PTE AV Player fails to open

[Almark]

Hi folks,

I am trying to build a simple menu on my Mac, to produce an exe, that I will run mp4s using Movist Pro. I can get it to work, but it never works first time. When I run my exe menu file, PTE AV Player fails to open and I get an error message, attached. There is an option to reopen and when I select this and run the exe file again, it always works. I have PTE AV Player set as the default app to run exe files on my Mac. 

Exactly the same happens when I create a Mac version of the exe pteav file. PTE AV Player crashes, but if I use the 'Reopen' button, find the file , it works.

All files attached, except the large linked mp4 file. Can I ask a Mac user

1. Does PTE AV Player run the exe first time?
2. If it doesn't, I include the project backed up as ZIP. Could you have a look to see if I have done something wrong in the PTE?

Or, any ideas?

Archive.zip LAVG3club_Mar11-2024_12-08-05.zip

[Almark]

I have built the menu page and it all works great, expect that PTE AV Player crashes when first opened but opens the menu successfully on 'Reopen'.

Once open and running the menu system leaves PTE AV Player and opens my mp4 player. I have to manually return to PTE AV Player after each mp4 finishes, this isn't a problem.

[Igor]

Hi Mark,

I tried to open your show "LAVG3club.pteav" by double clicking on the file in Finder.
Every time, PTE AV Player opened and played it correctly - no errors. Mac Mini M1 chip with macOS Sonoma 14.3.1.

Try to reinstall PTE AV Player. Probably you have very old version?
1. Move the Player to the trash bin.
2. Download V11 Player from WnSoft website.
3. Copy the Player icon to the Applications folder on your Mac.
4. Run manually once the Player from Applications. It's important step to update file associations with the new Player.

If the problem still exists:

1. Do I understand rightly, that PTE AV Player fails first time when you try to open any .exe show file (or .pteav show for Mac) by double clicking this file in Finder?

2. If you open the Sample Project in PTE, create a Show for Mac (as .pteav file), and then double click this file in Finder, do you see the error for the first time?

3. Do you see the error, if you open manually PTE AV Player from Applications for the first time (it was not launched in the Dock). Then open .pteav or .exe show in the Open file window?

[Almark]

Hi Igor, thanks for your speedy reply. I thought I might have been doing something wrong.  I did download the latest versions of Studio and Player, before starting the menu. Both 'exe' and pteav' files are set to open with PTE Player as the default setting on my MacBook Pro 16" M2Pro.

1. Yes

2. I did this and get the same error message attached. If I click on reopen it opens it fine.

3. This works, much in the same way as 'Reopen' in the error message. PTE Player just doesn't;t seem to work directly from Finder as the default app by double clicking on an exe or pteav file. Strange.

 

[Igor]

Mark,

Thanks for your reply.

I'll update our Mac to 14.4 tomorrow and will check again.

Please remdind me about configuration of your Mac (model name).

UPD. Try also reboot your Mac.

[tom95521]

Hi Mark,

When I use one of my videos from your menu it opens the video file but does not autoplay. If you wanted that I would probably create a .pteav file of the video so it auto plays. Also when I click on a .pteav file in finder it always plays the file without having to open it.

On the Mac If you right click on the file and select "Open With" it should have PTE AV Player as the default program (you can change it in Finder using "Get Info") . Maybe you have multiple versions of PTE installed and the Mac is using the wrong version. I don't have an app like Parallels virtualization so I can't check running Windows .exe files.

Tom

Mac mini M2 16GB
Sonoma 14.2.1
PTE 11.0.12

 

[Almark]

 

Hi Igor, Tom,

Thank you both for your detailed replies. Before I started to build the menu on my MacBook Pro (MBP) updated everything, PTE Studio 11.0.12 Silicon, PTE AV Player 11.0.12, MacOS14.4. Once all was updated I rebooted my MBP. I already had both 'exe' and pteav' files set to open with PTE Player as the default setting on my MBP. However, I did have Crossover and the Windows version of PTE AV Studio on my MBP.

