Lin Evans

Hi Gayland, Thanks! It was lots of fun even with the heat! Yesterday was an all time 105F record in Denver, but the humidity is low so not deadly, just uncomfortable. At 11:30 last night it was 94 degrees in the house. I remember 10 days I spent in Houston back in the mid-70's. I was a cross-country trucker in those days and had to oversee the repairs on a 200,000 pound transformer which I was delivering from Gulf ElectroQuip in Houston to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Parker, Arizona. I was living in the sleeper on a Mac Thermodyne tractor with no air and thought I was going to croak. It was about 100 degrees in the shade and nearly 100% humidity. That 10 days felt like a year! I feel for you brother! That heat and humidity is definitely one uncomfortable combination! Best regards, Lin

Hi Ken, Thanks - just playing with a few images - could only stay about 2 hours to take some pictures then a couple hour drive home to let my dog out.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Colin, I would have given her everything in my wallet for another smile - she was a cutie for sure! Best regards, Lin

Hi Tom, LOL - Only in my cars and truck. The AC is broken at home - 93 last night - had to cover with a wet towel and turn the fan on for improvised evaporative AC. I have a friend in Tiburon who has been rubbing it in! Like Humbolt county, nice and cool there every day and evening. Best regards, Lin

The Colorado Renaissance Festival held in Larkspur, Colorado is one of the largest in the world - it's been in continuous operation for 30 years now.... Just some fun with a few frames taken last Saturday... ungodly hot - 103 degrees F. http://www.lin-evans...emo/renfair.zip (Windows exe - about 56 meg) http://www.lin-evans.../renfairmac.zip (MacIntosh native exe - about 57 meg) And, the video version - start it - pause, let it buffer a while then resume for uninterrupted play... http://www.lin-evans.org/fair/renfair.htm Lin

Cool effect - nice one Dave! Best regards, Lin

Hi, Sorry, it's not possible to read a spreadsheet with PTE, nor with any other presentation slideshow software with which I'm familiar. You have copious template ability to read information from both the EXIF header and especially from the IPTC metadata. If you go to Project Options, Comments Tab and look below you will find an underlined blue text which says insert template. Click on this then on IPTC info and you will see the screen below which shows you what can be read from the IPTC metadata. Of course the information must have been placed into the metadata by the photographer.... Best regards, Lin

O.K., this is a "BIG" file - the idea is to present something for newcomers to the forum to get some idea of the possibilities for creating effects as well as the image quality possible with PTE. To that end, I've included a little taste of various things most have seen before such as the "wire frame," cubes with "Rubic Cube" motion, rain and such, pyramid, falling leaves, water effects, snow effects, atomic effect, transparent cube effect, psychedelic fractal effect and ending with a super smooth super long panorama pan. http://www.lin-evans...o/effectspc.zip (Windows) (about 128 meg zipped exe) http://www.lin-evans.../effectsmac.zip (Mac) (about 129 meg zipped native Mac exe) Youtube VersionBest regards, Lin

Hi Ken, Thanks!! I "think" I have corrected it, but I think your link is "direct" and that's better... Best regards, Lin

For those who want to play with the concept of a "wire frame" object creation and manipulation like the one's Dave, Peter, Tom and I have been discussing and are having problems with understanding the process - I created a little tutorial to demonstrate how to proceed. You can find it here: http://www.learnpte.com Under the "Tutorials" or here on the PTE website: http://www.picturest...uously-updated/ #37 in zipped AVI format (about a 70 meg download) Best regards, Lin

Cool Davy, That one almost got me up and dancing!!! Lin

Hi Joy, It's not entirely clear from your post "precisely" what you are trying to accomplish. There are at least two "major" ways to add a "border" to an image. One way is within PTE by choosing the "Properties" tab in the Objects and Animations screen. This allows you to place a plain border in your choice of color and pixel dimension around your image. This is done on an image by image basis. Each image "could" have a separate color and size of border. There is no "universal" way to apply this feature automatically to each image. Another way which would work if your images are slightly smaller than the screen display size would be to choose a background image of contrasting color and apply it to "all" slides via the "Project Options" "Screen" tab "Background" feature. A third way is to create a PNG file with a transparent center and place it on the layer beneath each slide and adjust the dimensions so that it shows around the edges. This method lets you have a bit "fancier" type of border depending on your skills in your editor of choice which provides for layered image construction. In such a case you would apply this file to each slide one at a time. None of these methods will affect the timings, animations, etc., of your show - just provide a border for your images. Best regards, Lin

