Problem with "jerky" pans

[dpeterso]

Hello Slideshow Makers -

I'm new to the forum and a veteran of about 8 slideshows with PTE/V5.0. I'm have a problem with a noticeable "jerk" while doing pans &/or zooms, especially if the pan/zoom has a considerable amount of travel. It occurs consistently about 1/8 of the way into the pan/zoom. I've tried many different things to remedy the problem, and only two thing work, but at a price. One is to turn off the "Effects" toggle. The other is to greatly reduce the amount of travel associated with the pan or zoom. It seems to make no difference in the duration of the display or the size of the picture. I've experimented with jpeg pictures sized at 1280 X 853 (204KB in size) and 3072 X 2048 (486 KB in size). The problem is the same with either size of the same picture.

I'm running a Dell with a Pentium 4, 3GHz CPU, 1 GB of RAM, and a Radeon X300 SE video card with 128 MB of memory. I've watched the forum for anyone to report a similar issue, but I've not seen any reported. So, now I'm wondering if it's unique to me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I just love the software!

Regards,

Dave

[Barry Beckham]

I would try updating your graphics card drivers first. Check to see if there are some later drivers, it cured the problem I had which sounds the same as yours.

B

[Barry Beckham]

I would try updating your graphics card drivers first. Check to see if there are some later drivers, it cured the problem I had which sounds the same as yours.

B

Here is a little more detail in case you need it:

First thing to check is if your graphics card acceleration is turned on.

Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display

Then click Settings > Advanced

Look for a trouble shoot tab and make sure your hardware acceleration is set to full.

__________________________________

If that doesn't fix it go to:

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System

Click the hardware tab and then device manager

Hit the little + sign next to your display adapter and make a note of the graphics card that is displayed.

Then double click the graphics card (radeon etc) and then click the driver tab. That will tell you the driver version installed.

You can then click on update driver and allow your PC to access the internet to find later more up to date drivers for your partcular graphics card.

Alternatively once you know what graphics card you have, do a search yourself for the manufacturers web site and see if you can find more recent drivers there.

This cured my own problem with PTE5 and this answer also helped someone with the same problem only a day or so ago

Hope it helps

Barry

[dpeterso]

Here is a little more detail in case you need it:

First thing to check is if your graphics card acceleration is turned on.

Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display

Then click Settings > Advanced

Look for a trouble shoot tab and make sure your hardware acceleration is set to full.

__________________________________

If that doesn't fix it go to:

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System

Click the hardware tab and then device manager

Hit the little + sign next to your display adapter and make a note of the graphics card that is displayed.

Then double click the graphics card (radeon etc) and then click the driver tab. That will tell you the driver version installed.

You can then click on update driver and allow your PC to access the internet to find later more up to date drivers for your partcular graphics card.

Alternatively once you know what graphics card you have, do a search yourself for the manufacturers web site and see if you can find more recent drivers there.

This cured my own problem with PTE5 and this answer also helped someone with the same problem only a day or so ago

Hope it helps

Barry

Barry -

Thanks your your help. I tried all that you suggested, but unfortunately to no avail. I'm now thinking my Radeon X300 video card, even at 128MB is insufficient for what I'm trying to do with pans. I've figured out a work-around by inserting a cloned keypoint and placing it immediately following the transition effect. This allows the transition to be completed before the pan begins. Not exactly what I wanted, but certainly better than the "jerk".

I'm also wondering what would happen if I went to a higher performance video card to where I couldn't see the "jerk", but when others pull down the slide show and watched it with a "lesser" video card, would they now see the "jerk"? I'm thinking they may see it whereas they didn't see it before because I limited the pans to avoid the "jerk".

Anyway, I really appreciate your help.

Dave

[jfa]

I'm have a problem with a noticeable "jerk" while doing pans &/or zooms, especially if the pan/zoom has a considerable amount of travel. It occurs consistently about 1/8 of the way into the pan/zoom. I've tried many different things to remedy the problem.....<snip>

Dave an off the wall question. Is the "jerk occurring at the point where the transition to the slide finishers? Try varying the transition time and see if the "jerk" position moves accordingly.

[nobeefstu]

Dave,

You might want to verify your Direct X version. You could also reinstall Direct X to be assured.

For XP : use Direct X 9.0c

For Vista : use Direct X 9.0c or Direct X 10 ( only if your Radeon X300 SE video card is compatable to use Direct X 10 )

[dpeterso]

Dave an off the wall question. Is the "jerk occurring at the point where the transition to the slide finishers? Try varying the transition time and see if the "jerk" position moves accordingly.

John -

Yes, the "jerk" occurs right where the transition ends, even if I vary where the transition ends. The duration of the pan has no influence on the situation. It seems the only thing that does influence it is the degree to which I enlarge the frame so I can pan. A lot of enlargement is bad, a little enlargement is better.

