iPhoto Slideshow Sucks

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
It really does. Very poorly done if trying to do anything nice.



I've been trying for a week now to make a nice slideshow of my summer @Stanford for my family. I have 509 photos that I have selected from over 1000. Nicely layed out.



I TRY to put music to it. Sounds easy. But wait, I don't want the same song repeating over and over. I wanted a whole bunch of different songs. Can't do that in iPhoto. iPhoto doesn't even tell you how long your slideshow is. So I figure, if I set it at 2 seconds per picture all I have to do is multiply 2 seconds by 509 and divide by 60. But no, after trying that and realizing after watching it that it goes much longer than it should I figure I have to think of something else. So I figure... I'll watch the slideshow, time it and then with quicktime I'll make a single Mp3 file of that length with all the songs I choose. So I do that. Takes a while to get it right but I eventually get it done. One of the biggest problems was that you can't skip ahead. So I had to sit through the slideshow.. al 34:31 of it 10 times to make sure each song started at the right point. I finally finish.



But I did this on my PowerMac G4. I want to show this on my tv downstairs with speakers and everything. So I transfer it to the Powerbook. Have to transfer the whole library because there is no way to just transfer the slideshow. Now get this, the slideshow goes much quicker on the Powerbook. Why? because its a faster machine I guess. this is bullshit.



So I try to export it as a QT movie on the PowerMac. guess what? It's 10 minutes quicker than viewing it as a slideshow. with the same exact 2 second settings. So my music is all screwed up and out of sync and cut off. But I shrug it off and try to work around it. Try to export to a different format, DV stream so I can lay out the audio in iMovie and maybe export to a DV tape. But the outcome sucks.... it sucks a lot... it's all blocky, the transitions are loss, and it looks like shit.



I've had it with this crappy inconsistant software. Ease of use my ass. Poor design is more like it.



if anyone has any alternative programs that actually work please advise





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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    what i've done, however ugly the process be, is export the slideshow and note the timing. then make my own mix of all songs i want to include, and redo the slideshow. definitely takes longer than you'd hope <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> , but the result: a perfectly timed presentation without the blotches you get from using still images in iMovie.
  • Reply 2 of 28
    surfratsurfrat Posts: 341member
    Dude, use iMovie. That's kinda what it's there for. I've made plenty of very nice slideshows with iMovie. It's easy, fast, and turns out great with multiple music tracks.
  • Reply 3 of 28
    willoughbywilloughby Posts: 1,457member
    Wow, I can't believe a free digital photo application at version 1 is lacking in so many areas
  • Reply 4 of 28
    warpdwarpd Posts: 204member
    Look, it was designed to be a SMALL app to make SMALL screensavers. Not industrial strength!! "509 photos"??? Do you have any idea what a huge memory hog that will be. That is moronic!! No offense, but get iMovie (FREE) and make a .mov file instead.



    <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
  • Reply 5 of 28
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    [quote]Originally posted by SurfRat:

    <strong>Dude, use iMovie. That's kinda what it's there for. I've made plenty of very nice slideshows with iMovie. It's easy, fast, and turns out great with multiple music tracks.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    do you know how insane that is with 509 photos?



    [quote]Wow, I can't believe a free digital photo application at version 1 is lacking in so many areas <hr></blockquote>

    1.) it's version 1.1.1

    2.) It's not free. I bought a tower for 2500 and and a laptop for 3000. I paid for that software. I paid a premium. On top of that I paid 130 bucks for Mac OS X and another 130 for Jaguar. I paid for this software. If you can't understand that you are a ****ing idiot. Free my ass.

    3.) This is basic stuff. And it doesn't work. the fact that there is no consistancy across computers is ridiculous.

    4.) Thanks for your smart ass response. it was really helpful. have a nice day
  • Reply 6 of 28
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    [quote]Originally posted by warpd:

    <strong>Look, it was designed to be a SMALL app to make SMALL screensavers. Not industrial strength!! "509 photos"??? Do you have any idea what a huge memory hog that will be. That is moronic!! No offense, but get iMovie (FREE) and make a .mov file instead.



    <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    memory hog? who gives a shit? who says what it was designed for. I want to do that. iPhoto doesn't limit you in any way. if it can't handle that it should have a limit. it doesn't.



    iMovie sucks for this. I've done similar things with iMovie before
  • Reply 7 of 28
    warpdwarpd Posts: 204member
    Look, it's a screen saver. when you have appz running, it loads into memory, and runs over them. There is a reason that even apple's ones only have about 10-12 pics in them. between the pics, the fade transitions, and the music, it occupies a lot of RAM. Peoples machines would choke and crash if they had a 250mb screen saver trying to load,



    It's not personal, but it gets annoying, people expecting really pro grade specs, from Apple' s free appz.



