Conflow

Ken, I had read Laura' comments and the helpful replies Posted here. My research shows that Laura started this 'Project' way back in August 2007. Yes, it is getting a little 'long in the tooth' and these issues can be quickly resolved once she provides the 'requested data' which is so vital in order to isolate and identify and fix her particular application problem. However let's wait and see if that 'data' becomes available... Brian.

Hi Lin, Thanks for the reply ~ I can't help saying that a lot of things don't add up here, well at least, not in my mind. I would have thought that everybody would know the Make & Model of their PC and in consideration of the 'urgency of the problem' that data alone could have 'eliminated' many ponderables. Guess we have just got to wait and see... Regards, Brian.

Lin & Laura, It would have been nice to know what Make & Model of PC you have ? I had asked that question earlier this morning, purely for the reason that you recently upgraded your Pte.4.48 to Pte.5.10 and after all the corrective work Lin has done for you ~ you still have the problem on your PC. This begs the question:- Did you have these 'sound problems' when running PTE.4.48 or with any other Program ? Brian.Conflow.

Laura, To answer your problem we would need more data/details about your PC. 1) Can we have the: Make & Model of your PC ? 2) What Operating System is it using: 2000, XP, Vista ? 3) What format of Music Files are you using: Wav, Mp3 ? 4) On average what sizes are: your Pictures ? Armed with this data there are many Forum Members who could help you. Brian.Conflow.

Yachtsman, Thats an excellent suggestion and I note you gave it a hierarchy consideration whereas the Video content far exceeds the Audio content...DVAP. Don't forget however there will be those who will want DAVP as it rolls off the tongue easier...we just can't please all. Brian.Conflow.

Alan, As you know there is a saying in Ireland:- "Good man yourself" ...some common sense at last ! and to 'heck' with bruised ego's, lets get on with the job of using and enjoying the PTE Program. Notice:- 'Dapp' is the Registered Trade mark of Dapp Hydraulics U.K and is their Corporate Registration Name. Brian.Conflow.

Colin, Thats good news ~ it always amazes me how people tend to blame the 'Hardware' when in fact it could be an obselete Firmware problem such as the PC VGA System, nothing to do with the Graphics Card at all. With respects to Microsoft, over the years their versions of Direct-X have kept PC Housekeeping up to date ~ thank god ! Brian.

Colin, Many thanks for your response to the Questionairre ~ it has gone into the Research Folder. One thing is becoming very clear, there is a very wide range of 'Specification Diversity' in Club Photo Competitions. I think thats very healthy because it reflects the 'gendre' of the Club and its local ethos. I'm all for that, some would disagree and try to impose so-called "standardisation" as if local activities were International Competitions, which they are not. I will come back to you on this as more data becomes available. Brian.

Colin, Be very careful here ~ we regularily come across similar situations in our Workshops and its by no means uncommon. It could be a PC fault in the VGA system,it could be your wife's Graphics Card, and it could actually be her Monitor or its Set-up. The best way of tackling this is by 'substitution' ~ get your Monitor and try it on your wifes' PC ~ if that works, you have eliminated her PC and its Graphics Card. All O.K. Go back to the her Monitor and reduce its re-fresh rate to 72~75 fps ~ if that don't work then I'm afraid her Monitor is goosed. Finally, assuming your Monitor working with her PC gives the same 'fault' - It could be that the System VGA is using an 'incorrect set' of VGA Drivers for her Graphic Card, now thats quite common. We had a recent example of this here on the Forum with a Samsung Monitor last month. I'm pleased to say we fixed it. Firstly, try the above in the sequence given - do not alter the sequence. Brian.Conflow.

Dave, I have taken a copy of your Message and its gone into the Research Folder. I do appreciate what you say, and indeed, that must open a 'can of worms' at various Photo Competitions. The reason for Item:F in the questionairre was to 'Pre-Filter' the Images into various popular formats (popular being the operative word) whereby large Images would not optically detract from the merits of a (similar) smaller Image.....you know what I mean. Then by the same token should 'Image Size Filtering' be part of the Database ? At this stage of the research I simply don't know. Brian.

Democracy at work ~ People have the right to comment ~ Not always for the best reasons ! Its just 10 years ago that we at Conflow Services were making 'Synchronisers' for use with 3M-Carousel Projectors (Slide Projectors) whereby the projected Images were synchronised to 'Stereo Sound Tracks' coming from Akai X-300.Pro Tape Recorders. We also had cross-resolve and fade and hold from one Projector to another....it was hard work, but doesn't time march on ? One can only say 'se la vie' - thats life. Brian.Conflow.

Colin, Thanks for that News about PSNZ and this might be an oppurtunity to 'garner' some Research Data ? May I ask the following questions:- A) How many Categories of Photographs will be exibited ? How many Photographs per Owner are envisaged ? C) Can an Owner's enter their Photographs in multiple Categories ? D) How many 'Owner Age Categories' are there ? (Eg:- Children, Youths, Seniors) ignore gender. E) Will the Presentation Formats be in Landscape or Portrait or a mixture of both and Odd Sizes ? F) What 'Viewing Format' will be adopted:- 4:3 or 16:10 or a mixture of both ? I would really appreciate your assistance in trying to tie up these parameters, and indeed if anyone else is reading this, their input would also be appreciated. No need to tie up this Forum Thread, just copy the above and send your answers via the Forum Messenger EMail which can be accessed by clicking on My Profile. Brian.Conflow.

