davegee

Ken, If I understand KEN correctly seperating the queries for a PUBLISHED version and BETA versions might not be a bad idea. Differentiating between new and pre-existing problems might not be easy though. DG

I have no problem with it! Like all new things it will become clearer as we go on. DG

Agreed - I have managed to eliminate Photoshop from my Workflow for PP'ing NEF files but for preparing the necessary PNG files for this project it is essential. For making the JPEGs for PTE it is not required. So although I could easily do without CSX for my photographic work I still use it for creative purposes and therefore (sometimes) have to "plumb the depths" as you say. DG

Methinks that you need to use a MASK to do what you want. A mask will hold back the portion outside of your frame. Are we, perhaps, looking at a portrait format image that has been rotated to "correct" verticals? DG

Lin, Maybe we can go back a little? I am trying to learn all that there is to know about 3D animation in PTE. By using a third party programme to do the work for me what am I gaining or adding to my knowledge base? When 3D animation was introduced we had cubes up to our ears for weeks and then it died down. I see very little 3D animation in PTE shows these days but what is there is subtle and makes me wonder if the use to which it is being put was worth all of the effort that Igor put into it? The letters thing is perhaps not a good example of the way it could or should be applied in PTE but the knowledge gained in actually doing it is priceless. It is also a perfect way to show how things are built, how they fit together and how each element is related to other elements. I'm putting together a project about Innsbrucke and the 3D animation is part of the intro. Will Sara allow you to put together a title something like this (short clip)? EEEEEE.zip DG

I think that Sheila is on the right track. You don't have to rely on transitions to fade out an image. It can be done using keyframes so that the incoming video could be in a slide with no transition or offset in a slide with a transition. The tools are there to do just about anything that we want. DG

Thanks Colin. DG

Thanks Lin, An hour to spare and foul weather outside so...................... Xara 3D - never heard of it. Animated GIFs - what happens if you want to tweak something? Besides, these take up hardly any disc or memory space. All good fun!! DG

.......to see what can be done. Best viewed at 1920x1080. DG PIXELS2.zip

Is this specific to the crop tool or are other processes slower? What is the status of your C drive - how much free space do you have? The usual answer under these circumstances is to use your System Tools / Disc Clean Up utility to get rid of any Temp Files. Then use a Registry Cleaner such as ASHAMPOO (other software exists). Then using a proper Defragging programme such as Perfect Disc (other software exists) with Smart Placement. It goes without saying that your C drive should contain ONLY programme files - no data whatsoever, but I'll say it anyway. This might not be the answer to your problem but it will not do any harm and some users (myself included) would recommend doing this once a month - minimum. DG

It sounds to me as though IGOR is saying that Minus 100 is Neutral. Agreed Xaver? Agreed Igor? DG

Like Roger, in a past life I prepared Powerpoint presentations for lecturing and saw that PTE had some distinct advantages in this field. "We also use it to present competition images at our camera club". Confirmation of what I refered to in a different thread. http://www.picturest...dpost__p__88196 DG

Thanks Barry, That could be it. However Xaver also got it right. If an existing template has loaded clicking on the Sharper/Smoother Text resets to Igor's new default setting. Time to save a new Template, perhaps - or leave it as it is?. We still need to know from Igor - which setting gives a NEUTRAL effect. It looks like it is ZERO but it would be nice to have it confirmed by him. DG

Xaver, Thanks for that. I agree that we need to know from Igor which setting produces ZERO EFFECT. A large number of photographic clubs and societies now use PTE as their sole means of presenting single images in competition. Any changes to an image wrt sharpening/smoothing would not go down very well with competitors so the person putting the project together needs to know which setting to use to produce a completely NEUTRAL result. DG

Xaver, anyone, When you add an image to the Slide Line (Beta 19) what does the Sharper/Smoother box read? When I add an image it reads ZERO. Igor's statement could be interpreted to read that it will show minus 100. DG

"You can slightly affect to image quality changing "Sharper/Smoother" parameter in the Objects and animation editor. I recommend to set -100 (minus 100). This is default value since Beta 19. You need not care about this parameter in common cases. I hope that it's best solution for image quality. Sometimes if you discover a rare case of moire (especially if you add oversharpened image) you can change this parameter to "0" or even (plus) "128"." Igor, I'm confused by this statement - I expected to see the slider set at -100 for new objects? It is still set at zero. Or are you saying that minus 100 in Beta 18 = Zero in Beta 19? If I want an image to look exactly the same as when I saved it as a JPEG in my software of choice what setting should I use? DG

Igor, Thanks for Beta 19. It is difficult to judge without seeing 18 and 19 side by side but the latest version certainly gives the impression of being sharper with better contrast and definition when viewing the same project. Well done!! DG

Steady on Ken!! My IIYAMA 24" is using the same settings now as when it was taken out of the box. Never needed any further setting - I don't print. As I said I've never connected my laptop to my TV for anything other than showing PTE EXE files or MP4 files. I have, however, shown my PTE EXE files and MP4 files on OTHER PEOPLES TVs and found that they looked absolutely terrible until I shifted the colour back from in-your-face ULTRA VIVID theatre to natural. "different strokes for different folks" - dead right!! You might well be right about larger screens (and larger resolutions) being more susceptible to shimmering - something to investigate? DG

Barry, Please don't take offence at this but I feel that you continue to miss a VERY important point here. Not everyone wants or needs a pro camera and its 20+ Mp resolution. You cannot test a feature or a theory with a camera which has 6000x4000 resolution and say that it applies to all cameras on the market. So, if Igor introduces a feature which helps a user with a camera with less resolution then those of you who write tutorials need to take this into account? It seems that you don't need to use this feature but your opening comments refered to the fact that you sat down to write a tutorial on this feature. If your camera with its 25% more resolution than mine doesn't need this feature then that's great but it seems obvious to me that if you used a archived image out of one of your much older cameras in a PTE show this feature could be of great help to you. Keep up the good work. DG

Don't know Ken - never tried that. I wouldn't advocate using the TV to test anything like this. It is OK for showing PTE EXE files (when the colour settings are NEUTRAL) but when editing I use a Computer Monitor - not a TV or a projector. DG

I took a full frame JPEG from my camera and zoomed into 100%. By moving the slider from -128 to 128 I can see obvious smoothing of the image and its details. The way I have used it is to use two slides, the first for the animation (fit to slide through to 100% zoom for instance) and the second for the static image (100% zoom). Set 128 during the animation and -128 during the static phase and at the end of the PZR the image snaps into sharp focus. You don't have to use those figures - if the image is sharp enough for your taste then set 128 during animation and 0 when static. Whether it reduces Moire is something else but it will (on most images) reduce shimmering - these are two different subjects (I think?). DG

Suggestion: Try an image which obviously "shimmers" during animation. Then add smoothing and see if the shimmering is improved (lessened). DG

barry have u tried as i suggested above right click on desktop a look for properties/sound settings and anything to do with digital or hdmi sound with cable connected. dg

Exactly, but you can't connect a laptop to a TV in the same way. Don't you ever go to bed? With the new TVs having Media Players the WD units are redundant. DG

Ken, I'm wondering what he intends to do with USB cables? USB on computer - input device. USB on TV - input device. You can't connect an input device to an input device - won't work! I was talking about a USB KEY (I use a 16Gb Key) a storage device or maybe a USB External drive can be connected to the TV and an MP4 played from it (NOT an EXE BTW). If using USB External Drive I can only connect up to 500Gb on my Sony TV - anything bigger is not recognised. DG