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PSG Trial Not Going Well

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PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby MikeV99 » Tue Jan 01, 2008 7:55 pm

This is very confusing for me. I have the trial version and have downloaded the online tutorials. They are out of date with the latest version of PSG. The screen dumps are completely out of focus on my monitor. No controls are provided on the photodex presenter when I download them and run them as an executable. If I run them online the audio is jerky and replays (if you if you if you want to want to). I have looked at the printed tutorials, but they assume one knows much more than I do to use them and they are also out of date. They have instructions to do something I cannot find in PSG (maybe because they are out of date). The online help is very brief and not very helpful. I have downloaded and read through the user manual. Unfortunately, it is not very helpful either. For example, searching through the doco to learn how and where to use layout, it basically tells one, "Layout displays various layouts for how shows are displayed on a menu page" throughout the manual.

The learning curve on this appears to be somewhat steep, especially when one does not have any instructional information to use.

All I am trying to do is create a DVD show to play on my TV. I would like a Main Menu that has links to 3 submenus. Within each of those submenus I want links to 2 or 3 groups of slides.

Main Menu
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3

Scene 1 Submenu
Slide group 1
Slide group 2
Slide group 3

I think this has to do with Layout, but I have not been able to find anything to help. The menu tutorial is a single level structure and it does not really explain layout.

Most frustrating. My trial is not going well at all ... guess I will look for something else.

I have posted this over on the PSG Enthusiast group as well hoping for maximum coverage.
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby John 'twosheds' McDonald » Wed Jan 02, 2008 3:18 am

Hi Mike. I was going to go down the PSG route when I got back to the UK so your comments are very helpful for me. Please continue to post on your progress as I am certainly interested in the outcome. Thanks.
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby VernonRobinson » Wed Jan 02, 2008 6:07 am

Mike,
I agree that the docs for ProShow is not a strength. I have also noticed the stuttering problem. It seems to depend on the ProShow server. I also found that if I have two copies of the Photodex Presenter up it causes a problem. Finally, I found that if I wait until the show finishes buffering it does a better job. The data does not seem to stream well from the Photodex servers.

The manuals are crummy, but keep working with the tutorials. It is possible to save the temp files that is created by the Presenter so that you do not have to download them again. I know the path for XP, but I believe it is slightly different for Vista. Basically look in XP you would look in Documents and Settings/YOURLOGIN/Temp/psgXXXX.tmp

I just got Producer for Christmas. Great program. Has a lot of capabilities. Don't give up on it yet.

I haven't fully researched it, but I believe ProShow will not do menus the way you are looking for. It will do primarily the first level Scene layout. You will need something like Sony DVD Architect to do what you are after. Approx $50 USD.

Regards,
-Vernon
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby MikeV99 » Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:02 am

Thanks all.

I will check out Sony DVD Architect. I have been told Nero Slideshow might do it, but got a virus error when I downloaded the trial version.


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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:54 am

"I have been told Nero Slideshow might do it, but got a virus error when I downloaded the trial version." :shock: !

Or maybe Nero itself is just a form of a virus...
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby Doreen L. » Wed Jan 02, 2008 11:48 am

I've never run into problems with the presenter or stuttering and maybe it has to do with how much RAM you computer has.

As far as the DVD menu you want to set up, you could do it by making each scene a 'show'. Not easy but DVD authoring in PSG and even PE, are not particularly extensive. I use Sony DVD Architect Studio.

There's a lot of tutorials and help over at the ProShow enthusiasts forum. I think many of these software companies (including Adobe and PSG, PSP) and many companies in general, constantly forget that first time users need a lot more detail than what is offered. When I'm stuck, I usually end up doing a google.
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby VernonRobinson » Wed Jan 02, 2008 11:08 pm

Doreen L. wrote:I've never run into problems with the presenter or stuttering and maybe it has to do with how much RAM you computer has.

As far as the DVD menu you want to set up, you could do it by making each scene a 'show'. Not easy but DVD authoring in PSG and even PE, are not particularly extensive. I use Sony DVD Architect Studio.

There's a lot of tutorials and help over at the ProShow enthusiasts forum. I think many of these software companies (including Adobe and PSG, PSP) and many companies in general, constantly forget that first time users need a lot more detail than what is offered. When I'm stuck, I usually end up doing a google.



Doreen,
I have seen the results that Mike is talking about. I do not believe it is ram related since I have 4 Gigs and have seen it when Presenter was the only application running. It seems to be poor streaming from the server. Once I let the temp file complete the download, the problem goes away for the most part. But I have seen it come back when I have two or more Presenter windows opened. FWIW.

Regards,
-Vernon
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby Doreen L. » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:06 pm

with 4gigs, it's definitely not a RAM problem. I don't think I've ever had cause to have more than one presenter open. So maybe that's why I've never encountered the problem.
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby VernonRobinson » Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:10 pm

Doreen L. wrote:with 4gigs, it's definitely not a RAM problem. I don't think I've ever had cause to have more than one presenter open. So maybe that's why I've never encountered the problem.


