I need a gallery solution

[kevcj]

In the next week or so I am going to be putting a gallery on my website. So far I have three options.

photopost pro

photoplog pro

vbpic gallery

Please vote or recommend which one I should use.

System stats - VB 3.6.5, Virtual dedicated server with 384 memory and 20 gigs of storage.

I do not want to host video files, just pictures.

Each member should have their own gallery.

Full integration with VB user groups.

Board supporters (people that make donations) will get more storage. - So the gallery needs to support groups and storage limits per group.

Comments and rating system

Some kind of highslide or lightbox integration! - pictures opening in a new window is old technology!

[Reeve of shinra]

You may also want to look into vbgallery by photopost.

[nexialys]

You may also want to look into vbgallery by photopost.
aside of being built with vBulletin core files, this script is not really a good solution.... the original photopost pro is 5 times better with more flexibility and features... that is for the photopost stuff...

[Ohiosweetheart]

<a href="http://www.cpurigs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=32" target="_blank">vBPicGallery</a> is the best that I've worked with yet.

[kevcj]

By the results of the poll, I am going to guess that only 5 people in this forum have a gallery installed on their site?

[localhost]

I use photoplog pro haven't used the others so can't compare but photoplog is great value for money. I updated from free to pro because I wanted the watermarking feature.

[SoftDux]

What about Gallery 2? I think it's by Menalto

[kevcj]

I just wanted to update this thread. After looking at the prices, and what each gallery could and could not do, I bought VBpicgallery.

The one reason why I did NOT go with photoplog - is because each member can not have their own gallery. The admin has to create categories and members upload to those categories.

The reason I did not go with photopost pro or vbgallery is because of price.

The install of vbpicgallery took about 30 - 45 minutes. That includes editing the forumhome template to put 5 random images on the home page. So far I am happy with the results.

What about Gallery 2? I think it's by Menalto

I wanted something that plugged straight into the VB without a bridge.

[Yours Truly]

Wrong choice in my opinion Photopost vBGallery is worth event cent but that's my opinion :)

[Boofo]

Photopost Pro is the one I use. Never had any problems or complaints with it. ;)

[Shazz]

Photoplog pro

[g00gl3r]

OK,

After reading your replies to this Poll I decided to install photopost pro on a forum. To find that the vb3 integration doesn't seem to work, and when I say this I mean, when I switch the option on I get white screened, if I view source it's a blank HTML doc with empty head and body code.

In the instructions supplied it tells you to go to header-inc.php and follow more instructions and do some uncommenting, sounds really good but there's no instructions for VB3 and there's nothing obviously commented out to be honest either.

I'm not a pro' but i'm not inexperienced with this type of easy installation.

I've since found a couple of members on their support forum dating back to about when VB 3.6.1 was released and it appears they have had short support replies not clear on what to do. After a couple of goes of trying to explain to the support team further they get a short response again.
I'm yet to find out how to get it integrate with vbulletin.

It looks like I'm going to have to use the html header and footer files to make my own forum integration but it wont be as good as I thought.

Very unimpressed with the lack of guidance and support. The system does seem pretty option filled though so there's loads you can do to the core system, you just can't get it work with your forum.

Can any of you guys help maybe? I could do with a good header-inc.php file.

[TotalTorque.net]

Interesting subject this, and pertinent in my case.

I had been running Photopost Pro until my hosts ruined it during a server move. That brought about an opportunity to look at what else was on offer.

I ended up going with Coppermine, and have got to say I much prefer it. For a start it 'seems' quicker. The interface is easily customised, the simplicity of control is to be admired, and for a free product it's extremely impressive.

There are ample templates available for download, and all-in-all I'm glad we made the change. We've also moved away from integration. Bridging was something we could have done but decided against because of those dreaded spammers and how easily they can populate a site with inappropriate pictures in the middle of the night. So our users now have to request an upload account, but can browse without problem.

Doing this also meant we weren't using up resources that we didn't need to. To automotive sites, in my opinion, Galleries are a must-have.

Coppermine gets my vote.

[Yours Truly]

OK,

After reading your replies to this Poll I decided to install photopost pro on a forum. To find that the vb3 integration doesn't seem to work, and when I say this I mean, when I switch the option on I get white screened, if I view source it's a blank HTML doc with empty head and body code.

