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[FIXED] iTunes Home Sharing Losing Connection

Ian Lee — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:35:35 +0000

Apple’s Home Sharing is a pretty powerful setup to share media on your home network; when it works that is. Unfortunately though, sometimes clients like an Apple TV would just lose connection and then complains that Home Sharing is not turned on. Sure enough, when you check iTunes, Home Sharing is not enabled. Here is a method that worked for me to keep Home Sharing on iTunes always enabled. This is meant for Windows 7 users.

1. Go to the Windows/Start Menu, type “Windows Firewall With Advanced Security” into the search box. Launch this application.

2. On the left menu bar, click on “Inbound Rules”. In the center area, look for all “Bonjour Services”. Then find Advanced >> Profiles. Make sure all 3 checkboxes (Domain, Private and Public) are checked off. Make sure Private is checked in both windows. Click apply. Note, if you don’t run Domain or you don’t know what Domain is, then make sure BOTH Public and Private are checked.

Hopefully, this will help you maintain a stable Home Sharing connection to iTunes. It did for me thank goodness.

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[SOLUTION] BlackBerry Cannot Log On to Exchange Server Error

Ian Lee — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:16:50 +0000

For all Blackberry owners who are having issues with Desktop Manager syncing properly with Outlook, you may be getting this or a similar message “Cannot log on to Exchange Server error. Please check server access or provide a valid password.”

Here is a quick fix that might help you get back on track.

1. Connect Blackberry to your computer’s Desktop Manager

2. Click “Organizer” on left side of Desktop Manager

3. Click “Reset Settings”

4. Run the set up process again

5. Sync your Blackberry

With any luck, this may help to fix that dreaded Exchange Server error.

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How to Download Videos from an HD DVR / PVR

Ian Lee — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:20:40 +0000

Recently, I ran into a major road block trying to record a few news clips from an HD DVR / PVR to a PC. A ton of research pointed me to try using firewire to download videos from the DVR to a PC. Unfortunately, there were no drivers available from Motorola for the DVR in question. There were, however, third party drivers available but they were not supported in a Windows 7 64-bit environment. Even if they were, I would not have installed them regardless since it was not supported by Motorola. My only option was to find a cost effective way to capture directly from the HDMI or component out of the DVR. Here is how to download and capture video from an HD DVR; see final video below.

AverMedia Game Capture HD versus Hauppage HD PVR

Capturing via HDMI was not an option as this port on the DVR has copyright protection. In addition, @StephenFung from FutureLooks reminded me that equipment that can handle capturing video via HDMI was professional-grade and would cost accordingly. The only option remaining was to capture via component out. The two options available are Hauppage’s HD PVR and AverMedia’s Game Capture HD (former ~$200; latter ~$150). These are dedicated units made to capture video signals from HD DVR’s and game consoles like the Playstation, Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360.

Leaning Towards AverMedia Game Capture HD

A quick read of reviews pointed to the Hauppage HD PVR yielding higher video quality. But, I did see one Youtube video from the AverMedia Game Capture HD that was surprisingly much higher in video quality that the rest. It turns out that AverMedia has released a firmware update that bump recording bitrate from 10mbps to 15mbps. Additionally, the AverMedia unit allow you to record with USB harddrives where as the Hauppage HD PVR can only be used when connected to a PC (ie. it has no harddrive storage). To top it off, the AverMedia unit was 25% cheaper ($50) in price. Based on all these factors, especially the fact that you do not need a PC to make recordings, made the AverMedia Game Capture HD the preferred choice. Before I made the purchase, it was important to make sure video quality was indeed good enough and the recorded video (h.264 wrapped in AVI which is not a popular format) has to work inside Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

So after reaching out to my tech friends, @MichaelKwan from MegaTechNews was gracious enough to lend me his AverMedia Game Capture HD for testing. Thanks Michael!

As you can see, this post is not a full review. For that you can check out Michael’s review. I will keep this post on point to using the AverMedia Game Capture HD to capture video from an HD DVR.

AverMedia Game Capture HD Results

I found AverMedia indeed has a driver that bumped the maximum recording bitrate to 15mbps (from 10mbps). After flashing to the latest firmware, the captured videos are probably the best quality I have seen from all of the AverMedia Game Capture HD reviews and examples on Youtube. The recorded AVI files did not play nice with Premiere Pro CS5. But a quick re-wrap of the AVI to MP4 using XMedia Recode (a free must have for all your video needs – ie. converting movies so they play on iPad, iPhone and various devices) made the video compatible without loss of video quality.

