In article <web.40afc50027c58a6ad5551b880@news.povray.org> , "CFM" 
<nomail@nomail> wrote:

> OK, I think I spotted the problem. I couldn't understand you. I assumed the
> version of POV-ray I'm using rendered all the pics in one file:
> clockdemo.pov. Instead, my program rendered each picture and automatically
> stored them in a separate FOLDER somewhere else.

Well, that implies you didn't pay attention to the installer when it asked
you if you want your files stored there.  Of course, the documentation also
tells you where the files go.  It would be a really good idea to read it!
POV-Ray doesn't include over 800 letter-size pages of documentation for
decorative purposes only ;-)

    Thorsten

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In article <40b0e28c@news.povray.org>, tho### [at] trfde says...
> In article <web.40afc50027c58a6ad5551b880@news.povray.org> , "CFM" 
> <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> 
> > OK, I think I spotted the problem. I couldn't understand you. I assumed the
> > version of POV-ray I'm using rendered all the pics in one file:
> > clockdemo.pov. Instead, my program rendered each picture and automatically
> > stored them in a separate FOLDER somewhere else.
> 
> Well, that implies you didn't pay attention to the installer when it asked
> you if you want your files stored there.  Of course, the documentation also
> tells you where the files go.  It would be a really good idea to read it!
> POV-Ray doesn't include over 800 letter-size pages of documentation for
> decorative purposes only ;-)
> 
>     Thorsten
> 

Bit of a thought on this.. Has anyone ever considered providing a 
separate 'Animation_File=' option, so you can redirect frames of 
animations to a specific place? Like I pointed out to CFM, if you first 
run the animation without animation options, it will produce a clock=0 
image, so when most programs are asked to generate a movie from them it 
incorrectly duplicates the first frame. Having frames from animation be 
optionally placed in a separate location, when animation is turned on, 
would make things simpler. Especially since you could easily delete the 
contents of that directory when finished with them, without worrying 
about deleting all your other images along with the animation frames. It 
imho doesn't make a lot of sense for them to end up in the same place as 
still images.

-- 
void main () {

    call functional_code()
  else
    call crash_windows();
}

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> Yes. POV-Ray can't place anything into a single file. There is no version
> that I know of that can or does do so. It is intended only to generate
> each separate 'frame', requiring you to connect them all together in a
> movie.
>
> Don't worry about secluding the images. You could copy them all into a
> separate folder if you want, but it isn't necessary. The one merely
> called 'clockdemo.bmp' may be a problem though. In general if the image
> doesn't have a number, then it is a 'still' image, not part of an
> animation. What likely happened is that you ran clockdemo.pov without
> animation turn on, so POV-Ray generated a single still image from it.
> This image is "identical" to clockdemo00. This will be a problem when you
> run TMPGEnc, since that program looks for 'all' files that start with a
> name + numbers. The result will be:
>
> clockdemo.bmp
> clockdemo00.bmp
> clockdemo01.bmp
> ...
>
> In other words, it will incorrectly believe that the one without any
> number is the 'first' frame in the animation, even though it is actually
> a duplicate of clockdemo00.bmp. So, unless you move all the rest of them
> into a separate folder, you will need to delete the one that only shows
> 'clockdemo', with no numbers.
>
> Now, when TMPGEnc loads and you pick a movie type is will ask you:
>
> Video File:                    [Browse...] <- click this button
> Audio File:                    [Browse...]
>
> Select 'clockdemo00.bmp' from the folder with all the images in it.
> TMPGEnc will automatically shorten it to 'clockdemo.bmp', so when it is
> making the movie, it will first look for 'clockdemo.bmp, then
> 'clockdemo00.bmp' and so on, until it runs out of files with that name.
> Basically it is asking you for either a) an existing movie file to import
> or b) the first 'frame' of a series of numbered images to make into one,
> which is what you are trying to do. ;) Don't bother with the audio
> option, it will automatically set that to the same file(s), unless you
> specifically need to use one. Click "next" until you get to a page that
> asks for the "Output File:". The other pages have a bunch of setting that
> only an expert will likely know how to manage. At this point you can
> change where it will place the file or the name it is going to use, just
> make sure it has the right extension (.mpg for normal movies or .m2v +
> .wav) for DVD).
>
> By default it will put the finished movie in the same place as the images
> used to make it, so you can probably leave this alone to and just click
> the "OK" button. It will them tell you that 'clockdemo.mpg does not
> exist' (or something similar) and ask you if it should create it. Click
> OK. It should then pop to a screen that will show frames being loaded and
> put into the file. This screen will also show the Input, Audio and Output
> files it is using. Just sit back and watch it build the file. Once the it
> shows 100%, your movie is finished. ;)
>
> You can also use the Setting button and other options on this page to
> fiddle with how the movie is made, but all this stuff is automatically
> set by the wizard, which is generally good enough, unless you know what
> you are doing. In any case, now all you need to do is open up the new
> clockdemo.mpg file in your favorite player and watch the animation. ;) Is
> is going to be short though, it takes a lot more images to make something
> that runs for any length of time. The pentmap.pov demo (assuming they
> didn't rename it. My own copy of clockdemo is called clockd, so they may
> have renamed some of the files) has 300 images in is and is only 1 minute
> in length. The clockdemo will be 0.4 seconds in length. lol
>
> Clockdemo is only intended to give a basic example of how animation
> works, not a full length animation. In fact, the longest animation of any
> of them is Life.pov at 1 minute, 40 seconds. The rest are on average only
> about 12 seconds in length.
>
> --
> void main () {

