Super Video Converter

SUPER © Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer.
A GUI to ffmpeg, mencoder, mplayer, x264, ffmpeg2theora & the theora/vorbis RealProducer plugIn.

If you need a simple, yet very efficient tool to convert (encode) or play any Multimedia file,
without reading manuals or spending long hours training, then SUPER © is all you need.
It is a Multimedia Encoder and a Multimedia Player, easy-to-use with 1 simple click.

SUPER © is totally FREE to download and to use. (Available here: http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html)
It plays & converts very fast full length movies to any other format with NO time limitation.

Please read the changelog and the following details to see how:
SUPER © does for FREE what other encoders CAN’T do for money.

SUPER © IS UNIVERSAL as it supports a wide variety of input/source file format to play
or encode (to & from) without any additional third party software.
Supported input source file formats are:
- Video format: 3gp/3g2(Nokia,Siemens,Sony,Ericsson) asf, avi (DivX,H263,H263+,H264,XviD,MPEG4,MSmpeg4 etc..), dat,
fli, flc, flv (used in Flash), mkv, mpg (Mpeg I,Mpeg II), mov(H263,H263+,H264,MPEG4 etc..), mp4(H263,H263+,H264,MPEG4), ogg,
qt, rm, ram, rmvb, str (Play Station), swf (Flash), ts (HDTV), viv, vob, wmv
- Audio format: ac3, amr, mp2, mp3, mp4, ogg, ra, wav, wma
- AviSynth Script Files: avs. Let you specify advanced encoding commands using AviSynth scripts!
SUPER © supports the conversion (encoding both ways, to & from ) of ALL the listed formats.
To list few examples:
drag & drop any Audio file or even any VIDEO file and EXTRACT the AUDIO part by converting it to
mp2, mp3, wav, ac3, aac, amr_nb or amr_wb format. (the last 3 are playable on Nokia)
Mobile phone 3GP converter Convert any input video format to 3GP. Convert a 3GP file to any other video format.
Mobile phone 3G2 converter Convert any input video format to 3G2. Convert a 3G2 file to any other video format.
PocketPC converter Convert any input video format to a PocketPC file. Convert a PocketPC file to any other video format.
iPod converter Convert any input video format to an iPod file. Convert an iPod file to any other video format.
The rendered iPod files are created using the most advanced video codecs H.264/AVC and MPEG-4 format.
To copy a DVD (that you legally purchased) into a valid iPod format, we recommend that you also use the best
available DVDDecrypter to decrypt the entire DVD and copy the VOB files to your HardDisk in order to encode
them with SUPER ©. Note that DVDDecrypter is also a Freeware.
PSP converter Convert any input video format to a PSP file. Convert a PSP file to any other video format.
The rendered PSP files are created using the most advanced video codecs H.264/AVC and MPEG-4 format.
To copy a DVD (that you legally purchased) into a valid PSP format, we recommend that you also use the best
available DVDDecrypter to decrypt the entire DVD and copy the VOB files to your HardDisk in order to encode
them with SUPER ©. Note that DVDDecrypter is also a Freeware.
VCD converter Convert any input video format to MPG-VCD. Convert an MPG-VCD file to any other video format.
The rendered MPG files are VCD-standard strictly compliant and “NERO burning” compatible. They are seamlessly
accepted by NERO to burn without any additional process and produce a CD playable on most stand alone players.

SVCD converter Convert any input video format to MPG-SVCD. Convert an MPG-SVCD file to any other video format.
The rendered MPG files are SVCD-standard strictly compliant and “NERO burning” compatible. They are seamlessly
accepted by NERO to burn without any additional process and produce a CD playable on most stand alone players.

DVD converter Convert any input video format to VOB-DVD. Convert a VOB-DVD file to any other video format.
The rendered VOB files are DVD-standard strictly compliant and “TMPGEnc DVD Author” compatible. They are
seamleassly accepted by the “TMPGEnc DVD Author” which will add the necessary Menu, create the
additional .bup and .ifo files, rename/split the rendered VOB file to Vts_xx_x.vob before burning to DVD.

