Don

Hi Peter, Sorry about the “user-unfriendly” nature of the comparison. You are right, it would be easier for someone to evaluate if I had built a bit more flexibility into it. Another mistake I made was to use O&A for the JPG12 vs JPG6 comparison, which likely accounts for you not being able to navigate back and forth between them. I’m still quite new with PTE, so please bear with me. I value the discussions that I read daily in these forums. They are helping me, and I’m sure others. My intent here was to determine the best compression level for me to use when saving images to JPG for PTE. In my non-PTE photography, I use PSD unless I’m sending the images to someone that does not have Photoshop. In that case I save the images as JPGs with the least possible compression (12.) The file sizes for the initial slideshows that I’ve made were much too large, especially when compared to those that I’m seeing on this and other sites. My sense is that this not only makes distributing them on the net inefficient, but also degrades the viewing experience if another person is using a computer with less capability. So, I’ve been exploring ways to get my file sizes down. My first step was to reduce the pixel dimensions from the 3888 x 2592 that my camera captures to 1920 x 1200, which is my monitor resolution. That helped a lot, but I thought that compressing the images more might further improve the situation. As most of my efforts had previously been directed towards printing photos, my predisposition was to use as little compression as possible. The experiment that I posted here was done to challenge my concept of “less compression is always better.” Evidently, that is not true. I eagerly await the results of your discussion at your local A-V group. Thanks, Don

As a new member of the PTE world, I have learned much about this wonderful software from this forum and the tutorials. One issue that I have not been able to clearly understand has to do with file compression methods. I’ve read various viewpoints here, but still didn’t think that I had a satisfactory answer for myself regarding what I should do. So, I thought that the best approach was for me to do some primary research. I took an image that I shot and saved it in various ways, put it into a PTE slideshow, and posted it at MediaFire. The shot I chose was taken with a Canon 40D and I did some minor Photoshop work on it. It was originally shot as a large JPEG, as I was not yet using RAW at the time I took this picture (but I am now.) Each version of the image was saved only once, from the PSD file. As you can imagine, the file sizes varied considerably, from 3078 KB when the JPEG was saved using a 12 compression down to a 282 KB at a 0 compression. I really expected to see a more dramatic difference. Am I missing something? I’m viewing this on a 24” LCD (1920 x 1200.) Does this mean that saving at higher compression factors is only wasting space? Possibly I should have used an image with a sharper focus to bring out any critical differences. This was hand-held, 100 ISO, f/4.0, 1/160 sec, with a 55m focal length. I would like some opinions on this comparison. Here is the MediaFire link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/y4mymznmomm/File Compression Comparisons.zip The slideshow is 1 minute 52 seconds and the file is 17.29 MB zipped. Thanks, Don

Many of us have been through the same situation. It's never fun in the end. We all know when we get a pet that we are likely to outlive it. Most of us just put the thoughts of the pet's demise out of our minds. But it does eventually come. Your show demonstrates a good way to look at such decisions. And, I think, an accurate one. Don

Beautiful images filled my 24 inch screen perfectly. Not once did I feel the desire to reach for the "delete" key. You may have felt that it was a bit long, but I didn't. It was captivating. As a newcomer to PTE, this is not only enjoyable to me, but contributes to my understanding of what works and what doesn't. This does! Don

Nice story. And, quite appropriate music. Given the challenge of capturing those images, the quality was reasonably good... at least acceptable. In the end, the story, including your compassion, carries the show. I enjoyed it. Don PS... I look forward to updates on the fox's progress.

I liked it a lot. Great images and appropriate music. If I were sitting in an audience and saw this prior to a presentation, I would be quite impressed. I hope that your presentation is of equal quality. You're certainly setting up your audience to expect it to be. Don

Ken, The problem was solved to my satisfaction and quickly. This forum provides an excellent service for me and I'm sure others, as well. I thank you all for that. I have found that most of the questions that I come across in my learning have already been asked and answered. Searching and reading the forum, as well as the tutorials, has been key to my learning. Don

nobeefstu- You have the magic touch! You solved my problem. I had not updated to 6.0.2. Once I did, the PTE problem went away. For some background, I was experiencing the problem whether or not I was in O&A. It was present with both Preview and Preview From Current Slide. F5+ESC did not help. Nor did minimizing Photoshop. I'm still experiencing the problem with Excel, but that's not a big deal, as just pressing Shift+ESC resolves that. It's not worth figuring out what's going on there. Thanks nobeefstu. Nice work. Don

When I am running Photoshop CS4 and PTE 6.0 simultaneously, my escape key will not function within PTE. For example, if I click the icon to the right of “Preview” in PTE (to preview my slideshow from the current slide) and later want to end the show by pressing my escape key, nothing happens after pressing it. The escape key, however, does function within Photoshop. I was having a similar problem with Excel when Photoshop was running. A suggestion from Adobe tech support has resolved that, however. After trying several other fixes, they suggested that I press shift-escape when I want to access the escape function. This works for Excel. I tried it with PTE and it unfortunately does not work. I then tried combinations of various other keys with escape, but none of them worked for PTE. A solution that I am using now to stop the PTE slideshow preview is this: (1) have Task Manager run in the background, (2) click the Task Manager application icon at the bottom of my screen when I want to end the preview, and (3) click “End Task” with the “Project1” application highlighted. While this does work, it is not exactly elegant. I am using a Dell PC, 64-bit, 1 TB hard drive, 8 GB RAM, Intel Core i7 CPU which runs at 2.67 GHz. The operating system is Windows Vista Home Premium. My video card is an ATI Radeon HD4670. Any thoughts? Thanks, Don

Is there a better middle-ground where PTE would avoid reinventing the wheel? Specifically, could PTE be adapted to work more seamlessly with Audacity? I am a new PTE user, having put together only a handful of slideshows. So, my comments should be viewed in that context. I use Audacity as my sound editor. I have found it easy to use, flexible, and extremely precise. The only complication that I experience is when making an adjustment in Audacity that must then be saved and reviewed in PTE. It is by no means a big deal, but I do have to wait a few minutes while the Audacity project is being converted to either OGG or MP3. Then, I go back into PTE to confirm that my audio adjustments are timed properly for the visuals. They almost always are. Many of the audio problems that I see being discussed in this forum are quite simple to address in Audacity. I see no need to reinvent the wheel. Just make it more seamless with PTE.

