of ZIP-LINQ

ISSN 1061-5725
This Month’s Presentation
James Alexander will demonstrate a
“How To ”presentation:
“From slides/pictures to DVD movie,
preserving and sharing Images”.
This will cover step by step creating a video from
slides and pictures by using:
film & image color scanners,
scanning software,
image/photo editing software,
slide show producing software,
video editing,
DVD authoring & DVD caption software,
DVD burning tips and software, and
DVD burners.
Volume 23, No. 11
November 2005
www.ucs.org
This Month’s Meeting:
Also some light discussion on + or - DVD
and the future media BLU-Ray, etc.
Handouts on the basics:
current buying tips for the budget minded.
Wednesday 9th at 7 pm
Check
Out
Review
of
ZIP-LINQ
Retractable
Cables
on
Page 4
Utah Computer Society, Inc.
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Utah’s Award Winning Computer Magazine!
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y liff illward, ditor
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Apology
Sorry for such a short column this month. The reason
is I got a flu shot -- and it gave me a mild case of the flu.
As I write this, I am still recovering from it. I hope that my
reaction will not prevent you from getting yours. I would
rather have a mild case than a full blown one!
Take Stock in This!
In a first-of-its-kind warning to online stock traders, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday alerted
consumers who buy and sell stocks on
the Internet to be wary of cyberthieves.
The SEC warns that consumers must
also be vigilant about how they open email and browse popular websites, which
can be infected with keystroke-stealing
programs. And they should guard their
Social Security numbers and closely
monitor banking accounts for discrepancies.
Using just a user name and password to access online
accounts makes it convenient for consumers but a boon
to cybercrooks. The SEC said it has become aware of “nu-
merous situations in which unauthorized individuals
have gained access to other people’s online brokerage
accounts.
Music to Your Ears?
From the day the iPod debuted, there was little
doubt the music player would become a significant
product for Apple. With its ability to
play MP3 files and sync up with the
jukebox software on your Mac, the iPod
immediately leapt to the top.
However, the device marked Apple’s
fist major step into the realm of digital
media beyond its standard software and
computer offerings.
Thanks to the iPod, the iTunes
Music Store, and other digital-media
efforts, Apple’s image as a company
has undergone a dramatic shift to the
point where the age-old question about Apple—is it a
hardware company or a software maker—has morphed
into a new query. Is Apple a computer maker or a media
company?
Recent
News
Finè
Even the Blue
Oracle Can’t
Create New
Members. It’s up
to YOU to Bring
Them to Our
Meetings.
Page 2
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
Blue Chips
Magazine
“Utah’s Award Winning Publication”
Magazine Staff
Editor — Cliff Millward
Review Program Liaison — James Alexander
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Eve. Phone
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MONTHLY MEETING LOCATION
2nd Wednesday of every month
Meeting Information
Group Business (James Alexander)
Magazine (Cliff Millward)
Program Coordinator (James Alexander)
Web Site
WebMaster
Membership (evenings) (Bob)
November Renewals
University of Utah
Engineering & Mines Classroom Bldg.
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Page 3
http://www.ucs.org
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Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
Jerry Christensen
Robert E. Domm
Aaron Finn
Jerry Jacoby
Donald Kaufer
Richard P. Marchant
Chris A. Mason
Dana Snow
John Witzel
ZIP-LINQ USB 2.0 Retractable Cables
The “REEL” Solution to End Cable Clutter
Reviewed by Don Nendell
Manufacturer:
ZIP-LINQ
2500 Bisso Lane,
Suite 200
Concord, CA 94520
Toll Free: 800.609.7550
Fax:
925.609.7538
Email: [email protected]
Retail Sales: [email protected]
OEM Sales: [email protected]
Support & Marketing (Bobby Acker):
[email protected]
Minimum System Requirements:
IBM PC / Laptop / Notebook / Some PDA’s
Sub-Notebook & MAC
Power Supply:
No external power supply needed
PC Interface USB Specification 2.0
Specifications of each “Heavy Duty”*
USB 2.0 COMPATIBLE device:
• Durable ABS housing.
• Max data transfer rate: 480MBps.
• Expands from 4” to 44”
• 30 AWG *1P + 26 AWG*2C CABLE
Street Price: Ranges from $10.00 to
$50.00 (depending on the type of USB retractable cable you desire)
You’ve come a long way Baby!
Please Note. You can now purchase all
manner and shapes of ZIP-LINQ brand
retractable cables at numerous retail
outlets like Frys Electronics, Tiger Direct,
and many, many others, or by “Googling”
for best prices all over the Internet.
Note. ZIP-LINQ brand retractable
cables are distributed through Cables
Unlimited (as I originally reported
in my February, 2003 BCM ZIPLINQ r e v i e w – s e e a r c h i v e s a t
< w w w . u c s . o r g > ) . You can view a
complete listing of every conceivable type of cable directly from their
web site at <http://www.cablesunlimit
ed.com>. Also, you can find the location nearest to you where you can
purchase/order your desired type of
cable from on the ZIP-LINQ web site
at <www.ziplinq.com>.
