Barry Beckham

I have been surprised that many times the video clip portions of the slideshows will not play smoothly on many, but play very well on others. This is exactly what I discovered and some very high spec machines with the price to match were the worst, but I couldn't put my finger on why one would play an animated show in my case and one wouldn't. To be honest if I didn't have to tuck the PC under my arm from time to time, I wouldn't have a laptop as a gift.

Paul If that reply is from Adobe, they are lying through their teeth. A casual search on the Internet reveals the problem and the fact that I can do the same thing with Photoshop CS6 and now CC perfectly ok, but not with Lightroom is evidence enough. I have found the main culprit, which is the Lens Corrections/Profiles. If you add Lens Corrections at the start of a manipulation, that is the cause of the slow down. So, while the workaround is to leave the lens profiles till last, that is an illogical way of working. When you adjust lens profiles it can alter the tones around the edges, hence me saying that logically it should be done first, but it can't. I guess most users have never even found Lens Profiles (Mostly mac users) let alone apply them. So the majority of users don't have a problem and Adobe can't admit that anyway can they.

:rolleyes:/>

I agree, those backlit keys are well worth having if you're going to use the laptop to demonstrate with. I quite like the idea of a solid state drive and will be going that way in my next desktop. A friend has just got one and it certainly seems sweet by what I have seen. If you choose that route then as you have discovered the size is restricted a bit, but that will depend how you work. Most if those solid state drives will be large enough for most of us, if we restrict it to just the OS and programs Externals are not expensive and I never store images on a C drive anyway. Would one of those help the heat issue too? I suppose it would, but then if I were buying a laptop I would expect that issue to have been dealt with by the manufacturer I do agree with Colin though that they are not good for really top class Photoshop work. We go away a lot and shoot images and I can look at them on the laptop, but I can't work on them because when I get home and see them on the desktop I want to start again.

Gary That makes sense. I personally dislike laptops for any photographic work. I find the screens too small and it's hard to determine the right tone and contrast on images being worked on. I appreciate that this is getting better as laptops get better too. I have demonstrated for years and always used a desktop for that. Working on the idea that I would have a PC projector, large prints, speakers, keyboard etc. The car was already full of kit so a desktop didn't add much more. Now in Australia I have moved to a laptop, but they are a pain in tha backside sometimes. Even when you get a really powerful one, they never seem to handle things as well as the same spec desktop. In theory (spec) my laptop should be better than my old PC that I use for making videos, but it isn't in practice. Pay attention to the keyboard of the laptop you buy. Some put those stupid keys down the left hand side to open things like a calculator, but as a demonstrator we are used to those bottom left keys being Shift and Control. I made a mistake when buying my laptop and I never paid attention to that. I am ALWAYS hitting those keys in error because the keyboard on the laptop is different to the desktop. It's something worth looking at before you buy. If you have another large keyboard that will USB into the laptop, think about using that, particulalry if that keyboard is a white one. The craze at present is for black keyboards, but as soon as the lights go down in the clubroom a black keyboard is impossible to see. I have an old white keyboard that I use, but they are hard to find in shops right now. An alternative is to get one of those USB lamps so at least you have a light on the keyboard for when you need it. Next laptop I buy will have as large as screen that is available or that I can aford to buy. I will also pay attention to the keyboard too. Take a USB stick to the store and ask to see a heavy PTE slide show running. I found that when I did that, some higher spec laptops didn't handle it very well. I was surprised at how badly some of them did given the spec and price

Gary What is the reason you're looking at a laptop? I know that sounds a daft question, but many people use them when portability and space isn't an issue with them at all. Just interested in what drives you towards a laptop

Ray I don't see it as my problem and at least one of the computers the slow down is evident on handles all I can throw at it in CS6 and that is quite a lot. I know its not universal, but it depends what level of manipulation its being used for and how powerful the PC is. In CS-6 I can open multiple, smart object images in 16 bit, but there is no slow down at all, so its the LR4 program and LR5 isn't much better. I suspect that if you use Lightroom to do some, delicate work, in other words just minor changes, then it's fine, but it can't handle what I want to do and what I have been doing for years. In LR4 if you open up a 16 bit 20MP image and apply lens corrections and Chromatic Aberrations fixes. Make adjustments to the exposure, clarity, white and black sliders and perhaps colour balance too. All normal stuff. Then add an adjustment brush to lighten just one part of the image.(what its designed for) Then apply a Graduated filter to the sky and the filter is likely to go into go slow mode. Try zooming into 1:1 and applying the Spot removal and wait 2 seconds for each dust mark to be fixed. I have done a lot of serches and none of the solutions come close to doing anything and the fact that Photoshop doing the same thing works a treat on both my PC's points the finger pretty firmly at LR My computer is running fine.

