PTE exe to avi

[opchiasm]

Please forgive me if this is a stupid/often-asked question.

Is it possible to convert a PTE exe file to avi or some other video format for importing into a DVD production? I've tried a couple of photo-to-DVD programs, but none of them automatically synch the duration of the photos to the background audio, the way PTE nicely does.

Thanks very much for any information.

[Danabw]

THere currently isn't any easy way to get Pinnacle shows to a TV. With lots of limitations (nowhere near as powerful as PTE) Pinnacle's Expression product can create a DVD slideshow (VCD, SVCD, DVD, actually) sync'd to ONE song. Compared to PTE you won't like its (lack of) features, but if you have to have a show to play on a TV it is a good basic tool that will do that. THere are other VCD/SVCD/DVD options from companies like Ulead and ProShow, to name two.

I am waiting (as patiently as possible) for Igor (the PTE developer genius) to provide tools to allow us to get PTE shows to the TV. I'd be happy (maybe happiest) just to get the capability to output to an uncompressed AVI file at DVD resolution - with that in hand I could take care of the rest easily, and Igor wouldn't have to worry about MPEG encoding, etc. In the meantime, I use a video editing program (Studio8, by Pinnacle) to make DVD slideshows. Not really optimised for slideshows, but fewer compromises than Expression.

If you search on acronyms like DVD and VCD in this forum, you'll find other threads where this has been discussed in detail.

Dana

[opchiasm]

Thanks for the response.

Yes, I can use Vegas 4 and create an awesome slideshow for DVD, but was looking for something a little more "one-click".

Ulead DVD PictureShow doesn't really synch the photos with the music (or at least as far as I can tell). You can adjust the display time of the photos, but only in 1 second increments. Again, more work than I wanted.

I didn't realize Expression can do it - I'm really only looking to synch one song anyway. Unfortunately, buying a Pinnacle product is against my religion. You see, I own Studio 8 and have had experience with Pinnacle's (lack of) support.

As far as searching, my version of this web board tells me the term has to be 4 or more letters.

Thanks anyway.

[Ken Cox]

using television as the key word will get you +- 6 hits > 30 days

but

one way to do it is to get an interface to go between computor and monitor similar to

]http://www.aver.com/products/

http://www.aver.com/products/comptv.shtml

http://www.aver.com/products/comptv_AVerKe...Key500pro.shtml

picture quality may not be as good as on the monitor but you are just proofing to the customer

Mine is a 1996 model and it does not near the features they have today but fits my needs -- having the remote control gives you the option of positioning etc.

Another option is to get a TV out graphics board for your computer -- my ATI ALLINWONDER board does not have a remote and the picture size on the tv is not the same size as with the AVerKey

you might write to

jslugman@alaska.com

http://www.jamesandjill.com/index.html

and ask Jim what he uses to make his videos

ken

[Danabw]

I didn't realize Expression can do it - I'm really only looking to synch one song anyway. Unfortunately, buying a Pinnacle product is against my religion. You see, I own Studio 8 and have had experience with Pinnacle's (lack of) support.

Sorry to hear that - S8 has been fine for me, as have Expression and Instant Copy.

Dana

[rwav]

Try ProShow (http://www.photodex.com/products/proshow/index.html). It has the same kind of features than PTE, including the Synchro time line, but it can buid both an executable AND video file, your choice. It also integrate audio components which allow you to drop that third party audio software. Almost same price than PTE, unless you take the Gold package.

Most of our serious slideshow guys at my local photoclub are going with this sofware, as it is all in one (Synch, Audio, video plus photo thumbnails in selection). The video feature seems to beat the executable in preferences, when comes the time to distribute - TV are more widely available than $2,500 projectors.

[Ken Cox]

I have been experimenting with ProShow tho' i am impressed with some of the results i am not satisfied with it overall.

