Suggestions for the next version

[Igor]

Of course, we can output 24-bit audio. But I'm afraid almost all (or all) sound card just will resample it to 16-bit. Creative probably uses own API and special features of drivers for 24-bit audio playback. As I know (may I'm wrong) that still there is no common API for guaranteed correct playback of 24-bit audio.

Also you need to use WAV files only for 24-bit.

[ratfugel]

It's time you guys all got a grip on life. The age of the still image is over. If PTE came on the TV you'd switch it off pronto.

The next big thing has got to be Flash animation incorporated into the PTE scene. Just about everything you see on the TV these days has Flash in it. Just one guy with a computer can achieve apparent miracles.

However, it requires one little item that seems to be somewhat missing amongst most of the PTE presentations I have seen- creative talent. Get yourselves a copy of Flash 8 and have a go and you'll soon see what I mean. Anybody can make still images. Try making them actually DO something!

Now, a Frenchman called Marco has actually produced a somewhat pseudo animated version of Flash ( look at Beechbrook and you'll find it). This has the right 'feel' to it and it isn't video.

I don't think it should be much of a jump to be able to incorporate animation into PTE. I am currently able to produce animation into still images, using Flash, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is. If I manage to combine my Flash movies with PTE in the near future I'll let everybody know how it was done. OK?

Marco is already aware of my intentions and has offered his help. If anyone else wishes to join in, - and I mean serious and constructive suggestions, OK, but no B...S... artists, please.

This should generate a bit of interest?

[Severn Bore]

Hi Ratfugel

I acknowledge your point of view, but cannot agree with your conclusion. It is interesting to note that in films and TV when the director really wants to grab your attention he/she often chooses to use a sequence of still images. In my view they distill the essentials which the totally moving image cannot do.

There will continue to be a place for both and I certainly would not demur from including short movie/flash clips into a slide sequence.

Andrew

[barksworld]

It would be nice to be able to loop a slide in some way on the timeline to allow different transition effects to be applied and previewed rather than have to go to preview watch it then return to time line to adjust it

Thanks

[twowheel56]

Hi folks,

I would like to see a panning, rotating transistions added to the program. Something that would give my stills the look of motion. I have tried samples of Photodex and Photoshow, I like the motion option, adds a little life to the program but I have used PTE for almost 2 years and I like using it best. So whata ya say give it a go.....

Sam

[ronwil]

Sam or should I say Rip Van Winkle. Where have you been all this time? Haven't you read of Version 5.0 which we are all eagerly awaiting. You had better cast your eyes back over threads in this forum. Welcome anyway. You shouldn't have long to wait now for pan and zoom on which Igor and his team have been working for some weeks now.

Ron [uK]

[twowheel56]

Sam or should I say Rip Van Winkle. Where have you been all this time? Haven't you read of Version 5.0 which we are all eagerly awaiting. You had better cast your eyes back over threads in this forum. Welcome anyway. You shouldn't have long to wait now for pan and zoom on which Igor and his team have been working for some weeks now.

Ron [uK]

Thanks for the info Ron, I assure you I have not been sleeping, but maybe just not paying attention. I did go back and review some other threads, looks like they are headed in the right direction. I cannot wait to try it out.

Sam

[sdgoffice]

Being somewhat minimalist in character... I wouldn't want to weigh down PTE with many memory hungry features that alot of us would never use. One of the most wonderful things about PTE is it's processing speed.

There is however one thing I really miss, - being a video editer I'm rather used to it... and that is a visible time line ruler in minutes and seconds at the bottom of the slide list so that we can see at any moment how much time the slideshow is using from any point in the show. It shouldn't be particularly difficult to add, it could also be an option to switch on or off in the VIEW menu, with a shortcut F key to boot. It would help particularly when we're selecting sound files quickly to know the time length we're looking for.

Ok, while we're there why not make that timeline rule expandable (or reduceable) so that we can see more or less of the show at any moment. - Yes, we can do that by raising and lowering the horizontal bar, but that's not quite the same thing.

If you've used Premiere or Final Cut or AVID then you'll know what I mean. I've attached a quick impression of what it would look like. (rough & ready)

[rhann]

Hi...I am brand-new to the use of the program, but already am very impressed. Like most of the others, I would like to put in a strong vote for Pan and Zoom. So far, it is the only thing I wish for, as I learn to use this wonderful program.

I can do this using a video editing package like Video Studio, but a video editing program is not the optimal way to put together a slide show. And it does not make a self-contained EXE file.

Just my "newbie" thoughts.

