rayhopper2 Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Hi allHave just purchased PTE and beginning to explore version 5 and this excellent forum - (although some of it's a bit over my head at the moment). I've been using Pro Show Gold for making slideshows but as they increase in size I find the rendering time excrutiating, the transitions and movements a bit wobbly and DVD production sometimes unstable, so the idea of an exe file that needs no rendering and produces smooth transitions is very appealing. I have a no. of queries, which I can't answer with a quick search.1.Can v.5 apply pan + zoom to multiple slides ?2. Is it possible to have 2 audio tracks - I want to add some background music to dialogue/commentary.Also is the audio track volume contollable ?3. Any suggestions for displaying exe files on a large screen TV - presumably I can use my laptop as a source - any other suggestions ?4. Is it possible to repeat a slide sequence or do something else in order to match precisely to an audio track.Sorry if these queries have been asked/answered before - please point me in the right direction.RayUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Evans Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Hi allHave just purchased PTE and beginning to explore version 5 and this excellent forum - (although some of it's a bit over my head at the moment). I've been using Pro Show Gold for making slideshows but as they increase in size I find the rendering time excrutiating, the transitions and movements a bit wobbly and DVD production sometimes unstable, so the idea of an exe file that needs no rendering and produces smooth transitions is very appealing. I have a no. of queries, which I can't answer with a quick search.1.Can v.5 apply pan + zoom to multiple slides ?You can have zoom and pan on all slides in your show. If you mean is there some automated way to use the same zoom and pan for each slide with one command, the answer is no. You must set effects for each slide.2. Is it possible to have 2 audio tracks - I want to add some background music to dialogue/commentary.Also is the audio track volume contollable ?You will be able to have two audio tracks but all the bells and whistles for audio have not yet been implemented in the beta. Look for more in the next beta which will allow separate audio for each slide as well as multiple background music or sound which can be random or sequential. Not being an audio editor, there is no adjustment on volume. You would need to use Audacity or some other audio editor to pre-set this.3. Any suggestions for displaying exe files on a large screen TV - presumably I can use my laptop as a source - any other suggestions ?You can't display executable files on a television - totally different technology. What you can do is create the show in AVI format then create a DVD to play in a variety of resolutions and aspect ratios. The Deluxe version of PicturesToExe will have an internal burn engine to allow creation of DVD's directly from the pte file without using external codecs and the beta for that should be available in a few days.4. Is it possible to repeat a slide sequence or do something else in order to match precisely to an audio track.Yes, there will be audio sync ability where you can precisely match the timing on the slide to your audio source. There will also be the ability to simply adjust the timing of slides including transitions to perfectly match the duration of background music. This will all be available with the final release version of 5.0.Sorry if these queries have been asked/answered before - please point me in the right direction.RayUKHopefully we will soon have a way other than the search engine to categorize previously covered issues, but right now we don't. This will become necessary as the number of posts continue to increase. No problem with asking any question - that's the best way to learn.Best regards,Lin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alrobin Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 1.Can v.5 apply pan + zoom to multiple slides ?2. Is it possible to have 2 audio tracks - I want to add some background music to dialogue/commentary.Also is the audio track volume contollable ?3. Any suggestions for displaying exe files on a large screen TV - presumably I can use my laptop as a source - any other suggestions ?4. Is it possible to repeat a slide sequence or do something else in order to match precisely to an audio track. Ray, Welcome to the Forum!Lin has already answered your questions, so I will just add my 2-cents to what he has already told you. 1. If by multiple images you mean several images panning and zooming at the same time, the answer is "yes" for version 5, and "no" for all other versions before 5. To achieve this you would use the "Objects/Animations" window in PTE. To add an image simply click on the "image" icon at the top left corner of the window. You can then resize them, move them, etc., and add "PZR" effects independently to each. The method for doing this takes a bit of experimentation, but it has been documented in the various mini-demos submitted by different Forum members.2. Yes, you can have 2 audio tracks in the existing "official" version of PTE (version 4.48), but one is used mainly for narration. (the "sound" line at the bottom right of the main PTE window). This can be used in parallel with "background" sound. This will be available again soon in version 5. 3. Some large-screen TV's also function as computer monitors, and can be used directly to display PTE sequences. You may have to make some adjustments in your computer display properties to have it display properly on a TV monitor. Most new high-end video cards have the capability to display directly onto a TV set, but the quality may not be as good as with a pc monitor, or one of the more expensive LCD or plasma screens. The other way to go is via the DVD route.4. Precise synchronization is possible now in version 5 by using the timeline to control the transitions, as long as you are showing the sequence only on your own system. The ability to sync it so that it will display exactly the same way on another pc, as is possible in v.4, will soon be available again in v.5.I have synched several shows in v.5, and the timing is accurate each time it is shown on my own desktop pc, and also on my laptop.Hope these help you get up to speed with PTE. It is a great program, and once v.5 is completed, I am sure you will have many hours of enjoyment with it. The learning curve is steep, so I would suggest you download and study each of the demos mentioned throughout the Forum messages. All