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Philip Fennessy

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Posts posted by Philip Fennessy

  1. AVG or Microsoft Security Essentials?

    in Equipment & Software

    Posted

    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

  3. Video Demo - WOW....

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    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

  4. Video Demo - WOW....

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    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

  8. Monitor and PC for PTE, Photoshop + basic hd video editing

    in Equipment & Software

    Posted

    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

  9. Monitor and PC for PTE, Photoshop + basic hd video editing

    in Equipment & Software

    Posted

    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

  10. Does PTE5 integrate well with other systems?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Hi Phil,

    Let me take a stab at answering your questions. PTE creates AVI files of any resolution you choose up to and including HD (1920x1080p) so "quality" won't be an issue. That said, if you plan to play your combination shows on DVD at NTSC or PAL resolutions then the quality can't be any better than the display device is able to produce.

    Since PTE uses hardware rendering to give the very finest high resolution and smooth output, you are correct that trying to play video directly is a technical nightmare on more than one front. We can simulate video by simply decompiling AVI or MPEG video to jpgs and sequencing them at speeds equal to the 29.97 fps of standard video, but it's a bit obtuse to do it that way so your idea of creating output to AVI then using a good video editor is the preferred way if you plan on mixing the media.

    Something like Vegas Video or Adobe Premier or even Premier Elements would be fine for doing this. The quality of the AVI files produce by PTE are equal to any other means. DVD output via PTE's Video Builder is 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.

    The question of web output is another issue entirely. There are a number of ways of doing this so the first thing one needs to ask is which "quality" level you want to use. The "best" quality output to the web right now is via the Active X used by a competitor Proshow Gold or Proshow Producer by Photodex. This requires the viewer to install Photodex Presenter, an Active X enabled device. Some are hesitant to do this but I've not seen any really issues. The down side is there will always be Photodex advertising splashes on the file and you have to use Proshow Gold or Proshow Producer rather than PicturesToExe to get this. Regardless, this is still the smoothest and best web output not equaled yet by Flash, Quicktime or Windows methods.

    The next best way in my experience is to use the latest Flash iteration. This means Flash 8 or Flash 9. If you want a "professional" look with a customized player with your own company logo or name on it then the best I've found is On2 Technologies Flix Pro. If you don't need the player but want to embed the Flash on you web page then you can use Flix Standard which is much less expensive. The difference between perhaps $200 and $40. I use Flix Pro myself, but either works well. You will, however need to do your Flash shows as Flash FLV rather than Flash SWF if you want sound synchronization over about two minutes and if you want progressive download (similar to server side streaming, but technically a bit different). There is an absolute maximum frame count for Flash SWF of 16,000 frames which is about 8 minutes at a full 29.97 fps. Flix lets you have automatic Flash level detection and a link to the MacroMedia site for those without the latest player needed. It also allows a preload so playback in not interrupted by slower links.

    PTE has by far the finest quality output of any currently available Presentation Slideshow software regardless of cost. However, output to DVD or web really won't take advantage of this very large difference. Once things are reduced to below 800x600 resolution there are not a great deal of differences in image quality output between various softwares producing slideshows. The main difference with PTE is that it can do animations not possible with other software, but this may or may not be important in your own case.

    Feel free to ask more questions and we will all try to help if we can....

    Best regards,

    Lin

    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

  11. Does PTE5 integrate well with other systems?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    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

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