Doreen,
When I run into the stutter problem, I close the extra windows and monitor the temp file download to make sure that there is enough buffered so that it does not interrupt the program while running.

Been following the discussion of the upcoming contest with quite a bit of interest. When it comes to slideshows ProShow is easier than PrEl, but PrEl allows more direct access to the elemental controls. So if you are a creative type, one can do quite a bit more. For my needs, I believe ProShow will be more than adquate and I will use PrEl to fill in the gaps. Use the appropriate tool for the job is my motto.

Regards,
-Vernon
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby Doreen L. » Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:53 pm

I, too, really prefer PSG over PE for slide shows and I find the keyframing in PSP more difficult to use than PE. I like that I don't have to resize photos and can move them around quickly if I want.

I have been having difficulty with a project I was working on yesterday. It's just a 40 second show that I wanted to embed in my website with quick moving slides and about 17 seconds of video. It looked very good when I exported to wmv or avi. However, when I converted to Flash using PSP and FlashCS3, it was jumpy as could be. I played with the settings with no luck. After about three hours, I quit. ](*,)
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby Ron » Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:13 pm

Doreen L. wrote:I, too, really prefer PSG over PE for slide shows and I find the keyframing in PSP more difficult to use than PE. I like that I don't have to resize photos and can move them around quickly if I want.

So true.

And I have never had the problem with the Presenter as outlined here. Must be user computer specific. I've had nothing but success with ProShow.
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby MikeV99 » Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:48 pm

I let the tutorial finish downloading before starting and did not see the audio jitters. Must be a streaming weakness with Presenter.

The screen dumps are still fuzzy though. It would be nice to see what it is they are clicking on and have the tutorials current with the software.

I, too, really prefer PSG over PE for slide shows and I find the keyframing in PSP more difficult to use than PE.


Would someone please summarize why PSG would be preferred over PE (is that Elements, Premiere, or both) for slide shows.

Would someone please summarize why keyframing (not that I really understand what it is) is more difficult in PSP than in Elements, Premiere, or both.

Thanks, Mike.
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby VernonRobinson » Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:19 pm

MikeV99 wrote:I let the tutorial finish downloading before starting and did not see the audio jitters. Must be a streaming weakness with Presenter.

The screen dumps are still fuzzy though. It would be nice to see what it is they are clicking on and have the tutorials current with the software.

I, too, really prefer PSG over PE for slide shows and I find the keyframing in PSP more difficult to use than PE.


Would someone please summarize why PSG would be preferred over PE (is that Elements, Premiere, or both) for slide shows.

Would someone please summarize why keyframing (not that I really understand what it is) is more difficult in PSP than in Elements, Premiere, or both.

Thanks, Mike.


Mike,
Glad to see that waiting for the streaming to finish helped. It seemed to help me.

I only have PrEl. I do not have PS El. Having them both may negate some of the advantage of ProShow. I also have only been using ProShow since Christmas 2007. So I am in the steep learning curve. The majority of the things done in ProShow could be done in PrEl. But sometimes PrEl makes it more difficult than it should be. There are things that PrEl makes easier than ProShow. So my solution is to use the correct tool for the job. This would include which feature you are more familiar with. Maybe one has exactly the transition you are looking for, etc. Concerning ProShow, some of the things I like that make slide creation easier:

1. The ability for the program to apply motion to the slides automatically. Most of the time the motion settings are pretty good. So I only have to correct the occassional miss.
2. The text effects are easier to use in ProShow and there are more of them. I have not tested PrEl Version 4, but I think ProShow is still ahead there.
3. The templates used in ProShow makes it easier to reuse a slide show. It is possible to build a show. Turn it into a template that someone would populate with their own pictures and have a great finished show. This may be a business opportunity for someone to create pre-canned shows.

Things I don't like.

1. I think the keyframing is easier to see and understand in PrEl.
2. I also think that allowing multiple tracks in timeline mode in PrEl is a strength versus the slide-centric layering that ProShow requires. It makes it easier to see what is going on. I also like the fact that you can more easily manipulate the sound track to overlay, etc.
3. Premiere Elements is a much better video editor.

I will keep it short so that others can add. But to reiterate, each tool has its strength and weakness. I can see where both can easily co-exist.

Regards,
-Vernon
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Re: PSG Trial Not Going Well

Postby Doreen L. » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:19 pm

I think Vernon covered it pretty well. I would also add, as I said in an earlier post, there's no need to resize your photos before adding them in PSG or P and it's a lot easier to play with pans and zooms. And the photos in the finished show are usually sharper than what is produced in PE IMO.

Keyframing in PE is the easiest (once you understand the concept) when compared to PSP or Adobe Flash. I've been using all three programs lately and I've been doing a lot of sighing (okay, swearing) with Flash and PSP. At least in Flash, you can go from track to track (they're called layers like in PS) but it's still cumbersome to me.

If you do a lot of slideshows, I think PSP or PSG is a great program. And you can export avi from PSP to PE and you can import avi files into PSG or PSP.
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