The video below was captured at 1080 60i (15mbps) and I added an intro and outro and exported it as a Youtube friendly video (720 30p at 5mbps). This 2 minute clip is pretty darn good as far as quality goes. It contains a mix of regular content and computer animation so this should give you a good idea on what the AverMedia unit can do.

Note that I did not use the supplied component video cables as I had a better set. You don’t need super expensive cables but thicker, well insulated component cables (as a general rule when it comes to home theater guidelines) will give better results. Also note that most TV’s and A/V receivers cannot convert HDMI signal to component but if you have one that can do this, you should be able to use the AverMedia Game Capture HD to capture videos from your Apple TV. This would actually be very helpful in making Apple TV tutorials.

For a very long time, it took users a lot of tech know-how and some luck to download videos from their HD DVR’s. Today, anyone can do this cost effectively using the AverMedia Game Capture HD.

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[SOLUTION] CKEditor svc.spellchecker.net Spellchecker in Drupal Causes Malware Warning

Ian Lee — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:29:06 +0000

This morning, a client noticed a malware warning from Google Chrome when they tried to edit an article in Drupal. It turned out to be a domain (svc.spellchecker.net) from CKEditor (a WYSIWYG editor) was the cause. After some digging around, here are 2 ways to disable CKEditor spell checker from running. Both methods solved the malware warning from Chrome for Drupal 6:

Method 1:

1. Go to /admin/settings/ckeditor
2. Select the profile that you use or go through all of them if you wish:
3. Click on “Advanced options”
4. Set Spell checker: No
5. Click Save
6. Clear cache just in case

Method 2:

1. Go to /admin/settings/ckeditor
2. Select the profile that you use or go through all of them if you wish:
3. Click on “Advanced options”
4. Add “config.scayt_autoStartup = false;” without quotes to “Custom javascript configuration” section
5. Click Save
6. Clear cache just in case

Based on the Chrome warning, spellchecker.net has been notified of the malware warning. Hopefully, there is a fix sooner rather than later so we can enable the spell checker for CKEditor once again.

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DepositPhotos.com – A New Source for Stock Images

Ian Lee — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:48:38 +0000

As a long time publisher in the digital realm, it’s always great to be able to shoot images myself that we use in articles, but most of the time, it just makes sense to buy an image. This frees up time so I can concentrate on the creation and publishing of the actual content instead. Over the years, I have been using iStockPhoto.com to purchase images for a publisher client. Recent policy and pricing changes at this royalty-free stock image site has encouraged me to look elsewhere for images.

Before I share my new source of stock images, let me share some thoughts on why we are looking for a supplement to iStockPhoto. When we first joined iStockPhoto, images used to cost about $1 USD / image for the lowest resolution size (which was higher resolution at the time than currently I might add). We mainly publish online so most of our needs are met by choosing the lowest web version. With increasing image prices and decreasing resolution size, it was time for me to find another source for royalty-free images.

The New Kid in Town – Real World Pricing

After extensive research, I found a newer player in town in for stock images; and they seem to be gaining traction pretty quickly. This new site is DepositPhotos.com. Although their portfolio is not as large as iStockphoto’s, DepositPhotos has plenty of high quality images to meet our needs nicely. Currently, their lowest web version (roughly 425 x 280 pixels) is priced at 0.5 credits. This works out to $0.50 USD / image. On the other hand, iStockPhoto low resolution images (also around 425 x 280 pixels) can be purchased at around 1 credit (about $1.50 / image).

I use the word about because iStockPhoto’s has a tired pricing structure. The larger your money deposit, the lower the cost / image. In fact, you can in theory be purchasing iStockPhoto images for $0.95 / image. But, there is a catch. In order to get this rate, you must deposit $20,000 USD! For users who purchase the $6 minimum buy in, it works out to $1.62 USD / credit. But, number 2, it seems that more recent images being uploaded by photographers to iStockPhoto are priced at 2 credits instead of the previous 1 credit. One credit images are becoming harder to source. So a typical 2 credit low resolution photo ends up costing $3.24 USD. If you make a $75 credit purchase, a 2 credit image would work out to be $3 USD. This cost 500% more than a similar resolution photo from DepositPhotos.com!

Sometimes, there’s a need for slightly higher resolution images (about 800 x 600) and at DepositPhotos, the cost is $1 USD. At iStockphoto, a similar sized photo can go for 3 to 30 credits. You do the math.

Check out the pricing structures yourself. Here is iStockphoto.com’s price guide. Here is DepositPhotos.com’s price guide. And remember that 1 credit at iStockPhoto.com typically costs more than 1 credit at DepositPhotos.com.

