wide-screen dvd's

[alrobin]

Jeff,

Congratulations on your wide-screen results. I was not so luck y on my first few attempts, but finally was able to produce a wide-screen show that looked ok in the projected image.

However, the real test for wide-screen is a show with both horizontal and vertical "push" transitions. I was able to achieve a connected "pan" effect in the horizontal direction, but when the show attempted to "pan" vertically, there were black bars between the images. I put this down to improperly-sized original images, and have yet to construct a test to verify this.

Good luck with your wide-screen shows, and thanks for the feedback!

[potwnc]

Soon I'll put a show I've made (however, not using PTE because I needed pan and zoom) on my web site in both 720p and 1080i. Email me if you want the link when I've uploaded it.

Al and Ralph,

I have now uploaded the slideshow/documentary trailer at 720p (1280x720). I'd better warn you that it's a 97MB download! I also have it at 1080p if you want to see it at that resolution (125MB).

Check your email on this board.

Ray

[Ken Cox]

Ray i would like the link as well

I was also deeply involved in the testing

but i dont read board mail so please send link to my addie below

ken

[alrobin]

Ray,

Thanks for providing the video trailer. It's very well done.

What program did you use to create it? On the big screen it is actually quite sharp, particularly with some of the better images. On my system the pans and zooms are a bit jerky in places, though.

I have been able to convert my shows to wide-screen video using 720p, but still haven't been able to obtain a vertical "pan" without a gap between the images. Hawk has managed to make one using 1024x768 images, and distorting them to wide-screen mode, but I still haven't been able to manage a vertical pan using images already in wide-screen mode (1280x768). No problem with horizontal "pans". But in PTE "exe" mode, the vertical pans are just fine as long as I project them at the same screen resolution.

I would be interested in downloading the 1080i version.

[potwnc]

Al,

Check your email for the 1080p link (I decided not to bother with 1080i - at least for now).

I don't think it'd be fair to Igor to post about competitive products on the board, so I'll send you that information privately.

If the 720p version is jerky on your PC, the 1080p version will be even more jerky! Go to miscrosoft.com and make sure your PC meets the minumum system requirements for WMV HD playback. Also, close all other programs that can eat CPU and memory.

Remember that wide-screen and HD (which is anamorphic widescreen, 16:9) have different aspect ratios. If your source images are 1280x768 you should set PTE's video output size to exactly 1280x768 also. That should give you a vertical pan using the push effect without a gap between the images.

Ray

[alrobin]

Thanks, Ray.

I had a look at the 1080p and it performs very much the same way as the 720p on my desktop. I have yet to compare the 2 versions on my laptop/projector combination.

I'm coming to the conclusion that there is something lacking in the way that PTE prepares avi's for wide-screen shows. Like Hawk demonstrated, if I prepare a show from 1024x768 images, using the 720x480 avi output parameters, and then render in Windows Movie-Maker at 16:9 I end up with a stretched version of the pte show, but the vertical pans do work just fine. So, I should be able to obtain similar results using 1280x768 images with the same 720x480 output.

However, when I use the same settings with 1280x768 images, the final aspect ratio is wider than it should be, and there is a black band between the vertical pans. I've tried every combination of output parameters I can think of, and also tried it out with Nero, Pinnacle and MS Premiere Elements-2, and every trial yields the same results. I also used 720x540, and 720x405 (same as 16x9), but no luck with these aspect ratios either.

I'll give it a try using avi's of 1280x768, the same as the images, (if my system will handle that amount of data), and let you know what happens.

[alrobin]

If your source images are 1280x768 you should set PTE's video output size to exactly 1280x768 also.

Ray, I tried that and received some strange results with W Movie Maker - several images had black bands through them.

I'm not sure about having to size at 1280x768 just because that is the size of the original images. After all, we don't size at 1024x768 for that size of image - 720x480 seems to do the trick. So, I suspect that PTE might not be designed to provide suitable wide-format avi's??

[potwnc]

Al,

Check your email at this board.

I had no problems producing both 720p, 1080i and 1080p WMV files from PTE's AVI output with WME. I never tried processing those AVIs through Windows Movie Maker though. Then again, all my source images were in 16:9 aspect ratio to begin with.

I won't be reading or logging on to the PTE forums much after this post... good luck to everyone and thanks, Igor, for all your help in the past.

Signing off...

Ray

[alrobin]

Ray,

Sorry to hear you're leaving us - I've enjoyed your suggestions and particularly your experinece with wide-screen productions over the past months.

