For various reasons media databases within Windows can get corrupt.  Symptoms include music and other files never appearing in the library, incorrect artwork, changes made not registering etc etc.  Both Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player run off the same database, so errors in one will be seen in the other.

To fix the Windows Media Player database do the following:

1. Go to Start and type ‘services.msc’ into the search box.  This will start Windows Services
2. Scroll down the list of Windows Services until you find Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service.  Select it, and then in the top left hand of the window click on ‘stop the service’.
3. Now open Windows Explorer and go to ‘\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player’ replacing ‘YOUR USERNAME’ with the name of the user who’s database you want to reset.
4. Now in the folder you’ve opened, sort by filetype and delete all the Windows Media Library files.
5. Go back to stage 2 and restart the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service

Now, when you restart Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center the database will rebuild and your files will start to appear.  Be patient as this might take a while, but once complete your media database will be free of errors.

How To Fix A Broken Windows Media Player or Center Database is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I’ve been using an amazing computer program from DVBlogic in my home for just over a year that has transformed the way we watch tv within our household.  I have a very connected home and since 2007 all of my music, videos, dvds, blu-rays and photos have been stored on a central machine.

Now with DVBlogic DVBLink I’ve been able to add live and recorded tv to this equation, which are now shared not only within my home but also online, allowing me to watch any of my shows through a browser or on my iPad or iPhone 4.

Initially I had DVBlogic running on a Windows Home Server, but in the last year my ‘server’ machine has been running Windows 7 to reduce costs as I ditched WHS when I realised the new version would still not have Media Center integrated (I now have one machine storing the files and connected to my main TV, rather than one machine storing the files via WHS and a second running Windows 7 Media Center connected to a TV).

The diagram below best shows how DVBlogic works:

My ‘server’ is represented by the PC on the left, which is connected to my main TV.  Within this machine I have 4x Hauppauge  WinTV-Nova-HD-S2 TV cards each taking a feed from my Satellite.  DVBLogic’s TVSource product uses these cards and makes both the SD and HD channels available within Windows Media Center with full support e.g. guide listings, live tv, pausing tv, scheduled recordings etc etc.

My Four TV cards allow me to watch or record up to four channels at once.  There’s no limit on how many cards can be added and DVBLink TVSource even allows different types of cards to be mixed i.e. Satellite, Cable and Terrestrial TV channels can all be used together as DVBLink intelligently merges these channels.   TV cards that aren’t directly supported by Media Center such as DVB-C cards can also be used via DVBLink TVSource.

The real power of TVSource is unlocked though, when it is combined with DVBLink Network Pack which is depicted by the right-hand side of the diagram above.  Network Pack allows the tv cards on your PC to be shared with other devices including other Windows Media Centers. Without Network Pack if you wanted to watch live TV on other Media Centers, then each media center needed to have its own tv cards installed.  Now, TV cards installed on one PC are shared with other PCs.

In my household for instance, we have 4 Media Centers each running W7MC.  Network Pack serves up 4 virtual tuners for each of these machines, so across my home we can record and watch up to four shows at once.  So in room 1 we could be watching BBC1 HD and recording Sky 1, in room 2 my daughter could be watching BabyTV and in room 3 I could be recording the football – i.e. up to four channels streamed from one PC to the others.  Network Pack also manages tuner sharing so if two or more rooms are actually watching the same channel at the same time, only one tuner is used rather than two.  Using Recorded TV Manager 3, any recordings made are copied over to the ‘server’ allowing them to be watched from any machine at a later date.

UPNP enabled clients such as Sony Playstation 3 and almost any internet connected device such as ipads and iphones are also supported. Streaming live tv requires a reasonably powered PC, but if you find your PC struggling then there are settings available to reduce the picture quality.   The software is so fantastic that you can even use the online service to schedule recordings that you’ve realised you’ve forgotten or are going to miss because you are running late.

All of this costs just over 40 euros; an amazingly low price for such a great piece of software that is constantly being updated by the developers.  If you have more than one PC in your home or just want to be able to watch your TV online then investing in DVBlink is a no-brainer.  If you’re not sure if DVBLink is right for you, then you can try the product out free for 30 days.

More: DVBLogic

How To Watch And Share Your TV From Your PC In Your Home and Online is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

If you have ever had a list of songs or music files that when you launched them, you didn’t know anything other than the song name? Sometimes you knew the artist, sometimes not. If you launch iTunes, you may see Track 01, and “Unknown Artist.” TuneUpMedia can remedy this problem.

TuneUpMedia can analyze your collection of music, find identical versions against its 90 million database of songs and music and complete your music library with titles, artists names, and version type. Another interesting feature is that you can get cover art for your music. You can fill in the gaps with pictures of your recording stars, or with pictures of album covers. TuneUpMedia goes out and discovers the music and any connections to the song, artist, or album. It works with iTunes and Windows Media Player.

In a way this is like Google. If you were to type in Google, “Who were the Beatles” you would get several million hits that mention the Beatles. Some of those hits would be about the Fab 4, others about their music, their politics, their albums, and so on. Well TuneUpMedia, does something like that. It “searches” for corresponding information about your song or artist and fills in what those connections are.

One of those connections is an alert about upcoming concerts in your area with a performing artist that you select. Will Bjork be in a concert in the area soon? How about Massive Attack; will they be in concert soon and in my city? If the artist will have a performance in the area (same state), then you will be notified about it, and you can plan accordingly.

You can get information about the artist from other sites, like Wikipedia. This is available through the Tuniverse tab. You will also see a music video provided by YouTube. This certainly fills in a complement of information that you now have available about the artist.  You can also share information about your favorite artist, song or album with Facebook.

PC and Mac Versions

Users will also be happy to know that the TuneUpMedia program is available on both Mac and PC computers.

Here are the requirements for a PC connection. The operating system can be Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista or Windows 7. The Processor must be a Pentium 4 processor or greater; with Dual Core recommended, and 2GB RAM, and 20 MB free hard drive space. The digital music must be in MP3, M4A or WMA format. Fast Internet connection is preferred, like DSL, or Cable with no proxy or corporate firewall. Finally you need iTunes 7.4 or greater or Windows Media Player 10+.

Here are the requirements for a Mac. They recommend an Intel or PowerPC Machine running 10.4 or later with 1GB RAM, and you need at least 50MB free hard drive space (depending on your collection’s size). You need a fast cable connection such as DSL or Cable without a proxy or corporate firewall in place. The digital music format is MP3 or M4A and iTunes 7.4 or greater.

The activation code is for one per machine, regardless of PC or Mac, and if you upgrade the OS, this does not count as a transfer; re-enter the activation code or ask for the original code.

There are three versions available, TuneUp Gold which sells for $29.95 and comes with unlimited song cleanups, unlimited cover art, unlimited concert alerts and unlimited access to the Tuniverse. TuneUP annual goes for 19.95 and comes with 1 year of song cleanups and cover art. But you get unlimited concert alerts and access to Tuniverse. TuneUp Lite if free. However, you get 100 song clean-ups and 50 cover art saves. But, like the other two versions you get unlimited concert alerts and access to Tuniverse.

Overall, this is a great product if you want to manage your music collection.

To download the software, click here.

TuneUpMedia.com

TuneUpMedia – Review is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Technicolor has brought out a fairly interesting media targeted platform called MediaNavi. This brings to you the newest possible ways to make living rooms the most exciting place in your house. It is at the moment in the shape of a tablet that connects and shares applications that have been provided by the manufacturing company itself. It can even connect to mobile phones and supported set-top boxes to share information between devices. Its aim is to provide an immersive and online TV experience through one single platform that will compliment every other entertainment platform that you might be using. It was launched earlier this month at the CES2011 in Las Vegas.

Technicolor, as you have most commonly heard of it, is the same company that since 1914 has been processing Hollywood movies. So who better than them to give a brand new twist to viewing films and enjoying them. MediaNavi is programmed to be a smart remote control app that will learn the choices of its user and will perform accordingly. The Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Technicolor mentioned that MediaNavi provides one with simple and seamless interaction between the consumer and their IPTV by getting their smartphones and set top boxes in the mix. And this interaction will also be social.

The company is currently developing MediaNavi apps for iOS, Android, Windows CE and WebOS in order to fulfill this promise. To further work on the viewer experience, Technicolo has joine hands with TalkTalk in the UK. Both the companies have started working towards the future integration of MediaNavi in to consumer devices. The most interesting feature of this product is that MediaNavi logs you in simply by recognizing you through the tablet camera and then it can also switch on a channel of your choice. So all you have to do is look in to the tablet and the two things that you do everyday are done!

Simply put, it is an enhanced remote control that not only changes channels for you but also navigates the varied forms of media especially via set-top box or the BBC iPlayer. It will automatically put forward the channels that it thinks you would like to watch or the sites you would like to browse through without you making the slightest effort to search for any of it. It will also provide various other content suggestions from different sources based what it has learned about you. Apart from this, there are many other apps that will keep you busy throughout your stay at home. Soon, it will also tell you who you should vote for and order health food for you because it thinks you need to lose weight to achieve your optimum BMI. Okay, so they are not really planning to do that but if this thing really learns so much about your tastes, it might as well expand its horizons a bit.

The MediaNavi library will show you what apps and/or lists are available at the moment along with the ones that you have stored on the device. It includes Live Guide, which shows you the channels that are on right now, as well as content available on the TV content from friends and authority sources. All of this goes hand in hand with social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. MediaNavi is definitely an ambitious project because it seeks to unite a market that is essentially one of the most fragmented ones in the consumer electronics segment. However, if it does succeed, it will add yet another gadget to your collection to marry all your other gadgets in to one viewing experience.

MediaNavi- The New Remote Control App For Homes is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Samsung has high hopes for this year. They are targeting a 15% growth in the sales of flat-screen TVs in 2011 to 45 million units and hope to more than double shipments ofthe pricier LED sets. Also, it’s going to want us to keep using those special glasses for 3D sets.

Samsung plans to increase its sales of 3D TVs by four times this year, reaching up to 8-9 million units. Simultaneously, it also aims to promote Internet enabled TV sets to push up margins as severe price competition keeps profits razor-thin. In addition to all this, Samsung aims to sell 12 million Internet-enabled TVs in 2011, which sport access to its own TV Appstore, video-streaming site Hulu and social networking sites such as Twitter. The 12 million would make up 27 percent of its total TV shipments this year if achieved.

Like most other TV manufacturer, the recession made Samsung take quite the hit in sales and revenue. As a result, the company failed to inspire consumers with newer models. On the other hand, all the major competitors, from LG Electronics to Sony — showed improved versions of 3D and “smart” TVs at the CES2011 held earlier this month, hoping to grab a bigger slice of an emerging market where no single player has emerged dominant so far.

The fight over the connected living room, which enables viewers to hook up TVs to the Web and hence access shows and software stored in the cloud as well as on personal computers, is not short of aspirants with technology heavyweights from Google and Microsoft to Apple all joining the fray. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
At the CES in Las Vegas this year, Samsung booked the biggest show offering a showcase of a wide range of products from smart phones and tablets to PCs and cameras. It was mainly focused on Internet enabled and 3D TVs, betting on the global the Smart TV market to grow to 30 million units this year. It is expected that 21 percent of all TVs shipped in 2010 had internet connectivity and the segment is expected to grow at double-digit rates over the next four years, swelling to 122 million units by 2014 as estimated by research firm DisplaySearch.