Update
ZIP-LINQ really optimized the
salesman’s adage when they: “found a
need and filled it!” Little did I know at
the time, that I would be the “first” into
print to proclaim ZIP-LINQ’s “uniqueness, handiness, timeliness and
usefulness” following the initial worldwide introduction of their new product
line to the world in Las Vegas at CES
2003 in January 2003 (See ZIP-LINQ
“Reviews” on their web site).
I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I was then, and enthusiastically still am, over these handy,
inexpensive, utilitarian, tiny “Beauties.” I have but to look at the clutter
of cables in my traveling pack, or all
around my computers at home, and
get literally heartsick at the mess I see
there. No longer do I have to fret because
I have a huge assortment of ZIP-LINQ’s
portable/retractable cables to choose
from now. Whether or not they’re still
humorously demonstrated (and sold?)
as “Handy-dandy Back-Scratchers,” the
new lineup of products is absolutely
awesome. ZIP-LINQ CEO Hunter says
their ZIP-LINQ product line is designed
to cater to traveling professionals who
spend too much of their time untangling
cords for their laptops, cell phones and
PDA’s.
For Those Unknowing Few: A
Little Bit of History
It all began around ten years ago
and was introduced as a “simpler way
of getting computers and other peripheral devices (keyboards, mice, printers,
joysticks, et al.) to work more friendly,
and easier together.” It has since given
explosive rise to a swarm of USB gadgets
- far more exotic than the system was
originally designed to accommodate. I’m
referring to USB here, which is an acronym for Universal Serial Bus. It began
as USB 1.0, then USB1.1, and now it’s
USB 2.0. Those ubiquitous USB ports,
found even on the front of the PC (funny
how we just can’t get along without them
now?) - and the plug ‘n play (PnP) mating plugs that fit into them - make it “a
Page 4
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
Windows Review
piece of cake” to connect all manner of
USB devices to a computer. What this
has effectively accomplished is; this
completely eliminates the “old-time”
(you remember those days?) screwdriver-intensive, near back-breaking,
exasperating task(s), plus the need to
reboot the computer, each and every
time a new piece of equipment is/was
added to the system. But, the biggest
improvement of all is in the ability of a
USB cable’s four wires to not only carry
digital data (signals), but also to carry
enough DC current to run a multitude of
small to midsize gadgets, thus eliminating the need for weighty laptop batteries, or cumbersome A/C adapters. Viola.
Enter ZIP-LINQ.
ZIP-LINQ is the essential cable
technology for today’s mobile
professional.
ZIP-LINQ brand Retractable Cables
are manufactured and marketed by Cables Unlimited, a global leader in cable
manufacturing, distributing quality computer cables and accessories worldwide.
Award winning ZIP-LINQ proudly proclaims, “We have the number 1 retractable cable line that has been designed to
revolutionize, simplify and enhance your
ability to plug in at home or on the road.
You can count on us for the absolute
best in retractable cable solutions. ZIP-
LINQ’s
small
work better with bus-powered
hardware.
U S B ,
especialr e tractable
l y
USB
cable design makes
ta-
it the perfect fit for your
laptop bag, pocket or purse.
And our Pull-n-Click technology allows
the retractable cable to expand from 4”
to up to 48” with a simple pull. Another
pull and they automatically retract back
into the housing.” All ZIP-LINQ cables
are built to extremely high quality
standards, and are sold with a 1-year
warranty. Your complete satisfaction is
their utmost goal, and the driving force
behind ZIP-LINQ cables, and the entire
Cables Unlimited product line.
So, What is New?
Lucky for me I’ve just gotten my
hands on a couple of the new ZIP-LINQ
products that are specifically designed
for use with the “speedier” USB 2.0
line of products out there today. Their
“Heavy Duty”* USB and Firewire cables
are made with super thin cable, yet have
all of the transmitting capabilities, speed
and functionality of their full-sized
cable counterparts. The user is able to
download files at a full USB 1.1 speed
(12 Mbytes per second), and near USB
2.0 speed (480Mbytes per second) with
the Mini5 and Min4 USB cables. The
difference in download speeds
should be “reason enough alone”
to go the USB 2.0 route.
Note. The Firewire cable downloads
data at a screaming 400Mbytes per second – also perfect for digital video.
As you may already know about me,
I am very much interested in all things
Porble
Storage
and
Secu-
rity devices (See also beaucoup backissue BCM reviews by yours truly at
<www.ucs.org>). When I go to different
places (like CES International) I really
don’t want to (nor need to) carry all those
cables any more. So my choice is for the
extension cables designed to make life
easier - and neater - when I get there.
