PTE's videos freeze at store demo PCs...why?

[goddi]

Greetings,

I am trying to find a notebook or small laptop for my wife. One of my criteria is that it plays my PTE shows (that contain video clip) with no problems. I bring in the shows on a thumbdrive and play my PTE exes on them to see how they play. First problem is that it seems to take a long time before the PTE show actually starts. But more importantly, most of them will freeze at the point of my video clips. This worries me. The salesmen tell me that it is only because the operating system that is in the store's demo (BestBuy) units are not the full regular Windows version. I see something call Allison, or something like that. Not sure if that has anything to do with the operating system that is on the demos. The thumbdrive is plugged into the USB3 port.

So my question is, can this be true, that it is the 'dumbed' down operating system on these computer demos that is causing this? They tell me that if it plays correctly on my home PC, then it will play on the notebook or small laptop with the 'real' Windows operating system. I just don't want to go through the trouble of buying one and it not play correctly.

Gary

[goddi]

I would copy slideshow to hard drive/ssd desktop and then run. The USB port might be USB 3 but your portable flash drive is probably not.

Tom

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

Tom,

Yes, I figured I could do that. And it might play just fine. But since it plays perfectly on my home PC through my thumbdrive, I want the notebook to have the same capability. I am wondering if the salesman's story is plausible.

Gary

[Lin Evans]

Hi Gary,

Most laptops do not have a dedicated GPU and it "could be" you are running into a bottleneck because of that, but I seriously doubt that this is the complete problem. I've played video via my USB 2 ports on my own laptops without problems and they are not top-end units at all so I would suspect that the salesman may be correct in this case. Actually, if you get a higher end laptop which has both a dedicated GPU and the integrated "shared" version you should have no problems running your shows.

Bottom line - when you go to pick up your new laptop, try it before you leave the store. If it doesn't work, cancel the sale.

Best regards,

Lin

[Barry Beckham]

Gary

I have done exactly what you are doing on two previous purchases of laptops. I wouldn't touch a laptop that couldn't run a slide show from a USB stick. I wouldn't want the power so close to the wire that a slight upgrade in software and the laptop cannot cope. Here is what I have also discovered. Pound for pound laptops are not as powerful at a desktop and it's why for many years I carried a desktop to do talks and lectures. I use a laptop now for demos, but under duress. What the sales people say sounds nonsense to me.

In theory a desktop and a laptop of the same spec should work the same, but in my experience they do not. I have a powerful laptop, but it can't handle Huge Raw files as Smart objects and multi layers with masks as well as an old desktop that is 6 years old. The Laptop is quad core, 64 bit with a dedicated graphics card but it's not like my desktop of a similar power. Not even close.

What I also found was that it wasn't always the most powerful laptops in the store that could handle the animated slide shows I took to the store on a USB stick. The most expensive laptops didn't always out perform those of lesser power and cost. Keep going until you find one that runs your shows from the stick.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Gary You could try a video conversion instead of an exe, see if that works, has the tablet/lt got WMP?

Eric

Yachtsman1.

[PGA]

First problem is that it seems to take a long time before the PTE show actually starts.

That sounds like the anti-virus software doing its job. You might be able to speed up the load time by getting the anti-virus software to do a scan of the file before you attempt to launch the sequence.

But more importantly, most of them will freeze at the point of my video clips.

This suggests to me that the demo systems might not have a full complement of video codecs installed.

The thumbdrive is plugged into the USB3 port

At our local AV group meetings we have found that some USB2 thumbdrives will not function in a USB3 port. So you might be up against a compatability issue in this area.

I'd go with the advice given above: keep looking until you find one that does work. If you still have doubts at that point, check that the store will accept it back and refund your money if it does not work as you want it to after you have got it home and got it set up.

Good luck with your hunt. There will be one out there somewhere, all you have to do is find it!

regards,

Peter

[goddi]

Greetings All,

I went back to the BestBuy store with my thumbdrive and my PTE exes. I played my PTE's exe that has video clips on the Microsoft Surface Pro2 and the Samsung ATIV9. Both played the shows just fine with no problems with the video clips. I don't know if there is any difference among the laptops/notebooks/s Window operating systems on the store's demos. But I really like the Samsung ATIV9. The keyboard on the Surface Pro2 is too flimsy. But as long as it plays the video clips with no problems, that is the important test.

Gary