Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Slide Show Program
Review: .
I tried several photo slide show programs, and this is the first one that works really well. Unlike other photo-managing software, ProShow does not try to be *both* a photo organizer and a slide show producer. It just does shows (slide, video, or screensaver). It helps to have all the photos for a show in one folder, but that's easy enough to do with Windows Explorer or one of the photo organizing programs, such as Picasa or CompuPic. For music (optional), I suggest collecting your MP3 files in a single Music folder.I bought ProShow Gold because I want to be able to put multiple shows on one CD, which Gold allows. I put together a slide show of 100 photos for my son, *with music*, and it was a snap. I told ProShow to randomize transitions, which means it always uses a different, fancy way of transitioning from one photo to the next. And you can choose any amount of seconds for photo display. ProShow makes it easy to see, and control, which music will play with which photos. In addition to music, you can do sound effects. ProShow allows attachment of either MP3 or WAV sound files. The resulting CD is a no-nonsense, enjoyable show without the advertising that Photodex's older CompuPic Pro put at the beginning of the slideshow. (ProShow offered to optionally show some sort of information before the show, but I suspected that it was an ad and squelched it.) Some minor cons:
- FOR SOME PEOPLE, THIS MIGHT BE A MAJOR PROBLEM: ProShow does not work with the Adaptec ASPI manager, so you might need to select "Update ASPI", an option provided when you install ProShow. But after ProShow substitutes its own ASPI manager, CD-ripping programs such as CDEX and RealOne might no longer work with your CD drive. My regular CD burner, however, still works.
- Although ProShow allows captions, they must be typed in. Why doesn't ProShow use the captions that PhotoShop lets you store right in the photo file?
Rating: 
Summary: Would be fantastic if it worked
Review: Bugs, bugs, bugs. I'm running XP home, Celeron 1.8GHz, 256MB RAM.
This is a gorgeous program that purports to do everything I want it to. If only it didn't crash every time I try to create an autorun windows CD, or a video CD, it would be great.
For $70, I expect them to at least make a pretense of getting out the bugs.
Buyer beware.
Rating: 
Summary: Bugs appear to be out
Review: Excellent program for creating photo presentations. Earlier versions may have been buggy, but it appears that the major kinks have been worked out (though a few small things here and there could be improved).
Program outputs your presentation on to a CD for computer viewing, DVD or VCD for viewing on television or uploads it to the Proshow website.
The program is straight forward enough for a novice to get started and I was impressed at the level of sophistication that you could drive your presentation to (if you so desire). I've been looking for sometime for this type of program and so far -- I'm impressed and can recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: I Disregarded Other's Warnings
Review: I downloaded the free trial version of ProSho Gold version 2.0 and thought it worked great. Then I read the reviews and saw where there were reports of bugs and freezes. I tried the program again and all seemed fine. I thought maybe I wasn't running the same operating system (I am running Win XP) or the others weren't meeting the computer requirements. However, now that I have purchased the program and am using the more advanced features (zooming, and enlarging etc.) I am having all kinds of problems with freezing. I agree with the person that said if they can get the bugs out it would be a dynamite program! You should probably wait awhile as was suggested in another review. I am writing the company to send this review and the other two that had problems in the hopes of getting things running right. I am going to try another plain slide show. Hope it is only the fancy stuff causing the problems.
Rating:
Summary: Don't even bother with anything else..........
Review: I have had no problems whatsoever with this program. I have tried many other programs and this is by FAR the best. You can pan and zoom every image and you can even add in video clips as part of your slide show, which is something I don't think any other program offers. I think people claiming of all the bugs probably need to look at their computer system as the problem because I have made 1 GB DVD slideshows and had no problems whatsover. Best 70 bucks I ever sent and I now have family and friends wanting to pay me to make shows for them. Photoshow Gold is the best...Look no further.
Rating:
Summary: NOT PROFESSIONAL GRADE YET
Review: I have owned and used this software to make a number of slide shows over the last year and a half. In that time it is indeed true many improvments have been made. My first use was with version 1.2 and I am now using version 2.0 build 1589 or 2.1589. There have been so many glitches it seems that new builds or versions arrrive, at times, every few weeks. This should be encouraging as it demonstrates a commitment to continuously fix and improve the software. If you own the software all these updates are free and easily downloaded from the Photodex website.
I agree with some of the other reviews in that it is exceptionally easy to produce basic slide shows. However, use of some of the more advanced features needs work. I am specifically not pleased with the functionality of captions and sounds being attached to indivudual slides. In version 1.XX the captions were "attached" to a slide such that using two duplicate slides back to back allowed you to fade in a title or caption over a specified length of time as you transitioned to the second slde with the caption attached. This capability was lost in 2.0. An option was soon added allowing a caption to float above the transition [remain on screen] between slides allowing this same effect to be simulated but the result is not as smooth. On the flip side allowing captions to function separately from an indivudual slde has allowed for a host of really cool caption effects. The current caption fade in/out option would be greatly improved if the timing of the fade could be controlled. Additionally, some of the other effects such as zoom in/out and pan effects are not smooth. These glitches are even evident in some of the slide shows I have viewed on the Photodex website.
The good news is Photodex seems upfront in that they publish what was fixed in each version [build #] and it is evident they are continuously improving the software. Do I consider this a profession grade product? Not yet. Am I going to continue to use and upgrade this software? You bet. By the time Photodex releases 3.0 or perhaps 4.0 they should have the best slide show software on the planet. It is worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Just what I have been looking for
Review: I have tried a number of programs in order to make a VCD of my pictures. I tried Roxio and Pinnicle but with no success. All of them worked well until I tried to burn the VCD. No luck using it in my DVD player. (I even tried different DVD players) I tried this program as a last resort, and I was hooked. I was able to create a VCD with transisitons, music and titles in a matter of minutes. It could not have been any easier. Then came the big moment it actually plays in my DVD player. The other great feature is you can select an option that also lets you play the same VCD in any computer as an auto play. I love this program and it is just what I have been looking for.
Rating:
Summary: The only slide show program worth using
Review: I needed to make a slide show for my father's retirement party, and wanted to play them on a television. I looked at 7 different programs, and proshow was easier than all of them, including Easy slide show. I think the shows look better than any of the programs I tried too. It did exactly what I wanted, and it was effortless. I made a slide show with different transitions, there has to be at least 100 of them, and added some of my father's favorite songs, and made the show. It literally took me about 10 minutes to make the initial show, and then I spent some time getting it just right. This is perfect for anyone wanting to make a slide show, regardless of the level of expertise, trust me, I am not an expert. I did have some trouble figuring out how to add captions to the show, but one call to their support (a LIVE person answered my call on the 2nd ring!!!) and they walked me right through it. It was really easy after the showed me how. I would recommend this program to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: This is my FAVORITE software
Review: I obtained this software after a thorough search of slideshow maker software features. This software is extremely flexible in output format (DVD, VCD etc.) and lets you use your own music files rather than a subscription service. The more I use this program, the more I love it. In fact, I am buying this for others to replace their existing slide show software since they LOVED mine. Also, I agree with the previous comment that this software does not try to be a photo organizer. I LIKE the way my photos are currently organized and this software doesn't require the photos to be reorganized in a different format. My 11-year old son is actually using this format and producing some fine slideshows- it is that easy.
Rating:
Summary: poor support and buggy
Review: I purchased this product when it was version 1.32 but now since it has gone to verison 2.0 have had nothing but grief. This would be acceptable for sometimes getting software up to par is very tedius.. but when support is no longer available or they don't answer your emails then I would say beware of this company.. sqave your money.
| 
