Barry Beckham

Thanks for the replies, I sort of guessed that we had now left 1024*768 behind, but wasn't sure. Now I have to see if there is any benefit from increasing the video size. One thing I do like is AVI's its like watching the actual screen, the quality is so good, but the file sizes are through the roof.

Igor I had an email today from someone who has a problem with a product key I sold him. The issue is VideoBuilder, being out of the 2 year free upgrade period. When I go to www.wnsoft.com to find the link he needs to purchase the upgrade, I find no references to upgrading the VideoBuilder product key. It didn't seem right for me to have to click the buy now button for PTE before finding a link for the deluxe version, I didn't want PTE, so it took ages for me to find what I was looking for. I wanted the Video Builder upgrade key, not PTE. Shouldn't the attached page have a third option for those who just wish a quick route to upgrade the VideoBuilder part of their product key

Colin, thats OK and I don't but I made a tutorial today and listened to it for the breaths and I have come to the conclusion that its just my talking style. I tried various places for the mike, but it doesn't alter things at all. I can be more aware of it while recording, but its not easy to change your natural speaking voice and record a tutorial while thinking about the technical aspects all at the same time Those that don't like my style will not become customers, I will have to live with that I think, not much esle I can do. You can edit some out, but not all. My wife tells me I breath heavy when concentrating and thats what your doing when recording stuff like this.

Colin Your quite right if members can say what they use I will be able to make a judgement. Its the PC screens I am most interested in, nothing worse than a menu where part is lost off to the edge.

I need a concensus of opinion on the above format. I think it is time I thought about recording my videos in 16:9 format and that will mean producing the menus system too, but anyone runing a screen resolution less than the one I choose will not see things displayed correctly. So the question is this, if I chose to use 1280*720 How many formum members are currently using a monitor at a resolution below this size. I think forum members will be fairly typical of who I aim my tutorials at, so your feedback on this will be appreciated.

Trailertrash I hadn't planned on anything longer, as I said I need an intro and a slide show to last just 10 minutes for a coming days seminar on PTE and I now have that. I rarely record things like this for a seminar day, preferring to just prepare the images and talk live, after all, the rest of the day isn't scripted so I have to get through that. I may still do the intro live, but having produced that little sequence it also helps me to keep the content straight in my mind. I may go into more detail later in the year when PTE 7 comes out as I will then start to re-record all my PTE disks and I find I am using PTE more and more for introductions and also a lot of the content too. I think that the better option may be to do what I already do on my disks which people do seem to like. That is to break down the complexities of AV into sections keeping each one as short as possible. You can just imagine expanding that "What is AV" to include choices of images and music in more detail and you could be at 20 minutes before you know it.

Dear Annon. Well, thank you for your comments, I never thought of myself as a steam train photographer and didn't think I did enough of them to warrant the term beautiful, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth I say. Sharp intakes of breath, now that is interesting and now you point it out I can hear it myself, but its not easy to edit out, not between sentances as it just makes the flow wrong. One of the problems I have had fed back to me is that some laptop users said the sound volume needed to be higher. Some laptops do have weak volumes, I have one myself, so I increased the volume a little. Then, it will pick up every little sound, even the creak of my chair. I will investigate doing something about that, even if its to move the mike up a bit away from the lips. Grammar, never been my strong point, but then those attending the days seminar are not there for an English course, so I will let that one go this time. You have actually proved a great point as well. That when we put together anything creative there is a mist that comes down over our senses and stops us for seeing what others see. (or hear as the case may be) It stops us from ending our show at 5 minutes and we end up with a 14 minute one. Its the same mist that prevents us from knowing when to stop a Photoshop manipulation when it was good and we continue on until its, well less than good. Its the same mist that tells us we can put a poor image in our slide show, but if we move it around a lot, we hope people won't notice the crap picture and marvel at the animation skills. Its why honest feedback is essential, but even when we get it and I have accepted yours is genuine, it can easily be written in a way that makes you wonder if it isn't just another pop. Trailertrash Where are all the other forum members? Come on, you know the answer to that already. They are keeping their head down, because if the senior members of this forum are all singing the praises of a slide show or a demo, the last thing they will do is to write that they don't agree.

