PTE and getting slide shows onto TV

[stonemason]

Whilst we wait with some anticipation for the release of PTE v5, the discussions about getting PTE slide shows onto DVD continues unabated. I include myself in the number of people who would like to see it made easier to get slide shows onto DVD, however I am begining to wonder if we are not clouding the waters somewhat. PTE is primarily a superb piece of software for creating exe slideshows for running on computers, for viewing either on a monitor or through a digital projector. I have a suggestion which Igor may like to consider, and that is to keep PTE dedicated to its core function, with the option of frameserving avi into an add-on piece of software, dedicated to PTE in which all the necessary adjustments, mentioned in other posts, such as sharpening, and colour correction could be carried out. The slideshow could then be rendered as a mpg1 or mpg2 file for use in any DVD authoring software. If Igor could create such a piece of software, I for one would be prepared to pay for this as a PTE addon for those interested in creating DVD, and would allow those just interested in exe slideshows to stick to the PTE core programme. I am no programmer, and don't even know if this is feasable, but it seems to me to be worth considering given the numbers of problems people seem to get using PTE in conjunction with various DVD software, all of which seem to vary in the way they accept input from PTE. The method outlined above would ensure that PTE and its addon mpg software always worked well together to produce the best quality mpg file possible.

Geoff

[Ed Overstreet]

I completely agree with Geoff's suggestion, if it's technically feasible.

There is a significant number of users, such as myself, who have little or no interest in DVD authoring and who are primarily interested in creating EXE files for monitor or projector display. DVD authoring, and playing PTE shows over television monitors, is a separate issue. I would rather see the PTE program (and developer energies on that software) devoted to the EXE files; getting decent-looking DVD-and-TV-ready shows from these files is a separate (and seemingly very complex) issue. If I want to go that route at some point, like Geoff I'd be happy to lay out a few dollars for special software for that purpose. In the meantime, I'd rather use PTE the way I do now, and keep the software uncluttered by the complexities of the DVD-and-AVI-or-whatever issues.

No doubt not everyone will agree, but let's face it, there are lots of different uses for PTE. As with any software or other complex product, "one size fits all" is not a model that generally produces ideal results for everyone nor even for anyone, at some stage in complexity.

[ronwil]

I agree with you both but before this thread advances any further can it be transferred to its rightful heading "How to create a video" ?

Ron UK

[leonard]

I agree with many of the comments made by Geoff and Ed. PTE is a superb program for producing executable programs for displaying slideshows on a PC monitor (and probably projectors although I've no personal experience).

As you may well have noticed on this Forum I have expressed an interest in displaying slideshows on PAL standard TV, but to date I am not overly satisfied with the results.

In my opinion it would not be helpful to over complicate the design of PTE simply to allow some of us to extend the uses of this program. I wholeheartedly agree that 'one size fits all' usually does not achieve it's objective.

If Igor could produce a separate piece of software that, when used in conjunction with PTE would produce equivalent quality on a TV, I, and many like me, would be prepared to buy it.

However, my experience, albeit somewhat limited, leads me to the conclusion that there is more to this particular subject than is immediately apparent, For example, the choice of codec, the quality of the DVD player and TV standard are areas that easily spring to mind.

I look forward to reading other member's views on this interesting topic.

leonard

[stonemason]

I agree with you both but before this thread advances any further can it be transferred to its rightful heading "How to create a video" ?

Ron UK

Sorry Ron I disagree with you as this is a discussion about the future of PTE as a software application and how users would like to see it develop, not about creating video, then the general PTE forum is the right place to discuss it.

regards

Geoff

[Ken Cox]

Ron is correct -- this topic should be in the video section

it is no problem making dvd's with the tools available if people would read the instructions for the applicable software

the computer is just a tool to make the raw material work

one has to think "outside the box" as one of our older members used to say

hdtv is here to stay

ken

[Guest Techman1]

I for one, like the path which PTE has taken over the years. Had Igor not created the video portion to PTE, I probably would have moved on. PTE is not only an excellent tool for slideshows, but it simply makes creating DVD slideshows extremely easy. As Ken pointed out, once you have the recommended additional software/hardware necessary to create DVD's; PTE does a great job of providing an outstanding input video file.

