davegee

"I played around a lot with the settings, nominating the second monitor to be a HDTV etc, but still could not get more than 1280 by 800 out of the Dell laptop I was using". The maximum res that you can get from your LT's graphics card is dependent on the monitor to which it is attached. I use my 1280x800 laptop with my 1920x1200 monitor and under those conditions (with the 1920x1200 screen designated as MAIN MONITOR) the maximum res I can get is, of course, the native res of the 1920x1200 monitor. This is true for both HDMI and VGA. I have tried both and quickly threw away the VGA cable on quality grounds! No comparison! If I had a higher res monitor the graphics card would cope. Interesting point about the VGA res of the Panasonic. With the Sony 26" that I mentioned the native res is 1366x768 but when using VGA it is limited to 1280x768 (or thereabouts). VGA will not allow the full 1366x768. DG

Igor, The 6.5B3 is problematic - gives error message when trying to install. File is only 500Kb - should be 7Mb? DG

Don, You might be slightly wrong about the VGA connection and the way it applies to your setup. If you use the TV as your monitor you laptop's graphics card should go up to 1920x1080 and beyond. HOWEVER, when doing this you possibly will only be able to see the TV and NOT the Laptop monitor. The 1366x768 is POSSIBLY the max res of the TV. Although it is HD Ready etc it is not necessarily 1920x1080. One of my TVs, a Sony 26" is HD Ready at 1366x768 and my Laptop is 1280x800, but full HD shows (via HDMI) at 1920x1080 are "fit to screen". Even if you had a LT with HDMI (or a MEDIA PLAYER) you would still be limited by the 1366x768 res of the TV (if I am correct about your TV). Check your TV manual. I've tried all of the alternatives and what I am about to say is IN MY HUMBLE OPINION (!) - there is no substitute for a suitably equipped Laptop sending a PTE show to a 1920x1080 TV (or projector) via HDMI. DG

Excellent tutorial, Barry, illustrated with some stunning images. I too, will be posting a link at my CC's Forum. DG

Thanks Stu - didn't know that. DG

I can see why you would need a refresh button. As a workaround (rather than closing and reopening PTE) would deleting the music file from the Options / Music Tab and then adding it again be any easier? (and would it work)? DG

Was he suggesting that Igor might implement the same facility in PTE? DG

Yes, I noticed that too. I'm not sure what the logic is with that. DG

Barry, Clicking on each of the various "parameter titles" resets their value to zero. Start Time, Duration etc operate this way (same as the 3D parameters dialogue). I'm not sure if that was what you were looking for? DG

NIK Colour Efex Pro 3.0 / Tonal Contrast. DG

Barry, I keep telling you that you need to change to Nikon. My suggestion to Peter was made in the same spirit as yours. Unless Peter TRIES all of the various different Converters he is not going to know what is best for him. I have been using Capture since I got my D70 when that was new. I have also kept up to date with the various different versions of PS CS but have always stuck with Capture for RAW processing. To me, it makes sense to use a Camera Specific Converter because the makers of the software have all of the necessary information required to do the job. I want a Converter that READS the WB (for instance) from my D700 NEF file and not one which GUESSES it. To each his own. IMHO etc etc etc DG

Peter, If you are going to start using NEF files from your D70 I would SERIOUSLY investigate Nikon Capture NX2. It has all that you would need in a RAW converter and is the ONLY RAW Converter that opens NEF files EXACTLY as you see them in your camera's LCD display. If you get it right in camera there is little else to do other than perhaps cloning out those nasty dust spots. If you don't get it right in camera then as well as being able to reset your camera settings retrospectively**, the U-Point (Control Point) Technology takes care of a lot of selective edits in the simplest way. ** the only things that you CANNOT change retrospectively are the ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. It's a bit like going back and taking the pic again. If you use the Colour Modes on the D70 then you can either change the Colour Mode (retrospectively) or use the Picture Control technology of the D3, D700, D300 etc. Try the 60 day free trial. DG

