Lin Evans

Hi Colin, This doesn't sound like it's a PTE problem but most likely something non related. Can you see these images with Irfanview or Photoshop? Could you zip your PTE file by using the "File" "Create Backup in Zip" feature and post a link to it. This way it will be possible to determine whether the issue is with PTE or with local hardware, etc. If you don't have a website where you can post the file, upload it to MediaFire (Mediafire.com) and the post the link. Best regards, Lin

Hi Douglas, There should be no problem at all playing your DVD's but it sounds like you may have created a DVD with the wrong output. Which country do you live in? I'm assuming the U.S. per your Profile. In the U.S., you need to create an NTSC DVD. In some other countries you need PAL. If you look at the Video Builder Project Options (lower left of your screen) then on the Project tab, the first block says "TV System." You choose either NTSC or PAL/Secam. If, by chance, you choose the wrong one, then the DVD probably won't play on your player. My suggestion is to use rewritable DVD's until you work out the kinks. I believe the default is NTSC but check this before attempting to create another. If this isn't the problem, then let us know the settings and perhaps we can find the solution for you. PTE can make perfect DVD's so hang in there it's bound to be a very simple thing. Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, Here is a MediaFire third source link to all three in case the other two don't work: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=cfda814...04e75f6e8ebb871

Hi "Y", Thanks! It's fun playing with the possibilities. I've posted some more information about possibly modifying the template to allow up to about 5 minutes of video. It will be lots of work but if enough people are interested I will do it. Read the part in red here on my last post in the thread and let me know... http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....showtopic=10095 Best regards, Lin

Hi Jean, That's possible with this method, but it would take loads of memory to run a full screen video of any quality behind your images by doing it this way. Probably it wouldn't be very efficient at all because not many systems have enough resources to play a seriously good and large video with frames as animated objects. This method is really designed to run small video clips rather than use the video as a backdrop with images on top. For example, let's say you could get the actual file size down to about 1.7 meg (remember, jpgs or png files are the same size in memory regardless of compression levels set) then for a 10 second clip you would have about 353 megabytes of contribution to the slide plus whatever else you had running on top. This would make your slideshow huge in terms of executable size. Actually, this is going to be a very "BIG" problem even when drop-in clips are allowed if we are to have high resolution video. This will mean that file sharing over the web will be a very difficult issue unless one might be so fortunate as to have unlimited funds and their own T3 line. Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, I'm sorry that the downloads didn't work for you. I'm not certain what the problem may be, but they seem to work O.K. for me and I assume for Xaver so there may have been some temporary SNAFU on the internet. Below is a link to the demo using parts of a decompiled video clip from Youtube. The original links to the template and original sample are good links in the original post above. Perhaps trying at a later time will result in success. Please let me know if you are unable to download at a later time and I will post them on an alternative host. This link to the zipped executable of about 75 meg download size: http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/videodemo.zip Best regards, Lin Peter: Here are the three links on an alternate server: http://www.lin-evans.net/pte/videodemo.zip (video clip demo) http://www.lin-evans.net/pte/rotatetemplatewithreadme.zip (template with readme) http://www.lin-evans.net/pte/earthrotatedemo.zip (rotation of Earth demo)

Hi Xaver, Of course, not unfair at all - it's definitely a workaround for video, but it allows the user to do some things not otherwise currently possible until video objects are implemented in PTE. It also allows creations of some types of custom animations not possible at all with video clips such as creating the axis rotation of celestial objects which are in orbit around the sun, etc. Even when video objects become available in PTE, simulations of celestial bodies in orbit would otherwise be beyond the reach of those who are not professional film makers with nearly unlimited budgets. However, by "borrowing" professional video clips of objects such as Earth in rotation then decompiling them, converting to PNG and removing the background via Photoshop batch actions and replacing these backgrounds with transparency, one can then create celestial simulations complete with axis rotation while in orbit. Obviously, this is not something everyone or even most would aspire to create, but for those who have the time and interest it offers a means of creating such a simulation using a relatively inexpensive tool Best regards, Lin

Include short video clips in your PTE shows - demonstration of the "possible". About 75 meg zipped executable download: http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/videodemo.zip Lin