For the record, I do feel that iStockPhoto carry more images than DepositPhotos. I can remember 1 time in the last few months where I could not locate a suitable image at DepostiPhotos and had to resort back to iStockphotos. But I must also say that there has been times where I could not find a suitable image at iStockPhoto and had to shoot the image myself. Being able to obtain images from multiple sources is ideal for publishers. For me, having 2 stock image photo websites carries the benefits of both worlds – lower cost and more photo choices.

Demo Yourself – You Decide

You need to perform searches at both websites and see if results and cost / image meet your needs. The best thing is, you don’t just have to take my word for it. DepositPhotos actually offer a 7 day (5 images / day) trial with no resolution limits. Give it a go and let me know what you think! And yes, that is an affiliate link.

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[SOLUTION] How to Tether an iPad 2 to an iPhone (including 3G & 3GS) without Jailbreaking

Ian Lee — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:47:48 +0000

Mobile carriers that allow internet tethering gave iPhone users the ability to share their mobile internet connection with notebooks and tablets. This is game changing technology and has been proven very useful for users not near a Wifi hotspot or those who choose not to use a free hotspot connection. Currently, not many mobile carriers allow internet tethering so when Apple launched the latest iPhone 4 and recent iOS’s with the new Wifi hotspot feature, it was warmly welcomed as it allowed iPhone 4 users to set up their own mini Wifi hotspots to share internet connectivity. The bad news for 3G and 3GS users was that this Wifi hotspot feature was only available for the iPhone 4. So unless you jailbreak your older iPhone, there is no way for an iPad or iPad 2 to use the mobile internet connection from a 3G or 3GS iPhone…. until today that is. Well, not exactly today, but it is only now that I found out that iOS 4.2.1 has enabled Bluetooth tethering for iPhones (even 3G and 3GS). This means I can now share my 3G mobile internet connection with an iPad without having to jailbreak. This let’s an iPad 2 grab and share the internet connection from my iPhone; although I have not tested this with other devices, I assume this would work with other Bluetooth enabled tablets like the iPad 1 as well. Of course, this only works if your mobile carrier allow your specific data plan to tether. Read on for detailed instructions on how to tether your iPad to your iPhone 3G or 3GS.

Here are the instructions to tether an iPad 2 to an iPhone 3G or 3GS. Make sure you follow these steps in the correct order:

1. Turn on Interent Tethering on your iPhone 3G or 3GS
General >> Network >> Internet Tethering – On (this is important, otherwise, Step #2 may fail)

2. Turn on Bluetooth on your iPhone 3G or 3GS
General >> Bluetooth – On
Note: Your iPhone may be smart enough to ask you enable Bluetooth right at this step

3. On your iPad 2, turn on Bluetooth
General >> Bluetooth – On

4. Once Bluetooth is enabled on your iPad 2, you should see your iPhone in the iPad’s Bluetooth list. Click on it to connect.
Note: you need to click your iPhone that is listed on your iPad. Selecting your iPad on your iPhone will not pair the Bluetooth connection.

5. Once you select to pair, you will receive a pop up on both your iPad and iPhone screens giving you a 6-digit numeric code
Your iPad pop up will give you the 6-numeric pin and your iPhone pop will ask if you want to pair Bluetooth using this pin. It’s a good way to ensure you only allow the right device to share your iPhone’s internet connection.

6. Click “Pair” on both devices
That’s it.

Once the pairing is complete, you should see the Tethering / Paired logo in the Wifi icon area. Now, you should be able to access the internet as if you were connected via Wifi. What joy for some of us old time iPhone users.

As You Can See, I Have Internet Connectivity

Although 3G tethering is slower than most Wifi connections, it’s still very usable and allow you to use the internet anywhere you have a mobile signal.

I do not have access to an iPad 1 but a quick message to @JohnChow and @iPhoneinCanada confirmed that the iPad 1 also has Bluetooth. So Bluetooth tethering should work for iPad 1 owners as well.

Once the word gets out, especially in areas where mobile carriers allow tethering, I have a feeling the 3G version of the iPad is going to take a nose dive in sales. Who would want to buy a dedicated 3G version when you can either Wifi hotspot or Bluetooth tether an internet connection now? Sales dipping may not mean a revenue drop for Apple mind you. Somehow, I think this is a calculated move by Apple and the mobile carriers. I am sure there is profit to be made from enabling tethering. For instance, Fido and Rogers (in Canada) only allow tethering for users with a higher cost data plan of 1GB or more / month. Realistically, Bluetooth tethering is only necessary for older iPhones. As I mentioned, the newer iPhone 4 has the Wifi hotspot featured enabled so most users will tether an iPad this way. I am guessing the only time an iPhone 4 user would want to Bluetooth tether over Wifi tethering is when they want better security while tethering.