Sony Vaio VGN-FZ38M DG

For showing a PTE sequence on a TV nothing beats using your computer connected to your (HD Ready) TV via HDMI cable. You can then size the images (and your show) to suit the resolution of the TV i.e. 1920x1080 (or 1440x1080 if you want to maintain the 4:3 aspect ratio) etc. DG

"If information is vital to the show, should it not be a part of that show" That's exactly what I said above. As Barry says - if a show is CORRECTLY made with all the right boxes ticked, it is not a problem. However in the case of a show where the right boxes are NOT ticked (accidentally or through lack of knowledge), having the resolution figures would allow the viewer to know whether the show is being seen at the correct resolution or not. You cannot make people do these things but you can indicate good practice and hope that some of it will stick. Once again, I do not suggest that this should be adopted for shows intended for competition where it would perhaps not be appropriate. DG

I'm sure that we will all miss him and the inspirational work he did for the AV world. DG

The file name approach might just work. DG

Ed, I download shows from various sources to see what's happening and to improve my own work by using ideas etc. I am always wary of commenting on quality if I don't have the right information about a show. For instance if a show is made at FULLSCREEN using 1024x768 or 1400x1050 images and the incorrect settings then, on my monitor (1920x1200), those images are going to be UPSCALED to fit my monitor. We have discussed this subject over a long period of time and I think that we all agree that viewing a 1024x768 show upscaled to 1920x1200 is not a good idea. That's why the "Fixed size of slide (in pixels)" tick box is SO IMPORTANT. But, unless I KNOW that I am watching an upscaled version I could be thinking that the author has used inadequate images for his/her production and comment accordingly. All I ask is the author indicates "Best viewed at XXXX x XXXX Resolution". Is that really too much to ask? Quote:"Resolution is the single most important attribute which needs to be passed to the viewer." I'm not really worried about HOW it is passed to the viewer, but it wouldn't worry me if it were in the title credits. If it is in the download information it can get separated from the show over a period of time and then the ONLY safe way of transmitting the information is by including it inside the show somewhere. In your scenario (club competition) it is not required, but for those who want to upload to the likes of Cottage's site IMHO it is essential. Which is why I applauded Maureen's initiative. The mistake I made was in suggesting a little bit more. Slap on the wrist - don't do it again. You should know better! DG

My comment to Maureen: "I APPLAUD the fact that you have given details of the resolution, timing etc of the show - this is something I have advocated for some time now and which, unfortunately, not many people do. A further progression on this would be to put it in the opening titles so that it would remind the viewer each time it is opened." Resolution is the single most important attribute which needs to be passed to the viewer. DG

Can I say that IMHO that's a very dangerous road to go down? Let's say that you produce ten/fifty shows this way - each of the ten/fifty shows is going to contain 50 images all numbered/named exactly the same albeit that they are totally different images. That's a logistical nightmare even though they will be kept in different folders. It will work but..................... DG

The images are up to your usual very high standards and the whole thing is put together with care and attention to detail. The music doesn't bother me although I think I understand why others mentioned it. I think that each slide would benefit from being on screen for a second or two longer with perhaps a slightly longer transition time. I APPLAUD the fact that you have given details of the resolution, timing etc of the show - this is something I have advocated for some time now and which, unfortunately, not many people do. A further progression on this would be to put it in the opening titles so that it would remind the viewer each time it is opened. Thanks for sharing, DG

DVDs made on a computer are REGION FREE. It then depends on whether the recipients DVD player is capable of playing both PAL and NTSC. All computers will/should play any computer made DVD. Most modern DVD players are PAL/NTSC compatible and I have not encountered any problems in the USA or Canada. DG

DVI requires a separate audio connection. DG

Is this a viable alternative to the WD and Iomega Multi Media players? http://www.sony.co.u...pageType=manual The price is right (£59), it plays JPEG, MP3, AAC, WMA, LPCM, MPEG-1,2,4, VOB, VROand it looks a LOT smaller than others that I have seen. DaveG Edit: It looks as though it can only handle 720x576 and upscales to 1080p.

Stu, Is there a graphics card out there which will support two different outputs at different resolutions.... .....or would it need two graphics cards - one for monitor at one resolution and one for projector at a different resolution? DG