Conflow

Hi Tim, Yep, I know the Lame Encoder and Frauendorfer and others, because like you I have been in the Audio Business for far too long ~ The reason for my suggestion about 'micro-breaks' in your BM.Timeline, is that ~ Most domestic Mp3 and CD/WAV Players can tolerate 'micro-breaks' up to some 75millesecs, beyond that, say 100-300millesecs of "nothing just space" (loss of data track) then things tend to lock-up and they refuse to continue to Play that Track. Worse still they just sit there doing nothing. In my experience I have found that many PCs' simply refuse to continue on having encountered a Music 'micro-break' ~ even more so, when they are rendering Graphics & Music simultaneously. It may be your problem and I was simply suggesting to have a look in that direction ~ by the way have you tried a CD-Track extract with the Graphics ? Brian.Conflow.

Tim, You mention that you make your own 'Sound Recordings' ~ but in what Format ? Do you subsequently convert the Master Recording Format to Mp3 Format ? If you are using an Mp3 as a 'Background Track' it must be contineous without 'micro-breaks' which often occur in Editing. Suggest you run the BM.Track through a Sound Editor like Audacity or Nero Editor and check for 'micro-breaks'...if you need any 'breaks' its best to insert a 'Silence Track' and maintain the Tag data ~ Audacity can do that ! Hope this helps, Brian.Conflow.

Kurt, I absolutely agree with you ~ My only concern about 'Flac & Monkey Audio Formats' was in consideration to others who may have thought that these Formats would work within a PTE Presentation ~ I'm not sure that Flac & Monkey are supported by the PTE Engine ?...That's one for Igor to comment on ! However, as Kurt has suggested they are both very good for 'Music Archival' purposes - the quality differences between them and LARGE WAV File's is insignificant. If readers would like to try those Sound Formats, I know for certain that the QCD Player supports these Formats as I use the Player myself for other purposes. Brian.Conflow.

Reply to Kurt Hi Kurt, Yes, quite true, both 'Flac' & 'Monkeys Audio' Compression Formats work superbly well, the only problem being that apart from their own Players there are very few generic Players nor Multi-Media Players capable of playing those Formats ~ Excepting the 'QCD Multi-Media Player' available (Free) from www.quinnware.com ~ Its like 'WinAmp' but much better, but also worth a try ! Brian.Conflow.

To:- Dave G Hi Dave, I looks like your friend had installed 'QuickTime' in the past and then decided to remove it from the PC:- Quicktime can not be fully removed from any PC with its generic 'Uninstaller' ~ it always leaves 'Common Files' & some of its own kind behind. Also,during the previous Installation he asked 'Quicktime' to associate itself with all known Graphic and Music Files and also gave it priority to be "Always on Top" ~ Its not PTE that's asking for Quicktime, its the other way around,viz:- A message appears saying that ~Quicktime is required to run this type of Program ~ thats Quicktime prompting the PC to generate that type of message. Tell your friend to open the 'Control Panel' find Add/Remove Programs,open this and find Quicktime and remove it from there. Close and then Re-Start the PC and then do a 'Search/Find' for Quicktime and delete all references to it. Close again and Restart the PC. He will find that both the PC and PTE will operate properly without any further interference. Brian.Conflow.

For:- Ron West Ron, If you review your Post No: 925 above it states that its a ¼" Jack Mono-Input. 600 Ohm Mic. Will you please confirm these details ? as you have me quite confused concerning the Mic Adaptor you're using. If its a ¼" Jack Mono-Input, you can't use a Stereo Mic neither can you use a Stereo 3.5mm ~ ¼" Mono Adaptor. Perhaps its a 3.5mm Mini-Jack ~ ¼" Standard Jack Adaptor. All thats needed is to confirm the Wiring Arrangement of the "Mono Jack Input" Is it a 2 Wire Standard ¼" Jack (Tip & Sleeve) or is it a 3 Wire Standard (Tip,Ring & Sleeve) ? Brian.Conflow.