If you have an iPad 1 or 2 and an older iPhone, give this Bluetooth tethering a try, it works if you have installed iOS 4.2.1 or later. And if you have an iPhone 4, let us know if Bluetooth tethering works with your iPad. In fact, if you have multiple Bluetooth devices, do let everyone know if multiple devices can share the 1 mobile internet connection using the above method!

Apple gets a thumbs up from me for supporting long time customers. What do you think about this move by Apple to enable Bluetooth tethering for 3G & 3GS users?

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[SOLVED] Opengraph Drupal Module – Fatal error: Call to undefined function mb_substr()

Ian Lee — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:15:27 +0000

Recently, because a client’s Facebook Share count disappeared, I decided to replace the Share button with the newer Like button. The Like button works but sometimes, the count was still defaulting to zero even though many users have Liked a specific article. To try and fix this, I wanted to add meta info to each Like button. Meta info will allow posts to Facebook to be associated with a pre-specified image, URL and other article properties. Without this info, sometimes the system picks the correct image but most of the time it does not. I was hoping adding meta info will resolve the zero count issue for the Like button. The solution was to implement Opengraph Tags to add meat info to the Facebook Like button. Essensially, Opengraph tags will tell Facebook’s that a Like button is specifically linked to a particular article along with it’s title, description, image, article type, URL and site name. The site in question is powered by Drupal so I decided to give the Opengraph module a try. The only problem was, during installation, I received a server error like so:

Fatal error: Call to undefined function mb_substr() in path/sites/all/modules/opengraph_meta/opengraph_meta.common.inc on line 127

Searching and asking about this error code in the Drupal forums did not result in any resolutions. Then it occured to me that this error was a function error. So I thought it could be a web sever configuration issue rather than a Drupal issue. After sending a ticket to the server management company, I was told that we could fix this error just by including this module into PHP and doing a recompile. It took about 30 minutes for the entire recompile to take place. Only near the last few minutes did the website go offline for about 3 minutes. After that, the Drupal Opengraph Drupal module was successful installed and worked as indicated. Every article on the client site now contains 6 Opengrpaph meta tags and Facebook is indeed displaying the proper Like counts and image on a person’s wall after they have Liked an article.

If you are not seeing the Facebook Like button show the correct count or image,on your Drupal site, check out the Opengraph Drupal module. It just may solve your problem like it did ours.

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[SOLVED] Cisco Linksys E4200 Slow Upload Speed

Ian Lee — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:02:13 +0000

For those who have waited patiently for the Cisco Linksys E4200 Gigabit, Wireless-N, Dual-Band router to arrive in Canadian retail stores, your wait is over. Cisco officially launched the E4200 on March 27, 2011 in Canada. Before I publish a more detailed article about putting the unit through its paces in a real world environment, here is a quick tweak to speed up slow uploads through the E4200. Setup was easy and most settings can be left at the default level. But one particular setting at default resulted in a slow internet upload speed. The E4200 is currently the highest consumer grade wireless router made by Cisco Linksys so take advantage of the new options available in the latest Linksys firmware. Log in to the unit and under Applications & Games >> QoS ,there is a setting for “Upstream Bandwidth“. Default for this is “Auto“. Linksys has an online UI setup so you can see this setting here. When in Auto mode, I was only getting about 60% (1.6 mbps) of my maximum upload speed. Once I manually set Upstream Bandwidth to 10 mbps, I was able to reach my maximum upload speed of 2.5 mbps. If you are experiencing a slow upload speed with the Linksys E4200, try setting Upstream Bandwidth at 2-3 times your maximum upload speed and you may just speed up slow internet upload speeds.

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Kingston 32GB Class 10 SDHC Cards – SD10/32GB versus SD10/32GBCR

Ian Lee — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:32:44 +0000

It came time for me to purchase a new SDHC card and the requirement was that it had to be fast enough to cope with the high demands of dSLR burst-shooting and HD video recording. Given the current price point in Canada, the biggest bang for the buck for a branded SDHC card at this moment is a Kingston 32GB SDHC Class 10 card. For me, this card (including 12% tax) works out to be $2.66 / GB. Kingston is a reputable brand and their memory cards are significantly less expensive than the professional Sandisk Extreme line of memory cards. So after checking a few reviews and speed charts, I decided to buy the Kingston card and noticed Canadian retailers carried 2 SKU’s for this product; SD10/32GB versus SD10/32GBCR. In general, the CR version was about 10-20% lower in cost. Kingston’s website does not show any references for the lower cost CR version. The good news is Kingston support has confirmed that these two versions are identical products. The CR designation is “an international part number which is used for marketing purposes only. There is no physical difference as far as the actual product is concerned.” This was good enough for me. Once I receive card, I will post back about its capabilities for use in a newer dSLR. So if you are considering a Kingston 32GB Class 10 card for your photography and video needs, be sure to check and see if your retailer carries the lower cost SD10/32GBCR version.

