Archive for November, 2008

YouTube’s gone proper WIDESCREEN

So for the astute of you out there who regularly watch videos online you’ll have noticed over the past couple of days the change to widescreen players on YouTube.  Now it used to be 4:3 and this was fine but with rumours of full films coming to YouTube you really need to have a widescreen view.  I’ve been recording in widescreen with my camcorder for a couple of years but it’s always been punished into a squashed 4:3 box and I do like the way which they look now. However for all of my previous videos which were converted to a widescreen size 1024 x 576 (more for my use than for YouTube) do not stretch and instead stay as a 4:3 size.

To get it properly done I experimented with loads of resolutions by converting my videos with Visualhub.  Loads. Then I uploaded them to YouTube and after I saw they weren’t right I deleted them to try again.  It may be just me but it seems they are a bit picky as to which resolutions work.  Finally I tried it another way neglecting Visualhub and trying Quicktime’s built in export feature.  Exporting to .mp4 with some slight changes eventually worked on 1280 x 720 with a data rate of 1500 kbits/sec on the H.264 codec.  It take a bit longer to transcode than normal so I don’t know whether I’ll do it for all my future videos I’ll have to see.  Tell me what you think below or in the comments on the YouTube page.  Thanks!

Guitar Rock Tour for the iPhone or iPod Touch Review

photo.jpgphoto.jpgThe Guitar Hero/Rock Band popularity has increased so much over the past couple of years and finally an iPhone App has decided to cash in. Now it’s not like the free Tap Tap Revenge -- Guitar Rock Tour is the real deal. Proper songs and effects, a guitar and a drum mode for only £4.99! Featuring over 17 famous songs and a proper tour mode you’ll instantly be familiar if you’re a fan of the Guitar Hero series. Obviously it’s not as lengthy but provides some entertainment none the less.

If you like that sort of game you’ll be loving this one, honestly words can’t do it justice so I’m leaving it short today but check out the awesome video review below where I show you every song and mode available.  Enjoy!

My NXE Avatar Creation

The New Xbox Experience came with the avatar feature to revolutionise your gamertag and online status.  The options to customise are quite broad on the character make up part but the clothes seem a bit limited.  However Microsoft recently announced they would attempt to release new clothes packs every two weeks -- we’ll have to see.

I thought I’d share with you my initial avatar creation and I hope you have a good time doing yours as well.  Trust me you’ll want to do it properly because it’ll show up on new arcade games such as A Kingdom for Keflings and 100v1; you don’t want to be shown up by your friends do you?

The New Xbox Experience is out

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The old dashboard is no more

Well as promoted by Microsoft the NXE has been delivered and you too should be enjoying its new functions by now.  Say goodbye to the old cover flow of the dashboard and welcome to the “Apple TV-esque look of the new dashboard!

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The New Dashboard is out!

With a quick update after a lengthy download you’ll be buzzing around with the avatar creation (new video and post coming tomorrow) and the new control interface.  My opinion?  Well although it doesn’t really add much new stuff, apart from the avatar,burn games to the hard drive and an improved Xbox Live Marketplace, the whole interface seems a lot cleaner and responsive.  The new guide (when you press the Xbox logo on the controller)loads a lot quicker and gives easier access to friends list and achievement details.

There are so many little tweaks that make the experience better and I know I haven’t experienced them all yet. But one hidden feature I have found is that when you load up an Xbox 360 game a notice will pop up if any of your friends are playing the same game.  So say your mates are playing Call of Duty World at War and you started your game up without checking; the Xbox will now inform you if any of your friends are playing the same game.  Then all you need to do is open up your friends list and make a game together.

That’s my quick opinion on the new Xbox experience so don’t wait, boot up your new dashboard now!

Be prepared. The New Xbox Experience tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the day.  The much awaited and option filled update is coming to your Xbox 360 dashboard tomorrow and you’ll be wanting to explore it as soon as you get home.  However how is it possible to get it and how much space is needed?

Well the main line of distribution will be through the Xbox Live service.  All you need to do is turn on your console and you should get a pop up on the dashboard saying it needs an update after you’ve signed in.  A simple process and your done.  If you’re one of the minority who don’t have Xbox Live (what are you doing man, get with it!) then you will be able to download it off the Microsoft Xbox site to a USB drive.  Then just plug it into your console’s front ports and the update will initialise as normal.

You want to be ultimately ready I hear you say?  Well you’ll need a minimum of 128mb of space.  This is nothing really for the majority of users with hard drives but if you have a core/arcade system with a memory card make sure you have the space.  You will need at least a 256mb memory card to have this update and your usual themes and music tracks so don’t be caught unprepared.  Also with the new option of installing games on your harddrive itself you will be looking at anything from 4-8gb per game.  Obviously the advantage is no loud spinning disc tray, but speed differences vary and you might not have that space available if you’re intent on keeping that old Dead Rising demo.

With that out of the way, look forward to tomorrows gift and fingers crossed on no hiccups so we can all get it without delay.  I think I’ll go and delete some old demos and video trailers I have on my 20gb harddrive so I can get ready to burn a couple of games to the harddrive with the new experience tomorrow. Have fun!