AVI converter Convert any input video format to AVI. Convert an AVI file to any other video format.
The rendered AVI files are created using a wide variety of codecs H.264/MPEG-4/DivX/XviD/H.263… together
with ac3, mp3, mp2 or wav audio.

MP4 converter Convert any input video format to MP4. Convert an MP4 file to any other video format.
The rendered MP4 files are created using a wide variety of codecs H.264/MPEG-4/DivX/XviD/H.263… together
with AAC, AMR, wav audio. They are fully playable on QuickTime7.
MOV converter Convert any input video format to MOV. Convert a MOV file to any other video format.
The rendered MOV files are created using a wide variety of codecs H.264/MPEG-4/DivX/XviD/H.263… together
with AAC, AMR, wav audio. They are fully playable on QuickTime7.
ASF converter Convert any input video format to ASF. Convert an ASF file to any other video format.
MPG converter Convert any input video format to MPG. Convert an MPG file to any other video format.
OGG converter Convert any input video format to OGG. Convert an OGG file to any other video format.
WMV converter Convert any input video format to WMV. Convert a WMV file to any other video format.
convert AviSynth script files (.AVS) to any other video format.
convert VCD (.DAT) files to any other format. (Also with Lossless Direct Conversion to MPG VCD-Compliant )
convert Matroska (.MKV) files to any other format.
convert QuickTime (.QT) files to any other format.
convert RealMedia (.RM .RAM .RMVB .RA) files to any other format.
convert Old.Play.Station (.STR) files to any other format.
convert Flash (.SWF) files containing FLV video codec to any other format.
convert HDTV (.TS) files to any other format. (Also with Lossless Direct Conversion To VOB)
convert Vivo (.VIV) files to any other format.
AutoMode to convert any type of video to VCD, SVCD, DVD.
Play all of the above file formats with SUPER ©

SUPER © provides a variety of video codec selection with every file format conversion (encoding).
SUPER © provides a variety of audio codec selection with every file format conversion (encoding).
Easy configuration of the essential output video parameters (size, fps and video bitrate) during file conversion,
simplifying the user’s encoding process while parsing internally optimized video commands for best encoding results.
Easy configuration of the essential output audio parameters (sampling rate, number of channels and audio bitrate)
during file conversion, simplifying the user’s encoding process while parsing internally optimized audio commands
for best encoding results.
Unique Advanced H.264 profile & level selection. Not available in any other software.

Multiple batch file processing by simple file drag and drop.
A built-in Multimedia File Analyzing engine (Portions by MediaInfo) to show tags and internal structure of ALL source
files with a double click.
As SUPER © is a simple GUI, the quality of the rendered files or the played files DOES NOT depend on SUPER ©
The speed, rendered quality or the variety of the codec selection are the result of the great work achieved
by the respective authors of ffmpeg , mencoder , mplayer , x264 , ffmpeg2theora , libavcodec library & the
theora/vorbis RealProducer’s plugIn.
The whole credit SHOULD go to these authors for their great ongoing projects.

SUPER © is compatible with most Windows® platforms.

Can’t download that video? Now you can – KeepVid lite launched!

 

KeepVid has simplified its web tool, allowing you to save video files from over 45 sites to your computer with a single click of the mouse. Downloading video’s has never been easier

Check it out here!

Review Conduits Pocket Player

PocketNow just issued another good review! 

INTRODUCTION
    I originally bought my Pocket PC with the intention of using it as my portablejukebox. Five minutes after I got it, I discovered that WMP was completely inept at doing anything but crashing (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration). I quickly sought out a replacement, preferably free, and installed the Core Media player. It was adequate, but nothing spectacular. Features included an ugly interface, a basic equalizer, and a general lack of features. Then Pocket Player 2.72 by Conduit came along. Touted to be a “rockin’ way to enjoy music on your Pocket PC or Smartphone,” is this the audio playing software you’ve been searching for? We’ve got the answer ahead!

