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You might find this site of interest in your researches: http://www.digital-av.co.uk/sound.htm

Kipper/John/Den The problem with trying to record open mic via the input ports of your PCs is one of noise - electronic noise and lots of it. The innards of a PC (or Mac) are full of components that give off varying amounts of electro-magnetic frequencies. It's a hostile environment for sound signals. Also, the signal strength from a mic, fed in directly via an input port, is very, very low. This signal will need to be amplified by your soundcard on playback. If any unwanted noise has been captured with the mic signal then this noise will also be amplified. I cannot speak for the H2 but the attraction of the H4 for me was as follows: - it will run off batteries - i.e no mains hum - it records to SD card - i.e. solid-state so no moving parts to generate mechanical noise - it records in WAV format - i.e. no compression/decompression routines to mess up the signal In other words, all I have to control are the room acoustics if indoors or the wind noise if outdoors. I don't understand why hooking up to the computer after recording and then transfering the sound files off the SD card to the hard-drive is such a big issue. It's what you do with the image files from your camera isn't it? P.S. for Den, I might be putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5 but... are you an ex-member of Saltburn Photographic Society? Are you coming along to give us an evening's entertainment in the New Year?

Hi Pam, I've been following this thread without contributing to it, as yet. Before I offer any advice I would like to ensure that when we use certain terms we both have in mind the same meaning. As I am sure you are aware, when using PTE to build your sequence you are creating and then subsequently modifying a file whose file extension is .pte. This file is, in my experience, associated with an icon that looks like the desktop icon you use to launch the PTE software (it has the letters PIC in red over the letters EXE in blue). Let's call this the project file. You will have one of these for each AV sequence you build. When you are happy with your sequence you then use the Create button to create the standalone executeable file for your sequence (the file with the extension .exe). This file is associated with an icon that resembles a greatly reduced PTE window and is what I think you mean when you use the phrase "Blue Icons file". Let's call this the executable file (because that is what it is). Now, when you say that you can only access your files via File...Open... which file type is it that your are actually opening: the project file "something.pte" or the executable file "something .exe"? And which software is it that you are using to do the File...Open...: Pictures-to-Exe or Windows Explorer? I have no familiarity with PTE versions earlier than 4.47 but in v4.47 if I do File...Open... the only file type I can open is one whose extension is .pte - i.e. PTE v4.47 will only open a project file. It will not open an executable file. Your posts above seem to imply that you are opening executable files (what you seem to call "Blue Icon" files) via File...Open... within PTE. I feel we need to clarify the points above in order to move forward with confidence. If you do not understand my questions or are unsure as to what I really mean, please do not try and answer them - tell me that you do not understand and we can keep working at it until we do have that mutual understanding which is essential to all remote problem diagnosis.

Let me just make it clear that Photoshop also offers a "batch" mode of processing that automates the resizing process and can include sharpening if desired. Now, to "square pictures-round holes"... let me clarify things. I don't, since using PTE, mix orientations in my AV sequences. My sequences built with 3:2 landscape orientation images are resized to 4:3 1024x768 images and the distortion is, in my opinion, so slight that I rarely am aware of it myself after the first viewing. My audiences have never commented on it. Any sequence built using 3:2 portrait orientation is always built on a 1024x768 background and the "natural" aspect ratio is retained. I have, in the past, posted links to examples of both techniques on other threads (repeated below): - Vertical orientation example: "Te Deum" http://www.mediafire.com/?1jdxcd19buv - "Stretched" landscape orientation example: "Wild Side of Florida" http://www.mediafire.com/?6s9cjtmbixd If you want to preserve your original aspect ratios and if that is going to result in varying aspect ratios then I recommend the "use a background image" as per "Te Deum" Finally, to pick up on Ron's point about v4.48 vs v5.0... I would take a different approach. Try v5.0 but DO NOT USE any of the animation capability in your first two or three sequences. Get the hang of doing the basics first and then branch out to the more complex. In your case that can perhaps be put as : amaze your family and friends with a nice sequence of images set to music this Christmas, stun them with an animated AV sequence next Christmas. Ron is right in that respect: learn to walk before you try and run. Good luck - and have fun!

John, Could it be the H2 is a newer product? I never came across any references to the H2 when I was surfing for info. The Zoom H4 is not cheap. But neither are the Nikon lenses that I buy for the cameras: nor are the desktop and laptop computers that I own. What I want are products that are capable of delivering more quality than I currently know how to handle. I can then learn how to get the best out of them knowing that I will not be having to make or accept compromises. Unlike images (which can be improved using Photoshop), a poor sound recording will always be a poor sound recording. If it has underlying hiss, other noise, or distortion due to over-recording it will always have them. Anyone venturing into voice-over and actuality sound recording is going to have to learn a whole new, and very demanding, skill set. But the new possibilities for your AV sequences will open up whole new horizons of experience.

