Maureen

I have listed some sources on my web site at www.digital-av.co.uk There have been many threads about this so you could also do a search on this PTE Forum. Welcome by the way! Hope this helps. BW Maureen

You've certainly hit every nail on the head Lin and said it very well ! It's good to have differing opinions on our Forum but I totally agree with all your points. Looking forward to trying out the great big massive leapfrog soon! I've tried the others and still continue to believe P2E is far superior. I also believe its projected images are usually consistently better than many of the other programs. But that's my opinion. BW Maureen

Thanks Igor for keeping everything so up to date and secure. BW Maureen

I cannot see any problems Igor. Thank you for all your hard work. BW Maureen

No problem in England either Ron I used Ask Jeeves (www.ask.co.uk) Welsh Flag ..... http://www.darachweb.com/flags/Wales.html Skeeter Davis - http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&s...tuadqjmbojh6~T0 Love Maureen

A year ago I embarked on my first joint sequence (with the rest of the world!) It was to create a "sequence" which would send birthday greetings to a friend who was celebrating his 70th birthday. His name will remain anonymous but many Forum members know about this and took part. I asked for a birthday message from AV friends around the world. They could send me images, sound clips, or a complete mini AV (not too long obviously). These were sent by www.dropload.com or on CD through the post. I certainly did not anticipate the response or hard work & long hours preparing it all and putting it together. (especially two weeks before Christmas!) My main concern was not to make it into one very long sequence as there would be a problem if he started to watch and the phone rang or had an interruption - he would then need to continually restart the sequence and using the navigation options would mean the flow of the work would be spoilt. I therefore used a "chapter method" There were four "chapters" eventually. Those who sent images, words or sound clips were all used to create one AV which finished with a screen shot linking it to several mini AV sequences which had been sent as final exe files. This last screen image also had the option to go on to the next "chapter". Thus I could work on what was being sent in immediately without waiting to receive it all & then rush to get it done. I was delighted with the response. I had planned to host the final sequence on my web site (privately) for others who had taken part to download, but the eventual file was 261 mb so it was too large. I then made copies to send to all my fellow "co-authors". As I have a UK licence for music copyright and this work was private not for any commercial purpose we were OK. It is certainly a great fun thing to do and I will certainly take part in Dave's project ... and happy to give any advice needed. I'm sure my fellow co-author's on "Boyo's Birthday" will be happy to show their CD to others. It was all done using PTE and there are a vast range of Av techniques used on that project. Hope this gives you some ideas Dave. I don't think you need to have a massive hosting space at all. I can offer some space at www.avworld.org and at www.maureenalbright.com MY New Year's resolution is not to volunteer any more ! I have a major project planned for this year which I'm determined to sit down and complete as soon as possible. We're also organising the UK part of the new 321 Challenge and at 4am this morning I finished the UK web site at http://www.maureenalbright.com/321 The official French web site is now at http://www.atelierdiaporama.com/ (did I say I've given up volunteering ) Think I'll turn professional and have a rest & some money ! Happy new Year to you all. May your sequences be fun to make and enjoyable to you and all who see them. BW MAureen

To all PTE Members , friends and all the fantastic development team with Igor my warmest wishes for a very Happy New Year in 2006 We can see who has already celebrated here and I've updated my web site to send some more greetings too. Love to you all Maureen

Just returned from Wales - Land of My Fathers, no viruses there just coughs & colds so .......... Blwyddwyn Newydd Dda of course I shall be expecting "Clennig!" on New Year's Day... but this year PTE v5 will be just as welcome! Cyfarchion y Tymor i chwi'n gyd ! Pob lwc am 2006 "Clennig" = special money given to those who wish you Happy New Year before mid-day and should bring the rich giver Good Luck in the coming year. "Cyfarchion y Tymor i chwi'n gyd" = seasons greetings to you all and good luck in 2006 Maureen

