any good software suggestions for a relatively unsophisticated user. I want to create something using photos, music, hopefully where I can use parts of songs, and also possibly video. I'd like to be able to put the final product onto a dvd so it can be shown on a tv rather than needing a laptop for viewing.

I'm consider software called moviemaker, but was wondering if something better might be out there.

Ideas?

i do this with Nero

hopefully you'll put the dirty dancing classic 'i've had the time of my life' on it. no slideshow is complete without it.

ProShow Gold

anybody know of an easy way to convert video tapes to dvd - the kind you get from those Hi-8 video cameras?

I use one of these. It works basically like a VCR, in that you insert a blank DVD, wait for it to format, then hit Record. You can Pause or Stop in the middle of recording. The single layer DVDs hold about an hour of time.



more info:
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6224&vpr=yes

that looks cool mb. Can I take dvds created on there, put them on my pc and edit them into a new format, with new sound and everything?

Does your video camera have a firewire connection?

1. I am not sure what firewire is.
2. My video camera is probably about 6-7 years old or so. It's not too sophisticated. I think I had the camera before I even owned a computer.
3. What I think would be great is to use the machine to convert all my old home movies into dvds, plus converting some stuff on vhs as well. Then I was hoping I could upload from the dvd to my computer and edit as I desire utilizing some software that would also allow me to mix in video, photos, music to create a new "show", which I could burn to dvd if I desire.

You probably could, although I haven't gone to that effort yet.
The reason that I bought it, was a more immediate method of digitizing old analog camcorder tapes, without the time necessary to digitally edit everything. I may get to that eventually, but for now I just want to get everything transferred to DVD.
It's a pretty nice little device. There are several different inputs, so you can copy from most sources.

What's the main advantage of that over a standard sony dvd burner that would accept my inputs and could double as my regular dvd player for less money?

You can use it as a stand-alone burner since it has a built-in display. I usually set it up on a table and just let it run all day, changing the tapes/discs as needed. One complaint is that it doesn't have an audio output or built-in speaker, so you can't hear what you're transferring.

that looks pretty good. Does it allow one to include any video? Or only still photos? Is it better than Adobe Premier or something like that?

Better how? Adobe Premiere is over $700. ProShow Gold is $70. You can do a hell of a lot more with Premier, but if you just want to make a slideshow, it's like killing a fly with a sledgehammer. Now, I've only used Premiere and not Premiere Elements (which is closer to $100 or $150). I don't know the functionality or ease-of-use of that software. Regular Premiere is not completely intuitive and does have a fairly steep learning curve (at least for me it did, and I'm used to working with Adobe products). However, you can do pretty much anything you can ever dream of doing with video in Premiere.

For ease of use and putting together a slideshow set to music, there's no question that ProShow Gold is the better application. The first time I used Premiere, it was to make a simple slideshow. It took me for fucking ever. Maybe 10 or 12 hours to put together something pretty simple. Obviously, experts in Premiere can whip it out a lot faster than that. First time I used ProShow Gold, I was able to whip out a slideshow within an hour.

I don't remember if ProShow Gold allows video or not--I've never tried using it with video.

thanks. I had looked at Adobe Premiere Elements which is $99.99 at Best Buy. If it's harder to use though, I think I'd rather go with your rec, even if it won't take video... I could probably create some video and tack it onto a dvd if I wanted to so long as it's not part of the slideshow... might be a bit awkward, but it could be done.

There are free trials available of ProShow Gold, Premiere, and Premiere Elements from their respective websites, so give 'em a whirl!