yes of course checking the dvd player manual for the formats would be a good idea.
(although I really want to show them on my parents' dvd player - and
go over the pictures with them - I dont have the specs for either of their players - )

currently I have them all as tiffs, so I 'll probably should convert them to jpegs. (since that seems to be what all the photo places do)

thanks for all your suggestions.