The market for 3D sales wasn’t good for Samsung owing to the high prices and having to use heavy glasses. Samsung plans to bring in better and improved models this year. Samsung, which controlled more than 50 percent of the global 3-D TV market last year, is pushing for the active-shutter technology, which requires special glasses with batteries, chips and switches to synchronize with the 3D content on the TV sets. Some producers, led by Japan’s Toshiba, are introducing glasses-free 3D sets also, while LG Electronics is placing a bet on a new display called Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) that makes glasses much lighter because they do not need to be electronically activated.
Samsung’s Yoon said that in the current scenario, striving after glasses-free 3D displays is not a practical move. Especially for larger displays sets. It makes viewing angles impractically narrow and takes more away from the TV experience than it gives. Hence, according to him it will actually be a deterrent to the growth of 3D TV sets.
However, the general tone in the consumer is that they do not want to use special glasses while watching TV. Also, people with corrective glasses have a tough time with 3D content because the 3D glasses are obviously not designed to be worn over existing glasses. So it remains to be seen what actually becomes of the hardly a year old market.

Samsung Aims High In TV Market Despite Setbacks is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

A couple of months ago YouTube made the news when they announced that they now supported full, 1080p HD video on its site. This was great news for many people, as nearly all PC’s and Laptops now a days come with HD screens and with YouTube being built into more and more HD TV’s it was welcomed by the masses.

But now, last Friday, YouTube announced that it’s player now supports 4k. Now most of you probably have no idea what that is. Well the resolution of full HD is 1920×1080 pixels, the resolution of a video shot in 4k is 4096×3072 pixels. So it’s nearly 4 times the size of standard HD videos. It’s even bigger than iMax, which projects films in 2k with a 2048×1080 resolution.

YouTube have even put up a special playlist of 5 videos that you can watch in their original 4k quality which you can watch here.

However I don’t think any of you will be able to enjoy the full experience of 4k just yet anyway. Firstly, you need a mega fast broadband connection to even consider streaming the video in the first place. I have a 7 mb connection and I couldn’t get decent playback when I tried to watch them. Secondly, how many of you have displays that support 4k resolution? Very, very few of you, I think would be the right answer.

In order to watch 4k video properly, you need a 4k compatible projector or a super large screen with a resolution of 4096×3072 pixels, neither of which will you find cheap, in fact you’ll struggle to find them in your local electronic store.

What’s more, streaming 4k video still means it has to be compressed like standard HD and since they’re so much larger, you’ll be watching playback at a much lower bit rate than the original. So once you blow up the video onto the big screen, you can notice compression artifacts fairly easy.

So it’s great that YouTube are looking to the future and gearing up for 4k, but could you give us a chance to all catch up to HD first? 4k videos are only going to choke up our bandwidth and nobody has the right gear to experience them properly. You wont notice any difference between them and standard HD unless you blow them up a million times and look at them through a magnifying glass!

The ideal screen size for a 4k video is 25 feet wide, and 4k cameras cost 100,000′s of dollars and so do the projectors which are the size of a refrigerator. I don’t think we’re ready to experience 4k just yet somehow.

YouTube Now Supports 4K Resolution – So What….. is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

According to comsScore.com, a leader in measuring the digital world, YouTube.com “achieved record levels of viewing activity in May with an all-time high of 14.6 billion videos viewed and surpassing the threshold of 100 videos per viewer for the first time.”

This is quite an achievement in showing how the face of computing entertainment is changing the direction of consumer computers. The PC has acquired a new more traditional status, as an entertainment device. But it is a novel status at the same time since the way that it is acquiring a new dimension is by adding features that are old and well developed.

What features? Well YouTube is actually a television for the computer. Small short videos that would never make it to the big screen or to a regular television, find plenty of expression on the Internet. Just like writers that want to publish but can not get a book or story published, YouTube is a way for directors to make their videos and have them shown world wide. Such videos may make a Hollywood director at some point in time in the future. That remains to be seen.

But here are the numbers. In May, U.S. Internet users watched nearly 34 billion videos. Google toped out taking the top spot with 14.6 billion videos. This was about 43 percent of all videos viewed online. ComScore says that YouTube accounted for the vast majority of videos viewed at the site. Hulu came in second with 1.2 billion videos, or 3.5 percent of all online videos viewed, a slight increase from April. Microsoft Sites ranked third with 642 million (1.9 percent), followed by Vevo with 430 million (1.3 percent) and Viacom Digital with 347 million (1.0 percent).

Rankings based on video content sites; excludes video server networks. Online video includes both streaming and progressive download video.

.

Rankings based on video content sites; excludes video server networks. Online video includes both streaming and progressive download video.

.

Source: comScore

You Tube Reaches Milestone: 14.6 Billion Videos Viewed in May is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

United Airlines and Microsoft have announced that they’ll soon be working together to offer Zune audio to customers on their flights as reported on the Supersite for Windows.

AP: United Airlines said Thursday it has equipped all of its planes with Microsoft Corp.’s Zune digital audio service.

The airline said passengers can listen to up to 21 different playlists programmed by Zune, from classic rock to classical music and soundtracks.

Airlines are busy adding diversions to keep passengers entertained and, in the case of wireless Internet access, make more money. Southwest and other carriers are experimenting with charges to see how much passengers will pay to surf the Web or read e-mail at 30,000 feet.

It always good when airlines offer services to help keep passengers entertained, even when they may charge extra for them.  It’s another indication that Microsoft are keep to push the Zune brand into new markets.

This news comes after we heard that Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 operating system will synchronise with PCs through the Zune media player software.  This is excellent software that you don’t need to own a Zune to use, and that finally spells the death knell for Windows Media Player, which has become awful in recent years.

The airlines aren’t yet offering such services to their passengers when they need them most, in the airport having long waits for their planes to board, but it’s a start and perhaps we can look forward to this in the future.

United Airlines to offer Zune Audio on Flights is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Syabas Technology said it will ship a $129 Internet-based Audio/Video streaming set-top box (STB) in the first half of 2010. But for the time being the company has released the popbox SDK 1.0, allowing developers to create Flash applications that use the popbox API. When the Popbox is released there will be a new interface that includes “infopops” which shows off features like the weather, Twitter feeds, and other information. The interface also has a cover-flow-like visual thumbnails choice for audio, videos, and other information. A global search will be included as well.

The PopBox is essentially based on the same internal hardware design features as its Popcorn Hour predecessor. But it will be without the option of an internal hard drive. It will also lack the ability to provide media streaming server functions (“networked media tank”) on the home LAN.

Here are some of the Software Features that PopBox has available

PopBox

The PopBox has a redesigned user interface, from the PopcornHour product with a more finished-looking case, 2 gigabytes of internal nonvolatile flash storage, plus a new, application platform where third-party-developed applications can be downloaded directly into the device. Also modifications have been made to the media-server functions; some have been omitted,. The results are a simpler, less expensive device.

PopBox Apps

The interface can handle Flash, Java and QT so Netflix is now available. Other content available is Hulu, CBS and ABC. It will now feature the in-video ads required for playback. Content from Twitter, Facebook, Revision3, Shoutcast MP3, and other Popcorn Hour will rollover to the new box.

For video, 1080p at 100Mbps will be supported, along with the standard MPEG formats. The player will also carry most subtitle files, including the proprietary on from Microsoft. For streaming, the Popbox will recognize iTunes via Bonjour, and DLNA and UPnP sources.

PopBox Applications

Source: DeviceGuru

popbox Developer Center

Syabas Technology’s PopBox Awaiting Release is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

As of today, owners of the Nintendo Wii gaming console will be joining the Xbox and Playstation in their ability to stream content from Netflix. On Thursday the company announced that they had begun shipping the discs required to stream content to the Wii.

Netflix has been available on the Xbox and Playstation for quite some time now, but owners of the Nintendo Wii have been waiting quite a while for this now after they were told a while back that it would be coming, but no release date was given.

Source: Engadget

So as part of the “Final Phase” of Netflix’s plans, it has now shipped out the disc required to stream content to it’s customers in the US who requested it and they should be arriving from today onwards. However it’s only a gradual roll out and only those who registered their interest will be receiving the discs as Netflix plan on “using the feedback it gains from those users to improve issues with the service prior to its official launch” according to marketing exec Jessie Becker in a blog post.

Now that Netflix is available on the Wii, it completes the companies goal to get their service on all three of the major gaming devices. However the Xbox 360 is the only console that has built in support for Netflix and doesn’t require an additional disc to stream content.

Netflix have refused to say how many discs they sent out or when they plan to roll this service out fully to everyone else, but existing Netflix subscribers can register for their disc now. Any Netflix member with an unlimited plan for $8.99 per month or higher, a broadband connection, and a Wii console will be able to access the service at launch. To sign up, reserve a copy of the Wii disc online, and Netflix will send you an e-mail once it launches.

But do Nintendo Wii owners really want Netflix on their consoles, especially when you consider that the Wii isn’t capable of HD playback, it can only manage a mere 480P and it’s not really set up to be a home entertainment system like the Xbox or Playstation.

What do you think,

Is there really much demand for Netflix on the Wii?

Let us know in the comments

Source:

Cnet

Netflix Comes To The Wii is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The speculation surrounding the possible launch of products in this last month has been at the greatest I’ve known for a long time.  One of those products is the much heralded Zune phone, but will it happen?

Certainly the evidence is good.  Microsoft recently posted a job ad for a Zune test engineer with…

Working knowledge of cell-phone 2G and 3G technologies

They have also announced certain details about the forthcoming Windows Mobile 7.  They have said that it will come in Professional and Media variants which hints strongly at the Zune software and interface being integrated into the mobile OS.

Finally there’s the fact that the Zune itself and the newer Zune HD media players haven’t been doing well sales-wise, and a Microsoft Zune Phone could offer the brand a much needed shot in the arm.

But will it actually happen?  I don’t think so.  Microsoft isn’t the type of company that most people would expect to launch it’s own phone handset.  Even the Google-branded phone was made by premier handset manufacturer HTC, as HTC proudly display on their own website.  So it’s not a Google phone at all.

I really don’t expect to see a Microsoft-branded phone appear, well at any time really.  It’s much more likely that the Zune brand will be heavily promoted as part of Windows Mobile 7 Media Edition.  This is something that will not only give a huge boost to Zune but also to the image of Windows mobile and to the fortunes of a great many handset manufacturers, many of whom have tried and failed to provide a phone media player experience that’s as good as the iPhone.

I may be wrong on this, but I believe the fevered speculation that’s appeared should be tempered by some common sense.  While it would certainly make for an interesting product, it just doesn’t seem very likely.

Zune phone coming? Probably not is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Sony’s wildly expensive XBR8 televisions hit in 2008, and showed us all that LCD could finally reach the lofty heights of image quality attained previously by plasma. Sure, LCD performance and image has improved as time has gone by, but the predominant factor in the XBR8′s visual excellence was the addition of LED backlighting.

Samsung, LG and Toshiba got on the bandwagon in 2009. Samsung offered a mixed bag. Their top of the line 8500 series was outstanding, but their lesser LED sets were not impressive. This was due to them being side lit instead of back lit. Side lit LED sets have a very sexy, thin profile, but they are incapable of the feat that makes LED sets so attractive in the first place: local dimming.

