Create a Photo DVD slideshow or video for sharing online
A) Running PhotoVidShow in trial mode adds a water mark to any created slideshows (DVD/Blu-Ray discs and video files). Buying a licence and registering removes water marks being created. You do not need to download a different version of the software after purchase.
Q) Do I instantly get the full mode after buying online?
A) Yes, after purchasing an email will be sent to you straight away. The email contains a text registration key which you can enter when PhotoVidShow starts up (select registration). Note: when registering, you will need to be connected to the internet. After validation you will be running in full mode.
A)PhotoVidShow will run on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 (all 32 and 64 bit versions). There is no Mac version of PhotoVidShow. Older versions of the software (which are still available for download) will work on Windows XP.
Your PC will need 2gig of ram and Intel HD graphics or better (i.e. dedicated graphics card). Most laptops built from 2009 onwards will meet the minimum specification.
Q) I have an older version of PhotoVidShow can I freely upgrade
A) Yes. See our downloads page to install our latest version.
Q) My machine crashed and I need to re-install PhotoVidShow
A) Re-install from our downloads page to install our latest version.
Q) I’ve lost my registration key, how do I get it back?
Please visit our Registration key recovery page
A) There are normally two common problems when this occurs, either a the key has not been entered correctly or the computers firewall is blocking internet access for PhotoVidshow. PhotoVidShow needs internet access in order to check the key with our server.
When entering the code it is best to cut and paste it in to prevent errors. If entering it manually it is worth remembering all 0's in the license key are the number zero and not the letter 'O'
'If you are entering the key correctly and the firewall is not blocking PhotoVidShow, or you are unable to change this, please email support@photovidshow.com for further instructions.
Q) PhotoVidShow does not seem to accept my video file, or I get an error when importing it.
A) The most common problem when PhotoVidShow does not accept a video file is that the computer is missing a codec to decode the video format.
If you are not running the latest version of PhotoVidShow, then please freely upgrade as this may solve this problem. See our Download section
Q) Can I create a slideshow with just a CD burner that will play on TV?
A) Yes, PhotoVidShow can create two types of CD's that will play on a normal DVD player. These are know as Video CD (VCD) and Super Video CD (SVCD). Please make sure you DVD player will accept VCD or SVCD, most modern players will although some older DVD players do not accept SVCD. SVCD gives better quality output than VCD and VCD has quality like VHS and works better with video rather than photos. Also worth noting that you can not create a SVCD/VCD on a DVD disk and if you're lucky enough to already own a DVD burner, then DVD output is always the best option to use in terms of quality and compatibility.
Also because CD output resolution is so low, it is probably better to create a video file and view it on TV by either copying the video file to a usb stick and then inserting this stick into the TV, or uploading it to youtube and stream it to a TV which has an internet connection
Q) Do I need to do anything to my pictures before using PhotoVidShow?
A) No, PhotoVidShow can import jpg's, bmp's images etc. Note: please store your images on your-hard drive before importing in PhotoVidShow rather than straight from your digital camera. When importing, PhotoVidShow only stores a link to the images rather than copying them.
Q) I can't seem to work out how to import more than one image at a time
It might be worth just using the the 'Add images/videos' button in PhotoVidShow, you can then navigate to your photos and select and open them but not drag and drop. If you wish to select multiple items either left click and hold whilst rubber banding a whole selection of pictures or hold down the shift/control button and click on individual pictures. Once you've selected your pictures you want, just select the 'Open' button. To highlight all the files in a folder just select control+a
Q) I always get a 'Error when burning' message when burning a DVD
A) The problem may be a software issue, in the blank media being used or something wrong with the burner hardware.
The following is recommended if this occurs:-
- Make sure you have the latest version of PhotoVidShow. Version 2.17.1 and onwards includes a DVD burner video utility tool.
- Once your project has been encoded into a DVD image on your harddrive (which would of happened if you have got to the burn stage) then you could try using the DVD burner utility tool which can be started by either running it from from the 'Start bar or by selecting 'Tools -> Launch DVD video burner' from PhotoVidShow. Once run simply select your project from the list and select burn.
- If sill having problems there may be issues with PhotoVidShow not having enough computer rights to burn to a DVD (this only applies to windows Vista). Try running PhotoVidShow or the DVD Video burner tool in Administrator mode. This can be done by locating the application in Computer/Local disk(C:)/Program Files/PhotoVidShow. Right click over 'PhotoVidShow' or 'DVD video burner' application and select 'Run as administrator'.
- If still getting problems it may be worth trying different blank media, i.e. some double layer media DVD disks may not work with PhotoVidShow although most if not all -R/+R and RW disks should work.
- If you are still getting problems you may want to investigate further that your DVD burner hardware is working correctly. I.e. try to create a normal data DVD with software provided with the hardware.
Also other DVD burning software tool may be able to burn DVD video format (e.g. nero), i. e. using the output VIDEO_TS folder as source located at Documents/PhotoVidShow/Authored/'project name'
Failing all this you may have got a message about a 'log.txt' file located at My Documents/PhotoVidShow which has been produced on failure to burn a DVD, if you could email this file to support@photovidshow.com we shall investigate further.
Q) Can PhotoVidShow handle DivX/mpeg4 avi files.
A) Yes, assuming appropriate codec's are installed (see Extras page). This also includes other video formats like DV or videos with Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC-3) sound. Note: it is best to use the trial version of the software to make sure it is 100% compatible with any of your video files.
Q) Is there a way to pause between slides on playback?
A) The simple answer is use play/pause button on your remote control. Some people prefer to have next and previous buttons typically seen in DVD extras where you can often have a galley of the actors in a film for example. PhotoVidShow does not produce DVD's like this for various reasons. e.g. such slideshows can't have background music, pan/zoom etc.
Q) I've created a VCD or SVCD and i'm stuck in the menu when i play on my DVD player.
A) VCD and SVCD works differently to DVD. On a DVD typically you use the up/down/left/right enter buttons to navigate through the menus. VCD and SVCD do not support these, so navigation is done by selecting numbers. If your remote does not have numbers there will always be another way to navigate through the menu. (i.e. else the DVD player would not recognize the disk in the first place). In such cases please refer to the manual for your DVD player.
Q) Why can't PhotoVidShow import some of my wma files.
A) If you are having trouble with importing wma files it may be that the wma files have protection from copying. You can check by right clicking on a wma file and selecting properties. If you look under the License tab it may say something like 'Protected Content'. We can not import protected wma files and would be illegal if we did. If this is the case, either try ripping without protection (if possible), or find a un protected version of the music file. Also there are ways to re-record the wma file via the sound card.
Q) Can i have a video as my background in a menu?
A) Yes, just select a video file as your background image in the DVD theme menu option. Although you may only see the first frame when editing, on final output this will be a video. Note: the length is set to the 'menu repeat duration' in the menu theme menu.
Q) Is there a maximum number of slides in the full version?
A) There is a maximum of 1000 slides per slideshow, but as you can have many slideshows, you are only limited to space on the disk for total slides. Note: Only 99 menus are allowed, although you would rarely need more than 3.
Note: If creating a large project of more than 500 slides, it may be worth closing down other applications to make full use of the system memory.
Q) My hard drive is crunching away like mad and encoding has come down to a crawl.
A) Please make sure PhotoVidShow has plenty of hard drive space. DVD authoring eats through disk space. Remember a DVD alone holds 4.7gig, so combined with temporary video and audio files which PhotoVidShow needs, you can see why a lot of disk space is required.