To:- Ronnie Boothwest (No:2 Reply Well Ron, there you have it, both from Merlin and Myself - we are saying the same thing in different way's. I will confirm that your 27-36mB Files being reduced to 7mB is about right at 4~5:1 Compression Ratio. I personally use FM.Radio Quality MP3 Format at 22kHz Bandwidth and 96-128 bit Conversion rate. There I can achieve a 10:1 Compression ratio where-by your 27-36mB Wav Files are reduced to 2.7mB ~ 3.6Mb for Show Presentation on the available equipment in Public Premise's. If one listens to the BBC.FM Radio Broadcasts even on Quad Equipment one would be hard put to discern the differences between a CD and the BBC Transmission's I might be a 'idea' worth looking at if you are into Multiple CD Productions or Downloads. Brian.Conflow.

To:- Ron Boothewest (Data Recvd) Got the 'data' - however they failed to say what type of ¼" Jack is used ? Is it a 2-Pole Jack...ie:- With Tip & Sleeve ? or A 3Pole Jack...ie:- With Tip,Ring & Sleeve ? I need to know this because the former is a 2 Wire Mic Cable with + and Screen - The latter being a 3 Wire Mic Cable with + and - and Screen. I can also see the current Mic problem where the Sound Card suffers from Low Sensitivity. Most 600 Ohm Mics only have 2-3 Millevolt Output - whereas their minimum requirement is 10 Millevolt Input, consequently you have to really wind up the wick (not good) I have already selected a couple of Mics that will do the job, but I need to know what type of ¼" Jack is needed. Brian.Conflow.

Mp3 -v- Wav Sound Formats Like all 'Audio Sounds' - its really down to the individual, and quite honestly a load of "Ruddish" is printed by so called Audio Reviewers and the like - I guess it sell's Magazines ! It's down to Biology - Age - Gender - and Loudspeaker Quality and Background 'White Noise'. Women hear Sound differently than Men, and age in both genders reduces the natural 'Sound Frequencies' which we were capable of hearing when young. The young can hear from 20Hz ~ 20,000Hz, but when in the Autumn of life this is reduced to 150Hz ~ 8000Hz approx. MP3 Format This 'fools' the human Brain through the Auditory System into thinking that it hears sounds which are factually not there. Its brought about by using the most repeatitive Sounds & nuances and the natural 200millesec delay in the Auditory System coupled with extensive use of complex Fletcher-Munston Sensitivity Curves which all 'Human Ears' follow. Consequently massive reductions can be made in the "bulk content" of the Music Track, however like JPegs all MP3 Sounds degrade drastically if one re-records them again and again. WAV Sounds These are pure 'Audio Sounds' which we hear in everyday life. You can record these with a Tape Recorder (Amplitude Recording) or you can Record Digitally with PWM or PCM Recording which faithfully reproduces the 'amplitude nature' of natural sounds. HI-Fi Discs are a good example. At the end of the day its down to the Loudspeakers and our Age Ability to hear the Sounds. Hope this simple explaination helps. Brian.Conflow.

For:-Ron West (From:-BK) O.K Ron, You need a:- Mono-Directional & Anti-Noise Headboom Mic. With an Anti-Pop Screen. This is necessary to reduce:- Breathing Noise - Sibilence - Ambients - and Pop Noise arising from such words as: Billy,Brian,Freddie,Dump,Duff, etc,etc.... Now for that missing "Data" You will need to contact 'Support at Audity' and give the Model & Serial No. of your Sound Card. Ask the following questions:- 1) What 'Impedance Mic' does the Card require ? 3) Whats the 'Output Millevolts' of the recommended Mic ? 4) What Connector is recommended ? Once we have that, I can suggest a number of Mics (available in UK) that will do the job. Brian.Conflow.

