Ver. 5 - I have a dream

[d67]

I tried and immediately bought PTE 2 years ago because of it's

- very ease of use,

- rusticity and robustness,

- very good performances,

- small size,

- small price

- active and sympathetic community

- responsiveness of the creator and its attentive attitude to end user's wishes and problems

and because the created slideshows are presented as standalone products, running

- on a great variety of PC's ; the up to date one (powerfull as a formula one), but also the anemic, underpowered and old one.

- on systems going from Window 95 to the XP version

There was a little problem with the inserted objects due to the different screen resolutions in use but this problem is after all easy to bypass and needs minimal attention.

The different improvments till today gave the software much more ease and fun to use without noticeable degradation of performances if you use reasonably the effects claiming important instant CPU ressources.

The release of PTE's version 5 is delayed from week to week because of the new features implemented and particularily pan and zoom effects.

If we are obliged to ask the end user which video card, Window version, screen resolution or motherboard he uses ... than the PTE I choosed 2 years ago will be definitively dead.

My dream...

- a PTE which philosphy will be unchanged despite the novelties more related to video than to photography.

- a PTE that creates slideshows visible on present kitted PC's (the forum's vote is far from reflecting reality !) and not on happy few one's or future PC's

- a PTE creating slideshows wich can be shared without ulterior motives and having to choose between different options !

Reading the recent messages, unfortunately my dream seems to vanish as days passes !

[ronwil]

Well spoken. My feelings exactly.

Ron [uK]

[alrobin]

It's called progress. The evolution of PTE over the past 4 or 5 years has been nothing but steady progress toward a better, smoother, more reliable, software system. I think everyone would agree with me on this. PTE today hardly resembles the awkward program that it was when I was first introduced to it. There was no timeline, and synching to music, and the ability to view the wave form, were non-existent.

Now, with faster PC's and better video cards, we have an opportunity to realize even further improvements to the product. And Igor has guaranteed that if one does not wish to use the "video" effects, he will maintain the present system as is as a separate product line in version 5. What more could we ask for?

I have just had the opportunity in the SuperCircuit to view several slideshows made with Wings Platinum. The effects available there, if carefully and judiciously applied, are truly wonderful. If anyone does not wish to use these effects, there is no reason why he or she will have to, thereby being able to continue to make shows that will still run on practically any computer. Furthermore, if one really objects to the improvements in version 5, he or she can still continue to use version 4 for ever. With PTE, we have, and will always have, the best of all worlds!

[Jamai]

Well spoken Al Robinson. My feelings exactly.

Eric (Netherlands)

[Maureen]

Congratulations on a superb Supercircuit Al - hope we can visit the next one !

Very well said!

No-one has to use the new version if it isn't initially what they want.

BW Maureen

[davegee]

I can sympathise with both points of view here, but hasn't I gor said that if you don't use the Pan and Zoom then Ver. 5 will work quite happily as before?

Too much Pan and Zoom is going to have me reaching for my vertigo pills!

DaveG

[Igor]

Patrick,

I hope that in v4.44 we almost fully realized potential of old PTE engine. And no perspectives for serious enhancements like Pan/Zoom.

And main moment concerning v5.00, if you don't use Pan/Zoom effects, your slide-shows will work with same quality and speed on old PCs.

I also found that even old effects look much better in v5.00. For example, Page effect with 400-1000 thickness of smoothing line, Curling of page.

Same 1.5 MB of PTE, small EXE file of slide-show and fast work of the program and instant start of slide-shows.

Forget about problems with Pan/Zoom effects and quality of picture that you might view in other programs.

I worry not lesser about all these potential problems and we every day discuss these questions with quality and reliability.

Please let wait for v5.00 and then we will discuss all new moments and related questions.

[ronwil]

Congratulations on a superb Supercircuit Al - hope we can visit the next one !

Very well said!

No-one has to use the new version if it isn't initially what they want.

BW Maureen

But we do want to use the new version otherwise we wouldn't have voted nor would we have expressed an opinion. You know that my equipment is of recent vintage and hence my concern that I may not be able to share in this new development, which I have supported. My demos on the Beechbrook site are proof of this.

