Barry Beckham

It probably has to take its turn, other things more important first, but a worthwhile addition I think.

Igor I am sure this has been asked for before, but I think there is a good case for image blur to be considered. We need image blur quite often when we create picture in picture techniques and when we want to place text over an image. It makes the inset images/Text stand out well against the image beneath. The ones that I prefer are gaussian blur and also movement blur. I have also used these blur options between transitions to try and create something different, so they have other creative uses too. They are easily done in an image editor of course, but how much more convenient in PTE. I would like to be able to copy and paste an image and then to be able to add blur to just the copy, leaving the original sharp. However, I would also like the noise/texture option I mentioned a while back. When you blur an image or add gradients of solid colour in any image editor or PTE, the result often looks unatural and too obviously computer generated.A tiny amount of monochrome gaussian noise is all that is required for a much better result.

Dom They are all OK for me, perhaps a glitch your end, try again

Eric Its not all images that I have noticed this with, so you may be OK with what your aiming for. Its was just the thought that a couple of years ago I would have said level 6 met all my needs, but since large widescreen use I have to add a but to that statement. If your updating loads of older slide shows it would be a pain if you noticed a problem a little too late and as I recall you don't do heaps of animation so a level above 5 is not likely to affect what your doing and how it plays. I just thought better safe than sorry

Geoff Since being a user of a large flat screen, I found that sometimes, maybe on blue skies saving a Jpeg at level 6, which was always OK for CRT monitors is just a bit low. If a fair bit of editing has been done to a sky for example, I think level 6 can sometimes show that up too, so I now standardardise on level 8. On many images you may not notice the difference, but you always seem to see it when your showing the show to others and then its rather annoying. Eric Be carefull, your doing a lot of work making your shows widescreen and saving at level 5 is something I would not do. I thinks its just a bit too low.

Ken This is different I think, we all experience an intermittant slowness on many pages, but at times the page just hangs this has been the same for over a week now. I just tried deleteing all my internet cookies and files for a fresh start, but just to get back to this thread I had to close the forum once and reopen it ?

For some days now I have noticed a slowness for the PTE forum pages to change, particulalrly when I click the view new content button and go backwards and forwards to read the threads. Sometimes its quicker to close the browser, relaunch and go back to the forum, then the new content button, than it is to wait. Other forums work OK Has anyone alse noticed anything similar?

Jeff I just don't spend time researching what doesn't generally interest me, so that is probably why I have never heard of 321. Yes, your right about other languages, if I open a web page and can't read it I move on to one I can. I know of one Australian AV event this year, the closing date has just passed and I did put something into that one. I also know of one in 2013 because I have been asked to judge it

Dave I don't see anything impractical about using a desktop for an AV competition, you only have to take it to the venue once when the final winners are to be shown. If all that effort to run a compettion has already been made, what a shame to spoil it all with a crappy laptop. With just a little bit more effort you can really put on a good show and see the sequences as their authors intended. Attention to detail always, not only in making the sequence, but in showing it and if you can't do that, don't run the competition is my view

I am sorry Barry but I take exception to your remarks, I did not give any reason for transferring to Mac's all I was doing was was enquiring about the progress or otherwise of the Mac version of PTE. I am not aware that I suggested a Mac is better than a PC or otherwise. Sorry Tony, I wasn't saying that you were, but I do a lot of demos and "Why don't you use a Mac, they just work" has been whispered in my ear so many times I could not help but have a smile. Some Mac users are insufferably smug, but perhaps you don't meet them as I do. I am sure we had some here who took huge offense when it was suggested they run a dual system. I seem to recal the Mac users saying they would rather be shot than soil their perfect PC with Windows, or words to that effect. Can't blame me for having a smile surely Over the last 12 months I have been transferring to Macs and gradually running down my PC's and as and when buying replacement software. Where available I prefer to buy the Mac version of the PC software as it is easier than having to learn new software. I have, in some instances, had to buy an equivalent software but was aware of this when I started to convert. I am not whining as I am aware that there is limited availability of AV software for a Mac I am therefore trying to establish when or if a Mac version of PTE will be available. Originally the Forum was told that a Mac version would be available late 2010, this never materialised, we then had the statement from Igor that appears at the start of this post. I realise and respect that Igor and his team at WNSoft have to make commercial decisions as to their priorities for development of PTE, but it would be helpful if I had an update on the availability or otherwise of PTE to Macs. Well, how can wnsoft give an accurate idea of if and when. They gave their best guess, but when they got into it, they obviously discovered its a bigger job than they thought. We have all been there at some time havn't we? I am know nothing of software development apart from what I see here with the PC version, but I can see potential issues that may slow this down considerably. There has to be a commercial decision that the development of a Mac version would be right. Igor has said their team has to be expanded to do that and it may be 2 years away. That is a huge investment and the worry must always be, are there enough mac users that will buy PTE to justify the cost. Ipad and such has boosted the company so I suppose the guess would be yes. I assume that another problem is that at the same time they are trying to develop PTE for a Mac, improvements in PTE for PC has to continue. That must make a Mac version harder to develop. Then there is beta testing, there are fewer macs in the world so it's reasonable to assume that this may be an issue for the company too. Please respect my decision to convert to Macs without making snide remarks My appologies I wasn't aiming my remarks at you personally, thats why I put smilies onto my comment. To let you know it was a fun remark, not such a serious one :lol: , but we do see Mac users even on this forum almost demanding a version for them. So, forgive me for having a laugh.