In the instructions supplied it tells you to go to header-inc.php and follow more instructions and do some uncommenting, sounds really good but there's no instructions for VB3 and there's nothing obviously commented out to be honest either.

I'm not a pro' but i'm not inexperienced with this type of easy installation.

I've since found a couple of members on their support forum dating back to about when VB 3.6.1 was released and it appears they have had short support replies not clear on what to do. After a couple of goes of trying to explain to the support team further they get a short response again.
I'm yet to find out how to get it integrate with vbulletin.

It looks like I'm going to have to use the html header and footer files to make my own forum integration but it wont be as good as I thought.

Very unimpressed with the lack of guidance and support. The system does seem pretty option filled though so there's loads you can do to the core system, you just can't get it work with your forum.

Can any of you guys help maybe? I could do with a good header-inc.php file.
Photopost vBGallery is better for vBulletin forums :)

[kevcj]

Coppermine gets my vote.

How did you get coppermine to integrate with Vbulletin. Is there a bridge somewhere? I have already installed VBpicgallery and it is working well. I might be interested in a coppermine gallery on my next site.

I found the gallery at your page - TotalTorque.net. That is nice.

[Burns]

Had anyone similar problems as g00gl3r described in his report?
vB 3.6.x integration really doesn't work?

(Sorry to bump this thread after 2 months inactivity, but after reading this report I can't decide if should buy PhotoPost license or not...)

[ssslippy]

Coppermine has a built in bridge. Photopost Pro works fine using it at my site.

[Burns]

Thank you for the reply!
So I need an external bridge to integrate PhotoPost Pro gallery? (I've vB 3.6.7)
Is there an option to restrict read and post access in the gallery (with different permissions in different sections) for vBulletin user groups or I would have to make an own hack for it?
If I need a hack for it, may be it's better to install PhotoPost Pro on the same database?

[Dismounted]

PhotoPost already integrates with vBulletin out-of-the-box.

[Burns]

But isn't there some problem with integration?
It's strange that no one comments g00gl3r's report >.< ( except saying "get another gallery" )

What I need it this:
- group A, defined in vBulletin ---> can only view gallery - only few (not in all) gallery sections!
- group B, defined in vBulletin ---> can post in the gallery - only in few (not in all) gallery sections!

Can I achieve it with this "out-of-the-box" PhotoPost Pro integration?
(I've vB 3.6.7)

I could try to ask it PP support/sales, but I'm not sure if they're eager to talk about the problems before I bought the license
(obviously their highest priority is to sell the product)

Their "PhotoPost Pro Powered Websites" list doesn't seem to be maintained anymore:
Home > PhotoPost In Action > vB3 Integrated (http://www.photopost.com/action/index.php?cat_id=5) has no images and many links are dead.
And it's been this way for months! (if not years)

[SHalliday]

But isn't there some problem with integration?
Have been using Photopost, Classifieds and Reviewpost with vB for quite some time and integration works fine. We currently integrate all three products with vB member database, vB header and CSS. We have it set up so each of the products has its own database This makes integration a little more difficult. If we had used one database for all, it would have simplified and made integration much easier. Another point worth noting is that while Photopost products do integrate to some degree with vB, there does not seem to be any real effort on extending or enhancing product integration. If anything they seem to be directing their efforts in the opposite direction by working to add their own version of forums, private messaging and enhanced photopost member profiles to the base product in their next release. So while it does integrate with vB. Expect basic vB integration but nothing much past that in terms of integration features or support.
- group A, defined in vBulletin ---> can only view gallery - only few (not in all) gallery sections!Yes. Out of the box and easy to do.
- group B, defined in vBulletin ---> can post in the gallery - only in few (not in all) gallery sections!Yes. Out of the box and easy to do.
Can I achieve it with this "out-of-the-box" PhotoPost Pro integration? (I've vB 3.6.7)We are using vB 3.6.5 and all works well.
I could try to ask it PP support/sales, but I'm not sure if they're eager to talk about the problems before I bought the license
(obviously their highest priority is to sell the product)
Definately ask the question. From what I have seen, they do tell you up front what works and what does'nt.

For photos it works great but for multimedia/video support it lags far behind. Searching for a better multimedia product with vB integration is how I came across this thread. Like most sites today we need a decent multimedia gallery for our members where they can play inline videos by either uploading the video file directly or by posting their utube, myspace etc, url links. If you are looking for that kind of integration, Photopost is not your product. From reading their support forums I doubt very much if this is likely to change in any future release either. It seems this is not something they have much interest in including in their product(s).