In an LED backlit television, the LEDs are arranged in a matrix behind the panel. Dimming individual LEDs is what allows these sets to attain previously impossible black levels and dark detail reproduction. We are talking inky black, which in turn really makes the colors pop. It really was the final hurdle for LCD, and these sets heralded the dawn of a new age of inexpensive LCDs with videophile imaging.

Why not just get a plasma? Best image quality, I mean the things look like liquid running good material. Prices are down. Screens are bigger. They wear out fast, that’s why. If you live in a house with a spouse and children, chances are your tv is on a lot. In a world where my tv was in a sealed room and only got used for movies, I would own a plasma. That’s not my world. My tv sees a lot of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network duty during the day, and when I get home and the kids are sleeping I want to enjoy my toy and pop in the latest Blu Ray or stream some HD content off the web. LED LCD is just the thing.

What about DLP? In 2010 DLP is dead. Dead as in door nail. Mitsubishi is the only manufacturer still offering DLP sets. Yes, you can get a huge screen dirt cheap, but the image doesn’t cut it anymore. Five years ago LCD was not ready for TV duty, and technologies like DLP and LCoS kept rear projection alive. In 2010 it’s no contest. LCDs have improved exponentially, while DLP is still the same old DLP.

what does LED add to the equation?

1. They’re green. LEDs consume very little power.
2. They’re durable. LEDs run a long, long time before failing. Also, their light output doesn’t suffer appreciably while they wear.
3. Local dimming. The star of the show. The reason that LED LCD can offer incredible blacks, dark detail and eye popping color.

Both the LG LH90 series and Toshiba’s SV670U series were universally lauded as being darn close to the best that plasma or LCD could offer. This was great news for consumers, as both of the 55″ models in these two series were under $3000. 2010 promised to be a great year for someone in the market for a new TV, because generally technology gets better and cheaper with the passage of time.

However, at this year’s CES I was stunned. The manufacturers showed LED sets all right. The problem was that, with the exception of Vizio, the matrix backlit models all occupied the upper stratosphere of their model lines, with the televisions they are offering for 2010 that occupy the price tiers that most of us will be looking at were side lit. They decided that we value lifestyle over performance. Unbelievable.

Am I ignoring Vizio? No. They have become a big player in LCD television in a few short years. Their prices are excellent. Their TV is very good for the money. For me, they have to prove that their quality is on par with the established brands before I include them in the same conversation as Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, LG, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sharp and Mitsubishi.

The fact of the matter is that the average consumer is not terribly informed, and won’t be going into the showroom with the same critical eye that I do. Chances are that people will only get to see these sets in the showroom with a cable or satellite high def feed. Frankly, I would be hard pressed to find all the fatal flaws in a set under those conditions. People will notice the sexy form factors, so perhaps the manufacturers know exactly what they’re doing.

If you’re like me, you want the very best possible image and audio you can afford. Don’t be fooled by all these new sets coming out in 2010. Yeah, they’re pencil thin. They have built-in internet crap like YouTube and Netflix. They also have inferior image quality than the 2009 models I mentioned. As for the internet stuff, I guarantee that your next Blu Ray player will have that built-in, so it really doesn’t matter if your tv doesn’t have it.

If you can afford one of the higher end LG or Toshiba sets, then more power to you. If your budget isn’t quite as ambitious, you need to get out there right now and see if you can get one of the LG xxLH90 or Toshiba xxSV670U sets while they are still available. At this writing the 55″ LG can be found out there for around $2500, less if you’re lucky. This set has been discontinued, so once they’re gone, they’re gone. This set has a matte screen, so if your viewing room is bright this may be the better choice for you since the Toshibas have a glossy screen that is very sexy, but also very reflective.

The Toshiba 55SV670U is currently selling for as low as $1799. This set has incredible performance for that price, and you should take a hard look at it if you’re in the market for a new television. Just do it quick, because it may not be long before these disappear now that the 2010 models have been announced.

Why You May Want To Hurry Up On That LED LCD is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The Consumer Electronic Show ( CES ) is going on right now in Las Vegas and there is a host of new tech being revealed. One of the first things we’ve heard is that Skype and some high-definition TV suppliers have announced that they will offer video conferencing for home users in a few months.

Source:Engadget

LG and Panasonic are set to feature built in Skype support in their TV’s and allow 720p video calling right in your living room. In addition to purchasing a Skype compatible TV, you will also have to buy an additional webcam and mic as they won’t be built into the TV’s. Skype estimates that about one-third of Skype calls already include video. The new service in partnership with LG and Panasonic will enable users to use TVs in their living rooms to accommodate several viewers at the same time.

These webcams include specially-designed microphones which let you make calls from the comfort of your sofa, without having to move closer to the TV or shout*. And the TVs from Panasonic and LG will even allow you to make HD video calls.

PC users haven’t been left out either with 720p HD streaming built into the latest version of Skype and new webcams on the way from faceVsion and In Store Solutions. Like the ones planned for the TVs, they handle video processing onboard so even older computers or underpowered netbooks can support HD streaming without too much trouble. The great thing about Skype is it’s free and it will be remaining that way and their will be no additional charge for using it on your TV, apart from the Hardware expenses. Skype also recommend that you have a minimum of 1mbps broadband connection for “the best possible video experience”. You can see more from Skype including a video here

Skype Coming To Your HDTV is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I’ve never personally had a problem with videos loading but it appears You Tube feels this is a problem that needs to be addressed. Of Course for users with a low speed internet connection or on a mobile device this new ” Feather ” edition of You Tube may be just what your looking for.

This ” Feather ” edition of You Tube is now available as an opt-in beta, Feather attempts to make the whole You Tube experience more lightweight, quicker and simpler. You can opt-in to the beta here but remember You Tube are saying “It is a work in progress and may not work for all videos”

Feather does a number of things in an attempt to speed up the You Tube experience. For example it resorts to the original quality video playback as it’s default instead of “High Quality” or “High Definition”. It also removes features such as the ability to change the players size ( full screen mode is still available ), but gone are the “open in a new window” and the ” Turn down the lights feature”. Video replies and also options to change the embedded options are gone, as well as the auto suggest from You Tube’s search bar.

Comments are limited to just 10 and users are now unable to vote on or respond to them. Related videos are still there, but this time there is only 5, compared to the normal amount of 21. The option of more info for a video description also seems to be gone as well and less detailed account information is available when you are logged in (Number of unread messages etc..)

The “Feather” project is intended to serve YouTube video watch pages with the lowest latency possible. It achieves this by severely limiting the features available to the viewer and making use of advanced web techniques for reducing the total amount of bytes downloaded by the browser

So if your looking to speed up your video experience why not give it a go, I would especially recommend it if you have a slow internet connection and are having to wait for a video to load before you can watch it. Just opt in here, but remember that it’s still in beta so some glitches are bound to occur, and it appears it’s mainly more popular videos that are supporting this feature at the moment. And if you find it’s not for you, it’s easy to opt out with the green button on the bottom right.

What you think of this feature, does it speed up your video load times? Let us know in the comments

See the below picture from Cnet to see the differences yourself

Source:

YouTube

Cnet

You Tube Now Testing Lighter “Feather” Version is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I’ve been Christmas shopping since the middle of October. The upside of that is that I am almost finished. The downside is that I keep finding cool new stuff or really great deals and I am spending more on Christmas than I really should. That’s ok, a guy could have worse problems than spending too much on the people he loves at Christmas.

Enough of this altruism. Since I’ve been spending so much time taking care of everybody else, I figured I better get my list in to Santa so I have something under the tree with my name on it.

Dear Santa,

I’ve been really good this year. If it isn’t too much trouble I would very much like some or all of the following:

1. LG 55LH90 55″ LED LCD Television My 52″ DLP is now five years old and it’s time to move on. The 55LH90 offers incredible color and blacks and dark detail that were previously unattainable in big LCD displays. This panel offers picture quality that can only be bested by televisions costing much more, and I already plan to buy one right after the holidays. You can save me about $2500 bucks here Santa, I’d appreciate it.
   
   

   LG 55LH90 55\

2. Motorola Droid While I’m still waiting on the rumored HTC Dragon before I get a new plan, I wouldn’t be averse to settling for a Droid now. I’m sure I could make do. This is the wireless phone that made me itch after five years of not owning one.
   
   

   Motorola Droid

3. Camangi WebStation While I have a laptop, a 17″ laptop isn’t really the thing for anywhere around the house web use. A tablet would be really handy for checking Woot while watching a movie with the wife, or reading windows7news.com while using the bathroom. I know I asked for a Droid, which could do the same thing, but a larger screen would be nice. Thanks Santa.
   
   

   Camangi WebStation

4. The Internet Is A Playground David Thorne is the funniest guy on the web. 27bslash6 has been one of my favorite sites of late. If you haven’t been, go check it out. I like it so much I want the gear. Especially his book, The Internet Is A Playground. I would really like this book for Christmas Santa, and I wouldn’t complain if you threw in a 27bslash6 t-shirt or two.
   

   The Internet Is A Playground by David Thorne

5. I Got Flamed by Theo de Raadt t-shirt Dear Santa, even though this t-shirt is of my own design and may appear to be a selfish request, I am indeed collecting all of the available pseudoexpert.com merchandise. I only have the coffee mug at this time, so any of it would be welcome, but especially this t-shirt. I have actually been flamed by Theo de Raadt, so I feel I would be qualified to wear the shirt. Also, I feel that $31.45 is a bit steep for a t-shirt, and I may not get one unless you help me out. Thanks Santa.
   

   I got flamed by Theo de Raadt t-shirt

Thanks Santa, I really appreciate it.

It’s a great year for tech and internet minded people like Connected Internet readers to look forward to some really cool presents and stocking stuffers. From all of us at Connected Internet, thanks for reading and have a great Black Friday and a safe holiday season.

Dear Santa: My Holiday 2009 Wish List is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The cell phone industry is a fast developing one and technology changes at break neck pace here. Ever since its inception a few years back, Apple’s iPhone captured a considerable part of the high end cell phone segment. It brought the touch screen revolution in the smart phone market and companies like RIM and Palm followed suit with their incarnations of touch screen enabled high end smart phones. The launch of Palm Pre has posed a challenge to the iPhone 3GS and Apple is gearing up to counter the competition.

When Palm started advertising for the Pre earlier this year it highlighted that the device can sync to iTunes, which is a music playback software owned by Apple. Apple was quick to retaliate and said that iTunes won’t support third party music devices. The recent update to iTunes is meant to thwart the syncing capabilities of Pre with the software.

However, Palm is not likely to give up so easily. After all, it has put a lot of effort and thought in designing the Pre which is being touted as its flagship product. As of now Apple has edged ahead in the battle. The Pre users who upgrade to iTunes newest version 9.02 will not be able to sync their phone with the software. This is a setback to Palm as it managed to re enable iTunes support for its OS barely a month back. To manage a workaround Palm is said to have approached the USB-IF. It alleged that Apple deviated from USB-IF’s membership technology but the forum has given its verdict in favor of Apple.

Apple Updates iTunes To Ensure Incompatibility With Palm Pre-Smart Phones is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The first thing I do after hearing a song I like is look for its lyrics online. I want to make sure whether or not the tune and lyrics repeatedly being played in my head, are the ones the singer intended. And looking for the right lyrics can become slightly inconvenient if I keep in mind the exclusiveness of the media player (on which the song is being played) and the internet browser (which is displaying the lyrics).

