jkb
-
Posts
1,823 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
15
Posts posted by jkb
-
-
Things do seem to be behaving strangely & it seems to do different things each time & it is not always possible to recreate a problem.
I have just created a new project in 7.0.1, before adding any slides in project options I set screen time to 4
& effect to 3.5. I then add 3 slides & would expect the total duration to be 12secs. It is NOT & is only 11secs. This means that slides have no screen time.
Also it is behaving as V7 with the slides showing a screen time of 7 not 4 as expected with V6.5
See screen grabs.
Jill
-
I'm not quite sure what you are seeing but when I open the new Beta the two "Timed Points" options are unticked and it behaves as per V6.5.
With both options ticked it behaves as per V7.0.0.
Dave,
Not sure what you mean by the two 'Timed Points'?
This beta now has 'Keep Full Slide Duration' on the bottom of the main screen.
When unticked it behaves exactly as version 7, slides include the outgoing transition & all the associated problems they had before. Nothing seems to have changed.
When ticked it behaves as version 6.5, slides times are as expected.
I have tried this on both my main pc - Windows XP & on my laptop - Vista & the problems do not seem to have been cured, only the switch is reversed.
Jill
-
Hi Igor,
I have just downloaded the new beta & done a very quick test.
It appears that the switch 'Keep Full Slide Duration' now works the other way around!
So ticked it follows the old rules & unticked it is the new, which sadly still isn't working.
I will do some more tests, but initial results still appear to be the same in that slides overlap.
Jill
-
Hi Igor,
I also have been doing some tests & the 'Keep Full Slide Duration' option still does not work.
Opening & amending a project created in ver 6.5 with ver 7.0,1 gives errors in timings.
Also creating a new project & amending it in Ver 7.0.1 gives errors.
Rather than trying to explain these verbally I have taken screen grabs & put them into an exe with extra comments. So hopefully it is easier to see what is happening. Low res images to keep the size down. Zip file 1.4mb Use the arrow keys to move through it.
I still cannot understand the need for these changes as using the existing timing procedure works perfectly well for both slides & video. Surely it is just creating an extra lot of work & programing to change it.
Video is just another object & it is up to the user to set how the video appears with transitions in/out.
Yes with the existing timings the video will fade in with the default transition time. But it will stop playing before the next transition starts. So the user needs to set how/when the next object appears, be that another video or a slide. But surely that is just the same as it always has been for any object/animation.
The main problem will be with the sound from the video, as having two videos merging will also cause the sound to overlap. Or even with video going into a slide the sound will continue but the image will be fading out & this could sound awful if the slide has its own sounds or there is a background sound track. Being able to alter the background/video sound levels is far more important than automatically putting a transition at the end of a video.
Can I suggest that we leave the timings as they have always been, if someone wants videos to overlap it is extremely easy to just move the next object up the timeline a bit. Trying to program for it is causing too many problems.
Please, Please, Please can you also reinstate the two icons for full screen view of file/slide list.
These are very useful for beginners & I also use them when projecting club single image competition entries.
It is so much easier to click on an icon than having to remember F keys & beginners wouldn't know what to use or where to find them.
Hope you can sort out these problems soon.
Jill
-
The results and pictures of the Winners of the 17th UK National AV Championships are now available on the AV News website.
More images will follow shortly
Congratulations to all the award winners.
Reports of the Event will appear in the November issue of AV News Magazine
Jill
-
DG Page 16 of the User Guide states -
'Options Show and Keep full slide duration are set by default, but you can uncheck them.
Option Show full slide duration shows the slide duration itself and the duration of transition effect for the next slide.
Option Keep slide duration is helpful if the slides in your slideshow have different duration and while changing their places, their duration is not changeable.'
This does NOT tell a new user that the two options should be used in conjunction with each other & in fact suggests that they can be used independently.
As Peter has said the timings are just not intuitive.
Add 4 slides with 2 sec transition & 5 sec screen time. What you see on the screen (slide view) is 5secs in the bottom right of each image. This suggests a total time of 20secs whereas it is actually 14 secs. If you remove the 8secs of transition times that works out at 12secs. So the actual 14secs is illogical.
The main problem is with the last slide which is given an extra 2secs of additional time for a non existent outgoing transition. If you increase the transition time of this slide to say 4secs so as to give the 1sec screen time that the other slides have, or reduce the duration to 3secs, so again keeping the actual 1 sec of screen time. If you then add another slide to the end, or move this last slide to another position you will find that transitions overlap.
