Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 2.8.0

Description: CondecInstaller can display a list of all audio and video codecs installed on your system as well as analyse media files to identify the codecs needed to play them. It can also download codecs from the author’s website for easy installation.

[Note: this is an updated review of my CodecInstaller v2.5.6 review published in Jul 2007 that reflects the changes and new features in the latest version 2.8.0].

We’ve all had this experience: a media file that shows video but no audio, or vice versa, or simply returns a codec unavailable or unidentified format message or somesuch. CodecInstaller can help you identify the codec(s) you need as well as download and install them easily.

I’ve been looking at this program for a while. Here are some notes on this software:

• Codec detection: will display all installed codecs within 3 tabs; audio, video, and other. In the list view the name of the codec is shown as well as the company, version, and install path; you can zoom in on any single codec for more detailed info.
• File analysis: point it to a media file and it will tell you the audio and video codecs needed for playback, or at least give you a very good guess (this function is very reminiscent of programs like MediaInfo or AVICodec).
• Codec Download: allows you to quickly and easily pick codecs from a list and download their installers. Connects to the author’s (Jockersoft’s) own site and not a third party site, which means you will likely get what you think you’re getting. Includes a good description of the codecs or codec packs on offer. Read more »

Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 4.0

Description: DVD43 is a program that runs in the background and decrypts copy-protected DVD’s on the fly. It has the effect of making a DVD unrestricted and region free, allowing for simple copying of files to your hard drive within the Windows file system and/or unrestricted access to the DVD by third party software. It will also remove audio CD protection.

The first thing that I’d like to note is that this software is different from DVD ripping software in the vein of as RipIt4Me/DVD Decrypter or DVD FAB HD Decrypter. What DVD43 does can be though of (in a way) as transforming an otherwise encrypted DVD into what for all intents and purposes acts as a ’normal’, unencrypted DVD (similar to the shareware software AnyDVD).

In many cases using a program like DVD43 is will save you the need to spend 20-30 minutes ripping a DVD to your hard drive first (not to mention the 4.7gig-to-8gig hard drive space you might not have on hand). For example, if your objective is to ’shrink’ an 8gig DVD and copy it onto a standard size blank DVD (for which you would use DVD Shrink), DVD43 would spare you the need to rip the entire 8gigs into your hard drive first, allowing DVD Shrink to get access and get to work on the files on the DVD itself.

Or let’s say that your interest lies not in copying the DVD itself but rather in converting it into a video file that you could load up on your Ipod or mobile device using a program such as Handbrake. In this case as well DVD43 will allow Handbrake to process/convert your desired titles straight from the DVD itself, saving you the time, effort, and hard drive space of ripping the DVD first.

Here are some notes on this program:
Read more »

Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 0.9.1 (Windows GUI build 2.4.1)

Description: Handbrake is a free program that can convert DVD’s or VOB files into video files. Supported containers are: MP4/M4V (for Ipod), AVI, OGM, and MKV, while supported video encoders are Xvid, H264, and Mpeg4.

Handbrake has established a reputation as being a 1-click solution for converting DVDs to Ipod video format (MP4/M4V), but it can also be used simply for encoding to AVI/Xvid, as well as to a variety of handheld devices such as PSP, PS3, Iphone and a number of other formats (e.g. Quicktime, "Apple TV").

I’ve been looking at Handbrake for some time now and waiting for a version that works well on Windows; which I think is accomplished with this release (if you have problems running it, see "Tools and codecs" below). Here are some notes on this program:

• DVD sources: Handbrake will NOT convert encrypted DVDs. This means that you will need to decrypt your favorite films and TV shows and copy them to your hard drive before Handbrake can process them. This can be done using a number of freeware programs such as RipIt4Me/DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, or DVD FAB HD Decrypter. Once this happens you will need to point Handbrake to the VIDEO_TS folder that is copied to your hard drive as the source.
• Profiles: Handbrake comes with a number of pre-defined profiles that are very useful for getting your desired output format. If you are interested in creating a video file for the Ipod, for example, you would simply select one of the three existing Ipod profiles (Ipod High-Rez, Ipod Low-Rez, or Iphone/Ipod Touch). Or you can use these as starting points and change them to your desired settings, which you can then save as a profile (e.g. I start with Ipod High-Rez, change the encoder to Xvid, then lower the bitrate to 1000 in to get a smaller output file).
  Read more »

I’ve come across a number of free Torrent related resources recently that I wanted to mention: BitTyrant, Bitlet, ShareControl Classic, I2P, and Tribler.

