DVD slideshow GUI - development thread.

[sybux]

Hi there,

first of all, congratulation for you tool, it's just amazing.

And you can guess, I'm not only writing here to congratulate your software.
I've a got a little issue with EXIF comment import.
The software add a ? at the end of each comment as follow :
here is the EXIF information in the pciture : 2ème jour : temples de Karnak
and here is DVDSlideShow retrived : 2ème jour : temples de Karnak?

I'm using release v0.9.3.6. I've uploaded a picture with EXIF information I'm using so that you can reproduce the problem.

Sybux

[tin2tin]

There was a similar problem some time ago:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/289771-DVD-slideshow-GUI-problem-with-subtitles-imp...if#post1758046

Jaceko wraped it up like this:

Comments have been added with IrfanView 4.00. I would never have guessed it could deform exif data.
I believe I have to use jhead instead.

[sybux]

Thx for answer. I will try to find another software to change my EXIF info (actualy XnView).
I've now run a new step, but I'm sorry, with a new problem
My computer is running HTenc for a while (4 hours, I left my house) and it's still running and the display still indicate 0%.

Is there a way to lunch it by hand as DSG does and activate some logging ?
I'm running under Windows 7 x86

[tin2tin]

I don't know if this is a Windows 7 related problem I don't have Windows 7. Can any other windows 7 users confirm that this is a problem on their computer too?

If you want to investigate if there are any Windows 7 related issues with Avisynth or Hcenc you should check out this forum: http://forum.doom9.org/

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=148405

If it somehow is HCenc related, you could try to export to .avs and use one of the many ffmpeg GUIs like winFF or Super to render that file to video.

[sybux]

I've done some test and I can conclude that the problem is in relation with the number of picture.
My 1st try (when I submit my problem), I was rendering 489 pictures.
I've done a new test with 100 and it's working fine.

[tin2tin]

You're proberly running out of RAM.

If you hit ctrl+alt+del you can follow the memory usage when exporting, and get a feeling how much more you'd need.

Then you should to higher the virtual memory(page file) accordingly.

Found a little tutorial for windows 7 on how to do that for you here.

[m98]

First off, DVD slideshow GUI looks like a great program that will achieve exactly what I need, so thanks to the developers for the great work!

I've got a whole pile of jpg files from a 35mm film scanner (which have a 3:2 aspect ratio). I want to put them on a DVD for playback on a 16:9 TV.

So I choose 16:9 from the project settings and using the dissolve transition, I get the expected result when exporting to a DVD ISO. There are some small black bars on the side of the screen, but that is to be expected for a 3:2 image on a 16:9 screen.

But then, I try to add a zoom_soft animation, so that the image starts fully visible (i.e. with black bars on the side) and then zooms in just enough to get rid of the black bars. The preview in the animation box shows the correct zooming and aspect ratio, but the end result (DVD ISO) changes to 4:3 format with black bars on the top as well as side. I tried MP4 output, and I tried another zoom animation, but that also did the same thing.

Any suggestions as to how to work around this issue? What further info can I provide? I'm using v0.9.3.6.

[curtiswong]

Dear tin2tin

What are the parametere when installing DVD slideshow GUI silently without download anything from internet? Thanks.

Curtis

[tin2tin]

What are the parametere when installing DVD slideshow GUI silently without download anything from internet? Thanks.

From the download page:

The installer will download additional files like Avisynth, Imgburn, Xvid and ffdshow. Do not uncheck these files unless you have them installed already or else DVD slideshow GUI will not work correctly. If you want to export to DVD menus you need to install 'GUI for dvdauthor' too.

Inno Setup is used to make the installer - google the command line options...

[Berni314]

Hi tin2tin,

for better understanding, I've made a short demo-video: http://home.arcor.de/Bernhard.Maerz/rotatezoom.avi

I used the transition "Overlay", so the next image is drawing OVER the prevvious one (starting with zoom=1).

Is there also an "Underlay" transition?
I like to do the following: the next image is drawing UNDER the current one and then the current image is rotating and unzoomed till zoom=1.

Thanks,

Bernhard

[tin2tin]

You could use the transition called 'Central_Rotate_out'.

If you want to tinker with the speed of the rotation etc. Go to the DVD slideshow GUI/Transitions folder and open Central_Rotate_out.avs in notepad. And you'll see this:

# TransAll avisynth plugin created by V.C.Mohan 05-03-2006
TransCentral(at,bt,ft,false,false,-4)

You can tinker the values according to these docs:
http://avisynth.org/vcmohan/TransAll/docs/TransCentral.html
NB. don't change this part: 'at,bt,ft,'

Save in notepad and test the results in DVD slideshow GUI.


