davegee

Tony and Mick, You did not make it clear if you were refering to my post but if you were, please read my reply to Bob. DG

BOB, Why not - for the reasons stated above. BUT, which part of my post made you think that I was giving advice? I merely presented some figures which would, I hoped, give the reader the necessary information to make an informed decision. I tried very hard to not make it look like advice and present a case for both sides. I even went to the trouble of stating that it was an OPINION. You mentioned DVDs. Again this is just my OPINION and not advice. I see no merit in presenting a TV etc with a 720x405 pixel image (PAL) from a DVD when I could be giving it the same AR at 1920x1080 pixels from an MPEG4 file via a USB key. A TV without USB is not a problem these days because there are other ways of getting from USB to TV via HDMI. We have moved on. DG

Can you not use PNG files as masks? DG

Some background information: With regard to projectors - two examples - (I'll ignore the 1400x1050 option). 4:3 (1024x768) - if outputting a 4:3 show you are using 786432 pixels to show your images with zero pixels "wasted". 4:3 (1024x768) - if outputting a 16:9 show you are using 589824 pixels to show your images with 196608 pixels "wasted". 16:9 (1920x1080) - if outputting a 16:9 show you are using 2073600 pixels to show your images with zero pixels "wasted". 16:9 (1920x1080) - if outputting a 4:3 show you are using 1555200 pixels to show your images with 518400 pixels "wasted". In the case of the 4:3 projector I can see little merit in projecting a "bigger / wider" image using just 75% of the available resolution. In the case of the 16:9 projector I can see little merit in projecting a "squarerr" image using (again) just 75% of the available resolution. Making the images fit the screen in either case does not alter the fact that, in the examples I have given, NOT filling the available resolution because of AR mismatches results in less than optimum useage of the resources. Just IMHO etc etc etc. DG

negative masks are easy to produce in any software with an invert selection function. dg

Nice one Peter. Now, if all the "regulars" can remember to point any queries to known Tutorials and Articles we will have gained ground. DG

Peter, That's an FAQ or a tutorial? "How to make a DVD Auto Play and repeat" DG

Like peter said, If you make it 16:9 and 1920x1080 with "Fixed size of slide" ticked it will fit to the width of any monitor up to and including 1920 wide. For monitor sizes above 1920 wide it will remain at 1920x1080. DG

Peter, Surely what you showed with regard to using the converter as an editor effectively "splits" a larger (longer) video into shorter more useable portions? Let's say that your original movie is 60 seconds long and that you want to cut in in half and that you are using 3 second transitions. I would experiment with using the converter to convert the first 33 seconds into one file and the last 33 seconds into another file. You could then put anything in between these two in the final production (using KFSD of course ). DG

Peter, Your waterfalls 2 show is proportionally correct on my 1920x1200 Monitor. It shows around 0.675 of the monitor width. DG

Are they JPEGs? Attach one to a reply and let us try it? Use full editor. DG

You can create a PNG arrow and move it with Key frames. Are you familiar with Key Frames and how they work? DG

OK Peter, If that is the case then we have a situation where videos are pixilating on some systems and not on others? I have my Laptop and my Desktop machines both showing pixellation on the same videos. Unless I have a version that I can do a screen print I can't show you what I am seeing. I have been out this afternoon shooting a little video with my wife's compact so that I can experiment to see if I can deliberately cause pixellation in any way during a conversion or trimming. DG

Are they B+W? PTE does not recognise greyscale. Save B+W images in sRGB. Just a possibility. DG

Peter, Post #19? DG

Peter, It would seem that using the converter to purely trim a clip has its advantages. In the Options > Properties method of clipping it was mentioned a long time ago that the trimmed Duration Time has to be manually transferred to the Slide Duration Time. I have stated elsewhere several times that I have asked Igor if the trimmed time (Duration) could be automatically reflected in the Slide Duration Time. I have also stated elsewhere several times that up to now I don't think that Igor has replied to that suggestion(?). However, given the limitations, I can still see an advantage for the Options > Properties method in that it acts like a "SMART" Edit. In other words, if the trim is not suitable first time, you can go back and adjust either the start or end slider to a different value without having to adjust both. Once again the Slide Duration would need to be adjusted to the new value. Igor - if you are listening - the Trimmed Time for a video clip in Options > Properties needs to be reflected in the Slide Time (when KFSD is Ticked). DG PDF Tutorial from way, way back:

What you would do Peter, is set the start time (click on the Start Time arrow) and then the end time by dragging the arrows in from both sides and that would determine the duration. DG

The Pixilation is in the areas just above the waterline in Videos 2 and 4. Where there once was detail there is just blocks of "colour" - and that happens on two different systems and two different monitors. You were right that they were not being upsized - it plays 1280x720 in the centre of my 1920x1200 monitor. DG

Wait a mo'. Trying it on my large monitor just in case!! DG

Magnificent!! That Ridley guy had better watch out!! Is that just one audio file or 3-4? If more than one, is it necessary - don't they all sound alike? DG P.S. on a more technical slant a couple of them are badly pixilated (and I don't mean drunk). Is that because the file is being upscaled to fit the width of my monitor? (1280x800). DG

P.S. I think I understand your comment about 7.917 seconds etc. That's because of the frames that you cut between. There's nothing that you can do about that. A video duration has to be to the nearest frame not the nearest second. 0.083 seconds is not going to bother you if you want to round up to 8 seconds (KFSD Unticked). DG

So where can we view the amended version? DG

Peter, Peter, Peter, There are ways and means. I am not suggesting that you use KFSD permanently - I am suggesting that what you see can be simulated in KFSD (unticked). However, there is another scenario to consider - with KFSD Ticked you can move your slides and videos around without having to make endless adjustments to transition times (unless you stick RIGIDLY to a standard undeviating transition time). "Some of the fades between the video clips work well; but some of them do not." Probably the photographer's fault? Using the video trim in Options>Properties allows you to set EXACTLY 9 seconds or 10 seconds so that's not a problem. But be careful - if you do it this way it will affect the slide duration which will need to be adjusted afterwards - I have mentioned this to Igor but I don't know if a fix is going to come. I understand your concerns about making the music/narration track before the slides and video are added. I've never worked that way - except once - maybe it is necessary to consider a new approach? Adding video is new to us all - maybe we all need to regroup? Could you upload the amended version so that maybe a concensus could be given by others? A "side by side" comparison so to speak? DG P.S. There are no complications in KFSD Ticked - only lack of understanding. IMHO and all that!!

Peter, Just try inserting the 3 videos into the slide view with KFSD ticked. Use 3 seconds or so for the transition. Please tell me what you don't like about the result? DG

Peter, The quality is good viewed on my 1920x1200 monitor. Why did you not transition the video clips - the quick transition does them no justice at all? If the sound files are not embedded in the Video files why not use the Audio Mixer in PTE to produce the fades between clips? DG