I think I am now getting a better handle on this "black art". I was wrong when I suggested that PTE had some incapabilities in this area. Someone referred me back to Igor's suggestion to modify the ".ini" file, and when I did this, and also got things set up properly in the video rendering software (thanks to Ray and Ken Cox, and Hawk), I finally managed to burn a dvd with a proper vertical "pan". Ray, if you're listening, your suggestion in a previous post to increase the size of the PTE avi settings turned out to be correct.

Vital statistics: original images 1920x1080, PTE video settings: custom avi, 1920x1080. I found that an avi setting of 1280x768 also worked, even though the "standard" anamorphic 16:9 dvd size is 1280x720 pixels. I have since also had success with images 1280x768 in size, and a PTE avi setting of 1280x768, also. I have burned dvd's successfully using both Nero VisionExpress and Premiere "Elements-2". I found that "Elements" gave me smoother transitions.

I'm still experimenting with this medium, and still have a lot to learn, but at least I feel much more comfortable with it than before. Now, Igor will probably come out with the first beta of version 5, and make all this work purely academic.

So thanks to all who contributed to this thread, and especially to Igor for producing such a versatile and high-quality program.

[Hawk]

In reference to Al’s “ Vital statistics " and add to Kens archives, for the records. I would like to comment on my latest test results and procedure that I am overwhelmed with in regards to High Definition Wide screen 16:9

Basics

Prepared images from my digital camera, which original are 2272 x 1704 .JPG format.

I crop to 1920 x 1080 using my graphic program Photoshop Elements 3 which allows me to crop about 75 % of the original picture to proper proportion.

I save at quality 10 option, average file size around 500 KB.

Procedure

Before starting program Picture to EXE

Using Windows Explorer I open Picture To EXE folder to locate the .INI file to make a change.

You will see the following lines.

AVIVideoRenderWidth=1024

AVIVideoRenderHeight=768

I changed Width= ( to 1920 ) – Height= ( to 1080 )

Close .INI file and save changes.

Start up Picture to EXE, and create your show as usual, however up to this point I have kept things pretty simple with a few transitions. When your show is complete best to Create AS & Save AS at this point.

Video

Choose Create Custom AVI video file ( with settings )

Width 1920 – Height 1080

Leave the Audio / Video codec as defaults ( Picture To Exe Video Codec )

Click – “ Create AVI “

Choose a folder to save temp AVI to, note this will automatically be deleted when Burn is done and PTE closed.

The “ Making of AVI Video “ box opens and a temp file is created.

Once temp .AVI is complete – minimize PTE – using the ( - ) in the box, which will leave Picture to EXE still open but minimized to system tray

DO NOT CLICK “ FINISH “

Authoring / Burning

I personally use Nero Vision 4, but many other programs can be used with a few basic settings being made.

In Nero Vision 4, I open and choose “ Make a DVD “ – choose DVD Video.

Click “ More “ bottom of screen

Click “ Video Options “ - on the ( General ) screen click NTSC or PAL for your region - choose ( DVD – Video ) screen click 16:9 – OK

( Leaving all other settings as automatic – at this time )

Choose “ Add video files “ – now locate your PTE temp .AVI file, which was created by PTE in the folder you saved it to.

Once added

Click “ Next “ to proceed to create a Menu – then " Next " Preview screen and " Next " again to Burn Page.

When Burn is complete bring PTE back up to maximize.

Note

Your show should have been saved at the beginning, if not - Create AS & Save AS now.

Click “ Finish “

This deletes your “ temp AVI file “

Close Picture to EXE, Open Windows Explorer and locate the .INI file again in PTE folder and change the .INI file back to original. ( Width=1024 & Height=768 )

AVIVideoRenderWidth=1024

AVIVideoRenderHeight=768

Close to Save.

On another NOTE you may want to make reference to 1920x1080 in your file name as a reminder to change the .INI file to 1920 - 1080 settings in case you need to edit your show and do another burn.

Example:

Myshow_1920x1080.PTE / Myshow_1920x1080.EXE

If you are fortunate to own, or able to view on a HD Wide screen TV. I am sure those of us that are following this thread would like to hear your comments on your results if you decide to give it a try.

There are other variations to creating a 16:9, but this has worked well for me.

When I viewed on a 42 inch HD Wide screen 16:9 I was totally impressed.

My computer specs

Windows XP

Pent 4 – 2.4

1.5 GB Ram

Media used – DVD-R

Burn speed 4x ?

Many thanks to those members that have contributed to this topic.

Your thoughts, advise & sugestions appreciated.

