Philip Fennessy

I would like to thank everyone for their responses as this is very helpful. Today, I managed to arrange to return the new PC to my supplier and they will be installing Microsoft Seccurity Essentials. I know that this is easy to do but there was also a need to install the right graphics card. Fortunately, the supplier agreed that mistakes had been made and offered a graphics card upgrade. Once again, thanks to everyone. Phil

Hello I ordered a new PC with Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) but the PC supplier installed AVG. Some time ago, I read here that there were some problems with AVG although some users were happy with MSE. Can the forum members please let me know whether there are problems with AVG today? Thank you for your assistance.

Hi Lin, Thanks for your fast response. Your comments are very helpful. I'm looking forward to the video "converter" and can see that there's a need for experimentation in the weeks ahead. Exciting days! It'll be so interesting to see how video will be used to enhance presentations. All the best, Phil

Hi Lin, Thanks for posting your work with the new video capability. It really provides some inspiration! Can I ask whether you have any intention on posting a tutorial on how you did this? I shoot PAL video (.m2t) and was wondering whether PTE can accept this format. Some of these files are large even though I never use more than 30 sec clips. Would it be best to convert these to another format before using them in PTE? I could output the file with a video editing system but don't want to degrade the quality. Finally, with PTE, have you any thoughts on using 1920x1080 / 1280x720 for the web? I'm trying to figure out in my mind the best size for a slideshow with video. All the best, Phil

Hi Brian, I think that everyone is really grateful for the time and detailed expert advice you provide, none more so than myself. I'll be giving a lot of thought to what you've said here and in other communications. I've no doubt that you'd be able to charge a very respectable fee for your advice and it's really great to see you offer advice on this forum. Best regards, Phil

Hi Yachtsman, Thanks for posting the link, as it provides some great background to some of the problems that I had not researched before. Really appreciated! Best regards, Phil

Hi Brian, That was an excellent and detailed response! Clearly, I need to consider matters further before adding any further comments. At first glance, this highlights a less than ideal situation and I’m starting to think about the complexities with adding video (.m2t) to PTE and how this will be done. Thank you! Best regards, Phil

Hi Peter, Jeff and Yachtsman, Thanks for all of your comments. Peter, I take your point but I’ve made some allowance for the HD video editing. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Igor and his team devise in terms of video files. For example, I’ll be using .m2t from a Canon HV20 camcorder. Regardless, I’ve tried to get as much as possible for the money but PCs are quite expensive once you start adding more memory, graphics cards with more CUDA and so forth. Also, I took some initial guidance from Barry Beckham’s new PC purchase. Yachtsman, can you let me know why Windows 7 Professional would be a better buy? At present, I’d really like to sort out the remarks from various reviews on the Dell U2311 monitor, which include: “The hardware aspect ratio controls didn't feature a 1:1 or "aspect" mode which might have been useful to some. The screen features hardware level aspect ratio control available via the OSD menu. However there are only options for 'fill' or '4:3' which is a little strange. You would have hoped for an option to maintain the original source aspect ratio and perhaps a 1:1 pixel mapping mode as well." Can anyone advise on whether the Dell’s options of ‘fill’ or ‘4:3 aspect ratio and lack of 1:1 pixel mapping will be a problem for my intended uses? I’d really appreciate any help with this! Once again, thanks to all of you for your input. Best regards, Phil

Hi, I need to get a new monitor and PC for Photoshop, PTE and some basic HD video editing work. Some of my work will be for the web. The PC will not be used for gaming. I will be browsing the internet and using some Microsoft Office. At this stage, the Dell U2311 looks promising but I’ve noticed the following remarks on some Dell U2311 reviews: “The hardware aspect ratio controls didn't feature a 1:1 or "aspect" mode which might have been useful to some. The screen features hardware level aspect ratio control available via the OSD menu. However there are only options for 'fill' or '4:3' which is a little strange. You would have hoped for an option to maintain the original source aspect ratio and perhaps a 1:1 pixel mapping mode as well." Can anyone advise on whether the Dell’s options of ‘fill’ or ‘4:3 aspect ratio and lack of 1:1 pixel mapping will be a problem for my intended uses? I’d really appreciate any help with this! On the PC side, would an i760 fit the bill or do I need to go i870 / i950? Here’s a spec from PC Specialist in the UK for you guys to look at and tell me if I’m wrong. Case COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost Motherboard ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB) Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX465 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11 Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE 2nd Hard Disk 1.5TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD15EARS SATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 64MB CACHE 1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT Power Supply & Case Cooling CORSAIR 650W PSU (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£76) Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19) Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD) Network Facilities ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD Firewire & Video Editing 3 Port IEEE 1394a Firewire PCI Card (£9) Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79) Office Software Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£85) Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE Keyboard & Mouse Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19) Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5) Sorry for the long post! Thanks Phil

