Windows 7 codec

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So you upgraded to Windows 7 but are as always having issues with Codec’s (A codec is the ‘decoder/encoder’ for a video or soundfile in a specific format eg. DivX or Xvid).

Under Windows Vista the Vista Codec pack seemed to work perfectly, but I was reluctant to install it on Windows 7 out of fear to create problems for H.264 (H.264 is now native to Windows 7, which was not the case for Windows Vista).  However in the end I had to (too many things did not work without these codec’s), anyway it turned out that the Vista Codec Pack would not install on Windows 7, it cleverly detected that it was a new OS and pointed out that a new package was available here.

So all in all, my worries was laid to rest and I downloaded Windows 7 codec pack and everything was back to the old working state.

Do you need this codec pack?  Well very likely not, most users can download the VLC player this player has build in most common codec’s and can thus play most video/snd files you get hold of, however if you need to do video conversion etc. then it is a different matter, Windows then need to be able to ‘understand’ the fileformat and this may ofthen require a codec.  The rule should be, try VLC player, if its enough dont install anything more if not install the Windows 7 codec pack or Windows Vista Codec pack (also works for Windows XP).

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Mediaplayers update – VLC 1.00 relased (finnaly)

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vlcp1You likely already know about VLC player from VideoLan.org?  It is a nifty little player that has several cool features, like; it is free, it has build in codex’es and oh yeah it is free 😉

The really cool thing about VLC is that it come with build in codex’es, this is clever because it is often here mediaplaying go wrong, a user simply does not have the right codex and can not display a mediaclip, many PC users have downloaded a codex pack – however your old aunt Oda have not and cant watch the videoclips you put on your website..  Well VLC deal with this by integrating the codexes, this way you wont have to think about it.

In the past the VLC player had one drawback, it was ugly and un userfriendly, however in the first final (it has been in beta for many years now) version this seem to be fixed..  the player looks nice and is easy to navigate..

Download it here;
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

Just before I was about to post this I was informed about another player very similar;kmplayer
http://kmplayer.en.softonic.com/ KMPlayer
looks very nice (possibly even a bit better than VLC, so give it a spin also)..

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Aiptek PocketDV AHD 300 – quick review

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aiptekI always wanted a video camera, but to be honest have had very little use for one..  But some day I came across IronGeek.org’s site and was intrigued by this cheap HD camera, and as it proved to be even cheaper in Denmark and I had just received a small bonus check from my insurance company on just that amount, well I ended up buying one..

So how is it really?  Well it’s small very light weight and I’d say good value for money, it lack optical zoom and the sound could have been slightly better (but it’s not bad at all)..  I’ll see if I can’t record a small demo video and put it up here for you to see some time in the future.  Recording is done in .mov format and thus you need to convert it if you wish to transfer it to DVD, but computerplayback works like a charm with Apple Quicktime (which also let you stick to HD)..  Recording of 1h full hd is 4gb, so I added a 16gb sd card which leaves plenty of space for recording.  All in all I am satisfied.

A few links to news/reviews;
http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/08/12/new-aiptek-pocketdv-ahd-300-1080p-camcorder/
http://www.aiptek.eu/index.php?option=com_product&task=view&productid=162&Itemid=278

And I bought mine here;
http://www.mobiludsalg.dk/pi/Aiptek_PocketDV_AHD_300_11694_.aspx
Which was the cheapest store at the time (DKK 1.000,-  €133).

Update; I had some minor problems with video’s I transferred from this camera (they would ‘pixelate’), I actually thought the camera might have been broken – but it turned out to be quite a trivial matter see the explanation here  https://readmydamnblog.com/?p=813  now video’s transferred from the camera is crisp and sharp..

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DoubleTwist a torn in the Apple

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doubletwistDoubleTwist will allow you to sync music and video from Itunes to a lot of other devices than Iphone/Ipod (such as PSP, Blackberry, Nokia etc), and whom other than DVD JON to be involved in such an annoyance to Apple.