the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronwil Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 As regards Question 1, if it relates to stitching multiple slides together for a panorama, then this has to be done outside of PTE5 in a picture editing programme such as Photoshop or Serif's PanoramaPlus, prior to introduction into PTE5.Ron [uK] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayhopper2 Posted October 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Ray, Welcome to the Forum!Lin has already answered your questions, so I will just add my 2-cents to what he has already told you. 1. If by multiple images you mean several images panning and zooming at the same time, the answer is "yes" for version 5, and "no" for all other versions before 5. To achieve this you would use the "Objects/Animations" window in PTE. To add an image simply click on the "image" icon at the top left corner of the window. You can then resize them, move them, etc., and add "PZR" effects independently to each. The method for doing this takes a bit of experimentation, but it has been documented in the various mini-demos submitted by different Forum members.2. Yes, you can have 2 audio tracks in the existing "official" version of PTE (version 4.48), but one is used mainly for narration. (the "sound" line at the bottom right of the main PTE window). This can be used in parallel with "background" sound. This will be available again soon in version 5. 3. Some large-screen TV's also function as computer monitors, and can be used directly to display PTE sequences. You may have to make some adjustments in your computer display properties to have it display properly on a TV monitor. Most new high-end video cards have the capability to display directly onto a TV set, but the quality may not be as good as with a pc monitor, or one of the more expensive LCD or plasma screens. The other way to go is via the DVD route.4. Precise synchronization is possible now in version 5 by using the timeline to control the transitions, as long as you are showing the sequence only on your own system. The ability to sync it so that it will display exactly the same way on another pc, as is possible in v.4, will soon be available again in v.5.I have synched several shows in v.5, and the timing is accurate each time it is shown on my own desktop pc, and also on my laptop.Hope these help you get up to speed with PTE. It is a great program, and once v.5 is completed, I am sure you will have many hours of enjoyment with it. The learning curve is steep, so I would suggest you download and study each of the demos mentioned throughout the Forum messages. All the best! Many thanks for your response (and Lin and Ron) and your welcome.1. I obviously did not make my Q about multiple slides clear. Pro Show Gold, eg, allows you to, say, zoom in 30% and then pan, and then apply this movement to the next n slides. This is very useful if you want to make a very quick slideshow. I'm still not clear from your various replies if PTE 5 can do this.3. I have a newish 37in Panasonic Plasma with a 15-pin PC-in socket and a channel set-up for PC monitoring (although I've never used this facility). Unfortunately, poking around my laptop this afternoon, I find it only has an S-video TV output port. Lin - the whole point of my question was to avoid the tedium and instabilityof DVD rendering.I'll be spending the next few days studying some of the demos.Thanks againRayUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alrobin Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 1. I obviously did not make my Q about multiple slides clear. Pro Show Gold, eg, allows you to, say, zoom in 30% and then pan, and then apply this movement to the next n slides. This is very useful if you want to make a very quick slideshow. I'm still not clear from your various replies if PTE 5 can do this.3. I have a newish 37in Panasonic Plasma with a 15-pin PC-in socket and a channel set-up for PC monitoring (although I've never used this facility). Unfortunately, poking around my laptop this afternoon, I find it only has an S-video TV output port. Ray,Re your question 1, PTE does not have this feature, per se. However, you can set up a slide to do what you want it to do, and then copy it umpteen times to a new slideshow, thus giving each of these slides in the new show the same characteristics.Re Q.3, you may be able to plug a VGA cable into the back of your laptop and the other end into the 15-pin jack on your TV screen, just like you would plug the laptop into an external monitor? Maybe through an adapter if not directly?Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Evans Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Many thanks for your response (and Lin and Ron) and your welcome.1. I obviously did not make my Q about multiple slides clear. Pro Show Gold, eg, allows you to, say, zoom in 30% and then pan, and then apply this movement to the next n slides. This is very useful if you want to make a very quick slideshow. I'm still not clear from your various replies if PTE 5 can do this.Hi Ray,I'm a long time ProShow Gold user too, since pre-release beta days, but I've never found a way to do this. I have a "randomize" movement effect which can be quickly applied to all slides, but no way I've ever found to apply the same specific movements to a number of slides. I would be curious to know which commands you use to get that effect?In addition to what Al has suggested, you can copy a slide which copies all the effects of that slide including all movement, animations, etc., (and you can do infinitely more movements and animations than with Proshow Gold) then paste the slide any number of times. The simply rename the slide to any other slide name you wish in the slide list which will effectively transfer all animation to the new slide. This is a bit different than selecting and applying such to all slides, but effectively provides the same results. The PicturesToExe developer's philosophy is that each slide in a professional slideshow is an independent entity which deserves its own animations and effects (or not) so applying random movements or such is not a choice by design. Because the assumption is that each slide will be different, a single effect or animation applied to every slide would be counter productive to a quality presentation. 