Hi Ron Sharpening should always be the very last thing you do to an image. For those still quoting 72 dpi and 300 dpi with an image size 2.25m .... all images at 1024 pixels by 768 pixels will become 2.25 mb Still unconvinced.. Try opening a large image then go to image size, untick resample image and set the resolution to 72 dpi then retick resample image and set width to 1024 pixels height to 768 pixels Image size will drop to 2.25 m Go back to open the original image again (use history) Repeat above using 300dpi or any number you like to use and your final image will still be 2.25 m with all the same information. Open the original large image and use the crop tool set at 1024pixels by 768 pixels BUT leave the resolution box BLANK The final image size will be 2.25 m Still not convinced .......reread Scantips For workflow with Photoshop ....... Book published in April 2005 Photoshop CS2 Workflow: The Digital Photographer's Guide (Paperback) by Tim Grey Price: $26.39 from Amazon.com (read the reviews) Step-by-Step Processing of Photographs using Photoshop 6 & 7 Photoshop workflow for digital photography (digital workflow) I agree with this quote .......... taken from this web site .... Photoshop Workflow for Photographers Hope this helps, BW Maureen

Happy Christmas Everyone Hope this works here ............ Please click on the following link to see your card: http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=BL30077161 We hope you all have a very healthy and joyful 2006 with a huge production of amazing new sequences using PTE and version 5 Best Wishes Maureen

Happy Christmas Ron To obtain the very best image always do all corrections if you can in Raw mode first. Secondly to work with digital Audio Visual photography you have crossed an invisible boundary, leaving all print work aside you become a projectionist. A projectionist should totally forget all this 72 dpi business because it is the machine you use to project which has a mind of its own and picks the resolution. All you do need to give it, is the image size in pixels. Not any "pixels per inch" as you are NOT dealing with ink on paper. This is not PTE's fault but could be due to your projection mode or settings. Please don't use the brightness/contrast settings in Photoshop - these are used by beginners, and it is far better to practise using the curves settings, much finer control. Only ever use slight sharpening as the last thing you ever do to an image & then do so on a layer (use alt merge visible on a new layer then apply sharpening) Yes we can if we use the tools correctly. In the end it is the image which matters. Having super brand new equipment does not mean you always know how to have an eye for a good image, or know how to best use the new technology. Many people keep their old standard equipment and produce breath taking (and prize winning) results (not that those two always go together) Hope this helps Happy Christmas Maureen

For those who do not know the site is at www.multiphot.com Happy Christmas Everyone BW Maureen

Lots of free sound resources and advice here also some links to information about microphones here We also use a small pre-amp available from Howard Gregory of the Wilmslow Guild who also produces some excellent CDs & tapes of advice on sound recording & sound effects. He advertises in Av World magazine and also writes articles there on sound & recording. He's extremely knowledgeable on the subject. Apart from needing a very good quality microphone we often use the "old tights routine". Place some tights or a stocking around a wire coathanger bent into a circular shape, or use the splatter guard often available from a hardware store (or the kitchen). If you place this between your mouth and the microphone if will eliminate some of the pops & clicks which can be picked up in speech. We fix the mike to one tripod and the splatter guard to another set between the person speaking and the mike. For out doors use a wind shield. Lots of information about sound recording can often be found on Video sites. Hope this helps. BW Maureen

I save all my images, sound & PTE files on an external drive so I can work between my main PC and a laptop if necessary. Prior to the new edition ofPTE, learning about templates, editing the paths in notepad and Sy(P), etc I found my easiest way was ....... My main PC showed the external drive as M but my laptop showed it as drive F. So I would go to Start Run type cmd press return C:> etc appears, then type in subst m: f:\ This ordered the computer to recognise an address which said m:\Av work\etc\etc and change to location temorarily to f:\AV work\etc\etc Instantly the error messages for files not found etc would vanish and images & all folders & files are found again. This is when the usb external (usually drive m when I create my PTE work) is plugged in and shows up as the f drive. Use different drive names when necessary. e.g if I plug into a strange computer the new drive might be d or any other letter. I don't need to do this now as I constantly save as templates. Hope this is helpful. BW Maureen