Snapcam This is a personal view, but what else are our answers , if not personal ones. A laptop for my general Photography. No thank you, not even if you bought it for me. A desktop for the creation of images and slide shows every day of the week and twice on Sundays is my choice. I don't care what the techies say, laptops, even when their spec appears to be the same or close to a desktop do not perform the same. They are a necessary eveil in my mind, but we have to have them to show slide shows and for demos. If you need a laptop for PTE take a heavily animated show to the PC store and have them run the show. I did on a number of laptops both in the UK and later in Australia and its an eye opener. The most expensive laptops with high end graphics cards were not always the ones that ran the slide shows smoothly. My reasoning for the test was that if I could find a laptop that showed my style of slideshow OK from a USB stick, then I would be reasonably confident that it will do the job better from the Hard Disk. As I said, its a bit of an eye opener when you do that. So, before I part with any cash for a laptop I want to see it in action. With regards AV competitions, I have seen the same as you describe with entered slide shows looking very tacky with animation jerking all over the screen because the equipment used could not cope. Having said that I could also see the size of some of the shows before the equipment secretary launched them. Some were so large I don't how they got them that big. Hundreds of MB. In that case the organisors are up against it, but for good AV competitions I say a powerful desktop should be used to show the entires/winners, not a laptop. Here is another issue that I have experience of. My desktop PC used for demos and PTE, now also a laptop used for the same, both run any animation I throw at them, but as soon as I connect a PC projector, the animation can be effected. My projectors are now 5-6 years old so that may be the case and modern ones may work faster.

I am almost ashamed to admit that I sit here smiling at these types of threads. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it I can't help thinking about all those smug Mac users who have approached me at demos over the years to tell me how beautiful and wonderful their Mac is and that unlike Windows "It just works" Then they moan like hell because they can't get the same software as windows. Last time I said something like this, many Mac users threw their dummies out of their pram when it was suggested they should run two systems or bootcamp. Well, if you don't like that idea, find something else. After all there must be some wonderful slide show software for Macs. isn't there? :D

Dave I did have a read about mounting drives, but I didn't come away with any feeling that it would give me a major advantage over what I do now, So may as well stay with what has worked for the last 15 years. Like Peter, I have never been tempted to run C drive clones. Having all the software and a good regime for backups I don't feel threatened by a C drive failure. In the event of a crash, which is pretty rare these days, I'll get a new drive or format the old one and re-install. There is some new technology built into drives these days called S.M.A.R.T. About 6 months ago I got a warning that a hard drive was about to fail. It said the usual, "Backup the drive and call the administrator". It turned out to be my secondary internal drive that contained all my photos and the message was right too. Although the contents of the drive was backed up, I had time to copy what was on the drive to another internal, replace the drive and copy the files back on afterwards. The drive was a Hitachi which was still within warranty so they even replaced that too. I thought that was pretty neat, to get a warning in advance that gives you time to prevent total failure

Well, I have never heard of the 321, but I have not been into many competitions in the UK. The only one I entered was done for me by Maureen years ago. It doesn't sound like a bad idea though. Most competitions I have come into contact with in Australia have limits of 5-7 miniutes. A shorter more compact sequence may also encourage people to enter and have a go at AV, which can't be a bad thing. I encouraged one club to create a mini sequence competition section, where an entry of no more than 10 images was allowed. It was an effort to encourage people to have a go at AV and that year there were more entires so perhaps we had an effect. In some cases I still don't like to be limited to length, but I can't deny that a limit is necessary.

What do you mean by mounting a drive. Heard the term, not sure what it is and does.

