Transparent tif's suitable for ProDAD (FX)- How?

[Old_Friend]

I've spent days seaching info and experimenting, but cannot create a transparent "tif" image that will work in Video Studio using ProDAD's FX route/paths options.

I have these Corel products: CorelDRAW and Corel Paint (older versions, 7.xx), and Corel Video Studio X5 Pro.

The few symbols available via ProDad's choices in Video Studio were all created using Adobe PhotoShop, not Corel. Those work. The one's I create with Corel products always either fail to load into ProDAD or else the 'background' behind them is NOT transparent. I cannot get the backgrounds to be invisible while using Video Studio.

Yes, I can get the ones I created to work only by placing them into the Video Studio overlay track, then using the GAMUT/Alpha Channel (eye-dropper) to remove the backgrounds. But I'd like to know the few basic steps to create them so that they actually work with the ProDAD FX filter -- just like the few sample ones it has already. I'm obviously missing some minor detail in the procedure, unless this is a known issue. If so, I haven't seen it posted anywhere.

I'm writing this in this Video Studio forum only because it's an issue related to Video Studio and Corel products.

[lata]

Hi

Well I have tried several options for a transparent background using PNG and Gif, and able to add the images to the overlay track which do display without the background, but add them to Roto-Pen and the background becomes visible.

Tiff images I’m afraid I am having no luck with at all, even creating a transparent Tiff is causing me problems

Roto-pen provides 12 samples, have you located these on the pc so maybe able to open in my image editor

[BrianCee]

Not sure what you are both doing - I do not use Corel Draw or Paint Shop Pro but I can easily knock up transparent tiffs in my image manipulation package (non-Corel).

It just occurs to me - are you both setting the output to 32bit depth - I could never create transparent anythings (tif, png, etc.) for VideoStudio if I did not select 32bit at the output stage.

I just very quickly knocked up a test I'll attach it below - download and un-zip it and see if it works for you .

trans test.zip

(32.91 KiB) Downloaded 311 times

My VS looks like this when I insert it - I swear I have not applied Chroma-key or any other effect at all. :-

...

[Old_Friend]

Thanks BrianCee for replying with examples. As I stated in my OP, I can do what you did by using the Overlay bars (as you did). I used the Chroma Key tool, and the end result was the same. What's nice about what you did is that it also works in the ProDAD Effects tool! But, you did not offer any info about how you created yours. BTW, when looking at the 'Properties' of your downloaded tif image, it says it's RGB 24-bit color -- not 32-bit? I have used 24-bit (16 million colors) to create xparent tif images just fine.

This morning, I spent at least 2 hours trying to duplicate what you created, but to no avail. I had to keep guessing, but I never guessed correctly since nothing ever worked in ProDAD. They either didn't display at all, or else they always had the rectangular background box. It shouldn't be this difficult. ha ha

Thanks for taking your time to reply. Now, if you'd only given a little more info, I might have created just one that worked. From that point forward, at least I'd know the process. I understand that this forum isn't intended as a tutorial for such things, so if you or anyone else wants to offer specifics, I'll be happy to create a new topic 'somewhere' else. Just tell me the best place I might be able to do that, so as not to get off topic (too much) in this forum.

[lata]

Hi Brian

Thanks for the sample.

Which program are you using to create the Tiff’s

I can add a transparent image to the overlay track and display as your image, but using it in RotoPen, no go

So far I am unable to create a transparent image using PSP-X3 or PI X4,
Don’t use X4 that much so a bit rusty. I must be missing something?

Using Adobe PhotoShop I can create a Tiff that works using Roto Pen
But using 8 bits not 32 bit images, that option is greyed out.

The tiff save options of adobe allows me to choose the transparency option?

[Old_Friend]

Roto-pen provides 12 samples, have you located these on the pc so maybe able to open in my image editor

Thanks for replying, lata. I'm sorry it doesn't work for you either, but at least I feel a little better that I'm not the only one who can't get it to work! LOL!!

lata, I think you were asking me to send a few of them so that you could experiment with them, but I'm not sure.

Well...... I tried to upload one of them to you, but this forum has limitations that prevent it. First, upload images can't exceed 284KB's. So, I picked the only one that should have uploaded (it was only 71KB's), but the forum gave me the following message:

"The image must be at least 0 pixels wide, 0 pixels high and at most 950 pixels wide and 800 pixels high. The submitted image is 1010 pixels wide and 346 pixels high."
Oh, well. I tried.
Sorry

[lata]

Hi

well i can make it work using Adobe, and use psd files as well as Tiff.

but have not been able to use Corel PSP to create the Tiff.

maybe a post on the PSP forum is on the cards.?

[BrianCee]

Well the tiff I supplied works perfectly OK in Roto pen on my PC see below :-

surely it doesn't matter which programme you use to create them - it's what works in VideoStudio that matters.

uploaded a short video now :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOhH2KvZRco&feature=plcp


.....

[Old_Friend]

Thanks, lata. It's amazing to me that after all these years Corel hasn't solved that problem. As I said in my original post, the Roto-tool transparent images were made not with a Corel product, but rather with Adobe, yet they are used in VS. Weird. BTW, years ago Corel products COULD create transparent background images, but something has gotten lost along the way. There are hundreds of posts on the CorelDraw forum, and not one of them explained the precise steps on how to do it. Most of the replies talked about the 'technicalities' of how transparency works, but I never found a reply that I could understand. Most people wanted to use them on their HTML web pages... but, that's NOT the only use for them, so those replies didn't help me at all. That's one of the reasons I asked here.

btw, I don't use Paint Shop Pro... I use Corel's PhotoPaint, which has been their main paint program to work seamlessly between Corel's "CorelDraw" program.

[lata]

Hi Brian

surely it doesn't matter which programme you use to create them - it's what works in VideoStudio that matters. .....

Well it does seem to matter, i cannot save an image using PSP or PI that works in Video Studio RotoPen but adobe files do work?

[BrianCee]

Hi Trevor

OK I'll put it the other way round then : -

As long as they work in VideoStudio - surely it doesn't matter which programme you use to make them.

In your case you would use Adobe to make them - why make them in PSP if they don't work.

[lata]

Hi Brian

That’s ok for me owing Adobe, but for my Old Friend that has the Corel products it’s a problem, cos they don’t work, or at least I haven’t found how to make them work.

If I didn’t have adobe I would be struggling, which is why I asked which program you used, expecting you to say PSP and this is how you do it?

[BrianCee]

........- I do not use Corel Draw or Paint Shop Pro but I can easily knock up transparent tiffs in my image manipulation package (non-Corel).....

didn't want to be banned for advertising a non-Corel Programme.

[Ken Berry]

FWIW, I have been digging around on the PSP forum, and the question of transparency has been raised there various times. But it seems that PSP cannot make transparent TIFs... see http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php ... 37#p225337

The problem is that, like Trevor above, while I can make a transparent PNG in PSP X5, in VS with RotoPen, it also shows up with a white background...

[Old_Friend]

I have been wondering whether or not this issue 'may' have something to do with Corel not keeping up with Windows' OS's, like Windows 7 64-bit, etc. Maybe that 'other' product (it's name starts with the letter "A----) may be more up-to-date with Windows, than Corel's products? I wouldn't doubt it one little bit. I'm just grasping at thin air. heh heh.

EDIT: But, since Windows 7 has about 1,000 things broken or missing in it, it could be Windows itself!?