Ron [uK]

[dadou]

Too much Pan and Zoom is going to have me reaching for my vertigo pills!

We are two, Davegee!

Very happy to learn the new progress !

But I still think that video effects are not a good thing for photographic presentations ..... and will complicate the choice of the users !

I hope that Igor will resolve all problems before Christmas !

[d67]

And main moment concerning v5.00, if you don't use Pan/Zoom effects, your slide-shows will work with same quality and speed on old PCs.

Thank you Igor for you reply.

The possibility of using an effect that needs big ressource is precisely THE problem !!!!

My conclusion to what you said is that in the future the slideshows will work as or probably better than those created currently, BUT there will be slideshows created with PTE unreadable for one third (!!!) of the population.

This is an enormous change to the philosophy of your software !

.... and that, for an effect more related to video than to photography !

Letting 2 versions in circulation as suggested is purely unrealistic and doesn't change anything to the fact that there will be PTE slideshows in circulation unreadable for a great number of us.

[Lin Evans]

Thank you Igor for you reply.

The possibility of using an effect that needs big ressource is precisely THE problem !!!!

My conclusion to what you said is that in the future the slideshows will work as or probably better than those created currently, BUT there will be slideshows created with PTE unreadable for one third (!!!) of the population.

This is an enormous change to the philosophy of your software !

.... and that, for an effect more related to video than to photography !

Letting 2 versions in circulation as suggested is purely unrealistic and doesn't change anything to the fact that there will be PTE slideshows in circulation unreadable for a great number of us.

Hi Patrick,

If there will be PTE slideshows in circulation unreadable for a number of PTE users, there will also be dozens of other developer tools creating slideshows also unreadable for the same people.

The present direction for slideshows universally is to use these effects. Just because they are available doesn't mean you must use them, and just because you don't perceive a need for them doesn't mean that the many other people who create and use slideshows don't perceive a need for them or won't use them. I'm unsure why you would complain about "optional" features? You "will" eventually purchase a new computer and that computer "will" be more powerful than the one you now use. This is simply the way of technology. When you do purchase a new computer P2E will allow you to not only use these features but to view slideshows created in the past with or without them.

You can't view slideshows created on a MacIntosh on your present computer but you will very likely be able to do so on a future system. You can't run CPM programs on your PC even though there are numerous great programs written in CPM and CPM86 which no longer work on our PC's unless we have extremely old technology which won't read today's software. A software developer can't avoid progress and stay competitive. PicturesToExe is, in most of our opinions, the finest tool for slideshow creation available for the photographer but it's falling behind the curve because of not having the Ken Burns effects. Igor has gone above and beyond to bring us the best in refinements and transition effects and now the pan, zoom, rotate which will make P2E not only competitive but better than the competition.

Some of our automobiles may be capable of achieving speeds of 200 miles per hour but few of us will ever drive them anywhere nearly that fast. Saying that a certain percentage of us can't drive at these speeds because our roads won't permit it doesn't stop the manufacturer from making vehicles capable of this. Having such a vehicle will allow us to use this power and performance when we travel to places where such performance can be used even though we may not be able to use it where we live. Some day our highways will be improved and we can then enjoy the power and performance which is latent and unusable at present. If you were able to "upgrade" a Fiat to a Ferrari at no additional cost would you complain because you or others you know couldn't "use" or enjoy the additional performance right now?

The new P2E is like getting a major upgrade to our automobile for life at no additional charge. We don't have to drive it to the limit unless we want to, but the performance is there for those who need it or want it and at no cost to those who are happy with Fiat performance.

Options should never be dismissed just because they don't fit into our own personal needs or desires. If it were possible to create these effects to run smoothly on older technology Igor would do it. Unfortunately there are practical limitations with which we must contend. In a couple years these will all be moot points because everyone will have upgraded systems which will allow the user to choose from all available options. Let's not quibble over progress - it's going to happen whether we like it or not.

Best regards,

Lin

[ronwil]

Patrick you say "Letting 2 versions in circulation as suggested is purely unrealistic and doesn't change anything to the fact that there will be PTE slideshows in circulation unreadable for a great number of us".

