coopernatural

All, ‘Along the coast.’ Weighing in around 27mb and lasting, (if the esc button isn’t hit) about 3min 17 seconds. Featuring, no clever animation, special effects, soothing tinkling piano music, voice over, picture postcard images, bare naked ladies, Google, start, middle and end, story, Video etc. It’s just a loose/random collective of images,set to some offbeat ambient music. http://www.mediafire.com/?vjc40r9ou9j8l1n Davy.

Geoff, See your pm regarding Volume Control. Davy

"I always place the base box on the floor beneath the table where I sit, so its conveniently placed between my legs while sitting" BB Sounds like a fascinating setup. So if I’m reading you right.You have things setup so that when you are giving a talk,about 80% of the volume emanates between your legs.The other 20% going over your head. Avoiding the obvious ‘Bum note’, ’Talking out of your rear’ jokes,I would instead applaud your honesty. Seriously BB those lifestyle IPod enhancement speakers are intended more for impoverished student bedsits,than PA applications. The manufacturer/ Retailer wouldn’t even honour their warranty in a PA environment. The sub woofer can’t actually go ‘Sub’,as it rolls off at 50 hz,the high end can’t go high as the satellites roll off at 16 khz and the mids have a suck out. Even allowing for the entertainment value of the 'Sub between the legs' thing,your audience and Slideshows deserve better. Davy.

Geoff, Any music shop that sells guitars etc should have what you need on the drum in 100metre reels. If you aren't too good with a soldering iron,these guys will make leads up for you. There are some exotic cables with magic snake oil and rubbed on the skin of oriental maidens,but I don't believe all the hype. Good cable will make a difference. You could try Amazon/Ebay, but try your local music emporium first. Davy

Geoff, As I mentioned earlier,there is no definitive yes /no answer to cable length.It's a suck it and see thing. At the end of the day if you have to opt for a mixer,you still have to do the cable runs. I think the signal from your laptop will be fine though. IF you have the UCA 202 then you have answered what I was wondering and that was if the output from the rca sockets was constant or variable.As I said to Eric I the volume control looked similar to those cheapo inline controls. A bit fiddly a not the most accurate. Pity the volume could not be altered remotely at the speaker inputs as that would minimise problems with losses and you wouldnt need the UCA 202 device.. If I had to use the output from the UCA 202 then I would step up from the 3.5mm headphone socket with a stereo 3.5mm plug to 1/4" socket adapter.This would allow you to use a stereo 1/4" plug connected to low loss cables I mentioned earlier (a split pair ) terminated with left/right 1/4" plugs for each speaker. Like the USB volume control knob I did see on ebay remote PC controllers with volume controllers.Whether suitable or not,I couldn't say. Never used them before. Davy

Eric, I hadn't spotted your UCA 202 interface. The volume control looks similar to the in line types though. If it works,it works and not too expensive. Davy

Geoff, From a quick look at off the shelf 'pots' I didn't see anything that I could recommend. It's not like you are just setting a constant level and forgetting about it. Reliability with long term use and smooth adjustment of volume would not be easily made with inline units. I did see this usb unit.No experience of it,but if it worked it could be an answer. It allows you to adjust the PC volume externally. See here.... http://tinyurl.com/6r5lewf I have never tried to adjust PC volume during the playback of a PTE AV. Maybe someone here could comment on the usb volume control. Davy

Geoff, I missed the bit about cable length. No hard and fast rules as it depends on different things. Theory isn't very good in practice.If there is a healthy enough signal coming from your laptop and there often is,then it should be OK for those distances. Can't guarantee it though.Its a suck it and see thing. Avoid running signal cables parallel to mains cables to avoid interference. Davy

Geoff, It is a boots and braces approach and no doubt a mixer would be recommended by others. Mixers do have their place,but they also degrade quality. It is possible to get an inline 'Pot'Volume control that will reduce the output ( it will be a stereo type)from your laptop so you could configure it as a 3.5 mm stereo jack plug to the volume control and from there 2 seperate leads fitted with 1/4" jack plugs to go to each speaker input. As I say check with the manual first. I don't have a link to the volume control,but have a look on ebay/amazon.If no joy I can look for you. Davy

Maureen, Echoing previous comments. A super show. Well done, DavyC

Hi Geoff, Nice one with the speakers. Looking at the back of the speaker panel the XLR input has a built in preamp, so it may be that you could setup things without resorting to using a mixer. If you don't need a mixer, don't use one. Using the XLR input from your Microphone for vocals and use the 1/4" socket to take the sound output from your Laptop. If you want to hookup speakers as a stereo pair you would need to split the audio from the 3.5mm jack socket on your laptop with a custom lead.one end terminated in a 3.5mm plug and 2 (split)seperated leads with 1/4" jack plugs. one as a left and one as a right speaker input. For stereo you would not use the XLR link up facility on either speaker. Cable and plugs should be screened and of decent quality. Keep cable runs short within reason,(though don't string it out like washing line either) as longer cables mean Losses, increased capacitance and greater susceptibillity to interference. Hope this makes sense. I don't have the manual on your speakers,so you would have to refer to that first just to be sure. Have fun,but consider the neighbours. Davy

