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============================ Eric, I can't believe it. I figured you'd be the last one to download it! Thanks much for viewing it. Yes, the video was hand-held. This trip was my first attempt to take stills AND video. I do have NX2 but haven't really used it. My primary editing tool is Photoshop CS5...but recently I got Viveza 2. It works within Photoshop. It is really a gem. If you use only the "Structure" tool, it is worth the price. You can make more precise adjustments. Yes, I know some people do not like the use of the Portrait format. I don't understand why. When you shoot a vertical object, Portrait is the only way to go, IMHO. I think not having them makes the show a bit boring. But I guess that is my 'old school' mentality. I didn't notice abrupt pans and zooms. I will go back and look more closely. Maybe it has to do with video cards??? Don't know. I think music is one of the hardest parts of assembling a slide show. It puts the 'emotion' in the show. But working with the set length of the music and the number of slides you want to use, can be the real nut to crack. Thanks for the critique. Gary

NEW SHOW ON BEECHBROOK: BANGKOK, THAILAND http://www.beechbrook.com/pte/ Location: Bangkok, Thailand Year: November 2011 Aspect ratio: 16:9 Screen resolution: 1920x1080 Videos: Reduced from 1080p (MOVs) to 720p (MP4s) to reduce file size Size of file: 103Mbs Run time: 10:15 Manual control (yes/no): Yes Camera and lens: Nikon D7000, 18-200mm Any other info that you can provide: This is a large slide show but it is due mostly to the added video files. In order to get the size down, the video files were reduced from 1080p to 720p. It is still quite large but I hope you will give it a look. This trip to Bangkok was our final stop on our several week trip to Cambodia and Thailand. Most of the scenes are of the river taxis that are more efficient than trying to travel around by land taxi. You will note a lot of images show sandbags. This was due to the tremendous flooding that Thailand was experiencing this year. The inner city was mostly spared but was ready for the possibility. The river was high but posed no real problem for tourist in the inner city. Bangkok, as well as the rest of Thailand, is a wonderful place for a visit. Comments and critiques are welcomed. Gary Oddi

===================== Peter, Yes, I see what you mean that the limit is 32000. But isn't that pretty high enough??? Just wondering. I have videos SOOC from my Nikon D7000 and some of the highest bit rates vary from around 12000 to 20000 kbps. What I was trying to say was to convert your original AVIs to HD1080 MP4s and see it the quality improves without flicker in PTE. Kinda strange that you get flicker. I have used both AVIs and MP4s and don't get any flicker or jerkiness. But what do I know? There are so many variables. Just trying to figure this stuff out... Gary

=================== Peter, I think it might default to a lower bit rate, but if you get into the Custom menu, you should be able to override the default lower setting and input your 39813. I remember now that it does this but I have not seen any quality difference or problems with flicker or jerkiness. I don't convert my videos to AVI; I seem to have no problems converting to 1080p MP4s or playing them in PTE. No flicker or jerkiness. Much to learn. I have even converted to HD720p and the quality is really good. See if you can set your bit rate to what the original is in the Custom menu. Gary

========================== Peter, You are getting close. See my attachments and you can see that you can save the edited video 'As Original' or you can get into the Custom menu and make just about any changes you want. In the trimming process, I trim out the beginning first; hit the Scissor icon; then I go to the end and trim out that part; hit the Scissor icon. You can also trim out portions in the middle. Piece of cake. Hope this helps. Gary

======================== Peter, You must be missing a step. I have been using Freemake for a long time with great success. After trimming the video, are you pressing the 'OK' icon? I works for me just perfectly. Give it another try. Yes, with WLMM, you have to convert it from WMV to something else. That's where Freemake comes in handy, too.:) Gary

