ronwil

Better than what Tim? I thought the photography was excellent but the whole sequence maybe just that bit too long. There was one point when I thought the sequence had ended with the clarinet(?) player against a sunset. Maybe perhaps the music was a little bit repetitive making the sequence seem that much longer. I don't know but you have done well. One final thing check the box under Project Options>Main>Show settings>Close show after last slide, which presumably is a blank. Good Luck Ron [uK]

Tim Another way is to enter your first slide twice in the Slide List, but for the first slide in the list check the box to the left of Show Image, just below the Slide List. You now have a blank slide. Adjust the timing of your effects and on screen for this blank to fill the time before the music starts. Ron [uK]

In January I participated in Maureen’s epic Birthday Card to celebrate Peter Cole’s 70th Birthday. So I decided to adapt my contribution to send a card to my younger son for his 50th which was yesterday. It has been added to the Beechbrook site and features a jigsaw action, downloaded from Adobe Studio, and a pan effect. The latter was achieved by stitching together three slides, cropping to end up with an image 2048x768 pixels, which was then split in two for the final Push effect, Right to left. It is a small file and runs for just a minute. The scene is Portsmouth Harbour in 2001. In his e-mail thank you my son added this: “This may amuse you. I don't believe it! Even my PC has worked out that I am now officially a grumpy old man. It has just sent me a message saying "The central control centre has determined that you are due for updates. Please click on okay to continue." What a cheek! What a life!” Ron [uK}

It is not my policy to recommend anything on the basis that one man's meat is another man's poison, but I do suggest that you aim for a dual format (+ and -). I have an Iomega Super DVD Writer 16x Dual-Format USB 2.0 Drive. Check it out on www.iomega.com Ron [uK}

No thank you DaveG - Most disconcerting to a viewing audience. If the sequence is worth watching, time will not be noticed. Ron [uK]

I am getting confused here. I raised the subject of use of effects and gave my advice in my thread above timed today at 8.01am British Summertime. I can see nowhere else in this posting on the subject, prior to my entry. However you can rely on Ken, who is a fount of information when directing forum members in the right direction. I do not recall anyone on the forum ever getting annoyed with basic questions. We have all had to start at the beginning and most like me are willing to impart whatever we have learnt, if we think it will be of some help. Keep smiling. Ron [uK]

Well done Tim. Glad to see that you are up and running with your first show of some excellent bird photography. There are lots of techniques to learn which you will pick up by observation, experimentation and questions. I could answer most of your questions in another recent thread but I am sure others will respond more fully in a short space of time. However I would like to draw your attention to my template suggestion given in your original thread on this forum and in particular the piece about Effects. I quote "Effects>Transition effects>Enable transition effects (selected). When setting up the template, if all the effects are selected these can be cleared by clicking the right hand button, showing two sheets of paper towards top left. Now select Fade in/out.". In my opinion, your first sequence would be much improved if this method was followed. At the moment one is left guessing which effect will be used next instead of concentrating on the excellent images. Ration your use of the other effects available. Another suggestion is that you crop your your horizontal images to 4:3 ratio and size to 1024x768 pixels. Also that you group your vertical images in batches rather than chopping and changing. Good luck and best wishes Ron [uK]

Lin, I think the error is yours. Lori sought to upgrade from 4.3 (not 4.43) to 4.4. Al has given the answer. Welcome Lori. Ron [uK]

Worked OK with me too Tim. Same set up as the other Ron - Windows XP, Creative Soundblaster Audigy2ZS. Are you sure that you have got the settings right, because I notice that you are using the full range of effects and that images start to recur after the music has stopped. The following is my basic template: Main>Main Settings>Create Slide Show (selected). Nothing else selected at this stage but later I use my own icons. Main>Show settings>Close show after last slide (selected). >Display each slide for (selected) and 4s and 0ms (entered) Advanced>Advanced Options>Mouse Button this is set at Left-Exit and Right-Next slide but I don’t use this function. Hide mouse cursor during show is selected. No other selections under Advanced. Music. No selection at this stage. Comments. No selection. I usually add any lettering in Photoshop. Screen>Screen options>Fit to screen (selected); 100% 0f screen to show slide images (selected) and Fullscreen mode (selected). No other selections. Screen>Background>Solid color and black selected. Effects>Transition effects>Enable transition effects (selected). When setting up the template, if all the effects are selected these can be cleared by clicking the right hand button, showing two sheets of paper towards top left. Now select Fade in/out. >Thickness of smoothing line 60 and Effect duration 4000ms Messages not used. Finally File>Templates>Create template from this Show I hope this may help but don't give up Tim it is an excellent programme from an excellent source and with an excellent forum. Ron [uK]