BitTyrant: this one is a torrent client based on Azureus. Dubbed a “strategic BitTorrent Client that improves performance”, BitTyrant promises an average of 70% faster downloads based on testing on “more than 100 real BitTorrent swarms”, and in some instances has achieved a threefold increase in download speeds. It does this by being picky over which peers to interact with; it gives more of your finite uploading capacity to those users provide more bandwidth. Note that BitTyrant does not change how much data is uploaded, just which
users receive the data. I’ve been testing it for a while now and while I’m certainly happy with its performance, its far from clear whether/how much its performance is better than my previous client (Azureus).

You might have sensed a Darwinian “survival of the fittest” aspect to BitTyrant that threatens to leave users with low bandwidth in the dust, which is something to think about when using this program. The makers of BitTyrant content that it is merely fair (”if a user is downloading at 30 Kbps, they should upload at 30 Kbps”), and that by rewarding more efficient users the entire community achieves faster downloads.

BitTyrant was developed as a University research project. Its developers have written a research paper the subject of maximizing performance and conserving upload contribution, and its effects on the community of users that is downloadable here: pdf.

———–

BitLet: this is a web-based Torrent client that can download a Torrent file for you if you provide it with the Torrent URL. The obvious benefits of doing this are:

• If you are using a computer that doesn’t have a Torrent client installed
• You can point Torrent-challenged friends who can never figure out how to download torrents to this web service and it just may be the solution to their rare Torrent-downloading needs
• You can use it to download torrents in places (work, school) where p2p and/or Torrent clients are blocked.

Bitlet requires that your browsers has the JAVA VM plugin installed.
Read more »

Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 1.06

Description: DivXMachine Shell Integrated (DMSI for short) is a free program that can convert images, audio files and videos across multiple formats straight from the Windows Explorer context menu.

Two things that make this program unique (a) all operations are done straight from the context menu; it does not have an user interface, and (b) it handles images, audio files, as well as videos. You can enable/disable file types, as for example to enable image and audio conversions only but not video. Here are some notes on this program:

• User interface: DMSI is built such that all decisions you need to make when converting a media file are streamlined into the context menu. It works really well; all you need to do is follow the unfolding ’tree’ of choices all the way to the end (see screenshot).
• Mux/Demux: i.e. add or extract an audio track to a video file. You can Demux AVI, OGM, and MKV container formats and mux AVI with up to 2 audio files.
• Batch encoding: you can perform operations on multiple files by selecting them simultaneously then performing the operation via the context menu. Note that all selected files have to be of the same type (i.e. all of them images, videos, or audio files) and that there will be a singel output format for all selected files.
• Tools and codecs: DMSI will install all the different third party tools and codecs that it needs in order to perform all of its operations.
• Advanced options: you can add/enable AviSynth filters to tweak your video output (this is extremely easy to do, just go to the AviSynth tab in the settings and click to enable the filters/options you want and change each of their values).
  Read more »

Finally, my site is back up. I’m finally moved to a new hosting company. Said goodbye to my old hosting company (Anhosting/Midphase), with their propensity to switch off my site randomly for no real reason every time I get a bit of decent traffic. I will probably write a detailed posting about how POOR their service is if I can muster the energy to do so.

So, that’s a bit of good news. The other good news is that yesterday was my birthday and my wife got me a brand new 8-gig iPhone. How cool is that? I’ve been too busy with work and with trying to get my site back up to open the box, believe it or not.

Moving my Wordpress blog to a new host was an interesting experience. There are still some kinks to be ironed out, but at least for the moment my site and all the links seem to be working again. Anyway, there are a number of changes that I will introduce to this blog, as follows:

• I would like to move away from the idea that every post has to be a full-fledged review. This will allow me to make short and frequent postings that just say "hey, check out this software that does X, it looks like its pretty cool" rather than have to write-up all of the features and pretend to be an expert on each and every piece of software that I want to write about.
• I will probably take out the star rating system altogether. Or only rate posts that are actual detailed reviews. We’ll see.
  Read more »

Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.0 build 1

Description: YcPod can download videos from YouTube. It can also retrieve videos from the browser cache, making it function as a universal grab tool for almost all video sharing sites.

If you want a tool that can download any video from any video sharing site, you can try Orbit Downloader (with the Grab++ module). Or you can use this tool; I tried it on several sites that offered FLV videos and it worked beautifully (including iFilm, MTV, YouTube, and a number of others).