Igor, Kev, Geoff and All, Igor I hope this 'thread' comes to your attention because what Kev suggests makes real 'Commercial Sense' for the PTE Company. Kev wrote:- "My reason for the posting was to in effect to ask Igor if it was possible for a marker facility to be added to the program and then for those marked to be called back up as described and shown in Brians copy & paste. My thought was that with so many clubs around the world all holding single image competitions - it was maybe a way of increasing PTE Sales and the registrations of Pte and making the job of the poor competition secretary easier.".... Self I agree with Kev, a simple 'Image Marker' in the Program would be of immense help in developing a Photo Competition Program. Geoff Many thanks for your encouragement, and I note your 'Guru' uses Microsoft Access which I had considered to use as a 1st step towards a 'Skeleton Framework' around which a program could be Developed. Kev Thanks for getting back to us, your 'Outline Brief' was most useful and as was shown in my 'Access Draft-Proposal' it certainly is possible to develop a simple but powerful 'Competition Program' with utilities currently available to us. Geoff's reply further confirms what I thought, and as I said, the whole secret of this is in the 'Image Registration Name Code' that must drive the entire Program. And as I also said, its entirely possible to access the Control Program from within the PTE Presentation. Shall wait for further inputs from Members. Brian.Conflow.

Dave, Good god Dave, no suggestion of that at all ~ its just that I wanted Members to really read what 'Big Kev' had proposed in his draft-outline because its a complex proposal and it really merits some deep consideration and is it worth following up ? There is a lot of interest in that type of Utility (most don't work properly) and it appeared to me as an ideal oppurtunity for Members to become involved in something worthwhile which would benefit all of us, not only in Photo-Competitions but also as a Library Utility (Store-Keeper) for large Photo collections. Problem with these Projects is that they get bogged down with "Who said what" or simple 'Mis-enterpretations' and thats what I'm trying to avoid at all costs so we can collectively reach some conclusions a.s.a.p. Brian.

Bob, I have corrected my error which you stated above:- Brian.

Dave Dave this was NOT my Proposal the query came from 'Big Kev' and I did ask Members to re-read his requirements ~specifying his Outline Brief~ before Posting their replies. Again his brief is as follows:- Big-Kev viz:- ..."As each Image comes up...all the lower marked Images are deleted from the Pictures on the 'Slide List' running order...and when a high scoring Image come along...that Image is kept in the running order ~so at the end of the run~ only the highest scored Images remain for reviewing". (Edited for clarity)... and there is more. Dave - to answer your question, Yes my Draft-Proposal clearly states the objective to 'auto-select' Images in a hierarchal order and drop those not reaching a benchmark. Those reaching the benchmark are given a 'Tag' for further re-review on demand. Furthermore my Draft proposes that the PC calculates that 'benchmark' in a progressive manner as the results come in. It also proposes an 'unique' method of Image identity and this is automatically tracked by the PC in the event of a called 're-count'. Furthermore the Judges do not know the identity of the Entrants (important). Finally, the Competition can be run by an Adjudicator who can 'update' the Scores on the Projector Screen in full view of all Entrants in real time. (Done by Laser-Pointer Controller). The System can be selected from within the Main Show Presentation. My response was to come up with a 'Design Specification' to do exactly that, at little or No Cost..using available Microsoft Utilities or an external Database and even look at other Programs if they fit the spec. (No point in re-inventing the wheel if it has been done elsewhere to that specification) Bob Thats a very nice Program your Club is using, I have re-inserted your Club Link so Members have a further oppurtunity to examine this Program in detail:- http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/imagecomppro/index.html General Many other Programs have been 'mooted' here on the Forum ~ but most have failed to follow up on their claims. Brian.Conflow.

Hi All, Firstly I note that Big Kev has not come back to us ~however~ for the benefit of other Forum Members who are interested in this popular topic:- "Photo-Competition Database-Calculator/Computer" I done some research on this as promised, and here below is a List of Programs which will do the job which I specified in my #7 Post above:- * Microsoft Access * Microsoft Excel * File Maker Pro (Bento) * Mathematica (Pro) * Microsoft SQL Server Express "Attached" is a Draft-1 (outline) as to how this Software Database-Computer could be created...at No Cost ! Below is a 'Link' to Bento Corp. who have a range of Video-Presentations which will expand your knowledge of these new-fangled Database Systems. Link:- http://www.bentotrial.com/trial/demo/?ovmk...1DC3E5F5FA089A7 Brian.Conflow P.S You will need to view the 'attachment' in Full Screen.