================================= Eric, If you did not complete the install of Freemake Video Converter, did the Funmood add-in actually get installed? If it did, it is very strange that you got an add-in and I did not, even with multiple installs. It is too bad that the Freemake might be sneaking in any add-ins. I have not had that experience and it is a very nice tool to have to edit video. DG, The only free program that I have found to edit the Video Audio track is the Windows Live Movie Maker. You can adjust the Fade In and Out and you can adjust the overall audio level. Look under the Video Tools tab. Someone asked about being able to speed up a video. The Windows Live Movie Maker will do this too. You lose the audio but you can adjust the speed of the video and lots of other effects, too. You can trim video too, but I haven't figure it out yet. Gary

======================= Brian, The link you mentioned has to do with Version 2.3.1. The latest version is 3.0.2.6. I have installed it several times and I have not received the Funmood-Toolbar or the FreemakeUtilsService. I wonder if the more recent versions have eliminated these Add-ins. I checked through my Registry, Services and Processes and not a trace. When I installed it, I was careful not to accept any of the 'automatic' install procedures and took only the Freemake Video Converter program. Maybe they have changed their ways???? I think the Freemake Video Converter program is really great. Thanks for the alternative program. I'll take a look. Gary

============================ Eric, You must have done something different then what I did. I checked my Plug-in, Add-on and Extention lists and I don't have it. I use Firefox. If you use IE, maybe it does something different. But I am sure you can dump it if you don't want it. I went through a re-install as I described above and did not see any Funmoods Toolbar. Gary P.S. I think you might have had it installed if you let Chrome or the other choices to be installed. Real sneaky stuff. I am usually very careful to uncheck any thing that seems as if there are going to be any add-ins. Here is a site that tell how to remove it: http://removal-tool....-extension.html

=========================== Eric, Most software now have these tricky little add ons. All you have to do is to untick the appropriate boxes. I just downloaded its updated version and unticked the boxes of the stuff I don't want and it installed just fine with no added programs. Yes, you have to be careful but that goes for many of the programs you download nowadays. In this case with Freemake, be sure to untick the 'Quick Installation', select the 'Parameters Settings', untick the 'Install Bing Bar', untick the Plugins and away you go. No big deal. Gary

================= Are you talking about the Freemake Video Converter program??? Gary

=================================== Peter, Thanks for your reply. As far as trimming video clips and keeping the original quality, fps, etc., I have mentioned before my favorite free program for doing this, Freemake Video Converter: http://www.freemake.com/ I am now working on a slideshow and I have several videos in it. I am trying to keep the file size under 100mb so I reduced the videos from HD1080p to HD720p using Freemake. It helped to get the file size down and I don't really seen much if any quality reduction. But for posting on Beechbrook, I am trying to make it as light as I can. Give Freemake a try to see if you agree with the quality. You can also do many different conversions and specifications if you want to dabble with it. Gary

Greetings, Yachtsman1 and Robert, I am not worrying, just curious. But I don't think your comments encourage people who want to understand things they don't understand. And I am not just blindly asking questions. I have done a lot of researching the Internet before I ask the question but what I am trying to find out is how all this information applies directly to PTE. There is lots of info out there but how different video settings work best with PTE is the big question. Lin and Nobeefstu, Thanks for the detailed postings. This is very good info but what I am trying to understand is how it applies to getting the best results in PTE. Peter was trying different frame rates. Some worked; others did not. One of his 24 fps video's showed in his Properties tab to be 23 fps. Why? And a video of mine that is a 23.97 fps shows up on Properties tab as 23 fps. Why? Can we trust the Properties tab to give precise info? Perhaps not? If some of our videos are 23.97 or 24 fps or 25 fps, should we convert them to 29.97? Lots of questions. Maybe it is only me that is in the dark. Not too many people are apparently dealing with video in their PTE shows. I am sure as others dabble with video, more questions (and answers) will come up….I hope. Thanks… Gary

