A touch of Hollywood cinematic effect isn’t so hard to ask for from our home-made videos. Your plain, raw footage can be turned into a proud masterpiece. Gone are those days when lifeless, boring films dominate our old film industry.The sound is unclear because microphones aren’t used, not to mention, the lighting are terrible because no gaffers were hired that time. Thanks to modern day technology, as it gave birth to video editing equipment.
Foremost, what exactly is video editing? According to Wikipedia, it is the process of manipulating and rearranging video shots and make it anew. It is a way of removing the flaws from your video shots and creating a flow that will either tell a story or become informative and educational. Then you add effects, graphics and sound. You may also alter the style, and mood settings of the video. But in simpler terms, to me, video editing is a combination of art and technicality.
The art of being technical sets in with the use of equipment or tools needed to make raw video shots sensational. You should have a good personal computer equipped with a special software to be able to do this. Perhaps it is the most common video editing equipment there is nowadays. So, it’s hardware plus software put into good use…viola! In this method, video footage is saved onto a computer hard drive and then edited using certain video editing software. Once it is complete, the finished product is recorded back to tape or compact disk. This a very flexible method as it allows you to make changes to any part of the video at any time. This hassle-free technique is called non-linear or digital video editing.
In several occasions, the use of other video editing equipment such as multiple cameras and other video machines are tapped to a central console where it allows you to edit something on the spot. An example to that is a live news coverage or television program. Very high tech indeed!
However, before the advent of these latest gadgets and computers, the method of linear video editing calls for the use of two editing machines connected together to transfer one tape to another. One machine works as the source while the other acts as a recorder. What if the editor notices a tiny flaw found in the earlier part of the? Too bad, he just can’t go back and re-edit it!
Start making a video you can show-off to the world now. Later, guys!
By: Dian Tanzo
About the Author:
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Aug 3rd, 2010. 
Video Splitter, can easily transmit video signal from a single source and replicate it to multiple outputs.
The same signals can be transmitted to multiple devices. No loss of signals takes place and these video splitters intact the quality of the signals too. Video Splitters also known as video distribution amplifiers enables the process of signal boosting so that the clarity of the video does not decreases. Video splitters are of various types and all comes with different port sizes, the port size actually defines how many display units we can attach to a single video splitting device for signal transmission.
HDMI Splitter is a very useful video splitting device and is used in number of organizations for the purpose of video splitting as well as amplifying the signals. It acts as signal booster which prevents the video signals from degrading while transmission of signals to a larger group of video display units. Also known as hdmi distribution amplifier, these devices works on very simple fundamentals- plug and play. Available in a variety of sizes such as 2, 4, 8 ports. HDMI Splitters provides very high resolution quality. Cascading can be done to feed video signals to a larger number of display devices.
These splitters support HDCP compliant devices and can work fine in extreme rigid work environments with Humidity: 10% to 85 % RH (no condensation), Operating Temperature: 0 to +70 C and Storage Temperature: -10 to +80 C. HDMI signals can be transmitted to a distance of 15mts with very good video quality.
By: Jennifer Luec
About the Author:
Read more on HDMI Splitter – Video Signal Replicator and Amplifier…
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jul 28th, 2010.
I am positive most of you with an iPod video, have previously owned videos you might want to have on your iPod but aren’t quite sure how to go along doing this. It is the case of many of the people I know, so I will discuss this in this simple article.
1 – You must download a software that will convert your video file into a mp4 file. This is because the iPod reads this type of file.
Such a software is easy to find with keywords such as : Video converter on google to find this type of software.
2- Use this software to convert your video file to an mp4 file. Mp4 is a video format which the iPod’s Operating System can read natively. Converting is really easy with any application that is out there.
3- Add the video files to your iTunes. You can simply do this two ways: Either drag and drop the file to your iTunes library or go in the “File” menu and select “Add File to Library”. Then select your mp4 files which you want to add. It will appear in your iPod library in the videos section. If you’re file is not in mp4 format you will not be able to put the video on your iPod.
