Creating and using ISO files ...

Please post your tutorials here for ProShow Producer only. Provide a lnk if you have a file that can be downloaded by others. This is not a discussion section, but rather a source for sharing tutorials.
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Creating and using ISO files ...

Postby gpsmikey » Wed Nov 07, 2007 2:53 pm

NOTE: - I edited this 7-April-2008 to include a copy of the menu for build version
2047 as well as making the screenshots smaller (500 pixels wide) so the full image
will fit on a page when you print it.) Also, if you are interested in keeping a copy of
any thread or tutorial on your machine for later reference, consider using a utility
like the free "pdfcreator" -- http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/ which allows
you to print the thread to a pdf file (including pictures etc.) for later reference.

I had several people suggest I put a copy of my ISO file information in the tutorial
section. I guess it fits since it does say how to create one from within Producer or
Gold. On the other hand, if our fearless leader feels it does not belong here, that
is OK too :D

After a number of questions about iso files, I thought I would put together a bit of
information here on what iso image files are and how to use them. Hopefully, this
will help people who are not familiar with them to understand how they work.

ISO image is a term commonly associated with CD and DVD burning.
An ISO image (or .ISO file) is a computer file that is an exact copy of an
existing file system (in this case, the file structure on the DVD). An ISO can
contain the entire contents of a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM disc or CD medium.
ISO files are typically created through a program such as Producer etc that
can create CD or DVD image files. They can also be created FROM existing
CD’s or DVD’s and are a handy way to backup those install CD’s and DVD’s
on your hard drive (so you can re-create them when you can’t find the original
that got lost somewhere … ) These ISO files can easily be used to allow users
to burn an exact copy of the original onto CD or DVD.

Note that ISO images are also often used to distribute images of CD’s or
DVD’s containing information such as operating systems etc. You download
one file (the iso), verify the error check number matches what was posted
(so you know the download was valid and error free) then use a utility such
as Imgburn to create an identical copy of the CD or DVD the iso was
created from.

As an example, say I have a show you really like and you would like a copy
(including menu structure etc.) – I post a copy of the iso for the DVD on
a web site, you download that iso then use imgburn to create a new DVD.
That DVD will match my DVD byte for byte – it is an exact clone of the original.

Understanding that in the intermediate form, an iso image file is simply a container
that is just another file on your computer is an important concept. Since, in
the intermediate form, it is just a container, you can put it (along with others,
in a larger container if you will). Say you have a number of short DVD’s you
have made – if the iso file for each one was say 500 megabytes, you could
save 8 different iso’s of that size to one DATA DVD (at this point, the iso’s are
just another file of type .iso – you can’t (easily) combine them to be able to
play the 8 shows from the one DVD). What you can do with those 8 shows
saved to the DVD is re-create any one of the show DVD's later by simply
using the saved iso to burn the show DVD again. Effectively, you are
saving "images" (in this case) of 8 different DVD shows on one backup DVD.
Remember the iso image is simply a “containerâ€
Last edited by gpsmikey on Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:32 pm, edited 7 times in total.
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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ISO Viewer

Postby nwenban » Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:05 pm

Hi Mikey,

Just been re-reading your tutorial on ISO's & also have previously had created a virtual drive to view them.

There is an alternative to the virtual drive for viewing ISO's, VLC Media player will play them (& just about any other media file that you have!!)

All the specs & info here:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Thanks for all your input & assistance to the forum.

Neville

Vernon D Rainwater

Postby Vernon D Rainwater » Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:40 pm

I gave the VLC Media player (a test drive) for playing an ISO file and it plays Ok.
However, the quality displayed on the Computer screen is not nearly as good as when the slide show is played using Pro Show Gold -- I assume because the ISO file was created as a DVD file with all the attributes for playing (displaying) on a TV.

I believe the image quality of a DVD (for the same slide show) played on the computer is better than when played from the image file using the VLC Media Player -- but I will do some more testing to determine if is this factual.

This may be important should someone expect the same (or comparable) image quality -- since it is being played using a Computer.

Vernon D Rainwater

Postby Vernon D Rainwater » Sat Jan 05, 2008 8:24 pm

I have completed some more (preliminary) testing and it appears that the quality seems to be the same for shows played from the ISO file as compared to being played using a DVD created in Pro Show Gold.

I need to do some more research regarding the image quality comparison when playing (on computer) using the above 2 sources as compared to playing within Pro Show Gold -- which appears to be somewhat better quality....

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Postby gpsmikey » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:31 pm

The thing to remember with ISO files is they are an EXACT image of what
is on the DVD (this includes the resolution etc - when you write a DVD using
the ISO file, each byte in the ISO file has the same byte on the DVD so there
will be no change in the data). The player you are viewing a DVD vs ISO
may handle something different on the computer, but as far as the DVD goes,
the ISO is an image of it and it is not modified in any way when you create
the DVD (no scaling, resampling etc).

