CyberSeniors Computer Tips

08/06/08 Share Photos on a DVD

Newk's Nook: I did this for my family using Roxio. It worked nicely. I was able to add music to make it more interesting. This is an article by Kim Kommando.

Q. I took several digital pictures of my mother's 100th birthday. I would like to put the photos on a DVD. That way, I can share them with my family. Can you recommend a program to convert the photos to DVD?

A.Wow! That's quite a milestone. I hope you threw your mother a spectacular party! Let's see what we can do about sharing those precious memories.

By now, viewing pictures on a DVD player should be a snap. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. There are a couple of different ways to do it. However, you could encounter problems.

Many DVD players can display still pictures. You could simply burn the images on a DVD (or even a CD). Windows has built-in tools that will accomplish this.

Just insert a blank DVD in your DVD burner. Windows should prompt you to create a new DVD. In the window that opens, drag your photos to the DVD. Once you're finished, click "Write these files to DVD." Name your DVD and click Next. Windows will create your DVD.

This method leaves the most room for trouble. First, it assumes that recipients' DVD players handle photographs. This may not be the case.

Also, DVD players only handle certain picture types. You should be safe with the .JPEG format. Other formats could cause trouble. If your pictures are not JPEGs, convert them.

IrfanView will convert photos to different formats. I have a download link for the free program on my site. I also have a tip that will help with the conversion.

Folder problems

You could encounter problems with folders. Windows puts the photos in the disc's root folder Some players only support a certain number of photos at the root level. You may need to put the photos into several folders. Then burn the folders to disc.

Some players have rudimentary slide show features. They may not give viewers the option of skipping photos. This isn't a very enjoyable way to view a slide show.

You could receive complaints from your family members. You don't need that after all your good intentions!

A better option is to create a slide show on your computer. You can convert the slide show to video. Then, you burn the slide show to disc.

Convert to video

It is easy to find software for creating slide shows. It is more difficult getting slide shows onto disc.

Photo Story will create a video slide show. This software is free on my site. For step-by-step instructions on Photo Story, visit my site.

Windows Movie Maker is a little more difficult to use. But I have step-by-step instructions for it on my site, too. Windows Movie Maker should be installed on your machine.

There is one problem with Photo Story and Windows Movie Maker. These programs will create slide shows as movies. But, you need additional software to transfer the movies to DVD.

You can buy DVD-authoring software like Nero to create the DVD. Or, you can download DVD Flick. It will help you create your DVD for free. I have a link to it on my site.

Use an online service

You may want to explore other ways to share the photos. I don't recommend e-mailing them, though. Photos are simply too large to e-mail. If you have an imaging program such as Photoshop, you can reduce the size of the photos before you Email them.

You could use an online service to share the photos. You send recipients notification via e-mail. They click a link in order to download the photos. YouSendIt, Mail Big File and filemail are three services to try.

There are also plenty of photo-sharing sites. Basically, you upload the photos into albums. Then, you invite your family to view your photos. They can download the ones they like. These sites are a very convenient way to share photos.

Deciding on a photo-sharing site can be difficult. My column will make the decision a little easier. It covers some of the most popular sites.