4- Update your iPod, wait for the transfer, and you’ve got your portable video.
Note you can also drag and drop the file directly to the iPod logo in iTunes and the file will be directly transfered to your iPod.
Voil
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jul 20th, 2010.
Video card BIOS update, like the motherboard BIOS update, is gradually welcomed by DIY groups. Fix the bugs in the card and tap its potential, Flashing your video card BIOS allows you to have your system as stable as possible.
Nevertheless, graphics BIOS flash has latent risks. How can we minimize these dangers?
NVIDIA and ATI cards are two common graphics adapters in use. Before BIOS flash, the following preparation is necessary.
First, find the video card model.
Graphic card BIOS are distinct due to different brands and different models, generally they can not be applied universally. Do pay attention to the specific model, for example, the memory is SGRAM or SDRAM, it is 8MB or 16MB, PCI version or AGP version, is there any TV output…Otherwise, running an improper BIOS file may make the card going badly wrong or even scrapped.
Second, find the version of the original BIOS; search the manufacturers’ website for BIOS details, download a compatible and newer BIOS file for the video adapter.
Third, check if any drivers required.
Fourth, a copy of the NVFLASH utility (used in NVIDIA BIOS flash, you can download it from websites and use it to restore the current graphics BIOS), or a copy of the FLASHROM utility (used in ATI BIOS flash).
Fifth, make a boot disk. All video card BIOS flash is carried out more reliably in DOS, so we need to make a DOS boot disk. And then copy the downloaded BIOS file and the NVFLASH.exe file (for NVIDIA BIOS flash)/FLASHROM.exe file (for ATI BIOS flash) onto the disk.
Since preparations are ready, then go to the next step-flashing graphics card BIOS.
In order to let the operation go smoothly, try to keep the power supply working in gear in the whole procedure.
NVIDIA graphic adapter BIOS update
1. Make a backup of the current NVIDIA graphic card BIOS Utilize the BIOS flash disk to boot the computer and enter DOS, at the “A:” prompt, type “nvflash.exe -b backup.rom” and press Enter. The NVFLASH utility will restore the current NVIDIA graphics BIOS onto the flash disk (called backup.rom).
2. BIOS update From the “A:” prompt, type “nvflash -p -u -f (name of the new BIOS file including the file extension)” and press Enter. NVFLASH will overwrite your old BIOS information with the new values. If you see any error messages or odd results, do not restart the system. Consult the troubleshooting below for further instructions.
If everything seemed to work properly, restart the system.
Depending on the BIOS version you used and the video card, you may need to install new drivers.
ATI graphic adapter BIOS update
Conventional method
3. Make a backup of the current ATI graphic card BIOS Boot the computer with the flash disk, at the “A:” prompt, type “flashrom.exe -s 0 backup.rom” press Enter. Now the FLASHROM utility will restore the current video’s BIOS onto the disk (called backup.rom).
1. BIOS update At the “A:” prompt input “Flashrom -p 0 ***.rom” (*** means created name for the BIOS update file) hit Enter then the new BIOS will be written into the current BIOS chip. Wait for a few seconds, if there is no error massage popping up then restart the computer. Updating succeeds.
Special situation, add flashing command parameter
Add parameter “-f”
Some graphic cards would encounter ID error during the operation, try to add a mandatory updating parameter “-f”to force the BIOS flash; When the new BIOS file is confirmed supporting the video adapter ID, input “atiflash -p -f 0 ***.rom”, and finally press Enter.
Add parameter “-atmel” or “-sst”
For some video adapters with the mBGA packaging its memory, and adding parameter “-f” is unable to update BIOS. If the BIOS chip is from ATM Company, then input “Flashrom -p -f atmel 0 ***.rom”; if from SST Company, then input “Flashrom -p -f -sst 0 ***.rom”.
Depending on the BIOS version you used and the video card, you may need to install new drivers too.
