DigMo! » Video

Turbo.264 HD Video Tutorial

DigMo — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:48:39 +0000

We love how the Elgato Turbo.264 HD works with our Panasonic HDC-SD100 (Review Link) we produced a video how-to. This video tutorial will show you how easy it is to quickly import and convert AVCHD camcorder footage using Elgato’s Turbo.264 HD hardware accelerator and software.

The intuitive interface makes simple edits to footage very simple and even has the ability to send footage directly to YouTube and YouTube HD.

If you connect an AVCHD camcorder to your Mac an additional button appears on the main window entitled ‘Add Camcorder’. This is the point when updated software really offers a massive advantage.

Importing AVCHD footage using iMovie and Final Cut although faster than traditional firewire video importing still takes a fair bit of time. The Turbo.264 software quickly lists and indexes the AVCHD footage with a first frame thumbnail.

This tutorial is available on Vimeo and also our YouTube Channel. To read our full review of the Elgato Turbo.264 HD package click here.

Auto Start Apps in Leopard

DigMo — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:58:50 +0000

If you are like and prone to a little laziness fueled efficiency then having Leopard load your key applications is definitely going to be a benefit. Apple OS X has the ability to auto-run any application on start up, this video tutorial will show you just how easy it is to use.

This video is also available on our YouTube Channel.

Click on the on the  (top right of the desktop). Load the System Preferences.
Now click on the ‘Accounts’ tab. You may need to enter your password to unlock the ability to change these settings. Now lick ‘Login Items’

Adding (or subtracting) applications to this list is really very easy. Click the + button to add an application and yes, you guessed it the – to remove an application from the list.

Note : It is possible to add more than one application to the list by holding down the CMD (⌘) key while clicking on the name of the applications.

Very easy and very useful especially if you set your computer to auto boot in the morning (see the tutorial on how to do this). It means you mail, latest tweets, and RSS items can all be downloaded and waiting for you each morning.

A Greener Leopard

DigMo — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:34:16 +0000

Leopard comes with a number of energy saving options built into the operating system. This tutorial will show you how to customise these options and even set your Mac to startup in the morning as you get up and automatically shut down when you go to bed.

The energy saving options are in the System Preferences (click the Apple () on the top left of your screen).
The main window allows you to control the time at which the computer and the screen go to sleep. It is important that the screen sleep time is greater than the time limit on the visual screen saver. Leopard will warn you if this is the case and will allow you to adjust it appropriately. I have my screen saver set to load after 5 mins, screen sleep after ten and then the entire Mac goes to sleep after 15 minutes.

Even sleep mode uses up energy and Leopard offers the ability to shutdown and startup the computer at set times. This means you can have your computer turning on at 7am ready to check your email, RSS and twitter and then shutdown at 11pm that night when you are asleep.

To set these times click ‘Schedule’ at the bottom of the Energy Saving window.

Set both times and hit OK. Remember the computer still needs to be plugged in to the wall with the wall switch on to work. With a bit of tweaking you can easily have your Mac working with you in a much environmentally friendly fashion.

Right Click on Mac

DigMo — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:39:26 +0000

One of the biggest problems users switching from PC to Mac face is the perceived one button mouse. Daily I see people with crossed arms trying to hold down CTRL and click to activate contextual menus. The reality is the Mighty Mouse is considerably more than a single button mouse and right click is just a few clicks away.

The mouse options are available through the System Preferences menu (click the  on the top left of the desktop screen). Click the Keyboard and Mouse button and finally the ‘Mouse’ tab.

As well as the scrolling options you have control over 4 mouse bottons. Activating the ‘right click’ is easy, click on the right drop down and select ‘Secondary button’.

As you can see from the drop down you are not limited to just using it as a secondary button and any of the buttons can be used to call dashboard, Application Switcher, Spotlight and Spaces.

Try out a few of the options and before long you will have your mouse customised so you can jump around the operating system in seconds.

EyeTV: Removing Ad Breaks

DigMo — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:42:52 +0000

So you have an AppleTV and you record television to your Mac via the great Elgato EyeTV software. One of the minor annoyances I find with the Apple TV is trying to rewind or forward when watching a video. If you record with EyeTV and export direct to iPod or AppleTV format you will have felt the frustration of trying to forward through ad breaks and not miss 3-4 minutes of the film.

The good news is EyeTV allows you to easily remove the Ad breaks (and the footage at the start and end of your recording).

Once your programme or film has finished recording, right click on the programme’s icon in the ‘Recordings’ section of EyeTv and select ‘Edit’. I always make sure the ‘Fine’ option is click for greater accuracy in removing the ad break and thus not chopping bits off the recorded programme.

Once compacted you can export the recording to whatever format you require using the main interface of EyeTV. The results are seamless and if you have ticked the ‘fine’ option you shouldn’t even be able to spot where the breaks were in the first place.

Obviously this adds a bit of time between recording a programme and being able to watch it. EyeTV can automatically add recorded programmes to AppleTV a short time after they have been recorded.

