davegee

Hi Ron, As I have mentioned before on this forum, EDIROL (Roland) make a number of OPTICAL to USB Interfaces which will, if your SONY has an OPTICAL Output, do what you want. If you SONY does not have a digital out then amongst the range of products they also make one which will take an analogue output and convert that to USB. Either way the result is better than using a sound card. I have had one for about 3 years and use it regularly between my SONY MINI DISC (not a portable) and my Laptop. The USB input is recognised with no problems by ROXIO, Audacity, Audition etc. E-mail me direct if you require any specific details. Here are a couple of links: http://www.edirol.it/europe/details.asp?gi...&la=UK&code=409 http://www.edirol.it/europe/details.asp?gi...&la=UK&code=294 They also have a new gadget which, if I read it correctly would replace your SONY Mini-Disc with something much easier to use. It appears to be a hand held MP3/WAV recorder: http://www.edirol.it/europe/details.asp?gi...&la=UK&code=346 DaveG

Hi, What's an *alot*? Oh, and if anyone can enlighten me - what's a *lol*? I have been wondering about these things for some time now but could not pluck up the courage to ask. Thanks, DaveG

I guess that as well as visiting Bill's excellent facility on a daily basis I should subscribe to his "new shows mailing list". Best wishes and thanks, Bill. DaveG

Thanks Jim, I must have missed that. DaveG

Anyone know why Beechbrook is down again? I hope they have not had a repeat dose of the recent problem!! DaveG

Al, I did emphasise the assumption that aspect ratios were multiples of 1024x768 and either Landscape or Portrait. If you are talking of other aspect ratios being mixed in with these then it becomes a little more complicated. Personally, I stick to the one aspect ratio in any one show and don't mix. Ed, Thanks for pointing the "Fit Image" automation out - that's great! I'll experiment with that. It couldn't be more user friendly.

Original poster probably meant pixels anyway!! DaveG

Bill, When you resize in PS all you need do is change the HEIGHT to 768. You could set up a Batch Process to change the HEIGHT only to 768 for all images . That would then cater for both Landscape and Portrait formats. This assumes that you have all images in the original format and that the original format is a multiple of 1024x768. If you have a DSLR then the format is possibly 1024x681 in which case the height you set would be 681 and your images would display a black line top and bottom of your 1024x768 screen. DaveG

Well done, Igor!! DaveG

For all you good people who are into Freeware to assist you in construction of your PTE Shows here is an interesting link to a lot of Free software (linkcourtesy of someone over at Nikonians.com). http://www.photo-freeware.net/category-downloads.php If there is anything you know of which is not listed at this site feel free to mention it in this thread for any interested parties. DaveG

Hi Lin, Your show worked OK on my machine but I will test it on my Laptop later - Pro Show normally will not work on my Laptop (no problems with PTE). It will be interesting to see what happens with this one. In the meantime, please advise: What resolution is the optimum for this show? Skies are pretty badly pixelated on my 1280x1024 LCD Monitor as though it were a 1024x768 show which has been configured to "fit to screen". It also appears to me that some of the zooms are "over-cooked"? By this I mean that, in the zooms, the images seem to be too small to allow zooming in to fill the 1280x1024 screen and then zoom out by a factor of 2 or three. To do this the image would have to be at least 2560 or even 3840 wide to get the same quality throughout the zoom. Not criticisms - just trying to get a feel for the technology in readiness! DaveG

I can sympathise with both points of view here, but hasn't I gor said that if you don't use the Pan and Zoom then Ver. 5 will work quite happily as before? Too much Pan and Zoom is going to have me reaching for my vertigo pills! DaveG

No problems up to 100Meg shows on Pentium 4, 3Gig laptop with 512Mb Ram and NVIDIA card. DaveG P.S. The symptoms you describe sound as though you have transitions too close together - could it be that they will run on higher spec machines but falter if the spec drops because of the transitions and not because of the file size?

Yes, Stand -alone is not a problem. All you will need is an e-mail account to recieve the registration key. DaveG

Hi Jeff, Yes, I did say "if your mini-disc has an optical output" - however the UA-1EX will also take normal line input (I think) to USB which is ideal in the case of laptops. Check the spec before buying. DaveG

As long as the images do not exceed the Window measurements in PTE there is no need to go to PS - the PTE background image will do. DaveG

Perhaps I am missing something in the question. However, the answer depends on the means of getting the collected information to the customer. If it is going to be viewed on a monitor, what is the resolution of the monitor? For instance my existing monitor is 1280x1024 so that is what I am currently cropping to. If you have a mixture of Lansdcape and Portrait formats then the Landscape material should be no more than 1280 wide and the Portrait material no more than 1024 high. If the customer is going to use a projector, what is the resolution of the projector? Chances are it will be 1024x768, in which case these are the figures to work to. Also, if this is the case the computer/laptop should be set to the same res as the projector for best results. If you don't have to fill the frame then you could use any aspect ratio which fits inside the monitor/projector resolution. However if all material has to fill the frame then your monitor/projector resolution will give you the aspect ratio you are looking for. Hope that is what you were looking for? DaveG

Hi Jeff, The device I use is an EDIROL UA-1D which has apparently been superceded by the UA-1EX (more and better facilities). More details can be found at: http://www.edirol.it/europe/details.asp?ct...&la=UK&code=409 The RRP is £69 but worth every penny if you have an optical output that you want to route into your laptop etc. It needs no external power supply - powered by USB. You will need an optical cable in addition which, if you don't already own one, will bump the price up by around £20. Prices in the USA are probably 50% of what I quoted above - the price we have to pay for living here! DaveG

Hi Jeannight, I have posted this elsewhere and previously: If your Sony has an OPTICAL output, EDIROL make an OPTICAL to USB converter which will allow you to input directly into Audacity / Audition / EZCD Creator etc. in real time. It is a simple matter to then to save as a WAV or convert to MP3. If you intend to link more than one file together be sure to save as WAV file and create your linked file from a group of WAV files (not a group of MP3 files). If you decide to go down this route I'll talk you through it and not provide you with links etc or rude suggestions. DaveG

Tim, This has been discussed many times. Igor has, I think, promised that the next version will allow "back to back" transitions but for now allow around 300ms beteween transitions. DaveG

I would like to be able to see the items added in the Object Editor in the "Light Table" view. DaveG

I mentioned this as a suggestion for the next version, Ken. To be able to see the text that has been added to a slide, blank or otherwise, without having to go into the object editor......... DaveG

I'm pretty sure that your 1024x768 show will project OK but on the Laptop it might appear as a "stretched" show. I get wierd effects on a widescreen laptop when projecting Powerpoint shows but the Projected Image is OK. My opinion? - stay away from widescreen Laptops for this purpose unless you are sure it will do what you want. DaveG

Hi Ian, I'm not 100% sure of the facts here but I think, to be able to do what you suggest ("converting the original PTE AVI file to Mpeg instead"), it would have to be done in the interim stage where the AVI is still a "Temp" file. I have tried in the past, to copy the temp file to a different location but this does not work. Any thoughts? DaveG

Thanks Ken, I was looking for a recommendation - I have been through the search processes and remain confused. DaveG