Cables like: 1) The “Heavy-Duty*” A
to A (male to female) extension ZIPUSB2-C02A cable (my personal “DoAll” favorite, 2) The “Heavy-Duty” A
to B connection ZIP-USB2-C01A cable
(The next in line to my personal “DoAll” favorite), 3) The “Heavy-Duty”
USB A to Mini 5 ZIP-USB2-C05A for
my digital camera and PDA (this one is
an absolute “Rise ‘n Shine” true winner ), and 4) The twisted pair Ethernet
ZIP-DATA-RJN5 cable (a must-have for
a PC connection to a Ethernet LAN virtually anywhere),. This seems to me like
this list of cables should be a complete
setup for the “on-the-road warrior.” It
certainly is for me. Now, if ZIP-LINQ
only had that retractable charging cable
for my Motorola V-551 cell phone, life
couldn’t get any better than that?
* “Heavy Duty” USB cables
Page 5
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
Perfection for USB 2.0 “Powered” Drives and
Peripherals
USB A-A / M-F Heavy
Duty (USB 2.0
COMPATIBLE)
Note. Ordering
Information: ZIPUSB2-C02A / UPC
#724580611790
Use this specially designed
“Heavy Duty” extension cable to easily extend the distance (up to 48”) between your computer and any USB 2.0
(or even a USB 1.1 device, if desired).
And, here’s the best reason of all to get
and use this fabulous device; it is the
“greatest” for adding (temporarily, or
even permanently) easy access to any
hard to reach USB 2.0 port. As with all
ZIP-LINQ retractable cables, this one
not only retracts simply, but it stores
handily and easily in any small out of
the way places.
(See device specifications above)
USB-A to Mini USB 5, Heavy
Duty (USB 2.0 COMPATIBLE)
Note. Ordering Information: ZIP-USB2C05A / UPC #
724580611820
Use this “Heavy
Duty” mini USB
cable to connect a
5-pin mini USB device to the
USB port on your PC or MAC. This cable
is designed for use with digital cameras,
MP3 players, PDA’s and other 1.1 or 2.0
USB devices which have a 5-pin mini
USB connector.* As with all ZIP-LINQ
retractable cables, this one not only
retracts simply, but it stores handily
and easily in any small out of the way
places.
*Will also work as a Charge & Sync
cable for Blackberry, MPX200 & Razr
(See device specifications above)
USB A-B Heavy Duty (USB 2.0
COMPATIBLE)
Perfect for All USB
powered drives and
peripherals.
Note. Ordering
Information: ZIPUSB2-C01A / UPC #
724580611783
Use
this
“Heavy Duty”
mini USB cable
to connect your
computer to a printer, scanner or any
other USB 1.1 or 2.0 device. As with all
ZIP-LINQ retractable cables, this one
not only retracts simply, but it stores
handily and easily in any small out of
the way places.
(See device specifications above)
Cat5e, Twisted Pair, 350 MHz,
RJ45 Networking
Note. Ordering
Information: ZIP-DATARJN5 / UPC#
724580611622
Use this 4 Pair
retractable Ethernet
cable to connect
your computer to a
network or to another computer.
This compact spool of high quality
Cat 5e cable is less then 4” long when
retracted! It easily extends to 59” by
pulling both ends. As with all ZIP-LINQ
retractable cables, this one also retracts
simply, and stores handily and easily in
any small out of the way places.
Specifications:
GigabitReady
Made with Evernew flat twisted
pair Cat5e.
RJ45 Connectors w/ 568B pin out
350Mhz compatibility
Expands from 4” to 59”
More Good Stuff
Although this is not a review
of all ZIP-LINQ products, per se,
I just might be doing you a “big
favor” here, because it bears
mentioning that ZIP-LINQ has a
Boat load of them that I feel are
very important to the scheme of
“all things computer-based.”
With way too many cables to mention, please see the imbedded graphic,
or at the very least visit their web site.
So far, the company offers over 60 different products under the ZIP-LINQ
brand. This includes USB cables that
can both charge and synch a PDA,
cell phone charger cables, USB
cables, a ZIP-LINQ 6 in 1 Road
Warrior Kit, et al. Remember, all
ZIP-LINQ retractable cables are PC
and MAC compatible.
Bottom Line
For the “Ultimate” and “To the
Nth Degree” in usability, the compact design of these ZIP-LINQ retractable devices makes them “absolutely
perfect
for
travel.” From
the
business
road warrior to
the world-wide
wanderer(s) in
general, all will
find that “ALL”
of the ZIP-LINQ
lightweight, retractable cable
products
are
easy to use, save
bunches of space
and time, and
best of all, they
help you to avoid
all that “tangledcable-frustration.” Prices for
most cables are
generally in the
US $20+/- region, with the
“Heavy Duty”
ones running a
bit more. Check
them out. Go
online and see
for yourself. You
can always look
for discounted
prices by searchPage 6
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
ing (“Googling”) the online retailers,
discount-warehouse stores, and by
personally visiting computer-related
retail stores everywhere (also be sure
to look through the Week-end/Sunday
newspaper ads).