Hi Yguy, Bob, O.K., here's what I have. I created a template which you can use to include up to 640 frames of video in your PTE show. You can position the video dynamically - that is you can move the clip anywhere on your screen at any time. You can dynamically size the video clip so you can make it larger or smaller. You can even place the video clip inside a mask and thereby limit the portion of the clip seen by the viewer. This can also be done dynamically. That's the "upside" of the template. What I can't do is include the sound directly with the video clip. However, you can usually extract the sound and include it as an MP3 file to run simultaneously. So let me explain how this is accomplished and what you need in order to make it work. First you need a video decompiler. These are "not" expensive and some are probably even available free. I use one called OSS Video Decompiler which sells for $20 U.S. and can be downloaded for a trial run here: http://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsel...affiliate=77565 What you do is load your AVI, etc., file and run the decompiler to convert the individual frames to PNG files. You can convert AVI, MPTE, MPG, ASF or WMV format ot BMP, GIF, TIF, EMF, WMP, PCX, TGA, J2K, RAS and most importantly, PNG. Once you have the video converted into individual PNG frames, then use a freeware product such as Irfanview: http://www.irfanview.com to select the 640 frames you want in your video clip and rename them using the formula "image ###" which will name the files image001.png, image002.png, etc. Then simply overwrite the files I have included in the template by copying your new files into the folder with the provided PTE template and you have a video nested inside a frame. The frame can be then used to size and position the video clip when and where and how you wish. You can also simply copy the frame and files (just click on the frame - scroll to the last PNG file and hold down the shift key while you click on the last file) by selecting them. Then delete them, add a mask, click on the mask container and "Paste" the files and you have the frame and files inside the mask. You can then use the mask to select only the part of the video clip you wish to see and even size the image inside the mask via the Frame. Move the Mask Container wherever on the screen, etc. Six hundred forty frames is about 21 seconds of video at 30 frames per second. The template can be expanded to have a longer video - but learn how to use it before getting too carried away. What is the rest of the "down side?" Doing your video clip this way is memory intensive so any text you might add or other animations may require you to save your work very frequently, exit PTE and reopen to free memory up. Does this work? Actually it works very well. You can slow your frames or speed them up by simply changing the default time because everything is actually rendered under a single slide with 640 objects each keyframed with its own timing which mirrors very smooth video. Let me know if you would like to see a sample video file and I'll post one. Remember, video is quite space intensive because unlike executable PZR effects, the frames are not created on the fly but rather created and stored then played back sequentially. The sample file then will be around a 75 meg zipped executable download. Here's a link to the template and more information: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....showtopic=10095 Best regards, Lin

Hi Ken, I thought about putting it here, but it's really not about the future - rather about what we can actually already do! I sent you and email explaining. Best regards, Lin

I'm curious. There have been numerous people asking about adding video clips to their PTE shows and I wonder if I could get some feeling for the number of people who would want to add short video clips to a show now? What if you could add small video clips, adjust the position of these clips on the screen, size the video dynamically, run other slides behind the video and animate other objects on the same screen while the video was running? Would that be something of interest? If so, respond here and let's discuss it... Best regards, Lin

