Capture Cutting Edge Video
Posts tagged webcam
Dv Camcorder To Webcam Software
Feb 16th
Dv Camcorder To Webcam Software
Mini-DV MD80 Review
8 Ways To Make Professional Looking Video Blogs That Will Attract Users And Keep Them Coming Back
Browsing through Darren’s ProBlogger website got me thinking about one aspect of blogging that I use to take part in: video blogging or vlogging. As a video professional, I love this media and find it appealing and easier to use in regards with tutorials or commentary. I understand that a lot of users still like to read at their own pace but after reading this article you might find a few ways to cater to your old and new users with captivating video blogs.
1- KNOW YOUR TOPIC
A pretty basic idea that also works for normal blogs. Understanding fully what you’re about to explain, comment on or give a tutorial on. Most well known vloggers don’t just stick a camera in their faces and start yapping. You must have a concise plan, a sort of script to work off of. Do your research, plan ahead and write down major points so you don’t find yourself doing: “hummmm, then uh.. hmmm… heuuu”
2- WATCH YOURSELF AND YOUR SETTING
Are you about to record yourself in your bathrobe? Are you slouching in your chair with the kids running around behind you? If you want to be taken seriously, you must take the necessary actions. Be presentable; think of your vlog like a real presentation in front of thousands of people. That doesn’t mean you must wear a suit and a tie and stand behind a podium but you need to show an image that will convey approachability and professionalism. A good way to achieve that is to clean up the clutter on your desk, be careful as to what shows up in the background. If need be, drop a nice neutral colored drape behind you (not directly behind you, about 5 to 10 feet is perfect). Don’t sit with your back to a window since that will create an awful effect known as backlighting. No matter what your backlight button on your camera says, it still will look horrible. Wear neutral clothes, don’t use bright colors unless you really have to show your crazy side. Focus your eyes straight at the camera while speaking and do an effort and smile now and again.
3- LIGHTS
No need to go buy LED light boxes or fresnos for a vlog shoot. Use the light sources in your home or office. Simply direct it in a way where you, the subject, will be lit evenly. To make sure you have an even light, you can diffuse it using a white cotton sheet in front of the light source (not too close, don’t burn it). The best way to use this technique is to use a flood light (the ones that point straight up to the ceiling, usually 100 Watts) and direct it downwards. Rest it on a chair or a table and make sure the center of the light hits your upper body. Place the light 5 feet away. Without the diffuser, your face will probably be “hot” (hot spots on the screen are also referred as blown and happen when a subject is overexposed). Place the sheet in front of the light and extend it so light can go through. You will see right away the difference, the light will now be diffused and will hit the subject evenly. You can also use a background light to make you stand out a little from the background. To do so, use a directional light source like a spotlight and place it on the floor or above the subject but just in front of the background directed at you. That light is usually less bright than the main one and not widely used for vlogging but you can experiment.
4- CAMERA
So many webcams are available on the market nowadays, some great and some amazingly horrid. You do not have to spend too much money to get a decent camera that will have good enough resolution and frame rate (the number of frames in one second, i.e. 10 frames a second will show a little lag in your video, the more frames a second the better) to do your vlogs but then again you don’t have to use your webcam either. For the most part, vlogs are a quick way for users to get the information they need in a video format, right? You obviously don’t want your visitors to sit around and wait for the video to load because it’s badly compressed, right? Keep in mind that you’re not trying to compete with Diggnation and other web shows that use HD cameras worth thousands of dollars (their shows are in general around 180MB to download and last more than 30 minutes). If you have a digital camcorder (or still camera with video function) lying around like most people do these days, use it. The difference will be huge. These real cameras have a much better lens and capture light and colors in their true form without cutting corners like most webcams.
I used to shoot some of my older stuff with an iSight camera and had great success with it. My clients were happy with the tutorials and the quality of them. I wasn’t. I knew I could do better and keep up with the changing technology. I’ve since shot some using a 1chip digital camera and saw an instant difference. Since I was shooting full DV (frame rate of 29.97 frames per second), I could then compress the vlog into 24 or 20 frames a second – which is much higher than the webcams and still keep the great resolution that the DV gave me. (more about compressing under point 7)
5- ACTION
Speak clearly, enunciate and don’t go too fast. It’s hard not to stress over how we look or how we sound and feel natural when in front of a camera, that’s why being calm is the number one state you must be in. Don’t move to quickly in front of the camera, your movement will be blurred out at this level of compression and is not recommended. Use more punctuation than normal, make sure your voice doesn’t get boring after a while.
