We all know these things:

1. PhotoCD's (not pictureCD's supported by EZ CD) cannot be created by the average user on home PC equipment. 2. VideoPak can create VideoCD's with still photo slide shows.

Here is my idea---make a VCD with nothing but photos!!!!

WHY??????

Because VideoCD has the capacity to display high resolution photos rather than 352X240 (NTSC) or 388X240 (PAL) resulting in great quality photos. But i dont know what the resoution is for "high resolution" photos for VCD. Could someone tell me? Yould fit twice as more photos if you choose the low resolution photo format.

If you put nothing but photos on a VCD, there is the potential to put hundreds of photos (perhaps thousands, i havent done the math).

Here is how:

You should do this with videopak i might add. I was thinking create a menu on the VCD that shows your picture catagories (a small icon of each catagory and a description of the catagory. Multi level menus could be used if you have alot of catagories). You can have up to 99 catagories or tracks (since the limit of tracks on a cd is 99, you assign each catagory to a track). Within each track, you assign an index point for each image (so that way, your VCD player you press the index forward or backward to go back and forth between images). The great thing about Videopak is you can assign how long each photo stays on the screen before it goes to the next photo.

If anyone has more to add, please tell me. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

-- MrVCD (mrvcd@juno.com), February 17, 2000

Answers

PAL is 352 x 288

I would challenge you to actually make some "high resolution stills" in VP4 and also on the same VCD those from 352 x 240 or 352 x 288 and you will not tell the difference on you TV screen or computer screen.

The proviso is that you use the correct procedures that result in quality.

It also means you ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO IT & NOT JUST TALK ABOUT IT and making assuptions without proof to back it up.

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), February 17, 2000.

Here are at least three problems you will need to resolve, there maybe others.

1) allocating times per slide has not been consistant on a DVD player and on the computer, 5 seconds on one has been as along as 30 seconds on the another from the same 5 second allocation. The disk may not be usable on both without frustration.

2) in and out points can only be applied to a mpeg stream and not to actual photographs held as individual ????.dat pictures in a folder. Totally different process.

3) the pictures will need to be processed with absolute accuracy and consistancy for brightness & contrast otherwise the pictures will not be consistant on your computer or dvd. For example VP4 pictures need to be processed differently to those used in an mpeg stream.

At this point in time I have approximately 1200 pictures on vcd tracks in the form of "video slide" shows, approximately 3 hours worth. They are all on Mpeg streams but not all on menus because I did not have VP4 until a couple of months ago. The pictures are available on separate data cd's or on the normal track 1 of a vcd as jpegs. I have done customer "wedding albums" for years this way on tape and more recently on VCD.

Are you aware what a true photoCD has on it and how far your photo VCD is away from it. One of the basic differences is that you can print from the images which are in 4 different resolutions (frame sizes). Doubt whether you will be able to do that.

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), February 17, 2000.

Having said all of the above, it now sets the stage to reply to your request for information on how to produce "high resolution" stills.

May I suggest you simply read the 10 or so emails you have from me off line which have also included a copy of suitable editing software with details of exactly how to get quality for a vcd photo presentation, one cannot do more than that, its up to you to try and gain experience in the process.

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), February 17, 2000.

My idea was in no way to try to make a photo only VCD THE SAME AS PhotoCd but an alternative as I said in my first message. PhotoCD is proprietory, VCD isn't which is why I suggested a photo-only VCD as an alternative since VCD is consumer createable.

I have merely presented an idea, rather than set it in stone. I would never try to sell this idea to anyone which is why i wrote my idea so I could get responses to it and suggestions but it seems like my idea is more of a bother than a helpful one.

The system only works better if we challenge it, and that was what I was trying to do. May I remind everyone that the only stupid Idea is the one not said. I was hoping to get a little more supportive feedback rather than people tell me that (in so many words) that I dont know what i am doing. It's an idea for christ's sakes. The best inventions start with even the roughest ideas, in that they are improved upon till the final product and that's the approach I was taking.

Maybe I should just go to this forum and not say anything since no matter what I do be it an idea or suggestion, seems like I could never win.

-- MrVCD (mrvcd@juno.com), February 18, 2000.

HERE ARE SOME RESPONSES TO rmclennan@esc.net.au :

1) allocating times per slide has not been consistant on a DVD player and on the computer, 5 seconds on one has been as along as 30 seconds on the another from the same 5 second allocation. The disk may not be usable on both without frustration.

--ANSWER: See the answer to the next concern---basically have the pictures part of an mpeg stream and set in/out index points for them all. That way you could just press the index forward/backward buttons to cue them. Set the index points to say, 2 seconds or so apart. When you wanna view the picture, press pause (or wait however long it takes on a DVD/PC). Then when you want to see the next picture, press index forward.

2) in and out points can only be applied to a mpeg stream and not to actual photographs held as individual ????.dat pictures in a folder. Totally different process.

--ANSWER: Why not have an mpeg stream with just pictures? Then just set the inpoints and outpoints? Perhaps a picture every 2 seconds? Then just press pause to look at it????

3) the pictures will need to be processed with absolute accuracy and consistancy for brightness & contrast otherwise the pictures will not be consistant on your computer or dvd. For example VP4 pictures need to be processed differently to those used in an mpeg stream.