WHAT’S HOT
   Many Windows Mobile users complain about the instability of Windows Media Player. Apparently, it had something to do with the flux capacitor. Pocket Player is a better alternative with a good bit of control granted to the user. The equalizer actually works well (compared to the buggy Core Media Player equalizer) and the DSP settings can put the bump in your Beethoven and the treble in your Hip Hop. Here’s a list of some of the features:

• Full MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, and WAV support
• 10-band Equalizer and Preamp, with presets
• Visualizations and Album Art1 support
• Track metadata tag support, with browsing
• Windows Mobile 5.0 support
• Skinnable
• HTTP, Windows Network, Shoutcast, Icecast streaming
• ID3 v1/v1.1/v2 reading; scans playlist in background
• Playlist manager keeps track of all playlists on device
• Pocket PC Notification Icon playback controls
• DSP Plugin support, including Bass Boost
• User-managed Bookmarks support; jump to a file and time
• Hardware button mapping, button locking
• Bluetooth Remote control and headphones support
• Optional sleep timer
• Automatic screen shutoff

PRODUCT FEATURES

   The interface is completely skinnable. Each skin can have individual saturation and hue adjustments (see below). One thing to check out on here for you music aficionados is the equalizer. The equalizer contains many presets to match most styles of music, as well as a 10 band manual tuning mode for the tweakers out there. To easily change equalizer settings you can just tap the word next to “EQ” in the bottom right corner of the main screen. If you keep tapping it, you can turn it off.

   Besides the main interface, you have the option to pull up a set of simple controls from the today menu. I have yet to see this feature in another player and I have to say it is VERY convenient for us multi-taskers. Check it out. Just click the notification message in the bottom left of your screen.

You are granted controls from the Today Screen.

Pocket Player can actually load an additional plugin that shows what’s playing. Pretty neat!

   And for all you playlist junkies out there (you know who you are), you have a great interface to create, modify, and listen to various playlists. On top of the program automatically pulling in all your songs, it also pulls in playlists and organizes everything for you.

   Lets check out some of the options that make Pocket Player 2.72 really shine. Tapping “menu” on the main screen, then “options” will bring you to the “Pocket Player Settings” tabs. The first one that comes up is the general tab, lets take a look at this.

   This brings up one of my favorite features of this program that I haven’t seen anywhere else. It may seem simple, but “turn screen off after xx seconds” is awesome. Neither Core or Windows Media Player would do this, forcing you to “dim” the screen by holding down the power button to save any battery life while just using the handheld as a music player. You can set the interval with this first pull down box to whatever you desire. Don’t worry though, if any screen from any program besides the main screen from Pocket Player is up, it won’t turn off the screen! I’ll spare you the “screen turned off with music still playing” screen cap, but take my word for it.

   The next tab is “playback.” I highly suggest using the crossfader on this screen. Anybody familiar with iTunes will love this feature. A crossfader is a tool used by DJs to blend the end of one song into the beginning of the next one. You can turn the crossfader on or off using the tick box next to “Crossfade.” Also, you can change how long of an interval at the end of the song is crossfaded. Too short an interval will not be noticed, and too long of an interval will cut off the end of your song. 4 seconds (the default) is a nice happy medium.

Next up we have the “Skins” tab. Nothing too fancy here that comes with the player. However, you can download more skins from Conduits’ website. This is where you would select which skin you want to use. You can also adjust the hue and saturation of the skin.

     Although the equalizer is nice, I highly suggest tweaking the DSP settings in the options menu under DSP. This feature can really add a new aspect to your audio files and you can listen to them like they were meant to be heard. It also can compensate for those two-dollar headphones you use with your five-hundred dollar Pocket PC.

   You can set your DSP settings in this menu and even adjust individual frequency bands for which the DSP will affect the sound. Try fooling around with these settings, they are highly dependent on what type of music you listen to, and how you like your music to sound so they will be different for everyone.

