Barry Beckham

I suppose the only issue we need to be aware of if we increase resolution is when we need to show our AV on a laptop. Otherwise, given the power of our desktops it probably wouldn't matter much as JRR says. Many people do take their images straight into the software and get away with it. My son uses Proshow gold and takes images from a 2 megapixel camera straight in and his shows are pretty good, including video inserts. Laptops are a different matter though. I have just started looking for a new laptop and the processor speeds and ram is generally not that great, with the majority still being in the 1.7 megawhatsit region. I want something like 3 megawhasits, am I looking in the wrong places perhaps Barry

The Framer I referred to was only a thin unit, but it was not successful. This kit does sound different and it would be great if it were battery powered as well as mains. I was taking a few pictures Sunday of cars on a track and would have loved to see the odd sample of what I had on my card while I was still able to shoot some images. I was trying to get the amount of movement right with shutter speeds and panning etc, but the camera thumbnails don't show that as well as I wanted. Even the 7 in version would be good enough for that, if it could be battery powered. I found the 10 in version for about $350 and the 7 in at $230. Thats £127 for the 7in. I wouldn't mind seeing one of these in action. Barry

Something like this has been around for some time. There is one on my own site called a framer The Framer is based on laptop componants, but to keep the price down the manufacturer uses components that work fine with Powerpoint, but not a PTE show, in the one I tried there is just not enough processing power. I don't think we have ever sold one from the web site. Perhaps these are different in some way Barry

Someone made an interesting point in another thread by asking what the effect on the image will be if zoomed in PTE. Will we need a higher resolution image to be able to do this and retain the quality we all like ? Another question I have thought about lateley:- Will higher resolution matter anyway now that PC power is generally so good, I havn't tried making a show with higher resolution pictures to see the effect, I suspect someone has? I saw a slide show recently done with Proshow gold using the zoom transition, I have to say looked pretty good to me, but I don't know what file size the effect came from. However, it was smooth and looked fine. Barry

Lumenlux That would be the case in Photoshop or Elements if the resample box was not ticked, but if it is ticked the file size will grow. Now, I knew exactly what your post meant, but some do not. Barry I getting bored now, what can we debate next................Why are we all here anyway..

Ian We are still talking at cross-purposes I think and I understand what you are saying fully. I was smiling when I said I needed a bit more experience before I can understand all this resolution nonsense. In the context of a slide show I am thinking file size and how the person making the show sees the image. If we open an image 13ins by 9 ins approx @ 300 ppi and size the pixels only to 1024 by whatever. The image is now the correct resolution for PTE but is 3.4 in by 2.3 in on a PS screen. In PTE the image will display fine, I know that and you know that, but newer users will get confused. Trust me they will and it has nothing to do with intelligence or lack of it. Why, because in Photoshop or Elements the picture is too small. As we work on it, we can’t hit Ctrl+0 to open it up to the full 14.22 inches and see what we are going to get unless we set that 72ppi. We should advise newer converts to select 72 dpi and they will then see the image in Photoshop as they will see it in PTE. I do know a little about Photoshop and image manipulation and seeing the image at the size it will project on screen or print is vital for good work. My point is we don’t need to know that mumbo jumbo about resolution. Its fine for those that like all that stuff, but 95% of people want to produce a slide show or a print, not have to consider mathematics. So, we should be saying to newer converts to digital that to create a PTE image set the PPI at 72 and the width at 1024 and tick the resample box. For a print, don’t select the resample box. There two and a bit sentences. The biggest problem with all things digital and the world wide web is the worst, is that those who understand the processes assume everyone else needs to or wants to. I can’t describe how my car engine and all the other components work, but I manage to get it from one end of the country to the other. Lets keep things simple. BB

OK, I give up..............I need a bit more experience before I can understand all this resolution nonsense. BB

Rainer You said that For viewing on screen it doesn´t matter 72 dpi/ppi or 400. It does only matter for printing. For viewing the image resolution is urgent - 1024 x 768 / not more than 1500. Your right of course, but in this context we are talking about keeping file sizes down arn't we? So, 72ppi is important if we want to avoid large file sizes. Barry

Keyboard The answer in glorious video is HERE I have three Video CD's called tips and tricks 1, 2 and 3 all based on PTE and Photoshop wwwbbdigital.co.uk

Igor. I say change the program as much as you like and give me a whole new subject for tutorials Barry

400 slides in one show !!! Not having trouble sleeping are you Seriously It is very difficult to keep the attention of an audience for that number of images, are you sure that is the way you want to go. Barry www.bbdigital.co.uk