If my picts are not "letter perfect" proshow makes a vcd that bleaches some of the picts terribly and pixelation is quite evident -- yet the same picts in a p2e show do not show these probs when put on the tv/vcr/tape via my AverMedia box

that is my observation

in my testing i used picts from

http://www.mplonsky.com/photo/article.htm

they are "letter perfect" and showed no degradation, but the average person would have to have everything going for him/her to produce picts with no flaws in exposure etc.

I'm likely doing something wrong

ken

[LumenLux]

That is an interesting observation. I wonder if some of our "techie" friends here could explain what you have observed?

Switching gears here - Where are all the normally-abundant great comments in the forum? Since Friday eve (normally a slow time on the forum) it has not awakened. Is the whole world caught in the grasp of spring fever? Maybe everyone is out taking great photos. But that would not account for our friends in the southern hemispere. Personally, this is my busy time of year and I might more wisely not check in so often. But now, when I do check in for my PTE/social fix, I leave with more wonder than awe. Even Guido was barely here during the last few days. Good thing you are still here. Now if we can just get a spring shower of new shows to enjoy as a product of the time people are not devoting to the forum. What ever the cause, I hope and expect the condition is temporary.

[HaroldB]

Maybe 4.0 was so wonderful that we are all spellbound and have no more problems and/or suggestions?

<wink>

Harold

[Igor]

We're experimenting with AVI output using necessary video codec which is installed in Windows. And there are interesting results. And synchronization will work very well on every computer, because it renders each frame step by step to produce qualified 25 or 30 fps AVI video. But it's a first part of this exploration yet.

[cameraman]

Igor,

That sounds GREAT!!!! I hope it comes about the way you are expecting it to. Sounds like it will solve a lot of problems getting to DVD now. Good luck and Good Work.

[bfreas]

Thank you Igor!!!

Very much looking forward to the first beta of.....PicturesToAVI?

[Danabw]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you (infinite loop.). :-)

Dana

P.S. Will this will be a type 2 uncompressed AVI, Igor? I'd love that so I can import it into a DVD slideshow program and then create my DVDs from the best quality input.

[Kurt S]

Wouldn't the best option be to be able to save as an mpeg-1 and mpeg-2 file since those are the types of compression that VCD/SVCD/DVD use?

[Danabw]

Good questions, Kurt. My two cents...

Choosing to output to MPEG-1 or -2 isn't as simple as it sounds. Questions like which encoder(s) to license, how much would Igor have to pay to license it, how much would the add-on cost us, what if we prefer another encoder due to our subjective feelings about the quality of the encoded video, etc.

PTE users will still need another tool to author and burn the content to a CD (VCD/SVCD) or DVD. (I don't think Igor is going to try to add that level of functionality to PTE, at least not at this time.) So as long as we're going to have to choose/use another tool to author/burn, might as well let it encode the AVI output from PTE as well.

What I don't know yet is what format AVI Igor is going to be able to output. We'll have to wait and see what he says about that.

Dana

[Igor]

It possible to write AVI file using *any* installed video codec (or uncompressed AVI). MPEG-4, DivX, Intel Indeo and etc.

All they can be easily converted into VCD (MPEG1) or DVD (MPEG2) formats using CD burning software (e.g. NERO).

p.s. yes, our own MPEG1/2 encoder may vastly increase cost of PicturesToExe and program will has size 3-4 Mb. Because of this we would like to use AVI format.

[Danabw]

There is an old expression, Igor:

"You are the man!" (It means great respect, admiration.)

You ARE the man! :-)

When you release this new feature, I feel it will be time for me to purchase another copy of PTE to show my appreciation for your hard work, and more importantly, to thank you for your interest in listening to and incorporating customer requests. I am really, really looking forward to playing w/this new feature when it is ready...

Thanks,

Dana

[mannybr2003]

It's a perfect idea for the meantime to at least find this support from the makers of PicturesToExe in creating AVI out of PTE for free. However, the trend everywhere and that is sought by every pc user is to seek from us who would present it to them that the product be playable in DVD, since VHS is slowly fading from view, and since still the majority don't have computers. DVD is gaining popularity for its low price now, besides many models now can also play SVCD, VCD, CD, and mp3's. So it is the challenge that is to be the final offer that would be sought from presenters of PTE. And of course we hope to find a way to provide this in the future versions of PTE. The PTE developers might find it necessary to ask the registered user for an additional registration charges to get this upgrade.

