Showing posts with label flip. Show all posts
Networking giant Cisco has sent 550 pink slips this weekend to employees of FLIP Video, the most popular hand held video camera in the US. I own a couple of these and I am also shocked about this decision by John Chambers and his men but this is apparently the only thing they can do in this situation. The Flip hasn't been selling well in the US Market since a lot of competitors also ventured into the same gadget. The price difference is huge with Flip pegged at under 200 dollars and the profit from it wasn't as it was expected to be. Though I have been a huge Flip Ultra user these past few years, I thought they were stable and can provide after sales support. They didn't concentrate on providing so and the technical issues of each unit were piling up. The forum was their only channel and things like these can't be manually fixed. They usually throw it out if it is broken. Not a good investment even for a cheap camera.
As for where those employees will go, no one knows but since it did perform poorly this year I hope their decision to move the UMI into enterprise would bear something good. A lot of UMI users already know how expensive the unit is and with that bundled with Verizon or whatnot for connections it'll be hard to recuperate from the losses the already incurred. If money from this project would not increase this year. UMI might be the next one to say goodbye.
In the meantime.. here's John Chambers calling ducks inside the office... LOL
Cisco Gives Up FLIP Video, Sends UMI to Enterprise
I am planning to get a Flip Ultra HD that would be able to get me 2 hours of recording. I also wanted to swap my Flip since I think I saw that it had no HD capability. I am going for HD since I am gunning for the clearer picture. I plan to use it for video coverage too so if I would be editing something like a wedding perhaps I would get crisp images on it like what I was thinking when I got one in the first place. Someone just gave it to me and making this on on HD via a short swap (because they prefer a MINO) is indeed going to be great!The 8 GB storage would definitely matter and since it is dedicated it will regulate itself as far as battery life is concerned. If I use regular rechargeable batteries it would have 2.5 hours worth of recording but if I use Energizer we would have 6.5 hours instead. Now isn't that lovely! Hehehe.
Flip Ultra HD
Today I edited something on the FLIPSHARE Software that came with my Flip Video Recorder. It is performing quite well and doesn't hog that much resources on my computer. I plan to have this together with the Windows Movie Maker software on my computer when editing videos. The Flipshare software has some small problems particularly branding the video itself, the start and end credit function on it is too big and you cannot put that much content on it aside from that default text. The flip logo at the end was good though and you can choose to and not to use it. I have the option to add audio to it but since youtube and facebook detects problems with audio properties, they ask you to either remove it or replace it with whatever they have on stock. Without taking credit on the audio that is just one big drawback!
I want to do video editing professionally and will try to do it on this one first. Let's see what this would perform once I get to see events on it too. Low light performed okay but it is not like infrared that can see in the dark. It is pretty much just like the naked eye and for that, it seems okay.
Video Editing with Flipshare Software
So now comes the first ever video I made out of the FLIP! It was nice to know it was able to capture images in that dark club. It needed lighting obviously but it wouldn't be a bar if it weren't gonna show anything dark and with lights like that. It did show one thing, the real ambiance of the situation there. I can still see people in the dark and when light hits them they do appear very clear. Was it worth to go all the way with MINO on video recording needs?! Yes, I'll tell you why.
The software embedded inside the unit that installs automatically and updates itself is phenomenal. It cuts down any clip that the mino takes. Probably would be able to cut any other mp4 data too. That would mean that mediocre people like me who could not edit videos using windows movie maker before can simply do that with it. There is also an option to go full clip or have it magically transitioned by the software' magic clip. You can customize sound via three source options, it even has the option for stock music which it probably gave away for free. The application does not eat that much memory while runnning. It counts to about 2000+ which is pretty low considering I was moving 11 clips. All of which are okay while haviing threats but it stood up for memory requirement. I can even play it in small sections so I know what I am editing. Good gadget and great software that came with it. :)
The software embedded inside the unit that installs automatically and updates itself is phenomenal. It cuts down any clip that the mino takes. Probably would be able to cut any other mp4 data too. That would mean that mediocre people like me who could not edit videos using windows movie maker before can simply do that with it. There is also an option to go full clip or have it magically transitioned by the software' magic clip. You can customize sound via three source options, it even has the option for stock music which it probably gave away for free. The application does not eat that much memory while runnning. It counts to about 2000+ which is pretty low considering I was moving 11 clips. All of which are okay while haviing threats but it stood up for memory requirement. I can even play it in small sections so I know what I am editing. Good gadget and great software that came with it. :)
First Mino Video and the Software
It's good news! I just got this from the mail. It was one gadget that I truly wanted to have and now it is in my hands!
