tom95521

Hi Lin, I agree it would be nice if PTE provided a text object editor using whatever is the best format, maybe HTML, ODF, or RTF. The Atlantis word processor does honor line breaks when I use the enter key for new line. If you just type without using the enter key it will word wrap and is just one line of text. I just don't use text very often in slideshows. I am probably in the minority. Thanks, Tom

Hi Barry, Until Igor has time to respond here are my thoughts on player distribution. The way I thought it might work is to have the PTE player downloaded separate from the slideshow. The player could be downloaded only from wnsoft.com or maybe slideshowclub.com to verify player integrity. The player might be a portable app or maybe an installed app just like any other Windows applications. I can imagine in the future how it might have other advantages to separate the data from the player*. Imagine the PTE player ported to the Android operating system. You could download .ptshows created on a Windows PC and view them on mobile devices with smaller file sizes, interactivity, and higher quality images compared to video slideshows. Maybe even a browser extension that plays slideshows full screen without exiting the browser. Just a couple of examples of what might be possible. *Added 9/13/2014 - it also may allow > 2 GB slideshows using 32 bit player. Tom

Hi Eric, I think he was suggesting adding a spell checker to the PTE editor. The forum software is not something Igor is responsible for programming. Tom

I don't know if I would use a spell checker often. I don't add much text (mostly numbers) to my slides and when I do they are usually personal names that most spell checkers would not have in their dictionaries (unless customized). Probably if I did enter a large amount of text I would copy and paste from a word processor. I like Atlantis. It supports many languages with spell checking. Thanks, Tom

Hi Alan, That's amazing there is no performance loss. Wine must have a method of converting directx to OpenGL API. Thanks, Tom

Hi Igor, Thank you very much for considering this new publish option (and standalone player). Tom

Hi Gary, The retrieval process looks more dangerous than the jumping to me. It would be cool if the jumper had a gopro hero pointed straight down during the jump. Thanks, Tom

More info about executable files and how hackers are testing their malware to make sure it is not flagged as a virus before launch. http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/02/google-virustotal-used-to-test-hacks/ Tom

Nice video. That young lady was worried but did great. How do they recover people after the jump? Do they lower them down the ground/river or pull them back up? Thanks, Tom

Hi Alan, How is the performance of the converted Windows slideshow compared to a native Mac slideshow? If you convert a .exe into Mac format does the file size grow by a large amount? Wine must support DirectX version 9 which is good news. Thanks, Tom

Hi Eric, Android has a couple of lightbox apps. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whimsicalotter.lightbox.free&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sfxbros.lightbox&hl=en Tom

Hi MUR, Very nice. The only problem I see (that might be easy to fix) is at time 22 seconds with blue (azul) and purple (morado) color mix. I think it would more purple and less blue. Having 3 or more objects/layers mixing together is complicated to follow even when using video toolbar. I like you method and will try it in the future. Thanks, Tom

Hi MUR, Interesting. Could you post the project file? Maybe Z order keyframes are not required to do layered transparent objects. I thought they were because of the way colors mix together. Thanks, Tom

Hi MUR, It may not fix your 99% directory problem but I would upgrade to the latest version of PTE (8.0.6). It has an update for DVD playback. Mpeg-2 resolution for DVD is lower than HD video (720 or 1080). Make sure your DVD project bitrate is set to 9800 kbps for highest quality video. http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?/topic/17226-picturestoexe-8/?p=119327 Tom

Hi MUR, What version of PTE. How large is your DVD project? Do you have enough free space on your hard drive? Does it work if you create ISO instead of DVD (open ISO with Media Play Classic Home Cinema)? This might help. http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6880-got-burned-at-99/ MPCHC http://mpc-hc.org/ Tom

Hi MUR, From my limited understanding there are various methods to simulate correct Z order such as show front side only (rotating cube), switch transparency on/off, and multiple slides. It is hard to correctly display semi-transparent objects on one slide without drawing the objects in the correct order. Thanks for your demo slideshow. It is much more sophisticated than my versions. Tom

I use a MacBook Pro with parallels/win7 and it works. Do you have hardware acceleration enabled? http://download.parallels.com/desktop/v5/docs/en/Parallels_Desktop_Users_Guide/22986.htm What happens when you run dxdiag? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/run-directx-diagnostic-tool Tom

Hi Ray, Are you connecting your video camera to your PC using firewire (ieee1394)? I don't use firewire now but when I did I found that scenalyzer (now free) did a great job for importing video to the hard drive. I payed for it when it was a commercial program and it was very reliable and easy to use. Limited to SD video (not HD). http://www.scenalyzer.com/ http://niftyvid.blogspot.com/2007/08/software-review.html Thanks, Tom

Hi Gary, Very nice. The video tutorial for Respeeder also appears to show video stabilization capability. I will put it on my wish list. Thanks, Tom

It would be nice if we had a new keyframe property to move layers up or down. This would be a manual method of adjusting for hidden surface removal without requiring Direct3D or hardware graphics function. It would be compatible with all operating systems that PTE supports. It may not fix all Z order problems but it would fix the simple ones like the one in the video below. The demo slideshow utilizes 4 slides to simulate layer moving at keyframes. I have not tested to see if it accurately models transparency but in theory it should since the layers are in the correct order. Thanks, Tom z-order.zip Update: Z-order transparency test. It appears to be accurate. z-order_transparency.zip

Since PTE slideshow objects follow a fixed path (not random) maybe it's possible to replace 3D graphics API and graphics card firmware with PTE code for hidden surface removal with transparency. Maybe by creating a custom lookup table for each slideshow generated with depth and transparency data including timecode which is then compressed embedded into slideshow. During playback it would be decompressed into memory and provide the data required for hidden surface removal with transparency. Lookup tables are not cpu intensive because the data has already been calculated. Then it would work on everything from XP to Windows 8. Tom

My guess is that 4K UHDTV are currently for files already encoded in video format instead of display mirroring due to the GPU requirements. I am sure that will change as new GPUs that are smaller and faster with lower power requirements. The 8 MP screen resolution should make video slideshows look great. Of course professionals can buy hardware (current gen Mac Pro) that can easily drive a 4K monitor. I often watch PTE exe slideshows on my HDTV using my desktop PC over wireless (chromecast desktop). It's not bad but not 4K! Also tablets are really getting powerful. 64 bits, quad+ cores. 10K photos a year? Amazing. Thanks, Tom

Hi Gary, I will have to experiment with hyperlapse. It reminds me of stop motion claymation but with people. Maybe I should get a good monopod first instead of a ball head video tripod. Thanks, Tom

Hi Judy, Cool. I am hoping the Panasconic FZ1000 with 5 axis stabilization will help reduce vibration. Thanks, Tom

Hi Barry, Yes. I learned a lesson. It is important not to crop the subject too tight when you are not using a tripod in case you want to use video stabilization software. I wasted about an hour of time trying to do video stabilization in PTE by adding keyframes and selecting a fixed object on the screen near the border of the image (rotation near center is very hard to detect). The lower frequencies were easy to remove but the higher frequency vibration is very hard to remove by manual keyframe pan/rotate adjustments. It takes math and a computer to stabilize video. Tom