Or you play the video backwards.
It is not as difficult as it may sound to get the video to play backwards.
Here's how you do it:

Export your slideshow as .avs
Open the exported .avs file in notepad.
Type 'Reverse' as a new last line in the script and save the file.
Make a new slideshow in DVD slideshow GUI.
Import the .avs file as a slide.
Import one extra image as slide(DSG needs two slides to work). Ex. a black image for fade to black in the end.
Now you'll have a slideshow with the video playing backwards and you can export it as you like.

[Berni314]

Hi tin2tin,

thank you very much for your (very fast) answer!

TransCentral(at,bt,ft,false,false,-1)

This looks very similar I've thought.
(Still it's not as flexible, for example if you like to rotate the image also out to one corner.)

Export your slideshow as .avs
Open the exported .avs file in notepad.
Type 'Reverse' as a new last line in the script and save the file.
...

... and then simply load the avs-file into VirtualDub.

Thanks for this tip - it's working really easy.
Still it's not so comfortable to "think backwards" creating the animation.

I thought an "Underlay" feature wouldn't be hard to implement, but probably it's not worth the work.

By the way: why I it's not possible to set the zoom-faktor to zero?

Very much thanks,

Bernhard

[tin2tin]

Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, two months later - DVD slideshow GUI

62 days have passed since the initial explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the crude oil and natural gas continue to gush from the seafloor. Re-revised estimates now place the flow rate at up to 60,000 barrels a day - a figure just shy of a worst-case estimate of 100,000 barrels a day made by BP in an internal document recently released by a congressional panel. Louisiana's state treasurer has estimated environmental and economic damages from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could range from $40 billion to $100 billion. Collected here are recent photographs from the Gulf of Mexico, and of those affected by the continued flow of oil and gas into the ocean. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/

[Mike99]

I have not worked with my photos for a while & therefore have not been on this forum for quite some time. All I can say is WOW about the new things that I notice are updated: black levels, PAR, subtitles and including backups of original photos.

I’ve played with the Subtitles & have a question regarding the FadeIn/Out tag. Can I change the length of time that the subtitle displays? In other words if the picture is displayed for 4 seconds can I have the subtitle fade out after 2 seconds? The tag has the number 500 in it and I tried changing it to several different values but it did not seem to make any difference.

Also, what do Blur & Alpha do? Maybe I’m not using the tags properly but I cannot see any change in the text when using these tags.

Thanks again for all your time & devotion to this project.

[tin2tin]

The subtitles are thanks to vsfilter and JFS' work on adding additional .ass tags to it: http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=41372

Therefore most of the functions here will be working in DSG. I haven't tested everything and I can't change anything in the vsfilter anyway. So just experiment with it.

I've gotten lost in an attempt of adding avi/avs functions, so they will work the same way as images(can be animated etc.), but the exporter code is broken in all possible ways. So atm. I lack the motivation to invest the massive amount of time needed to get the code to work again. And maybe this will be just another feature people won't use...

[Mike99]

Thanks for the information.

The functions link had what I needed. I experimented with changing the timing of the Fade In/Out tag and so far it looks promising. So that I do not have to modify the tag data manually every time I want to use it, how do I add a modified tag to the menu? I looked in all the folders but did not see anything that looked appropriate.

[tin2tin]

how do I add a modified tag to the menu?

Not possible. But if you come up with something brilliant you can post it here and hope that I will update DSG with those tags.

[m98]

Did anyone have any ideas about how to look for a solution to the aspect ratio problem I mentioned a while back in https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/188464-DVD-slideshow-GUI-development-thread?p=19772...=1#post1977251 ?

The problem was that when I add an animation to a 16:9 project (that worked correctly), it changes to 4:3.

[tin2tin]

Yeah, it looks like a bug. The Animation in 16:9 must be broken somehow. I'm not going to release anything until I'm throug with this:

I've gotten lost in an attempt of adding avi/avs functions, so they will work the same way as images(can be animated etc.), but the exporter code is broken in all possible ways. So atm. I lack the motivation to invest the massive amount of time needed to get the code to work again. And maybe this will be just another feature people won't use...

Try to get one of the older versions here on Videohelp(I guess released before 0.9.2.8): https://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVD_slideshow_GUI/old-versions#download

You can find the changelog here: https://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVD_slideshow_GUI/version-history#changelog

[m98]

Yeah, it looks like a bug. The Animation in 16:9 must be broken somehow.

OK thanks, I'll have a look at the older versions to see if that fixes the problem for the time being.