For:- Ronnie Boothwest Hi Ron, We went down this road some weeks ago and I thought you had been sorted out ? Your request will lead many contributors on a 'wild goose chase' in an effort to help you, the reason being that your enquiry is "too general and no data given" ~ Type It appears that you want a:- Head-Boom Microphone- not a Headset Mic. 1) Do you require a Mono or Stereo Microphone ? 2) What Impedance do you require..20-100ohm, 100-200ohm, or 200-600ohm or Higher ? 3) What Connector is needed...3.5mm.MiniJack..or..¼"Inch Mono Jack...or Stereo Jack or Din Plug ? The above are dictated by the requirements of your Sound Card Module Performance ? 4) What Application is needed:-General Purpose...or...Directional...or...Anti-Noise ? 5) Will this be used for Speech Communications...or...Singing Voice ? 6) Will this be a Wired Connector Product...or...Radio-Link Product ? I'm sorry if this sounds daunting, but the "Data" is needed to make a proper selection !! In the world of Mic Technology, there are at least 10 Generic-Electrical Types of Mic and some 10-20 Application Specifics for each type. You will need to "READ THE SOUND CARD MANUAL" and come up with the data prior to any selection. Brian.Conflow.

For:- Moorestudio The subject of 'Secure Copy-Proof CDs' has been discussed on this Forum 'ad-nausium'~ MHWarners' advice is both comprehensive and fully detailed and is extremely helpful and to summerise:- * If you can copy Photos to a CD-Disc, then others can copy the 'Screen Reproductions' ~ * Those 'Screen-Copy' Reproductions are a poor faxsimile of your origional CD-JPeg Images. * Lock-Up your JPegs in a PTE.Exe Presentation (which is virtually crack-proof) * Never, Never burn your origional (individual) JPeg Photos on to the Demo-CD. TIP If you really want to go to town about security, may I suggest doing what a German Pro-Photographer friend of mine does:- * He creates a coloured transparency 'Picture Frame' (many ways of doing this) and when using the PTE 'Object Editor' he imports the Picture Frame and super-imposes it around the JPeg image. * The Frame dimensions for a 1024 x 768 Screen are, 25mm wide Top & Bottom and 35mm wide Left & Right. * The Frame is a Gif.Transparency in very pale Blue or Lemon. You can see some 65% of the origional Image with the balance of the Image viewable behind the coloured transparency. EFFECT The optical-effect is very good and quite pleasing as one can view the full Image although 35% of it is 'shadowed' by the Picture Mask which is quite impossible to remove. He also parks a small 'Watermark' in the Transparency. The combination of these makes the Image quite useless for Copy purposes, but still gets the Photographers' demo-message across. Brian.Conflow.

2 Reply to Ron (UK) Ron, I just looked at your Post again and noted that you are using the 'Audigy 2ZS Sound Card' ~ is the the 'Plug-In Version' or the 'External Module Version' ??... In both cases you need to check to see if the Mic-Input is 'Stereo'....I don't think it is, as this particular Card is used for Karoke usage and Surround Sound. Let me know... Brian.Conflow.

To:- Ron (UK) Hi Ron, Both Dave and Ian came from the same direction as I would have come from !..... As far as I know Sony made a range of 'Mini-Disc Products' with various features. As I don't know what Model you have, you need to examine the Connector Sockets to identify the 'use features' of each ~ if you have an Optical Port you are home and dry otherwise its back to using the Headphone Socket as an output. Concerning the Inputs on your PC ? Apart altogether from your Sound Card virtually all PC Motherboards have 'Line-In'...'Line-Out'...'Mic-In'...'Modem'...'USBs' and..'Network Connector' as Standard Features. Have another look and see if they are there ? If they are missing and you only have a 'Mic-In' on the Sound Card you will need an 'Attenuator' to handle Line Input Levels. Unfortunately most Mic Inputs are 'Mono Sound' - can you verify if this is the case on your Sound Card ?...If its Stereo we can do something about it, if its Mono only' its not worth the additional costs of an Attenuator. Brian.Conflow.

Hi There, There is a much simpler way of doing this for all 'Forms of Music Sources' ~ 1) Purchase a 3.5mm Stereo Minijack to Stereo Minijack Lead from any Hi-Fi Store. 2) Connect the Earphone Output Socket of the device to the Line Input of your PC. 3) Record the 'Playing Sound' with the PCs' Win Recorder or record with Audacity Sound Editor. 4) Export the Sound Recording from Audacity as an MP3 File to any Folder on your PC. I record 'Live Sounds' on my 'Sony GX-400 Stereo Walkman' and my 'Pro-Aiwa' and a CD-Player and replay all Sounds into the Line Input of my PC and pick them up with Audacity. No problems,works great,and I can also use the 'Pause & Tone Controls' on all Players which are extremely useful Mechanical Editing facilities. Brian.Conflow.