Hi Russ, Welcome to the wonderful world of AVs built via PTE. I'll deal with your first question first. In my opinion it is difficult to manage the transition from landscape to portrait orientation in an entirely satisfactory manner without creating an aesthetic "disturbance" in the flow of the sequence. That is why most AV sequences are either all-landscape or all-portrait orientation. If you must use both formats then I would suggest: - create a background image (e.g. an ivory coloured linear gradient with added texture built in Photoshop) - set all your images on this at a slightly reduced size so that there is always a border around every image - try and make the last landscape subject and the first portrait subject have some kind of visual link and vice versa On the subject of image resolution, you need to consider what format the end-use will be. Will it be a digitally projected sequence? Will it be only run on PCs? What monitor resolutions will the PCs have? For a first attempt I would suggest you build at a resolution of 1024x768. Yes, you will get black bands at the edges on a widescreen and black bands at the top and bottom on a 5:4 ratio monitor. But the sequence will look pretty good on a wide variety of monitors - and will project excellently through most digitaal projectors. The dpi has no no real meaning for a projected image - it relates only to printed output. I suggest you use Photoshop to resize all your images (copies of them!!) to 96 or even 72 dpi and to a maximu of 1024 x 768 - using constrain proportions to keep your existing aspect ratios. The resized image files should come out at about 150-300K And at this point I'll utter some heresy - I always resize my 3:2 digital images to 4:3 for digital projection. I know the image is slightly distorted but my audiences don't! You'll almost certainly get more advice from other forum members. Final piece of advice - have fun building your AVs!

Hi kipper, I've uploaded a sound file (MP3) to Mediafire. Use the following link to download it: http://www.mediafire.com/?4gdwi2bdn1l The original recordings were made in April of this year by just hand-holding the unit and pointing it at the various birds singing and at the light aircraft flying overhead. The only "post-processing" was to transfer the files onto my PC, load them into Audacity, select the best bits and mix them into this final, composite recording.

Hi kipper, I use a Zoom H4 digital recorder to do just what you describe. It's battery or mains powered, records as WAV or MP3 onto an SD card and connects via USB cable to a PC (I don't know about Mac connectivity. Do Macs use USB ports?) It doesn't come cheap - GBP250 - but it is excellent. I'll upload a sample outdoor recording for you to download and hear for yourself. Watch this space!

Thanks, Igor. Your willingness to include the wishes of your customers into your product is what makes PTE such an excellent product.

I am using PTE v5.04 to build a sequence that will be manually controlled. I have succesfully used O&A on some images to place buttons with an "Action on mouse click" of "Go to slide #n". Everything works fine until I insert or delete a slide into/from the slide list. PTE doesn't adjust the slide numbers programmed onto the buttons on the other images to reflect the change that has happened to the number associated with each slide. I am assuming that this is how PTE 5.04 is programmed to behave. Is there a way round this in 5.1 beta? If not, could this be added to the "wish list" for future versions, please? Any moderator reading this and feeling it should be moved to the "Suggestions" forum please feel free to move it.

Hi Felix, Could it be that the missing slide is used as an object somewhere in the show rather than as a main slide? If this was the case it would not show up in the slide list. regards, Peter

Bonjour Bernard, Tutorial en anglais ici: http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/PicturesToExe_v5...erManual_en.pdf regards, Peter

Is the music assigned via the Music tab of "Project Options" or via the Music tab of "Customize Slide" button or a mixture of both? If via the "Project Options" then what is the declared duration of the music when you ask it to "Show Music Duration"?

Hi Peter, Would making each of your "pop-up" images a PTE exe in its own right be a solution? I.e. click on the main map to launch the pop-up and click on the pop-up to close it and return to main map. (same principle as a menu system, really)

Hi, and welcome to the PTE Forum. You'll find lots of useful tips and plenty of friendly advice here. I'm not sure a grid will give you any more control over layout accuracy than you already have now. Will the grid lines be exactly where you want them? I have found that it is possible to achieve precise alignment in either columns or rows or both. My method is this: Drag the first object (let's say it's the top left one) by eye. Now, look at its pan values. Re-key them to the nearest round number or even rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Now place the second object (let's say this is on the same row). Again, study the pan values and ensure that this object has the same vertical offset value as the first object but round its horizontal offset as before. Now place the third object (lets say this is the first item on the second row). Set the horizontal offset to be the same as the first object but round the vertical offset. This establishes the basic alignment for items on each row and in each column. By keeping an eye on the zoom values as well, one can ensure that items of the same original size all appear at the same displayed size e.g. thumbnails of images. To ensure that all text is of the same size, get the first item right then use Copy and Paste to create the other items, changing the text content after repositioning the pasted item. If true absolute accuracy is necessary you have three decimal places to play with on the pan and zoom numbers.

