alrobin

Canon have a very good LCOS projector - the SX60. At one time the DLP projectors had a much better contrast ratio than the LCD, but I think that is changing some. The Mitsubishi DLP projector is quoted to have a 4000:1 contrast ratio, whereas the norm for other types used to be around 1000:1. For me, this is more important than pixel resolution. Low contrast ratio is the biggest drawback of some of the less-expensive models. However, this specification can also be somewhat misleading as different vendors measure it differently, and it varies with the setting of the projector.

Hartmut, Welcome to the Forum! If you get a good-quality DLP projector, you shouldn't notice these artifacts at all. I have a Mitsubishi WXGA projector, and they are not an issue. You will notice some "moire-pattern shimmer" on straight lines close together, but no more than on your computer monitor.

Une très belle production! Et très amusante aussi! Bon travail!

Thanks, JP. It's a clever temporary "work-around", and allows one to use all the other flexible features available in v.5 at the same time. Thanks for posting.

JP, You the man! Very smooth! Now can you tell us how you did it?

OK, Jos, HERE is the latest asymmetric version created in PTE 4.48.

Fred, About the only way is to request that the makers post them for downloading, or make a private arrangement to obtain a copy of a specific show that you want to see. Bear in mind that several of the shows were over 200 Mb in size, and one was around 500 Mb. (a PTE show, at that! ) The special effects were amazing! Check some of the French websites, as well as the RPS site for links to other sites, from time to time - often some of the shows are posted on various forums and personal sites in the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, etc.

Jos, I used an intermediate image with the coloured portion offset from the centre (created in Photoshop) and then used a "gate" transition to "move" to the final coloured image (see attached). The gate effect reaches the right-hand dividing line first. This will work even in version 4.48. If you set the "smoothing line" value to close to 0, you will get a sharp line. In version 5 beta you could also add the vertical white lines for added effect, and move them in sync with the "gate". If you adjust the timing of the transition, you will change the speed of the dividing line. I'll try to create a more elaborate example showing some other versions of this and post them later on my website.

Tom, That is one extravaganza of flying warplanes! Must have been a chore setting all that animation up! Very convincing, though.

Kloggy, It should only be a half that size. Check all image files (including any used as objects) against Win Explorer to ensure you have the correct version.

The problem with achieving the exact effect as in the Flash example lies in not being able to move the "opacity" or "saturation" of the image without moving a portion of the image. HERE is my best attempt at a non-symmetrical solution using "gates".

Jos, Welcome to the Forum and to PTE! This effect is more difficult than it may seem at first glance. Attached is the simplest way to achieve it, but it is very symmetric and doesn't offer many different parameters other than speed of transition, slide duration, etc. Included in the zipped file are an "exe" executible file, as well as the project files, including your two images (resaved in lower quality to save on space). It is created in PTE v.5, but the same effect is available in v.4.48. Hope this helps. Meanwhile, maybe someone will come up with an example using the techniques Lin described in the other Forum. It's possible in v.5 to control the opacity of an overlaid mask in many imaginative ways, but the difficulty arises when one attempts to convert from monochrome to colour. gates.zip

The successful artists in the long run in this world have always been the ones who broke from the crowd, developed a unique approach (either through technique or subject matter), and ran with it and perfected it, against all the dire criticisms of the nay-sayers and those content to watch the same subject matter over and over and over again. However, this doesn't mean that having a few gadgets and special effects in one's production will be enough in itself to win over the judges. Nor should we use them just because they are there. There is still an effective way and a not so effective way to use these tools. But, I'm of the belief that any new technique can be utilized successfully to better represent one's emotions and feelings in artistic creations. IMHO, the sequences that people remember in the long run will be the ones with something special to give them an edge over the competition.

Regdor, Glad your problem is solved! Best of luck with your show!

Maureen, Thanks for posting - you'll be ready now for a stiff drink and some sleep by now! I watched the shows Friday night at the Canadian showing, and there were some very good ones among the winners. Apparently the overall quality was not as high as last year, though. Guess everyone is still too busy experimenting with the new features to turn their attention to how to use them effectively. Next year! By far, the majority of the 55 entries were produced with PTE! Congrats to all the winners, several of them Forum members!

Regdor, Welcome to the Forum! Are you using version 4.48 or 5 beta? This option is not yet activated in v.5

Dom, Bon Anniversaire! And I hope you have a great opportunity to celebrate on your ski trip! Bon voyage!

Looks very realistic! Nice work by both you and Panos!

No, I haven't - I assume it's there for future selection of scenes??

Peter, I have found other programs quite complicated when it comes to creating menus, but Video Builder is very simple. You have to check "Return to menu after each title" in VB Project Options to make it work, though. Then the DVD player automatically returns to the menu screen after each title. Of course some programs such as Nero and Pinnacle do have other features, such as the ability to select scenes, etc., but VB has the essential menu capability, and may some day provide for other more-sophisticated options.

Bert, As JP says, you need Winrar. It's a "zip" utility similar to Winzip. You can download and use it for 40 days, after which it tells you that you need to purchase it. I haven't used it long enough to know if it actually refuses to work after a period of time if you don't purchase it.

Igor, Here is a slide from my "PTE-101" tutorial, with some examples of objects. PTE101_ver2_objects.zip

Maureen, You guessed right - you win the prize! Keith, It was worth waiting for - nice idea, and perfect execution! Thanks for posting!

Ragnar, What happens if you take away the pathname, and just leave the name of the image, and then put those images in the same folder as the "pte" project file? Before, if you did this, and then opened the file in PTE and re-saved, the project file would pick up the new pathname, and the images could then be moved to a new folder if necessary.

Liz says "see if you can name the singer"!