Creating a PTE show that plays on a Mac?

[goddi]

Greetings,

I want to create a PTE show, using my Windows PC, that will be playable on a Mac. I have read through the Forum on this subject but I did not find an answer, at least one that I could understand. I don't have a Mac to test things out on so I am at a disadvantage.

1st question: What is the difference in choosing "HD Video for PC and Mac (MP4)" and "Executable file for Mac" when you want to create a slideshow to play on a Mac?

2nd question: I don't know the difference between a Mac and a Big Mac. So, can you tell me exactly which Mac these files will play on? Which Mac OS is needed?

The person that I want to send it to says he has a "Mac". He is hard to reach so that is all I know at the moment.

Thanks...Gary

[Conflow]

Hi Gary,

Its a bit complicated to explain the differences between a Windows PC and a Mac PC here on the Forum.

"To get to the end of the chase" your friend needs a piece of Software called "Parallels" which is

a 'Cloud-Program' where in effect with the click of a button converts the Mac PC into a Windows PC.

Its called a 'Cloud-Program' because it creates a 'Virtual-Windows System' on the Mac PC Platform.

He can have a Trial of Parallels for a certain period and you can read all about this from the Link

shown below. (You an also make contact with the U.S/Canadian Web-Site).

Link:

http://www.parallels.com/uk

Here also is a ScreenShot...Hope this helps you and your friend.

Brian (Conflow)

[Henri.R]

Hi Gary, Brian,

I'm afraid there's some misunderstanding here.

You only need the Parallels application on a Macintosh when you send your Macfriend a 'normal' Windows exe-file.

In PtE you can make a 'Mac' exe-file that perfectly runs on a Apple computer with Intel processor.

regards,

Henri.

[goddi]

Hi Gary, Brian,

I'm afraid there's some misunderstanding here.

You only need the Parallels application on a Macintosh when you send your Macfriend a 'normal' Windows exe-file.

In PtE you can make a 'Mac' exe-file that perfectly runs on a Apple computer with Intel processor.

regards,

Henri.

===================

Greetings all and thanks for the replies,

Yes, I don't want to play the Windows version of PTE on a Mac. I want to create a Mac version. However, here is where I get confused:

Tom says "The Mac OS must be 10.4 or higher and his Mac must have an Intel cpu. A dedicated graphics processor (nvidia/ati) is better than the integrated intel gma950 gpu used in the older Macbooks and Mac minis."

Henri says "In PtE you can make a 'Mac' exe-file that perfectly runs on a Apple computer with Intel processor.

Are you saying the same thing? To me, it does not seem to be. From what I have read in the Forum, it appears that you have to have a "Mac", not an Apple; and the operating system on the Mac has to have a particular upgrade... What don't I understand???

Thanks... Gary

PS I just had a great idea. I should take my Mac-executable-zipped file down to my local Apple/Mac store at the Mall and just see what it plays on and maybe I see what happens there?

[crossfade]

Hi Gary,

Its a bit complicated to explain the differences between a Windows PC and a Mac PC here on the Forum.

It's not complicated at all. Macs are made by Apple and usually run OSX. PCS are not made by Apple and usually run Windows. Easy.

"To get to the end of the chase" your friend needs a piece of Software called "Parallels" which is a 'Cloud-Program' where in effect with the click of a button converts the Mac PC into a Windows PC.

He doesn't need Parallels and it's not a cloud program at all. All he needs to do is create a movie which can play on just about any system or make a Mac executable which will run on Intel based Macs. That's it.

[Conflow]

Gary, Henri, Tom, others...

Gary,from your #1 Post, quote...

"I want to create a PTE show, using my Windows PC, that will be playable on a Mac.

I have read through the Forum on this subject but I did not find an answer"...etc;

From that I assumed you wanted to make a (Windows) PTE-Slideshow and send that to your

friend who has an Apple-Mac ~ in such circumstances the Mac would have to be configured

to run a Win-Exe with a program such as Parallels or VM-Ware or Bootcamp.

Since that, it has become evident that you wish to create a Mac-Exe (compatible) and send

that to your Friend ~ perhaps using the Mac converter within PTE.6.03 Program.

Personally I have never tried that, but I do agree with Tom, go ahead make it up and try it out

in your local PC Shop. Best of luck with it, but do let us know how it work's out for you.

All the best...

