Streaming live video and audio...

Streaming live video and audio from capture card through camera computer application

Security Application

If you find yourself with a need to record security video with a web camera over an area,  webcam computer application may be the right choice for you. Using this software, it is possible to set up a camera to detect movement and begin recording when it does. Depending on your needs, the sights and sounds that are picked up by the webcam may be stored on a hard drive, or if the captured video needs to be available off-site, can be broadcast using the server's streaming feature to a website.

Depending on the quality of the webcam and the viewer's video card, the picture that is recorded may be as clear as a high-definition tv signal. Using a setup like this, it is possible to provide a measure of surveillance for an area when the economics of the situation do not justify hiring a security firm or setting up a professional monitoring system.  This do-it-yourself approach can save money while not compromising on protection.

Web camera software senses movement, triggers alarm, captures snapshots, records video, and sends captured images by email

Webcams are good for more than just making online conversations more realistic. They can also be an extremely effective instrument for use in home or corporation security.

Application is now accessible that can detect activity and use it as a trigger for numerous actions.  The way that it works is to analyze the image sent by a camera that is either connected by USB or via a video capture device for movement. While it picks up that movement, it can then acquire any number of procedures, including triggering an alarm.

A more popular application, though, is to either send live frames of what is happening in the  picture that is covered by the camera or to even broadcast by online broadcasting accurately what is happening with both audio and image. If installed secretly, this software could even be used for secret surveillance.

Choose the Right Video Editing Software to Suit You

All software makers in the marketing of their various video editing software products will be pushing specific features at you. One way to steer clear of being cornered into software that is unsuitable is by being conscious of the four general varieties of video editing software on the market today.

When you are looking through video editing software reviews make sure you know the exact targeted market of the software you are reading about. Additionally make sure the person writing the evaluation is taking this into consideration. Frequently home user level video editing software receives a poor ranking from expert editors reviewing the product. Usually for the reason that the software package cannot do something it was never designed to do.

Originally the video editing market started out with only two quite separate classes. At one end you had entirely professional programs like Sony Vegas Pro and at the other end, consumer programs like Adobe Premiere Elements with nothing between.

Gradually due to market pressure, most of the consumer grade video editors started to take on some of the features of the top level programs. This led to a third layer of editing software which was actually an advanced consumer product and was sometimes known as prosumer video editing software.

At the moment the marketplace has shifted again and at this time there is an even greater range of video editing software available to match all requirements. A new class of incredibly user friendly basic movie making software has been introduced and for many individuals these new programs may be just what they were looking for.

A few examples of these new products are Magix Video Easy and Corel Digital Studio. These two software programs offer fairly simple video editing, image editing and audio creation. They are wizard based programs meaning that you follow simple onscreen directions as to how you want your creation to look. Finally they use further easy steps and wizards to direct you effortlessly to the final end product regardless of whether it be to DVD, Blu-ray or direct posting to Youtube or Metacafe.

Due to the point and click guidance provided by the software it is very well suited to anyone who is either not especially enthusiastic about the editing process itself or not that technically inclined.

Next you’ll find the recognized consumer level video editing software such as CyberLink PowerDirector or Magix Movie Edit Pro. These applications have developed considerably since they were initially released into the consumer video editing market. Right now they tend to look more like the prosumer programs of the old days.

This level of video editing software has advanced to a point of providing impressive levels of editing control, broad video file compatibility for both input and output along with special effects, video filters, audio control and almost anything the consumer editor would desire and more!

As we move up to to the next stage the differences between consumer video editing and professional editing start to blur and so the name prosumer. Here you will begin to see features which are more behind the scenes instead of up front and easy to see. The capacity for dealing with multi camera footage and very precise control over the editing tracks are only a couple of examples of the control this level offers.

These editing suites usually retain the same onscreen layouts in terms of the graphical user interface of those at the levels below them which means they are not at all hard to master or at least approach. However whilst having all the features and functionality of the software below them they introduce more complex elements such as moving paths and more to the dedicated hobbyist. The advantage of heading directly to a prosumer level program is that it is very improbable that you will want to or need to upgrade later on.

