Missing slides on Blu-ray

[Chris]

I have burned a slideshow to Blu Ray but found that on playback some of the slides were missing and on some slides the transition and display length had changed. This only seems to have occurred when I have burnt my slide show to Blu-ray - there were no issues when I played the video file back on my computer.

[StuartG]

Hi Chris, I'm not totally sure why you would be getting this. In general there is no difference in creating a slideshow as a video file (mp4) or burning it to a blu-ray disc. i.e. the creation process of the slideshow is the same.

What you could do is:-

Check you are running the latest PhotoVidShow version 4.5.1. It will tell you which version you are using on the splash screen when PhotoVidShow starts up. If using V4.4.1 or earlier, you can freely upgrade to v4.5.1 here

www.photovidshow.com/download

If that does not help, it maybe worth trying to narrow down the problem. The best thing to try is to play the .m2ts file PhotoVidShow created for your blu-ray on your PC to see if it plays ok. To do this:-

-Download and install VLC player here (free)
www.videolan.org/vlc/index.en-GB.html

-Then play your .m2ts slideshow video file in VLC player. Your slideshow video file will be located on your PC here
'Documents/PhotoVidShow/Authored/'Project name'/BDMVROOT/BDMV/STREAM/00000.m2ts'

Anyway see if this slideshow PhotoVidShow generated plays ok on your PC or not.

[Chris]

Hi Stuart,
I did what you suggested and generated a new slide show on v4.5.1.This plays ok on my computer but I had the same problem when I viewed the copy burned to blu ray - changes to transition and display length.

[StuartG]

Hi Chris, just to be clear on a few things, to help narrow down the problem.

You ran version 4.5.1 and created and burnt your slideshow to Blu-ray using PhotoVidShow then:-

Does the burnt blu-ray disc play back ok on your PC?

Did playing the .m2ts video file mentioned on my previous message play ok in VLC player on your PC?

Thanks

[Chris]

Hi Stuart,
It is proving tricky to isolate this problem.
Yes, I ran version 4.5.1 and created and burnt the slideshow to Blu-ray.
The .m2ts files play without a problem on VLC (and Windows Media Player) and the transitions and display length are as I created them.
The problem appears when I play back on my Blu-ray player - some of the transitions and display lengths have changed. It is only occurring on around 4 slides and is occurring on the same slides each time I play back.
I have an external Blu-ray writer for my computer. I cannot play the disc back on my PC (don't have a compatible graphics card) but the computer can read the files on the disc which can then be opened and played back using VLC without the problem occurring.

Thanks

[StuartG]

Hi Chris thanks for that information, exactly the sort of thing we need.

In short it sounds like some compatibility problem with your blu-ray player. Are you able to try the disc in another blu-ray player? different model if possible. Also what make and model blu-ray player are you using?

Your Blu-ray disc .m2ts files are just video files similar to mp4, avi, wmv etc. They don’t contain any information about slides, transitions or display lengths. That information is lost when PhotoVidShow generates your slideshow as a video file which is then burnt to disc. I.e. It’s just a video (or movie) just like a normal movie blu-ray disc you can buy from the shop.

So I don’t understand why your blu-ray player would not play them exactly the same as your PC does.
Do you need to create your slideshows as a blu-ray? An alternative is to create them as .mp4 video files in PhotoVidShow. Some TV’s and blu-ray players accept USB stick input and will playback our mp4 video files on them. I.e. create your slideshow as a mp4 video file, copy it onto a USB stick and play that on your TV or via your Blu-ray player USB slot. Mp4 video files are also HD 1080p quality same as Blu-ray.

If not, we can investigate further if you wish, that involves you uploading your BDMVROOT files to our drop box server. We don’t mind this option as we like to get to the bottom of the cause of this problem.

Let us know.

[Chris]

Hi Stuart,
Actually I don't need to create the slideshow to Blu-ray. I have now created my slideshow as an mp4 video file and copied to a USB - it plays fine using my LG TV. However, my Panasonic Blu-ray player which also accepts USB did not appear to read the files on the USB. No bother because I can play via my TV. So, I guess that is problem solved. Out of interest I will nonetheless see if the Blu-ray plays ok on a different player. For information my Blu-ray disc writer is a Samsung.
I did have another problem which I was going to post separately - I have also tried to use video on the slideshow as well as photos and on playback (on all the different formats) all the video footage was in 4:3 aspect. I think I have solved this problem by converting the original .mts video files I was using (created by the video camera (a Canon) and the video browser and editing programme) to mp4.
Thanks for your assistance

[StuartG]

Hi Chris, glad you got something working. So currently your Panasonic player won’t play back PhotoVidShow blu-ray discs properly or accept mp4 format from USB... But your LG TV works fine with the mp4s which is great! Mp4 output allows you to create full 1080p videos at 30fps, where as blu-ray is limited to 24fps at this resolution btw.
Yes I would check your discs on another player if you can. Saying that, your Samsung blu-ray burner/player will play the discs via VLC. Your normal player software had graphics card limitations, but this is a software issue and not the hardware. I.e. VLC can play your disc (although VLC will not do blu-ray menus stuff).
Also you mentioned a second problem, although you didn’t really explain what this problem was, but I’m glad you’ve found a solution to this. If you still need any more help then let us know anytime.