davegee

or you could build the single (long) slide to suit the text and fade the various images in and out via keyframes. probably the easiest option of all! dg

Tom, You have just given me one H**L of a good reason to update my HDD RECORDER! Since getting SKY HD+ I haven't had a lot of call to use my HDD recorder but I'm still transferring VHS to DVD (long term project) and will get a lot of use from it. A Freeview equipped model would be another string to my kettle. DG

There is a POSSIBLE lo-tech approach that might work. My laptop has an s-video output. My HDD DVD Recorder has an s-video input. Theoretically I could connect the two and record the output from my laptop and convert it to DVD. I haven't tried it - I don't know what the resulting quality would be. For all of my other inputs to the HDD Recorder there is no loss when recording at maximum quality so I would expect that a good result is possible. DG

Using memory sticks would improve the quality but perhaps there is more to it than you realise. You could add both the PTE EXE file and an MPEG4 file to a stick for maximum versatility. The PTE EXE (at 1920x1080) is playable on a Computer and would have to be played either on the computer's monitor or be connected to the TV (VIA HDMI) to acheive max quality. Playing into the TV via VGA connection would bring you back down in quality (analogue vs digital albeit at a higher resolution). To play the MPEG4 into the TV via a memory stick the TV must be equipped with a Media Player. That is almost indistinguishable from the EXE via HDMI (at the same resolution). On the TEXT question - if you want to explore using Microsoft products (and POSSIBLY Open Office) your best option is to use POWERPOINT (or equivalent) which will export as either JPEG or PNG. I would suggest that you need the PNG version for use in PTE. The transparency will allow you to lay the text over your images. Having created the PNGs in POWERPOINT you could refine them in Photoshop using the layer BLENDING OPTIONS. I haven't tried this in a LONG time but it has worked for me in the past. DG

Igor, I think that the new slide duration conception introduced in v7.0 needs to be ONLY possible where video is inserted. If there is NO video it needs to DEFAULT to the old time mode of slide duration (as in version 6.5). This would avoid the anomalies seen when mutiple slide timings are changed in Customise Slide (with the current V7 slide duration concept). DG P.S. Your changes and/or bug fixes in V7.0.1 have not cured the problem. Initial settings 1.5 seconds Transition / 8 seconds duration. Time line shows correctly. I ask for the first three slides to be changed to 8 seconds with NO Transition (in Customise Slide) and I get 6.5 seconds duration. This is the same as before.

Alternative. Add text to slide one / picture one. Make sure that the font / size etc is correct. Copy and paste slide nine times. Go to slide two - in O&A Properties, change picture one to picture two. Go two slide 3 and repeat etc. DG

Dave, What are the Details/ Memory of the laptop's graphics card? Integrated or shared? DG

I have given it a little more thought and posted a Template for doing it completely within PTE here: DG

In response to a recent request here's a method for putting a border on a mask within PTE. Unzip and open in PTE V7. Click on preview to run - Esc to stop. The width of both the Primary and Secondary Frames can be adjusted to suit in O&A > Size / Position in Pixels of Parent. DG Mask with Border.zip

Latest announcement: DG

Correct Lin, But what you are suggesting would also alter the thickness of any "stroke" line or border on the Window giving a different thickness at the sides compared to the bottom/top? DG

Jerome, Your images are 3:2 and YOUR monitor is 5:4. Forget the 250 figure - it is irrelevant. My suggestion: Batch resize you images to 1800x1200 at an appropriate quality level. This will provide best quality on monitors up to 1920x1200 and reduce the file size of your show to a manageable level. You CAN use the originals but be prepared for a large file size and the POSSIBILITY of some hesitancy in transitions if your computer (or the viewer's computer) is "not up to it". In PROJECT OPTIONS set ASPECT RATIO 15:10 (3:2) and Size of slide to 1620x1200. Fixed Size...and Hardware Acceleration are best left ticked. Navigate to the folder containing your resized images and drag all of them into the Slide Panel and you have the basis of a show. Click on Preview (bottom left) to see the show from slide one. Click on the icon to the right of Preview to start from a selected slide. On your 5:4 monitor you will have black bars top and bottom. On a 16:9 or 16:10 monitor the lines will be to the sides. You can't avoid that. You create the EXE by going to PUBLISH and choose the EXE option. Come back if you want to refine the show? DG Edited: I'm not sure about your 4752X3168 images being 1.5Mb - that seems a low file size for that pixel dimension and might already have been compressed a bit (quality 8-9).

Jerome, Lin has given some great advice but what you are asking about is a big subject with no single answer. Lin mentioned NTSC so I guess that he might have some inside info about where you are? If you are in the UK substitute PAL for NTSC. If you are going down the DVD route you are almost certainly going to lose quality COMPARED TO THE EQUIVALENT PTE EXE SHOW. However you might not think that it is that big a deal. You have mentioned File size and Aspect Ratio but the other very important parameter is the resolution of your images and your screen resolution of YOUR monitor. To quote an example: Let's say that your images are 1024x768 or 1440x1080 (4:3). These will be reduced to 720x576 (PAL) to make the DVD and then interpolated back up to 1080 high to fit to your TV screen. Unless you have an intelligent Player /TV you might find that the 4:3 format will be STRETCHED to fit the TV width maintaing the TV height. Setting 4:3 aspect ratio on the TV will then be necessary. The two BEST options are the MP4 option on a memory key or card (1440x1080 in a 1920x1080 show for WS TV) providing that the TV is suitably equipped with a Media Player, or the PTE EXE file (1600x1200 4:3 to cater for most computer monitors). Give Lin some figures so that he can address your specific requirements. DG

Igor, Do you have an answer on this? DG

Ian, There has been a recent long discussion on this subject. If you want the same timing "structure" as V6.5 go to VIEW>Advanced Options and UNTICK Show and Keep Full Slide Duration. What you are seeing is correct but it includes both incoming and outgoing transition times in the Slide Panel Time. DG

Create a PNG "matte" in Photoshop and put a "stroke" line around the cutout. You could use this matte on ALL slides regardless of whether you apply any PZR. Make first slide with matte on top and copy as many times as necessay then just add your image as an object under the matte. OR, Drag all of your slides into the slide panel and then add the matte to the first and copy and paste (the matte) to all slides (or as required) by stepping through the slides in O&A. DG

if you are using the "avi video file" option the avi is only temporary. you need to use one of the other features. dg

It looks like the only answer is that Adobe product - what's it called?.................................. DG

Tom, Does iPod 2 support Executable File for Mac? If it does I could see a use for it (being 100% PC/Windows) but otherwise crossing platforms is a debatable issue. DG

I would definitely support both #1 and #2. DG

I THINK that I'm following this but if not I apologise. Rather than "delete 3 slides and introduce three new slides" would it not be easier to go to O&A / Properties and change the picture. I'm assuming that the slides involved are not complicated multi-object productions. DG

putting a blank slide between your "image skides" is a good way to fade to black between images. i have used it extensively over the last couple of years and always when hyperlinking between index page and images for single image competition use. dg

maybe i'm missing something. isn't that what VB does? add as many projects as required. dg

Put a short blank black slide in front of the one you are pointing at and it will fade in from black. DG

Add Button - fourth Icon from left in O&A. With button highlighted go to COMMON Tab in O&A and set the Action on Mouuse Click. In Customize Slide set Wait for Key Press (Right Arrow) - or configure mouse buttons. DG