Simple Help » Screencasts http://www.simplehelp.net Common questions, simple answers Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:12:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 How to create ringtones for your iPhone in Windows http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/28/how-to-create-ringtones-for-your-iphone-in-windows/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/28/how-to-create-ringtones-for-your-iphone-in-windows/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:06:35 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3268 Windows iPhone

This video tutorial will show you step-by-step how to create iPhone ringtones from almost any audio or video source.

I was going to write up a tutorial on how to use this software, but it turns out the author already has a fantastic video tutorial. So all you have to do is head over to his page, download iRinger, and watch this video.

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/28/how-to-create-ringtones-for-your-iphone-in-windows/feed/ 0 How to compress video created with Snapz X Pro http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/19/how-to-compress-video-created-with-snapz-x-pro/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/19/how-to-compress-video-created-with-snapz-x-pro/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:30:06 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=593

Ever since Rebecca explained how to create a screencast in OS X, I’ve been messing with Snapz X Pro. The only real problem I have with it is that the resulting files (.mov) are huge. There are a few compression/save as options and I will review them, but I’ve found it much easier to take the resulting files and convert them using ffmpegX, a free audio/video conversion tool. This tutorial will take you through the steps to convert .mov files to Flash.

  1. If you don’t have it installed already, download and install ffmpegX.
  2. Open Snapz X Pro and select Preferences. Click the Settings button in the Include Video Track section.


    click to enlarge

  3. You’ll notice a number of output formats – but none of them are Flash. You can use H.264 for better compression (better than .mov) – but the resulting file can still be too large for web streaming (especially for folks not using a very fast broadband connection). Leaving Animation as the default will result in a large file, but that file can be heavily compressed (the point of this tutorial) without much loss in quality.


    4. click to enlarge

  4. Return to the Preferences screen, and this time click the Settings button in the Include Microphone Track section. Note: this tutorial assumes you are in fact including audio recorded from your microphone in your screencast.

    From here you can change the default audio format, but again, the default is ideal. However, you may want to change Mono to Stereo for better sound.

  5. Once you’ve recorded your screencast with Snapz X Pro, launch ffmpegX. Click the Open button from the upper left corner.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. Navigate to the .mov file you created with Snapz X Pro, select it and click Choose.


    7. click to enlarge

  7. The default Target Format will likely be set to AVI DivX, but that’s not what we’ll want to use.


    8. click to enlarge

  8. So click the small arrow next to AVI DivX and select FLV (Flash Video) from the pull-down menu.


    9. click to enlarge

  9. The default Flash settings aren’t ideal, so we’ll make a few quick changes. Click the Video tab.


    10. click to enlarge

  10. In the Video parameters section, you will almost certainly want to change the Video Size, as it’s unlikely that it actually matches your source (.mov) video file. Enter the appropriate size in the spaces provided. If you’re not sure what video resolution you recorded in using Snapz X Pro, navigate to the .mov you created, select it by clicking it once, and then hit Apple Key+i to get the file information.


    11. click to enlarge

  11. In the More Info section of the File Info pane, look for the Dimensions. That’s the video size you’ll want to specify in ffmpegX.


    12. click to enlarge

  12. Back in ffmpegX, select the Audio tab. Use .MP3 as the Audio Codec. You might want to increase the Audio bitrate slightly, but not too high – if your audio track is just your voice recorded through your microphone, there’s no need to have very very high quality audio.

    When everything is set to your liking, click the Encode button.


    13. click to enlarge

  13. The length of time it takes to encode your video will depend on the video size and length. I used a 41 second, 43.4MB movie file, and it encoded in about 15 seconds.

  14. Once completed, locate your newly created .flv (flash) file. Notice the huge difference in file size (mine went from 43.4MB to 2.5MB). You can play your flash file in your browser, or a video player like VLC if you have it installed. Note that the quality will have decreased slightly from the original .mov, but not significantly. And the huge decrease in file size more than makes up for the slight quality loss.


    15. click to enlarge

  15. That’s it – you’re done. Next up will be a screencast on how to embed your Flash video into a WordPress blog.

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/19/how-to-compress-video-created-with-snapz-x-pro/feed/ 0 Screencast: How to customize the Firefox 3 Toolbar http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/18/screencast-how-to-customize-the-firefox-3-toolbar/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/18/screencast-how-to-customize-the-firefox-3-toolbar/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:55:51 +0000 Miss604 http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=599

Miss604 is on a screencasting-roll – here’s one on how to customize the Firefox 3 Toolbar, just in case it installed with some of the buttons missing (or you want to add others). You can subscribe to all of Rebeccas screencasts on Viddler using this feed. The video is after the jump –

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/18/screencast-how-to-customize-the-firefox-3-toolbar/feed/ 0 Screencast: How to Highlight Your Cursor for Screencasts in OS X http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/18/screencast-how-to-highlight-your-cursor-for-screencasts-in-os-x/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/18/screencast-how-to-highlight-your-cursor-for-screencasts-in-os-x/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:00:43 +0000 Miss604 http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=596 Mac

Rebecca has put together another excellent screencast for Simple Help – this one shows off the very useful features (and some less useful but definitely fun) of Omnidazzle. Omnidazzle is fully functional shareware, but is limited to one hour of use before you have to restart the application. It’ll set you back $14.95 USD to use without the one hour restriction.

How to Highlight Your Cursor for Screencasts in OS X


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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/18/screencast-how-to-highlight-your-cursor-for-screencasts-in-os-x/feed/ 0 Screencast: How to create a screencast using OS X http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/17/screencast-how-to-create-a-screencast-using-os-x/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2008/06/17/screencast-how-to-create-a-screencast-using-os-x/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:00:43 +0000 Miss604 http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=592 Mac

Hi all – this is a first for Simple Help, today marks the first time I’ve had a guest blogger contribute to the site – I’d like you all to meet Rebecca, aka Miss604. Rebecca is one of, if not the most, prominent Vancouver bloggers. Miss604.com covers everything from Vancouver tech happenings (she’s a live-blogging specialist) to sports, music and local events. If you’re a local you already know about her site, if you’re not, check it out to get a great feel for our city.

How to create a screencast using OS X

Resources: Snapz Pro X, Snapz Pro X tutorials

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