PictureShow 4 crashing

[kblakey]

I have been using Pictureshow 4 for over 2 years and have made over 20 slideshows with not too many problems. My latest slideshow is over 700 photos which I have split into 3 smaller slideshows, to give me better control. I am suffering constant crashing of the software when I am using "Audio & Efffect" to set "pan and zoom" on individual photos. This is happening every 10-15 photos.
I have reinstalled the software from other intructions I have found on the coral website but this has not resolved the problem.

Any other suggestions to resolve?

I don't paticularly want to move away from Pictureshow but if there is software as good that handles large quantities of photos I would appreciate details. Must have good pan and zoom features. Is there other Coral software or are they just for video?
Regards
Keith

[michaeltee]

Keith,

Unfortunately problems like this are often difficult to diagnose. If an application was previously working properly but suddenly starts crashing I tend to suspect system changes that might be attributed to installing (or uninstalling) other software -- or as a result of utility programs such as registry cleaners which can sometimes alter needed files or registry entries.

As far as ongoing issues with DVDPS4 itself are concerned, using mp3 audio files rather than wav files (even though mp3 is supported) have often been a culprit. Another possibility might be the inclusion of large image files. Although DVDPS4 automatically converts them to the NTSC or PAL standard, they can overburden your CPU, causing applications to crash. Do any of these scenarios seem probable to you?

Re other Corel apps, DVD slideshows are doable with both DVD MovieFactory and VideoStudio. Although many users purchase VideoStudio for it's video editing capabilities, it is also among the best and most intuitive apps for slideshow creation. In some ways DVD MovieFactory is similar to DVDPS4 (and includes some great video tools) but it's slideshow editing options are less. For instance, you can't apply a different user-specified transition to each image.

Re non-Corel software, most all of the current DVD slideshow apps now include Pan & Zoom effects however in some cases the options are limited (for example, the effects might be "fixed" and therefore cannot be optimized to best suit each photo).

I'd strongly recommend that you contact Corel tech-support and provide as much info as possible in your initial contact. If the problem remains unresolved I'd suggest checking out the TBYB versions of VideoStudio and DVD MovieFactory. I personally feel the "Plus" versions are the best value. Please report back and let us know the outcome.

[kblakey]

Thanks for your response.
On my current slide show with which I am having problems, I have not yet added any audio files.I have previously had problems with mp3 and now convert to WAV before adding to PS4 which I leave to last.

The current slide show has +700 photos, sizes probably average 1.5 to 2.0MB each. I do have a picture resizer would it make any difference if the size was reduced before adding to PS4?

I have my checked my registry cleaner to see if I could identify anything obvious on my Ulead programmes but nothing is showing.Between each time I use PS4 I no doubt I have system changes even if it is only updates to Microsoft programmes.

My experience of trying to get support in England before Ulead was taken over by Corel was extremely poor, don't know if things have changed.

I will have a look at Video Studio as I didn't realize this was also usable on photos
Regards
Keith

[michaeltee]

The current slide show has +700 photos...

DVDPS4 doen't impose any limitations that would be applicable here. Still, I'd be curious to see if crashing occurs in a test show of say 100 photos.

...sizes probably average 1.5 to 2.0MB each. I do have a picture resizer would it make any difference if the size was reduced before adding to PS4?

The size range you've mentioned isn't unusually large. Even so, I'd probably try resizing as a trouble shooting measure. If your current resizer can't handle bulk processing, Faststone's freeware converter/resizer will do the job quickly:
http://faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm

I have my checked my registry cleaner to see if I could identify anything obvious on my Ulead programmes but nothing is showing. Between each time I use PS4 I no doubt I have system changes even if it is only updates to Microsoft programmes.

If your reg cleaner hasn't been problematic in the past it's probably not the cause. When I've experienced problems with software going South for no apparent reason I've often been able to trace the issue to the installing or uninstalling of massive "suite" apps like Nero, Roxio, and the like but that's not to say smaller proggy's can't do some damage. Typically the type of things I'll look for are corrupt or missing Windows components that might be shared by any number of apps. Problems with Visual C++, DirectX, Windows Driver Foundation, UMDF, MSXML (and who knows what else) can impact specific functions of a program without necessarily causing total failure. These can be difficult to catch at the onset especially if the programs that rely upon them aren't used on a daily basis.

My experience of trying to get support in England before Ulead was taken over by Corel was extremely poor, don't know if things have changed.

Fortunately I haven't had need of their services recently so I'm not sure if their response level has improved. Still, they see quite a few specific problems and may recognize your symptoms. In some cases they've been known to provide very detailed responses so you might as well give it a shot. Try to share as much info as possible in your initial message as this might minimize back and forth "email tag" delays.

I will have a look at Video Studio as I didn't realize this was also usable on photos

It's a great choice for slideshows, The learning curve is steeper than DVDPS4 but the basics really aren't difficult to master. The VideoStudio web board is very active and you won't have any problem finding help if needed.

Keep us posted! Good luck

[kblakey]

Thanks for your reply. Since September I have managed to produce a much smaller picture show without any real problems which probably means the installation of PS4 is ok.

I am now back on my 700 pictureshow, which I have started again as a new project. As I mentioned I had split this into 3 and downloaded the first 223 photos. I got to 140 without a probem then had about 6 crashes to complete the remaining 73. The next split had about 110 photos which went ok, although I loaded 50 at a time.The final split is nearly 400 photos so I plan to download in small quantities as this seems to help with large picture shows although it takes much longer than downloading all 700 at once.

Had a quick look at Video Studio will bear in mind for future
Thanks
Keith

[kblakey]

Sorry to be back again but I've just had another disaster when I thought things were going so well in trying to complete this large project.

I was working on "pan and zoom" when PS4 closed itself. Normally when it crashes it comes up with a sorry message etc., but this time no message it just went off the screen.
I reopened PS4 highlighted my project file and clicked open.
A message came up that my file name was invalid and the file will not open.
The file is still present, in the open project file window the file still shows together with the opening picture of my slideshow.

Do you have any suggestions as to how I my recover the project
Thanks
Keith

[michaeltee]

Hi,

If the program crashes while you're attempting to save a project file, the file can become corrupt. However in this case, it sounds like you were simply working on your project when the crash occurred. Since you weren't writing to the project file at the time, it seems unlikely that it would have become corrupt (or invalid). This (and the fact that DVDPS4 just blipped off the screen) would lead me to suspect a problem with your software installation rather than the project file itself. My suggestion would be to save your project file (or a copy of it) in a safe place and then perform a full uninstall / reinstall of DVDPS4. After successful reinstall, reboot and see if DVDPS4 will now open the project.

If this fails, you might consider performing a "clean install" of DVDPS4. This can be a bit tedious but will insure that any registry corruption will be deleted and properly written with the new install.

Just FYI, if I didn't mention this previously, it's always recommended to save project files often throughout the process of creating your show. Always use a new "unique" file name to prevent the previous project files from being overwritten. This way you can revert back to an older version should the more recent file become corrupt. Depending upon how often you save, you'll still lose some of your work but you won't have to start from scratch.