Hi Folks, Just a reminder about this template. I don't think I made it completely clear when I explained originally. You can use this template for virtually "any" decompiled video sequence, not just for rotating an object. Let me explain in more detail. What this template does is present your frames in a sequence like you would present a video however, you have complete control over the size, movement, speed of sequencing, etc. Let's take an example. Say you have a video of your dog catching a frisbee or chasing a ball across the yard. Take any 640 odd frames and rename them as per the template using some freeware such as Irfanview. You now can drop them in your slideshow and play them back just like a video "except" you can zoom in, zoom out, rotate, pan, etc., the video by using the provided parent frame! If you want the sequence to run faster just decrease the display time for the 640 odd frames. If you want the sequence to run slower just increase the display time for the sequence. If you want to run more than about 30 seconds of video, just save another 640 frames and rename them with the identical file names and place them as slide two using "quick, no transition" and so on. You could have an hour of video if you wish by doing this in 640 frame "segments." Later: Actually, upon reflection, the above is not a good idea. Using the identical file names in multiple slides means you would necessarily have to have these additional slides in different folders. Then there is the problem of PTE not allowing duplicate file names in alternate locations when creating zipped PTE files from the menu. What we really need is to have multiple slides but with a continuation of numbering such as image642....image8356, etc. I can do this, and I will if enough people are interested, but it will take time and be tedious to implement. There are two ways of accomplishing this. The most foolproof way is to simply duplicate the original slide on multiple new slides then one at a time "replace" the duplicate slides in succession with the new slide numbers. So, on slide 2, image001.png gets replaced with image641, image 002.png gets replace with image642.png, etc. The other way is to attempt to modify the PTE file in an editor such as Notepad. This can get very tedious and a single mistake can lead to disaster from which recovery would be very painful if possible at all. So if I do this I will do it by replacing one image at a time. As you will see below, this will require replacing over 8,000 images with a new file name one at a time. I have calculated that 631 frames at 29.97 frames per second yields about 21 seconds of video (actually 21.054 seconds). Since we can stipulate seconds "and" milliseconds we can actually get very good accuracy in duplicating a 29.97 frame per second video this way. So to have close to five minutes of video time we need about 14 slides consisting of 8834 frames. I believe that nearly five minutes is quite sufficient in terms of realistic video clip simulation so this will be my goal if enough people are truly interested in using this template for running video clips in their shows. Just let me know. It will take some time but I'm willing to do it if enough people are interested..... This is a "very" versatile template because it provides the frame sequencing and control over movement of the "entire" video. I just wanted to clarify that you can use it for virtually any decompiled video and not "just" for video which "rotates" an object. The only caveats are to keep the frame sizes reasonably small in pixel dimensions so as to not overtax your systems's resources. As an example, the demo "video clip" uses about 636 meg of RAM so use care in the size of your frames. This method is not suitable for high resolution video such as 1080p. Note: if you convert to jpg, then use Irfanview or other suitable batch conversion software to convert the jpg's to PNG format. I used PNG so that "if" you plan to have objects in rotation, you don't have to have the background rotation with the subject. So using PNG allows the transparency but does not adversely impact the use of converted jpg frames for regular video. There is no real space savings by having jpg because all jpg frames expand to their full eight bit size in memory anyway. A quick sample zipped executable (about 75 meg download) is available in the Slideshows section here for those interested: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....showtopic=10243 Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, The "freeze" temporary "fix" for hard drives deals primarily with the "bearings" supporting the platter. After years of use, and even though running in a pretty much "sealed" environment, the bearings develop carbon deposits which, added with the heat of running and the resultant expansion of metals, cause a bearing freeze so that the platter either won't turn at all or turns too slowly. Freezing for an extended period caused a contraction of the differential metals and allows the platter once more to spin as it should. Though the drive may operate normally even for extended periods, the probability of ultimate failure is much higher and this process should really be only used to get the valuable data off an onto a newer device. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, First, be sure you don't have "repeat music after playing" checked in the Music tab of Project Options.. Next, save your work, open the PTE file again and remove the music and save under a different name and create an exe file. See if it "still" returns the first slide rather than keeping the last slide on screen. Then let me know what the result was. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, Go to the timeline, click on "Timed Points" then "Arrange all Points" and that will spread the slides evenly so that the music and last slide end together (if that's what you want). Best regards, Lin

Hi Ron, Do you mean 5.7.4 (beta of 5.7) or 5.6.4 the release version. I think I'm loosing my marbles - LOL... Never mind. I think I understand. I was thinking about the 5.7 betas which the last version is 5.7.3 beta. I need some coffee and a good night's sleep...... Ha! Lin

