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Just for recoding videos, I would recommend XMedia Recode (http://www.xmedia-recode.de/). See also here. On my rather old system (Win XP) the MTS video works within PTE (PTE suggests to convert it) but only very jerky. I made a conversion with XMedia Recode (Format: MP4, Codec: Xvid) while reducing the size to 720x408, and it runs fine in PTE. Regards, Xaver

:) Regards, Xaver

The size of the border (in case of a fixed value for the border width) seems to depend on the pixel dimensions of the image or video. Regards, Xaver

Two of my favourites: Stéphane Bidouze: "J'adore t'écrire" bidouze.com/photofilms/photofilms.html Ian Bateman: "A Night at the Opera" Regards, Xaver

From the PTE user guide: Our video converter converts video files to the optimal format for the most qualified and smooth playback of video clips in the slideshow. So, the converter does not aim at shorter file sizes, but at good playback within a PTE show. As a consequence, the converted video may even be larger than the original. During the conversion the encoding method may be changed (e.g. from H.264/AVC to MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile). The reason may be that an MPEG-4 video (though being larger) is easier to be decoded within PTE. Regards, Xaver

Why not concatenating the shows using the option "Run slideshow on exit" (Project Options, More-Tab). In this case, each of your 15 slideshows will start the next one (without any desktop flashes). Regards, Xaver

I sometimes want to shift the transition point of a particular slide using the mouse while leaving the slide's duration invariant. I do this by highlighting the slide in the timeline view, pressing Shift+End (in order to highlight the slide and all the following ones), and dragging the slide's blue flag. The problem is, that after pressing Shift+End the timeline shows the position of the show's very last slide, and I have to use the scroll bar to go back to my original slide. This is not that comfortable Regards, Xaver

Main window, bottom right: Keep full slide duration. This is a new option that has been discussed several times, and some people, including myself regard it as rather useless. The acronym KFSD (perhaps created by davegee) is happily used by some people, although it occasionally leads to some confusion. Regards, Xaver

There is a lot of praise in this thread, and that's fine! But, will it be allowed to make a critical remark? So let me try to make a remark regarding the soundtrack. The music (The Healing Waves by Richard Goldsworthy) has been nicely synchronized with the transitions (in most cases). But I am not that happy with the finale. To me it sounds stalled or truncated. A possible solution might be to start fading out earlier, and having a final black screen for a few seconds. Another way which I would regard as promising would be to work out the synchronization from the end backwards to the start, starting the music with a fade in, and have the music's real end at the end of the show. Best regards, Xaver

Auch ich kenne diese Prophezeiungen nicht. Es scheint jedoch so, daß es heute sehr gefährlich ist, in die City von München zum Einkaufen zu fahren Viele Grüße Xaver München

If that refers to my post: A new audio interface should provide the same functionality as we have it today. Thus, a soundtrack that has been produced (compiled and mixed) in an external audio editor like Audacity will be fine. Regards, Xaver

I would regard Sound comments as an outdated feature that (as I hope) we do not need any longer when the new audio interface (multiple audio tracks with an appropriate graphical interface) will be there Regards, Xaver

Just a short amendment to Jean-Cyprien's suggestion. The value of 0.4% seems to work well for an in-built mask of size about 512x512 (maximum size). If you choose smaller values for the mask's size you will have to choose greater values for Width of blur and Corner radius. Regards, Xaver

Hi Jean-Cyprien, The "Amitié Franco-Allemande" seems to go well (joke) Thank you for the hint! Best regards, Xaver

I made an additional test with rectangular external masks. If you take as your mask just a white image, the situation is as bad as in case of a built-in sharp-edged rectangle. If you choose as your mask a black image with a white rectangle inside, then mask rotations look smooth Regards, Xaver

In my opinion, the situation is as follows: For images you have a choice: Edges are rendered with anti-aliasing or without. In the first case you do not see jaggies in case of image rotation, in the second case you will see them. For masks you do not have a choice, and edges of built-in masks seem to be rendered without anti-aliasing. Therefore sharp edges of the mask will produce jaggies in case of mask rotation, provided that these edges are inside the associated image. The image itself may not rotate at all. Regards, Xaver

Hi Lin, This is not true. If you just rotate the image, you may choose the option "Edge antialiasing". In this case (at least in the full-screen preview), the edges look much better. For the cropped (masked) area, anti-aliasing seems to be missing. Best regards, Xaver

I don't know if this problem has been discussed before: If you use a sharp-edged rectangular mask in order to crop part of an image or a video, you will see jagged edges in case of rotations (normal or 3D). See also the attached simple project. This could be regarded as a bug, or, it would nice to see here an anti-aliasing option. Regards, Xaver Jaggies.zip

I, myself, have never used other shadows than "linear" or "half round" ones. But as we see in posts #9 and #3, there are situations where the "shadows" including rectangles do not look that bad. And, there are users who have applied these particular shadow functions. Thus, these functions have to remain as they are! In my opinion, the check box would not be a good way to go. The solution we could ask for is that WnSoft may provide additional curves with shadows that look more natural (whatever natural may mean). Regards, Xaver

This is a nice little show. Images and music go together well. It is one of the rare productions shown here, where the transitions and the timing of the music go hand in hand. I like the images, but one may regard them as a bit over-processed. I would like to recommend a few changes: Replace the white border either by none, or by a grey one (see also here) Make some experiments with changing the transition times (e.g shorter times in cases where the dissolves aren't that fine) Try to repair the blown-out highlights in the dog's coat. The time for the final credits is too short, and I would fade them out into a black screen. Regards, Xaver

Why not having a shadow like it is shown in the attachment (Type: Cove-Deep)? Regards, Xaver

Lin, I have sent you an e-mail! Best regards, Xaver

Hi Dave, My post does not discriminate foreigners, nor does it try (in a loud way) to enforce silly rules for this forum, as it is done in posts of particular other members. As I said: I accept your criterion as your way to choose downloads, so please accept that I do regard it as absurd. One of the best members in my AV group uses Olympus equipment, and she produces 4:3 shows. Shall I give her the sack? Best regards, Xaver

Really, an absurd criterion, but I accept that is yours. This whole thread is a waste of time. Regards, Xaver

The situation is not really new. I version 6, the entries for aspect ratio and for the screen size are placed both in the screen tab. In version 7, one is in the main tab, the other one in the screen tab. In my opinion, it has not been a good decision to make this change. Regards, Xaver