Lin Evans

Hi Jan, You will want to check and be certain that the laptop will suport 1400x1050 resoution. The actual LCD doesn't have to support that resolution but the video card or chip used in the laptop does need to. Most laptop's have a mode which will allow either simultaneous viewing from the laptop and the accessory (projector in this case) or the lcd can be switched off and you see only the peripheral (other monitor or projector, etc.). Since the majority of new laptops are running Vista in one or another iteration, you probably don't need to worry too much about having sufficient video card power to run PTE's more demanding shows, but I've found it's still good to test them. Before you go shopping let me know and I'll give you a link to the couple test shows I created early on which test RAM requirements. They consist of a couple 32 piece "puzzle" shows. One will run on even 32 meg video cards and the other will quickly reveal problems because it taxes even a very good 128 meg card. If you are going to purchase through mail-order or the web I would suggest trying to find the model you will be buying in a retail store and trying the files on it first. The manufacturer or the sales people "should" be able to answer your question about supporting 1400x1050 resolution mode. As long as the card can handle it you should be able to switch to that mode for the projection. The LCD might look strange, but the important thing is that the projector be given the proper file match. Even though the projectors can usually handle transformation to their own resolution requirements, it's usually better to try and match it with output from the laptop for better performance. Lin

I'm a bit unclear on the first question. Could you possibly clarify what you want to do here? If you want to have the last slide remain on screen as with 4.48 that isn't possible with 5.0 yet. I haven't yet had my morning coffee so still a bit confused here. On the second question, there is no way to do that automatically. You could assign individual numbers via comments on the individual slides so that would enable skipping any you wish but the automatic numbering retrieves the number from the position in the slide list so not possible to actually "skip" slides. Best regards, Lin

Great ideas Judy! Thanks!! Best regards, Lin

Hi Dab, Go to Objects and Animations screen then to Properties tag and check the "low quality of resize" on a couple of the slides where you are having this problem and try it before saving. This may be the solution. Igor had some comments about this earlier, but I can't be certain that it dealt with this particular issue. The resize is normally "precise" in 5.0 and this would possibly create a slight division. But by checking "low quality of resize" (I hate the term but it is descriptive) it simply doesn't have sub-pixel accuracy and may be the solution. Worth trying. Lin

Hi Ray, Yes, I believe you are on track with this - looking forward to seeing the finished document. Lots of good info on frequencies, etc. You might expand a bit on the "delivery" system, i.e., the media itself. That is how you get the 1080p or 720p onto the media to be used. Answer questions such as "can 1080p be burned to standard DVD media (of course with limited storage capacity or do I need BluRay or HD burner?" By the way, I just tested both trailers (1080p and 720p) and both run perfectly and look great. Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, That's a strange one. Are you using 5.0 or 4.48? There is a provision for calling external files from within PTE so the first thing I would do is look to be certain that nothing is being called on a particular slide. Examine slide five and six by looking for an "action on mouse click". Frankly, I don't think this is the problem because you haven't said anything about using the mouse but it's worth a look. Is your default viewer active on startup? If so you might try closing it to see if it's somehow being called. Another possibility is to remove these two slides and see what happens. You can save the show under another name to experiment with then delete these two files and see if the problem persists. If not, introduce them one at a time and see what happens. It's really an unusual situation I've not experienced myself and really never heard of happening before but it will be interesting to find the cause and solution. Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, I'm not 100% clear on exactly what is happening. Do you mean that when the slideshow reaches a particular slide some other program (PhotoElements) opens and stops the show? Lin

