Igor

Test for modern video cards, where PTE v5.00 slide-show work smoothly: http://www.wnsoft.com/test/PteShow_H.zip Please run this test one time for 1 minute and then press Esc to close. Let me know, if you'll find any problem with music, or with jerks or another problems. We're working on optimal parameters of slide-show and it will help us to find better solution. (This test doesn't have memory leaks. Please don't test this moment.)

Jean-Pierre, Sorry! Please send me your name in Word file.

I forgot to say about grouping of objects. Just add "Frame" object and insert new image to this frame object. Now if you move this frame, inserted objects will be moved too. If you rotate or resize frame, inserted objects will be moved, too. p.s. by the way, did you see new About window in version 5.00?

Mike, It' s a bug in new drivers from Matrox. They just disabled very important function in their new drivers. Please install previous more old drivers. Unfortunately Matrox has very bad drivers for Direct 3D. Lin, It's a very good idea! Thank you. We need time to think and discuss this idea - I thought that we could create manager of templates for quick adding of your Pan/Zoom effects. Now we need to concentrate on current important problems and re-activate "old" PTE functions. After this, we'll work with your idea.

After we changed time of a slide (e.g. from 4 seconds to 7 seconds), we can't proportionally changes positions of keypoints. Because we don't know old time for moving keypoints. It's necessary to do it at same time at one call: change time of slide + change times of keypoints. Because of this: - Or automatical changing of keypoints when we change time of slides. - Or special window in Visual editor via button (to change time of current slide and proportionally move keypoints of objects on this slide). I can't resolve this dilemma already several months.

Robert, So button in Visual editor with appearing of new window where we can enter new time of a slide and checkbox "Proportionally move keypoints"?

Aha, the good question! I've waited when somebody will ask about this moment. We have two kinds of keypoints: - Exactly located at moments of beginning, ending of a slide and ending of a transition effects. These keypoints shown with "+" symbol on the timelines. And they will be automatically moved if you change time of a slide or duration of a transition effect. - And freely located keypoints, you wrote about. We still can't decide how to better do. Proportionally move these keypoints as you described above, or add special option for it, some button in Visual editor?

Ken, No difference between grayscale and color images. Video card always stores images in color (RGB). Performance/Quality option in NVIDIA drivers doesn't affect on quality of PTE 5.00 slide-shows.

OK, I'll check up tomorrow!

Barry, Thanks, I agree. I'll try to add this option already in the next beta. John, - Do you hear music in my PteShow demo? http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/show/PteShow.zip - Apparently you added not MP3 music, maybe OGG/WMA? OGG/WMA temporarily not realized in current beta. We're specially didn't add many usual functions to v5.00 to check up step by step how new graphical engine work without affect of other factors.

Earlier I thought that auto adding of Pan/Zoom are necessary thing. But after looking at result of such machine's work in described product I prefer not to have this function. Excuse me, maybe you will not agree with me, it's my personal opinion only, of course! But I don't like applying of Pan/Zoom anywhere without creative idea when it really necessary and when exact moment requires this. Manual work looks much better with light of true art, more live and viewers will appreciate your creative work.

By the way, did you notice two vertical blue lines on the beginning and ending of the timeline? It's range of visibility of a selected object. Drag this vertical lines with mouse cursor. Object will not be visible when it keypoint located outside this range.

Robert, I downloaded 22 MB version and it works flawless on my PC! Several moments: - If it possible, please re-build your slide-shows on newest beta #2 - I've noticed that 3rd, 4th and 5th slides are overlapped. And transition effects of 3-4 slides are longer on several seconds that own slides. It may causes described jerks. In beta #2 we automatically crop transition effect longer than time of slide. Ken, ATI Radeon 9250, X300 work with 100% load of video card and for Pan effect on large images we may see that problem. Robert used large images about 2600x2000 pixels. Sometimes even 2 such larges images on one slide. The load of video card when we show moment between two slides are high and only more powerful video card like Radeon 9500 or Geforce 5600 and higher can show it flawless. Of course, we're still working on optimization and I know that there are some moments to improve to increase smoothness. You're right. JPEG will be unpacked to bitmap in the memory and loaded to video card. So no difference between various values of JPEG compressions. Size in pixels is only significant factor.

Ron, I believe we'll solve this problem! We're still working on improvements. How my "PteShow" demo example works on your new video card? http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/show/PteShow.zip I just wrote you email with request. Please reply me.