Of course at the top level of video editing software are the fully professional programs like Avid and Sony Vegas Pro and in all honesty unless you are looking at becoming professional at video editing yourself there is absolutely no real need to go into it too much. They are astonishing in what they can do and extremely complex to learn!

In choosing video editing software be sure to bear in mind your real needs and objectives for the software. Don’t be attracted to the cool features you might not need. Look over the reviews keeping in mind which market it is aimed at and always take advantage of free trials.

 Click here for an overall

video editing software comparison 

and more about  

video editing software

 in general.

Thanks to: Lance Carr.

My Humble Power Director 8 Deluxe

 

   

Video Format & Codec

This section is to help you understand codecs, video file formats, and how these formats are used in the day-to-day multimedia application.

Codecs
Short for compressor/decompressor, codecs are the engines that power the software applications that compress video files. After you capture your video footage, the first step to delivering the video content is to compress it. In order to compress properly, it is important to understand how a codec works by explaining some basic compression concepts.

Compression is like making orange juice concentrate. Fresh oranges go in one end and concentrate comes out the other. The concentrated orange juice takes up less space, is easier to distribute, and can be easily reconstituted by the consumer.

One second of uncompressed video is roughly 30 MB. It is expensive to store, manage and deliver large amounts of data. Codecs help solve this problem by compressing video to smaller, more manageable sizes while still maintaining quality. The smaller files require less hard disk space, less memory to run, and less bandwidth to play over networks or the Internet.

Video File Formats
A file extension is a generally a three letter suffix to a file name that follows a period. In the file sales.mov, sales is the file name and .mov is the extension. The extension tells the operating system which program to use to interpret the file.

Advanced Streaming Format (ASF)
Stands for Advanced Streaming Format. stores audio and video information, and it is specially designed to run on networks like the Internet. ASF is a highly flexible and compressed format that contains streaming audio, video, slide shows, and synchronized events. When you use ASF files, content is delivered to you as a continuous flow of data. When an AVI file is compressed and converted to an ASF file, the file begins playing after only a few seconds.

Advanced Stream Redirector (ASX)
Advanced Stream Redirector files are text files used for redirection to MS Windows Media Player ASF files. These files contain media and server information but no actual video or audio. ASX files can be distributed as attachments or links. When you open an ASX file, the file opens the referenced movie in your media player, making it appear as though the entire file has been downloaded.

Audio Video Interleaved (AVI)
Audio Video Interleaved is a bitmap-based format for the Windows platform defined by Microsoft. It is the most common format for audio/video data on PC and an example of a de facto (by fact) standard. Raw AVI from video capture is a great place to start for compression, but too large for effective use across the Internet.

Digital Video (DV)
To process and store video on a computer, it must first be converted to a binary format. Most digital video cameras are capable of outputting video directly to a hard drive in this format via IEEE 1394 interface. DV is a good format for compression and editing application input, but file sizes are too large to deliver effectively over the Internet.

Macromedia Flash Video (FLV)
This is a Macromedia Flash video file in which the video and audio are compressed. When an FLV clip is added to a Flash timeline, the video is not compressed a second time, so the import is considerably less time consuming. FLV files can be created using Flash with Sorenson Spark or Sorenson Spark Professional (Pro). Spark Pro has the added advantage of being able to batch process entire directories of video to FLV or SWF format for later use at a higher quality and smaller file size than are possible using the standard version of Sorenson Spark.

QuickTime Movie (MOV)
All QuickTime Movies are associated with the MOV file extension. This extension works on Win 95/98/2000/NT/XP, Mac OS Classic and X. It also supports over 200 media types (Photoshop, GIF, JPEG, etc.) in addition to QuickTime movies. One major advantage of working in the QuickTime environment is its free server.

Moving Picture Experts Group, Level 4 (MP4)
MPEG-4 was defined using the standards for encoding video in a digital compressed format as specified by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). It supports video, audio, and system components that are compliant with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) MPEG-4 de facto standards. MPEG-4 open standards are a set of specifications used to build products for production, encoding and delivery of audio/video content over many kinds of networks to a variety of clients such as personal computers, wireless devices, Web browsers and more.