For:- Larry T Firstly,acknowledgements to Ken Cox,Hawk and Ronnie and good advice it is too. However,there is a way of doing what you want to do, but you have to decide on a Compromise Plan in that you are going to supply a 'Limited Preview of your Services' but you have to tell your viewers that. Most people understand the limitations of sending Photo's over the Internet and basically there are only 4 ways of doing it:- (1) Via a 3rd party Uploading Server using Thumbnail Images to access the Full Images. (2) Via your own Server, again using the same technique as above. (3 Via a 'Droploader Service' usually limited to 1 drop at a time to one person (4) Via special techniques using the PTE Program and Zip Files. The latter item (4) can achieve the following performance in halfing the size of a PTE Presentation to accomodate 56k Modems and Slo-Speed connections and Broadband. Example:- Size 6.4mB....Show Duration 4m20secs....30 Slides + Transitions....1x Mp3 Music Track. (The 1024x768 Show+ Full MP3 was 14mB) Technique:- Firstly,you have to use Image Size of 800x600 pixel with a dark background (dark blue) Secondly, the image sizes should be between 75k~150k but on average 100k/Image. Thirdly, the MP3 File should be Recorded at FM.Radio Quality at 22kBit sampling rate. These 'compromises' will play on ALL Screen Sizes on Desktop PCs with Desktop Speakers with no discernable loss of Picture nor Sound Quality ~ but will ½ the size of the Show and your Customers fully realise that it is a 'Limited Preview' of your Work. It also suits all Laptops. Hope this helps, Brian.Conflow.

Re:- ASPI Sectoring It's a good idea, but it's not a 'Universal Standard across the spectrum of Win Operating Systems nor CD-Disc Manufacturers. For example, WNASPI32.dll is not generic on Win 2000.Pro Systems. However this Dll. is supplied with 'Nero Burning Software' as a 152kB Application Extension, (note the word extension). Usually, all todays' CD Burning Software complies to with ISO-9600 relative to File Name,Lenght,and Type of File to be burnt ~ Thats the only universal standard. Now if one surveys a few CD-Manufacturers you will find that the 'Root Data' (on the blank disc) indicating CD-Media Type, Capacity, Burn Speed, etc; is of different formats consequently the 'Burning Software' has an embedded 'Library of Types' of the most common formats available, this is then used to set up the Burner parameters. The only reason why a CD burnt on one Win.PC. can actually play on another Win.PC is because the generic Microsoft CD-Drivers are truly "universal" across all Win.PCs. If you use a rather 'Special Burner' you get a Driver Disc with it,which when loaded is added to the MS.Library. So if the Drivers are Universal and the Burner Set-Up is Media Compliant, only then will the whole 'thingamagig' work. Another problem is how the PC. sets up the 'Burner CD-Drive Hardware' - is it an SCSI or IDE Buss Drive System ? ~ does the PC. allow auto-disc detect ? or is manual detect in use ? again the Microsoft Universal Drivers come to our assistance. Its not as easy to make the physical CD - Copyproof, as one would first imagine, it simply won't work on other PCs' . The only way out of this dilema is to try and protect the Media content. Brian.Conflow.

Music Copyright Apart from 'Royalty Free Music' (see previous posts) - under Copyright Law you are legally allowed to use Commercial Music Samples - by this is meant, that you are allowed use up to 30 seconds of a Commercial Music Track as a 'sample or preview' for personal non-commercial usage. Samples may be distributed 'royalty free' provided credits are given to the:- Performing Artist, The Lyricist, The Media Maker and provided their is no monetary gain. Brian.Conflow.

Hi Ken and Pumkin Firstly, congratulations to Ken on his 1300.th Posting ~ that surely must be a record ? and as they say in Ireland ~ 'More power to your Elbow' To Pumkin:- Ken has given you very good advice in that you really need a 'Techie' to set up the PC.Network System, otherwise you are only inviting in every Tom, Dick and Harry and a few "muggers" to boot, if you activate the Network System yourself. I would also advise you to install 'Microsoft A/V Beta 1.0' ~ Its a "Real Time Scanner" which is ALWAYS ACTIVE and provides excellent protection against Hackers and Hi-Jackers. You will also need an up to date version of NortonA/V (or similar) for EMail protection. Finally you need a copy of 'Spybot' to Fix-Repair any damage to your PC after any Hi-Jack attempt. Please heed the advice, other than that, welcome to the Forum and Happy Networking. Brian.Conflow.