Hi Lin, Thank you! Your response is so helpful and informative. I must admit that I’ve had to think about your comments so please accept my apologies for taking so long to reply. I was pleased to read your comment that a video editor would be the preferred way to mix media. I have also noted your comments regarding PTE’s ability to create AVI files of any resolution including HD (1920x1080p) and the fact that PTE’s Video Builder produces excellent DVD output. I must say that it’s very confusing from a beginner’s perspective to get a grip on whether there is one ideal size (800x600?) for video, PTE and other systems. I’m afraid that my lack of knowledge has prompted a few more questions: (1) As PTE does not seem to be the appropriate package to use HD video, are you saying that the use of HD (1920x1080p) really relates to the production of the usual standard slide show material (without video) for use on an HD ready TV? (2) If so, would you resize your photos in a different way for use on a TV rather than a PC monitor? Finally, you say that “DVD output via PTE’s Video Builder is so great so you should have no problems with using PTE created AVI files along with other video clips combined with a good editor to output to DVD” and this leads me to ask (3) Did you mean that Video Builder produces great AVIs for use elsewhere or Video Builder could be used for final DVD output including AVIs from PTE, a video editor and other systems? In the latter case, this would mean that final DVD output would not be done via the video editor, which is my preferred “core” system. Again, I apologize for my “beginner” questions. Moving on, I found your comments relating to web output to be of great help although this is not an initial requirement. I looked at On2’s website and Flix Pro looks ideal for Flash output. The Power Players also looked superb. I’m not sure if you use the Players but I’d be interested to know whether their use would change the way that you set the size of video or images within PTE. As an aside, a web search also led me to Wildform’s website. Although I did not see Flix Pro on their site, another search indicated that they used to have such a product. Do you know what the history is here? The ability to integrate video and PowerPoint with a Flash (FLV) output that is better than that provided with Camtasia would be of interest. I’m not sure if Wildform (Presenter Pro) would also take an AVI input from PTE although I can’t see why this should not be possible. On a final note, I will be using PTE for its overall quality and animations. Flix Pro and the Players look like a great add-on Flash solution. However, I noted your comments about Producer and have to ask whether, in your opinion, this software would be as good a solution for combining video and AVIs from PTE and a screen recording package as that provided by a video editor? Of course, consideration would also need to be given to whether one of the options provides a better way of producing a menu / table of contents. I hope that the subject matter is of interest and help to other forum members. Once again, thank you for your valuable input and insight. Best regards, Phil

Hello, I’m a new PTE5 user and this is my first post on this forum. When more experienced with the software, one of my intentions is to prepare a presentation that integrates HD or SD video with PTE5 and a screen recording package. From my research, it seems that hardware rendering makes the use of video in PTE5 a problem at this moment in time. Additionally, my screen recording system is geared to accepting video from a webcam, which could be an issue from a quality perspective. Therefore, I am considering a video editing solution as a “core” system that can handle video and receive .avi files from the screen recorder and PTE5. I am hoping that the forum members can provide me with their opinions on the following questions: 1. Will the quality of a PTE5 .avi file look bad if used as an integral part of other systems? I was thinking of using either Sony Vegas Platinum or Adobe Premiere Elements. 2. What points do I need to look out for when preparing an .avi file in PTE5 for use in another system? 3. Am I right to think that a video editing application would be the right way to go in terms of integrating PTE5 with video and other applications? Overall, I’m a little bit concerned about quality of the final output and would appreciate any help that you can offer, as I want to burn the final output to DVD and have the possibility of showing it on the web. I have a feeling that this may be a bit of a challenge. Best regards, Phil