Thanks,

Lew

Dayton, OH

[JRR]

Lew:

I can understand why you are not "up" on the Pan and Zoom being a newbie as you have not been party to the forum for the past 4-6 months.

But Pan and Zoom are in version 5.0 which is expected very soon. No date promised as Igor did that once earlier and he did not make it. Igor takes his time to get things RIGHT. We all appreciate his thoroughness and wait patiently

[bharkins]

I like the idea of the "time ruler". Of course, that's more programming for Igor & Co., maybe for v5.1? The ruler will have to adjust to any changes to the image and transition duration so that the ruler remains accurate. We are all used to the Photoshop rulers - the time ruler would be a nice feature for PTE. Alexander's time ruler model looks good if it could be realized.

Bill

[sdgoffice]

Dear Igor,

still a little problem to be solved !

when I work with a project, initially sometimes, I don't add the sound:

to see (in first) the full slide show and to know his time duration (before to find a soundtrack).

But for that, I must use a stop watch !

I would like to have the possibility of determining this standard time (without the sound) by a button.

Is it a very difficult task for you ?

PS: good tip from a new french user = create avi and, after, properties (temp avi) shows the time duration (without sound)

Michel,

Bonne Année! I posted more or less the same request as yours. See above! I suppose I should go through all the requests before posting my own - but that's alot of reading. Anyway I'm glad that I'm not alone in asking for this 'trick'. Erm, between you and me, I guess we wonder why it wasn't there from V 1.0!

Meilleurs salutations,

Alexander

[Guest damor]

Hi Igor,

What is the news on v5? dare I ask. not trying to rush you , I realize how much you care for your little "baby" and need to get it right. Just a question.

thanks,

Dave (damor)

[Igor]

Alexander,

Thanks for idea about time ruler. I thought about this moment a year ago. It could be added as possible view of timeline in the next versions (after v5.00).

Alexander, Michel,

In future v5.00 you can work with the timeline before adding of a soundtrack.

p.s. v5.00 beta #1 can be ready at any moment, we tested all features and it works. I know we worked so long time. Only new Circle, Hour hand and other transition effects with smoothing line took 2 weeks to write difficult mathematical formulas. I'm guessing that Aleksey even will not understand own formulas - how this code works - after some time But now these effects can work simultaneously with Pan/Zoom/Rotate.

[bharkins]

OK Igor, we are all waiting v5.0 anxiously, so when is "the moment" for beta #1???

Bill

[fxdesigner]

It's time you guys all got a grip on life. The age of the still image is over. If PTE came on the TV you'd switch it off pronto.

Still imagery is very much alive - in fact watching "quality television", such as PBS, TLC, Discovery and The History Channel just to name a few in the USA - still take advantage of moderate use of still photography to convey and share a moment in time. In fact, the STILL photography typically enhances the presentation with haunting images from the past, wonderfully deep tones of light and dark on even the most modest of Black and White photos. Motion can and does sometimes get in the way of the artistic nature and natural flow of a story. Animation quickly becomes a gimmick rather than part of the story being presented.

Want proof? Look at any Ansel Adams photo (Still images, in black and white using nothing more than a cumbersome box camera, a few negative plates and the natural elements presented to him on the day he took the photo) They are timeless, breath-taking and instill a sense of beauty and awe as well as stirring emotions and our imagination. No Flash needed here....

The next big thing has got to be Flash animation incorporated into the PTE scene. Just about everything you see on the TV these days has Flash in it. Just one guy with a computer can achieve apparent miracles.

Flash is good and I use it regularly - (MX, MX2004 Pro and Flash 8) but I would suggest instead of going out and having the steep learning curve of Flash 8 along with the somewhat hefty price (of around $700.00 USD) a more modest approach be taken with half the amount of learning and a fraction of the cost -

There are many Flash alternatives available, and I personally would recommend Swishmax (google it to find it) - It supports a variety of effects, both image and text and it is lot more friendly to use than Adobe's Flash 8.

BUT - Flash can be OVER-used and is!... You see it all the time around the internet - By trade I am a web and print content provider - we also produce DVD's and while Flash can do remarkable things, it's very easy to use too much of it.

However, it requires one little item that seems to be somewhat missing amongst most of the PTE presentations I have seen- creative talent. Get yourselves a copy of Flash 8 and have a go and you'll soon see what I mean. Anybody can make still images. Try making them actually DO something!

Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes and to simply imply those who use PTE seemingly have little or no talent is a bit harsh and insensitive. I noticed you didn't offer any examples of your work in your post. (but rather the "fact" you are working on something... for that matter we all are working on something..)