Geoff, Keith and Jim, Dave, I don't wish to be a pain in the 'butt' and although your suggestions are really good may I suggest that you re-read Big Kevs post again... The jist of it, is as Quoted,viz:- "As each Image comes up...all the lower marked Images are deleted from the Pictures on the 'Slide List' running order...and when a high scoring Image come along...that Image is kept in the running order ~so at the end of the run~ only the highest scored Images remain for reviewing". (Edited for clarity) In effect Kev needs three things: A 'Numeric Score Counter' and a 'Numeric Score Comparitor' and an 'Comparitor Tagger' all in one Program. This is done in other Industries such as 'Olympics' and on a smaller scale in Local Elections and in most Supermarkets and in many Sports activities. In my opinion, Programs such as Spreadsheets and Excel Utilities would be a step in the right direction. Brian.Conflow

KEV, To me this has all the makings of a 'Logistical Nightmare' which can be sorted with the correct choice of additional Software so organised as to make a 'Numeric Hierarchy' of the shortlisted Photo Entrants. In fact you answered your own queston, you wrote:- "When a high scoring image comes along...the image is kept on the running order so that at the end of the run through, only the highest scored ones remain for reviewing. If the marks are important then they can be typed into the 'comment window"... Everything else about size,type,resolution is completely irrelevant at this point in time ~ you need Software to do the above job ~ so lets focus on that, as it will have future relevance to many other Forum Members. I have one Question:- How do you identify each Entrant by Name and corresponding Entry Number ? and corresponding Category Number ?....(Ignore the number of Photos per Entrant)...this is the key to the whole Logistic. I have a few ideas about this, but I need a little time to look at the logistics, so I will come back on this. Brian.Conflow. P.S. Many Sports have the same problem, such as the Olympics ~ your problem is not new.

Lin, I got the wrong end of the stick, Foto-1 is actually using 'Irfanview' to Magnify his/her Images. I confuse your reply with his/her suggestion that they wanted PTE to perform like Irfanview... my error completely. But apart from that, I consider my suggestion to incorporate a Magnifier within the PTE Folder a more prudent choice that giving someone an 'Image-Editor' to copy your own personal Slide Show under your own nose. Of course I agree with you, persons can steal a Slide-Show if they put their minds to it, given the right Tools and the time to do it. The 'trick is' ~ to make it not worth their while in the 1st place ! Brian.

Ken, Will you give me a damn chance to Edit the Image to what I want !! ~ its there now. Honestly your're a terror....ha,ha! Brian.

Lin, With respects, your 'generalisation statement' is correct ~ but this is not the case here with Foto-1. He/She is providing Irfanview to do the magnification and consequently is providing the means whereby 'Office Associates' are pinching his Images. So your recommendation to use Irfanview is exactly what Foto-1 is doing, providing the means to 'pinch' his own Images.(Author of his own Misfortune) Remove Irfanview and they have a much harder job and I have Tested the Pte utility 'prevent Screen capture' and it does work in the vast majority of cases, sufficient enough to give Foto-1 some security and he/she could always Watermark the Images and 'up the stakes' in the Legal Environment of his work. In my Post I advised to use a 'Screen Magnifier' which I do in my Business as a mater of course. I do not use nor provide 3rd Party Image Editing Software to do such a simple job ~ shooting myself in the Foot !! Below is a 'fabricated Screen-Shot' note the word fabricated because I had to 'doctor' the Program 4 times to get what I wanted to demonstrate to Foto-1 and yourself ~ the use of a Magnifier within a PTE.Show. Best Regards, Brian.Conflow. Magnifier Screen-Shot

Foto 1 Do you have a name ? gender? ~ It's more plesant to communicate with someone on a 'one-to-one basis' which we all do here on the PTE Forum. In effect you are asking PTE to run an 'External Application' (Irfanview) but what Irfanview is looking at is a Screen-Image from the PTE.Show Exe. (in effect its generating a screen-capture of any chosen Image) Irfanview uses the Scrn-Print command to copy that Image, in fact its on all PC Keyboards the key is:- Prt Scn. PTE can disable that Keyboard command whether its generated by a Program or by a Keystroke on a remote PC. I have tested it with many types of Screen-Shot Programs, thats why I asked you to try it out. But in reality all you want is a simple 'Screen-Magnifier' which could be incorporated within a Folder plus the PTE Show, all on your CD-Disc then packaged as an 'Autorun Program' with Prt Scn denial as standard feature. No need for Irfanview at all... Brian.Conflow.

Foto 1 Look at the "Attachment" in the bottom of this Post - this should work for you. It works very well with PTE.49 - but I have not tried it working with PTE 5xx. Make a 'tiny' Show with 4-5 Images, tick the 'Box' shown in attachment and try it out. Brian.Conflow.

Foto 1 I don't understand you , you say:- .."I would just use Irfanview it works great. The highlight and zoom feature is exactly the way I want it"... Then you wrote:- ..."The problem is my PTEs are shown to lawyers and they steal my images! If I am not in the room they print them or copy them with the Irfanview" ... Exactly what do you mean by the above:- How exactly are they taking your Images ? Are they taking them from your Laptop ? Are you showing your PTE Show on another PC ? There are ways of stopping this type of thing but you will have to give greater detail as to what is going on. Brian.Conflow.