>     call functional_code()
>   else
>     call crash_windows();
> }
Well, I went to the TMPGEnc file, and went to the Select Source File window,
clicked the browse button next to the Video File box, and entered
clockdemo00 into the open box. I clicked Open, but got an error window
saying, "Invalid Video Source." What did I miss?

Post a reply to this message

> Well, that implies you didn't pay attention to the installer when it asked
> you if you want your files stored there.  Of course, the documentation also
> tells you where the files go.  It would be a really good idea to read it!
> POV-Ray doesn't include over 800 letter-size pages of documentation for
> decorative purposes only ;-)
>
>     Thorsten
Where do I find these pages?

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In article <web.40b22c5027c58a6aadee2da00@news.povray.org> , "CFM" 
<nomail@nomail> wrote:

>> Well, that implies you didn't pay attention to the installer when it asked
>> you if you want your files stored there.  Of course, the documentation also
>> tells you where the files go.  It would be a really good idea to read it!
>> POV-Ray doesn't include over 800 letter-size pages of documentation for
>> decorative purposes only ;-)
>>
>>     Thorsten
> Where do I find these pages?

POV-Ray for Windows comes with the whole documentation as part of the help.
Go to the help menu just like for all other Windows applications to view it.

    Thorsten

____________________________________________________
Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
e-mail: tho### [at] trfde

Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org

Post a reply to this message

In article <web.40b22b6e27c58a6aadee2da00@news.povray.org>, nomail@nomail 
says...
> > Yes. POV-Ray can't place anything into a single file. There is no version
> > that I know of that can or does do so. It is intended only to generate
> > each separate 'frame', requiring you to connect them all together in a
> > movie.
> >
> > Don't worry about secluding the images. You could copy them all into a
> > separate folder if you want, but it isn't necessary. The one merely
> > called 'clockdemo.bmp' may be a problem though. In general if the image
> > doesn't have a number, then it is a 'still' image, not part of an
> > animation. What likely happened is that you ran clockdemo.pov without
> > animation turn on, so POV-Ray generated a single still image from it.
> > This image is "identical" to clockdemo00. This will be a problem when you
> > run TMPGEnc, since that program looks for 'all' files that start with a
> > name + numbers. The result will be:
> >
> > clockdemo.bmp
> > clockdemo00.bmp
> > clockdemo01.bmp
> > ...
> >
> > In other words, it will incorrectly believe that the one without any
> > number is the 'first' frame in the animation, even though it is actually
> > a duplicate of clockdemo00.bmp. So, unless you move all the rest of them
> > into a separate folder, you will need to delete the one that only shows
> > 'clockdemo', with no numbers.
> >
> > Now, when TMPGEnc loads and you pick a movie type is will ask you:
> >
> > Video File:                    [Browse...] <- click this button
> > Audio File:                    [Browse...]
> >
> > Select 'clockdemo00.bmp' from the folder with all the images in it.
> > TMPGEnc will automatically shorten it to 'clockdemo.bmp', so when it is
> > making the movie, it will first look for 'clockdemo.bmp, then
> > 'clockdemo00.bmp' and so on, until it runs out of files with that name.
> > Basically it is asking you for either a) an existing movie file to import
> > or b) the first 'frame' of a series of numbered images to make into one,
> > which is what you are trying to do. ;) Don't bother with the audio
> > option, it will automatically set that to the same file(s), unless you
> > specifically need to use one. Click "next" until you get to a page that
> > asks for the "Output File:". The other pages have a bunch of setting that
> > only an expert will likely know how to manage. At this point you can
> > change where it will place the file or the name it is going to use, just
> > make sure it has the right extension (.mpg for normal movies or .m2v +
> > .wav) for DVD).
> >
> > By default it will put the finished movie in the same place as the images
> > used to make it, so you can probably leave this alone to and just click
> > the "OK" button. It will them tell you that 'clockdemo.mpg does not
> > exist' (or something similar) and ask you if it should create it. Click
> > OK. It should then pop to a screen that will show frames being loaded and
> > put into the file. This screen will also show the Input, Audio and Output
> > files it is using. Just sit back and watch it build the file. Once the it
> > shows 100%, your movie is finished. ;)
> >
> > You can also use the Setting button and other options on this page to
> > fiddle with how the movie is made, but all this stuff is automatically
> > set by the wizard, which is generally good enough, unless you know what
> > you are doing. In any case, now all you need to do is open up the new
> > clockdemo.mpg file in your favorite player and watch the animation. ;) Is
> > is going to be short though, it takes a lot more images to make something
> > that runs for any length of time. The pentmap.pov demo (assuming they
> > didn't rename it. My own copy of clockdemo is called clockd, so they may
> > have renamed some of the files) has 300 images in is and is only 1 minute
> > in length. The clockdemo will be 0.4 seconds in length. lol
> >
> > Clockdemo is only intended to give a basic example of how animation
> > works, not a full length animation. In fact, the longest animation of any
> > of them is Life.pov at 1 minute, 40 seconds. The rest are on average only
> > about 12 seconds in length.
> >
> > --
> > void main () {

> >     call functional_code()
> >   else
> >     call crash_windows();
> > }
> Well, I went to the TMPGEnc file, and went to the Select Source File window,
> clicked the browse button next to the Video File box, and entered
> clockdemo00 into the open box. I clicked Open, but got an error window
> saying, "Invalid Video Source." What did I miss?
> 
> 

Did you actually go to the right directory and click on the file to 
select it? If not then it won't automatically add .bmp to the end. You 
have to tell it the 'full' name, not just 'clockdemo00'. If that isn't 
the problem.. Then I have no idea, unless the files are something TMPGEnc 
doesn't recognize. If they are .BMP then it should not be a problem. If 
they are .PNG, then you need the plugin I mentioned before. If something 
else, then you may need to tell POV-Ray to output in a different format. 
but the key issue here is it needs to know both the directory and the 
'complete' file name to look for, so actually browsing to that directory 
and clicking on the files is probably safer than typing it in.
-- 
void main () {

    call functional_code()
  else
    call crash_windows();
}

Post a reply to this message

> > Well, I went to the TMPGEnc file, and went to the Select Source File window,
> > clicked the browse button next to the Video File box, and entered
> > clockdemo00 into the open box. I clicked Open, but got an error window
> > saying, "Invalid Video Source." What did I miss?
> >
> >
>
> Did you actually go to the right directory and click on the file to
> select it? If not then it won't automatically add .bmp to the end. You
> have to tell it the 'full' name, not just 'clockdemo00'. If that isn't
> the problem.. Then I have no idea, unless the files are something TMPGEnc
> doesn't recognize. If they are .BMP then it should not be a problem. If
> they are .PNG, then you need the plugin I mentioned before. If something
> else, then you may need to tell POV-Ray to output in a different format.
> but the key issue here is it needs to know both the directory and the
> 'complete' file name to look for, so actually browsing to that directory
> and clicking on the files is probably safer than typing it in.