Now with Lyrics Plugin, you can see and read the lyrics while the song is being played, all in the same media player.

Currently this nifty plug-in is available for the latest versions of Winamp and the Windows’ native Media Player. Good news for you Windows 7 users out there: yes, the plug-in is also compatible with Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 7.

Recognizing that most users use Windows Media player, in this review we’ll be having a look at the Lyrics Plugin with Windows Media Player.

To get started, click on the ‘Download Now’ button located above the Windows Media Player icon. Following this, a minuscule file of ~80 KB will be instantly downloaded and installed.

Here is how the plugin on Windows Media Player 11 will look like:

You don’t search/browse/look for anything! All you do is select a song to play and the plugin does the rest! It searches the internet for lyrics and displays on the white space. It’s that simple!

Of course the internet might not have lyrics available for each and every song. In a situation like that, this image will appear on the left of the Windows Media Player:

After the song title and artist, you can see a blank screen and three options. You can either manually search the web for lyrics (by clicking on ‘Search Google’) or you can write up your own lyrics (by clicking on ‘Edit’).

With its tiny size, and perfect functionality, Lyrics Plugin is a must-have for all song enthusiasts!

Add Lyrics to Your Media Player with Lyrics Plugin is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Some of the best songs achieve their iconic status through the help of amazing music videos. To find music videos for the songs you like, you often need to search online video hosting websites. And the first name that comes to mind when thinking of such websites is YouTube.

Searching for music videos on YouTube is a time-consuming task and requires the webpage a new webpage to load with every click. However with TubeRadio you can search for music videos on YouTube without the time delays caused by loading of unnecessary items.

TubeRadio is a simple-to-use online media player that quickly searches for music videos on YouTube after obtaining an artist name from the user.

Before using this free web service, you need to register for a free account which is a really fast process. Having done that, you can now log on to TubeRadio.

When you first start off with TubeRadio, you are presented with a video at the bottom of the screen which lets you know how to use the web player. It only starts loading if you click on it, so if you’re familiar with TubeRadio, just ignore the tutorial.

The topmost text field (where the text is highlighted) is where you enter the artist’s or band’s name. Let’s give TubeRadio a try with one of my favorite bands, Kings of Leon. I entered “Kings of Leon” into the text field and hit the Return/Enter key on the keyboards. Here were the results:

By default, the first category of results that is shown to you is the artist’s discography. From here you can choose entire albums or individual albums to add into a playlist that you create. You can stream for free or buy the album from Amazon, TubeRadio presents you with all options.

To head over to video, click on the YouTube tab right next to Discography:

All available videos on YouTube are quickly displayed. From here you can also see the songs/videos already added to one of your playlists. Just by clicking on any one of the videos, the bottom video is refreshed into the one you want to watch. No time is wasted on page loading, only the video is loaded which saves you precious time.

Moreover with TubeRadio you can access public playlists created by other users. Say you want searched for Metallica and want to add all their albums to your ‘Metallica’ playlist. Selecting to play a public playlist titled ‘Metallica’ would be a lot faster than selecting all the Metallica albums and then adding them to your list. The public playlists can be accessed by clicking on the Public Playlists tab once your search has been completed.

TubeRadio is a wonderful nifty online video player which lets you enjoy your favorite songs by watching their videos.

Find, Organise And Listen To Music Videos On The Web is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

After a long wait and prolonged beta testing Microsoft has finally released Windows 7, touted as the ultimate next generation OS. Apart from fixing the performance and security glitches of its predecessor Vista, the new OS has also been shipped with a spanking new media player. Windows media player 12 sports several new playback and network sharing features that are supposed to give the users thrilling multimedia experience. It has got a cool and sleek looking interface.

The library feature of Windows 7 exists in WMP 12 as well. Therefore, the application will search for music files in a virtual folder named music library. It is actually a folder consisting of various user made folders placed in the hard drive. The OS deals with music consolidation in this case, in lieu of the media player itself. WMP 12 also has a video library that is identical to the music library. The major improvement in the video playback department is that WMP12 features native support for popular and widely used video formats like h264 and Xvid. The users no longer need to use third party codecs for playing those files on their computers.

WMP 12 also supports sideshow even though it should not be compared to a standalone photo organizer. If you have a number of digital media players syncing them with WMP 12 is a cakewalk. The users find media browsing in their home or office network a cumbersome will love the network sharing features of WMP12. Streaming music and video over a home network is fairly easy and straightforward. It works perfectly with the editions of Windows Vista too.

It seems that Microsoft has concentrated on improving the video handling capabilities of WMP 12 more than the audio. In a Windows 7 based PC, the users can take the help of hardware decoding. It means that WMP 12 can utilize the graphics card for video playback while the majority of media players still consume CPU resources for the job.

With WMP 12, creating a playlist and adding files to it is as easy as it gets. Thereafter, one can send the playlist to portable media players as well as MTP devices. If a media player does not recognize a particular audio file, WMP tries to convert it. Usual features like CD ripping, Internet radio and TV recording are all there in the application. Even if one does not use WMP, he can benefit from it if he possesses a MTP player. The MTP drivers in a PC are handled by WMP.

However, Microsoft has given the application a real boost in the performance section. Earlier versions of WMP earned brickbats from the users for their resource guzzling nature. Surprisingly enough, WMP 12 consumes less CPU resources. In fact, running the application on low speed net books would not be a problem. It is likely to find favor with those Windows users who prefer third party media players like VLC player or Win-Amp. From the early tests, WMP 12 has emerged a winner and with gradual penetration of Windows 7 worldwide it is likely to grab a major user base.

WMP 12 Makes Its Debut With A Plethora Of Useful Features is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

There’s a rock star wannabe within all of us. We’ve all rocked out to our favorite tunes. But only a small minority of us can actually get up and create good music. If you’re in the majority, like myself, then your rock star dream is going to come true at a minor, but significant level.

Say hello to Soundation. Soundation is a free web service that lets you mix up awesome beats and create truly original music.

First important thing to mention is: all you need is an internet browser and some speakers/headphones. There’s no registration required, no files to install, not anything! All you do is click on the link and be taken to the Soundation player that runs from within your internet browser.

From the screenshot of Soundation pasted above you can see how it’s laid out. To the left you can see the modifiable audio channels and to the top, the menu bar. When you’ve selected a new song from File in the Main Menu, head over to the right where the beats are. Soundation is currently in its beta stage and it already contains over 400 royalty free audio loops. You can choose the sound and drag it into the plane in the middle. You can overlap your audio clips, repeat them, match their tempo to your overall song, or tweak with the audio channels.

Once you’re done making your beat/song/tune you can either choose to save it as a WAV file on your PC or you can have Soundation publish it on the web as a MP3 and give you the link.

Soundation is a truly amazing web service that lets musical amateurs and professionals alike have a lot of fun.

Create Music And Mix Awesome Beats Online is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The number of digital media players available on the internet is countless. Usually so many features are packed in that music accessibility is replaced as the first priority but something else. Today we explore a media player, Soundbase, the simplicity of which makes it a pleasure to use.

The setup file for Soundbase is only ~7 MB large. The interface is very user-friendly and novices will catch on quire easily. The first run will ask you to add your music folder. Soundbase will instantly built its library, unlike other player which take quite some time to complete the process.

Soundbase can play many popular audio formats (MP3, OGG, APE, FLAC) and enables you to convert not only individual songs, but entire albums:

The user can also copy albums to different locations and rip/burn discs.

In conclusion, Soundbase is a user-friendly digital media player which, while packing many modern features, keeps it simple to access your music.

A Simple Music Player You’ll Fall In Love With is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

According to the inside sources, the iPhone honcho Apple has been reported of introducing a new application to its iPhone and iTouch which will inculcate FM radio to the device. If the reports are believed to be true then the move will be add another feather to the cap of Apple, which is currently being listed as one of the leaders in the iPhone market. This latest developments from Apple’s side was confirmed by a report provided in “9 to 5 Mac”.

According to the reports that seemingly surfaced on Apple’s website suggested that the new application will be quite similar to that of what Apple introduced to its another “landmark device” called iPod Nano. The to-be-introduced application will allow the users to pause the FM radio when not required and they can also fast forward it after resuming. Inside sources revealed that although Apple has come up with the startling revelation regarding the in-house application that will bring FM radio to the iPhone and iTouch, the launch of the app is getting delayed day by day. Sources revealed that the cause of the delay is the fact that Apple is form a coalition with the iTunes store. The move will mean that the users can buy their song of choice which they hear on radio via the iTunes store. An amazing concept indeed.

Although further details regarding the app is yet to be revealed, but it is believed that the move will put apple as a front runner in the arena of smart phones. For more information regarding the newest application, please click here

Apple To Introduce Radio App For iPhone And iTouch is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Making a video or picture montage, with your desired music played in the background, can now be done in a few simple steps, thanks to ClipGenerator. The clips you create are in top quality and the process is so conveniently fast, it takes only a few minutes. You start off with clicking on the ‘Start Now’ button located at the homepage and an applet loads up which looks like this, fully loaded:

Creating your own clip via ClipGenerator first requires you to pick a music track from a wide selection of songs available on the website. As soon as you do that, you can go ahead and personalize your clip:

You add your pictures and video, order them the way you want, and that’s all there’s to it. The photo formats you can choose from are jpg, png, and gif whereas the supported video formats are wmv, mov, avi, mpg, and the one most popular amongst cellphone users, 3gp.

Another feature, worth mentioning is that you can import pictures from your computer, online photo storage utilities like Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug or from your webcam easily. And when you’re done, you can publish your created video directly at YouTube.

ClipGenerator is a great beginner’s tool for people who want to take fun-with-their-personal-media to a whole another level. And best of all, the entire service is absolutely free. So head on over to ClipGenerator and start making your own cool clips right now.

Create Cool Videos Clips For Free is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Every single one of us has been a consumer of music and we’ve all had it in the same format, whether it was on vinyl, CD or as a download.  It’s come as sound.

There have been some subtle differences in quality and different artists and companies package it differently, but technology is now available that can offer us so many more experiences with our music that nobody at the moment seems to be considering.  This is where the big music stores such as iTunes and the record labels can lead the way to a much better tomorrow.

Let’s take the new Zune 4.0 software as an example of how this can be delivered.  The new software has a new playing view which will show you publicity shots of many artists superimposed with information about them and the track you’re listing to.  It’s an extremely stylish and effective display.  It’s also moving in the right direction but in the wrong way.

Do we want to watch static images moving across our screens?  Is the continued popularity of music channels on cable and satellite TV not an indication of what we really ‘should’ be getting now?

Obviously you’ll have figured out by now that I’m talking about music videos.  Now it’s inconceivable that when you play an MP3 the player software could find the video of the track online and cue it up perfectly in real time.

However why aren’t the online music stores offering the video version of tracks alongside the MP3?  They’re all looking for a unique selling point over people buying and ripping CDs and I believe this could well be it.

It wouldn’t be difficult for music players, Zune, iTunes, Windows Media Player et al to be updated to recognise these tracks and integrate them into your standard music library (maybe they could have a new file extension, *.MPV anyone?).  Then when you want to play them on your portable music player, or in a minimised mode for the media player on your PC or Mac, you could just get the audio track.  When you wanted to view the video however you could open up the player on your screen and that’s all it would take, the video would start, even in the middle of a track if needs be.