Ray Sorry, my comment related purely to the Windows Media Player indication of 4:3 and 1:1 and not to movies, in which I am not interested. However I suggest you use the Zoom tool in Photoshop on an image and you will see that the image is made up of squares on your monitor. Ron [uK]

Just a thought. I always use the ratio 4:3 when cropping my images and size finally to 1024x768 pixels. Surely these pixels are square i.e. 1:1. So I can see nothing wrong in what Windows Media Player is indicating. Ron [uK]

Welcome. Also use the Search for "Manual Show", you will find some useful threads there. Ron [uK]

I believe, correct me if I am wrong, that it is the policy not to comment on individual sequences unless called for by the author. I am glad that Daniel set the ball rolling on this one, for I was bursting with enthusiasm to comment after seeing such an excellent presentation. Every change was compatible with the music and every image a delight to view. It should give great encouragement to everyone knowing what can be achieved with PTE, a good set of images, suitable background music and inspired thought. Ron [uK]

And don't forget that with the push effect the background moves with the text so a solid background is best. Ron [uK]

Ed you only need three images to create a smooth third image rendition as seen in my "Third Image Demo" on Beechbrook, but I agree with JRR that it would be nice to know if it could be done within PTE. Ron [uK]

I too use Daniel's method by producing the necessary images in Photoshop. I demonstrated this in a short upload, Third Image Demo, to the Beechbrook site in February or March last year. Ron [uK]

I use 1024x768 but for a two slide panorama I resize the two images to 1025x768 and find that that gets rid of the line between the two when using the push slide effect. Ron [uK]

Dave, Ian & Brian Sorry my initial thread was written from memory of the problem I had twelve months ago and my shelving of recording sound effects and anno domini has played its tricks. Looking further my problem was the Sony MZ-NZ10 not having a Line-out socket and not my soundcard which does have a Line-in. So it looks as though the USB link is the way forward. My sound card is internal and not the Platinum version of the Audigy 2ZS. It is not clear whether or not the Mic-input is stereo. Thanks everyone. Ron [uK]

Thanks Dave This may have given me the answer when I have time to try it. My Sony has a USB connecting jack covered with a rubber shield and there is also a dedicated USB cable. Although I have had the recorder for about a year and I have asked questions at the Sony Shop, I had shelved making progress in recording sound effects etc. In the meantime I will wait and see what Brian has to say. What microphone do you use? I was interested in what Andrew Buust had to say recently about his mock headphone mike. Ron [uK]

Brian Whilst we are on the subject, I have a problem to which you may have the answer. I have a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS sound card installed on my system but it does not have a Iine-in socket, only a mic-in. How can I playback recordings from my Sony MZ-N710 MiniDisc Recorder? Can I plug into the mic input with suitable "adjustments"? What I would like really is a reader for the MD (mini-disk) which I could plug into a USB2 port, but Sony tells me that there is no such animal. Thanks by the way for all the useful information and advice which you contribute to this forum. Ron [uK]

You don't say what your settings are for effects and time on screen for each image. 169 slides in 13 minutes doesn't give one much time to see the images. Try reducing the number of images. Ron [uK]

I can confirm that the CDs, which Barry has to offer, are worth every penny (or dime) with very suitable music for AV presentations. Ron [uK]

Thanks Lin for the short explanation which was all that I needed. I am sure most of my UK friends will appreciate your answer. Ron [uK]

What is "suck"? Ron [uK]

Jeannie I think your query should be in the section "How to create a video". Ulead Movie Maker crops up consistently there where I hope you will find your answers. Ron [uK}