    You are asking for ability to compile huge amounts of graphics, multiple audio tracks, in a timeline based environment. I bet you even want to be able to pick between different types of fades too!! It is called iMovie.
  • Reply 8 of 28
    warpdwarpd Posts: 204member
    the other option is from a company called Totally hip. You can find it here



    <a href="http://www.liveslideshow.com"; target="_blank">Liveslideshow.com</a>
  • Reply 9 of 28
    willoughbywilloughby Posts: 1,457member
    [quote]Originally posted by applenut:

    <strong>

    1.) it's version 1.1.1

    2.) It's not free. I bought a tower for 2500 and and a laptop for 3000. I paid for that software. I paid a premium. On top of that I paid 130 bucks for Mac OS X and another 130 for Jaguar. I paid for this software. If you can't understand that you are a ****ing idiot. Free my ass.

    3.) This is basic stuff. And it doesn't work. the fact that there is no consistancy across computers is ridiculous.

    4.) Thanks for your smart ass response. it was really helpful. have a nice day</strong><hr></blockquote>





    It was meant to show how you're being ridiculous. Yes its 1.1.1 and you want everything to work flawlessly. When you bought your tower iPhoto didn't even exist. Give me a break, its still the first major version of the software.



    I had the same problems as you when my niece was born. I couldn't even show her the slide show at the hospital because iPhoto doesn't run in OS 9 which is what is on my brother-in-laws 333mhz Powerbook. Do you hear me bitching. Nope because I downloaded it for free and it does everything it promises and even though it has its share of problems its still the best photo management software around....especially at that price.
  • Reply 10 of 28
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    QuickTime Pro: $30. Does a great job.



    Don't expect amazing power apps to be bundled with a computer. You buy those. You get good basic apps with your purchase. That's what iPhoto is (mostly good at least because I think it could a little better/more picture adjustment tools).
  • Reply 11 of 28
    donnydonny Posts: 231member
    I may get flamed for this thought...but oh well...



    Personally, it sounds like a PowerPoint would do a nice job for the task you are describing in this thread. It works well for me. Just a thought...



    By the way...PowerPoint is so cheap...right?
  • Reply 12 of 28
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Seriously, I don't think iPhoto was designed to be a fully extensible slideshow making app, so it shouldn't be expected to be able to support such fine-tuning. The timer should work right though.
  • Reply 13 of 28
    ensoniqensoniq Posts: 131member
    Here's an idea, with absolutely ZERO intended sarcasm:



    Send E-Mail to Apple about this.



    Obviously, you are trying to do something that goes beyond the average iPhoto slideshow production. The fact that it didn't work immediately doesn't mean Apple doesn't care and put out a shoddy product.



    Products are designed based on the expectation of what the user is going to do with it. (I was a software development manager...I know.) If a user decides to attempt something that 99% of users (and even the beta testers) have never tried, it may mean Apple needs to re-think how the slideshow tool works.



    So send them the details of your situation...maybe they will consider the issues, and improve iPhoto. Maybe they will explain why you should use &lt;QuickTime/iMovie/Some Other App&gt; instead. But at least your venting in their direction may have a positive effect.



    Good luck.



    -- Ensoniq
  • Reply 14 of 28
    jbljbl Posts: 555member
    I am not sure what you are all beating up on applenut for. This is clearly a bug in iPhoto. iPhoto has a setting for how many seconds each slide should take. If there is some reason that they can't make the speed of your slideshow correspond to the speed you put in, they should make the control a slider that just says faster&lt;---&gt;slower.
  • Reply 15 of 28
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    I've got to say, this sounds like something that will probably be enhanced in version 2.

    Doesn't seem like something to get all that upset about to me.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    [quote]Originally posted by JBL:

    <strong>I am not sure what you are all beating up on applenut for. This is clearly a bug in iPhoto. iPhoto has a setting for how many seconds each slide should take. If there is some reason that they can't make the speed of your slideshow correspond to the speed you put in, they should make the control a slider that just says faster&lt;---&gt;slower.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I have no clue, but I'm guessing the actual photo is being displayed for the same amount of time on the two machines, and that the transition time is probably what is differnet. You probably also can't predict the time by simply multiplying by two and dividing by sixty because 2 seconds is the amount of time the WHOLE picture is on the screen, not including the transition faze.