Now that the timings are shown on the slide it would make far more sense to have to the duration independent of any transition time. If I remember correctly this is how the very early versions of PTE used to be.
If this new method is to work it needs to set the last slide to exclude the non existent outgoing transition & the two Options need to be linked so that one cannot be used without the other. Setting one & not the other ends up in disaster!
Igor has said the reason for this new method of timing is to do with video, but I cannot see why that has any effect. A video clip is just another object and timings need to be set appropriately for any object so that it has the effect on screen that you wish. Just because a video clip is 20secs long does not mean that your slide time has to be 20secs, it can be longer or shorter & the video clip can fade in and/or out just as any other object would.
As I said earlier a Transition is linked to a slide, you Customise an individual slide to have the incoming transition that you want to achieve a particular effect on screen. The outgoing transition is nothing to do with that slide & neither should the time.
Jill
Editor AV News
-
I have read through these posts & still cannot get my head around this new method of timing. Having used PTE for years I cannot understand the need for change, the old system works perfectly, is easy to understand & is logical.
Trying to combine 2 transition times on one slide just leads to confusion. It is the incoming transition that belongs to a slide, the outgoing belongs to the next slide. Try swaping the order of two slides & you will most likely find that the existing transitions do not work as effectively & you need to amend them.
From the limited amount of testing I have done, the new system simply does not work if you move slides around, which I am sure most people will do as they build up a show. There is no problem if all the slides have the same duration & transition time, but who would want to do that - it would be incredibly boring.
I always work with the timeline to fine tune my transitions & screen times to the music & maybe this will still work in the new system. But for those who like to work by 'numbers' from the slide list view then things can quickly become a mess if you move slides. Slides end up on top of each other or else have much longer screen times than planned.
I will always switch off this new method & continue to use the existing where only the incoming transition time is included.
I give a lot of talks to Camera Clubs etc demonstrating PTE & complete beginners can easily understand the program & see how easy it is to use. They will not be able to with the new system & I can see a lot of beginners who are just getting to grips with making shows becoming totally confused with this new system.
The fact that the two parameters 'keep full time...' are buried in the menu does not help.
Another thing that I know has already confused people is the removal of the two icons for switching to full screen view. This is a very useful feature that beginners find very helpful & easy to use & it is now only available through the menu or having to remember shortcut keys.
Jill
Editor AV News
-
Just a small point, when viewing the website on my main XP machine it says PTE Deluxe 7.0 as expected. However when I view it on my laptop - Vista it says PTE Deluxe 6.5 as the header but Ver 7.0 underneath & does in fact download 7.0. I am using Firefox on both.
Just given myself a crash course in the new layout as am off to demonstrate PTE to a Camera Club.
Jill
Editor AV News
-
Thanks Xaver, pity we are going to have to wait for this very useful feature.
Jill
-
Hi Igor
When you were at the RPS International at Cirencester last year, you gave a demonstration of Gaussian blur of an image in Objects and Animation and said it would be implemented in Version 7. This is an extremely useful feature to have but I cannot see it anywhere in any of the Betas. All that seems to be there is the unsharp mask.
Do you still intend to include this feature?
Jill
AV News Editor www,avnews.org.uk
-
If people wish to make donations in memory of Peter, then the preferred charity is The British Heart Foundation
Flowers should be sent to :-
Robert Shaw Greenwood.
Funeral Directors
Albert Street,
Hebden Bridge,
West Yorkshire,
HX7 8AH
Details are also on AV News website
Jill & John
AV News editors
-
It is with great sadness that we also heard this news.
Peter was a truly great AV worker. His enthusiasm & knowledge will be missed by all those who knew him.
He helped & inspired so many people.
Long may his sequences live on to inspire yet more.
Our deepest sympathies to his family.
An Obituary to Peter will be published in the May issue of AV News
Jill & John
AV News Editors
-
Hi Igor,
No sound on video.
Also Offset on video not working.
Type in offset time but video always plays from start of slide.
When I go back into O&A window offset has gone back to zero.
Jill
-
Hi Peter,
Yes I am using Frames, but it is the individual animations within the Frames that I need to move.
Grouping of keypoints really is something that is needed. Far more important than the inclusion of video in my opinion!!
The other thing needed is the abilty to zoom in & out on the O&A timeline with CTRL +F11 & F12
We can do it on the main Timeline window & it would be great if we could have a similar view, with the waveform visible & time shown as in the main Timeline window.
