JRR

Gilbert Try an MP3 file. If my memory serves me correctly .wma is not a valid file type for PTE (and some other softwares as it is a windows proprietry file). But I have been wrong before...

Tommy: I'll let someone else answer the TV questions, but for the Timeline guide, click: here

Geoff: I am with you on this. I have specifically asked for feedback on a few of my Beechbrook shows and received constructive comments. From experiences elsewhere I know that some people do not want feedback, or feedback givers are reluctant to coment without specific invitations. Then there is the risk that someone will say something that will be taken the wrong way (as can so easily happen with e-mails and forums as we have seen) and we all know what that does.... Personally I feel it is worth the "risk" to ask for comments

Lew: I can understand why you are not "up" on the Pan and Zoom being a newbie as you have not been party to the forum for the past 4-6 months. But Pan and Zoom are in version 5.0 which is expected very soon. No date promised as Igor did that once earlier and he did not make it. Igor takes his time to get things RIGHT. We all appreciate his thoroughness and wait patiently

John: It is a simple (once you have done it a number of times ) matter of putting many of your images, one per layer, into a single .psd. Usually the .psd background layer is your canvas to be used on all images Then sizing (via transform) and placing them carefully for nice transitions, over lapping and non-overlapping as you wish. Then saving each layer as a jpg file for PTE and carefully select the transition you want to use. There was a wonderful show "Olga Boritsch" (produced by her husband) that used to be on Beechbrook that gave us all many wonderful ideas in this regard. The show is no longer there, I will send you his e-mail address privately and you could ask for a copy - I am sure he would share it.

Skeevie: (I am likely a sucker for answering this as members of the forum who have been around will know what I mean, but we do try to help...) The file size should be around 300kb, saving as jpg will let you see the size of the file either using SAVE AS or SAVE for web. You can't go by a fixed quality setting. The "resolution" is a red herring as has been "discussed" many times. It is used to determine print size. Ignore res and just crop to pixel size you want. I hope this does not get the old discussions going again.....

John: I am not going to reply to your entire notes, I will leave much it to those techies with much more knowledge than I.... Our club just bought the Canon Realis Sx50 and we have now calibrated it for the screen we use (or should use). It is an absolutely great projector, the highlight and shadow details are tremendous. Regarding your wish not to crop. I understand what you are saying, and I would prefer not to crop (saves a lot of time if you don't) but I crop virtually all mine to the resolution that I use (1280x960 This choice is for a number of reasons and is not meant to be a comment re your dilemma). The scond reason I crop is help improve the transitioning from one image to the next. By selective cropping you can get parts of the two images to line up the way you want for the transitions which can make a difference in the quality of your finished product.

Barry: Sorry to hear you are having problems. While we all run into frustrations at times, we have found PTE to be a marvelous software, among the best out there, if not the best. You are better to use the Pictures to EXE forum than the presentations forum go Here Others more techie inclined than I should be able to help you there.

Good luck with free MP3s, there are likely some (are you giving away any of your photos these days?? ) Best bet is to google Royalty Free Music, or even just do a search this forum as Royalty Free music is a recurrent topic

Ron: I just downloaded it again. Took 10 minutes. I tend to work away on other things while items download so I don't really pay much attention to the elapsed time. The pace can seem "fast" if I am absorbed elsewhere. It might be that it is not resident on Beechbrook, but Bill is hosting only the link to the producer's site that has a slower connection, but my shows for which Bill does host the file, downloaded at the same rate as 65 acres

Ron: I had no problem downloading it, came at its usual fast pace. Didn't notice it being any slower. I am on cable.

I should have mentioned the 300kb is based on files of 1024x768 or 1280x960 or thereabouts One can make shows run with files straight out of a 6MP camera, but it is not recommended. I do it only for initially setting up a draft of a show.

There are a umber of possibilities here, but the most likely is that the CD reader is not fast enough to keep up with the show. It is far better to run from the hard drive than the CD. Your files might be relatively large for the show. Most of us aim the image files to be 300kb (plus or minus) and the MP3 is at 96 or 128 kbps.