I am satisifed with the version 4.0. Thanks for the improvements. My pc doesn't lock anymore.

[Casey]

A word of caution, folks. Don't let your expectations get the better of you. The limitations of video may be a disappointment to some people. It can be very disappointing to go from 1,024 X 768 pixel resolution at 85 frames/sec refresh rate of your tv monitor to 25 or 30 frames per second at 720 X 480 (or 576) pixel resolution on a television.

But if you can accept those limitations, then have at it! A few other points to consider, Igor. Uncompressed AVI would be of particular interest to me, but I do warn people that uncompressed AVI at DVD resolution amounts to 213 MB PER MINUTE in file size. That may seem daunting, but the benefit is that you can do additional editing (video effects, multitrack audio editing, etc.) without generational quality loss, assuming you have a video editor (such as Adobe Premiere) for "post production". Note that older machines or those with slower hard drives may have difficulty rendering uncompressed AVI. That isn't as big of a problem as it sounds like, because rendering in compressed AVI (using Indeo's excellent FREE AVI codec) is almost as good and with MUCH smaller file sizes.

I also should mention that there is a very good FREE MPEG encoder called "TMPGEnc" (it stands for "Tsumami Mpeg", incidentally). It isn't very fast, but the quality is pretty good and there are wealth of options available. There are other free encoders, but I think TMPGEnc is the best of the free ones.

Also be warned that creating a 30 minute show can take a long time to render. This depends heavily on the encoder that you use and the rendering options you select. If you're SERIOUS about making very high quality, you might consider looking at Cinemacraft's "Basic" encoder, which costs $58. It does a very good job and is relatively fast. According to those that know more about it than I, this encoder is fundamentally the same one that they market for $2,000 (albeit with fewer rendering options).

Probably the cheapest/easiest options is to buy Nero Burning ROM's MPEG encoder plugin, for those of you using Nero. I think I paid $16 for it and while it doesn't have the highest quality - nor is it the fastest - it is convenient and you have good chance at creating a "working" disk.

The slide show market has changed radically in the three+ years we've been begging for video output from PTE and the competition that has emerged in this time that have based their strengths on their video capabilities are stiff competition indeed. Microsoft shows signs of getting into the market with "Movie Maker 2.1" as it is a FREE download, it will necessarily garner support from a lot of people. Photodex and Sonic Foundry also make very good products.

I am more than curious how video will be implmented into PTE. Let's hope lives up to everyone's expectations.

Casey

[Igor]

Mainly I agree with Casey.

Only I would like to add that even 25-30 fps can be enough for smoothness transition effects (I've seen recently exactly similar effects in "A Very Merry Pooh Year" cartoon film). Also encoder to AVI works faster, because we have a lot of static frames between transition effects. So we're reaching high quality at very small size of AVI file (with MPEG-4 codec).

p.s. I'm not sure that video output will be added in the next version 4.10. Probably it takes a couple of months.

[Danabw]

Casey:

Good post, w/lots of good info/advice.

There are other free encoders, but I think TMPGEnc is the best of the free ones.

Agree strongly. The free version only does MPEG-1, so if you want DVD you'll have to pony up about $50 for MPEG-2 from TMPGEnc. www.tmpgenc.net Only encodes, won't create menus or burn, so you'll need other software for that (e.g., Nero, Roxio).

Remember, you won't be able to use menus or buttons created in PTE in shows exported to video. Once a show is rendered to an AVI there is no functionality (buttons or otherwise) - only a video/audio stream.

As for the quality issue, that has been debated and is (as you note) a subjective issue. Those who I pass my shows on to have strongly preferred the DVD format due to the superior ease of use (no computer), superior playback (big-screen TVs and high-end audio systems), and comfort (sitting on the couch, not standing around the computer screen). :-) The quality is amazingly good, and will only improve as encoding technology improves.