In respect that reprogramming BIOS is not an easy job for all PC users, before flashing your video card with the new BIOS version, keep in mind to restore the current BIOS in case you run into trouble later on.
What should we do when BIOS upgrading fails?
Well, then, if screen dazzling and instability occurs after reprogram, is there any remediation?
We can figure out this issue by upgrading the backup BIOS file over again into the video card just like updating the new BIOS, only to change the command line “newbios.rom” to “backup.rom”.
If flash fails, we have several fixes as below:
1. If Windows is accessible, but can not recognize the graphics card, use the DOS boot disk to start up the system, and rewrite the exact BIOS into EPROM. BIOS features can be resumed after start-up.
2. Screen is black. Unplug the AGP video card firstly, and boot up the computer after plugging in a PCI card, after that enter the BIOS setting program in the motherboard, choose “Integrated Peripherals” option, change the option “Init Display First” value to “PCI Slot”, save this setting and shut down.
Then reinsert the AGP card at the same time keep the PCI card still connected with monitor, and restart.
Finally, upgrade the correct BIOS as we update the new BIOS.
3. If there is no PCI card, we can try to “operate blindly”. First, find another computer, create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the DOS boot disk, and in this text file write “nvflash” (a filename of the backup BIOS in NVIDIA graphics card) or “Flashrom -p 0 Backup.rom ( in ATI graphics card ).
After the batch file finishes editing, boot up the former computer with the disk, when reading is over, wait for more than 10 seconds, and restart the computer. Then everything returns to be normal.
If there is an EEPROM programmer, we can use it to rewrite the proper EPROM into BIOS.
By: Molly Smith
About the Author:
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jul 20th, 2010.
Have you lost an important video from your PC or camera? With cheap and fairly high-quality digital cameras, almost everyone has the ability to make videos from home. Plus, webcams, saved files, and other video sources can add to a video collection. But what happens when they get deleted?
Advanced recovery software is able to bring back your deleted video files. No matter if your video files were lost due to accidental deletion or system error, you should still be able to recover the movies.
Why? When you save a file on your PC, the information is recorded as a complex code on your hard drive. The user sees the video, the icon, and the file name. When the file is erased, the video can no longer be accessed.
However, the actual information on the hard drive is still there. This is how data recovery is able to bring back your files. Recovery technology can automatically scan your hard drive for this lingering ghost data, analyze it, and return it to your computer, where you can watch it just like before.
There are some issues to consider when recovering video files though. The most important is the size of the video. The larger the size of the video, the greater the chance that some small portion of it would be overwritten and corrupted. Essentially, it creates a larger target for damage. If you have a quite large video, corruption could completely destroy the video, cause some distortion, or just leave a few seconds distorted. There is no way to tell if your video is available for recovery or not, and for this reason, good recovery programs offer a free scan feature. This way, you will be easily able to see if the video is there.
Plus, recovery programs can recover programs directly from the memory card of your digital camera. Even if your video never made it off your camera, you can still recover it. Simply attach the camera (or memory card), select it with the recovery software, and start the scan. You will then be able to see if the file can be recovered.
Don’t give up on your video files! Advanced restoration technology means you can bring them back.
By: Steve Bellamy
About the Author:
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jul 18th, 2010.
What is Video Encryption?
Video Encryption is an extremely useful method for the stopping unwanted interception and viewing of any transmitted video or other information, for example from a law enforcement video surveillance being relayed back to a central viewing centre.
The scrambling is the easy part. It is the un-encryption that’s hard, but there are several techniques that are available. However, the human eye is very good at, spotting distortions in pictures due to poor video decoding or poor choice of video scrambling hardware. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right hardware or else your video transmissions may be un-secure or your decoded video may not be watchable.
Some of the more popular techniques are detailed below:
Line Inversion:
Method: Whole or parts of the signal scan lines are inverted.
Advantages: Simple, cheap video encryption.
Disadvantages: Poor video decrypting quality, low obscurity, low security.
Sync Suppression:
Method: Hide/remove the horizontal/vertical line syncs.