Boy, it’s been fun getting back and
touching base with a real winner, ZIPLINQ. I hope this will help you to get “a
hold,” (pun intended!) on those messy
cables, pull them out by the roots, and
replace them with ZIP-LINQ retractable
cables. You’ll be glad you did. I sure as
“Heck” am!
I leave you with this warm and
fuzzy thought: “ZIP-LINQ Retractable Cables provide solutions for
the mobile professional.”
Ciao!
NTI CD & DVD Maker 7
Meeting Memoranda
Titanium Suite Review
by James Alexander
NTI CD & DVD-Maker 7 Titanium Suite
NewTech Infosystems, Inc. - http://
www.ntius.com/
For Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
MSRP $79.99
Minimum System: Pentium III 900 MHz,
256 MB RAM, Graphics 1024 X768 and 16-bit
color, 500 MB available hard disk space, and a
NTI supported CD or DVD writer. Additional hard
disk space of at least 10 GB per DVD project.
This is a great product you must add
to your library. For about $80, the average user would be hard pressed to come
up with a consumer bundle that could
provide all of these functions:
Normally, I spend time trying out a
software package, especially one that has
more than five applications, before I will
write a review or recommend it.
However, I was asked to review
NTI’s newest Suite by another reviewer
due to health issues in his family. Since I
was in a bind with creating a video DVD
project (see the presentation notes following, and be at the November general
meeting) which was behind schedule,
and other products were not providing
solutions for outputting my DVD project, I felt I could at least give NTI a quick
try to see if I could find some help.
NTI not only bridged the gap, providing a playable DVD with menu and
scene selection plus a very attractive
bonus 17 minute slide show with music
on the finished DVD.
NTI Platinum 7 uses a single menu
form to launch the six major functions/
subsets of CD & DVD-Maker: Photo
(Photo Disc, Slideshow VCD, Slideshow
SVCD, and Cinematic Slideshow); Video
(Video CD, Super VCD, DVD Video_TS,
Cinematic Video, HomeVideo-Maker,
DVD Fit, and DVD Player); Audio
(Audio CD, Live Audio, MP3 CD, WMA
CD, CD Extra, Wave Editor, and Audio
Player); Data (Data CD, Data DVD, and
Mixed Mode); Backup (Files & Folders
and Disk Image); and Copy.
My first experience with NTI’s CD &
DVD-Maker was with the Photo (Create
a Photo/Slideshow Disc) button, with its
Cinematic Slideshow choice.
The first problem was that the program does not accept tiff format images.
So I converted the 175 images to jpeg
format, then imported them and added
the 100 MB wav file.
At this point I discovered that in
this mode the program only allows the
same time interval for each slide and its
transition. Since that would not work for
my main video project, I left this for a
later bonus for the project. I looked at
other similarly priced slideshow programs and found
there were similar limitations,
and there is some
time required to
generate the finished product.
However, NTI
Platinum 7’s Cinematic Slideshow
worked very well
as a bonus for
the finished DVD
for my filmstrip
video project. I
used the quicker
manual setting
of the Cinematic
Page 7
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
Slideshow feature,
which is faster but
not as finished as
using one of the included styles. The
styles offer a consistent look and feel to
the slides or groups of videos. The transitions look very professional, and the
over-all look and feel even without the
styles is excellent. Using various sized
music files in differing order was very
attractive and easy for anyone to create
a great product.
Once I discovered the slide show
features were limited, by not being able
to handle variable times between slides,
I chose to use Adobe’s Premiere - a video
creation and editing software. Adobe’s
Premier creates large files with very
tight controls, however despite these
positive qualities, Premiere does not
do DVD authoring. NTI’s Video - HomeVideo-Maker feature was the best and
winning feature for me. I was able to
pull in my Premier 9+ GB video file and
edit for scene and sub-chapters, as well
and set up the finished DVD with titles
and other DVD flourishes. Using this
feature I also brought in the slide show
and was able to set up a very attractive
DVD-Video which I burned to both -R
and +R discs. This feature easily is worth
the entire price of the suite.
The Copy (Copy a CD or DVD disc)
feature has been a regularly used by
myself for the last year. I have copied
all types of CDs and most types of DVD.
As with most DVD copy products, there
are blocks to prevent copying copyright
products such as commercial movies.
This has become my standard copy and
burn software. Likewise the Data (Create
a data CD-DVD or backup/restore data
files) feature has also become an eay to
use function on my desktop.
I have used the Audio (Create, Edit
and Play Audio CDs) - [Audio CD; Live
Audio; MP3 CD; WMA CD; CD Extra;
Wave Editor; and Audio Player] to do
some audio capture to the .wav format.
