Eric Athroll

Thanks everyone for the input. I haven't used this software for the past two years or so other than at a very basic level so that is good news. I shall delay the upgrade until I find I need the full facilities again.

Hi I am currently using PTE De Luxe Version 7.0.2 My licence for VideoBuilder expired yesterday and I am wondering whether to renew this aspect of PTE or let it lapse. If I do not renew the licence to update VideoBuilder and do no further updates to PTE will it continue working?

Thanks for the further suggestions and information. I have tried the method in Andrew Chadwick's tutorials and it works fine with some slight difference between PTE Versions. I tested it on a couple of sequences and it only took about 30 minutes to pick up the salient point from the tutorial and apply them to PTE 6 - brilliant. So easy when you know how!!!

Hi guys Many thanks for the prompt response and the links to the tutorials you have suggested.

Hi I copy my PTE Shows onto a USB Flash Drive to show on other PCs and Laptops with attached Digital Projectors. I would like to be able to open up a screen filling image of my choice containing the links (icons) to the shows rather than just opening the USB Flash Drive folder to access them, similar to the top menu on a DVD. After the sequence is finished I would like it to then revert to this "top menu" style desktop image. Can this be done and is there any existing guide that would explain how to do this? Any help would be appreciated.

As a matter of interest this is the System Requirements for my Nero 6 Software which I used to use prior to subscribing to VB and without any problems other than time taken to process. The PC must have a 500 MHz processor or higher. 800 MHz (for capturing to hard disk), 1.6 GHz (for capturing to DVD). A faster processor is recommended for best performance. It must have at least 128 MB RAM memory. Generally, more would be better. Hard disk space: 100 MB for the standard installation and up to 9 GB (for DVD projects, VCD/SVCD projects require up to 800MB) of HD space for temporary files. To burn a DVD-Video disc, you need to have a supported DVD recordable drive connected to your system. To burn VCD/SVCD/miniDVD discs, you need to have a supported CD and/or DVD recordable drive connected to your system. (Please visit www.nero.com or the list of currently supported drives). Even if you do not have a recorder capable of burning DVD and/or VCD/SVCD/miniDVD discs, you can still burn a disc image on your hard drive and save it for future use. Once you have the appropriate recordable drive connected to your system, you can open disc images using Nero and/or Nero Express at any time, and burn real video discs. Graphics card (800x600 display, 16-bit color) with 8 MB or higher Sound card Firewire (IEEE 1394) and/or USB port (optional) DirectShow compatible video capture card (optional) Hardly a state of the art requirement! It would be interesting to see the system requirements for VideoBuilder. I have suggested (elsewhere) that this information be published in the FAQ section.

Hi I cannot find any reference to the System Requirements for either PTE or VB. This is most unusual - I have never purchased any software that didn't state the minimum requirements for it to run. Is it not something that should appear on your main site for potential purchasers and also pinned in the FAQ list?

Hi I did say "for my system" having more than about 2 Gb RAM is pointless. My version of Photoshop only recognises 2 Gb and my Operating System (as far as I can recall) will only recognise about 3 Gb or so. I do check the system requirements for every piece of software I purchase to make sure that I can use it on my system. I don't recall there being a system requirement spec for PTE/VB - if there is perhaps I should read it. You assume I want to make my system run faster - I don't. I know its limitations but, although perhaps slow, it shouldn't freeze without good cause. Perhaps you have a multi-core processor whereby this can multi-task without running out of steam - mine isn't, unfortunately, so I have to make the best of it and Norton NIS 2009 and Ad-Aware Version 8 certainly do take a lot of resources. PTE/VB does not figure high on my priority list, my main requirement is for digital imaging, so I wouldn't buy a new PC just to run this application.