Imagine for a moment just how impressive Windows Media Centre or Apple TV would be if, when playing your music collection at a party, it would occasionally slip in a full video along with the visualisations we’re all used to.  After all, this is something music systems in pubs and bars have been capable of for some years now.

Isn’t it time for a change and for a bit of extra value added to the music we buy?

Is a revolution needed in Internet music sales? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Have you been listening to your iPod or MP3 player at its loudest? Do you stay in Europe? If the answer to these two questions are in affirmative, then there is news for you. The European Commission has recently (on Monday) established ‘standards’ in context of ‘default maximum volume’ of iPods and other MP3 players. This is been done to ensure that people do not damage their eardrums while listening to these music players, which generally they tend to do at volume levels which are much higher than those prescribed by doctors and experts.

Reportedly, these MP3 music players have a sound level of around 115 to 125 decibels, which is higher than the newly prescribed 80 decibels. So according to the new norms, iPod and other MP3 manufacturers have to bring down their maximum sound levels to 80 decibels. This has not been an ad hoc process on part of the European Commission, rather they have taken a calibrated approach in regard to this. They have taken the different concerned parties (consumers, experts and industry) into confidence and have gone through this process over a span of long 24 months, before finally declaring these new norms.

Huge number of people access their music through the iPdos or other MP3 players and some sources claim that this number could be as high as 100 million. It is not known though, how the general populace has taken to these new norms, many amongst whom like listening to their music at very high volumes. In this context it should be mentioned that these people can listen to music at higher volumes, only the manufacturers have to explicitly mention in their players that beyond a certain level, it is dangerous and harmful for their ear.

EU Wants to Bring Down the Volume of MP3 Players is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Software giant Microsoft has finally unveiled its portable media player, Zune HD, a device one would relish to be seen around with. This amazingly sleek device has been in the news for the past few days in the gizmo communities. Let us take a look into the features of this stunningly crafted and well placed portable media player.

Though it is smaller than iPod touch, the Zune HD is considerably larger than its predecessors such as the Zune 8 and Zune 16 respectively. One would understand the amount of work that has been put into the production of this eloquent device, which is made of aluminium, plastic and glass. The sleek casing and the glossy touchscreen are what make the Zune HD more classy in its appearance when compared to its predecessors. The front portion or the “face” of the device is comprised of a 3.3 inch OLED display accompanied with a lean home button present at the southern end of the panel.

In order to set up the device as an user friendly one, both the syncing port as well as the headphone port have been located at the bottom. The inner portion is mastered and powered by the incredibly fantastic 8 core NVIDIA Tegra APX 2600 processor. It is this that takes care of HD video processing as well as 3D graphics. The NVIDIA Tegra APX 2600 processor is also instrumental in preventing th e battery from wearing out. The good news for music freaks and aficionados is that you will be provided with 33 hours of audio listening time per charge, which also ensures 8.5 hours of video.

The Zune HD comes with a capacity of 16 and 32 gigabytes and is priced at $220 and $290 respectively. Microsoft has been wowing its consumers for the past few months or so, and the introduction of the stunningly sleek, glossy and attractive Zune HD accompanied with the best of the features does promise a lot for the customers. The device is available in various colors such as black, blue, silver, green and red. The 3.3 inch, 480 x 272 OLED screen speaks for itself. The OLED screen of Zune HD immediately forces the device to be compared with the iPhone and iPod touch. While the latter (iPhone OS) has a considerably larger screen, Zune’s OLED technology with a wide screen display is what sets it apart. The Zune HD supports multi-touch which is slowly becoming one of the most sought after features of touchscreen devices.

The artistic compilation about an artist, song or album whenever possible adds value to the device, which is already flocked with some outstanding features. To be fair however, the device does have its share of drawbacks. There is no “internal speaker” provided, a feature that most music lovers would have liked to be included. Moreover, when exposed to direct sunlight, the screen looks completely washed out due to its extremely glossy feature. However, in spite of the few glitches here and there, the glittering features provided by Microsoft in Zune HD, are a huge attraction for consumers. The built-in browser is particularly expected to have a huge “pull factor” for all gizmo freaks

Microsoft Unveils Zune HD is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

When I got my iPhone 3GS earlier this year I switched back to iTunes as my main music player from Media Monkey.  Although I thought MM was better than iTunes 8, the iPhone support wasn’t good enough.  However, with the launch of iTunes 9, I’m glad I’ve switched back.  Why?  Because of 2 new features, one that’s been well documented and a second that I haven’t seen anybody else comment on.

The undocumented feature is the improved speed of iTunes 9 with large mp3 libraries.  My iTunes library now contains over 30,000 tracks and navigating my library and editing files was unbelievably painful.  With iTunes 9 editing mp3 files is so much faster.  Before I wouldn’t bother trying to remove duplicates, add artwork or edit track information in iTunes as it would take forever.  Now I can make very fast changes to files.

The other feature I’m a big fan of are the iTunes 9 genius mixes.  The problem with having such a large library is finding the time to listen to all the tracks.  I have a number of playlists setup to help but over time these just make the problem worse because I just end up listening to the same tracks over and over again in the same playlists.  With the genius playlists I now get 9 extra playlists setup, although I’m not sure yet if they refresh over time.

What features do you like about iTunes 9?  Do you use another mp3 player

Improved Large Library Performance With iTunes 9 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I spotted a story on BBC News that really inspired me.  The comedian/actor Eddie Izzard is running literally around the UK, 43 marathons in 51 days – that’s 6 marathons a week with one day off in seven.  That’s even more impressive when you consider that Eddie Izzard is 47 and wasn’t a slim fella when he started (in the videos below you can see how much he tonnes up).

What I found amazing after reading Eddie’s story, is rather than getting slower each day as he gets tired, his body has adjusted to the running.  Not only is he actually getting faster, running for 5 hours a day rather than ten, but his feet are even healing as he runs.

For me it proves that anyone can get in much better shape if they stick at it and it’s inspired me to get my ass back in the gym.  I probably won’t ever get down to the sprint times I did when I was younger, there are some things that can never be regained, but at least I’ll be able to run for the tube in the morning!

Eddie’s running for a great cause and please sponsor his efforts - running around the UK is no mean feat.  Below are the first seven episodes from his video diary – well worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4M3aLRUZy4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41dblwx9uyY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_tDVGq1toA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga26V3HSjhk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWM5WAcv0b4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icuJxypTetg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbBuyAsoRs

Sponsor Eddie Izzard As He Runs 43 Marathons In 51 Days For Sport Relief is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The new iPod Nano does video. But that it is not all its does. It also has other features like VoiceOver and the FM radio. These features are in themselves important enough to be taken note of.

Videos

First is of course the Video camera. It enables the iPod Nano to be a direct competition to the Flip Mino and also the Kodak Zi8 (Nano doesn’t do HD though). It has the signature ease of use that Apple interfaces have. There are special shooting modes just like in Photo Booth. So you have cyborg [remember the first Terminator movie?), motion blur, X-Ray, etc. The Nano is powerful enough to give you a live preview of four modes at a time. Once you have shot your video, you can upload it to Facebook, mobileMe and YouTube via the iPhoto application. Windows users will be able to use other photo applications for this. iPhoto also allows you to do basic edits to your videos.

What this means is that you now have a decent secondary camera in something small and thin that you are very likely to carry around everywhere, everyday

FM Radio

The long demanded FM Radio is here and with extra features too. You can pause live radio just live TV on TiVo on the Nano. This radio is also an ingenious money-spinner for Apple. Why? Because of a feature called iTunes tagging. This enables you to tag as they play on the radio. Then when you next hook up to iTunes, the tagged songs are displayed for your to preview and/or buy. Bottom line – Apple makes it easy for you to remember and buy that-song-on-the-radio. It is available only in the U.S. and only on the radio stations that support it and broadcast track information.

So now you can listen to something other your own collection, know what that song is called and make a note of it to buy later.

Genius

A new way for you to be lazy and count on others to do your work. Genius, as you know, makes playlists of well matched songs for you based on a database made of billions of user inputs. It now has something called Genius mix that mixes songs together based on that database. Apple says its like listening to a Dj playing an endless mix.

The visually pleasing Cover Flow feature lets you browse through songs and albums by looking the Album art. Plus, you can now shake your Nano to get a completely random song.

VoiceOver

By using the click wheel or the controls on the special Apple Earphones, you can get your Nano to tell you the title and the artist name of the track that is currently playing. You won’t have to look at the screen anymore. It will recognize the proper language for the track and speak in that language. So if it detects something called ‘La Dolce Vita’, it will start speaking Italian. Thankfully, you can change this to a language that you understand, like English. Languages can be changed on a per track basis.

Voice Memos

Voice recording has been enabled via the built in microphone. So now you can set voice reminders, record class lectures or may be that new tune you have been thinking about making. The built in speakers will allow you to play it back and share with others on the go.

Nike + iPod

This feature was already there in the last generation iPods. This syncs your walking and running data with your iPod through a proprietary Sports Kit that connects your Nike Shoes to your iPod. The data can then be viewed in interesting ways like how high you have climbed (showing the image of a skyscraper).

The New 5th Generation iPod Nano and What It Means to the User is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Apple will be holding it’s annual iPod/iTunes product event this Wednesday in San Francisco at which various product updates are expected.  Predictions from various sources, include:

• Updated iPod Touch with possibly a video camera
• Updated iPod Nano with possibly a video camera
• Apple will kill off the iPod Classic

The last prediction, the end of the iPod Classic, at first threw me as I thought this surely couldn’t be true.  But then I realised that with the growth in sales of the iPhone and other mp3 phones, the iPod Classic sales must have been suffering and the following chart does show how sales of traditional iPods have been falling:

Killing off the iPod Classic would also help push more users towards the iPod Touch, which would further increase Apple’s revenues as the iPod Touch can download apps from the Apple Store.

I would be very sad to see the demise of the iPod Classic.  I have owned four iPods over the last 6 years (a 15GB, 30GB, 60GB and a 160GB).  I have to admit though that I don’t use my iPods as frequently as I used to now that I have a iPhone 3GS – I use the 60GB in my car, and the 160GB when I (rarely!) go to the gym or when I go on holiday.

I always remember the first time I saw an iPod at a party in 2002 and being blown away.  What really caught my attention was the iTrip that my friend had that allowed him to stream all of music to any FM receiver.  I rushed out to buy a iPod and a iTrip immediately and the rest is history.

If Apple do end the iPod Classic line, I’m going to take extra special care of my iPods as they might become collectors items one day!

RIP iPod Classic? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

When I’m at home and relaxing, I love watching films and TV shows streamed off my Windows Home Server.  We have 3 media centers around our flat that display the media on our TVs.   The old laptop that had we’d been using as a media center PC in our bedroom was struggling to play 1080p files, so I decided to build a new Media Center PC as cheaply as possible.   Doing this also freed up a laptop that I gave to my wife as she’s just quit her job and is going to work with me full-time from next week, so she needs a dedicated rather than shared machine.

Imagine my surprise, when my new Media Center still stuttered when playing 1080p mkv files and ripped blu-rays.  It was better, but there still was a stutter.  This didn’t make sense as my new system had a better CPU, a AMD3 Athlon X2 Dual Core 240, whereas my other Media Center PCs had slower CPUs (4200+ and 4600+) so it had more than enough power.

