PicturesToExe v5.00 beta #6

[Igor]

PicturesToExe v5.00 beta #6

http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/apr_beta.zip (1.6 MB)

I think the important moment of this beta that PicturesToExe produces now ideally smooth Pan effect without possible slight fluctuations on good video cards sometimes.

Exact synchronization of music and slides again still not implemented. We'll back to this moment soon in nearest betas.

What's new in beta 6:

+ Vastly improved smoothness of Pan effect on powerful video cards.

+ New drive bar (in main window).

+ Added "HD-720 progressive, 50/60 frames" mode in "Video" window.

+ Improvements in Customize synchronization window:

+ Enlarged size of preview area in "Customize synchronization" window.

+ Status bar displays duration of a slide show now, not duration of music.

+ Timeline in Visual editor shows keypoints that located outside time of a slide.

+ Improvements for High DPI mode (120 dpi) in Windows Vista.

* Fixed visual bug in Push/Slide effects.

* Improved visual quality of Curling of page effect.

* Fixed bug when slide show didn't start if "Use music" option unchecked.

* Fixed bug when with "Auto" mode times between slides were incorrect.

* Fixed bug of previous beta with "Import transition points..." function in "Customize synchronization" window.

* Fixed bug with incorrect time in dates of files in created ZIP backup.

* Fixed several other very minor bugs.

p.s. we're finishing works on second CPU based software engine which works as v4.48 on old PCs and old video cards. Probably it will be inserted already to the next beta 7.

[dagrace]

I don't know the time difference from here to where you are, Igor, but you seem to post at any hour of the day or night! Do you ever sleep? Thanks again for a stellar program and the countless hours you and your team put in!

(I think Ken has a weather report for Kirov attached to his from line... maybe he can add the time too!)

[thedom]

Thank you !

Be sure that I will try this new beta and give you feedback...

I just updated the file on my site to announce the release of this new beta.

Just a question Igor : you wrote "We'll back to this moment soon in nearest betas".

Do you have an idea of how many more betas you will release before the final v5.00 version ?

Thanks again.

[thedom]

+ New drive bar (in main window).

Could you please tell me what you're talking about, I can't see ?

+ Enlarged size of preview area in "Customize synchronization" window.

Sorry Igor, but I can't see the difference...

And is it only me, or is the max size of the thumbnails displayed in the slide list window (in the main window) much smaller than before ?

Last question : is it possible for us (end-user) to modify the GUI ?

Thanks.

[Igor]

Dominique,

Do you have an idea of how many more betas you will release before the final v5.00 version ?

I don't know, sorry

+ New drive bar (in main window).

Could you please tell me what you're talking about, I can't see ?

New bar of drives in the top part of the main window. It correctly supports High DPI mode now (120 dpi).

+ Enlarged size of preview area in "Customize synchronization" window.

Sorry Igor, but I can't see the difference...

This preview window on 70% larger than before.

And is it only me, or is the max size of the thumbnails displayed in the slide list window (in the main window) much smaller than before ?

It's impossible, really I didn't change anything

Last question : is it possible for us (end-user) to modify the GUI ?

Partially, as options allow Just please write me your suggestions and thoughts after v5.00

[Ken Cox]

I don't know the time difference from here to where you are, Igor, but you seem to post at any hour of the day or night! Do you ever sleep? Thanks again for a stellar program and the countless hours you and your team put in!

(I think Ken has a weather report for Kirov attached to his from line... maybe he can add the time too!)

David see

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....indpost&p=32756

ken

[smdavies100]

I have downladed the Beta 6 and am experiencing some problems

1) If I click on the image in the right hand pane , I get lots of error messages and the application hangs.

2) If I create a .exe it will not run

Exception EAccessViolation in mad-43a.exe at 00062332

Acces violation at address 00426332 in module C:\pictures\mad-43a.exe. Read of address 00000020.

java script:emoticon('', 'smid_2')

I can see that there are a number of differences in the format of the .pte file. Is there any way to to/from V4.x?