My Hard Drives are SATA Drives. My two Optical Drives are connected to the IDE 1 Connector, DVD as Master & CDRW as Slave. I would expect the timeout for IDE-0 to be the DVD Drive. I am not running Windows XP SP3 - I have SP2 installed for a number of reasons. Also having more than about 2Gb RAM is pointless as many parts of my system will not use much more than that anyway. My files for PTE are no more than around 100-150 Kb (1024x576 for 16:9 format and 1024x768 for 4:3 format at 72 dpi) so that isn't the problem. I said earlier that nothing had changed on my system since I first started using VB when it first became available - this isn't quite true as I now have Norton Internet Security 2009 which accesses the Internet frequently to update virus definitions (pulse updates). I am now reasonably sure this is the culprit and that disconnecting from the Internet and disabling the Norton Anti-Virus/Firewall will solve the problem. Thanks anyway for your input.

Well, I have just made a DVD with 1 Gb data and 4 sequences and it all worked fine. This time I disabled my Firewall and Anti-Virus and also disconnected from the Internet to make sure nothing was running other than PTE and VB. Regarding the Versions - I did uninstall PTE 6 and re-installed it and this time VB shows Version 6 at the top of the window as it should. However, when I check the Version information in the folder in C:\Programmes it does show Version 5.6. When I open VB from PTE Version 5.6.4 and then Version 6.0 the options for Create are different despite the actual VB exe files showing the same versions. Anyway, I shall hopefully have no more burning problems now that I know I need to disable the Anti Virus etc. Fingers crossed.

Hi I can confirm that my Program Files do indeed contain seperate folders for Version 5.6 and 6.0 and each contains a folder for VideoBuilder. However, within the Version 6.0 sub folder for VB, the file shows Version 5.6 and not 6. I don't know how this happened, but I did extend my subscription after installing PTE Version 6 and then later updated the key. I shall uninstall Version 6.0 and do a fresh re-install and see what happens.

Hi Thanks for the advice - I defrag my C Drive regularly (using PerfectDisc 10) and I have the latest firmware for my two Optical Drives. In response to previous comments I have burned another test with my Internet Connection disabled and all Anti-Virus/Firewall software disabled. This time I had no problems so that might be the cause. I will have to carry out more tests to confirm this.

Hi I always launch VB from PTE. You are quite right, these screen shots are from a test using Version 5.6. Since I paid to extend my licence for VB the same errors and behavoir occur in both Versions 5.6 and 6 so I am wondering whether this upgrade has affected my previous version as well. See also my reply to Yaughtsman1 above for further information.

Hi The video is only about 2 minutes long and was just a test sequence. My DVD Burner only burns DVDs at 1-4X and in the past when I have burned a short test sequence there is quite a long delay after the burn whilst writing the lead in and out data. I used to use Nero Version 6 Vision Express but found this a very lengthy process compared to VideoBuilder and also more complicated to use which is why I upgraded when VB first came out. I have this problem now with both VB Version 5.6 and 6.0 and wonder whether my Version 5.6 has been changed when I extended the licence. I have never had to disable my Anti-Virus software in the past but I will carry out another test and see what happens. My screen shots show the atapi error in Event Viewer and is the same whatever version of PTE/VB I use for this test. The other two screenshots show one success and one failure (albeit in Version 5.6). One other thing, in both cases despite clicking OK for the completion and ejection of the DVD it is never ejected.

Hi I have been using Video Burner (Version 5) for the past two years or so without any problems. Since upgrading to PTE/VB Version 6 my DVD Burn sometimes stalls at the very end of the procedure. I sometimes get the message that the burn is successful and that I can press OK to eject the disk. on other occasions it stalls at 99% with no activity showing on the DVD Burner LED and I have to use Task Manager to force VB to close. Each time I find an entry in Event Viewer that "Device\Idle\IdePort0 did not respond withing the timeout period". My system hardware has not changed since first purchased. I use Windows XP Home Edition SP2, an Intel Pentium 4 3GHz with 2 Gb RAM, a nVidia FX5600 Graphics Card with 256 Mb of onboard Memory and have over 16 Gb free space on "C Drive". Can anyone suggest what might be going on here as otherwise I have wasted my money on the update.

