Truelight

I used many of the early versions of PTE, but have not needed the program for a while and have not kept up with the new releases. I have also changed my computer and my e-mail address several times through the years. I again have need for the program, but no longer have a registered copy. I do understand however that my orginal purchases guaranteed "lifetime upgrades." So... can get a key so I can use the new Version 5.6? Please advise... Thanks.

Integrate DVD burning of a show into the product. Having to use a third-party product to do this is bogus. Until you do this, Proshow Gold will remain my product of choice.

>>you can make the same type slideshow with P2E by using the output to AVI feature then using another program such as Ulead DVD Movie Factory to convert and burn the AVI to DVD format.<< True, but... I continue to use PTE on occasion to make .EXE shows that will be run strictly on a PC. But, when it comes to making shows for DVD, that's where PSG shines. I --hate-- it when I have to use multiple programs to execute a task and unfortunately, PTE forces me to do this if what I'm after is a DVD-based show. PSG on the other hand is one-stop-shopping... I create the show there, add an effects I like (the text effects are unmatched), and then can output the show as an .exe, a DVD-show (or both on the same disc), or even such variants as VCD, SVCD, or .SCR screensavers. PTE is still king of .exe creation and the ability to add objects to link to other things is it's greatest strength, but having to buy an additional program like Movie Factory so I can make a DVD?? Nah.... not this kid. Wanna --really--- take PTE to the next level?? Add a burning engine to it and allow the user to take the project from show to disc all from within the program. Until then, I'll use PSG for what it does best and PTE for what it does best, which isn't making DVD-based shows. Wanna see what a pro can do with PSG ?? Check out this show by Mark Ridout -- Rick

PTE has always had the ability to manually advance the slides (via the Navigation Bar) if you're making an .exe show. But now that you can output an .avi file for use in making a disc-based show (VCD, SVCD, or DVD), is there a way of have those kinds of shows have manual control? This is one shortcoming of PSG-created shows. What would be the process for creating a show for display on a TV set (played from a DVD player) and still have manual control of the show?? -- Rick

Or CDextractor CDextractor Truelight (Rick) See my Webpage

Here's wishing the wide-world of PTE users all the best for 2004! Happy New Year from Boise, Idaho USA -- Rick See my website - True Light Words & Pictures

I'm really not a "cat person," but Isabel Cutler's show really did convice me I "Gotta Love Louie." Beautifully photographed with a good music selection, this show is a glimpse into an owners' love for her pet and the "personality" of this beautiful animal. Two-thumbs up Isabel! Nice work!. -- Rick

The new Beta2 version is much improved and works well for me. I'm running Win XP on a P4 with 512MB ram. Perhaps the problem with the previous posters tries is a slower PIII machine running Win 98? Tell Santa you need a new computer.

>>The big disadvantage (apart from the poor quality) is that very few DVD players will play the finished disc - you will need a special player!<< A "special player??" I've been using ProShow Gold to make SVCD shows for months now as a way to distribute "digital proofs" to my photo clients. At home my "special player" is an Apex 1000AD which cost me a "whopping" $40 at Walmart. The machine plays just about any kind of disc I can throw at it. I've had very few customers complain that they can't play the SVCD format. I think you'd be surprised how many players will actually play this format and quality looks pretty good too. Interestingly, it's often the higher-priced Sony's, Panasonics, and "name brand" DVD players that don't play SVCD. But, the same site I mentioned earlier in the thread - DVDhelp.com has a section that will tell you which players will play which formats. Give it a try before you "dis" it.

Once you start making images for display on a TV set, you enter the realm of TV-specific issues. The "Safe Zone" is one of them -- ------------- Safe Zones Early TV picture tubes distorted the image near the edges, so it was decided that the picture would be overscanned with the edge of the picture hidden by a plastic bezel. However, when working with video on a computer you see the whole image, so you must always be aware that the edges of your image will not be visible on a TV. The non-visible portion of the image corresponds roughly to the area inset 5% from each edge (about 36 pixels from each side and 24 pixels from the top and bottom). The area inside is often called the "action-safe zone." Make sure that anything that has to be seen is inside this zone. Additionally, there is another region that is inset 5% from the edges of the action-safe zone known as the "title-safe zone." Older picture tubes still produced some distortion outside this zone, making text harder to read, so titles were always including inside this zone. Most TVs nowadays don't have a problem with text outside of this zone, but it's still common practice to use it. You may want to play it safe, but if it's not possible I wouldn't worry about it, since the likelihood of someone viewing the video on an old TV that has this problem is low. -------------- You also need to be concerned with NTSC-colors, etc. Read up on such things here: Making Titles and Graphics NTSC compliant Just when you thought there was nothing else to learn...

Just for the record, the new beta-2 version creates a --much-- more compatible .AVI file. I was able to successfully convert a PTE-generated .AVI to the .MPG format using this product -- AVI-MPEG Converter Now to find a freeware way to get the .MPG file to an SVCD disc!

Ron writes -- >>>However, there are still many mountains to climb before we can expect the same excellent resolution on the TV screen as what we get from the .exe file on a computer monitor.<< No...No.No... You will NEVER experience the "same excellent resolution" on a TV screen as you do on a computer monitor. The fault is not in the software, it's in the output device itself. Television displays are incapable of achieving the same visual quality as computer monitors due to their technical limitations. (lower resolution, interlaced display, the ancient NTSC/PAL standards, etc. etc.). I keep reading threads from people who think that if we just "tweak" the software, we'll get computer like quality from a TV set. It's not gonna happen. It's like asking for concert-hall sound from a cheap transistor radio.

You're experiencing what TV folks refer to as the "safe zone." Because TV's will crop out some of the picture, what you see on a PC may not be what you see on a TV set when you output your show for viewing on that device. Some programs (Proshow Gold is one), allow you to see what will be inside the "safe zone" and what may be outside of it. Perhaps that might be a feature we should ask for in PTE if folks are going to be using .AVI output for shows -- display of the "Safe Zone" while editing.

You can get all that you ever wanted to know about DVD, VCD, SVCD and related stuff (and probably a whole lot more) here: DVDHelp There is also a complete glossary here: Glossary For example - SVCD -- SVCD stands for 'Super VideoCD'. A SVCD is very similiar to a VCD, it has the capacity to hold about 35-60 minutes on 74/80 min CDs of very good quality full-motion MPEG-2 video along with up to 2 stereo audio tracks and also 4 selectable subtitles. A SVCD can be played on many standalone DVD Players and of course on all computers with a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive with the help of a software based decoder / player. Better read up. If you decide to take advantage of the .AVI output of PTE, you'll need to understand some of this stuff.

I'm pleased to see the new version of PTE has a way to output an .AVI file, but am hoping I might be able to find other ways to generate a disc playable in a DVD player without having to purchase another program - Ulead DVD Movie Factory. Does anyone have any alternate methods? For instance, Nero will create an SVCD disc from an .MPG file, but not an .AVI and the one program I tested for converting .AVI to .MPG didn't like the PTE-generated .AVI What else might be possible? -- Thanks...