It is ok if you only have a slide with a time of a couple of seconds, but when doing complex animations you often need a screen time of say 20 or 30 seconds. The view can become very cramped & difficult with a lot of keypoints. And yes before you ask I do try to split things down so that not too much is happening on one slide!
Igor if you can possibly incorporate these features (which are already available in the main window) please, please do so. It would make PTE so much easier to use.
Jill
-
Does anyone know if there is a way of grouping keypoints together to move them as a block.
With the slides we can click on the first & shift-click on the last, or CTRL click on the ones required to select a group. These can then be moved along the timeline as a block.
I need to do the same with keypoints. I have several objects, 20 to be exact & I need to move their individual animations along the timeline by a few seconds. Each object has several keypoints & to have to do each one individually making sure I keep the correct spacing between them will take forever.
I have other objects on this slide with complex animations that need to stay put so I cannot just move the slide.
I have tried all combintations of click with CTRL ALT & Shift but can only select one keypoint at once.
If there is currently no way of doing this, Igor can you please make this option available. It would save so much time when finalising the timing of an animation.
-
The Citation for Igor's award is available on www.avnews.org.uk along with some details about the award & previous recipients.
Maurice and Liliane Dorikens of Belgium were also awarded a Dobson Henry medal for their services to AV.
Pictures & results of the Internationals are also available on the website along with details of other events & festivals (on the Calendar Page)
Jill & John
Editors of AV News Magazine
-
The Citation for Igor's award is available on www.avnews.org.uk along with some details about the award & previous recipients.
Maurice and Liliane Dorikens of Belgium were also awarded a Dobson Henry medal for their services to AV.
Pictures & results of the Internationals are also available on the website along with details of other events & festivals (on the Calendar Page)
Jill & John
Editors of AV News Magazine
-
In the UK, to use Commercial music legally you must hold the appropriate licenses, MCPS, BPI and PPL. Members of the RPS & PAGB can purchase the MCPS & BPI for £8.54 which allow you to record the music, but in order to play those recordings in public you must hold the PPL which is only available to IAC Members. For IAC members the Licenses cost £7.17 & membership is currently £37.50.
One of the conditions of the BPI license is that 'The NAMES of all instrumental groups, bands, orchestras, choruses, solo artists and/or performers shall NOT be identified in the subtitles or credits etc.'
We recently featured a 4page article on this subject in AV News Magazine (Issue 177 August 2009).
See AV News website for more details & Links to the appropriate IAC pages
Jill & John
AV News Editors
-
Update from a freind who rang the hospital to ask about George and although they cannot give information to “friends” they took the phone to him and were able to speak him personally.
'George said immediately that he went under a lorry, so showing his memory is not affected! He has broken his leg in two places and his wrist but is already keen to know how long he will be before he is fit again so fighting back already. He sounded strong and says he is alive and kicking albeit kicking with one leg. He sends thanks and regards to all who have enquired about him.'
We wish him a speedy & full recovery.
Jill & John
AV News Editors
-
For details of AV Events around the world see AV News
We try to list as many events as possible on the Calendar page, go to Events & then click on 'Full Calendar' to access. There is a Google Translate facility at the bottom of each page for those who prefer to read it in their native language.
Please send us details of any AV Events/Competitons/Festivals along with contact details & we will advertise them for you. We would also appreciate reports & pictures of these events to include in the Magazine. We are trying to make the Magazine as International as possible & have Subscribers across the world, so please let us know what is going on in your area.
See the Contacts Page for details of where to send information.
The next issue is due out on November 1st & to ensure inclusion our copy deadline is 23rd September.
We look forward to meeting a lot of PTE Forum Members at the UK AV National Championships at Leicester 19th & 20th September.
Jill & John
Editors AV News
-
When the sequence ran out of sync, the laptop screen was on & that was also displaying at 1400 x 1050 So I suppose it was having to upsize 2 displays. As it was not my equipment I wasn't in a position to alter anything or switch off the laptop screen.
From what I can remember the sequence at the time was made with version 5, it was a while ago so things may be different with a sequence made in version 5.6 of PTE
One thing I have noticed on doing some tests, is with another sequence originally made in version 5.0 where I have a horizontal pan. The image is set to 1530 x768 & set to 'Original' Mode in the Common Tab of the O&A. This was so that it would keep the full horizontal width. At the time I only had a 1024 x 768 monitor so all of the images displayed at the full height of 768.