Brian (Conflow)

[Peter S]

Hi Garry,

It is really simple. You need PTE 6 De Luxe. "WnSoft has announced the release of PicturesToExe Deluxe 6.0, the photo slideshow software for PC providing a smart solution to combine photos and music into an admirable movie. Version 6.0 of the Deluxe edition brings new enhancements to the program, including 3D effects and the capability to create executables for Mac."

At the left bottom of the main screen is the "Create Button". Click on this and you get several options one of which is to create an executable file for a Mac (aka Apple) computer. When the dialogue box opens choose to save the file as a ZIP. Send the zip to your friend (or take it to your local store if you like on a memory stick). Do NOT worry about the zip contents. When your friend receives the ZIP if he double clicks on it it will provide him with a single icon which will run the slideshow.

He must have a Mac, as has already been pointed out, that uses Intel chips. In other words in needs to be a newish machine. I'm really not sure of the date but anything after 2006 should be OK I think.

Kind regards

Peter

[goddi]

Hi Gary,

It is really simple. You need PTE 6 De Luxe. "WnSoft has announced the release of PicturesToExe Deluxe 6.0, the photo slideshow software for PC providing a smart solution to combine photos and music into an admirable movie. Version 6.0 of the Deluxe edition brings new enhancements to the program, including 3D effects and the capability to create executables for Mac."

At the left bottom of the main screen is the "Create Button". Click on this and you get several options one of which is to create an executable file for a Mac (aka Apple) computer. When the dialogue box opens choose to save the file as a ZIP. Send the zip to your friend (or take it to your local store if you like on a memory stick). Do NOT worry about the zip contents. When your friend receives the ZIP if he double clicks on it it will provide him with a single icon which will run the slideshow.

He must have a Mac, as has already been pointed out, that uses Intel chips. In other words in needs to be a newish machine. I'm really not sure of the date but anything after 2006 should be OK I think.

Kind regards

Peter

=============================

Hi Peter and others...

Yes, it should be simple. However, it has not been. I'm using PTE 6.04 and I am using the 'Create Executable for a Mac' (as a ZIP).

I created the Mac ZIP file of one of my shows. I just brought it to my BestBuy story that has Macs. I played the Mac ZIP file at the store but it played for only a second. At showed the first image for a second then it stopped and kicked out of the show. It was being played on a MacBook. The salesman said something like 'it needs to have a ZIP player'. Is he saying that MacBooks can't automatically handle a ZIP file???

Then, I tried playing one of my MP4 shows that I normally play on my PC. It played just fine on the MacBook.

So....I don't know what is going on here.

If Macs play MP4s, why bother with the 'Create Executable for a Mac' (as a ZIP)?

Gary

[Peter S]

=============================

The salesman said something like 'it needs to have a ZIP player'. Is he saying that MacBooks can't automatically handle a ZIP file???

I have no idea what he's saying but it's wrong! I can transfer the Mac executable Zip files to my iMac and my Macbook, they unzip and play perfectly. I have no suchl software and have no idea what a Zip player is.

Then, I tried playing one of my MP4 shows that I normally play on my PC. It played just fine on the MacBook.

So....I don't know what is going on here.

If Macs play MP4s, why bother with the 'Create Executable for a Mac' (as a ZIP)?

Isn't this a quality issue? The MP4 version does not have the same quality as the executable one.

I don't know how big your show is but if it is a reasonable length you could post it here and I will download it and see if I can play it. You could post a very short show see if that works and if not post the pte file so some Mac users could have a look at that and test whether or not they can get the Mac executable to run. I would have a go for you if it would help.

Kind regards

Peter

[Conflow]

Gary,

You simply don't need to Zip-Up your Mac-Slideshow ~ just copy it over to your Memory-Pen go down

to the PC Store and try it again ~ it should work straight away. By the way the Salesman is correct

about the Apple-Mac it does not come with a pre-installed Zip/Unzip Utility and the same can be said

for nearly all Windows-PC's the exception being all versions of Windows-XP which have a very good

and easy to use Zip-Utility. Simply RH.Click on anything-->select-->Send To-->Compressed Zip Folder,

click that and 'bobs your uncle' its all done. But remember this is a Windows-Zip Utility not for Mac

so dont use it in these circumstances.

Hope this helps you...

Brian (Conflow)

P.S

You might advise the Salesman to download 'Stufitt 2010' from the Apple-Mac Site ~ its Free.

[goddi]

I don't know how big your show is but if it is a reasonable length you could post it here and I will download it and see if I can play it. You could post a very short show see if that works and if not post the pte file so some Mac users could have a look at that and test whether or not they can get the Mac executable to run. I would have a go for you if it would help.

