Topic: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

I am making a slideshow for my granddaughter's 16th birthday.  The slideshow looks great on the computer monitor.  When i view it from a cd in a laptop through a projector onto a screen it appears choppy.  Any suggestions as to why this is happening?  Thank you for any help.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Hi, could you provide some more details?
1. Which video format did you choose for creating the video - AVI, MP4, HD-ready, full HD etc.?
2. You burned the video file to CD (DVD?) and play it on your laptop, right? What if you just transfer the video file to the laptop directly, without using the disc - will the problem be gone?

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

I was watching it directly from the laptop and the transitions were choppy as were the animations.  I was using a usb wire from the laptop to the projector.  I then used a vga cable and it seemed a little better.  This is my first attempt, so I'm just learning all this and am not very adept obviously.  I am going to buy an hdmi cable and see if I save it in a different format that it may help.  I will keep you informed.  Thank you for your advice.  If you have any other suggestions, please post them.  I can use all the help I can get!  Thanks again.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

I have a serious problem.  When I purchased this program, I installed it on my desktop so that I could work on my project without disturbing anyone.  I have been working on it continuously for over a month.  I purchased a projector and screen yesterday and have been trying to get all my settings right.  I set up the screen and projector in the living room where there was space to see how the project looked.  I took the backup disk and installed it in my laptop so that I could put everything together.  Now the program is deactivated on my desktop and I can't retrieve
my project on my laptop, so the entire thing is GONE!  I was nearly done with it.  Today I purchased a HDMI cable to try to improve the quality of the picture, so now I have to start the whole thing again from scratch!  I am devastated.  Is there anyway that I can at least get what I have done back so that I can continue working on it?  I didn't know that I the program would be deactivated.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Yesterday I used the laptop to watch a sample DVD I had been playing with when I noticed it was choppy.  That's why I bought the HDMI cable today.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Hello again, we already replied to your support ticket today.

The license allows you to install one copy of the software on one computer. Transfer from one machine to another is only allowed when this is absolutely necessary (e.g. after reinstalling Windows or when you buy a new computer). Anyway, you can uninstall the software from your laptop now and then activate it on your desktop again. Nothing should happen to your project which is stored on your desktop.

As to the last issue: you probably could not play the slideshow on your laptop because the paths to image files changed.
Anyway, you don't need to install the software and transfer the project to your laptop. Just create a video file on your desktop and take it to your laptop to play.

I am still not sure whether you played the slideshow project right from the software or converted it to video first.
If it was the video, which format did you choose? (AVI, MP4, HD-ready, full HD etc.)
Did you try playing the video with Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic, or some other software?

And one more question: can you play the slideshow (the project and the resulting video) on your desktop with no issues, does it look fine there?

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Well, here's the latest, and I really appreciate your advice because I'm brand new to this and I'm trying my best to get this down.  I was able to retrieve most of my project since it was saved on my thumb drive.  I found it when i transferred all my photos from my desktop to the thumb drive to use on the laptop.  Some of the photos in the slideshow were missing so I was able to put them back in.  I set it up and watched it through the projector from the software and it still seemed quite choppy.  I feel more comfortable working on the desktop since the monitor is much larger.  The laptop seems to cut off parts of the display on the bottom and I have to keep dragging it up. 

Let me ask you this.  If I reinstall the program on my desktop, access my project, save it to a CD, will the quality of the image get better?  For viewing from the CD, I would watch it using the media player, right?  If I save it in a different format, (1) will the quality be clearer; (2) which is the best for viewing from the laptop through the projector?  I really want the quality to be smooth and not so choppy. 

As you can tell, I'm really a Fred Flintsone when it comes to this, and any advice and suggestions are more than welcome.  Thank you for sticking by me.  The video looked perfect when i watched it on my desktop - I had no issues.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Right, so the project looked fine when you played the preview on your desktop.

First of all, it is definitely not recommended to play the video while the CD/DVD with the slideshow is in your laptop CD/DVD drive. Your laptop has to do extra work this way: it has to get the video from the disc drive before transmitting it to the projector. The first operation is quite stressful and may certainly cause playback issues.

Copy the video file to your laptop's hard drive before playing it: this makes the task considerably easier.

Now, as to the video format, try any format that your laptop can play. With a common codec pack installed, any computer will play AVI or MP4. You'll find all the video export options in the Create tab.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Right.  On the desktop, the pictures were perfectly clear, the transitions were smooth, and the animations were not choppy.  Since I now have the program on the laptop, when transmitting to the projector, the animations and transitions are a little choppy and stutter, and the photos are not crisp. 

So I will install the program back to the desktop, copy the project to a CD, take the CD to the laptop, copy it to the laptop hard drive, save it in whatever format is best?  Is that right?  I should play the project from the hard drive and not the CD in the Windows Media Player.  Once I save it in whatever format, it can still be edited right?  Sorry -

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Lesley I have followed your instructions and saved the slideshow on the hard drive of the laptop.  I saved it in two different formats.  The picture is much clearer, the transitions and animations are smooth.  However, some of the slides have a vertical column of horizontal lines on the right-hand side when they first come on to the screen - almost like a blur.  Should I change some setting somewhere.  Other than that, I am very pleased that I was able to put this together with your assistance.  Thank you so much.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

This definitely sounds like a hardware fault, especially if you confirm that the issue only appears with laptop and projector, and everything is fine when you just play the video on your laptop.

The cable could be at fault - try playing the same file with VGA if the blur appeared with HDMI.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

Lesley - I will try using a different cable and see if that works.  Other than that, everything got so much letter once I saved the project onto the hard drive and viewed it in the Media Player.  Thank you for your time. 

Just one other question, one of the options when you save it has some numbers like 1080 P and so forth.  Does that make a difference in the quality at all?  I know I must sound like an idiot, but I'm glad I can bounce these questions off of someone to gain some knowledge since I am so new to this.

Thank you again.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

e2117 wrote:

one of the options when you save it has some numbers like 1080 P and so forth.  Does that make a difference in the quality at all?

Sure it makes a difference, although it depends.
You must have noticed those options under "Create HD Video" - there's a choice between HD-ready (720p) and full HD (1080p).
The resolution of the image on your screen will be higher in full HD - but only if your screen supports full HD, and if the original photos used for your slideshow have the corresponding resolution.
Check out this article, it explains what all those numbers mean in simple words.

Re: choppy-looking slideshow [Resolved]

I re-saved the slideshow in 720 and i think it worked better, however, I had to take the laptop out for service, so I won't know for sure until I get it back.  I will let you.  Again, thank you for all the info.  It certainly helps a newbie like me try to understand all the aspects of not only the program but general knowledge as well.