Technically speaking this program doesn’t download videos from sites directly but can retrieve them from the cache, which amounts to the same thing. Here are some notes on this:

• First thing to do is open the video you are seeking in your browser (assuming its not from YouTube, in which case you can just paste the URL straight into YcPod).
• Once the video has run all the way to the end run YcPod, select Video then Cached video and click the get cached videos button. A list of all videos in the cache will be displayed.
• The video list will contain a number of video formats and not just FLV. Select the video you want and save it. That’s it.
  Read more »

I’m always keeping an eye on free programs and resources and, of late, have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of free video resources that have been propping up everywhere. Here’s a list and descriptions of some of the more interesting programs and/or sites that I’ve been keeping notes on:

Joost: a “potentially revolutionary” freeware program from the original creators of Skype. It delivers original content alongside web broadcasts and promises to redefine the standards of video quality delivered online. Joost delivers more than a hundred channels (so far) that have signed up to be included on the service, including content from sources such as MTV and Warner Bros.

Much like Youtube, Joost aims to form video sharing community around the program, but it is also setting its sights on bringing its brand of free internet TV into consumer electronics (mobiles, handheld devices, etc.) At the time of this writing, Joost is still in pre-release beta, and requires an invitation to use (you can get an invite from any person who is currently a Joost tester)

Babelgum: very similar to Joost, but without the hype (and possibly without the same kind of content deals that Joost might snag, but that remains to be seen). Babelgum also places emphasis on full-screen, high quality video. It is also still in beta, but if you register on the Babelgum site they will send you the download link without further ado (oh yes, Babelgum also aims to create a video sharing community around itself).

Veoh: offers both a web based video sharing service as well as a downloadable client (Veoh.TV) that lets you watch and record videos. The major draw for using Veoh as opposed to other video sharing services seems to be (wait for it) that it includes copyrighted videos, including your favorite TV shows. I was not able to use the locally installable program before writing this posting (the website’s promise to send me an invite in return for my personal info did not materialize).

There seem to be 3 things worth mentioning about this one: (a) it appears that Veoh will learn the watch the programming you view in order to serve you shows that it thinks you might like, (b) for publishers, Veoh offers the option to upload videos to YouTube, MySpace and Google as well as to Veoh simultaneously, and (c) from screenshots that I have seen, aside from being a video viewing client the downloadable Veoh.TV client also wants to be a full-fledged widgets program, offering sticky notes, weather, RSS widgets, etc.

Chime TV: featuring a slick, web-based interface and a lot of AJAX-y wizardry. Chime TV aggregates content from several video-sharing sites into themed “channels”. It also offers a video search function that draws on all of these sources, all in one place: blip.tv, Break.com, DailyMotion, Google Videos, Kewego, MetaCafe, MySpace, Veoh.com, and YouTube. This makes it (a) an ideal place to partake in all of your video viewing needs, and (b) since some of the sources it taps into contain copyrighted material, Chime TVwill likely contain these as well. When you create an account with Chime TV it will allow you to create your own channels and to flag favorite videos.
Read more »

Rating: 5

Version tested: 0.7

Description: Media Converter SA is a free small program that can convert media files across many different formats. It also has a video downloading functionality from a number of video sharing sites such as YouTube, ifilm, Metacafe, and a handful of others.

It seems like a rare week that goes by these days without encountering yet another free video conversion software and, oh, perhaps 2 or 3 Youtube video downloading titles. And given that there are a number of comprehensive freeware media conversion titles out there such as MediaCoder and Super, I feel like I need to make a list of why I think this program is so interesting:

• Ease of use: Media Converter SA is one of the simplest video converters out there; there are only 4 settings that you have to decide on: video resolution, max file size, audio bitrate, and video bitrate (actually, there are 2 others: starting and ending positions, but this is an added functionality beyond the conversion process). Despite the simplicity, you get the sense that it provides all the control you need. Most of these settings have a “same as input” option which makes conversion really simple.
• Video downloading option: the sheer range of supported websites is enough to make this your video-downloading program of choice: blip.tv break.com dailymotion.com ifilm.com livevideo.com media.putfile.com metacafe.com myvideo.de video.google.com vidilife.com vids.myspace.com youtube.com zippyvideos.com 
• Online versions: the makers of this program provide both an online file converter and an online video downloader called Mediapirate.org. Read more »

Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 3.2.0.15

Description: DVD Shrink is a free program that can rip DVD’s into the hard drive and compress them, if needed, to fit on a standard 4.7-gig DVD. It will create a DVD image that can be burned into a DVD using a number of third party programs. It can also re-author DVDs to allow the creation of custom DVD program compilations.

An increasing number of the DVDs that you watch are stored on a so-called double density DVDs that can store up to twice the amount of data that a standard DVD. What makes this program unique is its ability to compress DVD data to the standard 4.7 gigs, which means you can use a standard DVD instead of having to buy expensive double-density blank DVDs. You will rarely, if ever, notice any decrease in video quality.

This review will include 3 sections: (a) ripping, (b) compression, (c) burning, and (d) re-authoring.
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