Paul I don't think there is an answer, the issue appears well known and widespread. You will be told all sort of things you can do, but they are all red herrings, defrag your drive, use smaller previews and a host of other small things, but none do a thing.

I think they need to include a function like flatten in Photoshop Layers. At a certain stage you can save the layered file, flatten it to finish off and a load is taken off the OS and PC. It seems to me that Lightroom needs that. It does seem odd that you have to leave lens corrections to the end of a manipulation when logically it's the first. Oh well, I won't hold my breath for a solution or I would have had it by now

Colin I don't think it can be that Lightroom has issues with other software running. If it did, some enterprising techie would have sussed it and you would find that solution listed everywhere in relation to Lightroom slow down. You don't and the solution offered don't do a thing. Adobe are coming up to Version 5 and that is much the same. If that was an issue surely it would have been addressed by now

Well, I can't hide the fact that I am disappointed that an adobe product falls so short. I can do the same work in CS-6 without issue. It seems Lightroom is designed for studio photographers who only require minimal image editing, but to suggest the monitor is too big is the daftest thing I have ever heard. Yeah, I just happen to have a range of monitor sizes here just in case I experience a problem with a large one. Oh well, back to Photoshop

No, it's nothing to do with that Ken, its a known fault with the way Lightroom works. What gives it appeal, also makes is memroy hungry. I am looking for a work around if there is one, but I admit I am not hopeful. I have tried Lightroom 5 beta and that is the same, perhaps a little better, but not much.

Have any users of Lightroom experienced this annoying thing where the software grinds to a halt even on a reasonably powerful PC. Tools like the Spot Removal taking 2 seconds to fix ONE dust spot. The gradient tool not being able to be dragged in real time with a long lag between movement and action. An enlarged image not being able to be dragged, without the same delay as the gradient filter. Setting the Lens Profiles I know is a core cause, but even with that not used there is still an issue. Looking on the internet there is no doubt this is a widely experienced problem, but not many solutions that work which indicate there isn't a solution. Anyone here know of something apart from the usual nonsense of degragging a drive, as if that will make one jot of difference. It has to be the software because the same thing in Photoshop works as smooth as silk. I appreciate that the way Lightroom works and stores everything we do is the cause, but if in the end if stops you using the tools you need, its not so great. I am looking for a simple solution if there is one to be found

I just added one OK with 7.5.9 - W7 64bit

That is pretty neat work. looks good even in that small video, would look pretty special at HD size

Well, my appologies, but perhaps this is a job for Igor to sort out. I have no idea why it doesn't want to play

mmm I was thinking about why a PC version works and a Mac doesn't when I recall a problem a while back where a slide show had an issue where the commentary was recorded in Camtasia, my usual method. It's the only thing I can think of, so I have run the commentary track through Audacity and replaced the old commentary track with the new one. If you are patient enough to try again in a little while (The new file is uploading now) perhaps that may clear the log jam http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/Montage-71p461.htm

I am not sure what to suggest, not owning a Mac myself I cannot test the download to see myself if the file plays ok this end I have re-created the Mac option as a zipped file as before and I over-writing the original with a new copy. I am doing that as I type so if you want to download the file and try again, please do. http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/Page-4-Latest-c71.htm

http://www.beckhamdigital.com.au/store/pc/Montage-71p461.htm

Is the anti-virus program on the receiving computer doing this in the belief that it is protecting your computer?

Dave I think my iTunes version is different. See attached. I have to click the video after dragging it into iTunes, but care to do it only once or the video is launched on the PC. Then click the little arrow to the right of the video title and then Barrys iPad. Pain in the backside if you ask me, but at least it works. I have had a few emails from people saying they cannot get Mp4's on their iPad, its not the fault of the Mp4, they go on all our iPads here and others, so it does seem that many are having difficulty with this. Its not very easy to do, untill you tumble the right order to do things.

Well Colin you're going to get precious little comments if members not connected with a sequence try to beat up the one person who did make a constructive comment. It's bad enough if you make a comment on someones slide show that upsets them, but now it seems you would have to run the gauntlet of others too. It's an impossible situation, sad but true. The ONLY way you will EVER get true contructive comments is if those making the comments could submit them to a moderator and the comments were reposted and remained annonymous. Then you may get a much larger range of comments and the balance for the author would be far better. Xaver has done just what you ask, but is getting the forum treatment.

:rolleyes:/>

Would the Cost be worth the benefits, me thinks not?

Igor Why not, I would interested to hear your views. I don't have it myself.