   Anybody with some Winamp experience probably knows, loves, and fears the plugin. I took a look at the installed plugins, as well as the ones available on the website. Currently there are only a handful of additional plugins to download, but the a developer pack is offered for free on the website which means there may be a surge of third-party plugins available for download at some point.

   The visualizations are accessible under the “Vis” tab. Included in the download is a pretty cool set of visualization plugins.

  You can change the visualization settings using the “Vis” tab. Check out the options available.

   We have a few options here. The speed you may want to leave alone because any higher and you will experience some serious slowdown. I do suggest changing “cycle colors” to on at the interval of your choice. What this does is every X seconds the visualization will fade into a new color. Way cool! You can experiment with the different visualization plugins available, as well as change the small visualization you see in the corner of the main screen by the equalizer. Regarding framerates – while the visualization wasn’t super smooth, it was plenty adequate to be enjoyable.

Next up lets take a look at the “Buttons” tab. Here is what it will look like when you pull it up.

   The default setup works fine for me, and is very easy to use especially when you don’t feel like taking out your stylus everytime you want to make a quick change to your volume, current song, etc… If you want to customize the hardware buttons, you can do it here very easily. Just follow the instructions on screen, select the function, then press a button. Also one cool thing you might want to consider is un-checking “Un-map buttons during background play.” If you don’t normally use the buttons, or there is a button you don’t use a lot, you can easily change songs, change volume or anything you want with just a button press while you are hard at work playing solitaire.

The associations tab is fairly self explanatory.

Here’s a shot of the advanced tab, which lets you gain a lot of control over how the program behaves.

HELP SUPPORT
    Everything was self explanatory. I had no problems figuring out the basic playback features and quickly picked up on the more advanced options. A full user guide is available online here.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
    Pocket Player 2.72 should run on all recent versions of Windows Mobile, including Smartphone. It will use up 1MB of your storage RAM and 4MB of your program RAM. It ran well on my Axim x51v on full power mode, and a little sluggish on normal and power save modes, so the more processor speed you have the better, especially if you want to use the visualizations.

BUGS AND WISHES
    The only bug I found was that the playlist will refresh on top of itself while scrolling. You have probably seen this in a lot of music players for your PC such as Winamp. This tends to happen when you have a large playlist, and is not a large issue. The three wishes I have for this program include native M4A support, network file support, and video playback. For some reason people create these M4A files that nothing will play. The network support is something I haven’t seen yet in a mobile player natively, but hey, it’s just a wish right? As far as the video playback goes, this program does music so well, I would trust them to handle my videos too.

PURCHASING
    Pocket Player is available for a reasonable $19.95 here. If you want to try it out, they have a 30 day demo available.

REVIEW: SFR visKeeper Version 3

SFR has recently released the v3 of visKeeper. visKeeper allows you to store all your data securely on your WM device. The past versions of visKeeper impressed me because of their simplicity. visKeeper stored all data securely and easily without having a long feature list. But this is what some users have criticized. Everyone wants to secure a specific kind of data and that with a special kind of solution. Therefore the new version 3 was eagerly awaited. This test will show whether visKeeper could satisfy the different user needs while maintaining the simple handling.

 

Read on!

Source The::Unwired

SmartsKeys Utility

If you are XDA or WM5 smartphone device user…

Smartskey is a little utility that enables mapping holding softkeys to close apps, open start menu, turn volume slider into scroll slider.  Makes one handed use a breeze. Must register with XDA Developers to download or use the link below.

The following functionality can be enabled by running the program:
• Tap soft key: orginal Soft Key functions
• Tap and hold left Soft Key: Start Menu
• Tap and hold right Soft Key: Close/OK button
• Volume Slider at the left = Page Up and Page Down
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=41060&sid=fe9919e547cea5c146f1de0d7156a30a

To reset to default, soft reset the phone.
To make the program run after reset, put a shortcut at /windows/startup
Smartskey now includes a configuration file so you can make your own settings like which Soft Keys to alter, whether to use the Close/OK function to really close or only hide a program and an exception list for the Close/OK function.
You can find Smartskey on
http://htcwizard.westlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/02/smartskey0.4.zip

Source here!