I am not sure if this is correct only Igor can answer that one. If it is it will cuse great consternation among those of us who project other people's work at AV Days and Competition events. I have had no problems projecting sequemces produced in other software such as Medi@Show, Powerpoint etc. The UK International and National Championships have been projected successfully, using the same equipment as myself, ever since digital projection was introduced at these events. I am due to project for the Federation of South London Photographic Societies AV Competition in January, but most of the sequences for that event will have been prepared by now.

No one is seeking to delay the introduction of Version 5.0, certainly not me, but whether the new effects will be available to most of us as soon as possible thereafter or whether we have to consider the expense of upgrading our equipment. We are not impatient children as seems to be suggested in another thread.

Ron [uK]

[d67]

Hello Lin

I agree with all you say !

I too will give a try to the new features and use them if there is a need to.

My remark concerning the evolution of PTE is that the softwares's initial philosophy is completely changing.

PTE will be strictly a software as the others, with some + and some -

For example, currently there are many Proshow slideshows unreadable, even when you have a well fitted PC. This was never the case for PTE's slideshows but will also be the case (I hope in a lesser extent !) with the release of the new version.

Is that a progress ? .. not sure !

Why have a Ferrari when you can have a Fiat for 5 persons (instead of 2) which can drive you also safely at 200km/h and, in addition, can drive you without problems in narrow town streets, on side roads or better, off road !!!

With version 5 we will have to seriously think about which public we want to reach !

Have a good sunday

[jevans]

This is a very interesting thread and I can see and agree with many of the views expressed. However progress cannot be halted in the computer world and there is little point in expecting development of any product to just stand still.

A point that has not been mentioned is that PTE is really just a tool to enable an individual's artistic talent and photographic skill to be shown to others. However wonderful the tool is and however many features it has, it will be a failure unless used in a skillful and interesting way. The hard part is to have the imagination and photographic skill to make a presentation which will interest and impress the viewers. Fancy bells and whistles will help but are not a substitute for the former.

Jeff Evans

[Igor]

Tom,

It's impossible! We'll never sell PTE to Microsoft. I too love this program to make it 70-MB-with-slow-work-on-WinXP-only.

I just again thought that not always all PCs can run PTE slide-shows fine. Earlier in 2001 year we presented Fade effect and it worked only on high end PCs. We speeded up Fade effects only in 2004 in v4.20.

Before v4.20 Fade effect worked slowely even on Pentium 4 1600 Mhz on 1280x960 screen.

So I'm sure that within 1-2 years we will freely use Pan/Zoom on any PC.

Interface of v5.00 is not changed at all. All placed as earlier. Except of Visual editor which we improved and added Pan/Zoom rotate tab. I suppose even that many users will not notice ability of Pan/Zoom settings in this version.

Patrick,

I well understand what you mean about problems with ProShow. It doesn't work good even on my Athlon 64 3 Ghz with powerful GeForce 6800 !

[Severn Bore]

Hi

All of the comments on this thread have been valid and interesting. However, Igor has always managed to produce excellent and workable improvements for the great majority and I remain confident that he will do so on this occasion. There are many PtoE contributors who do not have the latest kit and Igor has, in the past, managed to sort out any problems after new versions have been launched.

I suggest the time has come to wait and see what v.5 can do for us, bearing in mind we still have the current, very useable version to fall back on. The more time Igor has to spend responding to these possibly unecessary concerns the less time he has to finalise version 5. Let's give the poor chap a break!

[Ken Cox]

there are some clips at this site

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsme...ase.aspx#sysreq

and system requirements req'd if you want to really test what your system can do

my system did not meet the

Optimum Configuration

(to play 1080p video with 5.1 surround sound)

but it would play the clips with no problem

and i downloaded all clips and the ones that would let me i burned into a dvd with no problem to the enjoyment of the grandkids so i would suggest having a look and see what your box will do instead of worrying about what is coming -

i have made 350 mb p2e shows just to see if i could -- experiment with what you have -- you might be surprised

ken

[Ronniebootwest]

This thread started with a concern expressed by D67, a whole host of you responded by pointing out that he need not use the new features if he chose not to, others suggested that we just wait and see. The most meaningfull remarks came from Severn Bore, who said:

The more time Igor has to spend responding to these possibly unecessary concerns the less time he has to finalise version 5. Let's give the poor chap a break!