6- CUTTING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE COMPETITION
As your shooting your vlog you should already know if you’ll be using video inserts of an image you’re talking about or a snippet of another video you’ll be reviewing or commenting on. Editing makes it all happen. Editing is key to putting together a vlog that has a “to the point” mentality. Use visual bumpers to separate your points. Add titles to stress the important part of your commentary. Add music at the end and beginning with a short title sequence presenting your vlog. So many different editing tricks you can use to make your vlog more snappy and enjoyable to watch, instead of the boring monologue it could become. Be careful though, editing can also be an ugly poisoned apple if badly used. Too many cuts will make the viewer look away. Too many titles will make the viewers spend less time listening to you and more time trying to decipher all the text. Music can become annoying if used throughout the vlog as a background bed. All in moderation for a better production.
I use Final Cut Pro on the Mac but it is definitely not the tool to use if you’re simply creating vlogs. iMovie for the Mac is a great alternative and brings a bunch of great features and ease of use to the vlogger. On the PC side, MovieMaker and a slew of other consumer softwares are great at what they do as well. Remember, the point of making a vlog is to be visually enticing but without wasting too much time. You don’t want to create a 5 minute vlog that took you a full day or production. The first one might take you longer but as you get better at it you will see an immense improvement in your timeline. I can now write, shoot, edit and compress a full 5 or 10 minute vlog, in less than an hour.
7- COMPRESSING YOUR VLOGS WITHOUT SWEARING UP A STORM
Once your edit is done and you’ve watched yourself in amazement, it’s time to compress and let others enjoy it too. Most of the editing software you will be using wil have export features for different formats. For vlogs, the smaller the better but you also don’t want to lose too much quality. Popular formats are MP4, MOV, MPEG, AVI. The ones I tend to use most are .MOV and .MP4 because they give me great quality without much video artifact (pixelized image, blurry spots and video flicker).
Here’s a quick guide to the customizations I most often use.
Format: .MOV H.264
Size: 320×240
Frame Rate: 24
Key Frames: Automatic or every 50 frames
Frame Reordering: Yes
Quality: Best
Encoding: Faster Encode
Date Rate: Automatic or 250 kbits/sec
Format: MP4 – Video Improved
Data Rate: 256 kbits/sec
Optimized for Download: Yes
Image Size 320×240 QVGA
Preserved aspect ration – fit within size
Frame rate 15
8- POSTING YOUR VLOGS WITH EASE
Sharing your vlog is the whole point of this exercise of course and you can only achieve that if you find an effective way to distribute your vlog quickly and easily to all your viewers. If you have less than few hundred people a month visiting your site you can get by hosting the video yourself without much problem with bandwidth and speed. On the other hand, if you’re viewership is greater than you probably will want to use a video sharing website like the very popular YouTube to post your videos. On a personal note, I don’t recommend using YouTube because of their horrible compression rate when transferring your vlogs into their own Flash format. For better quality, try Vimeo.com and embed your videos directly on your site using their own player.
Now Pay Close Attention –
Using Video Testimonials to increase your websites sales and revenue is simpler than you’ve been told. Everyone with a website faces the same two problems:
[Problem #1] How To Build Credibility With Potential Customers
[Problem #2] How To Obtain Testimonials Which Have Been Proven To Improve Sales
Fast Video Testimonials has been solving these two problems for hundreds of satisfied customers. Fast Video Testimonials has been tried and tested and known to produce excellent results.
First: Click Here For Fast Video Testimonials
Fast Video Testimonials always supplies REAL VIDEO TESTIMONIALS created specifically for your website and business.
Second: Order Your Video Testimonials Package of 1, 5 or 10 original Video Testimonials for your website.
Your new Video Testimonials will arrive within 7 days and all Video Testimonials are done by REAL PEOPLE and are guaranteed to boost your sales by up to 30%. Buy Video Testimonials today and boost your businesses online presence overnight.