Though I am not a real audio addict, the
quality has been good for me, and the
files are easy to work with. This is not
an audio lover’s tool, but it is good for
cleaning up and adding some effects to
your audio.
CD & DVD-Maker is a CD mastering software. Using CD & DVD-Maker
and a supported CD/DVD recorder, you
can produce Compact Discs in various
formats, including CD-ROM, CD-ROM
XA, DVD-ROM, Audio CD, Video CD,
Mixed Mode and CD Extra.
Windows dragging and dropping
files is used through, making CD/DVD
creation very easy. Select files from your
source - hard disk or other media, and
move to the layout screens, then you will
have mastered your own CD or DVD.
You can create your own personalized jewel case covers and CD labels
with NTI’s included JewelCase Maker
program. The program is user friendly
and works with most labels found in
retail stores.
Here is a list of some of the supported file formats·
Page 8
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
MPEG-1 encoding converts avi
files to MPEG-1 format for Video CD
mastering.
MPEG-2 encoding converts avi files
to MPEG-2 format for SuperVideo CD
mastering.
VCD/SVCD Slide Show with and
without background audio.
VCD/SVCD Menuing.
MP3 encoding converts CD tracks,
WMA and WAV files to MP3 format.
WMA encoding converts CD tracks,
WAV and MP3 files to WMA format.
Create a MP3 CD from any supported audio track.
Create a WMA CD from any supported audio track.
NTI’s CD & DVD-Maker Platinum
using by licensing agreements products
from a number of other vendors. I some
ways it is like getting several products
from multiple vendors that do many
similar jobs. Two that are significant
to me are:
- MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 encoding is
licensed from Honestech; and - muvee
autoProducer engine is licensed from
muvee Technologies Pte. Ltd. As was
demonstrated at the February 9th 2005
general meeting by Dave Whittle.
Again, I highly recommend NTI’s
CD & DVD-Maker Platinum version 7
or higher. For the price of under $80
and the large number of very useful
functions, this is a bargain. As additional
proof of the products worth, recently,
Intel has included NTI’s standard CD &
DVD-Maker package with their mainboards designed for video and DVD
authoring.
Preview of the November Presentation
How to Create a Video Slide Show and Preserve Images
The origins for this presentation
sprang from a project I volunteered to
do, which required converting a 30+
year old filmstrip and audio cassette
tape to a playable DVD video. The
original filmstrip contains 167 color
slides, which had been manufactured
in 1971. A previous attempt had used
a digital video camera to record the
projected slide show while playing the
audio tape. The image quality of the
video was discolored and faded, the
sound was a fuzzy with echoes. The
challenge was to create a DVD slide
show that looked as sharp as possible,
with sound that was clear as the original production.
I believed that I had the resources
to meet the challenge with some enhancements. Though restoring the
filmstrip images was the most time
consuming part of the project; the
largest technical challenge was not
the quality of the slide show images,
but the synchronization of the soundtrack with variable timing for each
scene change based on audio cues in
the 40 minute soundtrack on the audio
cassette tape. In 2004 when I worked
on the bulk of the conversion, there
were I used a film transparency scanner to convert the 30 year old filmstrip
slides to individual high quality (2.5-4
MB file size) .tiff images. Then using
several image editing products to edit,
correct, and improve the slide images.
Photo slide show creation software at
the consumer level price range do not
(currently) allowed for variable timing. I used Adobe’s Premier to create
the video file which was used to produce the DVD master.
I will review each of the products
used for the project in the order in which
they were used. These may not be the
best of products on the market, but they
did the job, and that is what counts when
you have a job to do.
This will cover:
scanners: flatbed; photo;
wand; & newer digital cameras
(Nikon)
scanning software: manu-
facturer or application acquire
image/photo editing software,
slide show producing software,
video editing,
DVD authoring, DVD caption programs,
DVD burning tips and software and
DVD burners.
Also some light discussion
on + or _ DVD and the future
media BLU_Ray, etc.
Handouts on the basics
used, and current buying tips
for the budget minded.
The theme is focused on
preserving and sharing personal
keepsakes, memories, and images.
Products used on DVD project:
Epson - Perfection 1260 - Photo
scanner with slide and negative adapter
or transparency attachment scanner - to
convert the 30 year old filmstrip slides
to high quality (2.5-4 MB file size) .tiff
images. Currently Epson online store
offers refurbished newer scanners for
about $80.
The image editing products were
Adobe-Photoshop Elements 2.0; TechSmith-Snagit 6.1.2; and The Learning
Company-PhotoFinish 4.1 to edit, correct and improve the slide images.
PhotoFinish, ver. 4.1 - The Learning Company (Image Software, Inc. &
Access Softek Inc.)