I started wondering if it was my wireless 802.11n connection on the new PC, because the other PCs are on a gigabit lan.  I was correct – when I connected the new PC to a wired connection everything worked fine.  I was stunned as my biggest files were only around 20-25Mbps, which theoretically should be well within reach of a 300Mbps (theoretical) 802.11n router.

After some investigation I realised that there is too much congestion on the 2.4Ghz band that early 802.11n routers use and I really needed a 802.11n router that utilised the 5Ghz band if I wanted to attain wireless speeds high enough to stream HD 1080p files.   The free 802.11n router that Virgin Media gave me with my 50Mbps service just wasn’t good enough for the job.

I’ve just ordered a D-Link DIR-855, which still seems to be the best 802.11n router on the market a year after launch.  According to reviews the DIR-855 has been able to stream two 1080p videos and also has Q0S to ensure that my media files get priority.  To help this it’s a dual band router, so I can use the 2.4Ghz for internet use/other networking and the 5Ghz band exclusively for my media center.

The D-Link DIR-855 is pricey at £200 for the router and matching card, but I think it’s worth it as I’m certain it will last me at least 5 years as I’m not going to be streaming anything bigger than a blu-ray or a 1080p mkv file and these will around for at least another 5-10 years.   Whenever I buy kit now I try to futureproof, as I’m tired of endless replacements.  For instance, I think I’ve gone through around 8 routers in the 10 years I’ve had broadband.

The new D-Link DIR-855 router arrives this week, so I’ll let you know if it doesn’t deliver.

802.11n Router Buying Tip: Invest in 5Ghz is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I got married back in May after a Facebook Romance, and my wedding DVD arrived yesterday.  I wanted to upload sections of the DVD to youtube so that I could share with friends, particularly one amazing video clip of two of my family members performing ‘At Last’ by Etta James at the wedding which is one of my wife Sara’s favourite songs (video below).

It wasn’t as easy as I was hoping and YouTube don’t have an option available to upload DVDs, so after a quick Google i downloaded a trial version of VideoReDo which allowed me to easily select the segment I wanted and then convert it into various video formats, including those supported by YouTube.

Now, I don’t normally like sharing personal content on this blog (and my wife Sara will probably kill me!), but this is just so good I had to share it.

Enjoy!

How To Upload DVDs To YouTube is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Mozy, an unlimited backup provider, just pulled together an interesting graphic to illustrate just how big a Petabyte is.  In total Mozy store 15 Petabytes, and they’ve calculated that one Petabyte equals:

• 13.3 years of HD content
• Nearly all of the photos on facebook (1.5PB in total)
• How much data google processes in just under an hour

I’ve pasted the Mozy graphic at the end of the post with There’s a hugh graphic at the end of the post will all the cool stats Mozy have pulled together.

The post made me wonder, how long will it be before users need Petabyte Hard Drives?  Bill Gates once (although he now denies it!) that the average computer wouldn’t need more than 64KB of ram, and he’s a pretty clued up guy.  My total data storage has gone from:

• 1994 My first PC: 200MB HDD 1MB Ram
• 1997 2nd PC:  8GB HDD ?? Ram (can’t remember)
• 2001 3rd PC: 512MB 40GB HDD
• 2005 4th PC: 2GB RAM 2x250GB HDD
• 2008 Current PC: 4GB RAM

Now, I haven’t added the storage for my current PC because I now store all my files on a Windows Home Server, which currently has around 6.5TB of storage:

In my server are 8 HDDs in total.  I added the eighth just last week, a 1.5TB drive because my other 1.5TB drive was throwing up errors and looked like it was going to fail.  So I purchased another drive to ensure I had enough space to copy all my files in case it died.  That’s makes my real storage level around 5TB.,

I’m not sure if I’m going to continue increasing my storage at a rate of around 5-10x every couple of years.   I really think that going forwards I will start moving my files to the Cloud; I’m already storing 250GB of my documents, photos and music with Sugarsync who offer a min 2GB of storage for free.

Do you think user’s will continue requiring bigger HDDs, or do you think going forwards users will store their data in the cloud?

How Long Will It Be Until We Need Petabyte Hard Drives is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

We Recommend! FixTunes To Organise and Fix Your Music Automatically!

Ok, so you have the latest walkman/MP3 player, have a collection of your favorite tunes on it and you’re the type of person who listens to music 24/7 – be it work or play! That’s great…until you hear the latest tune that you absolutely MUST get! In order to do so, you need to either go out and buy the CD or search for song, find a vendor who’s selling it at an affordable rate, download the tune via iTunes (or whatever) into your Music player, and update your playlist before you can enjoy the song – chances are, in that much time the next Big tune will be out!

Enter allmusic.fm, boasting 500 million (yes you read that correct) tracks to choose from — you literally can search for ANY song and then later on save it to your playlist – which can also be shared with others! Consider it your Giant iPod on the internet which contains all the songs you can think of – and all you really need is an internet connection, a computer with a soundcard, a browser, and no matter where you are, in which part of the world – you’re ready to bounce to your tunes!

Built with a clean, simple yet effective interface, allmusic.fm has a `Featured’ list as well as a `Top’ tracks list which you can listen to as soon as you enter the site. Of course you can search for your particular tune too and you can listen to them without even registering yourself! However in order to actually SAVE your playlist for future listens you need to register and then login to the site (which is the basic attraction of allmusic.fm, besides registration is Free so why wouldn’t you register?)

The fact that you can also share your playlists with others gives you some basic social networking aspects as well try getting your iPod to do That! All in all this is one site to book mark!

Build Your Playlist And Enjoy Millions of Free Audio Tracks is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I have a big music collection, totalling nearly 30k tracks all stored on my Windows Home Server.  I’ve spent many, many hours over the years tagging and organising my collection so that it’s easy to find tracks wherever they are played e.g. on my media centers, my ipods or my phones, so I think I’m a bit of an expert when it comes to tagging mp3 music files.

Lifehacker recently produced a list of the Six Best MP3 Tagging Tools, based on a reader survey they did.  I was glad to see that 3 of the applications that I use, MediaMonkey, MusicBrianz Picard and MP3Tag,  made it into the list.  My first port of call when I’m tagging music is always MusicBrainz Picard, as I like to have full control over the process.  I then follow this up with Mp3Tag so that I can make sure the tags are formatted correctly, before importing into MediaMonkey which I use as my mp3 player as it knocks the socks off iTunes.

However, this process can take a while and requires a bit of patience.  If you’re looking for a much easier method, then I’d recommend FixTunes, which for some strange reason didn’t make it onto the Lifehacker list.  FixTunes can automatically correct track details, including adding missing details, and add album art.

Fixtunes Full Features:

• Edit the song title, artist, album, track, year and genre tags of your music
• Fix your songs automatically, without having to type all the information yourself
• Automatically download and add album cover art images to your music files
• Look up online information on your music like artist bios and reviews with one click
• Rename the music in your library into a standard format
• Organize your music into folders according to artist, album, year or genre
• Remove duplicate music files from your collection with ease, saving the best version
• Quickly search and edit only a portion of your music collection

To try Fixtunes for free (first 50 tracks) click here

Best MP3 Tagging Tools is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Hmm, so much for my 3-1 Barcelona Vs Chelsea prediction last night! It was still an amazing game though.  I’m not sure which way the 2nd leg is going to go, but in the Man Utd Vs Arsenal Champions League game, Man utd will definitely come out on top.

If you’re not lucky enough to have a Sky Sports subscription, then you can watch the Champions league game free online by following this guide: How To Watch Champions League Football Online

How To Watch Man Utd Vs Arsenal Champions League Football Online is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The greatest football tournament on the planet resumes this week, with Barcelona playing Chelsea in the Champions League tonight and Man Utd playing Arsenal tomorrow. Once again at least one British club will make the final.

If you want to watch Barcelona rip apart Chelsea tonight then check out Tony’s guide to watching Champions League Football free online. I really can’t see Chelsea winning tonight, and the game will be all about damage limitation.

How To Watch Barcelona Vs Chelsea Champions League Football Online is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

I mentioned earlier in a blog post how you can convert Youtube videos to Mp3 and download the song after extracting the music file from it. Today I’ve confronted another great tool that is not limited to Youtube but it lets you download your favorite video from almost all the video sharing websites out there.

NetVideoHunter is an excellent Firefox add-on that allows you to download Youtube videos and also videos from websites such as Google Video, MySpace, Metacafe, Dailymotion, iFilm, Videoegg, Veoh, Blip.tv etc.

To get started simply

1. Download the NetVideoHunter FireFox add-on.
2. Once the add-on is installed you will be able to see a blue icon at the right bottom of the page which looks like this.



3. Now go to the page where you want to download the video from.
4. While the video is loading you will see a number next to the blue button which will indicate that the video is available for download.
5. Click the blue button now to open the NetVideoHunter window

Simply click the download button and save the video to your desired folder. It’s really as simple as it looks.

Download Your Favorite Video From Any Video Sharing Website is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The Windows 7 craze has just begin and I’m expecting lots of new features and software to make everything one step closer to perfection. I have just stumbled upon AIMP, a free russian video player that kinda looks like the popular media player known as “Winamp”. It comes with the Winamp like interface and has operation steps are similar to it as well.

AIMP supports all the major video file formats including MP1, MP2, MP3, MPC, MP +, AAC, AC3, OGG, FLAC, APE, WavPack, Speex, WAV, CDA, WMA, S3M, XM, MOD, IT, MO3, MTM and UMX . It offers a build-in audio converter/recorder that allows you to convert music from a variety of formats to wma, mp3, wav and ogg. It? features a Mp3 tag editor functions to make watching and searching easier and much more convenient than ever. It also lets you modify and edit tags on video files with resource management mode.

Currently it is available in 35 languages and various skins are also made into application. In addition to that users can design their own custom skin using their official skin editor. The software has been tested by some of the well known websites out there and got great reviews. It is totally compatible with Windows 7.

Beside all the above features it also has a very powerful audio library and the ability to record recent playing records automatically. Users can easily sort videos by file, artist, period and music styles. A tree-shape list show on the left and a space below helps you to search.

There are plug-ins available for AIMP which allows you to add lyrics and helps FM Dolby Digital voice and other video formats work normally. These plugins can be downloaded from AIMP’s official website

It is more like a clone for Winamp and includes operations, functions keys and button postitions similar to it.

AIMP

Translated Page

Free Winamp like Video Player for Windows 7 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Looks like the boys behind Blu-Ray are up against a wall.

This morning, I was browsing PCMag and discovered deplorable sales performance last quarter for Blu-ray. For those unaware of the monicker, Blue-Ray is that spanking new the HD disc format touted to revolutionize the industry. Well… almost.

Marketers looked forward to sales of Blu-ray players after Blu-ray killed off HD DVD in February 2008 in the most stupendous format war since VHS killed Betamax.

Sadly, the follow-up punch wasn’t there. Demand for DVD players outstripped Blu-ray players by a factor of 10, despite some Blu-Ray players selling for less than $200. Worse, consumers have found greener pastures in the convenience of digital downloads and digital hard drive recorders. I’m no soothsayer, but I feel Blu-ray may very well perish as buyers, like myself, leap from DVD to downloads.

CD and DVD put an end to the chore of rewinding betamax tapes. That’s what killed betamax. Now the convenience of downloads and the superior availability of flexible digital content may be a killer reason folks just won’t get hot about getting a new player. The computer IS the ultimate player. With free download sites, DSL and Draft-N wifi… any PC can be the ultimate entertainment system. Who needs Blue-Ray??