Hi Keith, Actually, there was a good bit of discussion about this earlier on which prompted me to write a quick note in the "tips & tutorial's" section here: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6604 Essentially the way PTE works is that it gives Exclusive access to hardware acceleration to a slide show to insure smooth animations. So when two slideshows are both running simultneously, one must have hardware acceleration unchecked or "off" to allow the other to run smoothly. For menus, etc., where we really don't necessarily "need" hardware acceleration because we "usually" don't use a lot of animation, we can just turn it off via the check then the slideshows it calls will run smoothly. The only present way around this is to create a menu which defacto "dies" or closes after calling the menu choice, then reopens via a call to run it from the last slide in the show being executed. Of course then the menu slide must have the "run this and exit" command. The easiest way is to simply turn off hardware acceleration in the calling menu slide and avoid the issues, but if you really need animation in the menu program you can set it up as per above. Best regards, Lin

Hi John, There are many solutions. The one I use is $29.95 U.S. and works perfectly. It's called CopyToDVD. Here's a link: http://www.vso-software.fr/products/copytodvd/copytodvd.php Lin

I'll email you later with some info... Best regards, Lin

A feature to link "Comments" to opacity fades, etc. You can easily fade out an image but "comments" remain on the screen which rather defeats the aesthetics. An option to also fade out or control the amount of time "comments" remain on the slide would be helpful. Best regards, Lin

Click on Timeline tab then check Synchronize Music and Slides and Auto Spread Slides Along Music. Lin

Hi Dave, In Project Options, Comments Tab, just move the "Offset" slider to the right to about 13, click on "set for all slides" and that should take care of the problem for you. Be sure you have the "safe area" revealed by clicking on the "Tools" in the Objects and Animation screen the check the "show safe TV zone" to see the border. Your actual text position will be revealed above the "border" which represents the boundaries of the TV screen. The "Offset" is designed just for this purpose. Best regards, Lin

The "clue" to the problem is that the executables run fine when you don't call them from the "video business card." Your problem is that you have hardware acceleration turned on for the "business card". Go to the "Project Options" in your menu (business card) then "screen tab". Uncheck the "hardware acceleration" and re-save the file and that should take care of your problem. You can't run hardware acceleration on two shows simultaneously which is what is actually happening because the business card is still runing in memory while the other is also playing. Best regards, Lin

Hi Jeff, Thanks! Actually, for an aesthetic show I wouldn't zoom much beyond 100% on each patch or from the original. If you read my latest post I explain how this can be avoided even with a large jump in focal length. http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6953 The difficulty comes in matching the "patch" for the closeup zooms to the original pano at 100% without a series of intermediate lenses. It's always easy to zoom down but not practical to zoom in beyond proprietary limits of much over 100% (that's 100% of the original pano's true size). By making intermediate small panoramas with a longer focal length lens rather than individual frames it's possible do downsize to match 100% pano zoom size without having black borders. This also makes it easier for longer zoom in's because you have fewer "stops" and photo changes. Best regards, Lin

Hey Ron, LOL - I know what you mean. It's amazing how time takes it toll on us all. I hope your ankle is healing well and that the summer is a great one. Keep those great AV presentations coming! Best regards, Lin

I just wanted to pass along some of the things I'm learning about panoramas and large zoom in's. As we all know, a good panorama with increased resolution can easily be made by stitching multiple frames into a seamless panorama with readily available software. The problem for those wanting to make deep zooms to show detail is how to exceed the proprietary boundaries of about 100% zoom and still stay within the RAM limitations of conventional video cards. Another issue has presented itself, and that is how can the average photographer who doesn't have a wide assortment of focal lengths to work with (intermediate lenses) manage this with only perhaps a medium focal length lens and a long focal length lens? It's easy enough to patch in individual frames for closeup's of of interest areas in the pano and zoom to the limits of propriety for your long zoom lenses if you have sufficient intermediary focal length captures, but if you don't have these intermediary lenses then how can you match the individual subject area sizes without having a black border around your frames? The answer is small intermediary panos. When you take your original frames for the pano, then change lenses and go back to interest areas with your longer focal length lens but instead of shooting an individual frame, shoot above and beside your "target" sufficiently to product intermediary small panos to use for the patch. You can always zoom a pano out - that is, make it smaller on screen without loosing apparent image quality, but you can't zoom in much beyond 100% without sacrifice of apparent resolution. So by making intermediate small "panos" you will not have the problem of overzoom on the original to match the minimal zoom without frame borders being exposed on the patch frames used for the in-depth zooms. Of course, as with any pano creation. Find the proper exposure via aperture and shutter speed and use these figures to effect capture in manual mode for each frame to facilitate color match and proper blend. Best regards, Lin