Adobe Photoshop Elements, ver. 2.0
- Adobe Systems, Inc.
SnagIt (Studio & Catalog), ver.
6.1.2 - TechSmith Corporation http:
//www.techsmith.com
I used Adobe Premier 6.5 - Adobe
Systems, Inc.- to create a 8.7 GB .avi
file for the 40 minute video product.
Premier is a very strong video editing
product, but lacks authoring or formatting tools needed to put the video product onto a CD or DVD, other products
fill that gap.
As described in the product review,
Page 9
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
Special Report
NTI CD & DVD-Maker 7 Titanium Suite
- (NewTech Infosystems, Inc. - http://
www.ntius.com/) was instrumental in
providing the finished product.
Most of the slides’ quality was
the result of age - 30+ years There
are multiple degradation factors to be
discussed. Scanners can make a lot
of improvements, which can then be
worked on with image editing software.
However, some image are so degraded
there is little that can be done. Some very
bad slides were replaced or recreated.
The original filmstrip image quality had
been lost. All film media loses quality
over time and with usage. Paper, pictures, slides, & negatives all fade & lose
quality. The lesson is preserve before
you have to restore; and restore before
re-creation is required.
This is a review of a restoration with
some recreation.
The DVD video project involved
converting a 30+ year old filmstrip and
audio cassette tape.
The original filmstrip contains 167
color slides, which had been manufactured in 1971.
Restoration is limited by time. Digital restoration cannot replace all lost
qualities. We encourage the early preservation of all film negatives, pictures,
and slides as well as paper documents.
Can the image be improved?
The challenge was to create a DVD
slide show that looked as sharp as possible, with sound that was clear as the
original production.
I believed that I had the resources to
meet the challenge with some enhancements.
I will review each of the products
used for the project in the order in which
they were used.
These may not be the best of products on the market, but they did the job,
and that is what counts when you have
a job to do.
Scanner adjustments - by adjusting filters such as: Gamma; contrast;
brightness; tone; gray scale; hue;
and density – the lost image may
become found and usable
Image editing can restore some
images, or enhance what the scanner
can bring out.
Then using several image editing products to edit, correct, and
improve the images restoration may
be successful.
Variable timing was challenging.
The largest technical challenge was
not the quality of the slide show images, but the synchronization of the
sound-track with variable timing for
each scene change based on audio
cues in the 40 minute soundtrack on
the audio cassette tape.
Variable timing generally cost
more. However, every year consumers get more for their dollars, so re-
search what is available. Recently,
I heard of a digital Nikon camera
that will copy slides to digital image files.
When slides have different times
between them – that is variable
timingPhoto slide show creation
software at the consumer level
price range did not (currently) allow for variable timing. I used
Adobe’s Premier to create the video
file which was used to produce the
DVD master. However getting the
video file to disc takes more utilities than comes in the Premier 6.5
package. However, Adobe’s Premier
elements does offer many of these
needed functions.
These are some of the two needed functions to complete getting the
Video to disc - DVD authoring and
DVD caption programs.
DVD burning software and DVD
burners also need to be considered
as well as media, formats, & speeds.
There will be discussion on + or DVD and the future media, BLURay, etc.
Compatibility with consumer
devices will be discussed as well as
the costs. Handouts on the basics
used, and current buying tips for
the budget minded.
The theme is focused on preserving and sharing personal keepsakes,
memories, and images.
Preserve images as early as possible, if not yet preserved, restoration may work. Do not wait, waiting only degrades. Polaroids and
thermal processes need the earliest
intervention. Digital has the longest
life for preservation
motherboard has 2 physical processors in it. Windows sees 4 CPUs
– each physical processor has Hyper-threading technology, making it
look like 2 virtual processors. The
system I was playing with was running at 3.4 GHz, a gigabyte of DDR2
533 ram, dual monitors and a SATA
RAID array. It was a screamer!
see the review for details), we saw
absolutely no stuttering in the preview box as we worked in Premier.
Oh yeah – we were listening to MP3s,
too, and playback was smoooooooth.
This was one nice system!
Tech Talk
By Sean Wolsey
Hi, all!
Last month’s meeting was lots of
fun for me. Thanks to all those who
contributed to it by asking questions
and by making comments on different features of Google they had used.
As I see it, that’s what this club is really about – having fun and helping
one another out with computers.
This month’s hardware SIG will
be held on time, I promise! Last
month it turned into an open access type of deal with the folks that
turned up for it. Way to go guys! We
all have something to contribute to
each other, even if it’s the latest
news on the newest bit of technology or some new business deal in the
tech world. There is always so much
going on that nobody can stay on top
of it all, so it’s good to sit around and
talk about these things – it helps us
keep each other up on ‘em.
Speaking of the newest technology, I recently had my first experience with the Pentium D, Intel’s
latest CPU. It’s a dual-core chip,
meaning the chip you drop into the
We were playing around with
video editing and effects, which is
something that takes a lot of power.