That said we find this step of removing the Ads makes for much less painless viewing experience, especially if you are like us and can not really get to grips with that little white Apple remote.

For a text version of the complete process visit this previous article.

Creating Screen Grabs in OS X

DigMo — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:46:03 +0000

Taking screen shots in Apple’s OS X operating system really could not be easier. This video tutorial takes you through three simple keyboard shortcuts that offer different ways to capture elements on your screen.

A quick video tutorial on how to take screen grabs using the OS Shortcuts. The three shortcuts covered :

⇧⌘ 3 for a screen shot of the entire desktop.

⇧⌘ 4 for a set of crosshairs that allow you to select the area of the screen you want to grab.

⇧⌘ 4 (Space) grabs only the window the user clicks.

Final Cut – Reversing Clips

DigMo — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:33:40 +0000

This quick tutorial covers how easy it is to change both the direction and speed of a clip in Final Cut Express. The tutorial is aimed at anyone making the leap from iMovie to Final Cut Express.

To reverse and change the speed of a clip in Final Cut Express. Click on the clip you want to alter and then click on the ‘Modify’ Menu. Select Speed (or use the ⌘J shortcut). A window will appear giving you the option to reverse and set the speed of the clip.

Reducing the 100 makes the clip slower, increasing it makes the clip faster. Therefore if you want the clip to play at double speed set the number to 200(%).

Note this will alter both the video and audio tracks. If you want to remove the audio, click the video and click ⌘ L. This will unlink the audio and video thus allowing the audio track to be removed.

Very easy when you know how.

Alpha Tool Tutorial Keynote 09

DigMo — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:20:12 +0000

Last year we published a quick guide on the Alpha tool that first featured in the great iWork 08 release. The tutorial remains popular and there appears to be a stack of people searching for a guide on how to use the tool via Google.

This Screencast introduces not only my first ever screencast with a voiceover but a quick guide on how easy the Alpha tool is to use.

The Alpha tool is very simple to use :

To remove unwanted elements:

Select the image.
1. Click Alpha in the toolbar (or choose Format > Instant Alpha).
2. Click the color you want to make transparent, and then drag slowly over it.
3. As you drag, the selection grows to include the contiguous area that uses similar colors. You can control how much of the image is selected by dragging less or more.
Repeat these steps as many times as is required.

Better still the shadow tool now works perfectly on your new cut out shape. The Alpha tool is very easy to use and my advice is to drag the wheel slowly at first and experiment with the amount of colour being removed.

The text version of this guide is available here.

How to Burn a CD Using OS X

DigMo — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:12:51 +0000

For some this may appear to be a task you never expected to see a tutorial for, yet I know for some getting your head around a new operating system can take a little bit of effort. This simply screen cast takes you through the basic step in writing to data to CD/DVD.

The first time the Vimeo video plays it seems to be double speed. Click play, then pause, wait for the entire video to load and then re-click play.

1. Insert a blank CD.
2. When the dialogue box appears click ‘ok’ (CD window will appear).
3. Locate the file(s) you want to burn to the CD.
4. Drag the files into the CD window. You can repeat this stage if the files are in multiple locations.
5. Name the CD & click burn.

I predict that someone will point out that theoretically there are 6 steps (if you count relax). Just beating you to it.

For YouTube fans the video is also available here.

EyeTV Smart Guides Tutorial

DigMo — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:47:15 +0000

One of the new features in Elgato’s latest version of EyeTV 3 is a series link style system called ‘Smart Guide’. The system is not only particularly useful but it is also sophisticated enough to find missing episodes and ignore those you have already recorded.

[NOTE: I have noticed the first time you watch this video it plays fast. When it starts to appear hit pause and restart the video] YouTube Version.

The system has thrown me a couple of times as it is not obviously available from the main TV Guide view in EyeTV. If you click to record an episode and then try and add the Smart Guide the service almost appears hidden.

This 30 second guide serves as an easy to follow video tutorial on how to get the best from Smart Guide. You may need to pause the video or watch it a few times as it fast going.

The text boxes are a more pleasant alternative to a voice over but in time I will add a few more video tutorials and will venture into adding voice.

I have also decided to use the Vimeo video service for the tutorial rather than the traditional YouTube route. I don’t know if any of you have used this service but any comments would be appreciated. I do think Vimeo video’s look sharper and have more embedding options. Perhaps there is a downside I haven’t discovered yet ?

DigMo! » Video

Turbo.264 HD Video Tutorial

Related:

Auto Start Apps in Leopard

Related:

A Greener Leopard

Related:

Right Click on Mac

Related:

EyeTV: Removing Ad Breaks

Related:

Creating Screen Grabs in OS X

Related:

Final Cut – Reversing Clips

Related:

Alpha Tool Tutorial Keynote 09

Related:

How to Burn a CD Using OS X

Related:

EyeTV Smart Guides Tutorial

Related: