davegee

Gwynfa CC (one of the largest in the Welsh Photographic Federation) uses PTE very successfully for both Club Competitions and Inter-Club Competitions. Last Saturday saw the second PIXELS competition with four entries from each of 25 clubs from throughout Wales. The advantage of using PTE is that the images can be shown at ACTUAL PIXELS - a very important consideration for this type of competition. We have been running a Digital section in monthly competitions for around 3 years alongside Prints and Slides and the number of Slide entries has dwindled over the 3 years. If you want more details or want to send someone along on the last Thursday in every month please feel free - you will get a warm welcome. You know where to get more details if you want them, Ron. DaveG

If there are going to be potential monitor/projector mis-matches use WINDOWED MODE 1024x768 and (I think!!) you cannot go wrong! This also prevents viewers from running 1024x768 "Fit to screen" shows at 1280, 1600 or 1920 pixels monitor/projectors and thus interpolating shows up beyond their optimum viewing resolution. It also helps to put "Best viewed at xxxx x xxxx resolution" somewhere at the beginning of a show to tell the viewer what to expect. I see very few people actually doing this. DaveG

Using "Create Template" might be just what you are looking for. It will move all used JPEGs to wherever you decide you want them. DaveG

Hope you don't mind me saying this guys but you are covering OLD GROUND. We discussed it a while ago - the GLITCH was in PS6 or 7 a few years ago and has possibly turned up again in Elements 5. Ever since CS you are able to create a JPEG or PNG from a greyscale file. Al should have reference to it somewhere - Igor was delighted to hear that it was Photoshop problem. DaveG

The same problem existed in PS7 with Greyscale JPEG images. Try converting the Greyscale image to RGB and then save as PNG24. That might work. DaveG

Try using the CROP tool as follows: Select the whole image (with the CROP TOOL) and then ALT/Drag from any corner to the dimension you require. (ALT/Drag will drag toward the centre). When you have the desired portion drag four guides in to mark the boundaries. Hit escape to clear the crop tool and then choose the marquee tool. With SNAP TO on it should be easy to snap to the guides. It works in CS3 - it might not work in Elements. DaveG

http://www.gwynfa.org.uk/index.php?file=mi...s/cms&id=53 DaveG

Thanx to all. I did a search of my Windows folder for ".scr" and found nothing so was confused. I'll try your suggestions. DaveG

Has anyone here created a “Screen Saver” in PTE and used it with Windows XP? If so I would be grateful for any hints or tips on how to get my PTE SCR file to work as a screen saver. Windows XP only seems to give the option of using a folder of images as a screen saver with various transitions of its own. Thanks, DaveG

I would like to pick up on one point mentioned above with regard to WHEN to start or end a PZR effect. After much tinkering I have come to the conclusion that I prefer to see a PZR effect continue whilst fading into the next image which, if it contains a PZR effect, is moving whilst fading in. It is the stop/start part that annoys me when using PZR. However, when the audience starts requesting sea-sickness pills I know that I have gone too far!! Watch how some of the better cinematographers handle these effects - there is much to be learnt there. As for the other points, speed of PZR effect is determined by the subject BUT my preference is for S L O W effects. DaveG

As a rider to the above post, remember to deselect the next slide before Ctrl V or the object will be added as a child rather than as a seperate object. DaveG

This is one of the best PTE 5 shows that I have seen so far. It played without glitch from a USB 2 Memory Key. I didn’t have to transfer to my HDD. Beautiful photography and no sign of over-zooming or any resolution problems whatsoever. A couple of instances of shimmering but only slight. Subject matter was first class. A couple of points aimed as CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and just MY opinion. 1. Tell the viewer the optimum resolution for viewing. 2. Slow down SOME of the faster pans. DaveG

In Video Builder: Edit/Show TV Safe Zone DaveG

What you need to do is make a black PNG mask which has a clear area around 50 pixels smaller than your 1024x768 images and superimpose that on all images in the show. Having done that, you can resize all images to fit inside the mask. When you are making your DVD or ISO file you can then view the TV Safe zone to make sure that the mask is the same size as the dark area. If all is well continue to burn. There is probably a different/better way to do this but this one works. DaveG

B&Q sell a nice green one with two wheels but no cover - not much good in the rain but great in the garden. Plenty of room for all those little Canon gadgets. DaveG

