tab.
2. Select Song_A and click "Align to Frames"
3. Choose "Photo_3" and click OK
» Song_A will now play while Photo_1, Photo_2 and Photo_3 are showing

4. Select Song_B and click "Align to Frames"
5. Choose "Photo_6" as the "Align to Frame"
6. Specify "Photo_4" as "Don't stretch frames prior to" (so the display times up to Photo_3 are not changed)
7. Click OK
» Song_B will now play while Photo_4, Photo_5 and Photo_6 are showing

In order to use them you need to use CD ripping software to convert the CD music into an MP3 file.  There are many products that can do this, including free ones: 

CD Ripping Software

Newer versions of Windows Media Player also allow you to rip your CD music, however you need to change the copy format to MP3 (under Tools>Options, Copy Music)

NOTE: Ensure the music tracks you are ripping are not copyright!

When you have converted the music to MP3 files you can add then add them to your slideshow using Edit>Edit Background Music.

• Choose the "Stretch Slideshow to Background Music" function (available on Step 2 of the Burn Disk Wizard) which will make the slideshow length match that of the background music
• Use a free sound editor, such as MP3Trim or WavePad, to cut the length of your music track and fade it out

• Switch: www.nch.com.au/switch/
• WMA to MP3 Converter: www.wma-mp3.org

You can also convert files online at: YouConvertIt

The only way is to burn them to a CD, and then rip the CD music to MP3

K-Lite: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm

Ffdshow: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow

MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 are natively supported for (PixPlay can output to MPEG-4 but it can't be used within your slideshow).

AVI is a container format, meaning that it a blanket format for many sub-formats. PixPlay supports the standard ones but for others you need to install a driver. Generally the one that trips most people up is MJPEG as this is commonly used on digital cameras (and Windows does not include a driver for it). If you encounter problems with AVI formats you should install a codec pack.

MOV is not supported at all. You need to convert it to a compatible format (with MPEG-2 being the preferred option).

1. Remove any title pages and images from your project (or move all of the videos to the start of the slideshow using the function Edit>Advanced>Move Videos to Start)
2. Select Edit>Slideshow Properties on the menu and choose the "Background Music" tab
3. Choose the option to "Maintain the soundtrack of the video files" (if the option is disabled then there are images or title pages placed before the videos in your project).
4. Optional: If you have images at the end of your slideshow, then you can choose some music for them (i.e. that plays after the videos have completed)

1. When you have laid out the video to your requirements in Movie Maker, select File>Save Movie File
2. Choose the output to "My Computer" option
3. On the Movie Settings tab, choose the other settings option and specify the format as: DV-AVI
4. Click Next

If you want to add it to a project with other images and/or videos select Edit>Add Images/Videos from the menu, select the folder containing the video, check the box below the thumbnail of it and click the Add button

You can get the codec free by downloading a Codec Pack:

www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack.htm
or
www.free-codecs.com/Motion_JPEG_Codec_download.htm
 

Commercial (paid) drivers are also available:

• www.mainconcept.com
• www.morgan-multimedia.com
• www.pegasusimaging.com

You can convert you files online (for free) at:

• Media Convert (50MB Limit)
• Zamzar (100MB Limit)
• YouConvertIt

1. Download and install the SPTD Drivers
2. Restart Windows
3. Run DVD PixPlay
4. Go into View>Options, Other, Advanced and set the DVD Burning Transport to SPTDirect

C:\Program Files\DVD PixPlay\PixPlayLog.txt

Alternatively you can use your preferred burning software to output your DVD PixPlay slideshow to disk.

However almost all PAL players can also play NTSC disks, so if you are unsure which format to use then select NTSC format.

If you are creating your slideshow primarily for Widescreen (16:9) TVs you can enable the relevant option, otherwise use Standard (4:3) format.

Note: For compatibility with DVD Players, you cannot add slideshows to an already burned disk.

