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Does PTE need a name change


Barry Beckham

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On 1/12/2019 at 11:48 PM, JudyKay said:

There is nothing spooky or risky about an EXE. Thinking, knowledgeable people download them safely every day with no harm.

Not seeing risks with EXE files is a very personal point of view. I cannot share this opinion. Today, people rather make use of mobile devices than using PCs. If you want to share your PTE productions with others, you should better make use of videos. So I would regard a product name including EXE as outdated. As I said above, I would prefer to keep the letters PTE while replacing EXE by something else :)

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I'm currently building a new web site and unless something crops up that I don't yet foresee, I am only going to post my slideshows on the new site as  Mp4 videos made at 60p. One on the site that can be downloaded and one on YouTube

I don't intend to use any executable shows  unless I have the need to post something interactive. At the moment I don't

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What are we losing by using MP4 instead of EXE?  Anything discernable?  Smoothness of transition/movement of high-quality images?  Does it matter anymore?  

We lose the functionality of password protection, time limits, hotspots, links, menus, interactions and such. Honestly, I rarely use those features, probably none of them in a couple years.  So...just maybe we don't need the focus on the exe part.  I have not exported an exe in a couple years.  Most recently, a couple years ago, I created several series(more than 20 series) of highly interactive EXE shows sets. I had 100's of hours of work in that. They were really cool, but my clients' computers would barely run them.  So...I converted them to non-interactive MP4's and my clients LOVE those.  They have them on phones and iPads and  PC's and Macs.   All my work was really cool, but not what people actually found most useful on their devices today. 

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As long as people are made aware of the beautiful interactive features with PTE, the name itself having to be descriptive isn't as important, but there are plenty of people who use PTE specifically to make interactive shows so we do not want to lose any of this capability. With the advent of relatively powerful computers these days there is no problem with running highly interactive executable shows. There are people, just today who are looking at PTE specifically because of the interactive features.

Best regards,

Lin

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Running competitions means that I make Menus to run all the entries a lot. It is interactive in a sense in that I have to click to get the next show to run.

We get many different formats entered - Exe made with PTE or another program - eg. Proshow Gold or Proshow Producer, Wings, M.Objects, DGFects

We also have MP4 or AVI again made with various different programs and sometimes WMV files.
 

A Menu made with PTE will run all of these shows perfectly and seamlessly. (using VLC Player to run the Video files)
I would not like to lose this capability.
Wether exe or another format when downloading I always virus scan the zip file and then the individual files once unzipped.
With entries coming from many different sources one cannot be too careful, even though I usually know the people who sent them.
 

Also dissolves in Exe's always seem to be smoother than with a video type of file - although PTE video output is usually better than with other programs.

Jill

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This issue seems to be drifting into a debate about interactive slide shows when it really has little to do with those. It’s more about the masses who wouldn’t know an interactive show if it jumped up and bit their backside. We can have both. Many who are not as enthusiastic as us seem reluctant to download slideshows, either due to impatience or fear of downloading something they don’t want on their PC. Both reasonable considerations.

This combined with the obvious popularity and convenience of YouTube videos and their like, seem to be taking us rapidly away from exe files to Mp4’s whether we like it or not.

Some months ago at Igor’s suggestion I tried the output of an Mp4 to 60p. I’m fussy about image quality and the quality of fades and animation, but I was impressed with what I saw. It doesn’t take long to output a 60p mp4 video and I would encourage anyone who hasn’t tried it to give it a go. I don’t think you will be disappointed. Here is an fast paced Mp4 at 60p called Hot in the City. Try it on your PC

Mp4’s play on PC, Mac and modern Televisions and seem to be establishing themselves as universal as a jpg.

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Barry, nice show!

I have been watching this topic with interest, mainly when it drifted into EXE or MP4 discussion. All my projects (mainly video, including photos as well) are MP4 HD 60p 30Mbps 48KHz, all 40 minutes or more, like 53 minutes, MP4 with 8,7GB. How and to where upload this? Not Youtube, as this kind of projects may be suitable (or not...) for PTE users, not for the public in general. EXE is impossible because they must be built in 4 or 5 parts, joined together at the end into a MP4 (problem of the actual PTE 32-bit issue). So, how to? Would it be possible to create a "special" PTE private channel in Youtube, only acceeded by PTE users to upload and watch their MP4 projects? I have no idea.

