#Multisession & Incat
10 messages in this thread
>>you should see the software we have for _producing_ Photo CDs! Very sexy,
and my personal favorite "child."<<
Ooohh…… tell me more!! Is this a competitor to Kodak's upcoming "Build-It"
product for creating "presentations" in the new Kodak Portfolio format?
Is it available now?
Thanks,
Britt
Britt
You might be interested in the CeQuadrat software PhotoCopy as well which makes
fully licensed PhotoCD/PortfolioCD. It is available (since 1993) and was
reviewed in the May issue of CD-ROM Professional.
Please call us at 1-800-330-MPEG if you are interested.
Best regards,
Monika Lutkemeier
CeQuadrat
>>PhotoCopy as well which makes fully licensed PhotoCD/PortfolioCD. It is
available (since 1993) and was reviewed in the May issue of CD-ROM
Pofessional.<<
It is my understanding that the PortfolioCD format is brand new. Kodak has not
even released their products as far as I know. How long has your software had
the capability of writing to that format?
>>Please call us at 1-800-330-MPEG if you are interested.<<
I will, thanks!
Britt
Portfolio has been around for a couple of years, and Kodak has had the software
out on the Mac for at least two years that I can remember. They've just done a
lousy job marketing it, so the usual response when we say "It does Photo CD
Portfolio" is "Huh?"
But we keep trying. It's a dandy format for developing easy, low-cost
multimedia — being able to have your images professionally digitized for $1
each is wonderful! The two major limitations of Portfolio are that you don't
get moving images and you don't get continuous sound — each sound clip is
attached to a specific image, so you can't, for example, have a song running
smoothly while you flip through a series of pictures. But for many applications
neither of these limitations is a problem.
Portfolio has caught on a bit more in Europe, and we've sold a number of
packages of Photo Theatre, especially in France. People use it for catalogs,
presentations, you name it.
Ciao,
Deirdre'
Deirdre',
>>They've just done a lousy job marketing it, so the usual response when we say
"It does Photo CD Portfolio" is "Huh?"<<
That's how the entire PhotoCD "revolution" has gone, at least from a consumer
perspective. I haven't lost hope yet, since their doesn't seem to be any
competing standard for storing (near) photograpic quality images.
Kodak seems to be continuing the tradition with their latest line of PhotoCD
products – they had the big announcment in March, but now June is almost here.
The only product of the batch that is available is the portable PhotoCD player,
and that seems to be on a special order basis only. Kodak could not tell me of
even one dealer that currently has a unit in the Seattle area. If I could see
one, I would probably buy it.
Of course, you don't really need the quality of the PhotoCD to use the
Portfolio format. I have requested information on your product, looking forward
to it!
Thanks,
Britt
<<Of course, you don't really need the quality of the PhotoCD to use the
Portfolio format. >>
You get it anyhow. For a Portfolio disc you can choose to use all 5 Photo CD
resolutions, or just the 3 "base" resolutions (which are all good enough for
TV/monitor viewing).
<< the portable PhotoCD player… seems to be on a special order basis only>>
I believe it's pretty easily available in Europe, but when I tried to find one
in the US last summer I called all over Silicon Valley and found one floor
model left at the Good Guys. They offered me a great deal, then couldn't find
all the parts to go with it… It's a GREAT option for taking around multimedia
presentations — not much bigger than a portable audio CD player, and you just
plug it into any TV, point and shoot. Presentations just don't get any easier.
I'm hoping to get a demo version of Photo Theatre up in the Incat forum soon,
so keep an eye out.
ciao,
D'
>>You get it anyhow. For a Portfolio disc you can choose to use all 5 Photo CD
resolutions, or just the 3 "base" resolutions (which are all good enough for
TV/monitor viewing).<<
I believe that Kodak's software (and maybe yours) will allow you to import
non-PhotoCD images such as TIFF's, etc. to include in a Portfolio format
presentation. I envision using regular PhotoCD's to store all of my images
(eventually, when it becomes affordable) and using Portfolio CD's for putting
together collections of images.
I don't want to be restricted to the hundred or so images that will fit on a CD
using the full image "pak". As you say, the higher resolution components are
not needed for display purposes (probably mainly for prints). I would much
rather have hundreds or even thousands of images on a disk for viewing
purposes, and also leave more room for sound clips.
>>found one floor model left at the Good Guys. They offered me a great deal,
then couldn't find all the parts to go with it… It's a GREAT option for
taking around multimedia presentations — not much bigger than a portable audio
CD player, and you just plug it into any TV, point and shoot. Presentations
just don't get any easier.<<
My main interest is in the construction of "slide shows" that consist of, say,
a couple thousand of selected photos from my collection. I can have my entire
collection on a handful of these discs. I can travel to visit friends or
relatives on the other side of the country, and easily carry all of this with
me. And as you say, it's as simple as walking into a room, plugging the small
player into a TV, sitting down with the remote and away you go! Being able to
take the whole collection with you is a powerful concept that would open many
doors.
I recently also bought products from the older line of PCD players – two of
them for less than a hundred dollars each. I sent one to my parents – they
didn't have a music CD player yet, and for $79 it was worth it for that alone.
In the next year or so when I start to send them photos on CD, they will
already have the player.
I was unable to get answers from Kodak as to the capabilities of the new
players compared to the old ones. I hope that the older models will play discs
using the Portfolio CD format (maybe you know the answer to this?). But for the
price, I couldn't refuse. If I find others, I will probably purchase them to
send to other family members in preparation for a family photo archiving
project I am initiating.
>>I'm hoping to get a demo version of Photo Theatre up in the Incat forum soon,
so keep an eye out.<<
Looking forward to it!
Thanks,
Britt
Yes, you can translate any image format into PCD using Photo Theatre.
I think the older generation of players should play Portfolios — at least I
can't remember ever hearing or seeing anything to the contrary.
I'm working on a Portfolio of pictures of my daughter to send to all her
scattered grandparents. Since they live on three different continents with two
different TV systems and languages, Portfolio lets me make one disc that all of
them can use (not possible with videotape) and with two different
"soundtracks."
Ciao,
D'
>>two different "soundtracks."<<
For two different languages?
So all of these grandparents actually have PhotoCD players?
Have you used your (older) portable player with a Portfolio presentation?
Do the players actually run your software, or does your software just assemble
material into the Portfolio format, which is played by software or firmware by
Kodak?
Thanks,
Britt
<<Ooohh…… tell me more!! Is this a competitor to Kodak's upcoming
"Build-It" product for creating "presentations" in the new Kodak Portfolio
format?>>
Actually, it's a competitor to both Kodak's Arrange-It and Build-It, because it
does both the authoring and the disc-writing. There's a document in the Incat
library (Go INCATS) that explains it all.
<<Is it available now?>>
Yes. Call Becky White at (800) 77-INCAT for pricing.
Best,
Deirdre'