video formats

While the LP revival is still in full swing you rarely hear about the other 12-inch, grooved vinyl record format, the RCA VideoDisc.

It was a grooved, carbon-loaded PVC disc. The grooves were 48 times smaller than an LP groove, but they were still tracked with a diamond "needle"! That was possible because unlike an LP's zigzag grooves the CED's grooves were hills and dales. That difference also minimized groove wear, so the discs could be played hundreds of times. VHS and Beta tapes would wear out faster than that. The VideoDisc also had stereo soundtracks.… Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week we had questions on the best format to use for keeping home videos, whether Rosetta could be hacked to install in Lion, power problems after a battery malfunction on MacBook systems, and the system requesting two log-ins with Filevault 2 enabled. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Best format for preserving home movies MacFixIt reader Jerry asks:… Read more

A couple weeks ago I told you how to get WonderFox DVD Ripper for free. (That offer has since expired, FYI.) Today, the company is back with a new giveaway, a program that's a fine companion to the previous one.

For a limited time, and exclusively for Cheapskate readers, you can get WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro (Windows) for free. The program normally sells for $29.95.

Update: The link appears to be broken, possibly owing to excessive traffic. I'm checking with the developer and will update again when I know more.

Update #2: The link seems … Read more

There are a lot of video file converters out there, and most of them are quite similar, allowing users to convert videos between different file formats. Free Convert XVID DIVX MP4 VOB FLV MOV Converter works--mostly--we can't say there was anything about it that particularly impressed us.

We had high hopes when we first opened the program. The interface is clean and intuitive, with large graphical buttons. We were excited to see that the program also includes a YouTube downloader, and we decided to try that first. We were disappointed to find that no matter which video's URL … Read more

MCS YouTube Downloader provides a smooth tool for converting online videos into many different formats. This program impressed us by offering an exciting function and performing it with incredible ease.

The program's interface is intuitive in every manner. The onscreen descriptions tell you exactly what to do, which gives a nice sense of being in control the entire time. It's easy to use: simply copy your favorite YouTube link and paste it into the appropriate field. This process makes saving your favorite YouTube moments surprisingly easy. You can save files in many different video and audio formats, which … Read more

Wikipedia users will be getting new tools for uploading, editing, and viewing video very soon. According to a Beet.TV interview with Erik Moller, who is the deputy director of the Wikimedia Foundation, we'll see all of these things shortly. However, what's more interesting is the Web encyclopedia's choice of video formats and how it fits into a fracas in the browser world.

Wikipedia has been working on video support for years, and is putting considerable effort into making it easier for users to upload video--specifically, to bridge a video format divide. Moller says that while Wikipedia … Read more

I've never been very good at giving up on old technology. I held on to my audio cassettes well into the compact disc era; my old Handspring Visor is still sitting in my desk drawer; and I admit that I still have an old Sony VCR taking up space underneath my TiVo.

And so I had a slightly nostalgic moment when I read this report from the Los Angeles Times that the last major supplier of VHS tapes has shipped its final truckload of the format. I know the VHS tape has been considered dead for years now, but … Read more

This video converter is made by Red Kawa, the same folks who now make the popular Videora iPod video converter. Although both programs are plagued by rampant advertising, the situation is much, much worse in this one. The ads take up much more screen space than they do in the iPod video converter, and the ones for the PSP include shrill voices excitedly informing the user that you have won not one but two, yes two, iPod Nanos. And judging from the included images, they're old Nano models at that.

Although freeware with ads can be annoying, the manner … Read more

Just when you thought there was finally a closure to the video format war, we've heard more news on the Chinese HD DVD specifications from TG Daily. With the world's largest population backing, the defunct Toshiba-led format will undoubtedly have high hopes for a comeback. CH-DVD uses a combination of HD DVD as well as Chinese proprietary video encoding, copy protection, and technologies.

On a separate note, Toshiba is betting its chips on a new DVD Download/DL standard that promises better picture quality and possible access to Web content. The former is widely believed to be based … Read more