[Peter S]

Ray

Sorry for the late reply, I also wanted to thank you very much for the follow up on this topic.

To answer your question as to my daughters DVD player, I am not sure what she has, except that it is a newer Panasonic just purchased before Christmas 2005 and I think it has a few goodies.

And as far as my images being slightly distorted yes there are two in question, as you mentioned my image sizes were not a 16:9 ratio.

Still trying to put it all together as Al mentions a challenge and a new venture for us also.

Ken was kind enough to have my test show viewed on a 100” wall through a projector and results were still overwhelming and promising for first attempt.

Once again

Thanks.

I am most interested in this thread having received a reply some months ago from wnsoft saying Nero could not be used to make DVDs from PTE! It seems to work for some. I stopped using PTE and started with ProShow Gold following a review in Digital Photo that rated this as better than any other programme as far as flicker elimination is concerned. I do however think that PTE has the cleanest interface and I really like the full screen preview.

All the discussion on aspect ratios seems to have been about the screen dimensions but what about the pixel aspect ratio? Photoshop CS2 allows you to change the pixel aspect ratio and therefore prevent distortion when viewing pictures in widescreen. It also provides guides to help you to see what will be visible on screen in the final DVD when viewed as a widescreen show. Has anyone experimented with this.

[Hawk]

Hi Peter – welcome to the forum

What you have quoted in your post is actually from an old test we did a bit ago ( actually our first attempt ) and things have improved since that date.

My above explanation is my latest test and I am completely satisfied with my results.

Keep in mind we are using “ NTSC “ here in Canada, and as far as same settings – photo image size and changes to the .INI file using “ PAL “ we have had no feedback on any results. (Settings may be different)

I have always used Nero Vision to create 16:9 and / burn “ ALL “ my PTE shows to DVD’s.

Picture to EXE – Video - creates the temp .AVI file - which is imported into Nero Vision for the encoding to DVD format.

Nero Vision also allows you to preview before burning.

I have not noticed any “ Flicker “ - “ Shimmer “ and all transition very smooth.

My test have been viewed on a 42” Plasma Wide screen & also a 50 “ showing full screen - no borders.

We do not run Photoshop CS2 so I cannot comment on changing of pixel aspect ratio.

Download the latest version of PTE, many improvements have been added over the last year.

Do you have the Full Version of Nero? And if so what version.

If you have a go at creating, I along with others following this thread would very much appreciate your comments and results.

[Peter S]

Hi Ralph,

Thanks for your explanation. It has been a great help. I have run a few trials and my pictures do look good on my TV when I follow your method. As with most TVs I guess I can set it to various picture modes. The following results are with the TV set to Wide.

I suspected that there would be some distortion so I drew some circles and squares in Photoshop and included them mixed in with some photos at 1920 by 1080. On screen I saw elipses and rectangles.

I then set up a blank file in CS2 with the same 1920 by 1080 dimensions at 72 ppi but with a pixel aspect ratio of 1.42 which is recommended for PAL widescreen. This made my circles round again and my rectangles square.

In both cases there was some black banding visible top and bottom of the pictures and some slight loss on the edges.

I put a 20px blue border round the outer edge of some test slides and then a second rectangle 100px and a third 200px inside the border. This indicated that I lost about 100px from the edges.

I have Nero Premium 7 with Vision 4.

I had kept my version of PTE nearly upto date, it was 4.45 and is now 4.46. I had however not used it for some time as I have been experimenting with Premiere Elements and ProShow Gold. I don't reme,ber having this problem before but if I add a music track and then add more slides they don't appear in the timeline and I cant't get them to show there. They do however look fine in a preview, complete with their transitions. They also burn to DVD OK. I am missing something obvious?

I just wish I understood why what happens happens! I burned all my trials to DVD-RW on the same disc.

Peter

[Hawk]

Pete

If you changed the .INI file, don’t forget to put it back as 1024 x 768 default when done.

I would change the .INI file to match what ever image size you do for 16:9, otherwise distortion will also occur if left at 1024 x 768 default.

As mentioned earlier this must be done before starting Pictures to EXE.

Glad you have some good results.

It is a matter right now of trial and error and maybe the new version 5 will have something added ?, to make things simpler.

Keep and eye on Jeff’s ( jevans ) post as Jeff is in the UK, Jeff has done many test of his own using PAL, and there maybe a hint in his image sizes and temp .avi size. I am not sure if Jeff has attempted changing the .INI file but this seems to be one of the key findings.

Your mention of changing the pixel ratio to 1.42 with CS2 I find this interesting.