It looks promising though but I haven't really tried the software yet. The navigation is pretty simple and probably built for dummies. It has a power button on the right side, a big red button on the center and 4 buttons on its side signifying Play/Pause, left, right, and delete. The Flip Mino has its charging capability dependent on the USB which upon a click on its retracting mechanical switch will pop up. I like the ease of use because it basically functions as a camera saving its movies into a USB stick which you can use later on with the software that uploads all of the clips and makes them into movies too. Since I got the one that doesn't have HD capability it makes a decent video. I wouldn't want to complain because this was just given to me and by golly I love it! I can't wait to experiment with it tonight in low light clubs!
It looks promising though but I haven't really tried the software yet. The navigation is pretty simple and probably built for dummies. It has a power button on the right side, a big red button on the center and 4 buttons on its side signifying Play/Pause, left, right, and delete. The Flip Mino has its charging capability dependent on the USB which upon a click on its retracting mechanical switch will pop up. I like the ease of use because it basically functions as a camera saving its movies into a USB stick which you can use later on with the software that uploads all of the clips and makes them into movies too. Since I got the one that doesn't have HD capability it makes a decent video. I wouldn't want to complain because this was just given to me and by golly I love it! I can't wait to experiment with it tonight in low light clubs!I Got My FLIP MINO! =)
Well it looks like there is a new one that would want to battle out the cheaper camcorder market and it is called the SONY BLOGGIE. This was definitely intended for bloggers like us hence the name... but unfortunately it has not been doing well with reviews. It is small and compact but if you think about it they forgot one thing that is a must for any camcorder; the ability to zoom. The lack of optical zoom disables the flexibility of this camcorder to focus on certain parts of a frame. There are also problems regarding its zoom capability as reported and if you do compare its performance with the FLIP MINO or FLIP ULTRA HD the only advantage is the pixels. Aside from that, this is very poorly performing in all its features. I would probably not go for this since it does a bad job in low light conditions too which I specifically pointed out that I need hence the rooting for the FLIP Ultra HD. With the FLIP powered by 2 AA batteries and this one only succumbing to its own one, it would be hard to source batteries of it from here. The price difference is huge but I would still go with the FLIP. Sorry SONY better luck next time!
Fighting For The Top: SONY BLOGGIE
It looks like it is getting promising now. I am getting the FLIP anytime soon and I was initially contemplating what to get. The Flip Mino HD or the Flip Ultra HD. I have compared the pros and cons of getting them and it all boils down to what I need. What matters to me is what is more powerful. So I did check out their specs and scrutinized what would be better for my lifestyle. Storage is important. The FLIP Mino that I have seen was too small since it had 1.5 inch screen for viewing. Ultra HD had 2 inches so a point goes to that. It was too small too for my hand and only looks like a cellphone rather than a cam corder. I will get the Mino because of design and the way I can customize it. Both the MINO HD and ULTRA HD had 9.0 bit rate so both scored in that.
You know what made me choose the ULTRA HD?! It's Battery Time. The Flip Mino HD only had 2 hours worth of recording time and I need more than that. Ultra had 4.5 hours and not only because of that. UltraHD can use AA batteries so it was so nice we finally know what to get. =)
I am still waiting for what next gadget I am going to buy. =) Any suggestions guys?!
You know what made me choose the ULTRA HD?! It's Battery Time. The Flip Mino HD only had 2 hours worth of recording time and I need more than that. Ultra had 4.5 hours and not only because of that. UltraHD can use AA batteries so it was so nice we finally know what to get. =)
I am still waiting for what next gadget I am going to buy. =) Any suggestions guys?!
