davegee

Thanks Lin, That’s well hidden – it’s a long time since I have been down there and had forgotten all about that. I do remember thinking that if Igor did not recommend it then there must be a good reason and I should avoid it until I have found out why he does not recommend it. I will play around with it and give it some thought. It still does not address my other “requirement”. If I add a 2048 high image to my 5:4 project (with disable scaling ticked) on my 1280x1024 monitor I want the Zoom Percentage to read 200% straight away and not the 100% it gives right now. It should be possible to do this by comparing the monitor resolution with the size of the image within the software. One way around it would be to click on the “cover screen” option (the percentage stays at 100%) and then enter the 200% figure to zoom back into the image. This is exactly the same as what I have to do now, without the “disable scaling” enabled. So at first sight it is not the answer. Do you ever get back over here to your roots? DaveGee.

Hi Al, Terminological differences can sometimes get in the way of a discussion, especially in a forum like this one. So I have tried to put my thoughts into a logical explanation of the way I think about PTE. Let’s start at the very beginning……. PTE is clever enough to know what my monitor aspect ratio is (it tells me in Project Options that my display is 5:4) so presumably it is also capable of knowing what resolution I have set. In my case that is the maximum resolution of the monitor – 1280x1024. The following assumes a project aspect ratio of 5:4 and monitor resolution of 1280x1024. I like to fill the screen with my images in PTE and have no intention of getting a wide screen monitor at this time. However, since my camera produces 3:2 images this means that I have to make some choices. I usually get around this by panning any images which cannot be cropped to 5:4 without losing valuable information. If we forget about zooming for a moment (it introduces some further problems) it makes sense to make all of my images 1024 high in Photoshop before creating the JPEGs for use in PTE whether they be 5:4 or 3:2 so my definition of “100%” is when my 1024 high image fills the HEIGHT of the screen. What happens when I add these images to a project in PTE? If they are 5:4 images at 1024 high then they FILL the height of the screen. If they are 3:2 images then they default to filling the WIDTH of the screen (black lines top and bottom) and the ZOOM percentage is shown as 100%. Now I am used to thinking of 100% being the same as ACTUAL PIXELS in Photoshop so here we have a conflict. Some basic mathematics tells me that when the 3:2 image which is 1024 pixels high is fitted to the width of a 1280x1024 screen the zoom percentage figure should read something like 83% because the 1024 height of the image is only filling around 83% of the height of my monitor. Anyway, by right clicking on the image and choosing COVER SCREEN my 3:2 image 1024 pixels high now fills the screen with some overlap on either side, but here’s the strange thing, the zoom percentage STILL reads 100%. I consider that the COVER SCREEN option is the correct option for the parameters I have given i.e. 1024 pixels high filling the HEIGHT of the screen. This ties up with my thinking about ACTUAL PIXELS. So, if we had a choice of making COVER SCREEN the default I would be a happy man. One other problem with all this is that if the 3:2 image that I add to the project is 2048 pixels high instead of 1024 (in other words 200% of my monitor resolution) it still shows 100% zoom percentage. I want the zoom percentage to refer to the pixel size of my image compared to the screen resolution of my monitor, which is exactly what happens when I add the 1024 pixels image to my 5:4 project on my 1024 high monitor (cover screen mode). This is the reason I asked Igor a while back if we could have three options: 1. Fit to screen 2. Cover screen 3. Actual pixels Unfortunately Igor did not reply. I can only imagine that either he did not see my request, did not understand my request or chose to ignore it. I would like to think that he did not see it. In order to keep PTE running at maximum efficiency and not subject it to the needless calculations involved in interpolating images I like to keep my images no larger than they need be. To perform simple pans they only need to be 1024 pixels high. However, when zooming, images need to be correspondingly bigger. To zoom into an image at 200% my start image needs to be 2048 pixels high. That’s an easy example. I sometimes use a 1024 pixel high image to determine the amount of zoom I am going to apply to the image and then go back to Photoshop and recreate the jpeg image at the correct zoom percentage so that PTE only has to cope with the zoom I ask for and not have to cope with the extra work of interpolating an oversized/undersized image to fit the screen at the requested zoom percentage. (I hope that makes sense?). Anyway, that’s the way I think. Wearing my PTE Beta tester’s hat I have to ask: 1. Would PTE be a better product if we had the choice of either Fit to Screen or Cover screen? I think that it would. 2. Would PTE be a better product if we also had a third choice – ACTUAL PIXELS. I think that it would. DaveGee

