Dr. DivX
Video Encoder
$29.99, DivX Inc.
DivX.com
Although this video-recording and file-conversion software enjoys a large audience among dedicated PC moviemakers, it remains a low-cost and powerful tool for amateurs.
The format for digital video called DivX lies at the heart of a movement to let low-budget moviemakers create files that are tightly compressed yet capable of superclear playback.
DivX.com is something of a gathering spot for people in this growing hobby, and it abounds with links to sites to download other people’s independent shows, plus a wealth of commercial productions.
Hollywood studios make available DivX formats of their trailers because the site draws serious movie lovers. But part of Hollywood hates DivX because the software can be used with plug-ins to illegally copy and compress commercial DVD movies.
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Try this and you will both break the law and discover that ripping DVDs is more trouble than it is worth. But when it comes to making one’s own films, Dr. DivX bristles with an arsenal of software to slice and dice various elements into finished products.
At top of the list is that DivX works as a digitizer’s Rosetta Stone–one can convert just about every flavor of video into DivX files, which are a subset of the AVI format. You can take a pile of QuickTime clips from Apple users and add a string of material in Microsoft’s WMV format and add in the MPEG formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4) and DV.
One standout feature transforms standard 4:3 ratio screens into 16:9 letterbox formats for widescreen TV.
Conversion is a matter of clicking three commands. Dr. DivX analyzes the targeted file with two different passes and then gives choices of output, including whether to add an outside audio track or change screen size.
Dr. DivX also encodes incoming video either from a digital camera connected by high-speed FireWire cables or analog video input cards.
MONITORS
Flat is where it’s at with Gateway LCDs
A new line of digital flat LCD monitors from Gateway (priced from $299 to $349; www.gateway.com) can be mounted on the wall like a plasma TV or swivel into portrait mode on the desktop to display far more Web pages than the world is used to.
VESA mounts handle wall hanging, and a $49 swivel stand lets users turn the screen up to 270 degrees. An on-screen menu quickly adjusts the data display to positioning changes.
STRONGTOOTH
Sing out loud; the world will help you
It is like walking into a record store and humming a few bars of an elusive tune for the clerk, without the public humiliation. Instead, plug a microphone into a computer and log on to NameMyTune.com, operated by Strongtooth Inc., and hum (or sing) for help.
Volunteers and users worldwide try to reply instantly with the song title. They do much better with “Eleanor Rigby” than “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”