davegee

Hi Peter, While not totally disagreeing with any of the above, the parts I would be MOST in favour of are: "There should be an option to show all keyframe points for ALL objects. When this option is selected, each object should have its keyframe points in a different colour and, when necessary, a different shape of marker should be used." "The Next/Previous keyframe buttons could be placed on the lower toolbar." Add to this the inclusion of other tape control type buttons for "Go to first slide" and "Go to last slide". DaveG

Nice screen saver. The music IS good. DaveG

Colin, The norm is to specify something like "The image must be a maximum of xxxx pixels wide and xxxx pixels high including any borders" I would be interested to know what you and others do when the submitted entry is "oversized" and does not comply. It would also be useful if you indicate if you agree with what is done and if not what should be done? What is done when images fill neither the width nor the height of the "frame" - are they projected at actual pixels or fit to screen? DaveG

You are right Barry - PTE is just the means of projecting the images and it does that superbly well. The database side of things is just there to organise the images. It should be possible though, for a parallel product to be designed for the purpose given the resources. A lot of clubs use PTE for projection of images during competiton (ours included) but then have the organising problems if and when there is a need for elimination, disqualification, marking etc. If Brian's (or anyone's) database can help with the organising of images then why not give it a try? It should not interfere with what Igor is doing. The main objection to PTE in most people's opinions seems to be in the area of colour management. Otherwise, it is the best product available for showing images for competition. DaveG

It is more likely that the image name will determine running order. Size is irrelevant to that side of things. DaveG

I'm not sure if this has been established: Will Videobuilder create an ISO file for you? Not an MPEG - Not an AVI - but an ISO file? DaveG

Brian, Regarding "f": Herein lies the problem. Consider that the Projector used determines the MAXIMUM resolution of the author's entry. Aspect ratio can be ANYTHING within the resolution of the projector. For example, using a 1920x1080 projector submissions could be ANY size and aspect ratio UP TO that resolution. 16:9, 5:4, 4:3 or CUSTOM. Another thing to consider, if the organisers make a rule saying, for instance, that entries must be no more than 1920 wide and no more than 1080 high (for my example) are they then going to disqualify an entry which is bigger on one or both sides? Organisers are OBLIGED to present images at (wait for it!) ACTUAL PIXELS or submitted resolution. If "fit to slide" is used bigger entries will fit to screen BUT also it will fit smaller entries to screen (in my book a definite NO-NO). I could go on........................... DaveG

Hi Brian, I wasn't knocking it in any way - just clarifying. DaveG

Hi Brian, Maybe I am not understanding what is being proposed. Does your database "control" the show for judging i.e. does it remove images not required for second/third showings for judges? DaveG

Take a look here KEV, http://www.photocompviewer.co.uk/ My preference would be to use PTE but logistically it can be quite problematic. Our club use a PTE EXE file to give to a judge 2 weeks in advance of a comp and he then has fewer problems because of the viewing time given to him. They also give him the original images but I don't like that idea at all. Make sure that whatever you use is capable of showing at what I call "ACTUAL PIXELS" and does not default to FIT SCREEN etc. Authors work deserves to be shown at the submitted resolution and NOT interpolated up or down by a machine. DaveG

I can't believe that it is the programme which is at fault. It is more likely that you need to re-install / update drivers for your burner or something of that nature. Have you tried re-installing the programme? What programme is causing the problem? Did it fail immediately after installing PTE 5? If so, maybe you should drop Igor an e-mail and ask advice. I agree with Colin regarding the use of ISO files and use ROXIO to burn to DVD when required. DaveG

It's OK guys - just kidding!! But there is a lot of it going round - and it's catching. Ray, in my initial post I did mention that I was talking about my own shows on my own TV where I have control. If I tried to impose this on someone else the same problems could arise as with just posting or sending the EXE file. If anyone wants to see what the capabilities of PTE and HDMI are they really have to try it for themselves. DaveG

Thanks for ALL the info Ken. I have Roxio 8 and 9. Ver 8 does all my burning of ISO files and never a dud. DaveG

Another thread hijacked!! POTWNC (do you have a first name?) - I agree with you about the file sizes required for the larger resolution monitors / projectors but I'm afraid it is something we are going to have to get used to. I am (always have been) an advocate of running monitors etc at their maximum/native resolution and I like to see images FILL the screen (or with a SMALL border) - the result is huge files but in my opinion we have to live with it. Another one of my worries is that authors do not tell the viewer what the optimum size of their show is. I have downloaded a couple lately where artifacts are plainly evident in skies etc and I don't know if it is because of overcompressing when saving as JPEG or that the show is being played on my monitor at a resolution greater than that intended by the author. BB takes steps to ensure that his work is not seen at the "wrong" resolution and the quality of his images is among the highest you will see anywhere. DaveG