Hi Geoff, Inputs are 1/4" jack plugs or xlr. Best sort of plugs are Neutrick xlr but they can be expensive. Cable is only line level from I guess your laptop. there are some exotic and expensive types.Not entirely necessary, but still I would go for something of decent quality.'Van Damme' or similar. I would take a trip to your local music supply store who are well used to making up leads for local bands/musicans. Pricing is usually easy on the pocket. Davy

Hi Geoff, Compared to the Boom and tizz boxes,yes a lot better suited. These active speakers are still entry level so they won’t provide volume and bass levels that will flap trouser legs and frighten horses. The compression driver is an improvement over the piezo hf units,once the bane of PA rigs. For different sized venues a bit of headroom is always welcome.Things might sound fine at a small venue,but a little lost at larger one. If budget constrains you to 8” units then go with them. Recommendations for speakers is pretty much impossible. You need to audition and judge for yourself. Davy

Geoff, The audio side of AV is often let down,both at the recording and playback stage. Using anaemic PC/ lifestyle,boom and tizz boxes won’t enhance your audience’s experience. Budget is down to you of course,but don’t waste money on gear not fit for purpose. You could try DV247.com who have a branch not far away from you in Cambridge. It’s best to call in with them. If ringing,ask for either Graham or Duncan. Both are knowledgeable and helpful guys. Whatever you do, don’t mention ‘Bose’. Happy new year to you. Davy

But Davegee, You have to practice what you preach. You didn't say anything nice at all. At least I said BB was the best. You didn't even comment on his slideshow. Have a lovely Christmas Davegee! Davy

Colin, Loved it! A super show that made me laugh. Have a super Christmas. Davy

Glad you dropped the elevator music here. This really works superbly. It is well worth the download. I just emailed Mike Batt the link. I'm sure he will be delighted too. Merry Christmas BB. You are the best. Davy

'avg classes it as a trojan' A little harsh of AVG classing this as a Trojan.Isn’t this really just Spam? Still,every cloud has a silver lining and those with AVG have been spared this advertising. OK it’s not a serious AV/Slide show.More a sort of similar picture cycling.Like‘Groundhog Day’,only not funny. Maybe a little sad,as the whole thing is an attempt to promote the musical assassin,Richard Goldsworthy. Mind numbing elevator musak at its finest.The album from Dick (advertised elsewhere on the forum) is guaranteed to bore the life out of you,your friends and family.Maybe they will fall asleep before the end of the show. It certainly worked here. The presentation of images was wasteful and could have easily set the scene for a dozen Slideshows. BB you are the best,but this year’s award for excellence,goes to AVG! Davy

Andrew, The music - sets the mood,the street scenes - the atmosphere and the detail shots - well,the details. The elements combining to make a super AV. A big fat log on an open fire at Christmas sort of show. Well done, Davy

A big thank you to BB for showing the mails that we exchanged. This was around December 2010 I think. As I recall BB was having problems with this AV. To be honest it 'sucked' (in my opinion.) BB at the time acknowledged that it was not possible to convey the Rainforest experience. I did try to rework/rearrange BBs images and soundtrack.I posted it back on the forum. My intention was for BB and others here to see it. To say 'That works better,or that is dosen't'. As BB states, it was only a slideshow. BB took exception to my tampering with this holy of holies. The rest of BBs post shows my reaction and response. BB goes on to state that thereafter I was confrontational and took a dislike to him. Perhaps BB has forgotten a later response to one of his slideshows. 'Posted 03 August 2011 - 11:28 AM ' 'Barry, This is more like it. The framing worked well, the music was spot on. A wee bit of stretching with people/boats maybe, not sure, but back to top form here. Davy.' BB you are the best. Davy

Jan, I had tried (unsuccessfully) to make this type of show using hundreds of video frames. Realising the sort of input needed,I gave up. Hours and hours of work. The response here was fairly quiet except for those who could appreciate your efforts. Maybe it sits easier with those in the video community. Apart from the technical aspects,I found it fascinating to watch. Davy

Peter, Thank you for a very well written response.I agree with every single point you have made. I would urge people to refrain from using the phrase, ‘Barry Boring’ on this forum. BB has questioned the backslapping feedback often given,so I would expect him to favour an honest opinion. That he chose not to reply is fair enough,even if it was only positive feedback that he really wanted. Phil, Sorry,I was not aware of your problems with arithmetic,spelling etc. Despite davegee’s claim that you are incorrigible,I think there might be hope for you. To show there are no hard feelings on my part,just pm me your address and I will send you some BB tutorials free of charge. Obviously the tutorials will be on the subject of AVs/Photoshop and not spelling or arithmetic. Let’s hope you don’t find them too boring. I do hope you visit this forum more often and perhaps in time,you could post one of your AVs here. I look forward to it. Davy

Let’s see, 21 posts here in 6 years! How many posts on the BB forum? You can worship him if you like. Just don’t expect all of us here to kneel along with you. I couldn’t help but notice your little bear avatar is missing something. It’s got no B---S. No suprise there. Davy

Mick, That's my point. I think he has,but didn't. Maybe this is a prelude for 'Jurassic Park IV' Davy

Jan, For me,this was one of the best AVs of 2011. Super show and very original. Keep it up in 2012. Davy