You need a mixture of both encouragement and honest feedback, but if you try to do this, you run a great risk of causing offense. Typing a response is not like talking to somebody in person. You cannot get across your body language or sincerity in a forum thread and they are important parts of any human contact. Members should assume the best intentions with any comments made, not start off assuming the comments are meant to be hurtful or insulting. Then, as in all advice, we can take it or leave it. That is the authors ultimate choice. I have done a fair amount of judging and I always want to start with the positive aspects of any image or slide show, then move on towards what was not so good. Where that all falls down is where you are struggling at the start to find anything positive to say at all . What happens then is most good folk say nothing. Anyone brave enough to stick their head above the trench, risks getting it knocked off by the gang. If you want honest feedback, I have come to believe that it has to be annonymous. In the creating slide show section there is a pinned idea that at the time, I went into print to say I was't too happy with. Looking back at it with recent experiences in mind, perhaps I was wrong and the way described by ADB is the only way honest feedback can be given on a forum. It does seem that some people can turn being offended into an art form.

Ah, sorry about that. I just wanted something to fill 5 minutes so I had to make something that was short and to the point, but included what I wanted to say. I have 10 minutes and wanted to set the scene with that short slide show and then show a 5 minute sequence. They just about do that perfectly. I am trying to make sure I stay on time during a days seminar, so we cover all the topics I have listed we would cover.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/a9923fh00zhjw9g/Opening%20Address.zip

Igor I can appreciate that there are some issues to overcome, but as usual you must pick those you think are worth running with from all the suggestions. Ironically its the consumer that demands the complexity and options in modern software and the same consumer who then has difficulty with all those options. I wouldn't like to lose any options that are already there, even ones I don't use, but I do know where people get stuck. I will look forward to beta 6 Good luck with whatever you decide, the older user will have a moan about any change, but we will get over it.

Igor 1. The one thing that I think prevents people using certain software is that software is so packed with options, its the options that create the difficulties. The newer user, cannot see the woods for the trees. For example, try to imagine your looking at PTE for the first time and open up the project options. The newer user can be forgiven for thinking another year of their life is about to slip away as they set about learning some new complicated software. All those tabs, packed with options and most of them we rarely use. How does the newer user know which ones are essential to get a slide show made and which are not. Perhaps there should be a basic project options that is so slimmed down that it only contains essential options for a basic slide show to be made. Make it a simple flow chart style with next buttons for each stage. The remaining options would go in an advanced section. Here are my views on the Project Options. The Main Tab - There is nothing on the Main Tab that you need to make a basic show, that can be moved to the advanced section. The Control Tab – There is nothing we need here either, it can go to the advanced section. The Music Tab – We need this, but it could be simplified perhaps. The Screen Tab – All you need here is the virtual size of the slide option, but if PTE set this from the default screen aspect ratio, it wouldn't be needed either. The Effects Tab – Dare I say you could get rid of that too. Just set a standard fade at 3 seconds. The Comments Tab – Nothing needed here, so that can go to the advanced options The More Section – Don't think I have ever used it, so it could go into the advanced section. Enthusiasts will soon find the options they want, they are not the people who you need to attract. 2. Having copies of the images in one folder is pretty essential to our workflow in PTE. Many people find this a huge hurdle. There is one person in a thread now who did not appreciate that he could not go back and remake an exe file. That is a very common mistake and its where I start with my tutorials. If the newer user gets this part right, many pitfalls are avoided. I recall using Dreamweaver software some time ago and it would pick up that you had selected a picture outside the file group and it would remind you that it would cause problems later. Then it would ask if you wanted it copied into the folder now. It was a huge benefit. Could PTE not do something like that. 3. Converting Music from a domestic CD. Forum members all know how easy this is, but again many people struggle with this. Is it not possible to be able to select a track from a music CD and have PTE ask if we want an Mp3 created and placed in the project folder.