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

Vernon D Rainwater

Postby Vernon D Rainwater » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:46 am

Mickey, thanks for your post. Yes, that is what I understood from the beginning, however; what caused the temporary confusion was that when experimenting with viewing the 3 sources, I somehow allowed the slide show to play from the original source information and when it started it did a short activity of displaying the loading of Photodex when I was arranging to play one of the other sources (from ISO or from the DVD).
This (pilot error problem) resulted in the displayed images being somewhat better and evidently the same as when using "Play" within Pro Show Gold.

Again, thanks for your comments and help.
I now need to find out why the images displayed on the computer (for playing the ISO file or when reading the DVD) is not as crisp and clear as when playing from Pro Show Gold.
I certainly would expect that when playing on a normal TV (not the HD type) since the TV resolution is much lower than a computer Monitor. It may have something to do with the overall quality of the slide show images, however; an image with lower resolution such as (800 x 600) displayed on the computer screen using various programs, such as some of the image viewers or Photoshop; appears crisp and clear.

Vernon D Rainwater

Postby Vernon D Rainwater » Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:03 am

I forgot to mention that I use the "Maximum Quality" settings when creating DVD or ISO slide shows. Also, I use 4 x 3 to be the same as our TV.
Evidently, there is no choice for a different (higher) resolution than what is selected for the type of output -- before creation.

MikeV99

Re: ISO Viewer

Postby MikeV99 » Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:49 pm

nwenban wrote:Hi Mikey,

Just been re-reading your tutorial on ISO's & also have previously had created a virtual drive to view them.

There is an alternative to the virtual drive for viewing ISO's, VLC Media player will play them (& just about any other media file that you have!!)

All the specs & info here:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Neville
I looked at the features for VLC and did not see ISO listed. Does it read it directly?

Thanks.

Mike

Vernon D Rainwater

Postby Vernon D Rainwater » Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:22 pm

Mikey, I just now noticed that I have not used the correct spelling of your name -- sorry about that.
Also, you will (I am sure) address the above inquiry. I used the program for the first time last evening and "yes" it read the ISO file directly.

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Postby gpsmikey » Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:05 pm

I have not played with the VLC utility, but others have indicated it works.
One of these days I will have to give it a try and see how it works :D

Don't worry about the spelling on my name (and there are a number of
us Mike's around here).

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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Postby cherub » Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:17 pm

VLC didn't work for me. Just thought of mentioning it. As a matter of fact, I remember that at the time I went to
their forum and saw several posts about the fact that reading DVDs is not one of VLC's strongest features.
I did all sorts of troubleshooting and eventually I did see something, but it was not accurate at all.
Other programs display DVD's perfectly.
If one should test an ISO, then VLC is not good enough.
The only full proof method I know of, is to mount it on a virtual drive and let a media player program play it.

MikeV99

Postby MikeV99 » Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:48 am

Thanks cherub, I will just stay with the virtual drive.

Mike

Vernon D Rainwater

Postby Vernon D Rainwater » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:44 am

Certainly, there are others that know more about using the VCD Media Player Program.
Here is how I use it:
1. Open VCD Media Player.
2. Click file then click Open.
3. Click Browse to Browse to the Drive and folder that contains the ISO file to be played.
4. Double click the ISO file, then click OK.
5. I use full screen display so -- I Right click and click to select Full Screen.
6. Click on the menu (or the first displayed slide) that is displayed on the screen.
7. The slide show starts to play.
8. As desired, we can use the right click to select other options, etc as needed.

Vernon D Rainwater

Postby Vernon D Rainwater » Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:38 pm

A few days ago I mentioned the displayed images not being as clear for selected functions:
Comments follows:

***I now need to find out why the images displayed on the computer (for playing the ISO file or when reading the DVD) is not as crisp and clear as when playing from Pro Show Gold.
I certainly would expect that when playing on a normal TV (not the HD type) since the TV resolution is much lower than a computer Monitor. It may have something to do with the overall quality of the slide show images, however; an image with lower resolution such as (800 x 600) displayed on the computer screen using various programs, such as some of the image viewers or Photoshop; appears crisp and clear.***

With Further review and testing I found the following:
When playing a DVD on computer that has the auto run information included for slide show display on Computer is somewhat clearer than when it is NOT included. These DVD's will auto run and at the beginning, will load the "Photodex info) which evidently is used for the slide show displaying. The displayed images are good for this type of created DVD.

Playing a DVD without the above information is NOT nearly as clear. These appear as if they were created and reflect the quality somewhat like viewing reduced JPG images that were created with a LOW quality setting.

Both of the above evidently have NO affect when playing on a DVD reader connected to a normal TV.

After my tests, I called Pro Show Gold Technical support to check my findings and He confirmed that the above is correct.

When creating slide shows on DVD, I always include the auto Run information (choice) so I am NO longer concerned with this subject.

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Postby laavista » Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:36 pm

Thanks, Mikey, for taking the time to post the info on ISO. This was a lifesaver. I created a fairly large show, and when I created a "DVD", it rendered, but would not write to the DVD disk. I tried creating the "ISO image file" and used imgburn. Everything worked great!

Appreciate your help!

:D
Laavista

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