Gongalong

I do have one of these somewhere. Depends how reliable it is! Also we play a lot of HD video, so depends if it copes with that from 20m+ away. No false ceilings as this is a hall (ceiling's 4-5m high). Ultimately it's just to get something temporarily rigged.

My feeling also. If we have 10m of the cheap rubber cable protector it will be impossible to keep it flat, let alone store it flat. I'm all for gaffer tape but it doesn't look great, and we have to get cables from the front of this particular hall, and there were concerns about look. I think rubber backed mats are the best looking and safest option, but there wasn't agreement on this. I have seen some rigging for bands, but presentation is less of an issue in that situation.

Good point. I had meant to, and normally I flatten and reinstall, but this time I upgraded from Dell's original Win 10 install to 11, then forgot about the crapware. Uninstalling now! Mostly it seems to be Dell optimisation and support rubbish. I did install Dell's update tool, so will keep that.

It's trying to strike that balance of simple but still looks good

I'm looking for a middle ground, so more than Movie Maker has to offer, but probably less than Premiere. The videos I'm making are fairly minimal - typically compiling photo slideshows with title cards and transitions - but I'd still like them to look better than standard Movie Maker fare, ideally without having to learn too much.

Out of interest, what do you remove in the task sequence? We currently have two Command Line steps, one to remove from new accounts, and a second to remove from existing accounts (which has always worked... so far!). Current code for the new accounts step below: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Get-AppXPackage -allusers | Where-Object -Property PackageName -Match '(3dbuilder|3dviewer|wallet|MicrosoftOfficeHub|XboxGameCallableUI|XboxSpeechToTextOverlay|MicrosoftStickyNotes|BingWeather|Print3D|XboxApp|ZuneMusic|ZuneVideo|WindowsMaps|WindowsFeedbackHub|WindowsAlarms|SkypeApp|People|StorePurchaseApp|Getstarted|WindowsStore|MicrosoftSolitaireCollection|windowscommunicationsapps|Cortana|Messaging|GetHelp|WindowsSoundRecorder|MiracastView|MixedReality|OneConnect|YourPhone)' | Remove-AppXPackage"

I've never used Premiere. Is it usable for a beginner, or steep learning curve?

What is your view on Mackie? I'm not sure if they're viewed as quality reliable kit. I think a pair of speakers would be the ideal, and something around 6", although even that might be too big. Our PE department have some similar speakers so it's a thought, although I'm thinking that a pair of speakers would be the ideal, just something with more oomph than the average PC speakers.

Nothing in administrative events that ties in with the times. Brand new machine, not to say there isn't a drive issue. I'll fire up some drive checking software.

This is for a fraction of a second, but then happens every few seconds. Weirdly it has now stopped (I haven't rebooted). I'm debating whether to log it with Dell but not expecting much help from their support. Just to add that the machine is fully up-to-date for drivers and windows updates. It's one of those things where troubleshooting it will likely take more time and frustration than a reinstall.

Hi folks, I recently got a new Dell PC (i7 32GB RAM) which shipped with Win 10. I upgraded to Win 11, rather than a clean install, in case that's relevant. I'm experiencing random slowdowns. Typically it will be after a reboot, and that session will then get the slowdown. It can be every few seconds e.g. I'm typing, irrespective of app, it will momentarily pause and then resume again. If I'm trying to scroll a window it will also pause. I've tried keeping an eye on Task Manager but nothing is leaping out as an intermittent CPU hog. In some sessions I don't have it. Any ideas as to what could be causing it? To save me from flattening and reinstalling. Thanks

This was on a machine with an nVidia card, latest drivers. I have just replaced that machine with a current i7 and 32GB of RAM (seem to have AMD Radeon RX640 and Intel UHD Graphics 750) so will see how it goes. Aside from the crashing, Resolve has a bit of a steep learning curve. I would like something that can produce minimal but professional looking videos (i.e. not Movie Maker!) with less of a learning curve.

We've been removing it from day one without issue. Odd! I'm not sure I can get that fussed about Solitaire now. If the teachers aren't supervising a class well enough to spot that then there's no hope, although could always applocker it.

Thanks all. I've not used Applocker in anger yet, but sounds like it might be worth investigating. Of all the apps we remove it's probably only Solitaire that's a timewaster. I was super wary back in the early Win 10 days of students installing apps from the store.

Probably doesn't need to be as portable as that i.e. mains power OK. A speaker with a handle would be OK. I will check the Mackie speaker dimensions and see if they go into a bag here.

Thanks all for the replies. I may give it another go. It seemed ideal, and I'd assumed stable, so I was surprised when I was getting crashes to desktop when trying to render. I had to backtrack on the project twice to get it to work (without transitions) so it was frustrating to say the least. I may give Adobe Rush a try as well as we have synced up our AD accounts with Adobe and the free cloud licenses but have yet to use it in anger.

Hi folks, Can't spot a general software category, so hopefully no-one minds if I ask this here. Best video editor? I'm after something with a bit more oomph than Movie Maker (and Microsoft Video Editor), and probably iMovie as well. I need to put together a set of photos for an end of year assembly, but would like some subtle effects and title cards with the minimum of effort. I don't need something with lots of OTT effects. I've tried DaVinci Resolve in the past but found it would crash if I mixed photos and transitions, so I ended up removing the transitions. Am I best to get a sub to Adobe Premiere, or is there something simpler and more effective to use? Thanks

Interesting, not heard of those before. Is it a sort of mixer with a PC USB connection? I can see a handful by Behringer on Amazon.

Ahhh interesting, I've not heard of balanced XLR cables. This is the balance box we have used in our drama studio.

Thanks all for the suggestions, much appreciated. I'll have a think

Hi folks, We need a pair of portable active speakers for projector setups around the school. They need to have a bit more oomph than the average computer speakers. Mackie MR624's look good, but any other recommendations? Thanks

Hi folks, To-date we use a PowerShell command at the end of our task sequence to remove a number of apps from our Win 10 deployment. We have always removed Windows Store, but also have group policy settings to deny access to students. Does anyone leave Windows Store in place, and has it caused issues with student access? Is group policy trustworthy enough to prevent access? Thanks

Thanks all for the replies, will give them a try.

Hi folks, We fairly frequently have a need to run cables across the floor for some temporary setup e.g. we had an event yesterday where we had to get audio, network, and a chunky HDMI cable across 10m of floor. For the above example we borrowed some large rubber backed floor mats which work fairly well, but the things are inevitably filthy. I've not found cable protector to be that great because it often sticks up and is a trip hazard in itself, plus it's difficult to thread cables in for long runs. Gaffer tape is another possibility, but of course leaves the cables exposed, and isn't easy with chunky cables. Has anyone found a good solution to this to avoid the trip hazard? Thanks

It could be either HDMI or 3.5mm jack, but we have discovered today that the HDMI audio glitches when it starts and only the 3.5mm jack is reliable (HDMI goes into a powered splitter, so not sure if it's something to do with that). We have the issue of it being from the side of our hall via a 20m audio cable, with the knock on effect of buzz on the cable. We have a ground loop isolator box of tricks but don't have the right cables to connect it in for today's presentation. Will buy some cables for future presentations though.