By trying the same exercise on my laptop with 1024x768 monitor I have found that PTE does not allow the creation of a “Windowed Mode” project where the window size is greater than the size of the monitor currently in use. Thus, on my 1024x768 laptop it limits the size of the window to 1024x768. Likewise, on my 1280x1024 desktop computer monitor it limits the size of the window to 1280x1024. I can see some logic in this but I can also see the need, in some cases, to create a windowed project where the size of the window is greater than the size of the monitor in use. Perhaps Igor could comment? DaveG

I don’t know if the following is a PTE 5 glitch or if I am trying to do something which is beyond the capabilities of the program. In Project Options/Screen I can choose WINDOWED MODE and set the size of the window to 1600x1200 with no error messages etc. When I then add a 1600x1200 image to the project and enter Objects and Animation, the image is shown as being around 20% bigger than the screen when the MODE is set to ORIGINAL. The ASPECT RATIO of the screen appears to be correct (1280x960) because, when the 1600x1200 image is reduced from 100% to 80% in ZOOM, it is a perfect fit. This indicates that the largest window it is possible to set is 1280x960. Or is it that I cannot create a window which is bigger than my existing monitor resolution? A further problem seems to arise when the show is PREVIEWED but because my monitor is only 1280x1024 I can’t quantify this properly. I would expect to see only the centre portion of the 1600x1200 window but what I am seeing is the bottom right hand corner of the window in the top left hand corner of my (1280x1024) monitor. DaveG

If you are not using any of the Pan, Zoom or Rotate features in Version 5 then the "Correct" or optimum size for your images is the same as the monitor resolution e.g. 1280x1024 or 1024x768 etc. Both of these aspect ratios will require you to "crop" your D80/D200/D2x images from 3:2 to 5:4 or 4:3. Using images of greater dimensions will only add to your project size. If you are using the PZR features then the required resolution will depend on the amount of zoom used. For instance if you are zooming into or out of an image at 200% then that image (for optimum quality) will need to be at least twice your screen resolution. DaveG

Glad to have you back!! DaveG

Pixel dimensions of images in show? Screen resolutions of desktop and laptop monitors? Fullscreen or windowed mode? DaveG

Apologies if I missed something, but are you by any chance using PS7? Daveg

That's what I thought. Windowed Mode 1280x1024 shows CROPPED on a 1024x768 screen. The only really SAFE option is 1024x768 windowed mode. If you use FULLSCREEN the show viewed on a screen bigger than yours is going to be interpolated and pixilated and not good - you can't win. However there are some guys here still on 800x600............ DaveG

This played OK on my machine with no glitches and no stuttering etc. (3Gb Dual Core Processor, 512Mb Graphics and 2Gb RAM). You are asking quite a lot though, if all of your images were that size (3882x2592 or thereabouts). As we discussed previously, if you only use a 200% zoom you only need a 2048 pixel high image for maximum quality in your 1280x1024 show. I am guessing that is what it is because only half of the JOHN in the title shows on a 1024x746 monitor. I have viewed on my 1280x1024 monitor and all is well. It is helpful to the viewer to put the intended resolution for optimum viewing in the credits. You could try making a 1024x768 show with image sizes tailored to suit the amount of zoom each image is subjected to. In this way you will get optimum quality and everyone will be able to enjoy your work. Can you describe/list your Screen Options? DaveG

What happens when you transfer the BURNED EXE from the CD back to the Hard Drive and play it from there? DaveG

Hi Igor, The Start-up window is not working as I would like to see it work. If anyone else is experiencing the same thing please feel free to join in? In the V5.03 Start-up Window, when an image is added, the window fills about 90% or more of the screen and its aspect ratio is changed because the bar containing the RUN and HELP Buttons has been added to the bottom of the image. If the bar containing the RUN and HELP Buttons OVERLAYED the Start-up Window image then the original aspect ratio would be maintained and would allow for the Start-Up Window to be “FITTED TO SCREEN”. The second problem is that when the RUN button is clicked the desktop is momentarily shown before the EXE file runs. I tried making a MENU slide with black background and invisible button to try to overcome the problem and it works up to the point where I click on the RUN Button, but in this case the TASKBAR momentarily flashes before the EXE file runs. Is there anything which can be done to solve this annoying little problem? DaveG