I wonder if borders are due to the 1920 x 1080 ?. Possible a different setting would not require the change ?. Here again I know nothing about PAL settings.

I am not sure if you are aware of creating a menu with Nero and adding more than one show to DVD?. We recently found out the proper way to return to menu after viewing one show and able to view another.

See my post. - PTE - Nero - Multple Show Menu

In regards to

I don't reme,ber having this problem before but if I add a music track and then add more slides they don't appear in the timeline and I cant't get them to show there. They do however look fine in a preview, complete with their transitions. They also burn to DVD OK. I am missing something obvious?

I take it as this is in reference to PTE, - if so - sorry I do not have an answer to this one maybe someone else does.

Thanks for your test and input to this thread - appreciated.

Keep us posted.

[Peter S]

Hi Ralph, and Jeff if you are looking in,

Thanks again for some useful info. I have been experimenting and found another snag. I used Jeffs figures produced pictures 768 x 576 in Photoshop. Forgot to change the apr.ini but created video with 768 x 576 and burned using Nero 16:9. I produced some rather small pictures on screen.

Second effort closed PTE, reset apr.ini to 768 x 576 and tried whole process again. This time the pictures were much larger but not full screen.

Thiord effort changed apr.ini to 668 x 501 on the basis if a large figure in the ini gave a small picture a small figure should give a larger picture, right? Well no. It did not change it.

I have produced good pictures bu have been quite unable to get them full screen and I have had around 10 tries with different sizes of pictures, ini and create video options.

I have also tried Premiere Elements and Proshow Gold and they do produce full screen videos when burned to DVD. So I am puzzled.

Jeff if you are thinking about correcting the distortion you have mentioned the following from the Photoshop CS2 help file may be interesting.

When using a computer to create a document for video, keep in mind that an image on a computer monitor is made up of pixels that are essentially square. Video monitors display analog images, which do not not involve pixel shape. Nonsquare pixels are most commonly used by encoding devices for video. When importing an image created by a square-pixel graphics program into a video-editing program like Adobe Premiere, the square pixels are scaled to the nonsquare pixels for video encoding. This scaling results in a distorted image.

In addition to supporting square pixel images, Photoshop supports nonsquare pixel images, allowing you to create documents that are displayed properly on devices such as video monitors. Use the preset file sizes in the Preset menu of the New file dialog box to create images at a size and pixel aspect ratio that compensates for scaling when the images are incorporated into video. The presets also create a document with nonprinting guides that delineate the action-safe and title-safe areas of the image. Using the preset file sizes, you can produce images for specific video systems—NTSC, PAL, or HDTV.

I have tried changing the aspect ratio from square to 1.42 and this produces perfect undistorted images on the widescreen TV - but I still can't get full screen.

Peter

[Ken Cox]

Peter

review my notes

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....st=entry25224

ken

[Hawk]

Peter

Thanks for further testing on your end.

I take it the best so far is with the NTSC settings at 1920 x 1080 ?.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have been doing some searching for PAL settings and on more than 1 web site they mention that the normal " DTV " standard in Europe has a normal PAL resolution of 704 x 576 ( only one stated ).

** Care to try TEST (11) ??

Images cropped to 704 x 576

INI - to 704 x 576

Custom .AVI - to 704 x 576

DVD 16:9 - PAL

Peter - check you (PM message)

[alrobin]

I have produced good pictures bu have been quite unable to get them full screen and I have had around 10 tries with different sizes of pictures, ini and create video options.

I have also tried Premiere Elements and Proshow Gold and they do produce full screen videos when burned to DVD. So I am puzzled.

Peter,

What are you using to play back your wide-screen dvd's? I found, on my laptop, that Interactual and WinDVD both play back my wide-screen shows satisfactorily, but Real Player, even in "theatre" mode, does not show them full-screen.

This area is very tricky, and you have to have all the combinations of variables and parameters just right, or it won't work. And you are right, about the non-square pixels - Photoshop Elements (and PS CS2) both have the capability of preparing custom menus and title screens suitable for wide-screen shows created in Adobe Premiere Elements, at least, by adjusting the pixel dimensions. I hope to experiment more with this aspect of dvd production when I get home from holidays.

It's a "rocky road to Dublin", as they say!

[jays]

All i know is that it's possible. I've seen some people do it and it looks good.

Regards,

Jays

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[Lin Evans]

Hi Jays,

LOL - You are responding to a March "2006" post....

Best regards,

Lin

All i know is that it's possible. I've seen some people do it and it looks good.

Regards,

Jays

Simulation pret immobilier