Danabw

Cathy: You can use Windows Movie Maker 2.0 to import the AVI file created by PTE, and then create your movie from there. So you would use Movie maker to create your CD from the PTE AVI file. I can't tell if Windows Movie maker creates a VCD or SVCD, or some other variant, but they do use a format called HighMAT that may or may not be supported by your DVD player. So you should do a test first. And remember that for distribution of your slideshows (if you plan to share them w/friends/family) VCD is more compatible across various DVD players but not universal and relatively low quality, SVCD is less compatible across various DVD players but has much better quality. You could also create your slideshow from scratch w/in Movie maker (e.g., import pictures into Movie Maker and arrange them on the timeline, add effects, etc., but i wouldn't recommend it - much more tedious than using PTE. Dana

Yes - a very happy and fun new year to all. Dana

Interesting results. You're getting a 6:1 w/Pinnacle, and 5:1 w/Ulead, and 3.5:1 w/TMpegENC. That 2800+ AMD chip is doing very well compared to my 2.4 G P4, which is running at about 11:1 encode timet to show time ratio. Maybe I should have gotten an AMD... Hope you find a few optimizations. Dana

I'm sure you are correct, Ron. Igor works very quickly and updates/upgrades come very fast. One of the reasons PTE is such a great program. Dana

Thanks, Igor. Got it, testing as I type. OK - back now. Encoding time was 5:30 (for a 30 second show) so the factor looks to be about 11:1 on my P4 2.4 Gig PC. Does that compare favorably w/what your getting w/Ulead as well? The disc just popped out, so I'll go have a look/listen at/to it. Ahhhh....just beautiful, Igor. Looks great, sounds great, is great. You are a master of the universe. If you can optimize the production of interlaced video, that would be a great timesaver. Thanks for this great stuff!!! Enough playing - now off to bed!!! (2:30 AM here.) Dana

Cathy: I assume you want to make a presentation that will play on your DVD player? It sounds like this instruction from Igor that you need help with: The button you want to click is the "Video" button at the bottom of the PTE screen. Then click "DVD-Video Disc" and "interlaced" and "For Ulead DVD Movie Factory" if you are using the Ulead program. When you click "Create AVI" PTE will create a temporary AVI file from your slideshow. To complete that step you will need the moviefactory (or similar) program and a DVD burner (to make a DVD) or CD burner (to make an SVCD). You can read more about creating DVDs or SVCDs on http://www.dvdhelp.com. Dana

Hey, Rick. Just noticed your message. Sorry for not replying earlier. Thanks for the suggestion - and in some cases I have been doing just that over the past year or two. I've actually been using Studio to make DVD slideshows for quite some time. But it isn't very satisfactory for that purpose - you can't adjust the timing of a group of still images after they have been placed on the timeline (image display time must be adjusted individually once they are on the timeline), and there's no "fit to music" feature. I could use the Smart Sounds to fit the music to the slides but that doesn't offer the creative options I want for music. I did make a pretty impressive (to me!) slideshow DVD w/five separate shows accessed from a two level menu using Studio 8, but the process wasn't pleasant overall. Now-a-days I would quickly create the five music sync'd shows in PTE, create AVIs and pull them into Studio, build a couple of menus and "Bling-bling" - all done! I also use the Pinnacle's Expression software for DVD slideshows, and while it has a better design for working w/large numbers of individual images, it has other limitations that frustrate me a bit, including the inability to add multiple songs (have to paste them together into one MP3 outside Expression), less flexibility w/menus, etc. So PTE and Pinnacle Studio are really a great combination for me - all the cool slideshow handling and features of PTE, and the flexibility and power of Studio to arrange shows, create menus, add effects, etc. I'm sure that Ulead's product is great, but I have a lot of time and experience invested in Studio, it works well for me, and I really love the interface. Happy DVD-ing. Dana

Hey, Ray(2): Hard to keep track of us all here, isn't it? If you want their web address it's: http://www.pinnaclesys.com Dana