Jean-Pierre, The second future CPU based graphical "engine" will work with same speed as v4.48 and same fast loading of images. I'll explain why images load more long in v5.00 with hardware accelerated graphical engine: - If load images with maximal load of CPU and priority - we'll see noticeable jerks on Pan/Zoom effects. - The second reason - we need to additionally copy images from main memory to memory in video card. This copying is slow process, unfortunately. I still don't understand how we got it to work. Many times we thought it's impossible to solve next technical limitation.

Yes, v5.00 will be dual-engine. You choose for every project necessary engine. Because of this I'm sure that v5.00 will replace v4.48 in all purposes. As I wrote earlier, new Windows Vista requires powerful video card. So Intel, SiS, VIA are already working with Microsoft on increasing in several times speed of their future integrated video solutions. If PC, laptop or media center with integrated video card designed for Windows Vista, they will play fine slide-shows created in PicturesToExe v5.00 Please look here. It's official Microsoft web site with screenshots of Windows Vista: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/pdc/gallery.mspx This new graphical interface of Windows rendered in video card with hardware acceleration. It's another question - real need of such step which did Microsoft. Personally I don't like many changes I've seen in first public beta (maybe sometimes you think same about new beta of PTE ) of Windows Vista. But it seems to be reality of next day.

I really apologize that not all video cards can handle slide-shows created in PicturesToExe v5.00, but I very hope that time will improve this moment. Of course, AVI video produced in PTE will play ideally smooth for any large images (next betas). In final version 5.00 will be two ways: - New graphical engine with hardware acceleration - if you create slide-show with Pan/Zoom (for modern video cards). By the way, modern video card very well intended for 2D graphics. For this task, it works in hundreds times more fast than even modern CPUs. - CPU based graphical engine - for Fade, Circle and other effects (for ALL PCs) (Which works so fast as v4.48, but also suggests scalable objects, and other improvements of v5.00)

Ken, Of course, Pan/Zoom with small images work faster on old video cards. (On modern video no difference) Try my "Flowers" slide-show which works even on NVIDIA TNT2, or Matrox G550. Three years ago even Fade effect worked not enough smooth in 1280x1024 displays on modern PCs. Now all PCs shows this effect fine and we additionally optimized Fade effect. Same thing with Pan/Zoom now.

Version 5.00 created together with Aleksey Elin. He fully created system of objects for new Visual editor and he wrote main part of the new graphical editor. Also Pavel Koshkin wrote many system libraries which are very compact and reliable - EXE file of slide-show is only 165 KB.

Of course! Your current Geforce MX 440 is not enough powerful for v5.00 unfortunately. So jerks occur with large Pan images. But Geforce 6800 in 20 times more powerful than your current video card.

Steve, OK! We solved this problem with gamma in newest beta #2 Al, Thank you! You're right, it's my mistake - I'll fix it in beta #3 As temporal solution please choose "Custom" aspect ratio and type "1.6666" (Because coefficient for 15 : 9 = 1.666666666666668) p.s. I just uploaded new beta #2. Please reply in that new topic.

PicturesToExe v5.00 beta #2 http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr_beta.zip (1.5 MB) This beta contains fixes of known bugs. What new in beta #2 * PicturesToExe v5.00 installs to another folder and program group, and can be simultaneously used with previous version 4.48 * Fixed problem with firewall on opening of Visual editor. * Fixed problem with gamma of picture on some configurations. * Fixed error message with some PNG images created in IrfanView. * Fixed problem with starting Preview of slide-show. * Fixed several bugs in Visual editor. * Fixed jerks on Pan/Zoom effects in case of low-bitrate MP3 music files (lesser than 128 Kbit). * Improved reliability. + Added global option "Compress BMP images" (enabled by default). See Main menu | View | Advanced options Also I've updated our official examples - "PteShow", "Flowers", "NoResizing" Thank you very much for responses and your help! p.s. we have official holidays on May 7-9 in country. So probably I will not reply or with delay.

Yes, video card shows Fade in/out and Circle effects. But for Circle effect we also use CPU for some calculations (with low loading of CPU resources).

Andrew, What is your current video card?

Textured background will be in next betas, very soon. Tomorrow we'll publish beta #2 with fixing of known problems. p.s. please don't use too large images in slide-shows. I even heard today about one slide-show with slide 10500 x 8500 image (90 MB of JPEG file) It takes about 375 MB in memory of video card. Although we created absolutely not-limited size of images system, it may require video card with 256 MB of memory and long loading. I consider that usually enough 2400x1500 for Zoom effect and 9000 x 1024 for 360" panoramas. It will work fine on most of video cards.