davegee

Hi all, I am aware that there was a discussion some time ago about the Start-up Window but can’t find out what the outcome was or if it was, indeed, the same problem as I am experiencing. I will try to explain: In a 1024x768 show made in V4.48 using a Start-up Window with a background image, the image and the Run Buttons “fit to screen” in the resulting EXE file. When the same show is edited in V5 and a new EXE file created the same Start-up Window image now seems to default to “actual pixels” and therefore the Run Buttons are off the bottom of the screen and cannot be used. The workaround is to substitute a smaller background image for the original so that the new image and buttons fit within the 1024x768 window. Can someone say if this was considered to be a glitch and/or if Igor was going to do something about it? I know that he intends to look at the Start-up Window in a future version but is there something that can be done now (other than the workaround)? DaveG

Thanks Igor, I tried the suggestion made above (Hawk's Method) but it does not do what I want. When you copy from one project to another the COPIED slides all take on the PROJECT OPTIONS of the host project. In other words the PROJECT OPTIONS of both projects have to be identical or unexpected things happen. Thanks again, DaveG

Thanks Guys, The reason that it would not work for me was that I was trying to open a NEW SHOW in a NEW Window (i.e. having two windows open at the same time). By opening a new file or an existing file from within the file I am copying from it works. My request to Igor still stands – would it be possible to build in a system of copying slides from one show to another in the same manner as the Powerpoint model. Sorry to keep coming back to that but it seems the most user friendly method. Thanks once again, DaveG.

Thanks Lin, That's not quite what I had in mind - I was thinking more along the Powerpoint model. P.S. Maybe it worked in a BETA version but I can't get it to work on my Version 5.0 - can you point me to HAWK's original post? Maybe I'm doing something wrong? DaveG

Igor, Would it be possible in a future version to be able to join two shows together or append one show to another from within PTE? I would happy to be able to do this BEFORE adding music to the final show. I think that the complications of joining two shows, both with music, might present difficulties (or maybe not?). This would make it much easier to construct shows made up from standard Introductions and Endings. In Powerpoint this can be achieved by the command “Insert slides from files”. A similar method might be adapted to PTE? Best wishes, DaveG

Hi Chris, Lin covered this a while ago. In O&A go to where it says LINEAR, change to SMOOTH and then click on SETTING up. In the box that appears click on SEPARATE HERE to change to GLUE HERE. This will probably give you the result you require. DaveG

Congrats and thanks for a 5 (FIVE) Star Product!!!!! I plug it wherever I go and people are now beginning to listen. Best wishes to all, DaveG

Hi Lin, Just for clarification - you mentioned "present JPG Protocols"? I was talking of having this problem several years ago and it could even have been PS6 that I was using at that time. DaveG

Igor, I only remember this problem being with PS7 and V4.48 (also, I think, with Powerpoint?). I am not absolutely sure that Lin is talking the same technique as I was, in terms of the conversion to B&W. The equivalent in CS2 is changing the MODE from RGB to Greyscale - not desaturating. Not having PS7 any more I can't remember if it is the same thing? With regard to B&W Conversions this month's Digital Photo contains a PDF on various methods. In addition Russell Brown's method and some of the techniques in Michael Freeman's Book on B&W are worth investigating. I use the last two mentioned most of the time. DaveG

Lin & Jeff, Are you using PS7? It was a problem peculiar to PS7. I can repeat the procedure in CS2 and get the same result as you - it's PS7 which is possibly the culprit. DaveG

No problem. Look out for a private e-mail Re the frets thing. DaveG

I think I remember having this problem with PS7 - If you converted to B&W by changing the MODE to Greyscale then you will need to change back to RGB BEFORE saving as a JPEG. Try it - it might work. DaveG

Hello David, My screen res is 1280x1024 so I was looking at the same pixels as you were. If your 1200x848 image was shown full screen then some interpolation must have taken place resulting in degradation of the image. As for the 2100x1461 image the greatest magnification that one will take is 164% without degradation of the image. Take a look in O&A to see what Zoom ratio the 2100x1461 image has been subjected to and describe which image that is? P.S. Do you play a fretted instrument (frets3)? DaveG

Hello David, So was it a full screen show and what is your screen resolution? DaveG

