Why Won't PreE Burn my Slide Show Project to a DVD?

Question

I created a slide show using PE 6 and sent it to PreE 4. However, when I try to burn it to a DVD using PreE 4 it just quits on me? Then I can't even open PreE?? I really don't know what's happening?? My complete slide show is saved in PreE 4 and I can find it at  adobe\Premiere Elements\4.0\ project name. However, when I try to open it nothing happens. I thought perhaps my slide show was too big for PreE but that doesn't appear to be the problem. My saved PreE 4 slideshow is 8.29 MB and PE 6 slideshow gives a play time of 56:43 Min after creation.
A standard  DVD is at 120 minutes and 4.7 GB
Can anyone tell me what the devils happening here or at least give me some direction to solve this dilemna.
Thanks for any help provided.
Sanray19

Answer 1

The slideshow created in Photoshop Elements Slideshow Editor exists there as a creation and goes no where until you output it to something else. If your goal is a DVD-VIDEO version of your slideshow and you want to use Premiere Elements to generate the DVD-VIDEO, before Photoshop Elements 5/Premiere Elements 3, you had to output your slideshow as a file sized .wmv video and import that into Premiere Elements. The use of the .wmv limited the possibilities for further edits of the slideshow that arrived on the Premiere Elements Timeline as one whole video rather than individual photos. Further, there were those that questioned the use of the .wmv version for quality reasons. I never found that to be the case.
But, if you have the specific combinations of Photoshop Elements 5/Premiere Elements 3 OR Photoshop Elements 6/Premiere Elements 4 OR Photoshop Elements 7/Premiere Elements 7, you obtain the perk of being able to send your Photoshop Elements slideshow to Premiere Elements in a non wmv form which can be broken apart allowing for further significant edits. The keys to doing this are:
a. Specific sets 5/3 or 6/4 or 7/7
b. Use of the Photoshop Elements Slideshow Editor Output option of “Send to Premiere Elements” which then makes available the “Break Apart Photoshop Elements Slideshow” command in Premiere Elements (right click video on Timeline, select “Break Apart Photoshop Elements Slideshow”). If you had some mismatch of Photoshop Elements Premiere Elements versions, like 6/7, the Photoshop Elements Output option of “ Send to Premiere Elements” would be available, but once the slideshow got to Premiere Elements, the “Break Apart Photoshop Elements Slideshow” would not.
Immediately after the output is completed in the Media panel you will see:
a. Folder containing the individual photo and video assets
b. A file representing the intact slideshow in video form
On the Timeline you will see your intact slideshow video form.
The Time Stretch Tool is used to change duration. You can use:
a. (less precise) The Time Stretch Tool Icon above the Timeline. Click that, watch your mouse cursor turn into a vertical bar with a cross (diagonal arrow and red bar) superimposed, then click on drag end of image.
b. (more precise). The Time Stretch feature via right clicking the image on the Timeline, selecting Time Stretch, and typing in the duration.
c. in either case, any gaps created on the Timeline are gotten rid of by right clicking the gap and clicking on the “Delete and Close Gap” pop up.
When you go to decrease the duration or when you are changing the duration of an image at the end of the Timeline, everything will be going as you expected. HOWEVER, when it comes to increasing the duration or changing the duration of an image in the middle of the Timeline, you will need to move the images to make room for the expansion and then close the gaps.
Before I go on to some other things, I should go back to the Media panel and its contents immediately after receiving the Photoshop Elements Slideshow. You can open the folder with assets (photos & videos) in the Project Media View. If you right click one of the files, select Time Stretch, change the duration of the image, the duration of that file will be changed and be reflected if you drag that file from Project View Media area to the Timeline. BUT, this will not change the duration of that image which is already on the Timeline.
There are so many other aspects of this that I will save for another time. One of the things that we could talk about is creating slideshow and the DVD-VIDEO slideshow all within Premiere Elements and bring into play:
Premiere      Elements’ Create Slideshow feature to set image duration OR transition      duration all at one time
Changing      the Premiere Elements default duration (5 sec) via Edit      Menu/Preferences/General
Pans & Zooms with Edit Menu/Effects/Presets/Horizontal and Vertical Pans or Zooms as well as creating Pans & Zooms with keyframing.
I am probably running into the Flash Player and Premiere Pro Forum space by now. Please focus me in on your specific issues and I will continue with my what works for me comments.
ATR