Igor

Thanks! p.s. Jean-Pierre, please say me, did you receive my reply on your questions about lines/PNG/GIF in objects?

PicturesToExe v5.00 beta #5 http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr_beta.zip (1.5 MB) Also available at http://www.guru.to.it/en/downl_e.htm (server in France). Page en français: http://www.guru.to.it/fr/downl_f.htm Pagina in italiano: http://www.guru.to.it/it/downl_i.htm Notes: You can point center of "Circle" effect. It gives interesting variations! See http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/show/CircleVariations.zip (700 KB) Vastly improved view of "Hour hand" transition effect. What's new in beta #5: + All transition effects are re-activated now: - "Hour hand". - "Advanced Hour hand". - "Mosaic". - "Rhombus". - "Rectangle". - "Page" (diagonal). - "Gates" (diagonal). - "Push". - "Slide". + You can change center of appearance for "Circle" effect. + Re-activated again time limited usage functions (password query, date trial) + Re-activated again Help window by F1 key. + Re-activated again startup window (Project options | Main tab). + Some minor improvements. * Fixed bug with adding PNG/BMP/GIF images with some symbols in filename.

John, I still can't reproduce this problem. As I've understood you have 1400 x 1050 display resolution. Before future tests, please save copy of this project to be able reproduce this problem. 1) What aspect ratio you choosed 4:3 or by default (no changes)? 2) Do you set "Background color" and black or "Tiled background picture"? 3) Please send me .pte project file of your slide show. int_support@ [nospam] wnsoft.com (remove [nospam] and empty spaces) Thanks in advance!

When you encode DVD or HD-DVD/Blue-Ray with Progressive mode (30 FPS) motion effects look not enough smooth. You need to set Interlaced mode, in this case it will give 60 half-frames in 30 FPS which will be decoded to 60 FPS on TV.

Al, I forgot to say, I'll add option (to Project options | Screen) to force use of software graphical engine for created slideshow. In this case new hardware accelerated engine will not be used at all. It may be useful if you will create slide show with Dissolving effect only. Brian, I would suggest a little another idea - PTE will ask author before *first creating* of EXE file what graphical engine he prefers.

1) Please try with another smaller images, for example, 1024x768 2) Create special slide without image - add Rectangle object. Will you see same problem? (All other settings/parameters without changes.)

Please don't worry about versions of DirectX, video memory and etc. Now we're almost finished re-working of old CPU based graphical engine from v4.48 to v5.00 If slide show doesn't detect enough video card with at least 32 MB of video memory and DirectX 8.1 or higher, slide show will automatically use that second CPU based graphical engine. No error messages, of course. You even don't notice delay - slide show will start within 1 second as usually. - If you have simple Fade, Circle and other effects and no Pan/Zoom effects. Your slide show created in v5.00 will work on any PCs as you earlier created slide show in v4.48 - If you created slide show with Pan/Zoom effects and various animation, and slideshow started on PC with old video card, or old version of DirectX slide show also will work without any errors. But obviously animation effects will work not enough smooth without hardware acceleration. All this will appears in late betas of v5.00 before final release. p.s. by the way, we require DirectX 8.1 and higher. This DirectX version already exists on ALL Windows XP based PCs during paste 5 years.

John, I didn't hear about this problem, please tell me in more details. 1) Where exactly it appears, if possible make screenshot (by PrintScr key and then paste in graphical editor) 2) Slides with Pan/Zoom effects or not? 3) What particular transition effects used or it happens with any effect (Fade, Circle, Curling of page) Do you see this problem in my PteShow demo: http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/show/PteShow.zip

Thank you for send me project files! But I still can't reproduce this problem. 1) Do you see these artefacts (line on picture) on AVI file if open it in Media Player? 2) If problem still exists please try to set another AVI resolution, e.g. 1024x768, will the problem visible here? 3) Try with previous PicturesToExe v4.48 will same problem occur? 4) Please also let me know: - What video card you have? - Screen resolution. - Version of Windows.

Ideal variant for laptop: NVIDIA (5700, 5900, 6600, 6800, 7600, 7800) or ATI (9600, 9700, 9800, X600, X700, X800, X1600, X1800) video card with own 128 MB of video memory (not shared memory). Usually weight of such laptop is 2-3 kg. Or almost good solution: NVIDIA 6400, 7400/ ATI X300, X1300 with shared video memory. Weight: 1-1.9 kg. It better to take some example of slide show, for example this, and try on several laptops: http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/show/PteShow.zip

OGG/WMA temporarily are not supported by current beta version. Please wait for the nearest beta releases.

bfreas, Interesting problem! 1) What exact size in pixels of these images? 2) As I've understood it is static image and no transition effects at that moment? 3) Did you render AVI for DVD-Video and choosed PAL/NTSC? 4) If it possible please send this project and photos to me - Save As your project with another name, leave only these one-two slides, remove music and call "Create backup in ZIP" (Main menu | File). My email address is int_support@ [nospam] wnsoft.com (remove [nospam] and empty space, please)

Ray, 1) Yes 2) I'll rework this moment. 3) I just checked up. For HD-1080 or custom 1920x1080 if you choose Progressive, it's absolutely Progressive video. You can easily check this moment, add fast moving of image to black screen and set Interlaced - you see interlaced lines on image. Andrew, It's very difficult to calculate right sizes, because of hierarchical system of objects and animation. But as I wrote we found another solution which will give almost same result.