When I run my menu exe within Crossover 24 it opens without a hitch and after my mp4 video plays (automatically in full screen in Movist Pro) when each mp4 stops I quit Movisit Pro, it returns back to the menu, perfect.

I then shut down Crossover, and rebooted, and when I try and run either the exe or pteav file with PTE AV Player, by double clicking, it crashes. (previous screen shots refer.) It offers me the option to 'Reopen' and when I do this both the exe or pteav file will run fine PTE AV Player. I get the same result by opening PTE AV Player as an app from 'Applications', it asks for the file and opens in PTE AV Studio fine.

Although the PTE AV Player refuses to close and I have to use Force Quit. (just FYI)

I am confident I will be able to host the event over Zoom this Friday. It is just a bit strange that I can't double-click in Finder without an error.

[jkb]

16 minutes ago, Almark said:

full screen in Movist Pro

Mark, have you tried using VLC Player instead ?

This is the preferred player for MP4 files & is available for both Mac & Windows.

You can easily set it to Quit at the end so that it automatically returns to your Menu.
It is what I was using all weekend at the Peter Coles Competition.

Not sure if the same version will work with both Mac & Crossover if you will need to install both versions .

Jill

 

[Almark]

Hi Jill,

I was thinking of reaching out to you. But, you have been so helpful over the years that I didn't want to be a burden, and of course, I know you do not use a Mac.

I sent out a few posts to various Facebook groups asking for a Zoom test. My friend from Exeter, Derrick Holliday answered almost immediately (and I then wiped all the FB requests.)

What I discovered with a test with Derrick, over Zoom was

1. No sound output, speaker. Zoom thinks my Yeti mic is a speaker, this has to be manually changed to my 'Macbook Speakers' in Zoom Settings|Audio, every time I start.
2. No sound input, mic. Zoom defaults to Boom 3D. I have to quit the Boom3D app. This has to be changed to my 'Yeti Mic', in Zoom eSettings|Audio, every time I start.
3. The 16:10 MacBook screen ratio does not work well with 16:9 1920x1080. My Macbook offers (with 'Notch', 'ProMotion', '10bit' and 'HiDPI') offers
   3456x2234px
   2056x1359px
   1728x1117px
   You found my Zoom screen recording at 2056x1359px to be rather large, so I have moved down to 1728x1117px
4. Not all MP4's received are at 1920x1028 @ 60fps.  Indeed there can be many different settings. This is identified by MovistPro on start-up, which will reflect the details for a few seconds on starting the mp4 video file.
5. If I were to do this again, I might follow Derrick's suggestion of creating a new PTE project for each mp4. Create a blank 1st and last and then save it as a pteav file. This approach allows you to create a menu system that will always come back, after playing each pteav file. But when go have 14 mp4s, this is a lot of work. For 65 at a festival !!!
    

I have it all working now.  See you on Friday

[Igor]

Mark,

Thanks for these details.

Can you try previous version 11.0.11 of the PTE AV Player?

https://files.wnsoft.com/test/PTE-AV-Player-11-0-11.dmg

2. Do you use internal display of your Macbook Pro 16" ? Or external display? If external display, what its screen resolution?

[Almark]

Hi Igor, i will try the previous version and get back to you. I must stress this is not a big problem, or even a small problem. Just an anomaly.
As the Macbook does not have 1920x1080, I used the nearest 16:10 and it was it go over Zoom, I went for 1728x1117. Internal display, which is set under 'Better Display' to Notch, ProMotion, 10 bit, +HDPI ( I have no idea what any of that means!)

an Update

 

Update on getting a PTE 'exe' or 'pteav' file to run as a menu on a Mac. Our LAVG Zoom 3-club exchange went well on Friday evening. My Mac cannot produce 1920x1080 (16:9) as it has a default ratio of 16:10. The nearest I could achieve was 1728x1117 pixels (16:10).