Hi Robert, There is as yet no way to adjust the audio on a video in PTE except to mute it, so I use VideoPad to create fade-in and fade-out on the video's audio track. Of course you could use a 3rd party software to extract the audio track as an MP3, mute the audio on the video, insert the MP3 as the audio and apply the full envelope features to suit. But this then would possibly compromise audio synchronization with the video depending on individual circumstances. It is already possible to achieve segmenting the video in PTE, but it is a bit awkward. We don't know yet what Igor has in mind for future versions, but hopefully the ability to apply an envelope to the audio track in a video would be very useful as would simplified cropping (which is the word used to describe this action in PTE). To "segment" into separate clips, you need to put the "start time" and "stop time" in and save the output to a different name. Repeat this process as needed using the original video each time to achieve the various "segments" to use in your show. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, I don't believe the free version supports MP4 any longer, but rather limits one. You can still "input" MP4 but the output can only be saved to avi, wmv, asf or DVD. I reloaded the latest version a couple weeks ago and noticed this too. Since PTE converts to AVI for internal use anyway I suppose it doesn't matter, but still annoying. I don't know which version I had when I answered Gary. I generally only use it these days to fade in and fade out audio. I'm thinking about getting Adobe Premiere Elements which is far superior from what everyone tells me.Unfortunately I'm severely limited right now in funding so will have to wait a few months. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, I would agree somewhat. I think it depends a great deal on what "new users" want to do. It's beyond the scope of the developers of a software to teach a user each and every nuance of possibility for the use of their program. For example, and automobile manufacturer sells you a car and gives you an owners guide which tells you what each "button" and "gauge" and switch is for, but they don't teach you how to drive. If your vehicle is equipped with a tow hitch, they don't try to teach you how to tow a vehicle or how to back it into a tight parking spot. My point is that, as you well know, there are myriad things which we "can" do with PTE that are beyond the scope of the developer to either support or teach. This, in my opinion, is where 3rd party tutorials enter the picture. Your automobile may have a thermometer which reads inside and outside temperatures, but it isn't the manufacturer's duty to give you a course in meteorology or explain the relationship between celcius and farenheit even thought the gauge may indicate both. It's sufficient that the manufacturer explain that turning the heat or cooling knob this way or that either increases or decreases the temperature inside the vehicle. Terms like "interlace" or "deinterlace" need not be explained any more than a term like "temperature" needs to be explained. There are some reasonable expectations of basic knowledge expected. When one purchases a sailboat, there is no expectation that the manufacturer or seller teach the buyer to sail - just that he/she show the buyer where the relevant controls are located. I believe the same applies to software such as PTE. It's difficult to know where, precisely, to draw the line. Some new users may be able to intuitively understand a "timeline" and "keyframes" and very quickly be able to grasp the more subtle nuances of how to use these features. Other new users may be totally bewildered at the terms themselves and need individual hand-holding. This, I believe, is where 3rd party tutorials are useful. Depending on the background and technical education level of the new user - a wide variance exists in the specific requirements of an owners guide. As a former sofware developer myself, I tended to build my manuals for the least common denominator, but this too might have negative consequences for the more advanced user who just wants to know where the "button is." It's not an easy task, I fear, to find middle ground which will appeal to all. Best regards, Lin