Cool! I tested w/Interlaced turned off in PTE, and found that the encoding was much faster - until it hung just less than 1/2 way through. :-( Killed the render (cancel from within Studio worked) and restarted the render. Tried a second time (recreated the AVI file from PTE) and it encoded fine. Took about 1 minute 40 seconds or so - I lost track just at the end. So you are correct (as usual!) about the improved encoding time w/Interlaced turned off. I look forward to Beta #6. By the way - I took a PTE/Pinnacle DVD slideshow up to the relatives over Christmas, and they really enjoyed it. THANKS, Igor, for providing this new feature! It is going to double my use and benefit from PTE. Dana

Thanks, Igor. You beat me to it! My (shorter) tests, using the same settings in Pinnacle Studio that you used: 32 second clip, one MP3, 128 bitrate, 20 slides, 1 sec for transitions. Encode to hard drive, not burned to disc. AVI from my digital camcorder: 1:35 seconds AVI from PTE (PTE codec): 5 minutes AVI from PTE (MPEG4 v2): 2 minutes So the PTE AVIs continue to take much longer...maybe the field order issue may be contributing. Dana

From DVDhelp.com: "miniDVD is basicly a DVD but on a CD-R(W) instead of a DVD disc. miniDVD is also sometimes called cDVD. A miniDVD does only fit about 15 minutes video on a 650 MB CD-R(W). Why doesn't miniDVD work on a standalone player? The DVD Player must be able to identify the CD-R/W miniDVD as a ordinary DVD-Video disc, many players identifies CD-R/W as VCD, SVCD or CD Audio and not DVD-Video. The high bitrate on DVD requires the CD-R/W reader in the DVD player to support at least 8x CD-R/W reading speed, and most DVD Players support only a maximum of 2x. A miniDVD can be played on - Not many DVD Players, check here for compatibility - On all computers with a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM with a software DVD Player." So miniDVD is not much in terms of space or compatibility. Dana

Thanks, Igor, for the suggestions. Will do, and will report back! Dana

Welcome, Cathy, and hope you continue to enjoy the program. You'll find a very helpful and supportive community here, and you'll find that PTE has a range of capabilities that will amaze you as you grow into them. Have fun! Dana

Depends on what you meant... - DVD burners can burn both RW and R media. Some do only +R/+RW, others only -R/-RW, others do both types. I have a 4x Sony dual format that has been great. I saw a Creative Labs 8x dual format DVD burner for $179 from Fry's today in an ad! Amazing. - DVD players can usually play both RW and R media. Similar format issues as above w/burners - Some play only +R/+RW, others only -R/-RW, others play both types. However, I'm sure there are also players out there that will play "odd" combinations of formats (e.g., +R/RW & -R), depending on how they are engineered. I have checked manufacturer specs on several DVD players where they were supposed to only support one format (e.g., -R/-RW), and when I tested w/DVDs I had created they supported both (-/+ R/RW). So it's a combincation of checking out specs and trying yourself. The good thing about the compatibility tables on the dvdhelp.com site is that they are based on testing by owners of the units, not manufacturer specs. Here's a link to the DVD player compatibility listings on their site (you can search for a particular model, or search for particular capabilities): http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers In my experience, the newer the DVD player, the more likely it has been to support both formats no matter what the manuf. specs said. But there are no guarantees until you try it. Dana

Thanks, CC. Let me know what processor/speed you're running as well, so I can do some math and compare. Thanks for checking on this! Dana

Sunny San Diego, tho I'm in rainy Granada Hills (nothern edge of Los Angeles) staying over at my brother-in-law's house for Christmas. Had great "fun" this evening BBQ-ing in the rain. We had kalbi (Korean ribs - to die for!) and sweet italian sausages (we're very eclectic here!) for our Christmas dinner "turkey/ham substitute." That, along with nori (crispy seasoned seewead), baked macaroni and cheese (old family recipe, my contribution), sun-du-bu (sp? tofu soup), kim-chee, salad, various vegetables, and Spanish seasonal candies made up our yuletide feast. In the AM it'll be fried rice and more soup...ahhh, LOVE the holiday feasting. Happy holiday of whatever type you observe around now, and a peaceful and fun filled new year to all. Dana

