IPhoto changes slideshow when exported

Question

I am having significant problems with iPhoto changing the slideshow when I export it to iDVD or even Quicktime. This is so frustrating! All I can attribute this to, is one of the updates. I have used this to do DVD's for weddings, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. with no problem, then somewhere along the line, it began changing the timing. All my hard work to synchronize the exact picture with the music - GONE!
Please help, as I have lots of these to do on a tight turnaround time. I adore my Mac & really need for this to work like it used to!
Power Mac G5   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  

Answer 1

The audio syncing has been a problem with iPhoto 6 for a while now. There is a couple of ways you can do what you want;
1 - create the slideshow in iPhoto without music and share to iDVD.
2 - when the import into iDVD is complete, close iDVD without saving and look for your movie in the Movies folder. This produces the larger size movie than just exporting to Quicktime does.
3 - open the movie in iMovie and add your tracks. You have considerably more control in fade ins and outs, cutting out the dead time at the end of a track, etc.
4 - save the iMovie project.
5 - open iDVD, select your theme.
6 - drag the iMovie project file into the iDVD menu window, avoiding any drop zones. This avoids additional encoding by iMovie so the only encoding done is by iDVD when you go to save as a disk image or burn directly to disk.
Are you using the KB effect in your slideshow? If not, you can get, IMO, better image quality slideshows by creating the show entirely in iDVD from the imported stills. By selecting the option to scale photos to the TV Safe Area you won't lose any of the picture to the TV overscan phenomenon that affects all QT files used in iDVD. This method also allows you to add titles/sub titles to selected slides or add a text slide as a title. The scale to audio in iDVD is very precise.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.