Greetings, Well, I poked around converting a Straight Out Of the Camera (SOOC) MOV video that has a fps of 29. I converted it to a 30 fps video. Properties/Details show it as a 30 fps video. Ok, makes sense. I also converted it to a 24 fps video. Properties/Details show it as a 24 fps video. Ok, makes sense. However, I then converted to to a 23.97 fps video. Properties/Details show it as 23 fps video. So perhaps a 24 fps is not the same as a 23.97 fps video? Perhaps a '23 fps' is actually '23.97'??? I am hoping someone who understands this stuff would clear the air. I am totally confused. Sure,some things work and we tend to do what does work but it would be nice to understand what might work better and why it does or does not work. Gary

=========================== Lin, I thought your posting made sense and that it was just a way of rounding or 'expressing' the decimal numbers up to a whole number and the frame rates were actually the same. However, I was just playing around with a video converter program that shows the whole number AND the decimal number of the frame rates. They show, for example, 23.97, 24, 29.97 and 39 fps (see attached). So are these 'whole number' frame rates the same as the 'decimal number' frame rates or is there some distinction between these frame rates that we should be aware of when we are converting our videos for PTE (I am converting my MOV's to MP4's)??? Gary

===================== Greetings Peter, DG and Lin, Oh, do I feel like I should hide my head. Peter, you hit the nail on the head. Actually, I was using 3 different cameras that take video; a Nikon D7000, a Nikon AW100 and a Kodak Play Sport. I could not see the forest for the trees. The file name's beginning designations were different and I just did not notice that. I was SURE that the video files that I was comparing were both from the D7000....but not. Sorry for the confusion. Here are examples of the different video files with the frame rates: Nikon D7000 = DSC_9745.MOV = frame rate of 23 Nikon AW100 = DSCN0400.MOV = frame rate of 29 Kodak Sport Play = 100_077.MOV = frame rate of 29 The videos from each of these cameras are so good it is hard to tell the difference in quality. Thanks Peter... Gary

========================== DG, This is getting interesting. No, I am sure I have not altered anything. All are Straight Out Of the Camera MOV's. I just gave a call to Nikon tech and they could not come up with any ideas. They said to send them two of the videos and they will look at the data. They are so big, I have not done that yet...not sure if I can send such large files. Anyway, it reminded me that I have ViewNX2, so I looked at the video data with it. The first videos I took on vacation show all the data, including the frame rate of 29.97. However, the data for the recent videos only show a few items, like file name, size, date created, date modified, file size and duration, no other info. Hmmmmm.... I will try to get more info from Nikon but this is strange. I put the data in Word files, attached. Gary Video 1-29.97fps.doc Video 2-23.98fps.doc

============================ DG, Yes, I now see that. Thanks. What happened was that I looked at what I shot a few days ago and it showed the 23.98 frame rate. And then I looked at what I shot several months ago and those videos show 29.97. So now I am totally confused. Both camera's video settings were the same. I have always set the D7000 at the highest movie setting- "1920x1080; 24 fps; high quality". Can you explain why the camera's video results are at two different frame rates??? Gary

=============================== Greetings, With all this talk about frame rates, I went back and re-checked what the frame rate is on my Nikon D7000. Previously, I posted that it was 23.98. But now I don't know where I got the 23.98 frame rate figure. I just rechecked and the D7000's frame rate is actually 29.97 and Freemake Video Converter retains that frame rate when it does a conversion to MP4. Gary

