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Windows Vista DVD Maker does something no earlier version of Windows could do: Create DVDs that play back on a DVD player. Before Vista, people had to buy a DVD-burning program from another company or hope that their new computer came with one pre-installed.
 | If you want to copy or back up files to a blank DVD, don't use DVD Maker. Instead, copy the files to the DVD the same way you copy files to a CD or any folder. |
Follow these steps to create a DVD movie or slide show for playing back on a DVD player and watching on TV:
1. Load Windows DVD Maker, if necessary.
Windows Movie Maker loads Windows DVD Maker automatically, leaving you at Step 3. But if you're creating a slide show or burning an already completed video, load Windows DVD Maker yourself by choosing DVD Maker from the Start menu's All Programs area.
2. Click Add Items, add your photos or videos, and click Next.
Click the Add Items button and choose the movie file or photos you'd like to add to your DVD. If you're creating a slide show, here's your chance to arrange the photos' display order by dragging and dropping them in place.
3. Customize the opening menu, if desired.
Spend some time here to craft your DVD's opening menu — the screen you watch until the last person's settled around the TV set and you can push Play. DVD Maker offers these menu options:
• Menu Text: Click this button to choose the title of your movie or slide show, as well as what options should appear on the menu. Or, stick with the default options found on every DVD: Play and Scenes.
• Customize Menu: Here, you can change the opening menu's font, choose a video to repeat in the background, choose music to play, and even change the shape of the scenes menu — that screen where you can jump quickly to different parts of your movie. Click the Preview button to make sure that it's just what you want.
• Slide Show: Meant specifically for slide shows, this option lets you choose the background music, the amount of time the photos should display, and their transitions.
• Menu Styles: The drop-down menu here lets you dump Movie Maker's stock background for these spruced up graphics. (Try Video Wall for movies and Photographs for slide shows.)
4. Click Burn.
Then walk away from your computer for a few hours. DVD Maker is a certified slowpoke.
When DVD Maker finishes, it spits out a DVD, ready for you to label with a magic marker and pop into your DVD player to watch on TV.
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