Although the video portion of PTE does add complexities to the overall development, the final decision is up to Igor to address where he wants the product to go. I'm sure he is having to compete with other programs that are doing both slideshows on PC's and creating DVD's. I believe for PTE to continue to be a force in this market, it is required. I'm sure some element of Flash will be added to PTE at some point in the future. In my opinion, it can't come soon enough. But, I'm excited to see all the changes that Version 5 is going to bring.

Again, I for one am enjoying all the new enhancements and additions that Igor and Team are adding to this great product/tool. Long live PTE!!!!!

Regards,

Fred

[stonemason]

hdtv is here to stay

ken

Sorry Ken you lost me what has hdtv to do with this discussion?

[ronwil]

Geoff

The pinned topic "How to create a video" is about the development of PTE, otherwise why did Igor create it in the first place, when he introduced the feature?

Ron [uK]

[stonemason]

Hi Ron

I aggree with your comments about the pinned topic "How to create video". However the forums do seem to contain lots of cry's for help from people about this topic, so I think that it is good for the interaction on the forum to keep exploring it. As to where it is discussed, most people seem to ask their questions on the main PTE forum, so here seems to be the best place to talk about it. To allay any thoughts that I am pursuing some sort of crusade in starting this topic, I personally have very little interest in outputing my work to DVD, but am able to do so without very much trouble. I have for several years now produced all the AV's for one of the major slide exhibitions in the UK. Initially this was slide/tape AV but latterly has been exclusively digital, so I am a fair way from being a novice. The point of this is that when I started, and I suspect you also, help in the form of forums was not available. Now that we have this wonderful way of sharing ideas and knowledge I am very keen to encourage people to take advantage of it, either to learn, or to pass on their knowledge to others, but most of all to be involved with Igor and his superb piece of software that gives us all so much pleasure.

regards

Geoff

[Ken Cox]

well Geoff if you follow this thread

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3943

and

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3992

Al has a projector and laptop but he still wants to perfect his shows for viewing on hdtv

Hawk wants to be ready for hdtv

Jeff wants to perfect his shows for his hdtv

I am just a willing tester and i can take a dvd disk and test it with the latest hardware at electronic dealers to see whether i am in the ballpark -- and they will tell me if it passes muster

we cant stick our head in the sand -- we have to move forward

when the avi feature became available there was a lot of interest in the feature and the help file has changed very little since then -- that is all we had to work with -- my bigggest problem i could not get the help file to work and Igor had to give me a lesson in basic windows protocol -- but who reads the help file anyways??

ken

[ContaxMan]

Now that we have this wonderful way of sharing ideas and knowledge I am very keen to encourage people to take advantage of it, either to learn, or to pass on their knowledge to others, but most of all to be involved with Igor and his superb piece of software that gives us all so much pleasure.

regards

Geoff

Well said Geoff.

I do a lot of work showing others how to use PTE yet dread the day when I'm asked about this as it doesn't interest me particularly so I haven't spent time investigating it too far. So any help/simplification is very welcome.

[ecps]

Just a comment about where this discussion should take place:

I am not interested (yet) in producing DVD slideshows - largely because DVD players seem to be 'picky' about what they will and what they will not play - but I am very interested in, and excited about, the direction that P2E is going (and in this thread). Consequently, I do not tend to visit the 'How to create a video' forum. I must admit that I had assumed that it was a forum designed to assist users who wanted to turn out DVDs and for problems and advice to be shared.

