If Rendering the Timeline does not provide you with smooth playback, then please let us know three things:

1. The full specs. of your Source Footage
2. The details of your Project Preset
3. The full specs. of your computer, and especially the CPU and the HDD configuration

Good luck, and thank you,

Hunt

OK, do you ONLY have Still Images, and no Video?

What did you choose at New Project, for the specs.?

What are the pixel x pixel dimensions of those Still Images?

How close does that come to the Frame Size of your Project?

Good luck,

Hunt

Claudette,

When you started your Project, from the New Project screen, you were given some choices. If you do not recall what you chose, you can go to Edit>Projects Settings>General, and see what you chose. I do not think that location has moved in PrE 10, but if it has, someone will correct me.

Now, in very general circumstances, one should choose a Project Preset, that matches their Video Source Files 100%, or there can be issues.

However, if one ONLY has Still Images, and there is no Video being used, things differ a bit. In that instance, one would ask themselves a question, "how will I deliver my Video, created from those Still Images?" That answer might be a DVD-Video, a BD (Blu-ray Disc), a streaming Video files on a Web site, or as a file, that one sends to others. With a Stills Only Project, one would most likely choose a Project, that matches their delivery. If there are several delivery schemes used, then I would recommend choosing the one that is the highest resolution, and handling the others with Export/Share.

Now, within all Project Presets, there is a Frame Size, say 720 x 480 for an NTSC DV Project, designed to go to DVD-Video, or perhaps 1920 x 1080 for the production of a BD. Though PrE can Scale large Still Images to fit, it does not do the best job, and there is a major processing "hit," that can bring a computer to its knees. For those reasons, we recommend using a program, such as Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements, to do that Scaling, before one Imports the Still Images into the PrE Project. For SD (Standard Definition) DV, the "rule of thumb" is to Scale to 1000 x 750 pixels. For an HD Project, that same thinking would be 2000 x 1500 pixels. That gives one some "wiggle room." I will actually Scale to the exact pixel x pixel dimensions, unless I have a compelling reason to do otherwise - then, I will calculate the larger size, and Scale to exactly that.

How will you deliver your Project?

What are the specs. of the Project (using the method above)?

What are the pixel x pixel dimensions of your images? If they are random, then concentrate on the larger ones, please.

Good luck,

Hunt

Claudette,

Going back to that Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager, if you click on the little + (in a box), besides Display Adapters, you will see what your Display Adapter (video card/chip) is. Please let us know what it says. Then, if you Dbl-click on that, you will get a dialog screen w/ several Tabs. Click on the Driver Tab, and tell us what it says.

As PrE interfaces closely with the video driver, it is important to keep that updated.

If one has an Intel Display Adapter, there might not be that many options on updated video drivers, but with nVidia, or ATI/AMD, there is a new, updated driver about once per month.

Good luck,

Hunt

I am sure that the graphics have been changed in Win7, but here is the look at Control Panel, where we go to System, then to Device Manager, then to Display Adapter (note the little + has been clicked, and is now a - ), then, with a Dbl-click on my Display Adapter (nVidia GF 8800M GTX), we get the Properties screen, and finaly, with a clck on Driver, the Driver screen - in Windows XP-Pro:

Though the graphics will have changed, the general pathway should be the same.

As for the Project Preset, if one ONLY is using Still Images, then they would do things a bit "backward." They would choose their highest resolution delivery, say NTSC DV for DVD-Video. That would be 720 x 480 with non-square pixels, for either Standard, or WideScreen. The Sill Images would be Scaled to 1000 x 750 in Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements, and then Imported into the Project. That gives you a few extra pixels, should you want to do some animation, such as Pan & Zoom. If no animations are needed, then one can check Scale to Frame Size, to get the Still Images to fit the Video Frame Size.

When edited, then one can Export/Share to DVD-Video, can Export/Share to YouTube, or any other SD (Standard Definition) delivery scheme.

Note: if one has ANY Video, the process is reversed - one will need to create a Project, that matches that Video 100%. In this case, the delivery scheme is ignored, until the final editing.

Good luck,

Hunt