Hi Tom, In Objects and Animations screen, to your left of "Close" you will see a small window with 100% in the view. Click on the down arrow beside this and choose a smaller view such as 25% or even 10% and you will be able to see the PNG objects which have gone out of view. To add additional PNG objects, make sure nothing in the Objects list is selected (highlighted in blue) and right click the mouse and choose "Add" then from the popup list choose "Image" and go find the other PNG objects and select them. An alternate way to be sure nothing is selected is to use a very small view such as 10% then right click in the grey area far outside anything having to do with the screen or objects and choose "Add" from there. It's the same as right clicking inside the Object's list when nothing is selected. To bring them in if they are already in the field of view, you may do as Peter suggests. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, I can't find anything in the way of posts which mentions it.... Maybe the posts were removed too - LOL... Best regards, Lin

Hi Ron, Where did you find 5.6.4? Has it been posted?? Lin

Hi Peter, Actually, I think not. There is no need to redesign the video portions of PTE to make it like some other products because it already has features that they don't have which make it very powerful. More new features are being added such as 3D object transformations, output to MacIntosh and other things on the drawing board. It's really not necessary to have multiple video tracks to do some very sophisticated transitions and timings with PTE. I must agree with Xaver that simply having a couple audio tracks with elementary fades and perhaps volume control via keyframes would suffice nicely and really doesn't imply that multiple video channels are required. These video products which have multiple video channels and multiple audio channels "can" be used to create slideshows from stills (I have a number of these products myself) but it is certainly not as easy nor as flexible in my experience as PTE. I can create complex shows with animations in minutes with PTE which take me literally hours to accomplish with Sony Vegas Pro Suite or with Adobe Encore (when I can do them at all). I can do things in a few hours with PTE which take me literally days to do with Wings (which in my estimation is the finest overall AV product availalble - but terribly expensive for the full-featured versions). I see PTE as having a very special place in audio visual creations software. It's extremely powerful, produces stellar quality and at a very modest price with absolutely the best upgrade policy anywhere. Absolutely it's unmatched in presentation slideshow software. It gets better every few months and from where I sit the future for PTE looks very bright indeed! Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, I use the Sony Vegas Pro suite (about $1500 worth) and I can assure you that unless you intend to spend a "lot" of time learning how to use it, you will find PTE virtually "simple" to use in comparison. Video editing software such as Sony's which was adapted when they purchased the original software from Sound Forge (now a Sony Product) before they were acquired by Sony, or Adobe Encore/Premier, etc., are complex but powerful programs. Learning to use their myriad features is a bit like learning to use Photoshop. Some parts are relatively simple, but to get the most from the program requires years for most users to assimilate. I can tell you it's a daunting task! Best regards, Lin

Abdol, Could you explain in more detail about scrollbars? I still see scrollbars to enter text. You have the option of programming text to scroll exactly as you would on any screen. You can use a mask to have the text scroll within a particular area, etc., just like you would on any other screen. The difference is that this screen pops up at the beginning of your slideshow and things like hypertext, button, etc., are already placed for you to modify or delete as needed??? Best regards, Lin

Hi Ralph, Moved this from PTE to the Ideas and Suggestions forum. Actually this has been discussed at length in previous posts and on member, Tom, actually created a template for this. Click Here for some history: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....hlite=auto+zoom Best regards, Lin

Hi Dan, On the first error (the blue box) I notice that PTE is looking for your file on the F: drive. As Peter said, when this error occurs, it means PTE can't find the file where it was when the PTE file was saved. The file may not have been moved by you, but when using external drives (such as indicated by the drive designator F:) the operating system is designed in such a way that without intervention by the user, drive designators do something called "cascade" when devices are added to the system. So, for example, if you were to plug in a different external device whether a hard disk, USB storage device, external DVD drive, etc., the designator F: may have been assigned to a different device. PTE will look for your file on the drive designator which was assigned at the time you created the PTE file and if it isn't found on the device currently assigned that drive designator then you will get this error message. If you are using external devices (apparently you are) then there are ways in Windows of making semi "permanent" drive assignments. Do a web search on disk drive assignments for your particular operating system and you will find instructions. Giving an external device a permanent drive assignment will go a long way toward alleviating this issue in the future. Best regards, Lin

Hi Dom, Great use of masks and fantastic photos! Congrats. Runs smoothly on my machine, no flash at end. I suspect the "flash" Ken sees has to do with Beta 3 versus the particular video card.... He has this problem with one of my experimental programs as well. Best regards, Lin