I own a relatively ancient DVD player which steadfastly refuses to have anything to do with any DVDs that I record on my PC. Although it might be suggested that I should catch up on my technology, I am concerned that people to whom I give my slideshows might also be living in the Dark(er) Ages. I want to be sure that when I hand over a slideshow it will work on the hardware owned by the recipient.

The time may come when I am interested in DVDing, but for the moment I want to enjoy using the features of P2E to turn out better and better slideshows - and I am confident that the much anticipated Version 5 will make a major contribution in helping me to do this.

Eddie.

[ronwil]

Pictures to Exe Forums>How to create video. Read the sub-heading - "How to prepare video file in PicturesToExe and then burn DVD-Video or SVCD disc with help of special software." There have been 1493 topics and 321 replies. If I needed, that is where I would look to refresh my memory or do my research. Let us keep it all in one place.

Ron [uK]

[stonemason]

In 24 hours 285 people have read this post, so there would seem to be lots of interest. Would it not therefore be better to discuss the topic rather than argue about where it should be?

Geoff

[TonyFalla]

I agree with Geoff the discussion is floundering on which forum it should appear in rather than the merits of his original suggestion.

As this is an important topic why not post it to both forums so that maximum coverage is achieved, I would never have seen it if it was in the How to Make Videos section as it is an area I rarely visit

Tony Falla

South Wales

[ecps]

I agree absolutely. As I understand Geoff's original post he is suggesting the P2E should continue to develop as the best software in the world for producing PC slideshows and that there should be a 'sister' DVD slideshow program which would be able to handle the output from P2E - but which would be distinct.

Without presuming to tell Igor and team what they should do, this is a suggestion with which I completely agree. My experience of other software is that it can become so complex that it frightens people off. It would also mean that Igor could (and should) charge for the 'sister' program. As a fairly long term P2E user I feel slightly uneasy about the fact that we pay nothing at all for major upgrades.

And we could, of course, have a new forum for the sister program

Eddie.

[Ken Cox]

we already have the forum for avi's

it is called

How to create video

located here

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showforum=4

ken

[mbskels]

Hi,

The original post is not about avi files or the production of DVD. It is about the future direction of development of P2Exe and therefore in my view firmly belongs on this section of the forum.

I have spent over twenty five years in IT and have in the past invested time, money, blood, sweat, and tears in learning and using some very high quality software packages that have ultimately died and are no longer with us. There are many professional programmers that, like myself, deeply regret the demise of these software packages and wonder where it all went wrong - could we have done more to prevent it or did we contribute, perhaps unknowingly, to its demise. Once gone they are lost forever - no matter how fine they were or how relatively poor the rival products may be.

Ther are many factors that determine the success or failure of a software product over a long period of time. Ultimately those that develop the package must assume responsibility for its direction. To split off the development of DVD from the main product as suggested in this thread would be a bold step given the existing incorporation of this functionality in rival products.

Similarly, the current development philosophy of concentrating on the core of the product to the exclusion of ancilliary functionality (eg audio) is difficult to evaluate in the long term. I am more than happy to leave these decisions to the originators - but I am in no doubt that these decisions are very significant to the long term future of the product.

Like others I am uneasy with the curent charging structure for this product but I have reservations that this should determine whether the product is split into two or more products. That decision should be based on other issues. If the charging mechanism is unrealistic it should be updated by the originators - only they can make a judgement on the suitablity of the charging mechanism.

In my view this type of discussion is of significant interest to all P2Exe users irrespective of their involvement in the production of DVD and therefore belongs here.

Malcolm

[Ronniebootwest]

For heaven's sake! please stop bickering about where this discussion should be and concentrate on the matter in hand. Go back to the original post if you have to remind yourself what it is all about.

Until television catches up with computer monitors, nobody will be satisfied with the quality of DVD's produced with their computer.

If I can inject my two penneth, I would agree with all of you who have expressed the view that PTE should remain as software to produce excellent .exe file for displaying on a monitor. In that regard it cannot be beaten and if we press Igor to go down another route (DVD production) I fear that our much loved program will lose some of it's charm.