======================= Peter, I don't know why you are getting the abrupt jump with your video. But I have been including videos in my exes for a little while now and have not had any problem similar to yours. Perhaps it is the trimming process in ViewNX2? Just as an alternative here is what I have been doing and having a lot of success with my videos. My camera is the Nikon D7000. Its output format is MOV. I use the free Freemake Video Converter program. I use it to trim and to convert my MOVs to MP4. For example, an MOV that is 2,261,842Kb gets reduced to an MP4 at 439,875Kb (HD1080p, H.264). I don't bother letting PTE do its 'converting' to AVI. I just use the MP4 file. I have found that sometimes the PTE's 'converted' file size is a bit smaller, other times it is a bit larger. In an Igor reply to me, about this converting process, he stated: http://www.picturest...4643#entry94643 "The main purpose of the video conversion is to optimize playback of video clips in slideshows. Especially for shows in executable files. Optimized video clips require lower CPU usage and provide faster rewinding. Optimized video clips can have larger or smaller file size than original video clip. It depends on a bitrate of source file. For example digital cameras use high values - about 40 mbit per second for 1080p video. Whereas video editors can suggest 15-25 mbit by default. Digital cameras have to record video stream in realtime, they have limited battery and slow hardware to compress video. High bitrate compensates these restrictions. In a software encoder we have much powerful CPU and more time to analyze video stream to more optimally compress video picture. Imagine that you're packing a suitcase for a travel. Quickly drop all items (goods) in a random order? Or put accurately all items according their sizes that take more time. Two ways - quick result but large bag (more bags) or more time and smaller bag. By the way, competing slideshow product also performs automatic optimization of video clips. But as I discovered with worst visual quality than PicturesToExe does." I have not had any problem with the MP4s playing smoothly in PTE's exes. All fade-in and out transitions have been perfect. Perhaps, if one's video card is not up to some standard, the PTE 'converting' process would give a positive advantage, but I have not had that problem. Maybe the conversion from AVI to MOV created the problem? I'd try converting the original AVI to MP4 with Freemake Video Converter to see what happens. I don't know if this helps in anyway but so far, adding video to the PTE's have been a lot of fun and without any real problems for me. Gary Added later: I notice that the original 'frame rate' of my D7000 is 23.98. Freemake Video Converter uses that same rate in its conversion process. Not sure if this means anything but some others mentioned frame rates. Correction: I don't know where I got the 23.98 frame rate. I rechecked and the D7000's frame rate is 29.97 and Freemake Video Converter retains that frame rate when it does a conversion to MP4.

Greetings, I think the original posting has to do with wanting to see in the wave form where the end and where the beginning of the music files end and start. In the 'old' days, PTE had a thin vertical blue line to indicate this. Then, Igor removed it. The attached gif show a semblance of what it looked like. I put in a fatter line than the original but it gets the point across, I hope. Gary

===================== Greetings, I know what you mean. I have suggested several times to at least bring back the vertical line in the wave form that used to designate the beginning or end of each audio file. No luck. Maybe you will be able to convince Igor to do it. Gary

Igor, Thanks for taking a look at the 2Gb 'bug'. Also, I tried to understand your explanation about the converting process. But I don't think I am following it too well. I see what you are saying but, in practice, the results aren't logical. For example: When I looked at the size and bitrate for an MP4 (1080) video file, the conversion increased the file size from 333,645kb to 354,034kb. Their respective bitrates went from 4,573kb to 12,899kb. So the conversion process increased the bitrate, and therefore the file size increased. Ok, it makes sense. However, then I looked at the file size and bitrate for the MP4 720p video file. The conversion decreased its file size from 223,753kb to 158,831kb. But their respective bit rates increased from 3,065kb to 5,875kb. So I would think that the increase in the bitrate from the conversion process would have increased the file size of the file, but the file size was actually reduced. So it is apparent that I really don't get it and maybe I am comparing apples to oranges. But I will just accept the results from the conversion process. I am sure there is more technical info that I am not getting so let's just keep it simple and I will not pursue this any further. My goal is to make the video files as small as possible so sometimes I accept the conversion results, other times I don't, depending on the resulting file sizes. I haven't had any problems viewing any non-converted video files, so far. Thanks again for the explanation. Gary P.S. I got my Total Bitrate figures from Properties/Details. ========================================

=================== Super thanks, Tom. I appreciate you looking into this. Can you give any reasoning to my other question about the 'converting' of the video files? It is strange that it converts one type of file to be larger and another type of file to be smaller. There must be something technical about the process??? Gary

============================== Tom, No, not in that File Info window. The File Info window shows the correct file size. The 'minus' file size only shows up in the PTE's File window and the Slide List. Gary