How to mimic a two-projector slide-show presentation?

Question

This may not be the best place to post this question. Please let me know if there is an alternative forum.
I want to present a few hundred 1920 x 1080 visual "segments" (S1, S2 ...) that cross-fade into each other at the press of a button. No audio is involved except the presenter's voice. A presentation might run like this:
S1 - Still. (Press button to dissolve to next segment)
S2 - Still with preset zoom-in. (Press button to dissolve to next segment, even if zoom not finished)
S3 - Still with pan. (Press button to dissolve to next segment, even if pan not finished)
S4 - Short video. (Press button…)
S5 - Still. (Press button…)
The collection of segments would be generated by Premiere (or other program). However, I would prefer NOT to use a computer for the presentation, but rather, a BluRay player connected to a digital projector via a HDMI cable. The data does not have to be in BluRay format. It may, for example, be any type of file readable by the player, and stored on a CD, DVD, USB stick, or SDHX card. The idea is to insert the media with the relevant file on it (or files), press PLAY, and use one of the remote control buttons to move forward to the next segment.
In case you haven't got my drift: it's similar to an old fashioned two-projector slide-show presentation, but fully digital and some of the images move.
Very simple concept, but how can I achieve the desired result? Almost all image-editing programs could assemble the segments (even iPhoto, for example), but how do I achieve the smooth cross-fading and the move-to-next-segment functions? If I was writing a flowchart for what I want, it would be:
1. Complete the segment currently showing, then freeze image and wait for press of NEXT SEGMENT button.
2. If NEXT SEGMENT button is pressed before the end of segment, cross-fade to next segment.
3. Loop to 1.
Any suggestions most appreciated.

Answer 1

I would look into ProShow Producer. It is designed to do much of what you want.
Encore has a limited SlideShow feature, that does allow for manual advance, but the other aspects, like the Zoom will probably not be what you want. You might give it a try, just to test. One limitation is that one can only have 99 slides per SlideShow, but then can have 99 SlideShows, IIRC.
Good luck,
Hunt