Creativity is an artform and is subjective rather than objective and if you choose to object to something then you are simply restricting an expression of creative joy.

Most who post and use PTE are in other lines of work, they offer their insight and examples as a sense of pride and a willingness to share their hard work and experience with others. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, but not statements that are so vague and cruel.

Besides, as talented as I would like to think I am, the basic element of any pictorial presentation is the photo itself and from a technical perspective, that's the key to a good presentation and masking it with bells and whistles (animation and special effects) won't make it look any better - sometimes less is more.

As I was taught - Find a great subject, use a great camera, pay attention to detail, light your subject adequately and you will have a good photo. To that end, the photo will speak volumes and it will allow all of us to see both what you the photographer wants us to see, and what we see as it impacts each of us.

Good presentations are about the subject at hand, not how it was done or how it could have been done a different way - that's the inherent beauty of individuality. And no amount of FLASH will detract from the most basic element of beautiful photography be it still, motion or special effects.

Regards,

FX Designer

[alrobin]

Very well said, FXD! You've summed it up very well for most of us "dabblers" in creativity.

One good thing about PTE is that it doesn't stifle one's creativity by being too complicated or even too expensive. Yet it opens up a window to us still photographers that offers a whole new world of creative potential. And it provides a marvelous opportunity for us to display our work to friends, relatives, and others interested enough to watch.

[danieljcox]

I would really like to see the abaility to add video clips within a slide show.

[alrobin]

Daniel,

You can do it now if you use the "Run external application" feature of the "Customize slide" menu. Just enter the name of the video file, and if your file "associations" are set up properly, the video will open in your preferred video player and run when that slide comes up. If you set the duration of the slide to the same value as the length of the video, you can continue on automatically with the slide show after the video has played. The only trick left is to figure out how to make the video program close automatically after playing the video.

[MikeL117]

Hi Igor

Something to think about when you are happy with version 5, if I dont mention it now I am sure to forget.

You have a superb engine for display and a simple yet powerful interface and PTE is being used in more and more diverse situations. Have you considered building in some sort of "plug-in" facility that would enable users to customise even more how PTE is used for the smaller numbers who need these specialised features.

For example: there is a growing interest in digital projected images competitions and PTE is almost perfect for this. With the addition of some sort of scoring facility it could be a complete solution. The number of people that would use this would at first be quite small and probably not worth building into PTE also this type of enhancement may complicate the interface for the AV users who do not need this facility.

Keep up the great work

Mike

[ronwil]

I did write a posting some months ago on how most of what you ask could be done using the present facilities. I haven't time at thsi moment to make a search for you. However it did involve some external recording so your's is a good idea and I wish you luck.

Ron [uK]

[Igor]

Mike,

Thanks. We also have many ideas concerning plug-ins and even more for more fine customization of slide-show and usage of objects. But all after v5.00

[ronwil]

Mike

Further to my earlier post, I wrote this in a thread started by Wildsnaps on Mar 23 2005. "You might also do a search in PTE for Manual Slide Show by Conflow. It is just a question of setting up a Template in PTE, maybe modified to suit individual needs. It should suit most of your requirements. A pencil note of any that the judge might want to see again shouldn't present any problems with the use of the Light Table - e.g. right click on image and select move to the top. Then you can run those top ones through again, backwards and forwards at the judge's behest".

You might also try this search:

Seaech by Keywords - " Manual Show"

Filter by Member's Name - " ronwil"

Good news from Igor but in the meantime I hope the above will help.

Ron [uK]

[MikeL117]

A pencil note of any that the judge might want to see again shouldn't present any problems with the use of the Light Table

Thanks Ron. That is very similar to how I run small competitions in my club but this can seem daunting to those who are not so familiar with PTE. For a large competition it is prone to errors and slow to have to sort from a hand written list and generating an accurate list from a randomised entry is tricky. Igor has this in hand for a future version so I am content to run my small comps manually until then.

Thanks Again Igor

[danieljcox]

Please suggest your 3-5 the most expected features in v4.40 of PicturesToExe. We've started work on this version. I'll add all suggestions to my todo list. Thanks.

Igor,

Would love to see a feature that asks you where your files are, if PTE doesn't see them in the original folder, upon opening a PTE file that hasn't been saved as a show yet. If the path is broken there should be some way of telling the program where the corresponding files now resides. A simple Error Screen that says, Can't find original files, do you want to relocate them? Then have a Browse button that takes you to the Windows directory.

Thanks for considering this. you have a great program.