davegee

Hi Peter, Please check that you have opened the right one? Unfortunately the attachments in posts 28 and 33 have the same name but the one in #33 IS a TEMPLATE wheras the one in #28 is an EXE. The file size and end result also differ. DG

I'll try. I was using "folded box" construction to make the frame. It's my prefered method and I posted it a few years ago as the "Rose Cross" (inspired by Dan Brown). It works well for regular cubes!! When I wanted to create the offset required to make the frame rotate around its central axis I was having to use Pan Z to acheive it but when the sides and front/back of an object are of different sizes the calculation of how much Pan Z to use becomes a little un-straightforward. I later realised that using what I call "nested frames" was much easier for this application (photo frame). I have used four frames in total to create the 1200x900 Photo Frame. A "Rotation Frame" or Master Frame to do the animation (this can be the same res as the project). I've added a child frame (60x900) to this at 90 degrees which controls the Front and Back. The top and bottom are attached to the front. I then added a child frame (1200x900) to the 60x900 frame at -90 degrees to control the sides. A further 900x600 frame is added to the 60x900 frame to hold the inside faces of the cutout. 900x600 (3:2) images can be added directly to this. All faces are Show FRONT Side only. The image in the frame could be changed by ending a slide with the frame at 90 degrees to the viewer and beginning a new slide the same way. I will probably use it in a Start or Title sequence. Modified Template attached. DG New thin frame.zip

Ask a question Roger. DG

Why did no one mention "nested frames"? Pan Z is then not required. DG

Hi Lin, It looks as though it's just you and I? Here's my penultimate post on the subject - I've added a texture to the sides and fiddled about a bit with it. Single slide repeated until esc is pressed. Best viewed on 1920x1080/1200 monitor. DG New Thin Frame.zip

Thanks Lin, I have been trying to get a grip on the mathematical relationship between the Pan Z control and the elements it is being applied to. I now see that the Pan Z parameter is a function of the PARENT in a Parent Child group. It's 100% value refers to the Width or Height of the Parent be it a Frame or another Object and that's an important thing to know when the object that you are building is not a perfect cube and has transparency as in the case of a photo frame. It is also important to SIZE a frame when starting something like this rather than accept a frame which is the same resolution as the project. Thanks for the renderings which you sent in the PM - I will look into that! It wasn't what I was really setting out to achieve but it is the next logical step if I continue with the project. DG

.......... and here's the TEMPLATE. DG Thin Frame Pt.zip

Apologies for delay. Here's the "thinner" Photo Frame. I've used exploded views to show construction. Thin Frame.zip

I doesn't matter if you are making an EXE or an MPEG4 (H.264) video - if your project is 1920x1080 you don't NEED images bigger than 1920x1080! I've heard it said often here that "my system will handle images SOOC" - they might, but you are using resources needlessly. The only time that images larger than project resolution size are needed is for zooming and then ONLY on images which ARE ACTUALLY zoomed. DG

Hi Lin, I know about that technique but didn't have to use it here. There are two slides only and the quick transition is between the X axis 360 degree turn and the Y axis 360 degree turn. In other words: NO TRICKERY! Each 360 degree turn is carried out in its own slide without the need for re-ordering the objects. DG P.S. Everything you see in the demo can be done IN ONE SLIDE with keypoints needed only to change direction of spin etc. However, when doing it all in one slide the "second" image would appear upside down.

Ken, Tried Lin's and did not get AVG warning. I'm up to date. Lin, We have all seen demo's of 3D objects where all sides are equal (cubes etc). My difficulty was grasping the relationship between objects where the sides are not equal (Corn Flakes Packets etc). I think I have it now. Having the cutout introduced new problems with "ordering" front to back. You learn more from doing these things than examining other's efforts! DG

Sorry Ken, Made in V7 Beta 9 - nothing taxing about it - no big images - no video. Any error message? I have downloaded it and run it on my aging Sony Laptop from the forum - no probs. DG

The attached Photo Frame EXE is just an excercise in understanding better how the Pan Z function in 3D Parameters works. Please forgive the "gaudy" colours - they are only there to prove that everything works as it should. Now that I understand more about Pan Z the next version will be thinner and possibly have more bells and whistles. I see it as a possible short Title Sequence and not as a means of displaying images for 30 minutes at a time! DG 16:9 - 1920x1080 - 1MB - just two slides repeating until esc is pressed. Photo Frame Mk2.zip

Customize Window will not be available until you have added an image to the Slide Panel? At that point you can edit the Start Up Window. DG

Paul, It's a place I'm going to investigate one of these days! Titles: Try using a different transition like Curling of Page to avoid the text overlaps? Also allow a little more time for the viewer to read. Aspect Ratio of images: Try placing the portrait format images (with border and shadow) over an appropriate Landscape Format image which has been Faded Back / Blurred etc. I'd like to see a thin white line framing the whole show. It fits my 16:10 monitor perfectly but on a 16:9 (for instance) there would be black lines/bars either side and nothing to stop dark tones bleeding into these black lines. DG

Hmmmmmmmm........... DG

Check to see if it also has a USB input - if it does it will act as a Media Player (Probably!). The one I have is a Ferguson. DG

Is your Freesat Box a "Freesat + HD" box? If not it probably does not have HDMI. DG

John, Apologies - if your TV is NOT 1920x1080 I don't really know what the result would be. Theorizing here - if your TV is wide screen but NOT 1920x1080 the Media Player would "possibly" play a Full HD PTE MPEG4 file interpolated down to your TV resolution. This is far better than Interpolating a PAL DVD output UP to your screen resolution. Thinking out loud - if your TV is not full HD it is (possibly) not going to have an HDMI input so once again the Media Player would not be of much benefit. It looks as though you are stuck with the DVD approach! Two questions: What is the resolution of your existing wide screen TV? Are you thinking of upgrading your TV anytime soon? Maybe someone with a Media Player can offer some info on their output options? DG P.S. To buy a NEW Media Player you would have to spend around £100. IMHO that money would be far better spent on a new HD TV which would have the facilities you require. An example: http://www.johnlewis.com/230950649/Product.aspx

John, If you don't want the expense of a new HD TV try looking around for a secondhand Western Digital or Iomega Media Player. There must be a lot of redundant units for sale these days. The downside of these units is the extra leads necessary. DG

Most new HD TV sets will include a "Media Player" which allows you to plug in a USB key and play Video / Audio / Images. It will NOT allow you to play EXE files. So, instead of creating DVDs we create H.264 MPEG4 files and play them via the TVs Media Player. File sizes are pretty big - typically 1Gb or bigger - and are created via the HD Video for PC menu. I think that the TV Safe Zone is about 92% (?) and that if you are making a 16:9 show you should UNTICK the Fixed Size of Slide box. DG

Peter, Are you talking about DVDs or MPEG4s? I suspect that for a PAL DVD the TV Safezone is still relevent. For MPEG4 files played via a Media Player it doesn't come into the equation at all. DG

It CAN modify your image. You can prepare images either with the stroke, if no zooming is applied to them, OR you make a "stroke" PNG file, as described, to apply in PTE. If you zoom an image with a stroke line you lose the line so it has to be applied on top of the image seperately. An example is a 3:2 project to be shown on a 16:9 monitor. To me it should have a border or stroke line around it - 3 pixels is ample. DG

The recommended players are listed on the creation page. I just tried your settings on a short H.264 MPEG4 and it played Media Player Homecinema with no problems whatsoever. DG

Are you using the players recommended by Igor? DG