We were also ripping a DVD in the
background. The DVD we were ripping was a 2 hour movie with 45
minutes or so of bonus stuff. It was
being chewed on by DVD Shrink
which I’ve reviewed for this issue of
the magazine, being compressed to
about 60% original size with all the
quality enhancers turned on. Those
who have used DVD Shrink know
that this slows the process of ripping
way down. The whole thing ripped in
about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, we were also editing some home video footage. We
played with special effects, menus,
subtitles, the works. Even with DVD
Shrink doing its thing in the background (not in low priority mode,
Page 10
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
Intel has done a good job with
this processor. Of course, they have
had a long time to develop it. It’s
really just two Pentium 4 processors
put together, but man it was still fun
to play with. If you’re in the market
for a new PC and want a real powerhouse for true multitasking, this is
the processor to build it on (or have
it built on for you!).
Until my next verbal wanderings, keep helping other PC users!
DVD Shrink
Windows Review
Works Without a Hitch!
Reviewed by Sean Wolsey
http://www.dvdshrink.org
First, here’s the legal mumbo jumbo
to cover my own (and the club’s) tail end:
As the author of this review, I DO NOT
condone or encourage the illegal duplication of copyrighted materials, including DVDs, nor does the publisher of this
review, the Utah Computer Society (Blue
Chips). This product review is intended
only to provide the reader with a terrific
solution to the following problem:
Have you ever paid $15 to $20 (or
more) for a DVD, just to have your kids
(or grandkids) scratch and ruin it? I
have, and let me tell you, I was mad!
It was watched twice before I got to see
it, and I didn’t even get to watch it all
the way through because it had already
been damaged by irresponsible handling. How can you prevent this from
happening? DVD X Copy was the only
product I had heard of that was any good
at all, and it was slightly expensive (for
my budget, anyway) when you could get
it. Now that it’s gone, we’re faced with
the dilemma of what to do.
Presenting DVD Shrink! A wonderful, affordable (read FREE) tool to
easily stop the above scenario from ever
happening again. Best of all, if you have
the CD version of the magazine that we
mailed out last March, you already have
the latest version of it. I verified this on
November 2. You probably noticed the
lack of usual information about the producers of this product at the beginning
of this review. This is because of a lack
of information from them. The website
is it. As a non-profit organization, I
guess they wanted to keep their overhead down. The program is available for
download at the website.
This little gem is a marvel. It allows
you to take a dual layer DVD movie and
shrink it down to the 4.7 GB size of your
standard single layer recordable DVD
without notable quality loss. It does this
through a combination of editing, compression and adaptive
error compensation (AEC).
The first thing to remember with DVD Shrink is that
it is only for use with video
DVDs. It is useless for a data
DVD-Rom.
The second thing you must
keep in mind with DVD Shrink
is that it is a ripper only, meaning it will only create an ISO image file of the DVD you want to
copy, or make the file structure
for the copy on your hard disk.
For the rest of this review I will
talk about the “ISO image”, but
“disk file structure” can be used
as a substitute term in many places. You
must use another program to actually
burn the copy to a recordable DVD. Any
program that supports burning to your
DVD recorder will work, but there are
a couple of programs that DVD Shrink
shows preference toward.
Most easily used with DVD Shrink is
Nero from Ahead Software. If you have
this installed, DVD Shrink will make the
image and pass it to Nero, which will
then automatically burn the disc and
delete the ISO file.
If, like me, you don’t use Nero, you
can use DVD Shrink with DVD Decrypter.
This is another free program for copying
DVDs, but has trouble with many I’ve
tried. It’s also on the March magazine
CD, but there is a newer version available at http://www.mrbass.org/dvdrip.
DVD Shrink offers the ability to automatically start DVD Decrypter and burn
the ISO image to a blank disc, but DVD
Decrypter will not delete the file afterward unless the user checks a box during
the burn process.
If you want to use another burning
software, you will need to burn the ISO
image to DVD manually and then delete it. Deleting the ISO images is highly
Page 11
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
recommended after you’re done burning
them because they’ll eat up a lot of hard
disk space real quick.
So, now we have this thing, how
do we use it? When you first launch it,
you’ll get a basically blank screen. Click
the ‘Open Disc’ button to tell the program which drive has the original disc.
The program will open a box like the
above figure shows. It is doing a fairly
quick analysis of the disk to automatically determine what it thinks are the
appropriate compression levels for each
section of the disk.
Once this analysis is complete,
you get a screen that looks similar to
the one above. This is where you start
making your adjustments. For instance,
I couldn’t give a rat’s tail end about the
foreign languages – spoken or subtitled.