    I don't know, maybe i'm full of crap and it doesn't do a transition (haven't used iphoto much) and it just goes straight from one to another. I'm just talking out of my butt here
  • Reply 17 of 28
    iq78iq78 Posts: 256member
    If anyone cares, this is what I think.



    iPhoto is a great application. I was (and am) very impressed by its ease of use, and how Apple made it so similiar to iTunes, so my mom and dad could easily adapt to its features.



    However, the slideshow feature is weak. It does the bare minimum that a slideshow feature would do.



    To me this doesn't indicate bad attention to detail as much as Apple just not pushing for a robust slideshow feature. Sure, I'd like a better slideshow. I was really disapointed when I couldn't pick a full songlist (though I guess you can now with an AppleScript). But syncing each picture to a song would have been more than I would have expected.



    I noticed that the 2sec did not equate to 2sec/slide, and thought it was likely do to rendering the pic and transition. This was made even more clear when it took much longer to display a rotated picture (which still confuses me a bit, since I thought the rotated picture was stored as rotated). So, clearly Apple should be more clear on what the 2secs means, or change it to a fast/slow slider.



    [ 08-28-2002: Message edited by: IQ78 ]</p>
  • Reply 18 of 28
    klinuxklinux Posts: 453member
    What I don't know is why are you punishing your family by showing them 508 photos? Brevity and conciseness are our friends.



    - from a guy who has sat through too many Powerpoint presentations
  • Reply 19 of 28
    kcmackcmac Posts: 1,051member
    Why would iMovie be insane? It is awesome for this kind of thing. Plus, you can do special effects with it and easily speed up and slow down the show. Of course, once it starts, you have to let it go so it is not a true slide show....more of a multimedia event. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
  • Reply 20 of 28
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Just want to apologize for sounding a bit harsh and then losing it when people criticized me and not iPhoto. I posted the original post after laboring through making this thing for a couple a days and then working a good couple hours that night thinking I got it right and then transfering it to the Powerbook and it not working. I also left out the part of me getting so fed up that I brought my PowerMac down to the TV and tried it that way but my radeon drivers in OS X got screwed up and wouldn't output to the TV. So I did all that, got extremely pissed, and posted. Probably should have calmed down a bit first.





    I eventually just redid everything on the Powerbook and it came out decent. Speed still changes from time to time. but oh well.



    Main point: Apple really didn't put much effort into the slideshow feature and it wouldn't be that difficult for them to fix it up a bit. Just pissed off that the time you set is not the real time at all.



    [quote]Look, it's a screen saver. when you have appz running, it loads into memory, and runs over them. There is a reason that even apple's ones only have about 10-12 pics in them. between the pics, the fade transitions, and the music, it occupies a lot of RAM. Peoples machines would choke and crash if they had a 250mb screen saver trying to load,<hr></blockquote>



    got 640MB in the PowerMac and 512 in the Powerbook. took a long time to load into memory but memory wasn't the problem



    [quote]I am not sure what you are all beating up on applenut for. This is clearly a bug in iPhoto. iPhoto has a setting for how many seconds each slide should take. If there is some reason that they can't make the speed of your slideshow correspond to the speed you put in, they should make the control a slider that just says faster&lt;---&gt;slower. <hr></blockquote>



    thank you. that's exactly it. I knew it was limited but the fact that the timing is off when there IS an option to set the timing pissed me off.



    [quote]What I don't know is why are you punishing your family by showing them 508 photos? Brevity and conciseness are our friends.



    - from a guy who has sat through too many Powerpoint presentations <hr></blockquote>



    sounds like a lot but because the photos range from so many different things, people, and places it actually wasn't that bad. I know... I've sat through horrible family photo/film things. Plus they asked for it. I could have showed them all 1000+ then again, maybe I couldn't



    [quote]Why would iMovie be insane? It is awesome for this kind of thing. Plus, you can do special effects with it and easily speed up and slow down the show. Of course, once it starts, you have to let it go so it is not a true slide show....more of a multimedia event. <hr></blockquote>



    1.) importing the photo converts it to DV and it ruins the pictures. makes them blocky/jaggy

    2.) takes a long time. very long time. I've done it with iMovie before. this was the first time I used iPhoto.
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