Kind regards

Peter

=====================

Hi Peter, Tom, Brian and others,

Thanks for the offer. Below is the MediaFire link to the Mac ZIP file that I had brought to the computer store. The salesman did click on the file and it created a couple other files but, like I mentioned before, the first image played only for a second and then it shut down. I'd appreciate it if you would play it and see what happens.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/tnmmojqmji

I can understand that quality is the goal here. I am surprise to hear that the Mac ZIP file is higher quality than the MP4. When I play the MP4 on my PC or my 40" LED, the quality is equal or better than the PTE's exe PC file. Have you made a comparison like this? If the Mac ZIP file eventually works, I see its smaller file is an advantage. For example, the upload I just made of my slideshow is only 8Mb for the Mac ZIP and it is 30Mb for the same file as an MP4.

Thanks...Let me know what you find.

Gary

[Barry Beckham]

Too many cooks spoil the broth me thinks.......................

[goddi]

Too many cooks spoil the broth me thinks.......................

=================

Greetings,

But why put a lid on the pot? If you can cook, you might spice things up!

Gary

[Lin Evans]

Hi Gary,

The executable file will always be equal to or "better" than the video file assuming the system you play it through has sufficient resources such as video card, RAM and at least temporary priority access to these resources. Also a prerequisite is a proper computer monitor with a decent resolution and refresh rate and quality intermediate components such as a high speed HDMI attacment.

Video is created by playing back stored images which were originally created with your PC in the first place. Executable code is played back by the creation and display of these same images in real time. There are some types of animation which play back better on CRT computer monitors which have better refresh rates and less probability of ghosting from fast moving objects than many high definition television receivers. The "best" television screens for fast moving objects are plasma types. The worst are LCD screens with slow refresh and next best are LED screens with better refresh. I believe you mentioned a Samsung 40" LED television which could fall into one of two categories depending on the individual model. It "could" have a refresh rate of variously 60Hz, 120Hz or 240Hz. The higher the refresh rate the "cleaner" some fast moving animations will appear. Conversely, if your computer monitor is an inexpensive LCD type you "could" get better results from your MP4 h.264 or conversions to BluRay and playback on the television than an executable played back on a less responsive computer monitor or with somewhat compromised video GPU.

If you play your executable slideshows through a high speed HDMI input cable and with a computer having sufficient resources on the same television screen as your Bluray or mp4 h.264, the executable "should" be slightly better than the video providing that the above requirements are met. If this is not the case, then the suggestion would be that one of the components (the HDMI cable, GPU, CPU, RAM, etc.) is compromised in some way.

Best regards,

Lin

=====================

Hi Peter, Tom, Brian and others,

Thanks for the offer. Below is the MediaFire link to the Mac ZIP file that I had brought to the computer store. The salesman did click on the file and it created a couple other files but, like I mentioned before, the first image played only for a second and then it shut down. I'd appreciate it if you would play it and see what happens.

http://www.mediafire...file/tnmmojqmji

I can understand that quality is the goal here. I am surprise to hear that the Mac ZIP file is higher quality than the MP4. When I play the MP4 on my PC or my 40" LED, the quality is equal or better than the PTE's exe PC file. Have you made a comparison like this? If the Mac ZIP file eventually works, I see its smaller file is an advantage. For example, the upload I just made of my slideshow is only 8Mb for the Mac ZIP and it is 30Mb for the same file as an MP4.

Thanks...Let me know what you find.

Gary

[goddi]

I never get tired of Apple pie . Unfortunately the mediafire link does not work.

Tom

========================

Tom,

Sorry...I think I didn't get the entire link. Let me try this one.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/tnmmojqmjin/Wild Thing-Mac-16x9z.zip

Gary

[goddi]

Hi Gary,

Although I could unzip your file on my snow leopard mac mini it is somehow corrupted. The unzipped icon is not the blue box/white play button like it should be. I opened the package and besides the missing icon file the viewer file size and date are different than mine. What version of PTE deluxe are you using to create your slideshows and what is your operating system (XP,Vista,7)?

Tom

====================

Tom, Thanks for taking a look at it. I just got back from the Mac store at a Mall. I tried the files (made fresh new ones) but, again, the same thing happened. It played the first image for only a second and the music was garbled. Then the slideshow shut down. The Mac guy at the store took my thumbdrive to the back to consult with other Mac people. They could not figure out what the problem was.

