TCS - Midi Music and Multimedia SIG

Midi Music and Multimedia SIG

by Mike Henson
Tulsa Computer Society
From the February 2001 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter

We had 10 people come out to the January meeting, where we talked about recording and editing video using your computer. We did this using a little device made by Dazzle. This device is a little box that connects to your camcorder or VCR, and then connects to your computer's USB port. It comes with all the cables and wires you need, as well as some recording and editing software.


Digital Photo Maker
Digital Video Creator
Digital Video Creator II

We actually had two of their devices at the meeting. One was called Digital Photo Maker, which is a low-priced device that allow you to record your video in a small window (176x120 at 30fps) of any length, along with the sound. You can then crop off the beginning or ending of the video and keep just the parts you like. You can make a photo of any portion of the video, and save it in any of the popular picture formats (JPG, BMP, TIF, etc.).

The second device we looked at was the Digital Video Creator, which is a better device that lets you record a bigger size video (352x240 at 30fps) in MPEG-1 format. It also comes with Dazzle MovieStar, a video editing software package that allows you to crop, cut, copy, paste, add titles and text, and do transitions. You can also overlay your own audio track, such as music, and record and overlay audio commentary.

Most Dazzle products can be found at your local computer store, or on the internet at www.dazzle.com. Digital Photo Maker sells for around $24, and Digital Video Creator runs around $200. They have recently released Digital Video Creator II, which comes with a PCI card you put in your computer. This allows you to record videos in MPEG-2 format (720x480 at 30fps). It runs around $300.

At the February meeting, Docia McCloud will show us how to imbed sound, graphics, and video into your presentations using PowerPoint and WordPerfect. Come join the fun at the Harmon Foundation, 2901 S. Harvard, on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM.



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Tulsa Computer Society 02/02/2002
Don Singleton, President