Device manufacturers prefer using MPEG-4 because the open architecture and codec do not lock them into specific formats or players. Instead of having to develop for three or four separate formats, which is logistically difficult and costly, providers can build on the MPEG-4 single format.

Real Networks Files (RA, RM, RAM)
Real Networks content is software developed by RealNetworks that streams live or pre-recorded audio/video to a client, such as a Web browser, by decompressing it dynamically so it can be played back in real time. Delivering Real Networks content requires use of RealSystem Server Basic (free), Plus, intranet or Professional software. The RealSystem Server Basic allows for up to 25 concurrent viewers. As your requirement for simultaneous viewers increases, so does server price.

Macromedia Flash .FLA File Published for the Web (SWF)
When a Macromedia Flash MX .FLA file is published for the Web, it takes on the SWF extension. While normally associated with vector graphics and audio, Macromedia Flash MX now supports embedded video. An advantage of working with the Flash player is its widespread distribution and the ability to include powerful programming elements using ActionScript. SWF files can either be created individually in Macromedia Flash MX using Sorenson Spark or in bulk as an automated process using the Spark Professional video codec in Sorenson Squeeze for Macromedia Flash MX.

MS Windows Media Audio (WMA)
MS Windows Media Audio is an audio codec designed by Microsoft for use with streaming content at CD quality. It is designed to resist data loss that can cause signal degradation and can improve download times for audio.

MS Windows Media File (WMV)
This an MS Windows Media file with audio and/or video. It is used to download and play files or stream content. The WMV format is similar to the ASF format. See ASF file documentation for more information about its capabilities.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GP, 3G2)
This is the MPEG4 based video format used in mobile terminals, like cell phones.

CD Audio Track (CDA)
CD Audio Track, audio files that are on CD media. You can play .cda files only from a CD-ROM. Often the CDA tracks are ripped to WAV or MP3 files.

CD DVD Rip
To take off the audio or video from a CD or DVD. Often CD Audio is "ripped" to MP3 WAV OGG VQF files or DVD video ripped to AVI MPEG DivX files.

DIVA
A powerful MPEG-1/MPEG-2 video converter for Mac OS X 10.2 or later. It uses QuickTime, MPEG, MOV, SMP, AltiVec, YUV, Cocoa, Quartz, XML and other amazingly great acronyms and buzzwords. It's also fast, high quality, and integrates extremely well with 3ivx D4 4.5, allowing it to perform automated 2-pass encoding with 3ivx.

DivX
A new format for digital video, much like MP3 is a format for digital music. DivX is the brand name of a patent-pending video compression technology created by DivX Networks, Inc., The DivX codec is based on the MPEG-4 compression standard. This codec is so advanced that it can reduce an MPEG-2 video (the same format used for DVD or Pay-Per-View) to ten percent of its original size.

DTS
Digital Theater Systems Digital Sound, A product of DTS Inc., DTS is a multichannel audio compression format similar to Dolby Digital used in DVD-video discs, DVD-audio, 5.1 channel audio CDs, and some movie theaters. DTS differs from Dolby Digital in that it generally uses higher data rates and many have the opinion that DTS is better quality. DTS can only be on a DVD-video disc if accompanied by a Dolby Digital or LPCM track (for North America) or mpeg audio and LPCM (European Community) to ensure compatibility, because DVD players are only required to decode those standards in those regions.

DV
Digital Video, video captured to a PC from a digital camcorder, often through Firewire. There are two methods of storing DV video data, referred to in this article as type-1 and type-2. Both are stored usually in AVI files.

DVD
DVD once stood for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, but now it just stands for DVD -- the next generation of optical disc storage technology. DVD is essentially a bigger, faster CD that can hold cinema-like video, better-than-CD audio, and computer data.

M3U
An .m3u file is a special type of metafile playlist that is used with MP3 files that have an .mp3 file extension. The .m3u file includes information about the location of the .m3u file on the computer and the properties of the file. An .m3u file is similar to the ASX playlist files.

XVCD
Extended VCD, XVCD has same features as VCD but it is possible to use higher bit rates and higher resolution to get higher video quality. XVCD is basically everything that uses MPEG-1 video, is not within the VCD standard, and burned in "VCD" Mode on a CD-R or CD-R(W). XVCD can be played on some hardware VCD or DVD players and many computers with appropriate software.

