LumenLux

Does "everyone" agree on this? If so, I think there still remain different preferences as to how this is implemented most efficiently for different cirucumstances (single vs multiple slides, insertion without shifting others, etc.) I don't envy Igor on how to do this. It seems Igor may be faced with building in seveal options so users select a method for the circumstances of the moment or their most typical work flow. If so, then a template approach may spare a user from facing too many decision each time they use the program? Admittedly, I have not done the in-depth evaluation that ADB, Al and others are doing, thank you!

I have cautioned and I have been cautioned about .wma files for use in PTE. Maybe someone can explain a couple of aspects that will make my yesterday stumble worthwhile. I needed to record some voice input for a show. As a matter of convenience, I opened the most readily available recorder on the PC at hand. The recorder was in Windows Movie Maker. Thinking I could easily convert the files to mp3, I recorded 19 segments. The voice person left, I opened the sound editor present on the machine to edit and convert to mp3. Uh uh. The message from the edit software lamented that because the original format was .wma, the edited sound clip could only be saved now as .wma! Fortunately, I was able to send the files to another computer where my usual sound editor was able to edit and save as wav or mp3 files. I would like to know: 1. Can windows movie maker be set so the original sound files are not restricted that way? 2. Was the first software maker legally compelled to not save as mp3 or would that software maker have to pay Microsoft for the privlege? I really don't get it - yet. 3. If Microsoft wants to popularize .wma why do they make life so difficult to use their format? (I don't really expect a "good" answer on this one.)

Feature would be ok, but it is not very difficult currently to do what you want. (If I understand.) Set your desired slides one time. Select all slides, copy & paste next to last slide, several times to equal the music length. Repeated use of slides does not increase size of resulting exe file. I suppose if you want only a few slides to loop through hours of non-repeating music, this would not be too practical.

Thank you Igor for the clarification and action. And thanks Tom and all members for the discussion. Only, Granot, I hope the protection won't strangle too many of your good ideas.

It looks like the last several posts were probably all being written nearly simultaneously. So I am not quite sure the conclusion to draw. Tom's heads-up question and example of his concern bring up an important issue. Sure, no one should cover their head and run for the bomb shelter. But Admin Igor may well be able to improve what appears to be a vulnerability. Igor, are you saying your list of dangerous commands are currently prohibited in PTE's run external application feature? If so, did Tom95521's example escape the prohibition/protection?/I] When you can further clarify, that will be appreciated - as is all your dedicated work on this fine program. Thank you.

I hope Igor or an expert member will answer this quickly.

Granot, as you know, I excitedly helped test your Multi Show Player and Multi Show Tool some months ago. I successfully used it at that time but have not had occasion to use it much since. I was going to show it to another forum member today as a package for a few shows I wanted to send. But . . . A particular PTE.exe will not go into the Multi Tool. I drag and drop other shows just fine, but this one, alone or selected with others, will always freeze MultiTool and then I get the invite to notify MS what an unbehaving program I am using. If you would like to check it out, please remind me of the email address that will reach you and I will send the guilty? exe. If you know the solution already, I won't need to send the file.

Once again Mike, you are great. The presentation is Saturday 2/26. Bid proposals provide either 2 screens 10.5ft x 14.0 ft or one screen 12 x 16 ft. Projectors two @ 3700 lumen, or for single screen, one 6500 lumen. Right now I must devote further time to presentation content, so I likely won't be barraging you with more tech questions tonight. Indeed thank you.

Mike - Thank you for an excellent, well written answer. The information is very helpful. On the thought of using the computer to drive the projector - At this point I am sure we want the "slides" to be interspersed periodically throughout the video. We could certainly have a laptop send the show to the projector instead of a DVD player to the projector. But is there a way to directly use the final edited video (including slides) without the show being put first onto DVD? And if there is, would it show better quality slides, or is the damage totally done once the slides are inserted into the video editor and thus become "video" themselves? Another option? Would we get any better quality for the final video if we saved it back to mini dv camera tape instead of onto DVD? (Using always the same projector.) Thank you for your timely help. Yes, time stamp is correct if it is -7. I am in Salt Lake City, Utah amid the desert and the mountains.

There you go Granot - another lady falling for you! Life is good.

Michelle, this seems to be an oft occurring situation, especially with weekend purchases. The good news is, the situation always gets satisfied with the great program being in your hands. Wnsoft & Igor always make good on everything. Only the distribution channel seems to hit bumps. You will likely soon receive email with your activation key and instructions. We all understand how anxious we are once we want to use the program.

Tom I enjoyed the little "in your face" ruch tour of your office. I think this type of quickie is a real fun, easy, and probably often used application of PTE. We do see so many very carefully crafted creative shows, that we forget how much joy is had with PTE this way.

