Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on June 11, 2007 by CyberNet.

Microsoft Monday

The popularity of digital cameras has meant that people take more pictures because they’re not held back by limited amounts of film.  I love taking pictures with my digital camera, and I also love to share them whether it be through email, social networks, or my Flickr account.  Another way to share photos that I recently experimented with is by using the new Windows DVD Maker. If you have Windows Vista Home Premium, or Ultimate, this feature is available to you. It’s simple to use, and filled with customization options that will allow you to put your own personal touch on the DVD to show to family and friends.

There are two different ways to access Windows DVD Maker. The first option is to go to the Start Menu and select Windows DVD Maker. Another option is to open up a photo from the photo gallery and click burn up at the top, then “Video DVD.” This is the option I chose, and the one I’ll be walking you through today.

Step 1: Select Your Photos

The first thing that you’ll want to do is select the photos that you’d like to be a part of your DVD. All you have to do is highlight (just like you’d highlight multiple files) the photos that you’d like to be included. Remember, you’re creating a DVD so there will be plenty of room for all of your pictures. If you’re taking your photos at 3 megapixels, you should have room for about 3,000 photos!

If you’ve used the tagging system that the Windows Photo Gallery offers, you can select pictures that you’d like to be included by selecting the tag. For example, if you have a tag labeled “pets” you can click on it. Only the pictures that have been tagged “pets” would be selected.

Once all of your pictures are highlighted, you’ll go up to “Burn” then click “Video DVD.”

Another option would be to select just one picture, then go to “Burn,” then “Video DVD” and from there you can add additional items to the video by clicking “Add items.”

Step 2: Menu Options

You’ll have options for deciding how the menu will look on your DVD. There are several customization options including appearance of scenes, button styles, and you can also include foreground and background video along with audio.

Step 3: DVD Settings

Want to add music to your movie? No problem! Add the songs that you’d like.  What to change the slide show length to match the music length? No problem! Want to select your transition between slides or use pan and zoom effects for pictures? No problem! I was especially happy to find that they include the pan and zoom effects because that really makes a difference between a boring and interesting video.

Step 4: Finish and Burn

The last step is to burn your disc! Make sure you have a DVD in your DVD drive, and then click burn. My DVD turned out great, and hopefully yours will too. It’s such a simple, easy process that anyone can do. And it’ll be great to send out to family and friends.

Video of the process:

I’ve included a video of all the different menu options, and I removed all of the loading times associated with previewing the menu animations. Even if you have Windows DVD Maker, it’ll still be easier to watch the video if you want to see the different animations before trying it for yourself.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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