davegee

Daniel, "My slideshow test : pictures sized to 1440x1080px, slideshow aspect format specified as 4/3. I created a mp4 file hd 1920x1080 medium quality" What happens if the slide show aspect ratio is set to 16:9? You should see the black lines each side of the 4:3 image when the EXE is played back. The 16:9 HD video should also then be the same. DaveG

Ray, I think that it goes without saying that you MUST be able to play it back in real time on the PC / Laptop BEFORE even trying to connect with any kind of LCD TV! However, all other things being equal the EXE is going to better than the HD Video file made from it. If you have to reduce the size of the images to get the EXE to play on a PC Laptop so be it. When you then come to play it on the TV the quality of the EXE is still going to be better than the HD Video file made from the PTE project. and it is more likely to be free of stuttering etc. Playing back a reduced resolution EXE on a HD TV and making it fill the screen is UPSCALING and is not for me. My 26" TV is 1360x768 and I have no problems with this resolution. My desktop monitor is 1920x1200 and my system allows for a reasonable degree of PZR with images of 1920x1200 or greater with no glitches or stuttering. DaveG

Ken, To get SKY Digital Satelite TV over here costs an average of around £20 per month. If you want films and sport it's extra. In either case it is literaly hundreds of channels, some of doubtful value, an awful lot of repeats and all of the available radio channels. HD is extra again (£10) for a limited number of HD channels. You could pay around £50 per month for a package which includes HD. On top of that we still pay an annual TV license fee. FREEVIEW is Digital TV via aerial - a limited number of channels - all you need is a converter for a one off price or a TV with built in tuner. Not all areas currently have Freeview. DaveG

Thanks Ken, I found this site - but he seems to be as confused as the people he is trying to "help"? http://hdtvprofessor.com/ Interesting times ahead? DaveG

Lin, Regarding the impending changeover to Digital it sounds as though you will be going through the same process as we went through some years ago. Initially, although we had "digital" TV it was (and still is) in PAL - 768x576 - format. The PAL picture is then upscaled to whatever resolution the TV is. HD TV arrived fairly recently and more money and a different reciever is required. My understanding is that even though it is being promotoed as HD and that a 1080p compatible TV is required the incoming signal is only 720p. I don't have an HD contract so I don't have first hand experience. If you know in any more detail what you will be getting (when it happens) it would be interesting to to know: First - What they are promising Second - What they deliver Going back to Jeff's original post - the ULTIMATE quality is achieved by playing a PTE EXE file via a HDMI connection to an LCD TV where the resolution of the PTE EXE equals the resolution of the TV. ANYTHING else is second best. DaveG

I think that AbdolReza's original reasoning was to do with file size and on that basis he has an argument. HOWEVER, the problems arising out of the use of MIDI far outweigh the advantages. I, too, as previously stated agree with Igor - it is not required and is not desirable. DaveG

Things are moving rapidly. Here's a link to a current model in the Pioneer range: http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products/42/12...HX-K/specs.html It connects to a USB device and enables you to copy to the hard disc. MPEG4 (or DivX) is supported. DaveG Further info: If anyone is interested the Makers Manual is available here: http://www.service.pioneer-eur.com/peeserv...lnr=DVR-560HX-K It seems to be capable of playing DivX files at up to 1920x1080 when connected via HDMI to a HD TV. DivX files can be loaded to the HDD from any USB device.

Lin, I suspect that you have misunderstood. Jeff's Pioneer unit is a HDD (Hard Disc Drive)/DVD Recorder which will not "talk" to his computer. These units are used to record TV programmes and replay or dub (copy) to DVDs. They are "peculiar" in that, for instance, a similar Sony unit will not dub (copy) Panasonic made DVDs and vice versa. Both will play the others DVDs but neither will copy the others DVDs to the HDD for editing or storage. Also, neither will copy computer made DVDs to the HDD. If you want to copy material from another makers DVD or a computer generated DVD you have to enter the analogue domain. There is no input for computer. Only Jeff can tell us if the same thing applies to the Pioneer. The Western Digital and Iomega Media Players which have been spoken about in other threads at this forum would possibly be an alternative for Jeff. However, I have not seen the quality of either product for myself. DaveG

Lin, Please elaborate on the very last sentence? I don't quite understand what you said there. DaveG

Lin, Whether it be computing power or frame rate the facts appear to be that HD Video at 1920x1080 USING ALL OF THE AVAILABLE FEATURES OF PTE WITHOUT RESTRICTION is just not possible for everyone at this time? PTE EXE files provide that capability and when routed properly from computer to TV provide the ultimate viewing experience at this time. That was the point I was trying to make to Jeff. DaveG