LOL - words of wisdom David! Best regards, Lin

Hey Eric, You wouldn't jump in a sailboat and try to even cross the channel without learning to sail. Chances are you wouldn't make it a half mile unless you understood the basics. Likewise with the technology involved with video. Read the link on interlacing - it's not that difficult. Once you understand the basics it will be "much" easier for you to get the results you want. Essentially, the better your original capture in terms of camera stability, the fewer manipulations are necessary to make it professional. The fluid head will be a major contributor toward a good original. Try to approach it with an open mind. I think many of us, when we get older, resist learning new things. Believe me, in my 70 years I've been through this mind set, but I've learned that the old "noggin" can still work as it did when I was a young punk with the world as my oyster! LOL. Don't make it difficult - just do it!!! Best regards, Lin

Thanks Tom - the idea was just to demonstrate some of the many possibilities in terms of animation and effects but keep it short enough to hold the interest of the viewer. I think the demonstration videos and shows offered by members are different enough to appeal to a broad range of potential PTE users. From the very professional and sophisticated timings and nuances of presentation used by Jean Charles in "Jazz," to the innovative creations of Dom in "Smile," the beautiful photography and subtle smooth presentation style of Barry's latest presentation and the more traditional documentation approach of Jurgen, there is something for everyone. My goal was to attempt to show, without a lot of explanation, a combination of the uses of animation, masking, video, animated gif and still image creations to appeal to some of the younger potential users. Igor has presented the more traditional slidshow side with his presentations so hopefully, we will have covered the interest areas of most potential users. The "beauty" of PTE is that there exists tremendous presentation "potential" to express one's self in myriad ways. From the traditional AV presentation to the silly and sublime, it's all possible with this tool. We simply need to get the word out to the world that this tool is unique and goes far beyond the provenience of "presentation slideshow" to encompass a broad spectrum of possibilities for the user. Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, The problem is that it's beyond the purveyance of a program like PicturesToExe to teach you all the background, terminology, nomenclature and methodology of either photography or video. You wouldn't expect a dissertation on the relationships between aperture and depth of field as they might relate to sharpness of your capture even though there is a "sharpness" adjustment in PTE. My point is that there are far to many variables in video for the developers of PTE to even begin to broach, and the expectation is that you do your homework and understand the terms if you want to change from the automated defaults. Specifically, the "deinterlace" feature has nothing to do with correcting a jerky video. The "cause" of a jerky video is either camera movement (most often the culprit) or possibly extreme erratic subject motion (rarely). To correct this what is necessary is micro adjustment movement of the frames either up and down or from side to side or even diagonally or all the above to offset and counter the motion of the camera. There are myriad technologies which provide algorithms which diagnose the motion then adjust frame by frame to counter it and when all is said and done you end up with realignment and a slight "crop" of each frame to compensate. The result is a much "smoother" appearance. If you are using Vista or better (Windows 7) I would strongly suggest having a look at ProDAD Mercalli 2 here: http://www.prodad.co...rial,l-us.xhtml Next to Warp, the incredible stabilizing algorithm found in Adobe's Aftereffects which will cost you about $1000.00 U.S., it's the best I've found for stabilizing your video at a reasonable cost. You can also go the freeware route, but believe me, Mercalli is "much" easier to use and unless you want to spend days learning the in's and out's of stabilizing - you would be well advised to spend the bucks for Mercalli which does all the work for you. Using a fluid head will greatly help, but if you hand hold and you want a real quality result, you need this software. Go here to learn about the deinterlace issue..... http://www.100fps.com/ Best regards, Lin

Hi guys, Thanks - actually, a font change from the original of the "waterfall scene" caused a differential in proper placement of the vertical text to the left of the waterfall. I have since corrected that and the updated version can be seen here: http://www.lin-evans.org/demo/PresentingPTE.zip Igor, you may want to replace the one on the Wnsoft server with this one.... Best regards, Lin

