OT: Promoting PTE Slideshows

[Almark]

I have been invited to showcase two of my slide shows - 'Canada and Alaska' and 'New Zealand' - on the subject of travel photography, for a digital iPad magazine. I am sure you may have seen both of these shows here on the forum.

But the problem is that both shows are around 44MB in either win or mac formats, but for the iPad, in the same quality, the file size is over 400MB!

Any suggestions?

[Barry Beckham]

Mark

The PTE promo as a exe file is 71MB, but I output it via the video and mobile devices to 1024*576 (it was a 16:9 show) and it is 54MB and plays beutifully on an iPad 2

[Almark]

Mark

The PTE promo as a exe file is 71MB, but I output it via the video and mobile devices to 1024*576 (it was a 16:9 show) and it is 54MB and plays beutifully on an iPad 2

Thanks Barry

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Mark

Have you tried converting them to an MP4 video with a low quality setting? This assumes you have the complete show file & not just the exe. It may work but I don't have an IPad to try it on. I had a show that the video conversion started out really high from the PTE conversion, but reduced dramatically (60%) when I reduced the quality.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[davegee]

Mark / Barry,

1024x576 is not going be as good on an iPad 4. Try it? You might think it's acceptable but I can see quality issues. I have yet to find a way of getting video to play at actual pixels on the iPad 4 so your 1024 wide becomes 2048 wide. Putting the 1024 wide on a 2048 "carrier" is one way forward unless someone else knows of a way to play at actual pixels?

DG

[Barry Beckham]

I thought of that, but at 2048 pixels we have a 200MB file, still no problem unless you need to send it via the Internet

[davegee]

Correct Barry,

As a trial I just converted my current project for which the EXE is 30Mb to MPEG4 using Igor's iPad4 Preset at Highest Quality and the resulting file is 322Mb.

Reducing the quality setting to 50% gives a much smaller file so I suppose the way forward would be to find a quality setting for the iPad 4 which gives the smallest file at a quality which is better than a 1024 file upscaled?

I think that Igor's presets are only to set the correct resolution and that an iPad 4 file at 1920x1080 will still play on an iPad 2.

The reverse is also true but the upscaling is what "worries" me. I can judge for myself what is acceptable but I can't put myself in someone else's shoes to judge what their perceptions of the upscaling or quality settings are.

If in doubt go for the highest quality?

DG

[Barry Beckham]

I agree, but the trouble is the Internet.

I can see a web page where we have a slide show posted in a number of formats:

PC

Mac

HD Mp4

iPad (2048)

The first two are no problem

[davegee]

The last two are the same thing (??).

I just played the iPad4 MPEG4 on my TV (via USB) and there is no difference (that I can see) between it and the version created via the HD Video Option.

By the way, you cannot create a 2048 MPEG4 for the iPad - you use 1920x1080 and put up with the (slight) upscaling. Once again I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who can show me otherwise?

For JPEGs 2048x1536 works GREAT (iPad4) but for Video - no.

DG

[Almark]

The iPad magazine is designed to be read with an active Internet connection, so I suppose I could include a smaller size window and lower the quality. Almost everyone that owns an iPad will have access to a main computer, win or mac. So I could have win and mac versions for them to download, to see the slide show in full HD, if they are interested. The magazine is an iPad only app, available from iTunes, but they do have a web site.

[Barry Beckham]

Dave

PC

Mac

HD Mp4

iPad (2048)

Yes, I suppose your right, but as I typed it I was thinking of a HD Mp4 at 1920*1080 and the ipad version for our ipad 2 at 1024*576 I put the 2048 in brackets thinking of later iPads, but your right, by then its academic.

Mark

I am fussy when it comes to quality and how my shows are presented, but I have to say I am impressed with how the ipad displays images even at 1024

[Almark]

Hi Folks,

I have got around the size problems by creating a small, in pixel size, but good quality mp4. Readers will then be invited to view the Full HD slide shows on their main computer, win or mac, from a link on the magazines web site.