I agree with him, give Igor a chance, after all he has not let us down yet!

Ron

[LumenLux]

With version 5 we will have to seriously think about which public we want to reach !

Have a good sunday

Patrick, I think your statement is the essence of all the good thoughts of you and other forum members on this topic. We will each need to ask what is more important for each show we make. If I want to enter a certain competition or present only to my own family, maybe I would try to use fully every resource of the software. If however I think my "message" might spread more widely with a simpler, less resource-demanding presentation, I would avoid effects that could reduce the potential audience.

[Lin Evans]

there are some clips at this site

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsme...ase.aspx#sysreq

and system requirements req'd if you want to really test what your system can do

my system did not meet the

Optimum Configuration

(to play 1080p video with 5.1 surround sound)

but it would play the clips with no problem

and i downloaded all clips and the ones that would let me i burned into a dvd with no problem to the enjoyment of the grandkids so i would suggest having a look and see what your box will do instead of worrying about what is coming -

i have made 350 mb p2e shows just to see if i could -- experiment with what you have -- you might be surprised

ken

These are pretty big files for the small amount of run time - I suspect P2E will be much more like ProShow Gold in that the file size for the specialized Ken Burns effects will not be so big.

For anyone who wishes to test a file I have a slideshow which I created for some of my customers and friends with ProShow Gold. The show makes extensive use of the Ken Burns effects and has a running time of about 27 minutes. The subject matter is Colorado nature and wildlife and the download size of the executable file is about 59 megabytes. If you have broadband feel free to download it and test your system to get a feel for how your system may perform with P2E once version 5 is released. There is no way to be certain that it will be exactly the same, but will probably be close in terms of resources required. I suspect that P2E will be more efficient so this may be a "worst case" scenario. Here's the link:

http://www.lin-evans.net/coloradonature/rockymtn.exe

Best regards,

Lin

[ronwil]

Thanks Lin. That was a bit of a marathon effort but it did prove that, as I said earlier in this thread, my main computer is capable of playing back sequences produced in other software, such as ProShow Gold. As my Digital Projection Unit has virtually the same specification as the main I am confident of the outcome but I need to transfer the sequence across, which I will do later. I have only a few comments of interest:

1. Download took only five minutes on my 2Mb Broadband, a subject which was discussed in another thread.

2. There was only one blemish in the whole playback on my equipment. A pair of sheep faded into a landscape in pan. The pan was jerky.

3. My Screensaver is set not to come in on normal length sequences - I should have switched it off.

Oh, by the way, I enjoyed the imagery. Thanks again.

Kind Regards

Ron [uK]

[dadou]

Thank you , Lin !

I just had a problem of vibrations in a moutain pan ( I imagine the same than Ron ).

Very good pictures ! Congratulations !

Honnestly, I say you that all a slide show with these effects is too much for me ... but , with this slow speed, I imagine I shall use them from time to time !

We shall see when Igor will be ready !!! We can wait !

[ronwil]

Lin

I have completed the transfer to my Digital Projection Unit and as I type it is playing back satisfactorily and looking fine on my 6 foot screen.

Maybe Igor might send me a demo sequence when one is ready just to try.

Ron [uK]

[Ken Cox]

Lin

i had a slight screen quiver in 3 spots that i seen

left side of screen elk herd

wolf in the water -- water was rippling

and when, i believe at the start of "early morning rain" rendition

but all no big deal

good stuff -- lot of patience

ken

WIN XP HOME

2.8 MHZ INTEL

1 GB RAM

ATI All-In-Wonder 9000 Pro

[ronwil]

Lin

From my second observation, this time on my projected sequence, I think the jerkiness or quiver occurs when an image fades to another using pan. As Ken says this is no big deal.

Ron [uK]