Hi Barry, That pretty well sums it up. When Jeff and I did the first "unofficial user guide" we were pretty thorough, but it was all based on a button by button, feature by feature basis on push this and this happens and then you do this or that to achieve so and so. There was no way to approach the myriad different "ways" one could use particular features to achieve specific effects. By the time we were finished with the manual and "published" it, already changes in screen appearance and additional features were quickly coming. We decided to skip trying to "update" it and wait for the "major" change to include things such as 3D transforms, video, animated gifs, audio and so on, but the changes and improvements came so fast that we had to rethink the plans. I then thought that it was way too awkward to try to "revise" the manual and that we might as well start from scratch again but then realized that a major paradigm change was needed so that we could make the manual and index into smaller segments covering fewer features as stand-alone, independent "chapters" which could be more easily expanded and changed without redoing the entire manual. Finally, I decided that doing it via "tutorials" made more sense because adding the visual in real time to the written made more sense. Of course this has its weaknesses as well because of the many "languages" necessary to convey the information to users in different countries and different language groups. As you say, it would almost take a full-time crew of two or more people to keep up and then have everything translated into the many necessary languages to be thorough. I remember when a full written "manual" was available for Photoshop. Now, it would be virtually impossible to do such because of the vast complexity of features and myriad applications possible. Definitely it's not an easy task..... Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, You've totally lost me... Creating an MP4 with PTE has nothing to do with Youtube or "save a copy" .... When you choose "Publish" from your menu, then from the drop-down choose HD Video for PC & Mac, PTE creates a stand-alone MP4..... Best regards, Lin

Eric, too many trips to the pub ????? PTE "does" produce an MP4.... LOL Lin

Hi Eric, Youtube has multiple ways of determining the probable source of music embedded in a video. None has anything to do with codecs. Codecs are compression/decompression algorithms used to make either video or audio smaller in file size than uncompressed versions. Without a codec, your video would be absolutely too large to deal with. Remember, when you create a video, you are storing on your media from 25 to potentially 60 or more complete frames (images) per second of playback time. For example, for a five minute video, that would equate to 7500 to as many as 18000 individual images. Without compression, just trying to load these on media could be overwhelming and we are talking about only five minutes of video. Audio is similar. Without compression, the file sizes could be huge. So codecs allow compression of these huge video and audio files into a manageable size. In order to play them back, once they are loaded on your computer they must be "decompressed." So the codec allows the "decompression" of the compressed files so the computer can make sense of the content. Audio files created by professional studios have metadata attached just like our jpg pictures have EXIF and metadata information available. Just making an MP3 from a CD doesn't necessarily remove metadata information. That's why when you use a player such as Kantaris Media Player, you sometimes see the artists name, etc., which is associated with your audio. Even if this data is stripped from the MP3 file Youtube has a huge database of audio and algorithms which quickly do "fingerprint" identification. There is really no way to avoid this without significantly altering the audio. Sometimes speeding up or slowing down the audio can effectively confuse the database comparisons algorithms, but don't depend on it. The software used for identifying an audio source is very sophisticated and very effective at ferreting out potential copyright violations. Also there are problems where certain companies make unsubstantiated "claims" to ownership of music and Youtube doesn't have the time or inclination to mediate disputes over ownership. At least one well known musician, Kevin Macleod has had a number of his musical compositions subjected to unwarranted claims of ownership by one such company. Some companies, such as SME (Sony) seem to believe that they own "all music" from their constant claims. Though an individual has the right to contest such claims of ownership, rarely do they prevail because money rules...... If you want to see or edit the metadata associated with your MP3 files read this: http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArticle.aspx?sid=4644 If you want to "strip" all metadata from an mp3 file, the easiest way is to us software such as MP3 Audio Recorder which intercepts and reads what goes to your sound card. Then save the recorded results as an MP3 and all metadata will be removed. You might want to study this for some more interesting features of Youtube and some of the latest news... http://www.simplyzes...u-need-to-know/ Best regards, LIn

Hi Al, It works correctly for me - it could have something to do with your individual project or something with your video. It's difficult to say exactly but the offset has been used successfully in hundreds of video implementations and works as explained, so I suspect there may be some parameters specific to your show which are causing issues. You might try a different video clip and see if you experience the same issue with it. If you want to email me a link to your PTE file I'll be glad to check it out and see if I can help set it up like you are trying to do. Best regards, Lin