Displaying it on a monitor which is 1200 x 800 all of the other images are resized to fill the height of the screen ie 800 pixels. They are also increased in width to keep the aspect ratio of 4x3. This is what will happen if projected at 1400 x 1050, the image is increased in both height & width to fit the display resolution. BUT the horizontal panned image is not resized & still appears at 768 high. So a black bar appears at the top & bottom of this image. This is not too noticeable at 1200 x 800 but if increased to 1400 x 1050 on a large screen the difference would be really apparent.
I now realise that I should have set the mode of this panned image in PTE 5.0 to be 'Cover Slide' & not 'Original' as this will then allow it to be increased to match the display resolution.
When converting to 5.6 all of the images were automatically set to 'Fit to Slide' But the panned image was still shown at a smaller height than the others. I think this is because PTE recognised that my display was now 1200 x 800 & so set the 'size of slide' in the Screen Tab of Project Options to be 1067 x 800 It also ticked the 'Fixed size of slide' box. All of the other images have the zoom set to 100 in the O&A Animation tab, but for the panned image this has now been set to 143.393 even though in version 5.0 it was set to 100
Even setting the 'size of slide' to be 1024 x 768 (which would result in the images being shown at the native size rather that projector resolution) the panned image is still shown at a smaller height than the other images.
I am not quite sure of the way PTE has adjusted the images, all I know is that it is something to watch out for when converting sequences from earlier versions.
Also if you have any sequences with images set to original mode, be they panned, zoomed or png images, they will not be adjusted to fill the new resolution. So it is something to bear in mind when sending sequences off to competitions etc.
Jill
-
I have been reading Peter's initial question & all the answers with interest as all my sequences have been made at 1024 x 768. One thing that no one has mentioned is the problem of timing when upsizing a 1024 x768 show to project at 1400 x1050.
This may not be noticeable on short sequences or ones which do not have critical timing of pictures to music. But I have had it happen to one of my own sequences, made at 1024 & played on a 1400 projector via a laptop. The sequence went out of sync!!
Then, presumably when the next buffer load of information was read it came back in sync only to drift out again. The audience did not notice the problem but I certainly did!! It was a fairly high spec laptop that was running the show, so I do not think it was question of running out of memory or processing power. I don't know the exact spec as I was using the club's equipment where I was giving a talk. The sequence in question was 12 minutes long & did not have O&A it was just straight dissolves. So I hate to think what will happen to one that has a lot of fast animation!!This is a concern for the Nationals competition & something I also raised with the organisers, but have never had a reply!
Maybe viewing the sequences at home on a small screen they will look ok, but when projected onto a large screen as used for this competition I have concerns that the images will not look as good as when projected at their native resolution.
Maybe the Judges need to be made aware of which sequences are being upsized (& maybe which are downsized) The differences may only be slight, but I am sure that authors will notice if the sequence is not projected as well as they had intended even if the audience do not.
Full details of the Nationals Championships including entry/booking forms & rules can also be found on the AV News website
Jill
-
IAC Geoffrey Round International AV Competition
Entry Forms for this Competition are now available for download on the AV News website
The closing date has been extended to Saturday March 7th
Hopefully all RPS AV Group Members & Subscribers should have received their copy of the February Issue by now.
Please let us know if you haven't
Jill & John
Editors
-
AV News Issue 175 February 2009 is now published and should be with you by the end of the week.
We have another bumper issue for you, this time with an International flavour.
There are Articles from Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland and Bill Bruce of Norway.
An image from his winning sequence 'Arctic Dreams' features on the Front Cover
Check out the website avnews.org.uk to see the full Contents for this Issue.
Jill & John
Editors of AV News Magazine
Changes in Slide Duration
in General Discussion
Posted
Dave, I have tried what you suggested & yes it is werid!!
The first time PTE is opened, even if you don't do anything at all - every time you click on the view menu it changes 'Keep Full Slide Duration' from unticked to ticked to unticked again. Very strange.
Closing PTE & restarting & things work as 6.5 if unticked.
If ticked I still get unpredicatable results when moving slides or inserting new ones.
I still cannot see any reason for having the new timing system as you can add video with the old system & move it around & it works perfectly. If the user has a need for the slide following the video to overlap it, then simply move it up the timeline by however much they want. Every situation will be different & it is not something that PTE should try to program for.
Leave the timings as they were & always have been. They have worked for over ten years without problems. Why is video any different to anything else?
I give a lot of talks to camera clubs & try to help beginers. If this new system is to remain I need to be able to demonstrate why it is needed & at the moment I have no idea why anyone would want or need to use it.
So can someone please explain to me the need to include both transitions?
Jill