Igor, Please consider also making the default font changeable? DaveG

Thanks Ken, It sounds like it is just what I am looking for. DaveG

The author has not specifically asked for critiques but: I have just downloaded and watched Windmill Pond Flowers and would like to offer a critique of this potentially excellent show. 1.The show has no text file attached and no information regarding screen resolution etc. Therefore the viewer does not know if the show is a true representation of what the author intended. Am I watching a 1024 pixel wide show on my 1280 wide screen? Is the show being interpolated to “fit Screen”? What was the author’s screen resolution? 2.The show (if I am not watching an interpolated version) shows evidence of “over enthusiastic” zooming and/or over-brightening of images causing pixilation and/or colour noise. I have offered my opinion on “over-zooming” in the past. The guideline that I adopt is that if a 3872 pixel wide jpeg image is used then a zoom factor of around 300% (but no more) is achievable with no obvious artefacts in a 1280 pixel wide show. The corresponding figure for a 1024 pixel wide show with the same image is around 375%. The downside of this is that the image used is likely to be around 2-3Mb at quality 8 (Photoshop). 3.Some images have “dust bunnies” which could be easily cloned out. 4.The PTE5 PZR effects are well done although my vertigo kicked in a couple of times during the rotations. The music fitted the subject well and care has been taken to blend some of the effects to the piece. The butterfly slide is well done and let down only by the colour noise in the background at the end of the zoom. Overall the show is commendable. This is excellent use of PTE slightly let down by some of the imaging techniques. DaveG

Thanks Ken, I am looking for a site where anyone could download a show that I put up there. Does Mediafire fit the bill? DaveG

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding sites which will host shows, such as zipped PTE Shows, other than Beechbrook? DaveG

Minor request for future version. Would it be possible to choose a default font - something other than Times Roman - anything but Times Roman! Thanks, DaveG

Digital Photo www.dpmag.co.uk UK DaveG

Audacity or Audition. Merge songs into one with appropriate fades and synch the slides to the music. There are plenty of experts here if you have a specific question/problem. DaveG

If you feel strongly enough about their criticisms why not e-mail them now? Too many people sit back and accept these things rather than air their opinions in the right place. That way nothing is acheived. DaveG