I plan on using Pinnacle's Studio 8 for my production, and may also use their Expression tool, as its encoder is a bit faster than the S8 encoder (as well as providing simpler menu creation). Render/burn time for DVDs is about 3 x's the length of the movie for me (on a P4 2.4). So it is slower, as is making copies of the show (burn time is slower than the really fast 48x CD burners these days), and DVD blanks are more expensive than CDs, and (yes, there's more!) there are some DVD compatibility issues between the two formats (DVD-R and DVD+R). So bears some investigation for newbies.

If anyone is going to purchase software package to take the AVI output from PTE, I would recommend trying Pinnacle's Expression. About $50, and includes the ability to create menus and burn to VCD/SVCD/DVD, with very good quality. They've just released (or should soon) a patch that has some excellent improvements. Ulead also makes video tools in the same price range that have strong followings.

The great thing about PTE exporting video will be the ability to create and preview shows very quickly, and once tweaked, export to video and then convert to a DVD. I haven't found any slideshow tool that provides the ease and flexibility of development that PTE does, and adding a path to DVD output is going to be a great feature! This is one case where applying a different tool to each portion of the task will reap great benefits.

Dana

Added: The other really cool thing will be to develop in PTE and be able to output to pc or TV. Right now I have to use PTE for PC shows, and Expression or Studio 8 for DVD shows. Using PTE to make the "source presentation" will be much better, especially when I want both PC and DVD versions of the same show!

[RayPar]

I can convert any of my PTE presentations to any format with no problems (VHS, VCD, SVCD, DVD, etc.) via my laptop.

But.......here's the catch: My laptop has a TV output port which can output at the resolution of up to 1024x768 (although not as crisp on a TV monitor). The pictures however look very good on the TV monitor and I don't loose any portions (edges) due to over scanning of the TV monitor. So to get my shows on VHS, I simply plug my laptop into my Audio/Video receiver and tape the presentation.

To do VCD, SVCD, or DVD requires a bit more. I plug my laptop into my Video Editing PC’s analog capture port (Pinnacle DV500) and capture the presentation as an AVI file. I can then take that AVI file and encode it into VCD, SVCD, or DVD either through my NLE software (Adobe Premier) or by using TMPGenc. I can also incorporate the captured AVI as part of an edited video show.

So if you have a PC/laptop that has a TV out port you can easily record your presentations on at least VHS tape. You can also do the latter if you have a second PC with an ordinary inexpensive capture card.

If anybody wants me to convert their presentations onto VCD or SVCD, just let me know. I’ll be more than happy to do it for you so long as I don’t get hundreds or requests (or I’ll have to start charging).

Ray

[RayPar]

Remember, you won't be able to use menus or buttons created in PTE in shows exported to video. Once a show is rendered to an AVI there is no functionality (buttons or otherwise) - only a video/audio stream.

Dana,

That shouldn't be hard to do with a SVCD/DVD authoring tool and the use of chapters if you have your presentation in an AVI format. Granted you won't be able to use PTE's menu buttons, but you can implement your own with the authoring tool.

Ray

[LumenLux]

If anybody wants me to convert their presentations onto VCD or SVCD, just let me know. I’ll be more than happy to do it for you so long as I don’t get hundreds of requests (or I’ll have to start charging).

Ray

I have yet to view an SVCD production. I actually tried first time today to create one using Pinnacle Studio 8 - unsucessfully. I may take you up on the offer soon. The question I have is: If you convert a PTE of mine to SVCD format, can that SVCD version be emailed to me and then burned like any data file with my CD burner?

[Danabw]

Ray:

What a pleasant surprise! Good to hear from you again.

As for menus, yeah, you'd just create new ones in your authoring tool - Studio 8 for me.

But how the heck are you? Been busy, I presume...

And, sadly, no TV out on my laptop. But when Igor provides the AVI out, I'll be styling!

Dana