Roger Suppose you have two images and your intention is a nice slow transition between the two. If you put both the images into Photoshop before any cropping or changes in resolution have been carried out and follow JRR's technique using layers and layer opacity you can line up the images for the best transition. Then crop them and size them to PTE proportions and save each layer separately. Photoshop can now do that for us too automatically. What you could then do (but this needs to be done sparingly) is to investigate blending the two layers together with layer blend modes in the layers palette. Hard light, soft light etc If the two images blend nicely (sometimes a little help with the eraser or a mask is needed) you can use that manipulated and flattened image between the original two slides for a unique effect. Of course you will not know what the effect will look like until you try it, but then thats part of the fun Barry www.bbdigital.co.uk

Are you sure you are not making this question sound far more difficlut than it really is. Just size the images to 1024*768 @ 72ppi. If you are a Photoshop or Elements user, select the crop tool and put those sizes into the options bar. Then in one 3 second operation you can crop and size in one go. All you will need to do after that is to sharpen the image a little. Barry

I have recently put up a couple of new slide shows on my web site HERE or you can go direct to the slide show page HERE The newer slide shows are at the top of the page Barry

To open an image from PTE just Ctrl+W and it opens up in Photoshop for me Barry

Another thing to consider as well, is that some web space providers automatically remove exe files and they won't tell you either. Its happened to me loads of times Barry

DaveG No, that is not a reasonable comparison at all. I wasn't referring to music sharing, but copyright. So, I buy a CD of music and pay my money, as long as I am not using the music for gain where is the issue and the point I tried to make is that far from stealing something AV workers are actually promoting it. With camera clubs photoshop is generally shared between members, but that is not what I was referring to Barry

I suspect this is old news to some of you, but having just put new hard drives in my PC I upgraded my Windows XP after installion along with the latest Media player, now version 10. Version 10 now automatically will convert and entire music CD to Mp3 files, a bit like Audacity really. very useful Barry

Its time that copyright laws were reviewed I think. I have been into audio visual for about 20+ years both conventional and digital and what actually happens with AV enthusiasts is they spread the word about music. Its free advertising for the artists. I have bought loads of CD's and records over the years as a result of hearing a track on a slide show. Andreas Volenwilder, tangerine dream, Mike Oldfied Tomita to name a few. Far from doing those artsist out of money I have made them some. If the music is not being used for gain there should be no problem. Barry

I provide copyright free music available HERE including samples to download. I also have one dedicated to wedding photographgers HERE Barry

Richhaas You will find that Ulead Movie Factory 2 was mentioned because that version was available when the tutorials where written or recorded. Software moves on pretty fast and we have quickly reached Ulead Movie factory version 4. The interface looks a little different, but it is essentially the same software and I find it writes DVD's OK. I am sure someone will have experience of something different, but generally most software that moves forward improves and if you are in need of Ulead Movie factory now I guess you will not be able to get version 2 anymore. You do need to be aware that the resulting DVD show will not be quite as sharp and crisp as your PC version Barry

When you add a button in the object editor to run an action or another PTE show some care must be taken over the link. By right clicking the button, the link that is put into the action is OK if the show remains on your computer, but maybe not if you write it all to CD. For example when you browse for the link to put into the button it may look something like this: "c:/my computer/slide shows/title of show.exe" Lest assume you have now written your slide show to a CD and the slide show is within a folder called slide shows, the link should look like this:- "slide shows/title of show.exe" The C:/my computer is now not required and will stop the link working. Its important also to leave in the "" marks for the link to run correctly. The solution is easy, just highlight what you don't want and edit it out, but it can lead to errors if you are not careful. The other option is not to place any files in folders I guess, but that is not always practical, well not for me anyway. Barry

Igor I like using PTE as the buttons and navigation for my tutorial CD's so would like to see the resolution issue addressed so that no matter what resolution PC views the show, the buttons and objects stay in place. I would also like to see the ability to create a hot spot so I could create unique buttons in Photoshop and apply a hotspot to them to run a program, open and image etc. Barry

Thanks Al, it never occurred to me to look in the view menu. I have always been familiar with what used to be in old view options and was always happy with the standard view myself so never paid that a visit Fancy igor putting a setting like that in the view menu. Many thanks Barry

Can you boffins help please. I am using PTE 4.42 and the customize sync palette to program a slide show. I have all the images prepared, but along the way I often find the need to go back into Photoshop to manipulate or add an image. When I come back to PTE and select the image to be included and use the light box to position it, a funny thing happens. When I go back into the customize sync palette all the images in the show have been placed along the time line. I then either have to delete them all or start the programming again. Now generlly I know my way around PTE, but this is peeing me off. Can anyone point me in the right direction please. It is definately caused when a new slide is saved from Photoshop and added to the slide list and sorted via the light box into position. Barry B Since posting this I have tried everything to prevent this happening. It is definately caused when you bring in another image to add to a partly created show. It makes PTE almost unusable for me.