tom95521

Hi Judy, Today we have so many image enhancement programs available to choose from compared to 5 years ago. I usually just use jpg capture in my camera but now I have more time to experiment with raw capture. I have used dcraw many years ago and was amazed how well it worked from the command line without preview. Maybe if I reach the limits of Affinity Photo raw conversion I will upgrade to LR. I also want to try HDR image stacking too. Now I need to find a good tripod. Thanks, Tom

If anybody is interested I decided to purchase both Affinity Photo and Designer programs while they were still on sale in January. It's definitely a different workflow than my old Photoshop 5. Besides performance and features I looked at software development cycle, forum, and great video tutorials on Vimeo. I have not loaded the free Google Nik Collection or my Topaz plugins but others have posted that they both work. Now that Spring is around the corner I hope to use my Panasonic FZ1000 that has been sitting idle for over a year. Thanks, Tom

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm still reading and watching tutorial videos of the the various photo editors. Some of them like Paintshop Pro/PhotoFiltre are very reasonable in price and even free like Gimp. Photoshop Elements is a little more expensive. I have no doubt Photoshop and LR are great programs but I'm recently retired and have other hobbies like woodworking/gardening. One interesting feature of Affinity Photo is that it can store edit history in the image file so you can undo any edits in the future. I wish PTE had a feature like this inside the .pte file. And something not related to PTE but since it's very close to where I live I thought it was funny (and stupid wasting Coast Guard time and money).

I am looking for a Photoshop CC alternative that is not too expensive but does more than PixBuilder Studio. I know Photoshop is great but it's just a hobby for me and I don't like subscription based software. I see Graham Houghton recently mentioned Affinity Photo and is only U.S. $40. Before I purchase I was wondering if anybody has tried Affinity Photo or has a recommendation for their favorite image editing software (non-Photoshop). Thanks, Tom Affinity Photo mentioned on one of Graham's blog pages. http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9925264577c370e71ea96e132&id=e6bbc0f82a His blog https://www.grahamhoughton.com/

I decided to purchase the Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 1050 ti with 4 GB DDR5. Should be fast enough. Currently on backorder. Tom

Instead of buying another computer I thought I should try to upgrade one of my older i7 computers with a SSD and graphics card. I can't decide on ATI or Nvidia. My gamer friend (plays GTA V) says Nvidia is better. I just turned 60 so first person shooter games do not interest me. HDTV 4K HDR monitors are more affordable so a graphics card that supports 4K is important. I also like the idea of multiple monitors for graphics programs, and truck simulator/flight simulator type games. Would you buy a Nvidia GTX 1050 ti or a AMD RX 460? Is 4 GB DDR 5 enough ram for any PTE slideshow? http://www.itechpost.com/articles/41410/20161015/budget-gpu-battle-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-vs-amd.htm Thanks, Tom

Software upgrades are as natural as evolution. There is a limit to the number of new customers and would rather wait until the next version to purchase. The Adobe cloud subscription model appears to be the new normal. I agree that new versions of PTE should support the capabilities of newer operating systems and graphics cards. DirectX 11+ and OpenGL/Vulkan. Why do hidden line removal/textures/... in software when you can do it easier and faster using API? Tom

That's cool Lin. I never thought about using the magnifying glass on a video. Tom

I could not find one so I made one. Easy to add blur or change 3D angle of borders. Attached style is for 16:9. Tom Beveled Edge.zip

I was looking out the glass window in my front door a few days ago and I thought it would be interesting to try and design a beveled glass style for PTE. It's a mask inside a mask. I think beveled edges would require 2 masks. One for horizontal edges and one for vertical edges. Before I spend any time trying to created beveled edges I was wondering if this has already been done? I don't want to invent the wheel again and I would rather just use an existing style Proof of concept (not accurate). Circular because I didn't have trapezoid masks for beveled edges. Thanks, Tom

Very cool. I really like time lapse photography. Thanks for sharing, Tom

If it works when the slideshow is smaller but it doesn't work when the slideshow is larger (assuming that it's smaller than 4.7 GB when converted to mpeg 2) that seems to indicate lack of disk space either in the temp path or the final output path. Tom

Operating systems sure have changed over the years. I'm sure there will be Cortana blocking software available soon after the update is released. Tom

Using color cycling for animation and only 8 bit 256 colors. Tom http://www.effectgames.com/demos/canvascycle/

Windows 10 free upgrade until July 29. If you are still "sitting on the fence" about upgrading article this might help. I understand there are logical reasons not to upgrade. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2016/jul/21/should-i-take-my-last-chance-of-a-free-upgrade-to-windows-10 Tom

If you want random then I *think* transitions is the way to go. Not sure if styles can do random (but I'm just starting to get back into using PTE again).

I am not suggesting this as a workaround but as a question. Why not use a custom style? Is it because lack of adjustment after being applied? +1 Tom

I do not think PTE takes advantage of some of the more powerful features of new graphics cards in order to support older cards that do not have the capability (lowest common denominator). I sure hope the GTX10nn and RX4nn series cards can do smooth pan/fade transitions. It could be Ernest is using high megapixel images straight out of camera and if he lowers the image size it would pan/fade without hesitation (for whatever graphics card he is using). Tom

Crossfades/dissolves during pan is one of the most difficult to create without visible hesitation. Every pixel changes on the screen simultaneously. What are your computer specs include GPU and graphics memory (GB)? Tom

LOL. I think Igor has forgotten the Scotty Principle. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Scotty Principle

I remember working with Lin on the gramophone (has it been 8 years??). This forum has been around a long time. I thought it would be a good learning experience since it used many features of PTE. The original inspiration was based on a PTE jukebox if I remember correctly. I don't have the PTE source to the gramophone but it shouldn't be too hard to create. I like the new and improved version you guys are working on. Much nicer graphics. Tom

We have until July 29, 2016 to upgrade for free (from Windows 7 or higher). Then you will need to buy an OEM version (about $100) or a new PC with Windows 10 installed. https://www.amazon.com/s?field-keywords=windows+10+oem

My day job requires me to patch linux servers. Skipping software updates due to end of life product is not an option for me. At the same time I try to wait a few months after a new version is released before upgrading so the early adopters can find the bugs. Tom

Why bother upgrading an operating system? Why use Photoshop CC when you could be using Photoshop 1.0? Security updates are important if your computer is connected to the internet or you share files between computers. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet

As far as upgrade costs go I think wnsoft has to pay a license fee for x264 and dvd burner dll. To give away free upgrades forever would be a negative profit. I think it might be worth looking again at dropping dvd burning. Most users watch streaming hd video instead of low quality mpeg-2 dvd. Tom