Regards,

Jose

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How are your shows so big. The longest one I have is 17 minutes and as an mp4 @ 60p it’s 784mb. It’s up on YouTube, but marked private till my new site is ready, so I haven’t tried to view it yet on YouTube yet.

 If I multiply it by 3 it comes to 51 mins @ 2352mb. However, it’s just stills no video in there.

Later: Just tried viewing my 784mb video on YouTube via an iPad sitting in the garden with wi fi and it ran ok

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Wideangle

You weren't watching through a gap in the fence were you ? :D

No wine this afternoon. Its ice cold beer in the afternoon and only had one today, or was it two? but who's counting

However, you were not far off, I have a glass of red wine now, around 7pm 

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9 hours ago, Barry Beckham said:

How are your shows so big. The longest one I have is 17 minutes and as an mp4 @ 60p it’s 784mb. It’s up on YouTube, but marked private till my new site is ready, so I haven’t tried to view it yet on YouTube yet.

 If I multiply it by 3 it comes to 51 mins @ 2352mb. However, it’s just stills no video in there.

May be the overall bitrate of your "Hot in the City", for example, is 6781 kb/s, Bits/(Pixel*Frame)=0,052 and my projects usualy are (example for a 51 minutes long) 23000 kb/s, 0,177 Bits/(Pixel*Frame), audio 305 kb/s -  48kHz (yours 251 kb/s - 44,1 kHz). As I said, most are 90% video, 10% photos. I think "video" is the main reason, not a slideshow but a movie.

What about that "PTE private channel" on Youtube? Any possibility?

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A name change is something really only the developers should decide. It's always a risky proposition. Maybe it would be good and helpful for futures sales but it could also somewhat eradicate 20 years of success. The important thing is to get the word out about the benefits and value of PTE to those who haven't a clue about presentation slideshow software. 

A competitor's current problems may provide an opportunity for more to learn about PTE and what it can do. If the letters PTE can be kept, then the exact meaning of the last letter might be left to the imagination of the person using the product. It could simply be called PTE Mac 64 or PTE Windows 64?  Just a thought...

Lin

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2 hours ago, Barry Beckham said:

What would be the point of a private channel. Not seeing the reasons behind the idea. 

As said before, " this kind of PTE projects may be suitable for PTE users, not for the public in general", so a "PTE private channel" only accessed by all PTE users.

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I’m rather sceptical that there is any difference at all between PTE users and anyone else. So, I don’t see any advantage in a dedicated area to post. No offence intended but a 51 minute slide show fills me with dread.

Lin. Good points, all makes sense.

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2 hours ago, Barry Beckham said:

No offence intended but a 51 minute slide show fills me with dread.

Me to Barry!  Mine is only 48 minutes and will be shown in a 300 seat auditorium projected onto a movie screen. I present shows on vanishing cultures and with PTE it allows me to place voice overs, sounds that I recorded, video, and of course my photographs.

The usual questions are "What software did you use".

I just viewed Hot in the City. and really enjoyed it. Excellent photography, timing, and transitions.

Kieron

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9 hours ago, Barry Beckham said:

 No offence intended but a 51 minute slide show fills me with dread.

 

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The audience and presentation vary of course. A quality presentation properly done can certainly capture a delighted audience for more than a few minutes. For my applications which are also largely documentary, I break them into 3-8 min segments and lean toward 3-4 minutes.  Now, back to EXE's.  In the past, I created menu's to access the various shows since my audience (clients) are highly likely to view them many times over. Although not elegant, most people can figure out how to create playlists of MP4's and accomplish the same thing.

 

[Note:  I have no idea how the "2's" above got posted or how to remove them]

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Regarding the "proper" durations, it all depends on your public and the circumstances.

I have to admit that my brother in law falls asleep in 15 minutes when viewing my slideshows! 

However there are two places nearby my home where travellers share their experiences with a vast audience (50+) by displaying their images (from a vast array of places around the world) on a large projection screen, with stills, videos, music and commentaries that are either recorded or live during the show.  ProShow and PicturesToExe are the main software used in this case.

The actual sessions usually comprise of two parts, each 30 to 45 minutes long (the total duration is well above an hour).  And the public (who pay a modest entrance fee) enjoy that.  Discussions follow. 

See examples of these events (with pictures, but in French) on:

http://www.voyageurs06.fr/jeudi.htm

http://www.photoclubbeausoleil.sitew.fr/#Club_des_Reporters.K

 

 

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