Steve & Bill, Yes, I absolutely agree with Bill, be very careful about "parking" Exe's on a Server unless they have been Encryptionated and Password protected ~ even then you get silly people trying to download and open "Clone Exes" without a password or even worse downloading from an un-secure site ~ Aahhh,thats life ! Brian.Conflow.

CD-Anti Piracy Program To answer some of the points raised,viz:- Barry Yes Barry,you are quite correct,the vast majority of Shows are quite amateurish~but then there are those which are absolutely excellent. The 'thread' started arising from a genuine concern from some of our 'Professional Photographer Members' who make a Client Presentation then to find that certain Clients and Hi-Schools & Universities Students are copying and distributing the work without paying for the copies.Some would say "That is sour Grapes" ~but if you go to a Photo Shop you have to pay for Copy Prints~ after all the guy has got to make a living ! Ronnie I'm afraid it's bad News ~ The personal 'Copyproof CD' does not exist, for the reason that when you burn a CD, you are burning a 'Copy of your Program' from your Hard Drive ~ so if you can't copy it, you can't burn it. Commercial CD are not 'burnt to disc' ~ They are 'Photo Imaged' on to the blank CD complete with 'Anti-Copy Tags' (Manufacturer choice). This photo-imaging process is rather unique in that it 'modulates' the photo-sensitive dyes on the CD which is picked up by the Laser Diode within your CD-R/RW Drive and this of course is your Program. The Anti-Piracy Program The AP.Program has a few things going for it,viz:- a) For those who can't make an 'Autorun CD' it prepares all the Files necessary to do so. All they have to do is drag those Files into the 'Burner Software' and hit the 'Burn Button. For the Pro-Photographers it establishes a 'status-quo' in that the User Recipient knows the Program Files are Encrypted and also know that a Password is required. Subsequently after that if the Files are "copied & distributed" then quite clearly that person is breaking International Copyright Law and quite honestly hasn't got a leg to stand on. The reason being that the materials are traceable and encryptionation can be proved ~ provided in the 1st instance that the Author has included a EULA on to the origional CD. In Copyright Law there is absolutely no defense against this and no-way out of it ! c) Server Problems Because the Files are bundled and 128 bit Encrypted, most Servers recognise this as a legitimate Encryptionation Process and permit transmission & reception of such. Brian.Conflow.

To:- Ken,Steve,Al,Ronnie,Maureen,Lin,LumenLux,dadou, and all interested. Subject:- Anti-Piracy CD Program. Win Systems:- XP and 2000 versions only This thread has been running for some time, and to Ronnie-sorry I don't appear to have your EMail, anyway the following is a direct answer as to what program works to protect your CDs. There are other's which do something similar,but the following is virtually crackproof. 'CD-Lock' available from www.pc-magic.com and from www.snapfiles.com What it does 1) It encrypts the entire contents of a PTE.Show Folder by that is meant, it encrypts the PTE.Exe and all Images and Music and all other support Files such as:- PDF's, Eula's and Instructions. It will even 'scramble' the Folder Name and File Names using 128 bit Encryption Technology. 2) It prepares the 'Encrypted Folder Contents' for burning to your CD. It does not harm the origional Folder but makes an encrypted copy of it ready for 'burning' to CD. 3) The recipient of the CD see's only Encrypted Code -nothing more- until he "Inputs" a Pin Number (supplied by the Author) there after the entire PTE.Exe is de-scrambled and ready for immediate use. 4) As soon as the 'User' exits the Program it reverts to its Encrypted Format. This is ideal as one has to leave the PTE.Exe to start-up the 'Burner Software' to make a copy. 5) This Encrypt Program is NEVER copied to the Origional-CD nor to a Copy-CD. The Copies simply demand a 'Pin Number or Password' to activate the 'DeCrypt Program' which is on the CD together with all the Encrypted Files.Deliberate 'tampering' with these files makes the CD-Copy unusable. There is a 20 Day Trial - The Program costs $20 and it Works on XP and 2000 only. (No Operational Warrantee nor Guarantee is implied by or within this Posting). IMPORTANT NOTE:- Please understand that this Program is not to be confused with Igors 'New Development' of a PTE.Exe Dis-Assembler which recovers the contents of a PTE.Exe. CD-Lock is for those who wish to prevent Photo-Materials Piracy. Brian.Conflow.