Sony Handycam DCR SR46…ugh
 Mygica EZgrabber2 USB 2.0 Video Capture Adapter Device, Direct Video Uploading to YouTube, ipod and PSP Conversion, Windows 7 Ready, Convert Home Videos, TV Show or Gameplay to Quality DVDs with a Push on the Button Sale Price: $24.88 DescriptionCapture videos to your handheld devices or submit to YouTube with clicks! With MyGica’s EZgrabber2, you can capture all the video clips from your video source devices such as VHS/VCR/DVD/DV camcorder before they disappear by using bundled software. with the “push to start push to stop” button will help you to record the selected clips easily which you are watch the movies playing on your video device, when you find clips which you want to capture, just push the button of the EZgrabber2, it will be automatically recorded to hard disk, when the clips go to unwanted record part, just push the button once more, the file will automatically stop and automatically give a name by software. You just repeat pushing the button; you will get all the clips you want. Also you can convert any video files and customize your favorite video files. Then you can edit the captured video files, adding titles, music, and a lot of transitions. As easy as drink a cup of coffee, you can burn all the edited contents into DVD/VCD/SVCD, or send them to your handheld devices, like iPod, PSP and other mobile phones, or just submit them to YouTube, share with others.Features:* Extremely high quality digitizing chipset inside, more clear, rich color and sharp video* Convert recorded files to iPod video, PSP and other mobile phones (not all)* Burn edited files onto DVD, VCD, and SVCD…* Capture video source from VHS, V8, and Hi8…* Submit video files to YouTube* USB device, easy to install Specifications:* USB 2.0 PnP Interface, USB video/audio transfer (Proviesion)* Automatic NTSC/PAL detection* Capture the Video directly into MPEG 4 / 2 / 1 Format* Capture Video Source from VHS, V8, Hi8, etc.* Support Still Image Capture in JPEG or BMP formatPackage Contents:* EZgrabber2 USB2.0 Capture Device* A/V multi-cable* Installation Manual* Video Capture/Editing Software CD Features
 |
Eligible for free shipping!  Veho VCC-003-MUVI-BLK MUVI Micro digital camcorder for Action Sports/Surveillance (Includes 2Gb Memory) List Price: DescriptionMuvi is an ultra portable camcorder. At 2.17″ long the Muvi Micro Digital Camcorder is one of the smallest high resolution DV camcorders in the world. With a 2 Mega Pixel recording image, quality is not compromised. Features
|
 Veho Muvi Pro Micro DV Camcorder with 4 GB Micro SD List Price: DescriptionOfficially the smallest high resolution DV camcorder in the world. With 2 Mega Pixel recording image quality is not compromised. Features
|
 Mini DV – World’s Smallest Video Camera in the World with High Resolution Image Sale Price: $9.88 DescriptionThe World’s Smallest Digital Video Camera with High Resolution Image MD80 Thumb size alloy housing Manually and sound activated recording Web camera for online video chat Support AVI video format Low illumination, high resolution image with 2.0M pixels High speed recording and quick light response 30 frames per second for 640×480 video output Built-in Li rechargeable battery lasting for 2 hours Use Micro SD card and Support up to 8G memory card (max, Micro SD card not included in this item)) Easy operation with LED indicator Support USB 2.0 Flexible installation with clip and bracket Support JPEG picture format Specification Item Color: Black Features
|
 Hidden Digital Video Lighter Novelty Camera List Price: Description* Brand new non-OEM USB Digital Video Recording (DVR/Hidden) Camera. Features
|
 Coby CAM4000BLK 2.4-Inch TFT LCD SNAPP Swivel Camcorder/Camera (Black) Sale Price: $84.99 DescriptionThe Snapp swivel digital camcorder 2.4″ TFT LCD screen flips and rotates 270°, 3MP CMOS sensor (2048 x 1536) with 4x digital zoom, LED photo flash for low-light situations, Video resolution; VGA (640 x 480) @ 30fps, AVI file (Motion JPEG codec), 32MB built-in memory (expandable to 8GB with optional SD/SDHC card). View recorded videos and photos on a TV with the included AV cable. Edit video and upload to YouTube with included ArcSoft media impression software. Connects easily to computer for use as a webcam (requires included diver installation). USB 2.0 Hi-speed for fast file transfers, 3 x “AAA” batteries (included) provide over 1.5 hours of power Features
|
 2.5″ HD Car LED IR Vehicle DVR Road Dash Video Camera Recorder Traffic Dashboard Camcorder – LCD 270° whirl List Price: DescriptionThis HD Rotatable LCD Vehicle DVR with 120 degree wide view angle and InfraRed Night Vision 6 IR LED light Camera captures high definition video and displays it on its 2.5 inch TFT LCD Screen. The video is saved in the SD/MMC memory card. (Memory card no included in the package). Files can be saved per 2 minutes / 5 minutes / 15minutes- with recycled recording. With the camera holder/ mount, you can fix it on the car dashboard or car windshield very easily.The high quality video & audio can be timely and strong evidence to address accident and distinguish responsibility. Features