Complete Podcasting Solution for Windows Mobile

 

AcroDesign Technologies Launches New AudioBay, Introducing Podcasting to the Pocket PC AudioBay offers a complete podcasting solution for Pocket PCs—from recording to hosting Colchester, VT, USA (March 16, 2006)

AcroDesign Technologies today released the AudioBay Podcasting application for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. AudioBay provides everything needed to publish a podcast from a Pocket PC. Within a few minutes, users can record a podcast episode using the Pocket PC’s built-in recorder and upload it to the Web over a wireless Internet connection for immediate access by the public. Podcasting is the preparation and distribution of audio files for download to desktops and digital multimedia players, such as the iPod.

AudioBay makes this process simple and mobile: users can record podcasts from anywhere and the software saves the audio in a file and then uploads it to the AcroDesign Technologies’ hosting service. As soon as the podcast is uploaded it will be available to the public as an RSS feed to download and play on desktop PCs or mobile MP3 players. “We are excited to release the first software to allow mobile users to create and publish podcasts,” said Scott Thibault, president and founder of AcroDesign Technologies. “Podcasting offers a great new way to connect with an audience and has already become a major tool for communication. AudioBay enables anyone to become a broadcaster with their own portable recording studio.” “AudioBay is an integrated solution that let my students use their Pocket PCs to speak to the world,” said Mark Frydenberg, professor of Bentley College’s intensive Introduction to Information Technology course, where students use Pocket PCs to learn about technology. “Our students served as beta-testers of AudioBay, providing them an opportunity to experiment with podcasting and for AcroDesign to gain valuable feedback about their product.”

AudioBay retails for $24.95 and is available immediately from www.voiceatom.com. About AcroDesign Technologies. AcroDesign Technologies is a leading provider of consumer software for mobile devices. In addition to AudioBay, AcroDesign Technologies publishes the Webster’s New World Mobile Dictionary and the PocketLight Bibles. Based in Colchester, VT, USA, the company also publishes titles for Palm OS and Smartphone devices. For more information, visit http://www.acrodesigntech.com.

Convert Quicktime .mov to .avi

After taking some short video clips with my Nikon Coolpix 4300 I wanted to splice them together into a small production. The problem was that my camera only records in QuickTime, and my editing software doesn’t accept that format. So the seemingly simple task of converting the .MOV files to a workable format (such as .AVI) began. I quickly learned that most conversion programs are not free, and the demos typically have a banner at the bottom of the converted file advertising their product. When all seemed lost I happened to stumble across RAD Video Tools, a piece of software that makes the conversion of QuickTime videos to AVI fast and easy. The best part is, it’s free!

The RAD Video Tools consists of a conversion program that will quickly convert QuickTime video to a multitude of different formats, most importantly .AVI. This article will cover:

• a quick overview of how to use this software
• conversion format comparison
• extra features

How To Use The Software

Obviously the first step will be to download the software at RAD View’s Site. Install, and open the application. Here you will be able to enter several file types, but this article is geared towards QuickTime conversion. So select your .MOV file and click ‘Convert a file’.

Now select the ‘Output type’, here we’ll use ‘AVI file’, but the list gives a foretaste of the extra features section.

Then click ‘Convert’. Another window will be pop up requesting the Compressor to be used for the output video. The details of each option will be discussed shortly.

Click ‘OK’ to begin conversion.

Conversion Format Comparison

The original test video I used was 10.2 MB in size, and contained no sound. I then ran the same file through all of the compression types. The compression type, time, and output file sizes are below. Keep in mind that these tests were run on a Toshiba Satellite Laptop with a Pentium III processor, 196MB of RAM, running Windows 2000…not a stellar machine by any standards.

Conversion Ratios:

If you look closely through the list, you’ll see not all of the compression formats are listed. That is because they didn’t work for me, for one reason or another, probably due to missing codecs.