[thedom]

Igor (and members ),

I have a problem with :

Project Options > Screen Tab > Aspect Ratio of a slide

I can select "Custom" but can NOT enter a value anymore.

Am I the only one to have the problem ?

Thanks.

[Ken Cox]

same for me Dom

as well the layout of that window has changed from what it looks like in v5 b5

ken

[Michel]

With a laptop GeForce FX Go 5700 128mb, 1440x900, it's smooth.

[Igor]

Dominique,

Sorry it's my mistake with editing aspect ratio. I'll upload updated beta 6 today.

[Igor]

I uploaded updated beta 6 with fixed bug when you was not able to set custom aspect ration in Screen tab of Project options.

Thanks.

[dagrace]

David see

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index....indpost&p=32756

ken

My humblest apologies... I shouldn't have doubted!

[Ronniebootwest]

Is anyone else having problems with sound?

When I preview the show all is OK but when I create the exe, the sound has disappeared.

I seem to have experienced this problem before but can't remember what I did to fix it.

Ron

[Ken Cox]

i believe you had to recheck a box in controlpanel/sounds audio devices

after you ran the

dxdiag

command

ken

[jevans]

If you add an object and give it some motion, say either a pan or zoom, then add a second object as a child of the first, the child object will take on the motion of the parent. However if the parent opacity is varied and then a child object is added, it foes not take on the opacity change of the parent. Is this how it is meant to work?

Jeff

[Ronniebootwest]

i believe you had to recheck a box in controlpanel/sounds audio devices

after you ran the

dxdiag

command

ken

Hi Ken, You are quite right!

All is well now, thanks.

Ron

[Ken Cox]

YA BETTER WRITE A TUTORIAL

KEN

[thedom]

if the parent opacity is varied and then a child object is added, it foes not take on the opacity change of the parent. Is this how it is meant to work?

Jeff

Jeff, yes, that's how it works today.

I couldn't find the post but this has been already pointed out.

And I think Igor answered that this would be modified in a future beta / version (ie opacity will work the same way for children objects as it already does for Pan and Rotate).

I guess it's in his famous TODO list.

[Igor]

Yes, it's in our TODO list for v5.10

By the way, today I've compared quality of resized images in v4.48 and in v5.00 with hardware acceleration.

In v5.00 images (2272x1704 reduced to screen 1024x768) look more sharp and no need to additionally apply unsharp mask in Photoshop.

[Guest Techman1]

Igor,

I found a little issue in V5BetaX regarding the Screen Saver Option;

If you create a Screen Saver and then go back to create an Executable, the File Type (Save as type:) is defaulting to Screen Saver (*.scr) and not Executable File (*.exe).

This isn't a major deal, but something you might want to fix as it could be confusing for new PC users.

Regards,

Fred

[sanewcomb]

Issues Concerning AVI Output

First I want state the current implementation is very good and it is not too difficult to get a working DVD movie slideshow if you directly use one of the DVD Authoring programs that has a template.

Audio Format

The DVD standard requires all audio to be sampled at 48 kHz (with one exception). It allows several different formats, one of which must be either PCM (uncompressed) or AC-3 (NTSC) /MPEG-1 Layer II (PAL). P2E's templates produce 44.1 kHz PCM audio files, even when the input is a 48 kHz PCM file. It should produce 48 kHz PCM files. Even if the DVD Authoring program compresses it to AC-3, outputting to 48 kHZ would avoid degradation caused by resampling. Users that want to maintain the highest audio quality should rip their original CDs to 48 kHz WAV (same format as PCM) files.

Added Numbers to AVI Filenames

I noticed that P2E adds what seems to be random numbers to the filenames when using the predefined settings (VCD, SVCD, DVD...). This is unexpected since the program prompts for a filename before creating the proprietary (temp) AVI file. It causes problems for users who want the DVD Authoring program to use the filenames as names in their menus. Is there a purpose for this? If a filename already exists, won't Windows alert the user and prompt for a different name (which would be the desired case for people using filenames in menus)?