Hi Ken, Yep, I have read the Pro's and Con's about CD-Copy Protection ~ not only on Google but on Soundforge and Snapfiles and CN-Net and others and to be honest it's a major bone of contention here in Ireland and U.K. It may come as a surprise that many Radio Stations such as the 'BBC and all it's World Services' and 'Virgin Radio' and our 'Radio Eireann' and the vast majority of EC.Stations not only 'Live-Stream' their Programs but also provide 'Replay-Archives' for the vast majority of their programs much to the annoyance of the 'Copyright Music Industry Associations' In our Country we pay an expensive 'Radio Licence' for Public Radio & TV and the TV-Radio Stations pay punitive Copyright fee's on the publics' behalf. The accepted norm has been that the "pre-paid materials" can be used for personal usage but not for commercial reproduction. It now transpires that the 'American Music Industry Moguls' would like to put a stop to that and charge an 'additional fee' on pre-paid materials under the thin guise of Anti-Piracy measures ~the real truth is their attempt to control the "iPOD Revolution" over which they have no control. And why does Piracy exist In Ireland any decent Music CD costs between 20-30 Euro thats $30 - $40 Dollars your money, and god know what extra they extract from the European Stations in Copyrights which we 'Joe Public' have pre-paid for in our Licences and the exorbitant costs of CD's. Not before time have the European Authorities started to 'regulate' such mamon and a lot more about this will hit the Headlines as they start to impose controls on these Corporation Associations. Getting back to the subject in hand ~ Disassembling the PTE Exe. and Copyright Protection ! There is a vast difference between the simple needs of some Forum Members to protect their 'Photo Images' ~versus~ the greed of the Movie-Music Industry whose bottom line is profit under the guise of the Legal Rights of Artists to whom they pay a pittance. Having said that any Pro-Photographer will tell you that it's nigh impossible to prosecute a copyright action against Photo-Piracy and lord knows there is some wonderful materials on this Forum. Thankfully Igor is making moves in the right direction - so lets all be positive in helping him. Brian.

Zip or Exe or Autorun Installer Yes it's quite true about various Servers 'killing-off' AVI's/Exe's/Zip Files ~ but there is another way ~ the Autorun Installer. If you are familiar with 'downloading' Programs such as Norton, Microsoft, Adobe etc,etc;you will see that they all use an 'Autorun Installer' which offers many installation options. When you start to download using these packagers,the first thing you see is a colour 'Splash Screen' giving details of the Program, the EULA, Installer Notes etc,etc. Secondly it asks for a download location - this usually involkes a 'Permission to Download' request - you say yes, and continue on following the Instructions. The Installer usually creates a Folder (with Icon) and proceeds to download the program contents into the Folder. Thereafter it asks you ~do you wish to Install the Program ~ say yes ~ whereafter it does that and creates a Startup Menu Shortcut and a Desktop Shortcut. Prior to that:- Good Anti-Virus Software will scan the Folder,clear it, and ask you for permission to proceed ~thats your choice~ These utilities are available from www.snapfiles.com - simply type in the search window....Autorun Installers. Brian.Conflow.

To:- Barksworld & Jim (Ottawa) Firstly, Jim is correct, PTE saves Templates to the 'Template Folder' within the 'Main PTE Program Folder' this for technical association reasons ~ Why not do what I do ~ Open the PTE Program Folder ~ find the Template Folder ~ RH.Clickit and send a 'Shortcut' to the Desktop. Once there its immediately assessible,also, you can place a 'Shortcut' in any Folder of your choice !. Brian.Conflow.