Transferring photos from a digital camera's memory card to a CD or DVD is a fairly simple task, at least for those people who have even a minimum level of experience operating a computer. However, since there are quite a lot of people out there for whom this “machine” is still nothing short of magic, Hammacher Schlemmer has come up with a Digital Photo To DVD Converter, practically a device that allows users to transfer photos from their digital cameras directly onto a CD for playback on a DVD player without using a dedicated computer.



The device works in a rather simple manner. Once the memory card has been inserted, all the photographs stored on it are converted into MPEG format and immediately burned onto a CD (CD-RW or CD-R required), which can be used later on in a standalone DVD player unit. During the course of this process, an album index enables easy photograph selection prior to full-screen viewing. The recorder can also burn photographs onto a CD in JPEG format, more suitable to use with a computer.



It's also rather interesting to note that the recorder features both RCA and S-video inputs, thus allowing users to connect it directly to their TV set and view photographs either from a burnt CD or from an inserted memory card.



Beside the aforementioned use, the device can also be plugged directly into the user's computer and employed as either an external CD burner or a memory card reader, especially since it's compatible with a rather wide range of memory card formats, including here Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Secure Digital, Multi-Media Card, and Microdrive memory cards.



The Digital Photo To DVD Converter is mostly designed as an office accessory, and for this reason it has been equipped with an AC adapter, while the manufacturers have made no attempts to keep its size at a low (26.67 cm x 25.4 cm x 7.62 cm, at an overall weight of around 680 grams).



The device can be yours for around 200 US dollars, but it's rather debatable whether someone should actually spend that much money on a device of this type, taking into account the fact that, after all, any regular PC can do the same tasks a lot cheaper.