Thank you Mike for your thoughts. It looks like I have been negligent in responding and further discussion. I have concluded for this particular situation, I am going to yield my love for PTE features and quality and let my video friend be the driver. We are going to do a video (for DVD) that will use the video editing software and just insert my still shots in the video editor. With that apparent conclusion, my question is now - What is optimum size of each still photo file that will be used in the video. What dimensions 1024x768 or ? The dvd will be projected with a projector resolution of at least 1024x768 (maybe greater.) Is there any to worry at all about total file size (mb's.)? In a little trial run, using the video editing software on a Mac G5 with LCD screen, some of the stills had very bad quivering/twinkling effects. I don't know if it was worse when using the Ken Burns effect which video people seem so hooked on. But I am wondering if the still photo dimensions are bigger than needed, can that actually downgrade the visual quality. In other words, if 1024x 768 is the right size for the screen/projector, is it detrimental to use the original file at 2816x2112? Could such extra size be making the twinkling jiggles worse? I've let this go too long so am now in urgent mode. So any thoughts will be very welcome.

Welcome to the forum Michelle! With a name like texastrees how can I not respond? Nearing college graduation years ago, I accepted a recruiting visit to Houston. The trees surrounding the airport at that time was the first pleasant surprise that influenced us to be Texans for a while. The trees were great everywhere, but someone forgot the mountains. I use PTE frequently for such things as grandkids' birthdays or just little "starring little Jenni or Jacob or?" I even did a no-thought-involved short show for my own birthday party but did it for the fun of the kids. These shows I do are not competition level productions. They are just spur of the moment - put the pictures to music that the viewers like and maybe try a thing or two without worrying about'making anything perfect. The kicker is that these shows are the ones that get viewed over and over again by the kids. They have a real good value-effort-ratio. If you would like, I could "dropload" a couple of them to you, if you just use this forum email facility to give me your email address. Of course you can make your shows any way you want. Your chosen subject would be a no-lose learning opportunity. But if you want a production at a more refined level, it will require a greater effort.

In similar fashion, I was unable to solve the puzzle at my first late night viewing. The next time I looked at it, it "fell into place" and I was even able to do it repeatedly. So you see Jean-Pierre, your puzzle is so clever it has already made me smarter.

Ok Granot, I was able to navigate your "double talk" and found the file. Thank you. The reason I say "double talk" is that the "Ron" Player Viewer" file is listed as "Mini" Player Viewer in your list of "Desktop Utilities" which is on your site as "Free Desktop Programs." I know - great thinkers can't be hobbled by minor details!

Welcome to the forum, Redlad. Do you already have the PTE software and are looking for additional DVD software? Or are you looking for specifically "wedding" software specifically. There are numerous wedding photographers using PTE who may be willing to share their experience.

Guido, is that how some "protected" sound files might be rejected?

Crazygranny - sounds like you've come up with a doozy! Something seems fishy. Would you be willing to get me a copy of the .exe file of your show? If so, probably the easiest way is for you to upload it to Dropload.com with my address LumenLux@do-some-good.com I think Igor might also be interested in seeing it?

Allright Guido! Congratulations! I rushed right over and found it just as you suggest. Should be a valuable resource to the PTE community and anyone wondering about PTE. "Why PTE" is a nice simple view for people. I remember the first time I opened PTE years ago and thought " oh . . . what now?" Fortunately, you were there and all has worked out great. Now, with more PTE users your new site should prove valuable. Thank you.

Manfred, I would be glad to try to understand auf deutsch any questions you feel you need to ask in your native tongue. But I think you probably are much better with english than I am with German. I wonder if Igor has someone, who made the German version for PTE, who could receive and answer the questions? Igor has made a broad attempt with so many languages for PTE, he may be able to tap into a good answer for you. There are also at least a few other Germans who use PTE and have shown high knowledge and skill with the program. It would be wunderbar if you could bring some German users together with a PTE centered or related website - similar to what the French members of this forum have done. Viel Erfolg u Vergnuegen!

You are right Guido - Thank you again Granot. But I had to come back and expand this post to also thank you, Guido, for your continued (and often behind-the-scenes) support. And it is about time to once again nag you to share some photos in a presentation.

Thank you MikeL for well written info. Can you explain further re: On a recent effort in Peru, my friend shot video while I shot digital stills of our experience. Our "assignment" now is to produce a presentation for big screen projection to about 400-500 people. As we want to combine the two mediums, I am trying to determine whether we should include his video in my PTE show or include my PTE show in his video. We want the audience response to be to the content not the technique, but I know the technique can make a huge difference. Any counsel on such a project?

Once again, I don't know if this photographer is in the forum - if so please speak up. You have some very nice photos tastefully displayed with PTE. At start-up I was looking for sound track. About 3-4 slides in, I was thinking this might be really slow without sound. By about 6-8 slides I was thinking how nice it is just to concentrate on the fine photography. I think this was a well chosen approach. Not just the sound, but the photos hung in gallery fashion. The whole concept emphasized the really good photography. Congratulations. And I took the link to your website and was further impressed.

Well you better get on him quickly, he's normally quite generous with his tips to the rest of us.