Video News

CSTV Networks (a division of CBS) has just launched a mighty, mighty website promising to deliver over 10,000 live college sporting events over the next year. Wow! That’s a lot of Internet TV programming. Further proof that the Long Tail theory is alive and monetizing. Although, one could argue that some Universities are so widely popular that they don’t really fit into that category. But, I for one really appreciate the more unknown events, such as the Collegiate Solar Car Challenge.
Check out the content and see if your local university is airing any events and see if you can get involved. As the need for more individualized content increases, so does the need for more content creators.

We just finished recording a new episode of Videomaker Presents. They are coming up a bit slowly, we’ll freely admit, because magazine page proofing always impacts our time–especially when we have three issues that get proofed pretty much back-to-back (namely, October, our annual Special Issue and November). And at the end of the day, the magazine is still the primary thing that brings money into the building and also puts food on all of our tables. But rest easy, loyal Vidcast viewers, there’s more great content on the way that will teach you, make you smirk and dazzle you, possibly all at the same time.

If you remember several weeks ago, Verbatim and JVC were touting their new Dual Layer 8cm DVD discs (2.6 GB) that will help the DVD camcorder operator achieve longer record times. Well, Memorex has their own solution, now, and you don’t need a dual layer capable DVD camcorder. Memorex jumps in the heat with their double-sided media (2.8 GB). So, if you’re looking to increase you capabilities, here’s a solution. Keep in mind, however, you’ll need to pop out the disc and flip it when you get to the end of one side.

Looks like a 5-pack (pictured) is going for $19.99. See Memorex for more details.

PNY announces 3 new graphics cards at price point that’s hard to beat. The Verto GeForce 7600 GS AGP 8X ($199, MSRP) caught our eye with a 512 MB frame buffer, 400 MHz core clock, 128-bit memory interface, DVI to VGA adapter, S-Video cable and HDTV break-out pod. We’d love to give you a pic, but their website is currently experiencing some problems, likely due to their announcement.

The new cards are based on NVidia’s GeoForce 7 series GPUs and support the highly anticipated Windows Vista platform. So if you’re looking to build a machine ready for the future, here’s an inexpensive solution with some HD capabilities.

For more information check out the press release (not on their website).

So if you’re not sick of hearing about Blu-ray again (sorry Chris), here’s a bit of news about Cyberlink’s PowerDVD BD Edition (see their press release). This is the first time I’ve heard about the product.

We’re not trying to take sides, we think both technologies are a great leap forward for consumer and professional videographers. I personally can’t wait to see the market mature and the prices to start falling.

Sony Media Software has announced an update to Movie Studio+DVD Platinum Edition, which brings new tools to consumer level video editing and DVD authoring.

Looks to be a very notable upgrade, offering support for DV and HDV video, the ability to export to PSP and iPod and much more. There’s no mention of Blu-ray support, but, what do you expect for $129 (MSRP)?

Deep in the recesses of the Videomaker test kitchen, I’m quietly grinding away on our annual all-camcorder buyer’s guide (well, all digital camcorders, anyway.) It’s somewhat slow going, but it’s definitely happening. The goal, of course, is to help you, our faithful readers, find the best camcorder for your needs.

Things that are making this buyer’s guide particularly interesting include the new formats that have been coming out–notably, hard drive-based units and Sony’s two AVCHD models–and that we are tweeking the way certain things are listed. We (and I in particular) hope that these little changes will make it easier to find the camcorder you need.

Now to decide how to stratify these… clearly, the DVD camcorders will be broken out, but from there, there are several ways we could go about it. You’ll find out how we decided to do it when the December issue lands in your mailbox or your favorite newsstand (somewhere between 11/9 and 11/14.)

The much anticipated, and much parodied “Snakes on a Plane” opened with less-than anticipated crowds this weekend, despite a growing fan blog connection. After final shooting late last year, the movie’s producers decided to make some changes to a few scenes after a near-cult following of bloggers began to write their own imagined endings. You heard about it here way back in March in Episode #8 of our Vidcast, Videomaker Presents.

It’s interesting to note, though, that what started out as a low-budget “B” movie turned into a box-office draw due to hype from bloggers, not PR publicity. Our own Derek DeMarco saw the movie this weekend, and said that it wasn’t campy enough, considering the press, and hoped for more, not less, thrills and spills. He’ll be discussing that and the blogging community involvement in Videomaker Presents Episode 30.

Time will tell if this movie’s draw will grow over time, but talk is going around the Videomaker office about multiple sequels, one being “Steaks on a Plane” (Or was that “Stakes on a Plane”, not sure if they meant gambling or bovine.) But my sequel wish is “Skates on a Plane.” Think about it for a moment, roller derby-like flight attendants serving hot coffee… This photo is Videomaker’s pet rubber snake going after Tech Editor Mark Montgomery in the upcoming sequel “Snakes in a Cubicle.” Mark will be boarding a plane shortly for a trip to WEVA… no snakes expected.

We just got our hands on a new Acer Aspire 9800 for doing some upcoming HD work. It comes with an extra-large 20.1″ WXSGA+ screen, two 120 GB internal SATA hard drives, a gig of ram, an HD-DVD player, and a bunch of USB and other high-speed ports. The first thing we noticed is that you really should lift with your legs, not your back. At nearly 18 pounds, this isn’t just a desktop replacement, it’s practically the desk too. With a street price of about $2,600, this is the first low-cost x-large screen we’ve seen that seems to be designed primarily for multimedia apps. (a dedicated drive for the software, and another for the A/V). It’s still fresh out of the box, so we haven’t had a chance to give it a real workout. We’ll let you know when we do.

The big challenge now…finding a bag that fits!

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