CloudingClarity

Techdeals for Bargain Shoppers

Posted on 17. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good bargain? Techdeals.net is a site that makes finding a great deal simple and easy. Each and every day new, deals are released for viewing. Not only can you find great deals from Walmart or Best Buy, but also from companies that are less well known. Next time you are in the market for a new laptop or vacuum cleaner, take a look through “Techdeals” listings…or perhaps just take a look for fun.

TechDeals

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Video Tape Backup

Posted on 17. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Today I hope to share some information that will help you should you ever find yourself needing to backup some home video tapes. Some time ago, I was given the task of backup up all of my family’s video tapes. I immediately investigated my options. The two I found were:

-Purchase a set-top dvd burner ($150.00)

-Purchase an LG combination video capturecard and dvd burner for my computer ($30.00)

Anyone who knows me could tell you how much it cost me based on the information above. Yep, that’s right, 180 bucks. I am a frugal, frugal man when it comes to many things, and I always attempt the cheap solution first. Unfortunately, it almost always comes back to bite me in the butt. Bottom line is that you would have to have a very, very fast PC to pull off using a video capture card to record your tapes. Also, a large hard drive will be necessary. When capturing the video tapes, you must capture in a raw format or else the audio and video will be out of sync in many cases. The cheap solution turns out to be investing in a set-top dvd burner. I spent 2 weeks failing to copy 1 video tape with my PC, while I competed all 15 videos tapes within 1 week of owning a set-top burner. In conclusion, don’t be cheap skate. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share. Have you had a better experience using a video capture card? If so, what was your computer speed?

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DVD Ripping

Posted on 17. Sep, 2008 by Eric.

Backing up a DVD collection can be a very challenging endeavorer. Search Google and you will quickly find that there are many ways to accomplish the task. Unfortunately, most of them are either costly or hit’n miss. I would like to present three programs which, when used together, are unstoppable. They are called RipIt4Me, DVD Decrypter, and DVD Shrink. If you have ever encountered a movie that would not allow itself to be copied, use this technique. The result will surprise you. Even stubborn movies made from Song or Disney are no match for this triune of greatness.

Before I continue, I would like to throw out a disclaimer. I by no means recommend stealing films. Only in the event that you own the movie should you be copying it. Now, that having been said…lets get started.

1) Download: (search on Google for each of these, you can’t miss it!
-RipIt4Me
-DVD Decrypter
-DVD Shrink
2) Install each of the programs above
3) Place the movie you own into your DVD drive
4) Open RipIt4Me and follow the burning wizard. Be sure to check all boxes that remove protected content
-RipIt4Me works through DVD Decrypter
5) Once the output file is finished, RipIt4Me will automatically start DVD Shrink for you. From there you must simply click backup. After that, all you must do is burn the output file to disk.

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