Advantages: Provides a low cost solution to Encryption and provides good quality video decoding.
Disadvantages: This method is incompatible with some distribution equipment. Obscurity (i.e. how easy it is to visually decipher the image) is dependant on video content.
Line Shuffle:
Method: Each signal line is re-ordered on the screen.
Advantages: Provides a compatible video signal, a reasonable amount of obscurity, good decode quality.
Disadvantages: Requires a lot of digital storage space. There are potential issues with video stability. Less secure than the cut and rotate encryption method (see below)
Cut & Rotate:
Scrambling Method: Each scan line is cut into pieces and re-assembled in a different order.
Advantages: Provides a compatible video signal, gives an excellent amount of obscurity, as well as good decode quality and stability.
Disadvantages: Can have complex timing control and requires specialized scrambling equipment
The cut and rotate video encryption method is probably the best way of achieving reliable and good quality video encryption, an example of a good implementation of this system is in the Viewlock II
Implementing vice scrambling
The video scrambling hardware, in particular the decoder should function correctly even if there is a noisy (for example having what are commonly known as ’snow’ on the screen. ‘Snow’ is when there are flecks on your TV screen, often seen in poor reception areas) or unstable signal. If the link to the encrypted signal should stop working then this should not be a problem. The link between the video encoder and video decoder should be regained and the decryption quickly continued.
The very nature of security camera systems is that they are often outdoors as so must be able to withstand the rigours of the weather. The video encryption hardware should be stable under or protected from the effects of rain, sunlight, extreme heat and cold. It should not be damaged if there is a power spike in the supply. In these systems the video encoder emits a wireless signal to the video decoder unit before it is viewed, it obviously must be the case that the very act of broadcasting the signal does not effect the video encoding hardware and likewise the video encoding hardware should not effect the radio transmitter.
The most important item is that the video scrambling system should be secure, else why bother? It is amazing how some encryption methods can easily be cracked. For example certain cable television stations ‘encrypt’ their channel broadcasts via a relatively un complex method, which can easily be decoded using a number of cheap bits of electronics from radio shack. That would obviously be illegal! The cable TV’s method of encryption is very crude, they usually just dynamically alter the vertical sync signal so that your TV cannot get a proper lock on it and so it scrolls randomly.
The other extreme is to scramble the transmitted video signal too much so that it is costly both in equipment and time to the video at the receiver. Remember that this is a ‘live’ video scrambling broadcast followed by a ‘live’ video decryption display. ANY electronics can be copied, given enough money and time, but making this process as hard as possible is of benefit as it at least delays the time when illegal copies will be available.
Finally and most obviously each user must have a unique encryption key so that other users of the system cannot view the transmitted video by accident or purpose without the key owners knowledge. The total number of possible user keys must be such that it is highly unlikely for someone to guess the correct key.
By: Alastair Taylor
About the Author:
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jul 10th, 2010.
Upgrading your video card is sometimes necessary when you are using high-end software or running the latest PC games. New video cards can greatly improve your screen color and resolution settings, especially if you are using an old built-in video card.
Computer systems that use built-in low profile graphics cards need to allocate a portion of their system RAM to display graphics. On the other hand, computer systems with separate or dedicated video cards have access to video RAM in addition to system RAM. The extra RAM can have a profound effect on a gamer’s life. You can experience an overall increase in your computer’s speed after you replace your built-in low profile graphics card with a dedicated video card.
Before you go ahead and buy a new video card, you first need to know the type of card used by your computer. Video cards are generally connected to your computer in two ways: via an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slot and via a regular PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) express slot. These slots are located on your motherboard.
The best way to know which type of graphics card your motherboard supports is to check its manual. You can download one at the manufacturer’s website.
AGP slots are a going technology but since many users hang on to their old computers and equally old motherboards, AGP cards are still widely used. You can get better results with the more advanced PCI express graphics cards. PCI express graphics cards can render better graphics and work faster. If you have quite an old computer, you may need to replace your motherboard as well since it most probably will not support PCI express graphics cards.