|
 Sony DCRTRV140 Digital8 Camcorder with 2.5″ LCD, Video Light & USB Streaming Sale Price: $139.90 DescriptionMake a memory last forever with a Digital8 camcorder from Sony. The 2.5″ Swivelscreen LCD is easy to use and captures events in true-to-life detail. Steadyshot Picture Stabilization will hold true to its name by reducing the effects of a shaky hand or movements. With Super NightShot you can record in complete darkness. and the 20x optical/560 digital zoom gets you up close and personal. The built-in light will brighten up all your shots! You can find digital camcorders for slightly less than the Sony DCR-TRV140, but you won’t get Sony’s quality and extensive feature list. Captured video proved to be of high quality, whether we viewed it on our TV or transferred it to our PC via the speedy FireWire connection or USB. The USB connection can also be used for setting up the TRV140 as a Webcam via their USB streaming technology. It took some playing around with the Pixela Image Mixer software before we could get the device working properly. In general, a dedicated Webcam would be a better device for this purpose. But as a digital camcorder, we were quite pleased with the TRV140. Its 20x optical zoom (and 560x digital zoom) allowed for extreme close-ups, while the Super NightShot infrared mode allowed us to record in complete darkness. The mode automatically adjusted the shutter speed during night recording, resulting in a brighter, sharper image than Sony’s normal NightShot mode. The TRV140 isn’t without faults. It won’t accept inputted video or play back old Hi-8 or 8mm tapes recorded in analog mode, and the battery lasted only about an hour during our tests. But you can purchase Sony’s optional NP-FM91 battery pack, which extends battery life to over 10 hours. The TRV140 has the typical boxiness of the Handycam, but it weighs only a little more than two pounds, with battery. It’s comfortable to hold, and its button layout will prove quite familiar to previous Handycam users. It also comes with a remote control for handling the camera’s functions from a distance. Selling for under $500, the TRV140 is a great digital camcorder for users who intend to edit video on their PCs for distribution to the Web for or burning to CD or DVD. –J. Curtis Pros: 20x optical zoom Super NightShot mode High-quality digital video Cons: Somewhat short battery life Can’t play back analog Hi-8 or 8mm The Digital8 line was conceived to provide a path to digital for current owners of 8mm or Hi8 camcorders. Unfortunately, the DCR-TRV140 can’t play Hi8 and 8mm footage, as its bigger brothers up the line, like the DCR-TRV240, can. However, it is Sony’s least-expensive digital camcorder, and is quite a steal for those who want to make the digital plunge. To start off, Sony put in a 20x optical zoom and paired it with SteadyShot image stabilization. Image stabilization is a handy technology that helps to eliminate the shakiness associated with high zoom levels. The only way to avoid shakiness completely is to utilize a tripod, table, or other stable surface. The 2.5-inch LCD is the best way to frame your shots, although you can use the black-and-white EVF to preserve battery life. In addition to the normal slew of ports (IEEE 1394, S-video, mini-AV) that have made their way onto the TRV140, there’s also a USB port, which, with some included software, offers some interesting functions. Specifically, it allows you to use the camcorder to capture stills, or “broadcast live video with audio,” according to Sony, which seems to indicate you can use the TRV140 as a Webcam. The DCR-TRV140 comes with a power adapter, InfoLithium battery, remote control, two AA batteries, A/V cable, lens cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, and software CD-ROM. Features
|
 Cobra Digital HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 1.5-Inch LCD and Webcam Function DVC910 List Price: DescriptionThe Cobra Digital HD Flash Memory Camcorder provides HD video recording in a compact camera. The flip-out LCD allows you to easily watch your footage as you record. Features
|
 Aiptek DV4500 4MP MPEG4 Pocket Digital Camcorder List Price: DescriptionThe Pocket DV4500 is a multi-functional DV camera designed for capturing previous moments anytime, anywhere. It’s equipped with a maximum resolution of 4 Mega-Pixels and a 1.5″ color LCD screen. Record video in MPEG-4 VHS quality with sound. On top of all this, it’s a voice recorder,mp3 player, and web cam. This product comes with 16mb of internal memory, and has a built-in SD card slot that can hold up to 512MB (Card not included). It ships with a tripod/stand, usb cable, av output cable, camera bag, and headset. Requires Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000 /XP;Direct X8.0 or above, 128MB of Ram, 64MB Video Card, 4x Cd-Rom. Features
|