A different issue which I am not sure is DSG or GUIforDVDauthor. When I use the Export to GFD function, the resulting GFD project has useful chapter pages showing thumbnails. But unfortunately, each page shows two rows of 7 smallish thumbnails in the top bit of the screen and the bottom half of the screen is unused (blank). Is there some way I can specify thumbnail size in GFD (or the number of thumbnails), or this something that DSG automatically generates?

[tin2tin]

The size and placement are arranged according to the 36 buttons pr. menu dvd limitation and should work for both 4:3 and 16:9. A full menu will be looking like this:

However the great Gui for DVDauthor lets you change everything to you liking. Look up the GFD manual here and ex. the Grid menu layout. I'm not too familiar with all GFDs functions, so dig in.

[m98]

That screen shot is what I expected to see, but what I actually get is the only the first two lines of seven thumbnails. The right arrow goes to the next page of thumbnails, but still only 2 lines of 7.

[tin2tin]

You're right if you mean slideshows in 16:9 - for some reason I've limited the number to 14 chapterpoints pr. 16:9 menu. I don't remember why. However it work ok if I set the number up to 33(in the code) as it is with 4:3 menus.

[tin2tin]

Here some previews of what I have been working on for a long time now:
Videos can now be animated, overlayed and overlapped in the slideshows like a NLE:





The sourceclips are from http://movietools.info/

[tin2tin]

More Ken Burns motions on video clips:

[Mike99]

how do I add a modified tag to the menu?

Not possible. But if you come up with something brilliant you can post it here and hope that I will update DSG with those tags.

I just read through the info in the Aegisub manual regarding Fade & Fade (complex).

The two parameters listed in the Fade tag (500, 500) specify how long it takes to fade in at the beginning and how long to fade out at the end. The parameters are in milliseconds. Therefore 500 equals half a second for each.

However I did not want the fade to last the whole duration of the slide.

According to the instructions you can do a complex fade and specify when it starts, how long it lasts & how long to fade out. Also how opaque it is. It takes 7 pieces of data. And of course it has to fit within the slide time duration. So a couple different tags could be made available.

If a slide duration was 4 secs then perhaps the subtitle might last 2 secs.
Tag would be \fade(255,0,255,0,250,1750,2000)

Subtitle goes from invisible to fully visible & back to invisible, these are the first 3 numbers. The next 4 numbers control the timing. I used .25 secs for the ramp up & down times.

Therefore it fades in from time 0 (beginning of slide) to .25 sec, then continues fully visible to the 1.75 sec point, and then fades out from the 1.75 sec to the 2.0 sec point.

For a 3 sec fade the tag would be:
\fade(255,0,255,0,250,2750,3000)

I’ve just been replacing the numbers in the regular Fade tag with the Complex Fade numbers of my choice & it works.

[tin2tin]

Yes, the tags gives a lot of options/control. You can even draw images in the subtitles... but the subtitle stings will be very long. Unfortunately there is a string length limitation in the official release of Avisynth. So that gives you only around 160 characters for each subtitle. This limitation will be removed once the next official Avisynth release will be out.

Would you prefer the default fade I/O to be 0.25 sec instead of 0.50 sec?

[Mike99]

Yes, the tags gives a lot of options/control. You can even draw images in the subtitles... but the subtitle stings will be very long. Unfortunately there is a string length limitation in the official release of Avisynth. So that gives you only around 160 characters for each subtitle. This limitation will be removed once the next official Avisynth release will be out.

Would you prefer the default fade I/O to be 0.25 sec instead of 0.50 sec?

I would prefer the default fade I/O to be 0.25 sec, at least for the complex Fade tag when the subtitle is displayed for only part of the slide. That way the subtitle is on a bit longer & hopefully long enough for people to read it, yet it does not turn on/off abruptly. It's obviously a personal choice but .25 sec works for me.

For the regular Fade keeping it at .50 sec is good because the subtitle will still be displayed long enough to read because it lasts the duration of the slide.

[Chris Sherrick]

Tin2Tin, thanks for such a great program.

I'm trying to zoom into a large image, and the quality doesn't look that great. I'm using version 9.3.6.

Details: The image is a 2500x8800 png. I used the "Pan zoom & rotate" tool to zoom in 500% (the max it will let me) and exported the project to a mpeg file. I tried setting Export Quality of 25 and 75 (the max) under Project Settings. The quality of the zoomed in images looks identical for 25 and 75 (although quality of 75 takes much longer); I could tell no difference between the two. The original image has *much* better quality when zoomed to the same point.

Do you have any suggestions to get a clear image when zoomed in?

Thanks so much!

[tin2tin]

The quality of the zoomed in images looks identical for 25 and 75 (although quality of 75 takes much longer); I could tell no difference between the two.

True, that seems to have been broken.