I second what Dave G has said. For many years now, every time I have a PC built I always have 3 Internal hard drives fitted. (4 in the last one) One is solely for the Operating system and programs and nothing else is stored there at all. The second Drive is only for original images, work in progress, slide shows and finished images, but all of what is on that drive is also backed up to DVD and an external too. That is done when the images are first downoaded to the PC or when they are completed. That way when you need to remove anything from your photography drive as we all need to, we don't have to start fretting about whether it is backed up or not. The third drive acts a bit like belt and braces for various projects that I want extra protection for. My DVD tutorials in progress, PTE shows etc etc, personal documents. Having extra drives fitted is not generally a huge cost in the scheme of a brand new computer and I can highly recommend photographers consider this approach My fourth drive houses all my finished images going back years so I have a quick and convenient way to locate completed pictures and no fears that they are not protected eslwhere too. It is a very reassuring way to work, but it does need a degree of good housekeeping. This method has not let me down for some 15 years now.

Steve The length of a slide show is all part of the creative process and should not be determined by competition rules, so one of 3:20 would seem perfectly OK to me. However, in practice of course AV competitions do have to limit the length of entries because some people just don't know when interesting has moved into bored to death.The 321 competition you mention seems to be something unique to a club or society, so guidance should be in their rules. A maximum of 5-7 minute duration is reasonable

You will get used to the 16:9 and in a month or so you won't be able to take 5:4 anymore, that is a prediction. Your right that the 16:6 format can be a bit limited, I have spent a lifetime trying to make sure I crop in camera, so now and again I go to crop an image to 16:9 and run into trouble, it just won't fit. I like 16:10 better, or even 3:2. All formats play OK on my old 1024*768 projectors.

Eric I admire your enthisiasm to convert all those shows. I recall saying over 3 years ago that once you see your old shows on a large flat screen monitor, you regret staying with 4:3 and 5:4 so long. I certainly did, but then its easy to be clever with hindsight. I have converted a few of my older shows to widescreen, but to do them all would have been more than I could have coped with. Time to isolate 6 of the best, but move on with new work for your new monitor perhaps.

Eric Please don't take offense, but you have rushed this and it shows a bit. I appreciate its your first try at 16:9, but you have a good subject, good information and right voice for the location. I think you would be pleased with the outcome if you took just a bit more time. The verticals could do with straightening, but the commentary needs to be re-recorded. Do it in small sections and that way if you fluff your lines as we all do, you only have to re-do a small section. Once the commentary is done stitch it all together in Audacticy and it will sound much more professional.

Perhaps we could send the camera out on wheels and have the pictures taken for us so we don't have to do anything at all.

Gary Yes a couple were Kookas and the vivid blue ones are the Blue Satin Bower bird. You still have to go to where the birds are, like all places the birds are in the areas they feed and nest. We get very few birds in our garden, because its just not the right environment for them. However, with what I have learned I wish I had given this a go when I was still in the UK. Its the patience thing that is the key, you need time. Most of the shots were taken when we were away with our caravan, so we were sort of on the spot for longer and we didn't have to keep rushing home. That helped

Peter Nor did I or Lin. I think Eric viewed his animation on a smaller monitor and that is where he saw the moire.

Gary Thank goodness for that, I don't mind getting the wrong end of the stick sometimes I agree with you. Exposure remains the holy grail of photographers. In fact I think the exposure today is more critical than in our slide and B&W days for this reason. Our expectations in those days, were pretty low compared to now, although we didn't know it at the time. I have a number of lectures coming up in the next few months and those lectures are on Photoshop and PTE of course. However the theme is about getting the exposure as good as you can, prior to any Photoshop work. I do one to one and group tuition here and what amateurs are doing is this. They do not understand contrast and exposure and therefore the images they take into Photoshop are often already way beyond redemption (even for Photoshop). Well, for any decent images they are. They know PS is powerful and it sort of makes them take their eye off the exposure ball, thinking I can fix that later. Often they can't because either the image is too far gone or their PS expertise isn't quite good enough to do what they would need to do. Only last week a photographer sat beside me and said they under-expose ALL of their shots 1 stop to control highlights. It was advice given to them at their camera club. Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous. Compensate when the camera is going to get it wrong, but reduce exposure across the board is just daft. I always say that, yes. Photoshop can come to our aid at times when we make a mistake, after all, we all do that sometimes. However, if it can right some exposure mistakes, think what you might achieve if you started off with a better exposure in the first place. What is the point of having to climb a steep hill, just to get to where you should have been when you pressed the shutter?

That is odd, because it was made on Windows 7. Could it be something to do with virus programs, does your other machine have a different anti virus running?