Al, Sorry that I still didn't reply, but I'm thinking about this problem since winter and I hope to discuss with you this problem tomorrow. I'll prepare couple possible solutions with illustrations.

OK, I'll think about copying/pasting objects! About borders of images. Please show me screenshot to illustrate your question. If I understood rightly, you means placement of many small objects as entire image without holes. It's difficult task in Direct 3D we use, and as "Curling of page" shows, PicturesToExe should know that they are one big object and then tell Direct 3D to draw them together at one pass. v5.00 is only beginning and we plan a lot of improvements and many features for creative work like yours. Thank you for very interesting demonstration of possible effects!

Jean-Pierre, What an amazed slideshow you created! I've found that you used effects that are not existed in PicturesToExe! And no Curling of page especially for particular object in beta 3 I can't imagine how you manually calculated and created all these effects. Yes, we plan to make possible effects for objects in next v5.10 as you shown. With real effects natively supported PTE they will work more smooth on old PCs. 3. Try to uncheck "Edge antialiasing" option in properties of objects. Maybe it is that thing? 4. I added your idea to my TODO list. Probably in next version! 5. You can copy one or several objects, of course. Just select them visually or in tree of objects and then Copy button. Sorry, if I didn't understand rightly. Please explain me in more details. p.s. I also found on your slideshow our bug which will be fixed in the next beta. Blackness on first slide in Visual editor on background which dissappears after selecting some object.

Andrew, You're right about this problem. Unfortunately Bilinear resizing gives such artefacts when image reducing in several times. Bicubic gives much better results, but Bicubic works in 10-20 times slower and can't be used at all here. I see another good solution for this problem. And I hope we'll realize it in the next betas (already in v5.00). p.s. yes, Media Player Classic is a wonderful player I use it, too!

Andrew, Please send me original of this photo to int_support@ [removethistext] wnsoft.com Also let me know please: 1) Do you opened and played AVI file or converted to MPEG2? 2) What media player you used? 3) And how you did these screenshots?

About possible difference in synchronization with Preview. Sorry, we still didn't finished this moment, and we'll make exact synchronization in the nearest beta(s).

Andreas, I noticed that with built-in ATI drivers in Windows XP SP2 PicturesToExe 5 slowely encodes video. When I installed drivers from ATI web site, it becomes work in 2 times faster. About quality of image/resizing for DVD video output. Try to disable "Smart anti-flicker filter" and set "Progressive video" mode. It will give original picture of video without postfilters. We use bilinear downsampling for images, but Bicubic is not possible - it works extremaly slowely (in 10-20 times). The only alternate way you described - using of Photoshop. But it's suitable for static slides with Fade effects only and when you choose "Progressive video" mode. As I tested, sharp images on dynamic slides with Pan/Zoom effects look bad on old TV (50 or 60 Hz) displays. Some kind of flickering occurs.

Tom With our video codec we create temporal AVI file which is in fact contains only audio track. It's bridge/link between PicturesToExe and e.g. TMpegEnc/Ulead DVD MF for lossless sending of frames with video for MPEG2 encoding. This reason why such AVI file requires PicturesToExe for work and removes after closing of PicturesToExe. But we plan some significant improvements in this direction.Al, This effect in global settings causes the logical problem in v5.00, because when this effect choosed duration of transition effects becomes 0 ms. And if keypoints of some objects linked with end of transition effects, they will be shifted in time.

Paul, I've tested your slide show and I have to say that you're right. I also see stutter of Pan effects. And in this slide show it is not caused by video card, because image comparatively small. As I've explorered, it happens because of MP3 music file which is 48 KHz instead of usual 44 KHz. We do resampling back to 44 KHz and this calculations affect to smoothness of Pan/Zoom. So we'll fix this problem in the next beta 5. As temporal solution, please use 44 KHz MP3 music files. Thank you that you found this problem!

I think it's not a bug. Most likely it happens because you adjusted long duration for transition effects (say 8 seconds), but durations of slides are only 4 second. In this case it may work as you described. Open global timeline to see this situation. Then open Project options | Main tab and set e.g. 9 seconds and press "Set for existed slides" button. In the next beta I'll show warning before creating slide show in case of this situation.

Howard, Thank you for send me test project! I see that problem with background, too. But I as checked up it happens because you choosed background image for that slide. Current beta temporarily doesn't support textured background. Only color or gradient background.

potwnc, I didn't understood problem with bitrate. Probably you choosed some another AVI video codec? If I use our preset "HD-1080" and press Create button I receive virtual AVI file, which can be imported for example to Ulead DMF 5 and then burned as HD-DVD or Blue-Ray disc. About 16:9 DVD. Currently we create letterbox 16:9 (with black strips). Because I'm not sure that 3d party programs will recognize correctly compressed size 720x480 16:9 format of frame. p.s. last builds of Media Player Classic incorrectly shows proportions of our AVI file. But file is OK. Please try to open it in Microsoft Media Player. Andreas, 1) What video card you have? 2) What depth of color on desktop (True color 32-bit or Hi-Color 16-bit)? 3) Do you used "Create DVD-video" preset? 4) Try to open Video window and press Preview button there, will it play correctly in media player?