Digital cameras make it easy to share photos, but not everyone wants to look at holiday snaps on a computer screen. Printing them to create a photo album is one option, but this can be costly if you’re an enthusiastic snapper.
A better option is to burn your photos onto DVD. Both Windows Vista and 7 have a free built-in application for this called Windows DVD Maker and it couldn’t be simpler to use. You can even add background music for a slick professional slideshow production.
Better still, you can use a photo DVD to view photos on a TV using a DVD player, so the discs are perfect for sending to family and friends who might struggle to view photos online or in an email. And with blank DVDs costing around 20p each, a photo DVD is an inexpensive option, too.
Step 1: Launch the application
Windows DVD Maker is part of Windows Vista and 7. Launch it by opening the Start menu and typing Windows DVD Maker in the Search box and selecting the application in the list of results.
Step 2: Select your photos
A welcome screen will appear the first time you launch Windows DVD Maker, so click theChoose Photos and Videos button to close it. You can now choose the photos to include on your DVD.
Click the Add items option and browse your computer for your photos. Each batch of photos you select will be added as a separate slide show on the disc.
Step 3: Change the order of your photos
By default, the photos in each slide show appear in the same order as when they were selected. If you double-click a slide show in the Windows DVD Maker window, you can then reorder them by dragging and dropping, or add and remove photos to the slideshow.
Step 4: Give the DVD a name
Click in the box for DVD title at the bottom of the Windows DVD maker window and type a new name for the disc, else it will use the current date by default.
Step 5: Set the DVD options
Click Options to the right of this and you can choose various options for the photo DVD. You can opt to show the DVD menu when the disc is first inserted, or to start paying the slide show straight away.
You can also choose the DVD aspect ratio (16:9 is best for widescreen TVs) and the video format. If you’re making a DVD to send to the US, for example, choose the NTSC option, else leave PAL selected for the UK.
Step 6: Choose a menu style
Click the Next button on the Windows DVD Maker window and you’ll see a preview of your photo DVD main menu. You can choose from a range of menu styles using the options down the right of the window and see the changes in the main window.
Step 7: Change the menu appearance
Use the Menu test and Customise menu options at the top of the window to change the appearance of the text that appears on the DVD menu. The Customize menu option also allows you to choose an MP3 file to play as background audio. Click the Change slide show button when you’re done.
Step 8: Add some background music
Click the Slide show option at the top of the Windows DVD Maker window and you can select more music files to play the background of the slide show. Unless you want the same track to loop over and over, you’ll need to choose several files if you have lots of photos.
You can also choose how long each photo is displayed for here (under Picture length), the type of Transition between each photo and whether or to use a pan and zoom effect. You can preview the effect of these changes in Step 9 and you can always change them again later. Click the Change slide show button when you’re done.
Step 9: Preview your photo DVD
Click the Preview option at the top of the Windows DVD Maker window to see what your photo DVD looks like before you burn it to disc. You can use the main menu controls or the virtual remote control buttons below the preview window to control the playback. Click the OK button to return to the main window.
Step 10: Burn the disc
When you’re happy with how everything looks, insert a blank DVD into your PC’s DVD drive and click the Burn button. How long the disc then takes to burn depends on how many photos you’re using and the speed of your DVD drive, so you can just leave your PC to it.
When Windows DVD Maker has finished, you can test the disc in your PC or your DVD player, if you have one.
A better option is to burn your photos onto DVD. Both Windows Vista and 7 have a free built-in application for this called Windows DVD Maker and it couldn’t be simpler to use. You can even add background music for a slick professional slideshow production.
Better still, you can use a photo DVD to view photos on a TV using a DVD player, so the discs are perfect for sending to family and friends who might struggle to view photos online or in an email. And with blank DVDs costing around 20p each, a photo DVD is an inexpensive option, too.
Step 1: Launch the application
Windows DVD Maker is part of Windows Vista and 7. Launch it by opening the Start menu and typing Windows DVD Maker in the Search box and selecting the application in the list of results.
Step 2: Select your photos
A welcome screen will appear the first time you launch Windows DVD Maker, so click theChoose Photos and Videos button to close it. You can now choose the photos to include on your DVD.
Click the Add items option and browse your computer for your photos. Each batch of photos you select will be added as a separate slide show on the disc.
Step 3: Change the order of your photos
By default, the photos in each slide show appear in the same order as when they were selected. If you double-click a slide show in the Windows DVD Maker window, you can then reorder them by dragging and dropping, or add and remove photos to the slideshow.
Step 4: Give the DVD a name
Click in the box for DVD title at the bottom of the Windows DVD maker window and type a new name for the disc, else it will use the current date by default.
Step 5: Set the DVD options
Click Options to the right of this and you can choose various options for the photo DVD. You can opt to show the DVD menu when the disc is first inserted, or to start paying the slide show straight away.
You can also choose the DVD aspect ratio (16:9 is best for widescreen TVs) and the video format. If you’re making a DVD to send to the US, for example, choose the NTSC option, else leave PAL selected for the UK.
Step 6: Choose a menu style
Click the Next button on the Windows DVD Maker window and you’ll see a preview of your photo DVD main menu. You can choose from a range of menu styles using the options down the right of the window and see the changes in the main window.
Step 7: Change the menu appearance
Use the Menu test and Customise menu options at the top of the window to change the appearance of the text that appears on the DVD menu. The Customize menu option also allows you to choose an MP3 file to play as background audio. Click the Change slide show button when you’re done.
Step 8: Add some background music
Click the Slide show option at the top of the Windows DVD Maker window and you can select more music files to play the background of the slide show. Unless you want the same track to loop over and over, you’ll need to choose several files if you have lots of photos.
You can also choose how long each photo is displayed for here (under Picture length), the type of Transition between each photo and whether or to use a pan and zoom effect. You can preview the effect of these changes in Step 9 and you can always change them again later. Click the Change slide show button when you’re done.
Step 9: Preview your photo DVD
Click the Preview option at the top of the Windows DVD Maker window to see what your photo DVD looks like before you burn it to disc. You can use the main menu controls or the virtual remote control buttons below the preview window to control the playback. Click the OK button to return to the main window.
Step 10: Burn the disc
When you’re happy with how everything looks, insert a blank DVD into your PC’s DVD drive and click the Burn button. How long the disc then takes to burn depends on how many photos you’re using and the speed of your DVD drive, so you can just leave your PC to it.
When Windows DVD Maker has finished, you can test the disc in your PC or your DVD player, if you have one.
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