Ken, Please advise - what other third party tools will play the ISO? DaveG

Thanks Brian, It's really irrelevant to this thread because what I am trying to say here is that wherever possible I will use a HDMI connection to my TV monitor to play EXE files rather than burn to any sort of DVD etc. When the format war is finally over I will have to buy an add-on burner and at that stage I might reconsider. Having bought a Sony Laptop it is hardly likely that they would put anything other than Blue Ray in it. That apart I am very satisfied with the laptop - it does everything that I require of it and the HDMI connection to my TV opens up new possibilities PTE-wise. DaveG

Hi Ray, When I said for static images I meant images with no PZR. For images with PZR I scale them UP in proportion to the amount of zoom used. As Lin explained, I play the 1366x768 EXE file on my laptop and view on my TV which is connected via a HDMI cable. My laptop is Blue Ray equipped but PLAY only. Until I can record to Blue Ray (it's getting cheaper) I will continue to do it this way. DaveG

A repeat of what I have often said in the past. Elect to burn the ISO file to your computer. If it burns the ISO successfully you are half way there. Another advantage of the ISO is that the burn is easily repeatable and is the same as COPY DISC. I use ROXIO 8 for all my DVD burning and when I double click on any ISO file it opens up the COPY DISC Roxio interface. I use Sony or TDK DVDs (cheapest versions) and sometimes some really cheap ones from the local supermarket - never a bad disc! Oh, by the way, my desktop computer is not internet enabled so therefore no Norton, AVG etc. DaveG

I’m sure all of these topics have been covered but here are my experiences with using PTE on a Laptop linked to a 16:9 Television via a HDMI cable. My first worry was choosing the “right” resolution for my images in order to get the ultimate in quality so I consulted the TV handbook, a thing that I rarely do. This told me two things, firstly that the display resolution is 1366 dots by 768 lines and secondly that the recommended input signal should be WXGA: 1360x768. The screen display resolution of the laptop is 1200x800 so I began to think that this was not going work! However, when connected to the TV via the HDMI cable I am able to choose three display options: Laptop only, HDMI and Laptop and lastly HDMI only. In the HDMI and Laptop together configuration the screen display and the HDMI output cannot be the same as the television but in HDMI only it is possible to set the output to the required 1360x768 setting. Preparing the PTE show The settings I use are: FULLSCREEN and 16:9 The image resolution I use FOR STATIC IMAGES is 1366x768 and in COMMON the image mode is left at FIT TO SLIDE. Shows can be prepared on any computer using any size monitor using these settings and will “FIT TO SCREEN”. The shows are not intended for showing to anyone other than family so the ever present “danger” of them being played on a monitor whose resolution is greater than 1360x768 does not present itself. The Quality? ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!! The Advantages? No more DVDs – I have never been an advocate of the DVD approach because of the issues regarding (lack of) quality, but now I don’t have that “inner struggle” any more. Problems? Only the usual one, that to put a white line around an image which is going to have PZR effects applied it has to be done via a PNG file. DaveG

Barry, I once suggested a variation on the FULLSCREEN mode which would, effectively, play a PTE show on any size monitor UP TO your maximum desired resolution at which point it would revert to Windowed mode or similar. I had no takers at that time including from your good self. Igor also declined to comment - maybe too difficult? Maybe I was ahead of my time? (Only kidding!!). DaveG

If you want to BACK UP as opposed to SAVE, would it not be better to call it AUTO BACK UP? Save would then do what it says - SAVE - and AUTO BACK UP (if Igor could configure it that way) would back up to a user nominated folder (or NOT - that's important too). Having multiple versions of the said back ups COULD create a problem but if you have unlimited HDD space - why not? DaveG

Hi Swede, I agree with Ron, great images which remind me of my (short) stay in Thailand a few years ago. One small glitch - on my 1280x1024 screen the image of the (Chinese?) gong grows behind the frame and eventually shows between the frame and the black background. DaveG

I have never constructed a 16:9 show and made a DVD but, assuming you are making a PAL DVD for instance, your original 16:9 image regardless of the original pixels is interpolated down to 720x341.0526 etc to make the AVI. When you play it back on your 16:9 TV via a PAL DVD Player your 720x341.0526 etc pixels are interpolated back up to 1920x1080 to show full screen. That's almost a 300% increase in pixel width and height. What does that do for the quality of the images? DaveG

Igor, I noticed that, when installing Beta 8 from a memory key, when it finished the installation the "Choose version to import settings from" box defaulted to "Developer". Installing from HDD the default was "5.5.7". I don't know if that is an installation problem? Both installations worked OK - first on my laptop and then on my desktop. DaveG

I ran AVG this morning and it did not report anything. DaveG