Since my last DVD player bit the dust, I'm looking to find a replacement DVD player that enables another capability... I want to be able to show my digital images on TV. (Ideally, these could be recorded on DVD or CD-ROM, but I'll settle for DVD only.)
The technical question: has anyone made this new feature work? All the product specs say are "Supported Image formats: jpeg" and "Picture viewer: y/n". What media formats actually work with jpg? Is any software needed on the media? Does Sony's Picture Viewer that seems to come with the model DVP-NC80V/B DVD Player simply allow you to navigate a bunch of file folders with jpg contents and show them as a slide show?
What alternative configurations meet this use requirement? Has anyone found a software product that will create a DVD format that will run in a standard DVD player (not using a jpg picture viewer) where the program is in effect a slide show (or photo album)? I've looked at Roxio and Windows movie production software. They don't seem to have a disc-space conserving approach to showing a still image for a variable amount of time. They treat it as a series of frames equal to the run time for that "scene" that all happen to have the same image... a collusal waste of space, and not control over playback time other than the pause button! A poor solution, in my opinion. Or am I missing something?
=== As a philosophical aside...
I think this is a logical family use, and therefore user requirement. But why hasn't the industry grasped this? I think they are so caught up in their own technology that they loose sight of their customers. It seems to be "technology for technology's sake" instead of "technology for applications' sake".
Everyone used to dred "Dad" getting out the slide projector, setting up the screen, dimming the lights and then narrarating the dreded "slide show". The underlying social problem, I think, was not so much that people didn't want to look at pictures, for I believe people DO like to look at the family pictures from time to time (travel-logs, if you weren't on the trip in the first place is another matter). Instead, I think the problem was the "production" effort.
Today's technology... digital cameras, computer editing and selecting, CD and DVD writing, DVD players and big screen TVs... replace or facilitate all the "production" problems of the old "slide show" to the point where watching the family photo album scroll by is as easy was watching your favorite flick... alone, just you and the wife, or with a whole room full of family.
So given this natural market opportunity why are Sony and the other video component suppliers (or for that matter, software suppliers) not hyping their "solutions" for this user requirement?
=== End Philosophy Aside, but please comment ===
Rick Runyan,
Cary, NC
DVD players for digital image "slide show" discussion
Mon, 09/12/2005 - 14:24
#1
DVD players for digital image "slide show" discussion
Great post Rick! This is exactly the kind of stuff this communtiy should be talking about.
First, to directly answer your question:
Most DVD players that offer JPEG playback do not need any special software on the disc in order to play. Whether or not it offers some kind of automatic slideshow feature will be make and model dependent, but you should at least be able to forward back and forth through pictures with the remote. And no, whether it's on a CD or DVD shouldn't make a difference.
DVD-Videos created by Roxio or Windows Movie Maker do not write JPEGs onto the disc, but translate those JPEG images into a video file. Most video files (depending on the codec used) will take up less space if the pictures don't move, but no one can resist putting in special effects, transitions, and music. It's when the cool effects are inserted that video files start to get really big.
I've read your compelling philosophical argument, but I guess this is where you and I mostly disagree. I don't believe that the DVD player should be the device that best handles your family slideshows. As the digital home also becomes the networked home, you'll be able to start a slideshow with your TV or set-top that pulls images straight from your PC and displays it on screen. In fact, some devices like the TiVo Series 2 and Windows Media Center already do just that. Another option is something like the Roku Photobridge, which can play cool slideshows with music stored on flash media cards. It may be another device, but it plays photos in higher resolution than a DVD player, which really makes photo browsing better if you have a high-def capable display.
Another thing to remember is that integrated flash media readers are also becomming quite common in newer displays. Why write a CD when you can jam your flash card right into the TV and watch a slideshow?
I wouldn't say that family slideshows are now enjoyable just because technology has slightly improved the production value. I'd say that Dad has learned to talk less, so the slide show doesn't last forever. My opinion, and I'd love to hear everyone else's.