According to Reevo.com, there are three other reasons Blue-Ray may fail to make the cut.

1. Enhanced DVD players
DVD players are still outselling Blu-ray players by a monstrous margin. With a basic DVD player now costing just $40 (equivalent to the cost of a new release Blu-Ray disc alone), and newer high-end DVD players capable of upscaling a standard definition image to near-HD, the gap between DVD and Blu-ray has shrunk to the point that shoppers see no reason to upgrade. I know I don’t. (aside from having empty bragging rights)

2. Inflated Blu-ray and disc pricing
Blu-ray prices remain high. Over 6 months, the average price of a Blu-ray player was $400, more than four times the average DVD player at $40, and has remained largely flat month-on-month, with a small increase in average price from July to January. Average DVD player prices have dropped by 20% from July to January. Blu-ray disc prices are also high, costing $40 for a new release, compared to $40 for a new release on DVD and an extensive back catalogue priced very cheaply.

At epinions.com, reviews of Blu-ray players raise frustrations regarding slow loading times and an inability to play certain file formats.

Slow to read the BluRay discs but is this a feature of BluRay?
Still a bit slow to load discs
My granny is faster than this.

3. Can’t beat free downloads!
Remember Porter’s five forces? A product often hits demise when Substitutes enter the fray. Right now the format competes with cheap downloads through services such as Apple’s store which offers quality content for rental or purchase at a lower price than Blu-ray discs. Peruse their content and note that many cost less than $5. How can BlueRay compete with that??

Blue-Ray’s Dead is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Since I currently run businesses in Asia, it’s pretty easy for me to indulge in my passion of movies. The typical DVD here costs about $5 a pop. So 10 DVDs cost me about $50. Not bad. In the US, $50 is barely enough for a movie date. With $50, I have the entire Star Wars series. Whoohooo! Break out the popcorn. Nothing can disturb me when the Home Theatre is blastin’ !

I was in the middle of Babylon AD the other day when my friend asked me if I had broadband at home. “Of course,” I said, adding that my connection blazed at 2Mbps. That’s when he asked me why I was spending a fortune on DVDs when I could watch the latest movies totally online. Free.

FREE? Of course that got me interested. DVDs come out six months after the movie release. Anything current would be a welcome addition.

My friend mosied over to my laptop and whipped up two websites, movierumor.com and watch-movies.net. Man, was I floored. There, arranged by genre, release and rating were the latest movies- plus those scheduled to be released in a few months. Hundreds of gigabytes of the stuff- plus ratings and reviews for viewers!

I was in movie nirvana.

How long these sites will last with the massive antipiracy campaign going on, I don’t know. But while it’s there, go ahead and indulge, my fellow movie buffs. It’s an orgy of cinematography.

Movies Movies Movies All Year Round! is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

When it comes to mp3 players, the iPod is definitely among the most popular ones available. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its software iTunes. Every new version released just seems to have something or the other wrong.

One big caveat of iTunes was that its store sold music with encryption (DRM). This meant if you bought a song or album, you were restricted to burning the song seven times and transferring it to about five computers. Then came iTunes Plus, which sold DRM-free music for a higher price.

Now, iTunes has decided to go DRM-free as well. The store will update its existing music collection to the Plus versions and new music added will also be free of DRM encryption. So what are the good and bad parts of this decision? Let’s take a look.

One thing is that users will no longer be bound by any sharing restrictions. That means once you buy a song, you are free to play it on as many playback devices as you want, including other media players that support the AAC format. Another benefit is that if you already own the iTunes DRM version of a song, then you can download the AAC version from iTunes Plus for a lesser price than it would cost you to purchase the song otherwise.

The downside to iTunes Plus is that users can still be pulled up for copyright violation if they share the file. How? Well, each song has the user’s email address stored in it. That means if one of your files ever made its way to the p2p networks, guys at the RIAA could easily trace the file back to you and thereby pull you up for it.

Overall, I think that iTunes going DRM-free is a step in the right direction. What are your thoughts on the subject? Does this move mean you will buy more music from iTunes? Let me know in the comments.

iTunes goes DRM-free. Is it Worth it? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

As 2008 is coming to a close, we look back and should be proud of what we witnessed. In the end, I think it was once again the year of the cell phone, particularly the iPhone. With the release of their 3G phone, GPS and their App Store, the iPhone took the Blue Ribbon by far, with Google’ Android phone taking a distant 2nd place. We saw the takeoff of electric cars from Tesla, we saw Facebook taking the forefront in Social communication and we saw thousands more Web 2.0 websites hitting the dance floor.

I am only naming a few for 2008, because the real subject of my post is 2009. What are some of things we have to look forward to in 2009? Here are the Top 3 on my radar…

1. Where will the iPhone go next?…and What will the competitors bring?
There is no doubt that the iPhone is well on it’s way to becoming easily the most popular smart phone on the planet. It’s ease of use, it’s feature rich environment, it’s Microsoft Exchange sync ability, and it’s incredible internet speeds, are making it the must have phone of 2009. Competitors such as the Blackberry Storm and Google G1 have hit the shelves with lukewarm reviews. From all indications, they aren’t that much closer to the iPhone, as they are to a lame Windows Mobile phone. Of course the Nokia fanboys will probably argue, but I honestly think the App Store is the real killer here.

2009 will see the iPhone bring turn-by-turn directions, a larger landscape of 3G coverage, possibly 50,000 more apps and hopefully somehow, much longer battery life. Some expect a completely new phone to come out in 2009, but most do not. We’ll likely see several different firmware releases over the course of the year, with many additional feature rich capabilities.

We will continue to see lackluster competitors show up in 2009. Google release their second version of Android, more providers will continue to pick-up their cellular phone operating system, but they still won’t come close to the iPhone. The marketing, the look, the ease of use and the coverage will take the iPhone above and beyond its competitors. Unless Apple completely screws it up with one of their firmware releases, I don’t see it faltering, anytime soon.

Long live the iPhone…

2. More streaming/VOD movies
The fact is, with the release of Netflix streaming capable devices, it won’t be long before there are many online streaming competitors that release many different pieces of hardware with Blu-Ray and DVD capability as well. We are already seeing it with the XBOX 360 and Roku Player, and it won’t be long before the PS3 has the same. I think at some point in the next five years, we may see ALL movies in streaming form. This will be the only fool proof way of protecting DVD piracy. We will continue to see boot-legged feature films from the theater, but those will never have the affect that DVD pirates, overseas and otherwise have on the industry.

I may be completely off on that, but there is no doubt that streaming movies are well on their way to becoming the best way of watching films.

3. HDTV slowly becomes SDTV
With the kill of over the air broadcast analog television in February 2009. Our definition of standard definition television is slowly becoming the black-and-white television of old. Soon we will begin to see all forms of television communication in high definition form. Commercials, news, cartoons, and of course sports will ALL be available in HDTV. High Definition will become our present day definition of Standard definition, and we’ll vomit at the look of ‘old school’ television. Of course, the old version will still be readily available in all forms, due to lack of capability with older TVs, but I foresee every arena having some type of HD available in 2009.

Long Shot Honorable Mentions
The Death of Blu-Ray – Five Reasons why I think Blu-Ray is dieing
-The cost of the players
-The cost of the movies.
-The non-savy movie watcher, who just doesn’t understand the difference.
-Streaming HD
-The picture difference between a standard DVD and Blu-Ray, is almost inconceivable.

I know it’s a small list, and I know a lot doesn’t regard the web, but these are three big items I foresee being huge topics in 2009.

What are yours?

3 Technology Related Items to Look Forward to in 2009 is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Manufacturers have always tried to gain the upper hand on consumers, especially when it comes to protecting their wares. True, there’s nothing wrong with this but when it comes at the cost of a customer, it’s unfair.

The most common scenario I can think of that fits this criteria is DRM. For me, DRM is nothing but a way to punish someone who purchases a song or video legally. There are other examples as well, most notably the Sony rootkit saga. Now, Apple is joining in the fun.

According to a news article on Wired, Apple has installed something called High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) on the external display ports of the new MacBook laptops that have been released last month. Guess what? They haven’t told customers this thing exists.

So what does this mean if you bought or are planning to buy a new MacBook? Well, you will not be able to view movies on an external display device (monitor, TV, projector) when you connect the device to the external display port. That’s right, even if you legally bought a movie from iTunes, you can only watch it on the Macbook’s little screen.

The idea behind HDCP is to stop pirates (does that mean every MacBook owner is one?) from copying movies to video recording devices. However, this has not sat well with people who purchased movies and then found that their viewing experience was ruined because they could not choose to watch a legally-purchased video on their TV. That’s because most TV’s and other devices are not HDCP-compliant.

Apple itself has yet to comment on the issue but so far it’s been determined that both the MacBook Air and Macbook Pro have HDCP enabled. One fallout of the saga is that if users can’t watch what they buy comfortably, there’s no need to buy the content anymore. In fact, a lot of disgruntled MacBook owners have decided not to buy movies from iTunes.

Are you planning to buy a MacBook? How would you deal with HDCP? What do you think of Apple’s tactics? Let me know.

Buying a MacBook? Beware of Copyright Protection is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

In Internet terminology, sideload is a process involving transfer of data between two devices over a USB connection. While Sideload.com functions on a similar principle, it’s more accurate to say that the website is a kind of music search engine.

Sideload.com primarily works in tandem with MP3Tunes, a music-storage service. So while the website’s main beneficiaries are users of MP3Tunes, regular users can also benefit from this website.

In simple terms, Sideload is like a log book. Whenever a user ‘sideloads’ an mp3 to his locker, Sideload.com records it and makes the same file available on its website. An important thing to remember is that the website captures the original source of the mp3 and is not connected to the MP3Tunes user at all.

Once you find the song you’re looking for on Sideload.com, you have 2 options: you can either listen to the song or download it to your hard drive. If you’re an MP3Tunes user, you have the additional option of transferring the file to your Music Locker. All of this is completely free.

You can find all kinds of music on Sideload, right from what’s currently burning up the charts to indie artists. You can either search for something specific or take the plunge and listen to something new. What’s nice is the ‘popular tracks’ and ‘featured artists’ sections on the site that lets you discover new music you might not otherwise have the opportunity to listen to.

While the website does have links to copyrighted content, it is still relatively safe because Sideload itself does not host any files. It just links to files that are available elsewhere. Yes, I know that’s not much of an argument but what else can I say? What do you think of Sideload? Do you know of any similar services? Let me know.

Get Free MP3s at Sideload is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

2008 saw television prices come down and a couple of display technologies pretty much get shown the door. The picture is much clearer this year for someone making a decision for a new television purchase. I’ve laid out my thoughts on the competing technologies already. Times have changed, and one of my recommendations is no longer a viable option. This holiday season what should you be looking for if you are in the market for a new TV? Read on…

LCoS is gone, with JVC and Sony both bailing in favor of LCD. LCD rear projection is gone. Plasma is going. DLP is on life support with only Mitsubishi and Samsung still in the game. This makes the choice of technology a lot easier than it was a year ago. The cause of all this extinction via natural selection? LCDs have continued to get cheaper, better and bigger. At this point in the game there are only two viable options: LCD and DLP.