Lin, Didn't your recent tests tend to prove that, whilst it is possible to make HD Video in PTE, the PZR effects take their toll on the available computing power to produce stuttering etc? In order to make a 1920x1080 HD Video you need to be able to use 1920x1080 images and if you cannot then use PZR effects as required then what is the point? I've no doubt that in future when we all have machines which are 10 - 20 times as powerful then it will be possible, but Sony etc will by that time have invented SUPER ULTRA HD requiring even more computing power! DaveG

500ms is almost no dissolve! If your slide time is that close to your transition time it's likely that you are going to run into trouble. Look at the timeline at the point where the problem occurs - it's possible that, for some reason, the transition time is longer than the slide time? DaveG

Jeff, It would help to know which Pioneer unit you have? I just looked at the Pioneer range and the top of line unit features 1080 SCALING which is not the same thing. I think this means that your PAL recordings are scaled up to 1080 size. There was no mention at all of BluRay - just the "normal" DVD playing. It this stage in the game I believe the only viable way is to play your 1920x1080 EXE files from a suitably (HDMI) equipped laptop to your TV. I have been doing this for the last 9 months or so and the quality exceeds all other methods. DaveG

The way I look at this and other suggestions is that I would hate to see the developers wasting precious time on what I see as "frivolous" requests at the expense of more meaningful improvements to the basic PTE program. It might be a time for re-grouping, consolidating and making what we already have more intuitive rather than adding bells and whistles which will appeal to only a minority. A "POLL" might be warranted, but remember guys - a poll, like an election, is only meaningful if EVERYONE takes part. DaveG

Barbara, I have just looked at Igor's Demo and the only use of masks is on the text elements of slides one and three. The rest is down to transition effects. DaveG

Hi all, There is a link to Lin's MASKTUTORIAL in this thread: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....hl=masktutorial Happy Boxing Day, DaveG

Barbara, Choose a slide and go into O&A - The right hand side will show the mask structure. Drag the little blue arrow from side to side to see the effect. DaveG

Ian, You might consider putting the sequence here up at your site for download as an EXE? Please? DaveG

With due respect to everyone copyright is not the issue. A MIDI file incorporated into a PTE EXE would very likely sound different on every different machine it is played on. The sensible way IMHO is to convert from MIDI to MP3 before making the EXE file. DaveG

PF, The PROJECT folder need only contain the JPEG images for the PTE PROJECT. My RAW images are in my D300 Folder and that is where they stay. I might have sub-folders there to differentiate between different shoots, but when processing the RAW files I send the processed file from NX2 to CS3 and, depending on whether I am going to print or convert to JPEG for a PTE project, I will save to the appropriate folder. I prefer to use CS3 for final cropping and resizing. In the case of the PTE Projects folder it will be something like z:\PTE Projects in progress\Austria 2008 or similar. This folder will contain ONLY JPEG and MP3 files and perhaps some PNG files etc but certainly NO RAW files. If I want different versions of a RAW file it is simple, within NX2, to save to the same NEF file as many versions as I require (even a B&W version) - all in the same NEF file. In CS3 etc this can done with a PSD file saved to the same folder as the TIFF files. When saving PSD files it is advisable to save a small JPEG with the same name for quick easy identification. I like to work with NX2, CS3 and PTE open at the same time and will always go back to the original NEF file if a different version or CS3 if a tweak is required. I will never re-edit a JPEG file. The RAW files are in one place, the PSDs and TIFF files for printing are in another place and the JPEG files for PTE are in the PTE Project folder. When the PTE Project is finished and requires no further work I save a TEMPLATE in my Z:\PTE Templates folder and (if confident that I will not need it again) I will delete the PTE Project from the PTE Projects in Progress folder. DaveG

Alternatively PF, If you follow what is becoming standard procedure for PTE and having ONE FOLDER PER PROJECT and no sub-folders this problem would never occur. You cannot save two files in the same folder with the same name. Another variation on the same theme is - keep the folder near to the root of your drive until finished and then save as a template to wherever you want. Merry Xmas, DaveG

Well done Ian! Up to your usual standard - the master shows us all how to do it once again! Merry Xmas. DaveG

Hi Igor, Full path: Z:\PTE Templates\Oberissalm1920.pt\MPEG TEST\Project1.pte P.S. I transferred the images to Z:\Temp\MPEG TEST\Project1.pte and tried agan and DID NOT get the error message. DaveG

Sorry Igor - yes Beta 16. DaveG

Hi Igor, When creating "HD Video for PC or Mac" I am getting the attached error message at the end of the creation of the video EVERY time. The video is created and plays but the message appears every time.(Windows XP SP2). DaveG