I had a look at the Video Card ratings and my card came out at a G3D Rating of 104 and a Ranking of 480. You are quite right, your "showfull" sequence proved to test my system to the limit. I got some moire and very slight breakup of some of the images during the transitions but on the whole it played quite well. I doubt whether I will need or ever produce anything this complex but as my PC is now over 5 years old it won't be long before it will need to be replaced. Thanks for the links.

Hi Planet played OK but Trio was less than smooth, but still quite acceptable. Thanks for the links.

I have just opened one of my old projects (.pte file cfreatyed in PTE Version 5) into PTE Version 6 and it produces exactly the same .exe file as in previous versions. Regretably, however, if I open this in my current version of VideoBuilder it won't burn a DVD. This means that I shall have to continue using PTE Version 5.6.4 if I wish to make a DVD of the sequence which is a great pity.

Thanks for the help. I have downloaded Kaleidoscope and it runs fine on my system. I have also tried crittercube and cube which also seem OK. I have no knowledge of 3D effects on a PC but would imagine that they would not be available to me. I also imagine I wouldn't be able to make use of HD video. I did take part in a topic discussion some time ago about PTE and VideoBuilder and I said then that it would have been a better move if the two applications were seperated rather than integrated as a package. I shall now play around with PTE Version 6 and see how I get one with it before updating my VideoBuilder.

Hi Can anyone suggest two or three sequences to downloadthat will give me a test of the capabilities of my current but rather old system using the facilities of Version 6? I also would like to know if PTE Version 6 will enable me to continue making sequences similar to those I curently make with Version 5.6.4 and burn these to DVD using my current version 5.6 of Video Builder. In other words, can I now switch to Version 6 of PTE even though my system probably won't allow me to use all the facilities available?

I have Qimage and VueScan software, which also gives a lifetime upgrade. In the case of Vuescan, I recall at one point there was a change to the structure of the software to a two tier system; current users were automatically given the higher value version and retained the lifetime update but new users were offered the choice; one with lifetime updates and the other with one year of free updates. I also have some software that requires me to pay an nominal annual subscription to get free updates. I agree, however, that it is rare and most require an upgrade fee (usually discounted for current users) with a major update release. An example here would be from version 4 to Version 5. I would certainly not object to paying an update fee in such circumstances but would expect it to be significantly less than the full cost to a new user. However, it might be considered unethical to promise lifetime updates and then rescind this at a later date unless it only applied to new purchasers.

Thanks for clarifying that but I still think to include VideoBuilder as part of PTE is not the best option. I also think that to charge the same fee for users extending their licence as for new users is also unusual - most software companies give a discount when upgrading to a newer version to current users. However, having said all that, the fact that we get lifetime upgrades to PTE, the added cost of updating VideoBuilder every two years won't break the bank!

My licence for VideoBuilder only expired this month so I assume that the last update to PTE DeLuxe will function normally. I shall need to wait for a later version of PTE to be available to try it.

Thanks for all the replies and I can now see that in a roundabout fashion one can seek out any updates to VideoBuilder but it still seems to me to be a strange way to handle what in effect are two separate programmes. I would hesitate to pay an update fee for VideoBuilder if it doesn't give me any advantage over my present version given that I am limited by my current PC/Hardware. As my VideoBuilder update fee ran out a week or so ago I shall be interested to see what happens with it when I next update PTE.

Yes, I know that but that is not the problem. PTE has free lifetime updates. VideoBuilder is obtained by upgrading to PTE De-Luxe, which includes VideoBuilder and two years of updates. I take this to mean that after two years I can continue to use VideoBuilder but cannot then update it further without paying another upgrade fee. This is not ideal as there is no way to tell what version of VideoBuilder is currently being used nor whether it has been updated with additonal or improved facilitiers that may be worth having or needed. Like I said, I would have preferred it to be a separate application (or Plug-in) with Versions and Version History.