Thanks for thinking about this problem. Keep thinking.

Dave

[dpeterso]

Dave,

You might want to verify your Direct X version. You could also reinstall Direct X to be assured.

For XP : use Direct X 9.0c

For Vista : use Direct X 9.0c or Direct X 10 ( only if your Radeon X300 SE video card is compatable to use Direct X 10 )

I just refreshed with a download of Direct X 9.0C. No change, still have the single "jerk".

Thanks, Dave

[alrobin]

Dave,

What resolution are you setting your monitor at when you watch the show? I see a jerk if I don't resize the monitor to 1280x768 (it's wide-screen), the same as most of my sequences.

[jfa]

John -

Yes, the "jerk" occurs right where the transition ends, even if I vary where the transition ends. The duration of the pan has no influence on the situation....<snip>

David, this is probably what you don't wish to hear however I too have this problem. It was during testing of a early beta v5 that it became apparent and I have tried most things but cannot fix it. I have come to the conclusion that it is my video card. By adjusting transition timing and/or the way I use pan/zoom effects I can make it almost unnoticeable and have lived with that. One day when I upgrade my video card it will go, (I hope).

My system is:

Win Xp SP2+

CPU Intel P4 2.27 GHz 8 kilobyte primary memory cache, 512 kilobyte secondary memory cache.

4096 Megabytes Installed Memory.

Nvidia GeForce FX5700 256 RAM

VideoMode 1280 by 960 pixels, 75 Hertz.

DirectX 9.0c

What I consider a mid range system.

[dpeterso]

Dave,

What resolution are you setting your monitor at when you watch the show? I see a jerk if I don't resize the monitor to 1280x768 (it's wide-screen), the same as most of my sequences.

Al -

My monitor is running at 1280 X1024. How are you resizing your monitor to 1280 X 768?

Dave

[Igor]

Dave,

Yes, the "jerk" occurs right where the transition ends, even if I vary where the transition ends.

Rendering of a slideshow during transition effect loads video card in two times stronger. Bercause it have to render and mix two slides.

If video card is not enough fast you will see for example 40 frames per second during transition effect and 60 FPS between transition effects. And in this case you will see slight jerk at the moment when transition effect starts or fisnishes. When video card more fast it always shows 60 FPS at any moment of a slideshow.

Several variants of solution for your case:

- Upgrade your video card.

- Or set lower screen resolution.

- Or use smaller images.

[alrobin]

.......How are you resizing your monitor to 1280 X 768?.......

As I mentioned in my post, it's wide-screen (same as my projector). Max. resolution (and the one I have it set at most of the time) is 1680x1050. I have to sit with it 6 inches from my nose to read anything!

Try setting your monitor to 1024x768.

[dpeterso]

As I mentioned in my post, it's wide-screen (same as my projector). Max. resolution (and the one I have it set at most of the time) is 1680x1050. I have to sit with it 6 inches from my nose to read anything!

Try setting your monitor to 1024x768.

Al -

I've tried 1280 X 768 and 1024 X 768. It made no difference in the "jerk" appearing at the end of the transition. I think I have an undersized video card (even at 128mb) for doing significant pans and zooms.

Thanks for your help. Have a good day.

Dave

[alrobin]

Dave,

Before you give up on it, there's one more thing you could try. It's called "EndItAll" - it works wonders with my laptop in getting PTE to run smoothly (HP Pavillion with Win XP SP2, and a Radeon X600 video card with 128 Mb VRAM). You can find out about this program at the following:

http://www.docsdownloads.com/enditall-1.htm

Just one button closes all but the most essential processes on your pc. If I don't run it before loading PTE or an exe file, I sometimes get glitches at the end of the transitions, depending on how many objects are all trying to function at once.

[dpeterso]

Dave,

Before you give up on it, there's one more thing you could try. It's called "EndItAll" - it works wonders with my laptop in getting PTE to run smoothly (HP Pavillion with Win XP SP2, and a Radeon X600 video card with 128 Mb VRAM). You can find out about this program at the following:

http://www.docsdownloads.com/enditall-1.htm

Just one button closes all but the most essential processes on your pc. If I don't run it before loading PTE or an exe file, I sometimes get glitches at the end of the transitions, depending on how many objects are all trying to function at once.

Well Al, I chickened out with "EndItAll" after reading the warning message about messing up my operating system unless knew what I was doing. I certainly qualified as not know what I was doing.

Thanks again for your help. You've been great!

Dave

[dpeterso]

Dave,

Rendering of a slideshow during transition effect loads video card in two times stronger. Bercause it have to render and mix two slides.

If video card is not enough fast you will see for example 40 frames per second during transition effect and 60 FPS between transition effects. And in this case you will see slight jerk at the moment when transition effect starts or fisnishes. When video card more fast it always shows 60 FPS at any moment of a slideshow.

