Did this tutorial make any sense?
Is this type of tutorial better or worse than the other tutorials which have only html pages with pictures?
Do you have any requests for future tutorials?

I worked my way through it. It seems to be an appropriate technique for basic tutorials, where you want the beginner to look at each step. For more advanced topics, I would prefer to be able to quickly skim the stuff that I already know, and quickly get to the bit that's causing me grief.

How about a tutorial on "container effects", and how to handle the user interface to handle this.

BTW - I love the banana and the font. Can I change them?

Is there a particular effect you'd like to achieve?

The font can be changed with effort, there are details about how to do this on this page. The pointer is a bit more complicated as the hot spot is not yet skinnable.

1 short tutorial added for oval outside effect container. I will certainly add more container tutorials, suggestions are welcome. Also, if there are things causing you grief, post notes around and we'll see if there are existing solutions or improvements that could be made. I'm sure that there are lots of things about the software that aren't exactly obvious at this point.

Actually, I'm just trying to get used to the new concepts and interface to get my skills up to where I was on ZS3.  Once I get there, my expectations will probably increase exponentially. At the moment, I'm tring to get the Blurr effect to produce a wider transition around an oval overlay. I have a closeup of a singer that I want inserted in an oval in the corner so I can see him while dancers consume most of the screen.

The big benefit of ZS4 so far is that I can overlay DV files and change the opacity - I don't have to compress the video before I can change the output opacity. The biggest downer is the output formats - I have installed the IYUV/I420 codec that ZS4 supports, but my DVD builder doesn't want to swallow it, and I haven't found a way to convert the file (yet). Most of my other S/W uses the system codecs, they don't have native capabilities, so when I install a new codec on my 'puter, the programs pick it up by default. ZS4 isn't like that. It would be REALLY nice to be able to export DV. ZS3 could never do that.

Are you using the blur alpha effect to smooth the oval's edges? That can create a halo. If you don't like that the other one you can try is the key smoother. That will smooth the transition as well.

ZS3 could export DV format but only if you had a dv codec installed. I installed a demo version of the mainconcept codec once and it could export using that. If there was such a thing as a free dv codec we might be able to support it in ZS4.

What formats does your DVD builder swallow? Did you try the mjpeg codecs? Some software that may be useful is mencoder. The windows version comes with codecs that you may not already have. It can also convert between formats.

Once i thought harder about your oval overlay i realized that we did not have any sort of circular wipe effect like we had in zs3.
As of 0.931 there is a new variable called "gradient size" for the ellipse effect in the bitmap filters - alpha modifiers folder.
More at http://www.zs4.net/ellipse_alpha_modifier

Thanks. Key smoother worked as you describe, but the halo actually looks pretty good in this case, so I went back to it.  I'd post a frame grab if I could figure out how to upload it.  I'll try the new effect in 0.931 - I'm still working on the functions of all the new 0.930 buttons.

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I got mencoder to produce a file I can use. I still have some resolution issues, but I'll work that out. The video has to survive conversions from Camera(DV)->ZS4->mencoder->VideoWave->DVDit!

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I guess that the next thing to do is the new tutorial. This is a terrific tool.

You could attach a frame grab if you start a new forum topic. The attachment area is at the bottom.
Comments like these don't take attachments but forum topics do now. (I lumped all the forum topics together for ease of use btw)

Also, i believe countinn is working on a decoder package which will hopefully solve the decoding problems for those who install it.

I cannot seem to see the tutorials.
I have the latest flash plugins, still won't work. I have followed the instructions. Could you zip the tutorials for download please?

As a complete beginner I found this tutorial helpful. However, in ZS4 v.0.954 I can't change the output size of the media mixer the same way done in this tutorial. The width and the height are there, but I cant change them and there isn't an 'update' button. I can change it on the 'export' tab, but this doesnt change the preview window. Anyone know how to change the size in this newer version of the program?

Sorry mrtoad, that's a bug. We'll have that fixed up in the next version.

Yeah, it would absolutely great if ZS4 could pick up the native codecs I have installed. This is due to a little problem I'm having...