At my morning consult, my client mentioned that she had created a slideshow in iPhoto and she wanted to burn it to DVD but wasn’t sure what the best way to do it was. She took it to a local media shop who said she should export it as a QuickTime file. She was given an additional application to compress it and yet another application to burn it to disk. It was a long drawn-out process that seemed daunting to her. I smiled, knowing that the answer to her question is simple, easy and built right in to her iLife applications.
In iPhoto, after creating a slideshow check out the “Share” menu up in your menu bar. There’s an option under there to “Send to iDVD.” By selecting this option your project will automatically be converted to a file that iDVD understands, the iDVD application will launch and you’ll be asked to select a theme. The “Theme” is the DVD menu, like what you’d see when playing a commercial DVD. It will even allow you to customize the theme with pictures from your iPhoto, music from your iTunes library and you can even add more slideshows or movie files to the DVD to get the most bang for your buck.
Finished playing with the “Theme”? Simply click the Burn icon and you’ll be asked to insert your DVD. Want multiple copies? After the disk is burned just click “Burn” again and keep on going! Yes, it really is that simple.
Note: If you don’t have a SuperDrive or external DVD burner, you can always save the iDVD file and take it to a friend’s Mac who has a DVD burner. Enjoy!!