I went to the POVimages folder to open it up, so I must have gone to the
right folder. Furthermore, I checked the properties of clockdemo00 to find
that it is indeed a bmp file. I added .bmp extention to clockdemo00 in the
TMPGEnc Open box, but still I got an "Invalid Video Source" window. I don't
know what to do, now. And browsing is what I did to find the directory.

Also, did you imply that I'm to program TMPGEnc to find the correct
directory and file name rather than program POV-ray to do this?

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In article <web.40b3caec27c58a6a2a98a28a0@news.povray.org>, nomail@nomail 
says...
> > > Well, I went to the TMPGEnc file, and went to the Select Source File window,
> > > clicked the browse button next to the Video File box, and entered
> > > clockdemo00 into the open box. I clicked Open, but got an error window
> > > saying, "Invalid Video Source." What did I miss?
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Did you actually go to the right directory and click on the file to
> > select it? If not then it won't automatically add .bmp to the end. You
> > have to tell it the 'full' name, not just 'clockdemo00'. If that isn't
> > the problem.. Then I have no idea, unless the files are something TMPGEnc
> > doesn't recognize. If they are .BMP then it should not be a problem. If
> > they are .PNG, then you need the plugin I mentioned before. If something
> > else, then you may need to tell POV-Ray to output in a different format.
> > but the key issue here is it needs to know both the directory and the
> > 'complete' file name to look for, so actually browsing to that directory
> > and clicking on the files is probably safer than typing it in.
> 
> I went to the POVimages folder to open it up, so I must have gone to the
> right folder. Furthermore, I checked the properties of clockdemo00 to find
> that it is indeed a bmp file. I added .bmp extention to clockdemo00 in the
> TMPGEnc Open box, but still I got an "Invalid Video Source" window. I don't
> know what to do, now. And browsing is what I did to find the directory.
> 
> Also, did you imply that I'm to program TMPGEnc to find the correct
> directory and file name rather than program POV-ray to do this?
> 
> 
Hmm. No, I mean that when you click browse, you can't just type the name 
in and have TMPGEnc know where to find it, it will look in 'its' default 
folder, not "POVimages". You have to actually click through the file 
dialog until you are in the right directory and select the file from 
there. I assume this is likely what you are doing wrong, but I can't be 
sure. If not, then I haven't a clue. BMPs are one of the default files it 
should read. I suspect that it is actually incorrectly saying "Invalid 
Video Source", when it *should* be saying "File Not Found". If you don't 
see the bmp files in the file list or "POVimages" in the box at the top 
left, then you are not pointing TMPGEnc to the right place to find them.

-- 
void main () {

    call functional_code()
  else
    call crash_windows();
}

Post a reply to this message

> Hmm. No, I mean that when you click browse, you can't just type the name
> in and have TMPGEnc know where to find it, it will look in 'its' default
> folder, not "POVimages". You have to actually click through the file
> dialog until you are in the right directory and select the file from
> there. I assume this is likely what you are doing wrong, but I can't be
> sure. If not, then I haven't a clue. BMPs are one of the default files it
> should read. I suspect that it is actually incorrectly saying "Invalid
> Video Source", when it *should* be saying "File Not Found". If you don't
> see the bmp files in the file list or "POVimages" in the box at the top
> left, then you are not pointing TMPGEnc to the right place to find them.
>
No, after I clicked "browse," I changed the directory in the "Look In" box
to POVimages and put "clockdemo00.bmp" in the "File Name" box. Still, an
utter failure.

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In article <web.40b79fbc27c58a6a908e04100@news.povray.org> , "CFM" 
<nomail@nomail> wrote:

> No, after I clicked "browse," I changed the directory in the "Look In" box
> to POVimages and put "clockdemo00.bmp" in the "File Name" box. Still, an
> utter failure.

Why don't you just select the file as everybody here keeps telling you?  No
typing is required at all!!!  Is that really so difficult to understand?

Honestly, if you cannot even figure out how to select a file correctly, I am
afraid with your current experience level with computers, POV-Ray is not the
right tool for you.  And neither is TMPGEnc.  Sorry!

    Thorsten

____________________________________________________
Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
e-mail: tho### [at] trfde

Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org

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