Here’s the TEXT only version of the Photography Monthly Review of Slide Show to DVD Software. This month’s issue also has some other excellent articles, reviews, etc. Please excuse any OCR errors – I did not have time to check them. I have not included the MAC Software BOINX FotoMagico 2.0.1 Pro for Mac which received a very good report. Of the reviews below PTE was judged to be the “winner”. Magix Photos on CD & DVD 6 deluxe Price: £40 Contact: www.magix.net Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/ Vista, Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 700MHz or higher, 256MB RAM, 500MB or higher hard disk memory Launching the program presents you with an interface with a large screen for viewing photos and a small thumbnail video section at the bottom where you can drag pictures and select which ones you want to play on your final DVD. You’re also asked if you want to watch in 16:9 widescreen format, which can be disabled. Handling found the program easy to use, but the array of effects and style is slightly overwhelming if you’re after a quick route to making a DVD. It is possible to precisely alter the effects applied though, which is great if you want a professional show with complete control, You can control camera movements, make professional 3D animations, and use the Magix Story Maker to make individual arrangements with a variety of transitions and weird and wacky effects. VERDICT Photos on CD & DVD is a top slide-show maker, once you’ve spent some time with it. It was a bit slow on PM’S test PC, so you need a fast processor. This is definitely worth considering if you’re wanting lots of control. The Classic version costs just £20, but lacks both the ability to create high-resolution HD-DVDs, and the in-built photo and audio editors. PROS Good interface, capable of quick and complex editing CONS: Price, too much choice on offer for some ULead DVD MovieFactory 6 PLus Price: £50 Contact:www.ulead.com Compatibility: Windows XP/Vista, Intel Pentium 4 1.8MHz, AMD Athlon XP 1800+, 512MB RAM (though 1GB RAM or above recommended), 900MB hard drive space The latest version we look at adds support for Windows Vista, Blu-ray and HD DVD. It also includes InterVideo WinDVD 8 Silver for DVD playback and lnterVideo DVDC0py 5 for recording non-encrypted discs and converting them to DivX. Handling You can apply intro and end sequences with themes such as Wedding, but they’re rather kitsch. You can also create collages. There’s import options for DV, HDV and AVCHD (a new high-definition MPEG4-based format) cameras, digital TV tuners and analogue video-capture devices, which is far more than the remit of this test allows for. The interface is very well designed and very simple to use. It doesn’t have much in the way of advanced features though, but if you’re after a simple program, this is for you. VERDICT For all the video options on offer, there’s not much left over for slide shows. The pan and zoom function doesn’t even preview your picture, and applies the same setting to all the photos. The program also lacks image- editing and web tools. PROS: Great-looking interface, impressive import and export options for video users, attractive DVD menus CONS: Transition times not precisely controllable, pan and zoom function is awkward to use, more for video users, so slide show is basic PicturesToExe Deluxe v5.OO Price: £30 Contact:www.beckhamdigital.co.uk/productcart /pc/viewCat.asp Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/ Vista. For slide shows with Pan/Zoom effects: 1.4GHz CPU, 256MB RAM, NVIDIA/ATI video card with 128MB of video memory. For slide shows created with simple effects: 500MHz, 64MB RAM and any video card PicturesToExe will produce a single EXE file, which contains all images inside, to play on your PC. No additional programs (including PicturesToExe itself) are needed to run the resulting EXE file. If your demands are a bit higher, PicturesToExe will make you a DVD. In both cases, you can customise each slide, add different transition effects and background music, which can be synchronized precisely to music by using the waveform display. Handling Pan/Zoom effects play without jerks/hesitations even with high activity of other programs which work in the background. It is a powerful editor in that you can set Pan/Zoom/Rotate effects for several objects simultaneously. The interface is simple, so don’t expect glitzy design. Then again, for this price, who’s complaining? VERDICT PicturesToExe is a great, quick way of producing a good- looking slide show. It lacks some of the finer points of ProShow, such as precisely co-ordinating transition times, but considering the price, it’s a fantastic way to get started. PROS: Capable of quick, user-friendly editing. The price CONS: Transition times not precisely controllable Photodex ProShow Producer 3.0 Price: £250 Contact: www.photodex.com Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP, 500MHz or higher processor, 256MB RAM, 70MB or higher hard drive memory This software presents itself as the first program of its kind for professional photographers. It features all the usual slide- show options to manipulate and add photos, video clips and music. It also offers Raw file support, precise custom timing for each slide and a transparency feature to overlay masks and borders. You can output to a website, as a Flash video, and you can also create an auto-play CD for PCs. Handling ProShow allows you to edit images in an external editing program like Photoshop or Elements, which is usefuL The software on the whole was easy to use, but despite its high spec profile, it was difficult to work out how to rotate images. Rather than a simple right-click, it was necessary to open the image editor for each one. I suppose it is possible to rotate them before importing into the program, but I’d have liked to have seen an easier way to do this. It’s also possible to synchronize your show exactly to the music you load into the Soundtrack bar. You’ll have to do this while you listen though, as there’s no waveform display to guide you, which is a shame. The interface is rather complicated to use and I found I had to refer to the manual repeatedly. Once you know what you’re doing though, the sky’s the limit. There really is nothing this program can’t do in the way of slide shows. VERDICT ProShow Producer 3.0 is a very powerful slide-show maker, and like the Magix software, is really worth considering if you want to do a lot of editing, web shows and the like. It’s not a quick, easy way of creating a DVD though and unless you spend a lot of time with it, it can be confusing. If you want the ultimate in slide-show creation and are prepared to fork out for it, this is for you. PROS: Complex editing, links with external image editors, web capability CONS: Confusing interface and no waveform display on the soundtrack. Pricey, hence only three stars DaveG

Back to the original thread - I believe that any monitor performs at its best at the native (max) resolution. My 19" IIYAMA is set to 1280x1024. I use windows mode to ensure that anyone with a larger res does not view at the wrong res. Am I correct in thinking that a 1280x1024 show will fit to screen on a PC with a lower res monitor? OKAY! To answer my own question - no it does not. I find that creating a 960x768 of the same 1280x1024 works to a degree, but the Taskbar shows at the bottom. Dave G