The great thing about PCI express graphics cards is that you can now use up to four of them at the same time in one computer. This can make your computer extremely powerful with amazing graphical abilities. Multiple video cards can be only be done using a SLI video cards or CrossFire video cards.
By: Jeffrey Frasco
About the Author:
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jul 7th, 2010.
When someone is checking out a video clip or movie, he/she is typically unaware of the forces going on behind the screen to bring the clip to the eye. There is good amount more than just analyzing, playing, and transforming the signal into something readable. Whether it appears as a simple text animation or a complex 3-D rendering, video cards make it possible to see a video of any kind.
A chip for video is sometimes called: display adapter, graphics card, or graphics accelerator card. Basically, the CPU picks up the data from the file and sends it to the chip card, in the tiny slot, to handle it and return the desired video. This process happens like butter and you cannot tell the clips going through; the video streams smoothly.
Computers include small ports that video devices or media plug in to. These inputs basically connect to another device or computer to send the view to the screen. Some of the more common methods for output are: Video Graphics Array (VGA) – This is common to many computers and is not seen on machines today. It looks mostly like a rectangle or square slot with holes in the middle. This is the first kind of video input/output and is obsolete because the quality is not as good. Video In / Video Out (VIVO) and S-Video – These extensions support 3-D rendering by translating the data. These types are more widely used today and support a clear picture, LCD, and plasma. The installation point looks round and contain dots in the center. Most computers and televisions label this as S video. High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) – This interconnect for digital audio and video is a bit more robust and supports streaming video. This type of port helps to protect copyright-protected materials. Display Port – These types are the newest technology for video capability and is said to be capable of putting all other connections to rest. It supports streaming video rendering without any distortion. It does not matter the kind of port used for video input, computers all process video on a card like any other computer interaction does. The chip set of the card includes components that make it work. These components include: video bios, video memory, and RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital to Analog Converter). The video bios exists as a simple outline of how the computer is to handle video. The video memory then starts to help streaming. Finally, the RAMDAC translates the analog signal to digital so the screen can play the video. Although some computers no longer need RAMDAC, due to the introduction of monitors with RAMDACs already in them, though all computers still need it to run the clip.
Not all individuals that play videos know what is at work in the background to make it possible. Most users value being able to access videos in seconds. The processes above happen so quickly that you don’t even see it. However, many gadgets and pieces are hard at work to bring the clarity of video.
By: Jim Samposzi
About the Author:
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jun 23rd, 2010.
Video game backup software packages help you backup video games in CDs and DVDs. Video game backup software is mostly used in personal computers. These software packages require small storage capacity as compared to others. Many video game backup programs provide such high-quality copies that you do not see any difference between an original and a copy.
Video game backup software enables you to copy a variety of video games such as Xbox, Playstation, PSP, PSX, PS2, and Dreamcast. The important thing about software that copies or backs up video games is their speed: some take hours to copy a DVD, but some others take less than forty-five minutes. Most video game backup software companies offer online services with good discounts on prices. Many video game backup software dealers provide free trails, which enable you to select the program that suits you best. Some versions allow you to copy one or two DVDs using their software before you buy them. Installing and working instructions are generally provided with the software.
It is normally impossible to produce a copy of your backup CD. This is because most video game backup programs contain an encryption that is that does not permit copying. When you copy the software, this part of the code is not copied.
When you run your backup video game, sometimes you have to modify your settings. Sometimes you will have to install a mod chip. Some video game backup software packages provide mod chips with their software and some others provide advanced software that does not necessitate the installation of any mod chip.
The most important advantage of video game backup software packages is that you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars in replacing lost or damaged game discs. When you use video game backup software, you should be aware of laws concerning pirated software. For a legal backup of a game disc, you have to own an original game CD, and the created backup must be for your private use only. Many game CDs are protected from copying.
By: Eddie Tobey
About the Author:
Filed under Computers And Technology by on Jun 19th, 2010.