3. I have a newish 37in Panasonic Plasma with a 15-pin PC-in socket and a channel set-up for PC monitoring (although I've never used this facility). Unfortunately, poking around my laptop this afternoon, I find it only has an S-video TV output port. Some video cards such as my old ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (AGP) have outputs for both the standard 15 pin VGA which would feed an external monitor but also an S-Video and 28 pin DVI. Usually laptops have at least a 15 pin VGA port to drive an external monitor so you could just plug directly in but with no VGA port that's not an option. This makes me wonder about the video environment of the laptop as well so it might be wise to download my puzzle tests and try each to see how your laptop video card handles the hardware specific video. I'll give you a link a bit later. Lin - the whole point of my question was to avoid the tedium and instabilityof DVD rendering.Sorry, I assumed you wanted to provide shows for others so the suggestion to try DVD or AVI but if it's only for your own use then you do need a way to connect to you plasma screen. Depending on how well your laptop handles the video you might want to eventually consider upgrading to one with a VGA port. There are a number of differences in the way Proshow Gold and Producer handle video (for now) and how it's done with PicturesToExe. P2E uses hardware rendering which avails itself of the power of the video card without any real need for a super powerful CPU. The Photodex products use software rendering then for executable shows of greater than DVD resolution interpolate up to display resolution on the fly which can sometimes tax a less than optimal CPU and RAM combination causing jerky movements especially in pans. With the P2E system the executable is rendered at the resolution it's fed by the system. If you give it a nine megapixel image and have a nine megapixel monitor then you get a slideshow rendered at full resolution. Of course most use systems with displays running at between 1024x768 and maybe 1600x1200 or so and if the show is created from originals at these display resolutions you get the very nice crisp images without need of interpolation. Of course for NTSC or PAL DVD you loose this high resolution advantage.The essence is that the better the video card the larger the files you can stack in layers and still have smooth movement so high powered gaming cards can play nearly any P2E slideshow while older video cards with say 32 meg RAM require the user to pay attention to conservation of memory by not throwing too much extreme animation and too many RAM hungry layers at the equipment. Several of the forum members including myself as well as the developer have created various tests which can be used to learn how well your video environment is suited to various RAM loads. Below are links to a 32 piece puzzle I created. The Large RAM model taxes even the most powerful video envitonment. If this plays smoothly or reasonably smoothly on your system, then you know you have a top-of-the-line video card. If it fails completely then you have less than optimal equipment. The Low RAM model also has 32 layers but uses much smaller file sizes for each layer and "should" play smoothly on almost any system. This all goes to show that it's not the number of layers or animations but the overall RAM load (and proper Direct X version) which determine the performance. Try both and see if you can play them. The Large RAM will have an extended delay in the midi sound of around 5 to seven seconds and you may see only a black screen for several seconds before the actual video begins. The small RAM model's sound should begin nearly immediately and the action should be on all movements.With proper attention to RAM loading it's possible to make slidshows with even hundreds of layers with P2E. JPD (Jean Pierre), one of our forum members, created a 565 layer puzzle which will run perfectly on a 32 meg ram video card! Here are the links to the two sample tests: If they both run on your machine then you should be able to easily run any of the demos. If the large RAM model fails completely you may find some of the demos jerky or stalling in some areas.http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/puzzle30piece.ziphttp://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/puzzlesmallRAM.zipHope these help a bit sorting out potential issues...Best regards,LinI'll be spending the next few days studying some of the demos.Thanks againRayUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Lin,The way to get Proshow to apply the same motion effect to several slides goes like this. Set the movement you want with 1 slide. Then highlight each slide you want that same motion effect for by holding down the shift key and selecting each slide. Then on the slide that you have set up the motion effect right click in the text box that represents the value you want applied to the other slides. The right click will bring up a menu that gives you the option to apply that value to 'All Slides' or 'Selected Slides'. And thats it.That also works for most settings that can be applied to a slide.Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Evans Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Lin,The way to get Proshow to apply the same motion effect to several slides goes like this. Set the movement you want with 1 slide. Then highlight each slide you want that same motion effect for by holding down the shift key and selecting each slide. Then on the slide that you have set up the motion effect right click in the text box that represents the value you want applied to the other slides. The right click will bring up a menu that gives you the option to apply that value to 'All Slides' or 'Selected Slides'. And thats it.That also works for most settings that can be applied to a slide.JasonHi Jason,Thanks, that works well!Best regards,Lin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Hi Jason,Thanks, that works well!Best regards,LinHey Lin,No problem. Thats one of those things thats not documented well and lots of people over look.LaterJason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnFeg Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Hi all3. Any suggestions for displaying exe files on a large screen TV - presumably I can use my laptop as a source - any other suggestions ?Hope this will help with your question 3.I find that the picture quality is better playing the exe file into the TV from my computer.JohnConnect_Computer_to_TV.doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayhopper2 Posted October 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Hey Lin,No problem. Thats one of those things thats not documented well and lots of people over look.LaterJasonIt's not that hidden actually as it's a Tip of the Day !OTOH I hadn't really taken in that PSG produces exe files.Thanks once again to all those who've contributed to this thread.RayUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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