Eric You are a stubborn old Yorkshireman arn't you. My tutorials also allow me to promote PTE and sell copies which assist both Igor and me. So far I have directly sold something like 850 copies of PTE on disk myself. I was the first to promote PTE in the UK with a National Magzine article and at the time, even Igor said he wondered why sales in the UK jumped. So in total I am not sure how many versions of PTE I have sold or helped to sell. PSG seem to be what people use over in Australia, but I am affecting that too. All of this has also brings in a steady stream of emails and phone calls where people have PTE problems. I answer every one to make sure I can get them over their sticking point. For those who have been really stuck, I have even made them a personal video (no charge I might add) Every talk I do involves PTE at some stage, so I think I deserve a break from any righteous nonsense, especially from thee. or come to think of it anyone else on this forum. PS. your attached picture is not bad, but you have lost detail in the sky and the tones in places are weak. Its suffering from a contrast problem where the range of tones in the scene you shot are too high for you to either capture in one shot, or manipulate to bring them out, which is the point of the tuts I have just made. If you can't bear to let people know I sent you a free tutorial, I won't tell if you don't We will just keep it between ourselves.

Yes, you could but who wants to make a show as small as 1024*768 anymore

I havn't thought of this before, but the template option would be a good idea to set your own defaults. Just create one blank slide and select all your standard settings, transition, transition length, resolution etc etc. . It would speed up the start process of the next show and make sure you don't forget any of your favourite settings. Ah, just spotted that you can set it as a default

Yes, but storage isn't an issue any more, you get given a 500 gig external drive with a new laptop for example. I don't bother saving a backup in zip any more, I just save the whole file structure I used to create the slide show, because that will contain all my layered files too. If I wanted to remake or tweak a show I would definately want those. Also, I have found that If your trying to help someone via email, explaining back up in zip is probably a little easier. In fact looking at what I have stored on my internal drive E and backed up on another internal drive F, I think I will dedicate a whole external drive to this stuff soon. Its building up fast

Having looked at it more carefully, it seems one of those things that are much the same. You get more or less the same result. I can't recall if save to zip was something we used before templates where as versatile as they now are and we are creatures of habit. If something works I (an I guess others) don't carry on looking. Bit like the fact I never use Adjustment layers in Photoshop for my own work, having found a way that works for me, you get stuck in the groove.

Eric Thanks for the tip about the Calkled, funny how many times you can read something and slide right over the typo Sorry about the Add, but it doesn't spoil the pictures does it. Tell you what. PM me with your address and I will send you a copy of the disk with my compliments, see what you think after seeing the whole thing. What is it about someone making a little money from Photography that offends you so, you have no concerns about Igor selling his software, so why not tutorials. I agree that you don't want to fill the forum with adds, but a rare one from members can't hurt can it. Once in a blue moon, pretty please

Its at the top of the page http://www.beckhamdigital.co.uk/freestuffdigslidesw4.htm

Dave I think Backup in zip is considered more for taking a show to another machine. Its easy to move to another location, which is what you normally want with a backup. I don't even use templates, where and what is saved?

Igor Just a small point when installing beta 5, that I did notice before too. After download and extraction of the zipped file, the unzipped folder opens and the setup icon can be selected. The installation goes without a hitch, but the attached panel always appears behind the Explorer screens I have open. Should it really be on top so it cannot be missed? Its a small point, but it will confuse some people. No offence meant to any forum members

I personally find the navagation bar distracting. When I hit the preview button, I want to see my show previewed full screen. The navigation bar was never selected by default in previous versions of PTE, why now? Given that you almost never see it it used in sequences posted, tells me it should be turned off by default.

Ken No, I spend my time creating images, not googling, and on this forum it's so easy to upset someone, its best to understand what they think it means. I sort of guessed, but you can't be too careful can you. Well I guess I am a Pixel Peeper then, but I think some other forum members should take up that hobby too. Lin I tried leaving the video out of the exe, but I get the same result. I think I will sit tight and wait for the convertor Igor says he will include in a later version. I appreciate it isn't a PTE fault perhaps, but I just sort of expected to be able to drop in a video from my camera. I can just see this being the next thing that newer users get stuck on, I hope not. Daveg Making an HD MP4 from a PTE file isn't the issue I am having problems with. Its using a HD video in a standard sequence, but if its not HD there is likley to be quite a gap between the quality of the stills and that of the video. I have not seen anything posted yet where I thought wow, thats good!

Well, I will be happy to see some AV results that include acceptable full screen video. At present, I can't find an easy route to anything close to a usable video. I am also not sure what you mean by Pixel Peeping?