So I will remove the check marks from
all of those. This will give me back about
419 MB on the disk. Space not used by
these language features is space I can
give to the movie, meaning lower compression. The lower the compression,
the better the copy will be, no two ways
about it. A note here: the percentage
shown to the left of the slider is what
percent of the original size the copy will
be. In figure 4 the copy size will be 60.9%
of the original size.
front of the rest of
the program. The
‘Target Device’ tab
is where you specify
how you want the
backup made: ISO
image, create a file
structure, or burned
with a supported
program. This is
also where the destination for the rip
is defined.
Another thing I do: As the above
figure shows, I change the video compression on the menus and extras (or
bonus features) to a custom ratio and set
it as low as the program will let me. My
reasoning – who cares what the bonus
stuff I’ll only watch once or twice looks
like, or if the menus look bad? I want the
movie to look as good as possible. Again,
lower compression on the movie means
it will look better. Shoot, I’ll often just
turn of the extras all together (I own the
original to watch that stuff from anyway,
right?).
By default, the ‘Full Disk’ button is
selected. This means that you are essentially just copying the whole thing,
with whatever exceptions you may have
defined. The ‘Re-author’ button is not for
the faint of heart. As seen in figure 6, it
allows you to take only bits and pieces
of the original disc for the copy, but be
warned: this can easily lead to making
coasters instead of usable DVDs. If you
are going to use this you should either
know what you’re doing or be willing to
spend some time and waste some discs
learning!
Once you have things set the way
you want them here, it’s time to click
the ‘Backup!’ button. This will open a
dialog box that allows you to fine tune
the ISO image settings before it’s actually created. The box is displayed in
The DVD Region tab is a very
cool feature of DVD
Shrink. As many of
you know, I have
a brother who
works for the state
department. He is
currently serving at
the US embassy in
Bangladesh. His TV and DVD player are,
of course, region 1 NTSC format units
– they were bought in the US, made for
the US. Guess what? Bangladesh isn’t in
region 1. I know, that’s a big shock, but
it’s true. However, Bangladesh may use
the NTSC format for their TVs. I don’t
know. If they do, my brother can buy
a DVD there, copy it with DVD Shrink
with the ‘Region Free’ setting checked,
and now the copy will play in his region
1 player! How cool is that?
The Quality Settings tab is for
choosing how high a quality copy you
want to make. You can save a lot of time
by turning these options off. And I do
mean a lot! I have a 2.8 GHz Pentium
4 Hyper-threading machine with 1 GB
of ram operating in dual-page mode.
A copy with these settings off on takes
about 15 minutes to create the ISO image
for a 2 hour movie. Turn these settings
both on and that time jumps to about 2
hours! So you have to determine what
is more important to you, speed of the
copy process or the quality of the copy. If
the copy will be fairly close to the original size (90% or higher) these settings
aren’t really needed. A fast copy will look
almost as good as the original. If you are
using higher compression, you’ll have to
decide where to compromise.
The ‘Options’ tab is fairly straight
Page 12
Blue Chips Magazine —November 2005
forward. Running the backup in low
priority mode allows you to do other
things while the backup is made without
affecting the speed of other applications
much. Shutdown computer when backup is complete allows those who don’t
leave their computer on all the time to
start a copy and go to bed at night and
still have their system off in the morning.
If you want it to make a noise when it’s
done, it will.
I leave the ‘Burn Settings’ tab alone.
Some DVDs look at the volume label and
won’t work if it isn’t right! The other 2
settings have never been available
anytime I’ve looked, and I figure the
software knows what it’s doing. Once
you’ve set all the things in these tabs
the way you want them, DVD Shrink
remembers those settings, so you’ll only
have to reset something if you want it
different from the last time you used it.
The one exception is the volume label
– by default, it is always the same as the
original disc you are copying.
Clicking the ‘OK’ button starts the
copy process. ‘Cancel’ obviously takes
you back to the main program and the
‘Help’ button gets you help for the tab
you’re in.
That’s all there is to it. It’s copied
everything I’ve ever thrown at it, including the infamously protected Disney
DVDs, without a hitch. Another side
note here: it also removes the Macrovision copy protection as it copies! This
is highly useful to me since the DVD
player in my bedroom (ok, it’s really a
computer with an s-video output) has to
run through my VCR to be useable on
the TV (It’s an old TV – no video inputs,
only the antenna). That rotten Macorvision causes the picture contrast to fade
up and down, making the movie no fun
at all to watch. I just rip a movie to the
hard drive as files, play it from there and
the picture looks great!
Utah Blue Chips Calendar
November, December, 2005
UBC
General Meeting
U of U
7:00 p.m.
Sean
Wolsey
U of U
7:00pm
Magazine
Deadline
UCS
Board of
Trustees
C&C Bldg.
Room
N3005
6:30 p.m.
UBC
General Meeting
U of U
7:00 p.m.
TBA
Magazine
Deadline
Blue Chips — Utah’s Computer Guide in the 21st Century