However, I noticed a few anomalies and others noticed a few annoyances. The anomalies were that my (paid for) mp4 player, Movist Pro, tended to stretch two of the mp4s when I was in full-screen mode. Interestingly, some folks using Windows saw borders, some grey some black, whilst other Windows users didn't. Mac users didn't. This would suggest that some Windows users may need to look at their setup.

These bars were an annoyance to some. Another annoyance was the appearance of the mouse pointer, which had disappeared for me, but not it would seem across Zoom. I was told that VLC would automatically hide the mouse cursor, so I have installed it as my default player and it does work better. I noticed no difference in image quality, which was the alleged selling point of Movist Pro.

Sometimes the menu would run the mp4 (Movist Pro) open in full screen and stop at the end, and when I closed Movist Pro, it would return to the menu. But, sometimes it opened on a different virtual screen and I had to intervene to get it to display. Then when I closed it at the end, it refused to return to the menu and again I had to intervene and return to the virtual screen with the menu. Why it would sometimes work and sometimes not, is beyond me.

In the past, my approach of just using Finder and playing the mp4s from a list simply worked every time. Another simple approach is to create a VLC playlist and play from there. But, a nice menu system does look much more professional. And for competitions and festivals, essential. After seeking advice it seems the only way to get around this is to create an 'exe' or 'pteav' in PTE AV Studio from all the supplied mp4 and then use 'Run Slideshow with return'. I may try this as an experiment, but as PTE AV Player falls over every time it is run for the first time from Finder, yet opens fine when I use the 'reopen' button, I am not too sure.

I would like to thank Adrian White, Derrick Holliday and Jill K. Bunting for their advice and support

[Almark]

Exactly the same Igor, crashes on the first launch bit when I click on reopen, and find the file, it runs fine.

But it is not a problem, I can work around it. I am sure you have much better things to do. It was just FYI, and the possibility a Mac user would immediately identify the problem and tell me I'm a muppet  for making a simple mistake.

[jkb]

38 minutes ago, Almark said:

I used the nearest 16:10 and it was it go over Zoom, I went for 1728x1117

Mark, on my 1920x1080 display there were grey bars at each side - due to the fact that you were sending a 16:10 ratio image & I was receiving it & displaying on a 16:9.
Some AV's were losing part of the image, text was displaying outside the frame or missing part of it.

Some seemed to be stretched vertically - had a black band at the top but not the bottom, although the actual image didn't appear stretched.

Also when the on screen display flashed up at the start it was showing - display at 90% or words to that effect.
So I don't think it was displaying the full picture

By using VLC player you shouldn't get any of these problems.
However your 16:10 display will always show grey bars at the side on a 16:9 screen.

If other people didn't see these it will be because their screen ratio was most likely 16:10

Hope this helps

Jill

[Igor]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for these details. I really apologize for that unpleasant issue with PTE AV Player on your Mac!

Earlier I asked you:

3. Do you see the error, if you open manually PTE AV Player from Applications for the first time (it was not launched in the Dock). Then open .pteav or .exe show in the Open file window?

and you replied me:

On 3/11/2024 at 7:19 PM, Almark said:

3. This works, much in the same way as 'Reopen' in the error message. PTE Player just doesn't;t seem to work directly from Finder as the default app by double clicking on an exe or pteav file. Strange.

I re-read your answer. If PTE AV Player runs correctly you open it manually from Applications and then choose .pteav show file from the Open file window, it means that the most likely file association (the Player and .pteav files) is broken. But it's really unusual problem.

1. Try to put .pteav shows into another folder on your Mac, outside system folders Documents or Desktop. A new folder in your Mac's home folder.

2. Check the Trash Bin to and remove any old "PTE AV Players" if you find them there. It's important. Probably file assocition works for the old deleted copy of the Player? I've seen this situation once on my Mac. Then run manually the Player in Applications and after this, try again double click on a show file in the Finder.