Al, Your example show black lines top and bottom which is what I do NOT want. If the slide you put in was 1024 high in a 5:4 format show on a 1280x1024 then the percentage shown is WRONG - it should be around 83%. I agree with Lumenlux re: CHOICE. DaveG

There is sense in what you say Al, but you must admit that it makes no sense that the Zoom Percentage shown in the O&A dialogue is clearly wrong when using the fit to screen option (Fit to width when importing a 3:2 image into a 5:4 show). Dave G

I would like to second Lumenlux’s proposal regarding the choice of defaulting to “Cover Screen”. Excellent idea!! By the way is there an explanation as to why, when Cover Screen is chosen, the Zoom percentage stays the same? When I put an image which is 1024 pixels high into a 5:4 show using my 1280x1024 monitor and using Cover Screen that is the way it SHOULD be (100%). I believe that the other option (which is, in effect, “fit to width”) is wrong. Having used Cover Screen I find that I have to zoom to around 83% to get my 3:2 image to fit to width again. If I accept the “Fit To Width” default then I have to zoom to 120% to achieve “Fit To Height” which is clearly wrong because my image is 1024 and filling 100% of the height of the screen. Perhaps all of this confusion will be cleared up in the final Beta but at the moment it is clearly wrong. The Windowed Mode of Version 4.48 copes with this problem because, having told PTE that my window should be 1280x1024, any image that I use is automatically sized accordingly. Bring back Windowed Mode!! (Only kidding - I know it's on the way - I hope!) DaveG

......from Wales to Igor & Team and all PTE users everywhere. DaveG

Simply install from the APR.EXE file again (you can use the Ver 4.8 or 5.8) and place the REG.TXT (which you recieved from WNSOFT in an e-mail) in the PTE folder on your new computer. If you cannot find the e-mail you can transfer the REG.TXT from your old computer to the new one. DaveG

Hi Isabel, Click on PLAY and then click on the timeline wherever you want it to run from. That works for me. DaveG

Hello Patrick, I am sorry that the show does not run well on your PC. Obviously I would not post a show which did not run less than perfectly on my own PC (and also the PCs of some friends). Bill looked at the show before posting and did not make any comments about stuttering etc so I assume it was OK on his computer and no one else has reported a problem Could it just be that your PC is struggling with it? DaveG

Moderators cope quite well over at the NIKONIANS site - if something is in the wrong place they just move it to the right place and put a notice up to that effect. They are also quite good at PINNING tutorials etc to the tops of forums so that people don't have to go searching for info - it is right there where it should be for all to see. DaveG

Bill has kindly posted a show of mine. Enjoy, DaveG

It occurs to me that with all of the talent available at this forum, definitive tutorials on the methodology for PZR could be PINNED to the top of the forum. This would save newcomers the job of having to search every topic for hints and tips. Some of us read every topic while others just want the info. Similar definitive tutorials on other aspects of the software could also be pinned as they are produced. DaveG

Igor, Please forgive me if this has been mentioned before (I don't visit the forum as often as I used to). When you are finalising the Beta would it be possible to have, as well as "Put To Centre" and "Cover Screen", an option for "ACTUAL PIXELS" in the Objects and Animations dialogue? If this were possible, in conjunction with the re-activation of "Windowed Mode" and specifying the size of the window, it would assist in the prevention of "over-zooming" of images. Many thanks for a truly amazing product - I never cease to be amazed at the quality of images obtainable with the latest Beta. DaveG

Hi Igor, Thanks for your reply. I mistakenly thought that I should have expected an improvement in the quality of the DVD produced in DVD Builder over other methods using 3rd party software. DVD Builder is very user friendly and although I have not tried to do it I can see that putting multiple shows onto a DVD will be much easier. I am pleased that you have included the facility to write to either a "Folder" or "ISO File" or even MPEG as this will reduce the number of burn failures. If the folder is successfully created then there is no reason not to go ahead and burn to DVD. I too, eagerly await the re-instatement of music sync as do most of your "fans" and this will be an event to look forward to. How many more BETAs do you anticipate before it is achieved? DaveG

