photoCD

Is there any chance of adding an option that tells you how long a show will last (based on display timings and transitions) in a similar way to the button that tells you how long the music is.

I only started on PTE a few weeks ago, and have just downloaded the latest Beta. I definitely like being able to customise a set of slides. However, can someone please tell me how to read the timeline properly, and possibly explain timings. eg I have 10 slides each displayed for 5 seconds with a 4 second Fade between slides. When I run this, I get a time of 94 seconds duration. That would equate to 10 slides x (5 seconds + 4 seconds) + 4 additional seconds. Can I assume that these 4 seconds are made up of a 2 second fade at the start and 2 second fade out at the end? Regarding the timeline display, I just don't get it. If I click on the Timeline button, all the slides are spaced out at 4 second intervals, with the timeline ending at 40 seconds. If I then create the EXE and then run it, it displays the slides with roughly 1 second intervals. Any ideas?

Bob The cables you have will do fine, both the data and audio ones. XP will detect the drive no problem. Software is your only issue, as you will need something specifically to write to DVD. At this point the list gets endless, as it will depend on what you use it for. Check you present software to see if it supports DVDs before buying something new.

Go for the NEC 3520A. It's a 16x unit and supports dual layer. If you are in the UK, you can get it from SVP at http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/Ha..._Section__.html for under 50 quid. The simplest way to replace it is to match the jumpers on the DVD burner to those currently on the CD burner and then wire it up. Job done.

As well as noting the position of pin 1 on the drive and the IDE cable (usually red stripe), you also need to note the jumper setting of the original drive. If you only have one hard drive and the CD drive, chances are they are both connected to the same IDE cable with the hard drive set as master and CD drive set as slave. If the CD drive is on a separate IDE cable it should be set as master. You can obtain a bit of a performance gain if you keep the optical drive on a separate IDE cable. If you decide to keep the CD drive, then you should have the DVD burner set as master on the secondary IDE channel and the CD drive as slave on the same channel, with the hard disk by itself as master on the primary IDE channel. If you need any more info, feel free to ask.

keffs Only just started using PTE a few days ago, and just came across this forum and SY(P) yesterday. When I saw the post by goddi, I immediately thought of the same scenario in PSP. Having just tried the selection in the Picture Pool, I now see what goddi is referring to. On a side note, I found the size coordinates somewhat confusing, as they are given as yx coordinates and not the standard xy coordinates. It's not really an issue, as I would be resizing my images to a specific size prior to using them in PTE/SY(P). -->Ignore this bit-->Having only messed around with SY(P) for a few hours, I am not familiar enough with it, but I seem to be running into some problems. I have a sequence of title and end slides (7 of each) and have them displayed for a second with a one second fade. That I achieved easily enough in PTE. I then tried to use SY(P) to create the ideal timings for the other slides so that they matched the length of the piece of music. Everything shows as having changed and I save it OK. However, when I open it in PTE to create an EXE from it, the timings are still at their old settings.<-- In addition, it also states that it cannot find the background image, even though I use the exact same image elsewhere in the show. I have tried this on two different shows several times with the same result. SY(P) is better than I thought. My comments about it not changing the settings is rubbish. I was only looking at the project options and not the individual slides. Regarding the background image, it appears to lose it on those slides I edit. I just opened the PTE file in Wordpad and added them back. I have just one more requirement from this program but will do some more investigation before asking for help . Any pointers would be appreciated. I know I could probably use the 'Customize Synchronization' in PTE, but it is a lot more time consuming.

The problem with a selection of slides like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 appearing as 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is NOT due to SY(P). This is a windows issue. Try it in something like PaintShop Pro. Select 8 images and open them. They will open in the order of 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.