Download a free beta from the DoubleTwist website.

 

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SHERLOCK – The Codec Detective

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sherlocklgeEver had a video or audio file you could not play?  Most likely yes and the reason is 99% sure a missing codec, a good and easy approach to combat this is to install a codec pack which contain most used codec’es (currently I use Vista Codec Pack which seem to contain all that I need and btw also works fine on XP).

Should you however run into problems with codec’es then you may want to take a look at this “Codec detective” which will assist you in determining just what codec’es you have and their versions, this combined with a little googleing should be of great help.

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X-OOM Media Center for Wii™

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1123_media_center_for_wii_3d_300dpi_cmykJust thought this may be of interest to Wii console owners, now you can get a mediacenter-extention for your Wii, and at a price of US$ 39,- it should be worth a look.   I have not tested this myself as I don’t have a Wii, what is wrong with my good old XBOX 1 which by the way DO have a mediacenter installed 😉

X-OOM Media Center for Wii™

  •  Direct access to all your movies, videos, photos, music etc. 
  •  Fool-proof installation and navigation
  •  Optimized for widescreen (16:9) 
  •  Access to more than 1,000 radio and TV channels 
  •  Streaming of multimedia files (audio/video)  
  •  Extensive support of media files: MP3, WMA, OGG, DivX®, Xvid, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV, JPG, BMP etc. 
  •  Common network connection through WLAN or LAN

http://www.x-oom.com/usa/products/mediacenterforwiiSUB.htm

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DVico TViX R-2230

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r2230It would seem DVico has released TViX R-2230 a small form factor mediacenter with DVB-T build in, it looks quite interesting even though there seem to be some confusion regarding HD playback (supports 1080p but not MKV and H264).  I really liked the previous versions of TViX (se earlier post) and thus this is  interesting for when I will be decomissioning my good old X-Box1 classic (which I use as a mediacenter today) 🙂 one major issue however, it would seem it does not come with a network adapter which seem kind of silly 🙁

A few links for you;
http://www.laymansreviews.com/review.php?id=49
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/125825,tvixhd-pvr-plays-ripped-bluray.aspx

Danish site;
http://www.av-connection.dk/?PGr=2198&ML=884

Dvico;
http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/products/PVRR-2230.aspx

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.MKV files and PS3 playback

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So a friend of mine bought a PS3 (I’m sticking to my chipped XBOX 1 Classic until the price falls or I win the Lottery or something), anyhow – a question quickly came to mind, will a PS3 play those video.mkv files (see the DIVX7 post earlier).. 

Sadly no 🙁 the answer seem to be (one less reason to skip the good old XBOX1 – its not powerfull enough to play them but it tries its best), however converting MKV2VOB should be fairly easy (but will the quality still be HD?).

For details take a look at;
http://www.bitburners.com/articles/convert-mkv-files-for-playstation-3-using-mkv2vob/4022/

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Stream ripping got lost

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wmr160x160During my recovery from the Needhost bankruptcy (my former provider) it would seem a few posts got lost 🙁 annoying as I fear more is lost than I recall 🙁

Anyhow, this one is actually a nice one so I re-post it.

So you want to rip that neat web-cast for offline viewing, well that can be a hard one but; WM Recorder 12

WM Recorder may not look like much but it has proved very powerful and hence worth a look, it actually installs a special driver for capturing the video streams and seem to do a fair job.

I have experienced it to crash from time to time which is annoying, but as I’m on Vista that may be the issue right there (security can be a boggle).

Anyway, if you have other products you use with success let me know..  for now this is the best I have stumbled across.  For YouTube capturing I use www.vdownloader.es which is free and does a fairly good job (including converting to avi).

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Handbreake – video converter

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main_window_thumbnailYet another freeware videoconverter, seems quite ok and supports HD.

At that price give it a spin 😉

Screenshots

Download

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