Rating: 
Summary: ProShow Gold is the way to go!
Review: I tried many slideshow programs before coming across ProShow Gold. After spending just a few minutes with this program I knew this was the one! It's very easy to use and has some very powerful features. The Ken Burns affect is a must have for any slideshow program.
I have not had any of the problems that some of the other reviewers have experienced, it has run flawlessly for me.
My biggest complaint would be that the online help and manual is lacking. But then again I have done some very nice slideshows with little reading of the manual.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy at the risk of your sanity...
Review: I write this review as a warning to those considering this software purchase. I'd advise you to wait at least 6 months or not purchase at all. (this review written 6/2004) Here is why:The product, when it works is very good. However, they are having serious problems with the most recent version. This most recent version included some very nice features like motion effect, caption effects and others. It seems that they may have rushed this to market without thouroughly testing it. They have released 4 updates or patches to their latest 2.0 software and any of their customers will tell you (like me) that they must absolutely not test what they program. It astonishes me the serious bugs that remain with each patch they release. All that said, the software is probably the best in its class when it is working properly. However, trust me when I say that the headaches of dealing with system freezes, having to recopy in slides, etc is not worth it at this point. I'd seriously recommend you give this new version some time or look to other alternatives. They do exist. Don't just take my word for it. Do some further research. There is a yahoo group as well as other online discussions where you can read the pain some of us are going thru.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Program... PERFECT!
Review: If you have digital pictures sitting around, buy this now! After using programs like PictureGear and others for slideshows, I thought that they were all the same. Little did I know that this was out there! You can edit anything, anyway you want without even having to read the instructions, it's that easy! Plus, when finished, it looks like you actually manfactured your own CD-Rom or DVD with backgrounds and click-able menus.It's been a long time since I've been this blown away by a great program. Wow! GET THIS TODAY!
Rating:
Summary: Like Camping in Yellowstone With Mosquitos
Review: It's beautiful but the bugs get a little annoying; mainly unstable. It does crash and freeze. However, it is worth it because you can create some very nice slide shows. What I like is that is is very simple to input slides, time the music, and make text slides. It's easy to rearrange them and the best show I've used since Kai's Power Show. You can zoom or expand slides into the frames, change the timing, and burn CD's easily. What I don't like is that when you e-mail the shows, a lot of firewalls knock the attachement out because it is an "exe" file. Aside from that, it's the best software on the market, is easy to use, and allows you to make very nice products.
Rating:
Summary: Take Your Photo Presentation To A New Level
Review: This is by far the easiest way I have ever seen to take your photos and presentations to a new level. AWESOME is the only word to describe the ease and quality of this product. Music enhances the presetations and the options for the different outputs are plenty. Just completed putting together a family Thanksgiving presentation and the family was in tears after watching. Price is incredible for what you will be able to do. Definate purchase recomendation.
Rating:
Summary: Not Ready for Prime Time - Yet
Review: This is probably the best slideshow software on the market. ProShow Gold 2.0 is feature rich and let's you create professional looking slideshows (David Burns Effect, 200 transition effects, captures, import of AVI videos...). A simple slideshow takes about 10 minutes to create, but if you want to you can spend hours. It's fun.
HOWEVER - this product has more bugs than any software I ever used. And this is the reason why it is not ready for primetime - yet. You can see the bugs fixes related to stability issues on the photodex website. I had to reinstall the software (Build 1571) three times due to system crashes. Usually you start the completed slideshow (i.e. in *.exe format) and then it just stalls. Even on my 2.8Gig machine. So what's the point if you can't show your masterpiece to your Mother-in-law. In edit mode, sometimes the command buttons stop working or are delayed for 5 seconds. Issues over issues. It seems that the version 2.0 is still in the prototype phase and the buyers are a substitution for the testing department. Is the software a good investment? No, not yet. You should wait 3 months and then check the reviews. This product could be the class leader...Also, "help" feature is worthless, it only shows you what you already know.
After so much negativity here the positive side: I burned some DVDs and the Slideshow works on my stand alone DVD player - that was before they implemented the fixes for Build 1571...
I'd give 5 stars for features and editing options; 0 stars for stability.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Features - poor stability
Review: Wish I'd read these reviews before buying this program ... although it seems this is the best ... when it's not the worst!
After spending many hours tweaking my first show, I dropped in a music clip and it blew out the whole show and apparently corrupted the software to the point I had to reinstall. ;-(
It is a fun, easy program with lots of features (although I could think of quite a few more that would make it even better) ... now I just have to figure out how to live with the stability questions.
Rating:
Summary: Mom recommended...
Review: Yes, it does seems to be a little unstable and the help is poor... but after looking at several options... this was it, no question. I was able to create a really neat show. And I like the web site where you can look at contest winners and learn a few tricks to use on your own home show.
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