Video formatting issues and new computers and camera's.

LOUD Tour TV is still not back up and running at it's full capacity!

There are some issues with converting the videos right now. The video format is MPEG-1 Muxed format, which basically means that the audio and video are compressed into one track. What happens when you attempt to convert this into a quicktime movie you lose the audio and get only the video. I found a workaround so that I can convert the raw footage to what looks like a MOV file so that it can be posted to blip.tv, but when I upload the files and flash conversions are done sound disappers. Also, when I import these files into iMovie HD or even into Garage Band to try and do a podcast, I lose all audio. This is a problem and there is no immediate fix for it, so all Mac users with Sony camera's be forewarned. This is also a problem with Panasonic digital cameras, or with any other digital camera that records in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 formats. All digital camcorders that record in MPEG-4 format, no worries, your video should import normally with all video and sound.

There is another option to work around this issue and that is using 3rd party software to extract the sound from the MPEG file and save it as an mp3. You will have to add both to your video project and then sync your sound with your video. So unless you are an advanced user, don't attempt this stunt! I'll give it a shot if I can find a free converter out there on the internet. By free I mean something that offers more then a 15 day trial of the software. I need a permanent fix, not a 15 day trial of a permanent fix that might still not work! Capiche?

In other news Christine's insurance company finally decided to replace our stuff. They are sending a check to replace the cell phone. We are not sure when we will get that, but we will have it in time. I hate not having a cell phone! They have also decided to replace my laptop computer and also our digital camera! Well the aren't replacing my laptop, they are giving me an Acer laptop instead. Have a look at the specs. The good news, it's Windows XP, not Vista! I don't want to go off the deep end trying to understand Vista and is crazy security measures.

The digital camera that we are getting is a significant upgrade from the model that was stolen. They are sending us a Fuji FinePix E900. It's 9 mega pixels, which is an upgrade from the 7.2 which was stolen from me. It is basically the same camera that we had before but with better quality photo's. The video quality is still the same as with the old Fuji at 30 frames per second. I may shoot regular episodes of LOUD Tour TV with this and music videos with the Sony, it will all depend on the video quality. It doesn't have the image stabilization like the Sony, so I'll make my decision on what I am shooting video with in good time.

So that's about it for now! Watch the video! I'm off to Syracuse for a weekend of performances. See you guys when I get back!