Why not plasma? Plasmas have gotten cheaper to, right? Yes they have, but manufacturers are getting away from them. There is no argument about the crystalline image produced by a plasma television. The durability of this technology is suspect, and they are a bad choice for gamers due to being more prone to burn-in than any other display technology. The bottom line is, if you spend a lot of money on a television, you want the option to keep it for a while, and plasmas have a relatively short lifespan in comparison to LCD and DLP.

Why LCD? Well, they have gotten a heck of a lot better. The manufacturers love them because they make a bigger profit selling LCD displays because the technology is cheap. They last a long time. They look good. LCD comprises the majority of what is available to the consumer who is out shopping for a new set, and with all the improvements LCD has seen in the last couple of years I don’t have a problem recommending them.

Here are the things you want out of your new LCD television:

• Resolution Most of the sets being sold now are 1080p, which is what you want. However, you may still stumble across some 720p sets, especially in instances where the price seems too good to be true. 720p was fine a couple of years ago, but hold out for a 1080p set. Blu Ray is 1080p, as are many PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Cable and Satellite HD is 1080i, which converts to 1080p better than it does 720p. There’s just no excuse to buy a 720p set when you don’t have to break the bank for one that is 1080p.




• Contrast ratio The higher the number the better. Higher contrast ratio means blacker blacks and whiter whites, and that translates into superior dark detail and better color reproduction.




• Response time This isn’t really much of an issue anymore. Pretty much anything 8ms or better does away with motion blur. The lower the number the better, but if you get a significantly better deal on an 8ms set than that 4ms sitting next to it, I probably wouldn’t let that scare me off.




• Refresh rate North American and most Asian televisions refresh at the rate of 60 frames per second, or 60Hz. That is because that is what broadcast/cable/Satellite/game console sources send out. The only issue with that is that motion pictures are recorded at 24Hz. DVD and Blu Ray players utilize an algorithm that converts that 24Hz material to 60Hz material that your television can digest. This isn’t perfect though, and many of us notice the imperfection of the conversion. The answer? Many new sets are 120Hz, a number which is divisible by both 60 and 24. What this means to you is that your 120Hz television reproduces everything you throw at it without any mathematical band-aids to make it work, and what you see on your screen is what you were intended to see.




• Brightness You can always turn your television’s brightness down, but you can’t make a dim television brighter. Dim TVs are hard to see in a sunlit room. All of the televisions you look at will probably have similar brightness specs, but keep it in mind anyway.

Reading editorial reviews is always a good idea, but ultimately the most important yardstick should be your eyes on the television in a showroom and not someone else’s opinion. Go look at the sets once you have some in mind, and let your eyes tell you which one is right for you.

On the subject of DLP: Toshiba has left the game, leaving only Samsung and Mitsubishi. Why consider DLP at this point? Big screen for low dough, low maintenance cost and no chance of burn-in, ever. In fact, for 99% of DLP owners, the only problem they’ll ever face is a burnt out projection lamp, which is a $99-150 part, and easily replaced at home by the owner. That’s a sight less expensive than a new backlight would run you for an LCD (but an LCD backlight will run a lot more hours before replacement). I always felt that DLP offered the closest to plasma liquidity with the fewest number of caveats, and even though LCDs have bridged the gap, getting cheaper and technologically better, it’s hard to argue that DLP shouldn’t be included in your search when you can get a 65″ for around $1500. I have looked at the Mitsubishi 60″ and 65″ DLPs, and I wouldn’t mind getting one for myself, much less recommending them to anyone. Samsung has LED lamps in some of their DLPs, which should extend time between lamp replacements exponentially. Also, Mitsubishi is now shipping their laser DLPs, and while they are around the $6-7k mark now, prices will come down before too long and laser DLP may be what we all will want in the near future.

I’m a little nauseous that the television I bought for $3k four years ago will only cost me half that to replace, but at the same time that makes my next television sale to the wife less of an obstacle. Television buyers this holiday season have a pretty clear picture in the showroom, as most of the displays they will find sport the important features I mentioned above, and prices are lower than ever.

Now, work on your business presentation, get the boss (wife) to sign off on a new TV, and go forth!

Holiday 2008 TV Buying Guide is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

There’s no doubt that a significant number of people use P2P and file-sharing networks. In its earliest days, Napster had around a million users. Then came the eDonkey and Fasttrack networks, boasting of a close to 5 million user base.

Those numbers have changed further, with the introduction of the BitTorrent protocol. In a sense, BitTorrent pretty much revolutionized the file-sharing world, with its improved technology and ability to let users transfer files faster than any other software.

As vast as BitTorrent is, it’s still only a type of protocol. The real network is run by the various trackers, most notably the Pirate Bay. In fact, the Pirate Bay has decided to stake a claim to being the ‘biggest file-sharing network in the world’. The administrators have filed a claim with the Guinness Book of World Records. You can read about the attempt at the site’s blog.

The claim is still being processed but is the Pirate Bay really that big? Well, according to the tracker’s statistics, they boast of having 22 million peers at any point of time. Peers of course are the people who are downloading files. One thing’s for sure: Pirate Bay certainly is popular.

I don’t know if the tracker will be crowned king of file-sharing networks but it does underscore the fact that the use of P2P technology is still rising. While much of it is legal, it’s fair to say illegal downloading is on the rise as well.

In your opinion, who’s running the largest file-sharing network at present? Do you think the Pirate Bay deserves a Guinness Record? Let me know.

A Guinness World Record for The Pirate Bay? is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

The format war ended last January, time enough for most of the wounds to heal and those of us who joined the red side to get over it and go Blu. The holiday season is hurtling toward us, and if you’re like me, you’re already well into your gift shopping. Got a techie or two in your life? Looking for some low dough presents for that new Blu Ray owner? Here are some of my picks for Blu Ray stocking stuffers to help that someone special get their Blu Ray library started:

1. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight C’mon, this is a no-brainer. Batman Begins was one of the best of the HD DVD stable, and it’s just as good on Blu Ray. This year’s hottest movie, The Dark Knight, gets released on December 9th, just in time for the holidays. For once something lived up to the hype, and it continued the Batman Begins tradition of bringing the real Batman that comic book enthusiasts have loved for years to the silver screen. Gotta have ‘em both!







2. Band of Brothers Stephen Spielberg’s companion piece to Saving Private Ryan. Blu Ray release on November 9, around $55 online. This was one of the most important moments in human history, and on a personal note, my father hit the beach on D-Day with the 35th Infantry Division and saw some of the hottest action in WWII before getting knocked out of the action in Germany by some shrapnel. The Greatest Generation? You better damn well believe it. We owe everything to the men and women of that generation who participated in the war effort, and we owe it to them to never, ever forget their sacrifices. Damn good show, and needs to be in your collection.







My Dad, second from left in front holding helmet. Love and Miss you Dad.




3. Firefly This is included for two reasons. Mainly, because Serenity is so great, and while the TV series never quite got into gear, by the end you could tell that it was all going to gel and great things were coming. Firefly is one of those stories that is really beloved by it’s few fans, and it deserved better than it got. Here’s the whole series, for less than $60. Here’s hoping that if they ever do a television or cinematic adaption of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series it gets more of a shot than this labor of love from Joss Whedon.







4. Ultimate Matrix Collection Ok, we all were disappointed with the second and third movies in this series. Hopefully like me, many of you found out that it wasn’t all that bad once you watched it at home once or twice, and grew to appreciate the ambitious story the Wachowski Brothers were trying to tell. The HD DVD version of this trilogy was demo material, and I’m sure the Blu Ray set will be just as impressive. It’s no Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, but those aren’t available yet. About $75 online.







5. Harry Potter Years 1-5 If you take yourself too seriously to enjoy these movies, I pity you. The books are great and so are the movies. J.K. Rowling created a classic tale that’s right up there with Narnia and Lord of the Rings as far as I’m concerned. We have to wait til summer for The Half Blood Prince, but the first five are here on Blu Ray now. Limited Edition gift set about $100, $12 or so less for the standard set. A classic for the kids and the adults.

This was a great autumn for Blu Ray, with lot’s of good releases. The price on Blu Ray discs is still too high in most stores, but thankfully the internet prices are more in line with what a DVD sells for. Wanna keep it under $20? Why not a Blu Ray? Got a little more to spend? Look at some of the box sets I mentioned. I already gave my list of Blu Ray titles I need to my wife. Hope I find some in my stocking!

5 Blu Ray Stocking Stuffers For The Holidays is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

Cutting a video into a desired clip can be a very ardous and time-consuming process. In most cases, you need to install special software on your computer. Then you have to load your file, select from a variety of options and hope that things turn out okay.

If the clip you want to trim happens to be a YouTube Video, then an easy way to do so is to use TubeChop. As its name implies, this is a site that lets you chop or cut YouTube videos. You can cut just about any video using a simple three step process.

In the first step, you select the video you want to trim. If you do not already have the url handy, no problem. You can search for the video in TubeChop itself. Once you select the video, click the ‘Chop’ button under it. You can select the clip you want by dragging the two black sliders that appear under the video to set the desired start and end times.

If you are satisfied with your selection, sit back and let TubeChop work its magic. Your chopped video will now appear with its very own link. You even get an embed code so you can share the video on your blog or website.

TubeChop is easy to use and quite helpful. As an added bonus, you do not have to go through any registration process to use the site. And best of all, it’s web-based so it saves you the hassle of installing software on your computer. The only downside is that it works only with YouTube presently. I’d like to see them expand to other sites and maybe even allow users to upload their own videos to chop.

What do you think of TubeChop? Do you know of any other similar services? What do you normally use to trim videos? Let me know.

Note for Everton:

I’d like to invite Cheryl to the Connected Internet Team! Cheryl also guest blogs over at Ghacks.   She’s a zoologist who loves technology almost as much as animals. Besides her passion for animals, she’s also crazy about football (soccer, for you North American folks) and her favorite team is Arsenal (boooo!!!). She’s loved sports since the time she was a kid and in addition to playing right through college, has also closely followed lots of international sports.

When she’s not playing, she likes nothing better than curling up with some music and a good book, preferably something spine tingling.  She’s looking forward to blogging at Connected Internet since this was one of the first tech blogs that she found and she checks it out  everyday.

While she will be writing about virtually anything that catches her fancy, most of her posts will revolve around the multimedia sphere since that’s what she excels at.  I look forward to you giving her your views on software tools as well enjoying her tips to make your multimedia tasks better.

Split YouTube Videos into Smaller Sections with TubeChop is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.

So, without any real indication that they were going to do so, MTV re-launched themselves not only into the Web 2.0 world, but into what they used to be involved in, the ‘Music’ world. They opened up MTVMusic.com to the world and with it, just about every music video ever created.

It’s much higher quality then YouTube and will likely be legal much longer then YouTube as well. It was really a major step for MTV and the music industry. They can finally put ‘Music’ back into their name. They do offer embedding, just like many of predecessors and few a other options as well.

The first video of which I had to watch, was ‘Thriller’ from the artist formerly known as Michael Jackson. It doesn’t quite look like the embed code is working on this blog, but it does work, because I did test it on mine.

Here is the link at least: Michael Jackson’s Thriller

MTV Puts the ‘M’ Back In Music is a post from Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. - Updated daily with the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.. Visit Connected Internet - tech, mobile and gaming news. for the latest news, tips, tweaks, social networking, wordpress tips & tweaks, windows optimization help and more.