XviD
Is an ISO MPEG-4 compliant video codec. It's not a product but an open source project which is developed and maintained by people around the world.

3ivx
An MPEG-4 toolkit that supports MPEG-4 Video, MPEG-4 Audio and the MP4 File Format.

AAC
Stands for Advanced Audio Coder. An audio-encoding standard for MPEG-2 that is not backward-compatible with MPEG-1 audio.

Cordless Headphones

Sometimes when you just want to listen to some music alone or when you do not want other people to know what you are listening to, you may want to consider using headphones. Nowadays, there are many types of headphones available in the market to choose from and one of them is Cordless Headphones.

Cordless headphones are headphones that are not physically connected to the main device with a wire. These headphones use radio waves to receive signals from the main source. They provide extreme flexibility to do anything while wearing them - walk, jog, skate or even ski.

Cordless headphones are becoming fairly common even for household use like watching TV or listening to music. Since they are not connected by cords to the main equipment, they allow flexibility to move around and do things like cooking, exercising or any other household chores.

Some wireless headsets use infrared rays for receiving signals, like a remote control. These have a limited range of receiving of a maximum of 30 feet. Cordless headphones, on the other hand, use radio waves. The headset should be adjusted in frequency with the base station so as not to interfere with other devices. These headsets have a greater frequency of up to 2.4 GHz and can reach up to 300 feet.

When buying cordless headphones, you should consider the following: Are they comfortable? Do they stay securely in place for long hours? Are the headphones flexible and unobtrusive? Are the volume and other controls easily accessible? Is the sound quality on both lines clear?

The Internet is a good source for locating the ideal cordless headphones. There are several web sites that provide comprehensive information about the wide range of cordless headphones available in the market today.

Rolly from Sony...

SONY launched an initial teaser advertising campaign for a new product called Rolly. By early impressions, it appears to be a personal electronics device combining music functions with robotic dancing.

An egg-shaped digital robotic music player which has colour lights that flash as it “dances”, and has flapping wings that can twist to its tunes. Movements along with the music downloaded from personal computers and Bluetooth can be set. Rolly, has 1 GB of memory to store tunes.

Rolly In Action...

Home Entertainment And Consumer Electronics...

Home theater systems are now extremely popular items within the average family home and quite literally, everyone is getting into the benefits that consumer electronics and home entertainment can provide. Thanks to some great advances in home entertainment oriented sound and video technology, it is now very easy to purchase and install a home theater system in your own home. DVD movies, high definition television and a fully surround sound stereo and audio system are all now what is considered the standard consumer electronics items for any home owner who loves to enjoy music, television cable or simply entertaining on the weekends.

Researching the options for a home theater system is best done online. There are a myriad of home entertainment options available. All you need to do is conduct a search for the term “home theater system” and then visit the various online shopping malls that come up in the search. By researching such products through a shopping mall you can find out detailed specifications about the products and sometimes snag better than retail prices.

But what to get? Home theater systems essentially consist of three main components: audio, video and projection. Some people prefer to just go out and buy all three at once in some sort of package deal – this can often work out cheaper. But often people don’t have the expendable income to do this so many brands are designed to allow you concentrate on purchasing one aspect (or module) of your home theater system at a time, until you have exactly what you want.

Audio is just as important as the video because if you don't have a good quality audio system it will ruin your whole home theater and home entertainment setup. You can also purchase home theater systems in a box which will usually consist of all the parts that you need for home entertainment. These kinds of systems are great for those who want to setup their home theater systems in one or two steps, but if you put some time and effort into it you can save money on your system and get better quality all around at the same time. If you don’t know what you are doing, then look around at some consumer electronics suppliers will install for you for a fee.

Home theater systems can be purchased by many online consumer electronic suppliers from the Internet. Do your homework and you will soon see that there are a large number of consumer electronic suppliers who will be only to willing to ship you out a great deal today on a new home theater system. Take your time though, because if you come across the right consumer electronic supplier then they will offer you free shipping and insurance and even 48-hour delivery on some home theater systems. Some consumer electronic suppliers will even offer free installation on a new home theater system and if you are a novice then why not take them up on their offer.