January 8th, 2009 
admin 
Those annoying camcorder files can be a pain to convert if you have a large project or multiple videos from a holiday. That’s why batch conversions make it so much easier, recommended by Patrick off my website is the easy batch option in my chosen choice of software MPEG Streamclip..
Original Guide to convert .mod files:
http://daz4590.co.uk/wordpress/2008/08/22/converting-mod-files-to-something-a-bit-better/
December 13th, 2008 admin 
It was a long time coming -- over 44 hours in fact. But I have completed Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga 100%. All 6 episodes each with 6 sub-missions collecting every little bit. The 1000GS is here and will take some time for me to forget. Now I can rest and hope to never see a Lego cut scene again!
To get the hardest and most tiresome achievement in the game I needed to do many things:
I was thankful to the people over at Xbox360achievements.org for their good guide and help covering all the achievements. If you need assistance pop over to http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/lego-star-wars-the-complete-saga/guide/
Now one thing I came across was the glitch after completing the game 100%. Even though it said I had done everything in the Cantina it still didn’t recognise my achievement and after some searching out I found the solution. If your game does the same all you need to do is replay any level and finish it. I recommend the Pod Race in Episode 1 as it’s fairly short and fun and as soon as I finished it my beloved 100% Completion achievement arrived so I was happy. 1000GS in probably the easiest yet most tiresome game I have ever played. Good Luck to anyone else out there trying it, it will take an awful long time but trust me you’ll feel proud when it’s over.
August 27th, 2008 admin Most camcorders come with a countless number of confusing settings for consumers to fiddle with, one of these is the video quality. My Canon FS100 has three variations -- SP,LP and XP. These each use different bit rates with SP at 3mbps, LP at 6mbps and XP at 9mpbs. Obviously the bigger the bit rate the better quality video. Ever since I had it I have stuck it at XP because I am a firm believer in good quality video but I have wondered how much of a difference it really makes.
To test this I have shot the same footage with the camcorder simply changing the quality setting each time, I have labelled each video so you can compare them like by like and see the difference. After I looked at the footage, which must be seen in High Quality on Youtube otherwise it’s not that good, I struggled to see any massive difference between each one. You can just make out the slightly sharper image of the XP compared to the rest but I’ll leave you to decide. I’ll still carry on using the XP setting because it will make me feel better but whether it really makes a difference -- at least on a small screen it doesn’t. It may make a bigger impact on a 40″ LCD TV but for my needs that is not important.
Does your camcorder have different settings? Do you ever change between them? Let us know by commenting below and helping the community.
August 26th, 2008 admin Like many electronic gadgets today the manufactures are trying to cram as many items into them as possible and that’s why we have FM radios and cameras on mobile phones when all their real purpose is is to make contact with the outside world. However these unnecessary items can help clinch sales as people then don’t have to carry them all round separately and I’m all for that. A couple of years ago I used to have an ipod,phone,wallet and other stuff in my pockets so when I bought an o2 XDA it made sense. And I was grateful as it meant I only had to look after one gadget from fear of losing it so it makes sense. On the other hand some added items are not worthy and that leads me to camcorders having the ability to take photos.
Now in theory you would think “oh that’s easy and they should take great photos with those expensive lenses” and I would agree. Why can’t they make the photo modes any good? The one on my old Sony was dire and couldn’t beat my 3.0 megapixel camera on my Samsung D900i. I was disappointed and never took photos with it again. Now step over to my new Canon FS100, once again I was sceptical but thought I’d test it and show you the results.
In my opinion they’re not too bad, better than the Sony and nearly if not on par with my camera phone. If consumers are after just a quick look and snap camera feature this will do them fine and with the good zoom focus on the camcorder it makes the zoomed in photos nice as well. It even has a nice continuous shoot setting so you can capture fast moving objects in multiple frames. Canon have done a god job but as a message to all camcorder makers if you’re going to add a camera feature make it worthwhile. We’re not at that step just yet when separate digital cameras can be phased out.
As a result I’ll definately be using it if I don’t have my other cameras on me but I wouldn’t rely on it for a long trip. If you’re looking for something a bit meatier or with better options (there is no manual control of ISOs or anything) then its probably better not to sell off that dusty digital camera you have lying around.
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