Thanks! I suspect that with the varied reports of some jerky movement in some places even with those having plenty of video RAM (such as your card) that I've found the "ragged" edge of what's usable in terms of image size. The initial pano consists of twelve full sized captures saved in jpg at Photoshop 12 which means minimal compression, but at about 33 meg compressed jpg this probably still expands to an uncompressed 110 meg size (tiff size for same file). So with 110 meg loading plus the additional individual frames (I'm not certain exactly how they are switched into and out of memory) that pretty well taxes a 128 meg card. It's even more surprising that people with a 64 meg card can even play it and is a testimony to the efficiency of modern engineering! Best regards, Lin --> QUOTE(Mr B @ Jun 23 2007, 10:06 AM) ←This worked well for me with the only slight jerk when panning down from the chimneys. Smooth, smooth, smooth. I did not disable Zonealarm or AVG and (at the start) had Spybot checking for problems.Use Nvidia GeForce FX5200, 128mb. Excellent test, thanks.

Hi Ron, Thanks! I'm still scratching my head over why some experience sound issues while other's do not. I suspect it's just a resource issue, but you have plenty of video RAM so it must be some other interaction such as load speed. I did combine the two music tracks into one mp3 which "may" make it better. Best regards, Lin

Thanks much! Yes, I didn't color correct so I could see the change points more easily. Of course the resolution change is pretty apparent too because I didn't have sufficient focal length overlap and had to push the original beyond a prudent zoom to match the secondary and tertiary images. You might also see the white vehicle magically appear in the driveway to the right of the stack. I could have cloned it out on the final zoom in frame, but I thought I would leave it in as a "marker". The driver "snuck" up on me between frames - LOL. Best regards, Lin

LOL - your old eyes are about as good as mine! It's actually a ground squirrel. Yes I've been trying all sorts of permutations to try and alleviate that "jerk" on the stop. "Smooth" on the non-linear does it very well, but then I have the annoying "glitter" on the slow start of the zoom. I've even tried patching in another slide to start the zoom then trying to fade with opacity control into the already zooming pano but my head is hurting from too much "thinking" - HA! I may work this one out yet, but still "cogitating" (or is that "codgertating"? - my wife would comment here) on the probabilities. Note: I'm still smarting over my 65th birthday this month. Sigh.... Lin

I doubt there is any way to make it work with DVD because running an executable file is contingent upon having a computer to "interpret" the "execute" command. Since DVD players only understand a limited command structure such as what is programmed into your remote control, interpreting a command unique to the DOS/Windows operating system is outside their venue. Perhaps some day DVD players will have a "mini-operating system" compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, etc., but probably the demand for this type thing will have to be sufficient to persuade the manufacturers of its worth before that will happen. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, Thanks! It sounds like the NVIDIA 5600 has no problems with the RAM load. I suspect it takes at least a 128 meg card to run this one smoothly so the 256 with a good GPU handles it with no problem. Best regards, Lin

Actually, the support is fantastic. Issues, bugs, etc, are frequently solved the same day. Email sometimes doesn't get throught in a timely way so the developers visit the forum every day - Remember in Russia it's a day ahead and usually opposite time from the U.S., etc. The forum is a large part of the support here. I'll repeat my question from your other post. Go into Video Builder and click on Help and then on About and tell me what it says. It would appear that you may not have loaded the key in the correct place, i.e., through Video Builder rather than from the main screen. Lin

When you go into Video Builder, click on "Help" then "About" - what does it say? Lin