I've been making digital slideshows, and shooting and editing digital video for many years, and often get questions about what software/hardware is necessary.  Of course, there is a wide range of equipment and software, and the key is suitability to task.  I am a Windows user, not Mac, so my comments will be limited to the PC/Windows platform.  In many ways, the Mac is more naturally suited to this task, but Windows has come a long way, and I think it is relatively close to the Mac at this point, with the right software. 

I generally think of three levels of projects, each of which has a different level of equipment/software.

Level One: Photo Slideshow:   Put together a simple DVD  slideshow of still photographs with music

Level Two: Photo/Video DVD:  Still Photos and Existing Video Clips mixed with music on a DVD

Level Three: Multi-use video with newly created mixed content:  Still Photos, Existing Clips, and shoot high quality video to produce a DVD and/or streaming video for the web