I've had notes about this for some time (article in AVWorld) and also on the web site at www.digital-av.co.uk. See pages about background screen and invisible buttons and also article about clean desktop called clear the decks Put the shortcut to your launch PTE programme on your desktop and I also auto hide the taskbar (taskbar & start menu properties) Hope this helps BW Maureen

Hi Dave Was at Swansea last night (Joe Cornish talk). (I'm a Club member there too) Glad to hear you're using PTE. Gave a talk there last year using PTE etc. Should also be giving a demo at the WPF Lampeter Weekend next September. See notes on www.digital-av.co.uk Love to all "Swansea Jacks" ! BW Maureen

Good Luck with the move and your health Harry. We'll be thinking about ya & looking forward to seeing those Arkansas pictures ! Love Maureen

Hi Mike I use dual monitors and have no problem adding floating menus e.g. timeline in PTE onto the other screen. I have placed some info here on the www.digital-av.co.uk web site. Hope this helps Mike. Also now have the RPS distinctions dates for 2006 added to the RPS AV Group site see the bottom of the distinctions page here. Please pass this on to other members of your group if they are interested. They need to contact Carol Agar at RPS HQ in Bath first. Non-members can try for distinctions & join if /when they are successful ! BW Maureen

Hi We've been able to manage Templates and choose their folder location since July 2004 with PTE version 4.30 beta#3. Thank You Igor Before that I continually used templates but each time the template was saved to the template folder within the main PTE program folder. This was OK so long as you didn't download the latest version and overwrite the previous version of PTE, as then the template folder was also overwritten, and I lost the oldest templates (I was lucky I had saved the pte files so no tears .... and I quickly spotted it) So I have always saved new versions of PTE beta programs into a new folder labeled with the PTE beta number. So if there were to be a problem with that beta version I could simply close it and re-open the previous PTE version. Now any of my templates saved in the PTE program template folder are no longer overwritten if a new version overwrites the previous PTE. Again an excellent new upgrade. We have so many "problems" fixed quickly and quietly by Igor and his team. Sometimes we even forget about the many wonderful little hidden gems in this program. Templates are a very useful way of sharing your working file with a friend, as many have already discovered. BW Maureen

Out of 2,581 registered members only a tiny number (73) have voted and let Igor know their video card. Come on, this is your chance to help Igor by giving him some useful information !

Congratulations on a superb Supercircuit Al - hope we can visit the next one ! Very well said! No-one has to use the new version if it isn't initially what they want. BW Maureen

The more queries, questions and wishes we add at the moment for ver.5 the more pressure Igor and his team will feel to make it perfect for all 2,581 Forum members. Then we'll all have to wait very much longer Folks ! Lets all wait quietly like good children to see what Igor and Father Christmas brings us for being good! Every problem given to the team at the minute makes the launch that much further away! I'd rather have a Christmas present to play with than an Easter Egg ! Thanks Igor for all the hard work. Love Maureen

I use Nortons SystemWorks with no uploading to the net or downloading problems. For Downloading I also now use GetRight which is very good. This is one of the many programs available which will pick up where you left off if ever you get cut off in the middle of a download. It has other advantages too. I would suggest you contact Bill at Beechbrook. If he's had to go away he may have stopped the uploading page for a little while. BW Maureen

Maybe some people may be asking " How do I find out what kind of video card I have installed on my machine?" There are a couple ways of doing this. The first way is to right click my computer, then click on properties then click on the Device Manager tab. Once in the Device Manager section, expand the link by Display Adapters, here you will find out the brand video card you have installed on your machine. The second way to find out what kind of video card is installed on your system, is to click on the start button, click on run, once in run type DXDIAG. You will then need to click on the DISPLAY tab and the name and manufacturer of your video card will be displayed. I hope this may help anyone who is confused about their video card. BW Maureen

Hi Love to all "across the Water" & Congratulations too! Looking forward to seeing some of the sequences at the Great Northern. Is anyone coming over for it? We'll be there as usual! Love Maureen