Nice images. Brief and clear. You can't miss the message. If any of your Facebook friends are in Florida, it'll make them rethink all of their recent carping about the cold weather that they had. Well done. Don

VERY NICE!!! Great images. I had the sense that I was there. I also like the order in which they were shown. The transitions felt wonderful. The music was well matched. Halfway through I felt like I should grab a coat. Don

Hexeta, I've developed the same sleep problem. PTE just won't let me go to bed. The more I read and the more I experiment, the better my skills get, but the worse my sleep problem gets. I, too, started with the trial software. I quickly moved to the Deluxe version. I've had it for a little over a month now. If my situation offers any previews for your situation, time will likely not be a solution. Unless, you don't buy the software. Someone with more PTE experience than I have will need to answer you question regarding whether the program becomes unusable after the trial period. Unfortunately, everything I know about it leads me to believe that you are not going to like the answer. Don

I did do a Google search but evidently got discouraged too quickly as I was finding that the downloadable music was royalty free, but not totally free. Fees were involved. This may be okay for me, but as I'm new to slideshows, I wanted to find out what was available totally free. Motivated by your comment, I went back to Google and searched for "totally free legal music downloads." This yielded a number of opportunities. They are not as searchable and as well organized as the pay sites, but hey, it's free. I am creating PTE slideshows as a hobby. None of my work will be used for commercial purposes. So, I don't want to be spending a lot for each piece of music. Free is nice, and I would not have any concern about a small flat or annual fee for access to a large selection legal downloadable music. Thanks, Don

Does anyone know where one can purchase the rights to use music (from CDs or downloaded from the net) used in non-commercial slideshows? I saw the info for the UK, but I would like to know for the US. Does anyone know where I could find music on the net available for downloading that does not require any authorization to use for non-commercial purposes? Don

Thanks Davy for the quick reply. I never notice those options in Google Images before. They do open up a new world. As for Deepwater, enough said. I'm still struggling with my third question regarding fully filling the monitor screen with an image. In Project Options, I went to the Screen tab, selected Fullscreen next to where it said "Your display - 16:10." Then, I selected the following: Aspect ratio of a slide 16:10; Size of slide 1920 x 1200; checked the Fixed size of slide box; checked the Hardware accleration box. I continue to get 3/4 inch black bars on the sides of my image. I tried multiple other options, but nothing improved on this. I don't know if it makes any difference, but my JPEGs have an aspect ratio of 1.5:1.0. I tried that aspect ratio for the slide setting in Project Options, but that didn't help. Any ideas? Don

Davy, I'm new to PTE and enjoying it very much. Viewing slidshows like this one that you posted is quite helpful. The audio and video are terrific! I typically use my own photography in my slideshows, but was intrigued by your comment that you sourced the images from Google. I would appreciate it if you could help me on three questions that I have regarding your slideshow: (1) How did you source these images from Google? I looked at Google Images for similar photos, selected the largest files I could find, and opening them in Photoshop. They were, however, no where near as sharp and clear as yours. I applied some sharpening, but that only made them look worse. (2) How did you get the sound files from deepwater blue? I went to their website and was able to play the specific files that you used, but I could not figure out how to download them. How do you do that? Are they free? (3) How did you get your slideshow to perfectly fit on my monitor, without any black bars? I've played with various settings in PTE and have been able to minimize the black bars, limiting them to only one thin one on each side of my image. But, I have not been able to eliminate them. I'm using a Dell 24" monitor set to 1920 X 1200 pixels. Sorry to bother you with questions, but you seem to have the magic touch. Don

Nice work! I love the energy. As far as Old Dude status, my kids think I am, but I don't. As we all know, it's in your attitude. I not only let it run to the end, I enjoyed the whole show. Thanks also for the great lead to FreePlayMusic. The site is awesome! Don

Thanks Dom & John. Those suggestions are helpful. I had read online that the PTE user community provides a major advantage for PTE over its competitors. Having read through these forums, I can see that in action. With your quick responses to my questions, I now also see how effective and targeted this can be. By the way, Dom, I've visited your new website and registered there. It's a great resource! Don

I have been putting picture frames around the images that I use in PTE slideshows. I accomplish this using Photoshop. I created a number of different frames on different layers. Then, I drop my image in on a lower layer, make the desired frame visible, and save as a JPEG. This works, but is time consuming. I was wondering if there is a better way of achieving this outcome. I have tried the color border option in PTE, but it produces a more simple frame than I want. My Photoshop frames have beveled edges, drop shadows, multiple colors, etc. They are subtle, not gaudy, but more complex. Any thoughts? I am new to PTE. I want to thank Lin Evans for suggesting this program to me. I had not previously heard about it. I had posted a question on dpreview.com asking if anyone knew of a slideshow program that yielded higher quality images than the options I had been using. Lin suggested PTE. I downloaded the trial version and within a week purchased the Deluxe V 6. It is outstanding, not to mention addictive. I have read / viewed many of the tutorials on this site, which have been helpful. I am also reading the various posting regularly. Thank you Lin. Don