Ron

[stonemason]

If I can inject my two penneth, I would agree with all of you who have expressed the view that PTE should remain as software to produce excellent .exe file for displaying on a monitor. In that regard it cannot be beaten and if we press Igor to go down another route (DVD production) I fear that our much loved program will lose some of it's charm.

Ron

I aggree with you Ron, which was the whole point of the post, I would like to see PTE remain as an exe creation programme, with the avi creation left as it is. However I wondered if it were possible to have a new dedicated piece of software that would recieve and process the avi streams from PTE, not as some people seem to think the PTE software itself modified to do more DVD work. This in my view has several advantages. Firstly that PTE and future PTE development would be concentrated on exe slideshows, with the present avi output system remaining unchanged. Secondly people with interest in DVD could purchase the new piece of software which would enable them to alter sharpness, and colour corection etc. and type of output ie. VCD SVCD or DVD. Lastly the new software would produce a standard mpg file of the type required which would be acceptable in any DVD authoring software. I have no idea if this is a feasable or commercialy viable option, but given the number of questions asked about getting slide shows onto TV viewable media, I thought it worth asking the question. I would be interested to hear Igor's views on this, be they positive or negative.

Geoff

[mbskels]

Hi Geoff,

It is indeed well worth asking the question - and one that deserves the thoughtful consideration of the user base.

The answer requires a detailed understanding of the product and the market place that it operates within. Given that the creation of an avi file is an existing part of the product then presumably the originators felt that this was an appropriate development path.

The decision should not be made on on the basis of the interest or lack of interest in DVD of individuals in the user community. It should be made on the basis of the most viable development path for the future of the product.

Malcolm

[Guest Techman1]

Geoff,

I believe that your proposal is similiar to how the PixBuilder software was developed by Igor and team. I certainly see no reason why WnSoft couldn't develop a product similiar in nature to what you have outlined. If this does take shape down the road, we could see the beginnings of the

"PTE Creative Suite".

I would rather give any future monies to Igor and team, instead of continuing to purchase my DVD Authoring and Video creations software from companies like Ulead and/or Adobe. I'm sure we can all agree that Igor (and team) are extremely supportive to all of our requests and especially to any bug fixes which might be uncovered. Their support is uncommon in many of today's software development companies.

I've been extremely pleased with my initial investment in PTE and would like to see this develop further if Igor see's this as a direction he would like for WnSoft to go in. If it doesn't happen, I'm still currently pleased being able to output an AVI file from PTE and bringing that into whatever software is necessary for my current projects.

I just finished creating a 1.5 hr video that includes interviews of individuals (green screen background) and has slideshows created by PTE running behind these different individuals while they are speaking. I had 10 active programs of PTE running with a total of about 1300 photos. Too many photos for me, but it's what my client wanted. These slideshow AVI's were pulled into Premiere to create the final product. Then DVD's were burned for my clients needs.

So to address your initial post; I'm willing to live with the way PTE runs currently and use it's files as needed for creating excellent .EXE or .AVI outputs. If Igor develops another product that addresses the DVD element missing from PTE, I would support it without hesitation!

Right now, I'm just excited about the new beta coming out (hopefully soon) for Version 5.0. This version is really going to rock! The new features are going to add some complexity to PTE and there will be a lot of new questions and excitement here on the board. We all thought the DVD portion of PTE added a lot, but I feel this is really going to get things exciting around here again. If anyone here hasn't had a chance to work with pan's and zoom's on other software, they are in for a real treat (as will be their audience). This brings the slideshow presentations we create today into a new world of motion video. I can't wait (but, I will )!

Sorry, if I got off a bit on this, but I'm hoping that Igor and team focus "currently" on getting Version 5 out right now and then will consider your suggestion. It's a GOOD one and only Igor can address where it might fit into his future plans for PTE.

Take care all!

Fred