I've been experiencing very long encoding times w/Pinnacle Studio 8.10 and the PTE AVI files. My usual times are between 2 and three times the length of the movie. This AM I was encoding a PTE AVI and for a 12 minute show encoding had only completed 4 minutes of the show after the better part of an hour! I then used Pinnacle's Expression and got normal encoding times. Anyone else using Pinnacle Studio and have any issues w/PTE AVI encoding time vs. other AVIs? Can you post your CPU and "encoding ratio" (minutes encoding time per minute of video)? (I'm running on a P4 2.4.) Also, I'm losing audio when encoding in Studio - plays OK in PTE, and OK from within Studio before I encode. However, completed DVD is mute when played back on stand-alone DVD player or on DVD drive in computer. Using MP3s. Thanks, Dana

Agreed. PTE and Igor are both amazing. Great program, responsive author. I have never gotten anything but great praise and thanks from those to whom I have recommended PTE. Dana

Thanks, Igor. I tried to do that manually late last night and found that it wasn't possible. I believe that will fix the problem! Looking forward to the update. I have a whole slew of PTE shows that I'm going to convert and put onto one DVD w/an organizing menu. This will be cool... Dana

Oh, the pressure!! I pulled an AVI from PTE into Expression, and the DVD create failed during encoding at about 51%. Don't remember the error message, but at least the encoding started... Ray - are you listening? Have you given Studio 8 a go yet? Dana

Finally able to try the new AVI feature...and it ain't working for me! Trying to use PTE AVI file to create DVD in Studio8 DVD, version 8.10.40, PTE versions 4.20 beta 2 and 2a. Create the AVI using the DVD Video disc option, NTSC, interlaced. Pull AVI into studio, place on timeline, go to make movie tab and set to create DVD and click Create Disc. Studio reports that it can't encode the file because it has a non-standard video frame rate. Also tried setting frame rate to 29 and same message. What's up - anyone else using Studio successfully? Dana

In theory you are right. But in practice it's different: to consider the fact that you look at your TV at a distance of 3m with a 82 cm screen(PC monitor at 50 cm), you will find that the resolution is very good, especially if you look morever on a 100HZ TV. All my slide shows (SVCD) are very excellent on my TV. I find mine excellent as well - but it's not theory - they simply are not as sharp as the images viewed on a PC. I prefer DVD slideshows regardless... :-) Dana

Joy: The problem is the VCD format, not PTE or Expression. If you are going to view slideshows on your DVD player you either need to make SVCDs or DVDs. If you only have a CD burner you can make SVCDs from Expression. Click the wrench icon at the bottom of the Expression screen and select S-VCD from the Settings dialog, and select Best Video Quality (only 32 minutes will fit on a CD in this mode, but should be enough for a slideshow!). Give that a try - you will see improved results, but remember that a slideshow on your TV will not be as sharp as one on your monitor - the TV resolution just isn't as high as a PC monitor. Dana

Another vote for the Sony DRU 500/510, etc. Used it since it was introduced (cost $350 then!! - ouch) and it has been fantastic - no problems. Dana

Just a confirmation - VCD is a waste of time - I can't imagine anyone enjoying a VCD show on a TV. Except for Pinnacle Expression's high-res VCD option (which omits any transitions) I have never seen nor gotten any VCD output that was anywhere near acceptable. SVCD can be very good from a good program - if you don't have DVD capability yet it is an option that many will find acceptable. DVD is still a bit expensive for some, in terms of the cost of the burners, the media, and the CPU horsepower to run it all. There are also issues w/DVD- and DVD+ format incompatibilities. However, the arrival of AVI output to PTE is a milestone of great significance, and will allow many users who want to move on to SVCD or DVD output to remain w/a great program (PTE). Anyone who wants to learn more about this should visit www.dvdrhelp.com - more info, suggestions, and ideas for the VCD/SVCD/DVD interested than you can shake a stick at. Dana