Several variants of solution for your case:

- Upgrade your video card.

- Or set lower screen resolution.

- Or use smaller images.

Igor -

You've shed considerable lighty on the nature of the problem. I've concluded that I need a higher horsepower video card.

Thank you very much.

Dave

[nobeefstu]

Dave,

I agree ... My search found that the ATI-Radeon X300 SE to be a an entry-level video card in the 3D arena. The HyperMemory technology simulates 256 MB video memory by using 128MB of the system’s RAM memory.

For your info -ATI Chips Comparison Table from Hardware Secrets

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/131

For your info-Nvidia Chips Comparison Table from Hardware Secrets

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/132

[dpeterso]

Dave,

I agree ... My search found that the ATI-Radeon X300 SE to be a an entry-level video card in the 3D arena. The HyperMemory technology simulates 256 MB video memory by using 128MB of the system’s RAM memory.

For your info -ATI Chips Comparison Table from Hardware Secrets

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/131

For your info-Nvidia Chips Comparison Table from Hardware Secrets

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/132

Great information!. My question now becomes, if I upgrade my video card to where the "jerk" disappears, will those viewing the slideshow with lesser performing video cards see the "jerk"? I guess a way around this is to burn a DVD. Is that right?

Thanks for your help. Enjoy the weekend.

Dave

[alrobin]

Dave,

There will always be someone with a pc which does not perform to the standards being set. If your productions are for general consumption, then the answer is to keep everything really simple. If you need to use PZR effects - keep them slow and simple, and don't start them until the end of each transition. And use the smallest image file sizes that still look good on a 1024x768 monitor. DVD's may be a solution, but the image quality is not as sharp as with the original screen-size images on a pc.

[dpeterso]

Dave,

There will always be someone with a pc which does not perform to the standards being set. If your productions are for general consumption, then the answer is to keep everything really simple. If you need to use PZR effects - keep them slow and simple, and don't start them until the end of each transition. And use the smallest image file sizes that still look good on a 1024x768 monitor. DVD's may be a solution, but the image quality is not as sharp as with the original screen-size images on a pc.

Al -

You and your slideshow comrades have really helped me understand the situation and it's limitations. I like your advice, both personally and in PZR effects; "slow & easy". I've just finished another show that I would enjoy your critique on. You can find it at this link:

http://www.epetersons.com/slideshows/

It's the bottom show titled "The Flinthills". It's 23Mb, so feel free to decline if you don't want to invest in the download time.

Again, thanks much.

Dave

[alrobin]

You're very welcome, Dave - glad to have been of any help.

Your AV sequence is beautiful - sharp images, well-exposed, appropriate music, and PZR effects done very tastefully and effectively - great show! You are obviously a pro!

You will have noticed, no doubt, that very sharp images tend to produce some shimmer when PZR effects are applied to them - it can't be avoided, except by dulling down the images, and one hesitates to do that to great images. So, the answer is really to avoid these effects for those images which are particularly crisp, and which one wants to show to the greatest advantage. However, where one does need some motion, dulling the images is actually not all that bad, as, when in motion, these images appear to lose some of their sharpness, anyway. I'm touching on the edges of psychology here, on which I'm no expert, so had better not say too much more. The pros and cons of this could be debated for weeks!

Oh, by the way, another tip: when posting future shows, it's best to do so in the "Presentations" sub-forum, so that the people who may not be following this technical stuff can benefit from them.

Am looking forward to seeing more of your shows!

[dpeterso]

You're very welcome, Dave - glad to have been of any help.

Your AV sequence is beautiful - sharp images, well-exposed, appropriate music, and PZR effects done very tastefully and effectively - great show! You are obviously a pro!

You will have noticed, no doubt, that very sharp images tend to produce some shimmer when PZR effects are applied to them - it can't be avoided, except by dulling down the images, and one hesitates to do that to great images. So, the answer is really to avoid these effects for those images which are particularly crisp, and which one wants to show to the greatest advantage. However, where one does need some motion, dulling the images is actually not all that bad, as, when in motion, these images appear to lose some of their sharpness, anyway. I'm touching on the edges of psychology here, on which I'm no expert, so had better not say too much more. The pros and cons of this could be debated for weeks!

Oh, by the way, another tip: when posting future shows, it's best to do so in the "Presentations" sub-forum, so that the people who may not be following this technical stuff can benefit from them.

Am looking forward to seeing more of your shows!

Thanks for the praise and tips. I can't see the "shimmer" you are referring to, but I sure can see the "jerk". Maybe it's because I'm looking for it. My wife sees neither the shimmer or the jerk.

Anyway, I'll post the link in the "presentations" section so other can see.

Have a restful weekend.

Dave

[Ken Cox]

Dave

no shimmer or jerks

peaceful

ken