But yet another stumbling block, music copyright! Does anyone know how to negotiate this minefield? I have approached the IAC, as I already hold a license for my camera club. But no reply as yet. What started off as a 'baldrick cunning plan' to promote PTE by show-casing some of my travel slide shows has been met with one hurdle after another. Maybe, as we say in Northern Ireland, I should just 'wind my neck in' and forget about it!

[Barry Beckham]

Mark

At one point we had nearly 40 albums of copyright free music on our web site, now we are down to 7. At least one person on this forum bitched and whined about the easy listening style of the music, but at least we did have those albums and tracks available to us for a few years at a silly price. That music had a license perfect for your needs and mine too, because it even covered low level commercial use. It was aimed at amateur and semi professional photographers, thats why is was called Music for Photographers.

MGMusic withdrew their music because every time we post a slide show on Youtube we effectively give the world the music for free and not just a smaller less useful version like we do with our images. If music is put on line in a slide show, I can grab it, so they do have a point. However, music copyright laws seem to be drafted in a way that makes it almost impossible for us to stay legal, but if the IAC doesn't cover you for what you want to do, which is show slide shows not for gain, then I would question its usefulness at all.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Folks,

I have got around the size problems by creating a small, in pixel size, but good quality mp4. Readers will then be invited to view the Full HD slide shows on their main computer, win or mac, from a link on the magazines web site.

But yet another stumbling block, music copyright! Does anyone know how to negotiate this minefield? I have approached the IAC, as I already hold a license for my camera club. But no reply as yet. What started off as a 'baldrick cunning plan' to promote PTE by show-casing some of my travel slide shows has been met with one hurdle after another. Maybe, as we say in Northern Ireland, I should just 'wind my neck in' and forget about it!

Hi Mark

I have been building a data base of Royalty Free tracks, some of it is really naff & I have had to change my style of making shows to use it. The best source I've found is Kevin Macleod Incompetech which sounds a funny name, try looking there you may find something suitable. I have uploaded a couple of shows to YouTube without their copyright police flagging them.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

http://incompetech.com/

[Almark]

Thanks Eric, I will check them out.

[Almark]

found this

http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/tips/freemusic.htm

[Almark]

Eric, I was able to get some wonderful Satie from Kevin MacLeoad's web site. Just need to re sync the beats ;-)

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Eric, I was able to get some wonderful Satie from Kevin MacLeoad's web site. Just need to re sync the beats ;-)

Hi Mark

I've got about 20 of his tracks, be careful though some aren't copyright free.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1

[Almark]

Just an update, for those interested...

I have been able to locate some wonderful music covered by the Creative Commons Licence by Attribution. I want to thank Eric for pointing me to Kevin MacLeod's website

here

The editor has now given me the go ahead to write the article and include two mp4's that will be embedded in the magazine content. These will be streamed from their amazon servers. But they have to be less than 700 pixels in width and less than 40MB. Readers that want to view the full HD versions will be asked to use their main computer and visit the magazine web site, were there will links that offer mac zips and win zips of the Pictures To Exe slideshows.

The digital magazine is called 'Extraordinary Vision'. It is produced exclusively for iPad users and is free. As a result, my article will be about how to use the photos you take on holiday and make them into a slide-show. I will discuss my approach to travel photography and then how I order the slides to get the best colour flow in the photography. I have agreed with the editor that I will mention that I use 'Pictures To Exe' on Windows, on my iMac, as I believe it produces the best image quality, but that there are many other programs that can create slideshows.

The editor will want to invite software companies to offer their wares at a special reduced prices. As this is an iPad magazine, the editor is convinced that his audience will be more interested in apps for the iPad, and iMac. I have tried to convince him that not everyone that owns an iPad, also owns an iMac. Indeed; from a quick and dirty survey at my camera club I have found that many members that use Windows as their main computer also have an iPad. Having said that, I can see where is coming from. While the magazine is free, it is a business that will create revenue from adverts and links.

BTW, I have discussed this all with Igor.

If you are an iPad user there are two free editions of the magazine for you to download. You have to install the app first, free, from the App Store.

http://extraordinary-vision.com

[Igor]

Thank you, Mark! I'm grateful you.

[Almark]

First draft has been approved, just waiting on a slot for publication.