Hi Igor, Perhaps I can re-phrase. I have been able to create a DVD using DVD Builder and the Folder option and also the MPEG2 option. I also used the "normal" AVI method and my usual technique of creating a folder and burning that folder in Roxio 8 with the same PTE. When I compare the results on my TV I cannot see a significant difference between the "old method" and the "new method". Should I be able to see a difference? The advantages of using DVD Builder are enormous and I applaud you for this new option, but should there be a difference in quality in this BETA? Best wishes, DaveG

Hi Igor, As I mentioned above I cannot see a significant difference between the DVD burned from an AVI and the DVD burned from an MPEG2 - am I doing something wrong ? In options I have left the BITRATE set at default (7000?) - what should it be and why? DaveG

I did a quick experiment last evening and found that a DVD burned from an ISO file would not play on my HDD/Recorder. However a DVD burned from a FOLDER created from the PTE worked OK. (I never burn directly to the DVD). I used a DVD+RW for the experiment . Personally I could not see a dramatic difference from a DVD burned the old fashioned AVI route. More experiments today. DaveG

Bill, Apologies - I did not read your reply to Ken correctly. Jason is correct in that you will need another programme to author the DVD, such as Sonic MyDVD or Roxio etc. Nettleton, Whilst Sonic MyDVD has never failed me when writing to a folder before burning the DVD, Roxio will also do almost the same thing by writing an ISO file to your hard disc for future burning. If you have a bottomless HDD you can keep these folders or ISO files for burning DVDs without having to resort to creating the AVI from PTE every time you need another copy. DaveG

Bill, The following may be of help: If you were doing it the other way around i.e. creating the DVD in a DVD Recorder then normally an "un-finalised" DVD would NOT play on your computer. If your computer software gives you the option to finalise then I would definitely finalise. Another tip: When doing trials use a Re-Writeable DVD for your tests - it saves a lot of anguish and not a little cash! You can always erase and try again if something goes wrong. If it works then make the DVD. Another thing - I have noticed that both of my DVD players seem to like DVD+R better than DVD-R. I use a programme called SONIC MyDVD which allows the writing of the Movie to a folder - the logic being that if writing to the folder is successful then you can go ahead and make a successful DVD by writing the data in the folder to a DVD. I hope this is of SOME help? DaveG

I plug PTE at every opportunity at the www.NIKONIANS.ORG site in the Postprocessing section. If any of you are Nikon users the site is a good source of info about all matters relating to Nikon equipment and the Postprocessing section is a good place to browse for info on Photoshop and Nikon NX RAW Conversion software. The question of which AV software is best crops up from time to time and I would appreciate some back-up when I recommend PTE. Thanks, DaveG

Hi Nicky, I have just checked my Help file and the USER MANUAL is not there, probably because it is a BETA version. However there is a guide to creating DVDs. Look in the forum for some of the independent tutorials and download those. You could also download there most up-to-date Version 4 in which there will be a User manual albeit that the new features in Version5#6 will not be there. Your version 5 key will also work with version 4. dave

Lin, Are you speaking for Igor, or just expressing an opinion?

In my case it was simply a matter of re-installing (an earlier version of) Roxio. All is now well. One thought - does the Codec reside in different places in different versions of Windows XP i.e. Home, Media, Pro etc? DaveG.

I think that I have the same problem. My method of creating a DVD in the past (on my Laptop running XP Home....) has been to create the Temp file, open ROXIO 8 and then create an ISO file from the Temp file for later burning to DVD. This always worked successfully. On my new desktop (running XP Media .... and everything else the same) I get as far as trying to create the ISO file at which an error is encountered and stops the process. I can play the Temp file but cannot create the ISO file. Any help greatly appreciated. DaveG.

I think that you will find that a PNG file created in PP will not be transparent so there is little point in that. Just go with the JPG option. DaveG