-----ANSWER: Make the stillshots into an MPEG Stream

At this point in time I have approximately 1200 pictures on vcd tracks in the form of "video slide" shows, approximately 3 hours worth. They are all on Mpeg streams but not all on menus because I did not have VP4 until a couple of months ago. The pictures are available on separate data cd's or on the normal track 1 of a vcd as jpegs. I have done customer "wedding albums" for years this way on tape and more recently on VCD.

----ANSWER: VideoPak4, while buggy, seems to work great for still shot mpeg streams. I have done it breifly as an experiment with NTSC 352X240 stills and the results where great.

Are you aware what a true photoCD has on it and how far your photo VCD is away from it. One of the basic differences is that you can print from the images which are in 4 different resolutions (frame sizes). Doubt whether you will be able to do that.

----ANSWER: My idea like i said before is an ALTERNATIVE. I never said that you could achieve 4 different resolutions or print (although if you had the images on your hard drive, there is not concern about printing them). I know the limitations of VCD stills and the benefits of PhotoCD high resolution and 4 picture sizes, but as I keep stressing my idea is an ALTERNATIVE. Wouldn't you rather be able to create a disc that you could play (and unlike a PhotoCD, you can create) in a VCD/DVD player? I don't know of many people with PhotoCd players, CDi players/SegaSaturn (with PCD attatchment) or people who are content with just being able to view PhotoCD on a PC. Personally (and I speak for many people) I would rather know I could create it and easily play it.

-- MrVCD (mrvcd@juno.com), February 18, 2000.

I have successfully created VCDs made only of still picture many times successfully so here is my advice:

* do NOT encode your photos as a MPEG video stream (eg: with Ulead video studio, Xing, or Adobe premiere with Panasonic plugin). The quality is awful (but you can have transitions)

* there are 3 softwares that let you do it easily: VideoPack 4.0, WinOnCD 3.7 (photoalbum creator), WinOnCD 3.6 & 3.7 (advanced video CD editor; BTW this might be the VideoPack 5.0 some people are refering too, it was omitted from the original WinOnCD 3.7 release but is included in the German 1st SP). Some other software will let you do it too: Easy CD Creator, Philips SVCD beta software, Enreach Software, but they will require MUCH MORE work and will usually need an external MPEG still encoder.

* VideoPack 4.0: problem is you cannot set the display time for each picture. I personally think that VP is full of bugs, and that CeQuadrat has taken out all the working features and enhanced them for inclusion in the WinOnCD advanced VCD editor. If anyone out there is considering buying VP my advice is don't ! It's a rip off, this product should be discontinued as it has been superseeded by below.

* WinOnCD Advanced Video CD Editor: Excellent ! With this you have full control (almost): how long should the picture be diplayed, sync with an audio track, integrated MPEG still encoder (Hi/Lo Res, PAL/NTSC), stretch/center picture. The only problem is there is no keep aspect ratio option, which means if you use non standard size photographs (or portrait mode) I suggest you resize them first

* WinOnCD 3.7 Photo Album: Good if you just want to do a quick job with a hi quality result, but you don't have much control. Still worth using though.

The result of using WinOnCD is a VCD with very good quality slide shows which you can play in any VCD/SVCD/DVD player. With the many portable players available this make it even more attractive.

-- Frederic (frederic@mosaicsoftware.com), February 18, 2000.

While it is fun to create photo VCD's, It is not "your idea", MrVCD. Everyone is doing that already. That alone probably brought forth the responses you saw at first.

-- DocVCD (doc@morda.co), February 23, 2000.

Especially since you called it "my Great Idea!"

-- mike (mike@juno.com), February 23, 2000.

Yes its quite amazing how the discussion on this thread and the answers to the problems that might be encountered actually went away from just treating stills as stills in a PhotoCD storage/access context. "Make a CD with nothing but photos" it started off as! Mpeg streams???????

END:

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), February 24, 2000.

both nero v5.0 and winoncd 3.7 can be done,making of photo vcd.

-- simon (skf6552@mailcityasia.com), February 23, 2001.

This might be off the subject but for xmas presents for relatives without a DVD player. I created a Video CD of still photos using WinOnCD 3.7 (the one without audio capabilities) I set the picyutes to play at 5 seconds. I then used my DVD player to capture the stills to an mpeg stream (AVI) on my computer. There was no visible loss in video quality. I then was able to edit the streams and add audio usine Video Editor 4.0. From there I could either export the video to a VHS tape(which is what most people wanted) or create a Video CD The result was excellent and made a lot of granparents very happy

-- Al (amccraw@yahoo.com), February 23, 2001.

I just read in a magazine that WINONCD 3.8 is able to make photocd without any difficulties!!!!

-- elimar (elimar4@hotmail.com), April 21, 2001.

I have WINONCD 3.7. I Create photo CD but can't add the audio in the album file , while seeing on TV (VCD) we can see only the pictures except the audio. How to insert audio file in photo album cd.

-- vpatel (v_baldha@hotmail.com), June 14, 2003.

does anyone know how i would go about extracting pictures from the segment file of a VCD? I can open the video files in Windows Media Player but this does not work with the stills. Thankyou Aaron

-- Aaron Kennedy (evilsonic86@hotmail.com), April 03, 2004.