Hi John, I don't know whether this will help or merely confuse (if the latter please accept my apologies). I currently have access to four digital devices (3 computers and a projector). The projector has a native resolution of 1024x768. Until mid-summer I was building all my PTE sequences on a laptop whose native resolution was also 1024x768. I then purchased a desktop system whose native resolution was 1280x1024. The PTE sequences that had been built on the old laptop ran OK on this new system (Vista problems apart!: but see other recent threads on this subject). They didn't fill the screen and text objects appeared to be misplaced. This is a not a fault in any software or hardware. Everything is "working as designed". I then added a new laptop which has a wide-screen. The sequences run OK this. Again, they don't fill the screen in all directions and text objects sometimes seem misplaced. The important thing from my point of view is that when I connect the digital projector to the new laptop, the PTE sequences come out at their designed and built size of 1024x768. My experience is that if I design and build my sequences to the resolution of the projector then everything is OK. If I build them using PTEv5 then they also fill the screen on whichever PC I run them on. I now build solely on the desktop system (almost exclusively using PTEv5) and playback to audiences through the widescreen laptop. I can't offer any advice in respect of "future-proofing" for DVD and HDTV usage as this is of no interest to me. Whatever you end up with I hope you and your club's members enjoy sharing their creations with each other.

Hi Dwight, If you still have access to the previouis computer you could use Windows Search to locate a file called Reg.txt. Open this in Notepad and confirm that it mentions Pictures-to-exe then copy the file into the folder on your Vista machine where PTE is now installed. Use this file and location when you register the key.

Hi Steve, You certainly don't need to buy again for Vista. I've recently done exactly the same as you but my original key worked OK. How did you try to load the original key?

Why such big image files? If the sequence is intended only for viewing on the computer monitor (or playback through a digital projector connected to the computer) then the file size should only be about 150-250KB each. Try resizing all the image files down to 96 or even 72 pixels per inch resolution. Also, set the overall size of each image to the smallest size that you need for your monitors: e.g. if the smallest monitor is 1024x768 then resize all images to be 1024x768 at either 96 or 72 pixels per inch.

Let's try again... What size is the exe file? What specification are your two computers (in terms of CPU speed, RAM and graphics card)? What specification are the client's two computers? What size are the individual image files? The more detailed the infomation that you supply, the more likelihood there is that one or other of the highly experienced and technically astute members of this forum will be able to point you in the right direction.

Ignore my previous post. If you are experiencing the problem yourself on Windows XP then it isn't a Vista problem. You could try using the Search facility of the forum to try and find threads that might have a bearing on your problem. I would suggest using keywords such as: Hang, locking up, etc.

Hi, welcome to the PTE Forum. Is the client running Windows Vista by any chance? There have been several threads rcently where this subject has been discussed. For example: http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7531

Brian, Thanks for the reassurance about the ATI Radeon graphics and for the "heads-up" about NVIDIA GeForce 8600. I 'm amazed at the depth of your technical knowledge. As an ex-IT "techie" myself, I understand why you, and others, urge getting the latest drivers but I swear by the dictum: If it ain't broke don't fix it! Right now, all three of my computers are working satisfactorily: the oldest laptop having been relegated to family history research work because its Intel graphics couldn't hack PTEv5 animations. The Compaq desktop is NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS and, as stated in the post above, the Acer laptop is ATI Radeon X1300. Both these systems currently are handling everything that I throw at them. Rest assured, if I find anything in PTE that either of these cannot handle properly I'll post a "heads-up" for all the forum members to see.

Tom, Are you sure you really need to rebuild them all? I, too, use Vista Home Premium and have not yet found a need to rebuild any of the old sequences (i.e. ones built using PTEv4 or PTE v5 on Windows XP Home Edition). Have you tried my circumvention (see post #3 above) when one of your shows "hangs". The actions I describe there have always cleared the "hang" and returned me to normal desktop. Moreover, and this is the important bit for me, each sequence on which the circumvention has been applied then runs correctly every time thereafter (and each sequence also responds once more to the Esc key to break out of it - something it refused to do when trying to breakout of the "hang" condition).

I have an Acer laptop which has the ATI Radeon X1300 graphics. It seems to handle my PTE v5 animations OK.