Interlaced vs. Progressive

I'm confused about these settings with respect to settings in the encoding software (DVD Authoring program or MPEG encoding software). Is P2E passing on a request to the 3rd party encoders, or is the output of P2E itself interlaced/progressive? Knowing what is actually happening will help users who manually set parameters in P2E as well as 3rd party encoding programs.

Steve

Tucson, AZ USA

[sanewcomb]

Background Music for Show Dialog Box

Project Options > Music Tab

On my display, the window showing the list of music files clips or crops the filenames, even though there is a scroll bar. I can't read the full filenames. Seems like the calculation for the window involving the font isn't correct.

Windows XP Home

NVidia GForce 6600 GT

1024x768x32

Windows and buttons: Windows XP style

Font size: Large Fonts

Steve

Tucson, AZ USA

[Igor]

Fred,

Screen saver mode is not releazed in v5.00 beta yet.

Steve,

Audio Format

Your suggestion is right, I'll add option - 48 KHz or 44 KHz

In PicturesToExe Deluxe we'll always use 48 KHz.

But because CD audio and MP3s in 44 KHz resampling still is necessary. We use good algorithm for resampling.

Added Numbers to AVI Filenames

I did so because some DVD authoring products (for example, Ulead DVD Movie Factory 2) caches converted MPEG2 file and even doesn't look that we want to convert modified AVI file with same filename.

Interlaced vs. Progressive

PicturesToExe renders video in Progressive or Interlaced formats.

- If your slide show doesn't have any animation, only static slides and Fade effects - set Progressive format.

- If you have fast Pan effects, Circle, Curling of page - set Interlaced format for more smooth animation.

Background Music for Show Dialog Box

OK, I'll check up this moment on Monday.

Thanks!

[sanewcomb]

Audio Format

Your suggestion is right, I'll add option - 48 KHz or 44 KHz

In PicturesToExe Deluxe we'll always use 48 KHz.

But because CD audio and MP3s in 44 KHz resampling still is necessary. We use good algorithm for resampling.

My main point is it shouldn't resample the audio if the audio file is already in 48 kHz. An option wouldn't be of much use since most people wouldn't understand the difference. Just trying to preserve the best quality for those who rip their CDs in 48 kHz and use the templates. For people using the Create Custom, they can set it to 48 kHz already.

You could have P2E check the sampling rate of the audio file(s) and, if they are in 48 kHz format already, don't convert them to 44 kHz.

Added Numbers to AVI Filenames

I did so because some DVD authoring products (for example, Ulead DVD Movie Factory 2) caches converted MPEG2 file and even doesn't look that we want to convert modified AVI file with same filename.

I don't understand this. I have Ulead DVD Movie Factory 2se, and it uses filenames in whatever form I use. It creates DVD files in all 3 of the following ways. Slideshow name is Sample.pte

ONE

1. Press Video> Create AVI (DVD template checked)

2. Dialog box shows Sample_vid

3. Press Save

4. A file is created called Sample_vidxxx.avi

5. This is the filename I load into Movie Factory, and it automatically becomes the title of the video

6. makes DVD fine

TWO

1. Press Video> Create AVI (Create Custom checked)

2. Dialog box shows Sample_vid

3. Press Save

4. A file is created called Sample_vid.avi (no random numbers)

5. This is the filename I load into Movie Factory, and it automatically becomes the title of the video

6. makes DVD fine

(I can also remove the _vid in step 2 and it makes it fine.)

THREE

1. Press Video> Create AVI (DVD template checked)

2. Dialog box shows Sample_vid

3. Press Save

4. A file is created called Sample_vidxxx.avi

5. I rename this file Sample.avi with Windows Explorer

6. This is the filename I load into Movie Factory, and it automatically becomes the title of the video

7. makes DVD fine

So, I don't see any of the problems you are talking about. Or I don't understand the problems. But I can create a DVD with no errors even when I use Windows Explorer to rename the proprietary AVI file half way through the process and using the Ulead product.

Steve

Tucson, AZ USA