Extra Features

The RAD Video Tools offer features well beyond the scope of this article. A few noteworthy features include:

• Outputing to image files (e.g. BMP, GIF, JPEG, TGA, TIFF, PCX, PNG). Although this process is extremely time intensive, it will convert each frame into that file type. This is a much better approach to retrieve good quality individual frames from a movie, instead of taking a screenshot of a paused video. If you’re only looking for a specific shot, I recommend cutting the video down to the shortest form possible to save on processing time.
• “Tweakability” of the converted video. RAD allows the following features to take place while the conversion is occuring:
  • Cropping of the frame size
  • Selecting the beginning and ending frames
  • Adjusting contrast and brightness
  • Changing the quality of the sound
• Several of the compressions also allowed for a manual quality setting. In the above list some examples are given. This is particularly nice if you want to get an internet/streaming video down to the smallest acceptable size.

Closing Thoughts

While this article only touched the surface of RAD Video Tools’ usefulness, it does give an introduction to one feature that is usually difficult to accomplish with most other software packages. It was accomplished with minimal effort, and had suprisingly good results.

I have no ties with the company that produces this product, but it’s worth mentioning that if you do use the RAD Video Tools application and feel inclined to support it, they do accept donations on their website.

Source: Painintech.com

NewsGator goes Mobile!

Introducing smartRead

SmartRead began as a full blown news reader for Microsoft Mobile Devices a little over a year ago as a predecessor to SmartFeed, my mobile podcatcher. I stopped development on smartRead because there were already several news readers on the market that provided similar capabilities, and more importantly I personally did not find it to be a necessity. I spent the all of my time reading news on my PC?s aggregator. Entering url?s on device and keeping things in sync was too painful. I also was too pumped about smartFeed.

But I still had a pain to solve? what I really wanted on my device was a way to weed through the massive amount of feeds and posts that cluttered my aggregator. When the NewsGator API was announced, the light bulb went off, and I disabled all the pure aggregation functionality in smartRead in favor of dedicated integration with NewsGator. Now, I have a mobile application in smartRead that lets me scan my feeds and mark uninteresting feeds or posts as unread, and I do not have to bother with those items when I get back to my browser and visit NewsGator Online. With smartRead I have a mobile application that adds value!

Download here!

Destinator6

NAVIGATION: Destinator Technologies unveiled Destinator 6 for Windows Mobile

Destinator Technologies unveiled it’s latest navigation software for Windows Mobile at this year’s CeBIT: “Destinator 6″. Destinator 6 is the latest in a long line of solid product releases, building on the award winning “Destinator PN”, “ND” and “SP” software. Numerous enhancements make Destinator 6 faster and easier to use than ever. With more ingenious functions, features and a completely redesigned user interface, Destinator 6 delivers power and innovation that’s accessible by all. An extension of the TMC service will be introduced together with Destinator 6: Thanks to new technology it will be possible to have international, up-to-date traffic information for a one-time license fee. Destinator 6 will be the first mobile system to combine the use of freely available information broadcast by radio stations and realtime traffic flow data from premium specialist service providers (for example RAC Trafficmaster RDS TMC in the UK) transmitted straight to the navigation device. Only a one off fee is needed instead of the user paying for a rolling subscription. With road traffic volumes on the rise across Europe and some roads already at saturation point, this provides business and private users a crystal ball that enables them to save time and money by avoiding traffic jams long before actually reaching them. An exciting new feature showcased at the Destinator stand at CeBIT was navigation by means of destinations (“POIs”) which have been requested via SMS and will be available later in spring. A new service allows Destinator users to query address data via SMS on a mobile phone. This information can be used as a destination for immediate navigation. Destinator 6 will be available for both Pocket PCs and mobile phones later this spring with a single unified brand name: “Destinator 6″. Destinator was kind enough to provide a preview Beta of Destinator 6 and so far I can seriously say that Destinator 6 is the best Destinator ever! The new user interface makes the use of Destinator 6 that easy, that even a complete navigation newbie can easily find his way. Source; The::Unwired