I am using PTE 6.0.4 and my OS is Windows7 (32 bit). They told me to just use the MP4 file because all Macs should be able to read it. It appears from this Forum that some people are able to play the PTE shows created for a Mac but I don't know if they are using the "Create Executable for a Mac" (as a ZIP) process or the MP4 file.

Gary

[Peter S]

Gary,

You seem to have a missing folder.

Here are 2 screen shots one showing a show I did when doing some aspect ratio tests (hence its odd name) and yours.

I have a resources folder at the end which is missing in your list. I don't know if this is the problem but it might be.

The other thing I notice is that when I look at the File Info for all the other shows on my iMac they show the Version as 0.1. Yours shows the Version as PTE 6.03.

Perhaps Tom could see if he finds the same anomalies.

All my own shows I view on my Mac have been created using the Creat for Mac and I have zipped them for convenience. I hav e also downloaded several of Barry Beckhams shows and have no problem with any of them. They are not MP4 files either.

Peter

[Peter S]

Gary,

The only thing I can suggest is you go to File/create backup in zip, and do that. It will create a zip with all the resources for your show. If you the upload that to mediafire I could download it to my PC and see if I can create a mac executabel. I could also try removing the music to see if it made any difference.

I am a bit baffled!

Kind regards

Peter

[goddi]

Gary,

The only thing I can suggest is you go to File/create backup in zip, and do that. It will create a zip with all the resources for your show. If you the upload that to mediafire I could download it to my PC and see if I can create a mac executabel. I could also try removing the music to see if it made any difference.

I am a bit baffled!

Kind regards

Peter

==============================

Peter,

As far as the music goes, I do have an Mp3 music file, and I also have 2 sound files that are Wavs. Maybe they are what is causing the problem?

Thanks for looking into this. Attached is the Mediafire link.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/urzzqnqiug0/Wild Thing-16x9z_Mar18-2010_14-51-09.zip

Gary

[Peter S]

Gary,

This does seem to be sound related. I took the WAV files off and it ran upto the slide where the first WAV had been added but then it stopped. I removed all the music and sound and it stopped at the same place which seems most odd.

I will see if I can find an answer but it might be a struggle. I think it is important that you only use MP3 sound and music files if you want the shows to be Mac compatible. The sound issue seems critical. As you can see from my earlier posts even the MP3 settings seem to be sensitive.

I think Dmitry and/or Igor need to look into this.

Kind regards

Peter

[goddi]

Gary, Peter,

Yes, I agree with Peter. Your slideshow plays fine with just the MP3 background music. I usually don't use WAV audio files on my Mac, so that's probably the problem. Maybe the next version with the audio editor will support conversion to MP3 during the creation process. Igor or Dimitri might want to take a look at your project file. This still doesn't explain your missing blue box icon file.

Tom

================

Tom and Peter,

Thanks for getting into this problem. I would not have expected Wavs would cause any problems. Most sound effects files are in Wav format. I hope that Igor will take a look at this sound problem (and the missing blue box icon file).

Sincerely, Gary

[goddi]

I have sent Igor a private message with a link to this thread so I'm hoping he has time reply.

Tom

===========

Thanks Tom. I will make a couple more Mac files and take them to the computer store just to see what happens. I will make sure these don't have any Wav files, only Mp3s.

Gary

[Antbrewer]

I have tried to create a PtE AV for a friend in Canada who has a Mac. I Used the 'Create for Mac' option in the create box in PTE V 6. I thought this would be fine. I made one Exe file and then made another as a Zip file.

I then copied to CD and tried to play these on a local friend's Mac with OS Leopard 10.6. Neither would open or play. Something to do with 'unsupported on this architecture'

So It would seem pointless in my sending this CD to my friends in Canada.

Am I doing something wrong because the instructions appear straight forward in PtE in doing this?

I would value and welcome your help.

Anthony

[Peter S]

Anthony,

Have you looked at the posts above and on the "Mac Audi Problem does exist" thread? There seems to be a problem with some sound files. If they are not MP3 the show will probably not work. Try removing the sound, resaving and retesting.

Kind regards

Peter

[fh1805]

Anthony,

I think the clue lies in the word "architecture" in the error message. As I understand it, the Mac must have the Intel chipset in order to run the executable file. But, again as I understand it, the user does not have to use any of the various virtual machine software that our Mac colleagues mention in their posts (e.g. Bootcamp and similar) in order to host a copy of Windows.

regards,

Peter