Software to create photo slideshows

I am looking for a program that will produce a quality, professional slideshow that starts with a menu (so I can have more than one show on a disk) and will burn the show(s) to a DVD and they will play on a computer or a stand-a-lone DVD player. I would like the cost under $50

Can I get some input of what some of you are using and how you like it?

Thanks,

Steve

If you have MS Powerpoint, you can do a slide show on that. You can get several programs free online that will convert the format of the file to where it can be used by computers without Powerpoint. That is about the only experience with slide shows that I have had.

SteveL welcome to the forum. I hope you will be a 'stayer' I have no experience with slideshows other than powerpoint presentations so couldn't be of help to you here,sorry

Hi Steve,

PowerPoint comes with PowerPoint Viewer that allows PowerPoint slideshows to run on PCs that don't have PowerPoint installed. Just use the "Package for CD" feature.

MS Office is a pricey package, but if you already own it, you already have the free solution to your problem.

You can also use Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) to run a slideshow. I can't remember which software I used to create a PDF-format slideshow -- maybe it was Photoshop Elements -- but it worked like a charm in playback.

Sounds like you're looking for DVD authoring software. If you want to go cheap, Windows XP (not sure about other versions) comes with Windows Movie Maker (found in "accessories". It will import your pictures and burn them to a movie file which then can be put on a playable DVD along with a menu system. You can also add transitions, title overlays etc.

I started with Sony Screenblast, which is a consumer level version of Sony Vegas, their professional video/DVD authoring program. It does the same as above, only with considerably more creative control. I think I paid about $65 for it new at Best Buy.

About the cheapest way to go is to set it up in Word, save it as a PDF and use Acrobat to make your Slide Show. Acrobat works real well and gives you great slide shows that you can set up with fades any way you like. The nice thing about using Acrobat is almost everyone has it and it works equally as well on PCs or Mac's.

I think Proshow is powerful but too difficult for amateur,at least for me.
Here I will recommend MS Photo Story 3 and MS Movie Maker,photo story platinum.I keep it as an alternative to use along with MS Movie Maker. The output options and more than 200 templates is what makes it popular,especially the theme and styles about wedding,kids,love, Movie,etc
Hope this will help
referring site:
http://www.ourpix.com/photo-story-demo.html