Andrew: see here

This is NOT a work of art, but a fun AV that I put together for the Senior Citizen homes that we take our shows around to during the winter months. The images, except for the first part of the show, were taken in late 2005. The first part of the show has a few images from 2004, 2003, and 2002. All the images were taken by wife, Gwen Williams, or myself using a Canon D60, 10D or 20D. The presentation is divided into three sections. The first section was photographed around Canada’s National Legislative Building (The Peace Tower) and central Ottawa. The middle section is from a Pioneer Museum (Upper Canada Village) south of Ottawa on the St Lawrence River. (A long stone’s throw from the USA). Upper Canada Village consists of 30-40 buildings from the 1860’s that have been moved to one site and are staffed by costumed interpreters during the summer. The Christmas lights festival occurs each year for 6 weeks. The last section contains shots from one street in Ottawa that is known for its Christmas decorations. It can take 45-60 minutes to drive down the street which is about a half mile or 0.75km long because of the traffic. The street is called Taffy Lane, but nic-named Tacky Lane. Enjoy

Jeff: I think different people with different workflows use Templates for different purposes (or not all). Just like in PhotoShop and other process software we have our own workflows and resultant uses of various folders et al. I use the TEMPLATE in a number of different ways. (But not that way you do ) I put copies of the orginal images that I plan to use (Along with some extras) in a single folder related to the show I am working on (that is a subfolder of my PTE shows folder) That folder will house copies of my RAW files if I am using some, psd files with layers that I make up to ensure sequenced images transition the way I want them, copies of full size jpg straight from the camera, sound files (wav and MP3) I do a first cut of the show using the full size files and the wav file, then go in and crop each image to get the transitioning I want. I can adjust the White balance and correct exposure using the RAW file if I want to. When I first set up the show with the copies of original images etc it is a VERY large file, but after working through each image and substituting the final wav with a MP3 file, I get a more normal size .exe file. So at that point I have all my source images, and edited versions in one folder. One show folder I am working on now is at 1.5gb with all the files etc, but the PTE .exe file will end up at around 40mb. This is where I use the template file. I use the template file to back up the finished show with just the images in the show and sound file in what is a smallish file. (I also back up the larger folder too as well as the original images) When I take my show to some place to demo it or ask for a critique, I take the template folder as that allows for a more thorough review and critique. Might not make sense to all, but it does to me anyway

When I move my PTE show from one folder/drive to another, I always move the TEMPLATE file and never have a problem. FILE>TEMPLATE>CREATE TEMPLATE. I suspect someone else will come along with a better/simpler idea

Gilbert: I have converted many of my 35mm AVs to PTE. It takes time (or $$ ) to scan the slides, then put them in the same sequence as in the 35mm show using the light table in PTE to sort them. I use PhotoShop to make my titles, but you can use OBJECTS within PTE to do it as well but there are drawbacks to that. If you were doing synced 35mm shows, then plug your tape deck into your line-in on the computer and use a sound-editing software to record it digitally (AUDACITY will do it for you - just do SEARCH on the forum for AUDACITY and you will see references that will help.) Best thing to do is to find someone locally who has done it and you'll find out how easy (but time consuming) it is.

Jeff: The OBJECT EDITOR does save file size as just mentioned that can be an advantage. Personally I do not use it for mulitple images on the screen as it can problematic when shown on different screen resolutions. I realize there are work-arounds that JP has done good work with, but I prefer the PhotoShop method, pending the release of ver 5. I do use the Object Editor for making "launch pages" for other shows to start from.

Sam: Very nicely done !! Always enjoy your presentations, wish there were more available

Keith: You have to be in the OBJECT EDITOR page

“Fall Colour” was photographed in and around the Ottawa Ontario (Canada) region in 2004 and 2005. Due to the weather in the summer and early fall of 2005, the colours were not as good as 2004. There are a few images from the Fort McMurray (Northern Alberta) area as well. This is not an area noted for its rich fall colours, but a helicopter ride and a search of some back roads produced some colours beyond the normal yellow of their aspens. Again, any and all (constructive ) critiques are welcome

(SHOULD SAY "ON BEECHBROOK !!!) This presentation was the entry by my wife and myself in the Supercircuit this year. Last year’s entry, a nature documentary on turtles did not fare well at all. (Turtles of Petrie Island seen on Bechbrook last year) Based on the few well scoring presentations that we saw from last year, we knew we needed to have something that would be emotional and/or very cleverly humourous to do better this year. So this was our attempt. It did not fare well either. I did manage to get some feedback from two of the judges in the Canadian showing of the Supercircuit. After hearing the critique, we agree with the assessment fully. - The beginning and ending sequence of the lady walking down the road was excellent - The dream sequence was over-exposed and not dream-like enough, too static By the way, it was shot in the summer in 31°C temperatures. Our friend playing the part of the Old Woman was well dressed in heavy wool scarf and cape. She was not happy with us !!! Pls note: Any and all (constructive ) comments welcome

Igor: (and Aleseky) No problem, I know we are all anxious for it, but we know you take pride in your work (as do we in you) so take your time and release it to the elves when YOU are ready. Thank you for all the work you have done so far, we'll see the benefits for years to come.

There have been a few reports of delayed keys being received. You could send an e-mail to the support group at support@wnsoft.com Once the key arrives, you find just how great this software is.