1. Create your slideshow as normal but on Step 3 of the "Burn Disk" wizard choose the option to output the project to your hard disk
2. Choose a folder to save your project and click Finish
3. Start your burning software and create a new data disk layout
4. Insert a blank DVD and run your Burning software
5. Choose the "DVD-Video Files" option
6. Click the "Add..."
7. Browse to the folder you specified in 2.
8. Select the two folders VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS and click OK (Screenshot of this in Nero)
9. Start burning

• Change your "Burn Mode" if you are writing a CD
• Ensure you are using disks of a type that your burner supports, e.g. some burners do not support +R or RW formats
• Try burning at a slower speed than "Max"
• Try different disks.  We often hear of problems burning to cheap, unknown brand disks

DVD format disks will also playback in all computers with DVD playing software (which is almost all modern computers).

With VCD format disks you will need to use VCD Playing Software (free) or Windows Media Player: Insert the VCD in your CD/DVD drive and browse to the MPEGAV folder on your CD and opening the ".dat" file that it contains.

For best quality when viewing VCD's on your computer use a low resolution, such as 640x480.

Note: For SVCD disks you may need to download a MPEG2 Codec

Note that with the MPEG option, you will need to specify the details of the format to use, which will control the size of the output video and the MPEG type. If you want the disk to also be playable by DVD players you should select a DVD or VCD compliant option. However not all DVD players can playback a solo MPEG file.

1. Run DVD PixPlay and open your project
2. Select File>Burn Slideshow Disk
3. Choose the "YouTube" format option and click Next
4. Select the option to save to a file and specify a filename

Once generation completes:

5. Go to the YouTube web site:

www.youtube.com

6. Click the Sign Up option and then follow the steps to become a member
7. Upload your video file from Step 3.

Note: YouTube does not allow video files larger than 100 MB or longer than 10 minutes

For VCD formats here is a list of players that support...

• VCD Format
• SVCD Format
• XVCD Format
• XSVCD Format

For widest compatibility it is recommended that you use DVD format on DVD disks or VCD format on CD-RW disks.

If that does not work, search the compatibility list for your DVD Player and check what formats it supports.

If the compatibility report states that your player should support the disk type and format you used then:

• Write the slideshow to disk using your own burning software (in case DVD PixPlay has an incompatibility with your burner)
• Try different types of disks (e.g. DVD+R instead of DVD-R) and different brands (we often hear of problems with no-name DVD disks)
• Under View>Options, Other, Advanced, try changing the DVD audio format

If you are trying to view an SVCD format disk then you may need an MPEG2 codec:

http://www.videohelp.com

• The image is being "Auto-cropped": Select Frame>Frame Properties and disable the "Automatic Cropping" option on the "Remove Borders" tab
• Your TV does not display the full frame of the video: Go into View>Options, Other, Advanced and specify a margin value to add a border area around the frame

Also, ensure that you have not set the highest quality preview option.

Note: If you simply want to make your slideshow match the background music length, enable the "Stretch slideshow to music option"
 

DVD FORMAT SLIDESHOWS

Timing issues with DVD format slideshows are rare, because DVD PixPlay actually builds your entire slideshow before burning it to the disk (meaning that it should display consistently wherever it is viewed).

However you should note that the preview will only give you an approximation of the final result, for an exact display of the slideshow as it will appear on the DVD player, select File > Burn Slideshow and click the "Test" button.  Naturally it is a lot slower to prepare than a preview because it actually builds the entire slideshow, however if you burn a disk directly after showing the Test it will be very quick (as the build step is skipped).
 

PC FORMAT SLIDESHOWS

With PC format you need to specify that overall slideshow timing has priority over individual image display times: On step 3 of the Burn Slideshow wizard, click the "Other Settings" option and ensure you select the option "Start each frame at the designed time"

Timing problems should not occur when playing slideshows disks on most computers.  If you do encounter problems then that means the computer is unable to display your photos fast enough to keep up.

The cause will be a combination of the following:

• You use huge digital camera images (and don't let DVD PixPlay reduce their size when burning)
• You are playing back on a slow computer
• You have very short display times (e.g. less than 2-3 seconds per image)
• You are using motion effects

Generally the problem can be resolved by specifying a longer display time for each of your frames.

Here are some things that may improve quality:

• Specify the highest quality encoding option (using the Alternate encoder) on Step 3 of the "Burn Slideshow" wizard
• Go into View>Options, Advanced and try changing the DVD MPEG Audio Setting as that can affect playback on some players
• It might also help if you minimize your use of transitions and/or motion effects