[Burns]

Thank you for your reply, SHalliday ^_^

I also was looking for some advanced tags features (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1390647#post1390647), but it seems there're no gallery scripts yet that support it (and offer a vB integration as well).

[towermatt]

I am using Photopost and it seems to work very well.

The photopost gallery itself is integrated with the forum out of the box, permissions the whole thing.

You can have a look at mine here (http://www.thedarktower.com/gallery/index.php) if you want.

I have also figured out how to use the inc_features.php file to create some blocks for CMPS from it.

The support is not great, that is for sure. But I do love the product, it filled all the needs I had.

[lighter]

I'll vote for vbgallery, seems to be the best integration with vb.

[SHalliday]

I am using Photopost and it seems to work very well.

The photopost gallery itself is integrated with the forum out of the box, permissions the whole thing.

You can have a look at mine here (http://www.thedarktower.com/gallery/index.php) if you want.

I have also figured out how to use the inc_features.php file to create some blocks for CMPS from it.

The support is not great, that is for sure. But I do love the product, it filled all the needs I had.
I agree. We have managed to do limited intigration with vb as well however we have now reached a point that it is requiring alot of additional programming and database changes to extend it any further. My biggest issie right now is the very limited support photopost offers for videos. Our members continue to post utube, myspace, etc links within their posts and photopost does not provide any ability for them to include those links/feeds within their gallery. They can of course upload the videos again to their photopost gallery providing the format is compatable but we find the majority of our users do not. The number of video formats and the actual video playback leaves an aweful lot to be desired. Considering I am fairly confident they will not be addressing any of these issues in any foreseeable future release I am now looking to find a more appropriate product. Video clips has become a mainstay of today's internet world and members want the ability to easily share videos with one another. With the explosion of utube and myspace, its rather unrealistic to expect they will want to reupload all of the videos to our site. A video gallery needs to do both. Let them upload the actual video file if they choose or post the link to their utube/myspace video and have it play inline on our site. Any one know of such a product that also integrates with vB?

This is the closest product I have found so far. Unfortunately it appears to have no vB integration. What a same :( :

Xe-VideoGalV2 FX (http://www.xe-media.ch/demoV2/index.php?option=com_xevideogalx&Itemid=101&func=special)

This is their demo page. The gallery templates can be easily modified to blend into your site and not only is the inline player extremely nice, it also streams and plays all of the standard utube, myspace, etc videos inline. Notice it displays the homesite link when a video url is used. Very nice however, no vB integration so I intend to keep looking for a solution that better meets our site's requirements.

[towermatt]

I am not sure I follow.

I believe photopost does allow a video upload for the gallery and they can then post a link in the forum to it.

If they have already hosted their video elsewhere, they should be able to simply post a link in the forum to it. I believe that this site has a hack that allows a video bb code type thing.

I really hope you are able to work it out. Photopost works great for us but Stephen King fans are all bookie and not much on the video thing.

[Nick0r]

I'm also on the hunt for a video gallery, where people can upload videos and then maybe it auto-starts a thread in a specific forum so people can comment on them.

There seems to be no decent solutions.

[kevcj]

After VBpic gallery from www.cpurigs.com released their newest version - I am very happy with my purcahse.

The newest version adds light box effects and slideshow to the pictures in the gallery.

[OctaneGirls]

i keep hearing about coppermine? where do you find it?

[calorie]

You can download Coppermine from http://coppermine-gallery.net/

[OctaneGirls]

You can download Coppermine from http://coppermine-gallery.net/

thank you!

[dennisuello]

I'll vote for vbgallery, seems to be the best integration with vb.

I bought it a while ago, back when it was vBadvanced product. I paid $50. That was for version 2.0. Now, I cannot justify, paying $130 just to upgrade to version 2.3, and it's questionable if PhotoPost is committed to vBGallery.

[Ville]

Permissions integration works well out of the box with the current versions of PhotoPost (6.0) and vBulletin (3.6.8 PL1), but the very useful plugin, Add PhotoPost Pro to each forum (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=112105) was broken likely either by PhotoPost 6.0 release, or the release of vB that prepared for blog integration (3.6.0 or 3.6.5, I forget). If that hack is installed on the latest vB, it'll disable Forum Management and thus it's impossible to make the plugin/hack do what it's supposed to do.