***UPDATE***
November 17, 2010
So after receiving the product, I can confirm that although the UPC code says SD10/32GBCR, the actual SD card shows SD10/32GB (just like the image in this post). Looks like these 2 SKU’s are indeed used for the same product. Just find the lower cost version and purchase that one instead.
************

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The New AdSense Interface is Live Now

Ian Lee — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:11:38 +0000

Those of you who utilize Google AdSense to generate revenue are going to love the new AdSense interface. It’s clean, easy-to-use and most importantly, allows you access important information quickly. There are too many new and positive things to discuss here. You should go try it yourself. Just log in to your AdSense account as you normally do. You will be asked to try the new AdSense interface. If you do not get this prompt, there will be a “Try the new AdSense interface” link at the top of your screen after you log in. Happy AdSensing!

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Panasonic HDC-TM700 HD Camcorder Review

Ian Lee — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:02:07 +0000

This is a review post of Panasonic’s higher end, consumer level HD camcorder, the HDC-TM700 or what most owners just call the TM700. As a detailed write-up has already been published by Camcorderinfo.com, this review will not be getting into the nitty gritty but only discuss issues from a first-hand perspective of using this camera for a few months. Hopefully, anyone considering the purchase of this HD camcorder will find some real world user insights helpful.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Product Overview

The TM700 is slightly larger in size than your typical Canon or Sony consumer HD camcorder. Larger in the camcorder world means less shaking during handheld recording but because of the larger size, it also means it may be more difficult to reach some of the function buttons located in various places on the camcorder. Colour, noise and sharpness performance was very good for a model in this price range. In brightly lit outdoor conditions, vividness and sharpness of the TM700 is truly amazing. I have seen detail in some outdoor footages that I have never seen recorded with any consumer level camcorder on the market to date. The TM700 also performs very well with with low light recording. It is a little grainy but low light performance is significantly better than the Canon HFM31. Overall, the TM700 produced very high quality videos.

The two concerns from this Panasonic HD camcorder is the fan noise recorded into the footages and the jittering or vibration that occur in some recorded footages. I will get more into this below.

Note the TM700 is flash-based. It has an internal memory bank of 32 Gigs and an additional SD media slot so you can record to an external flash card if needed. There is also a harddisk sibling called the HDC-HS700. Essentially, these are the same camcorders except for the storage method.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Video Format

The HDC-xx700 line has a recording signal of 1080 / 60p and 1080 / 60i. Although this HD camcorder records in AVCHD format (MPEG-4
AVC/H.264 (AVCHD standard compliant) for all resolutions, the format for 1080 60p recording is not AVCHD standard compliant (even though it is AVCHD). Who would have known that there is actually a non-standard format of AVCHD. In the real world, editing software that is compatible with AVCHD may not be able to recognize 1080 60p video from this camcorder. Many Mac users have been pulling their hair out trying to find an easy way to edit these TM700 files without needing to convert prior to editing. My choice of editing software happens to be Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 (for the PC), which is fully compatible with this non-standard AVCHD 1080 60p format. Thank goodness, I am a PC!

Most consumer HD camcorders produce files that are 1080 30p, 1080 60i, 720 60p or even 1080 24p. It’s difficult enough trying to edit HD footages but to be able to edit 1080 60p videos, Quad Core and lots of RAM is a must. I am using a Quad Core + 4 Gigs of RAM which works but what makes the editing easier was buying an Nvidia based video card. Premiere Pro CS5 can utilize hardware acceleration and offload some processing and exporting of videos to a compliant video card. Even if do not have an Adobe certified Nvidia card, here is a hack that allows CS5 to take advantage of the processing power of newer Nvidia video cards.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Handling and Usability

The TM700 has a 3 inch wide LCD touchscreen. Touch screen focus is easy and locks on to any subject that you touch. The video above shows a good example of this. There are many controls on this HD camcorder but you can choose to use iA (Intelligent Auto) mode, which works very well already, or you have the ability to tweak just about every setting that a typical user would want. The only function that I was missing was the ability to slow down the zoom speed when using the remote control to achieve those silky smooth slow zooming / panning shots for landscape shooting. Using the levers on the camcorder body to zoom tends to create slight movements in the recorded footage even when the camcorder is mounted on a fairly sturdy Manfrotto tripod. The only way to achieve the slowest zoom was to hand hold the camcorder and zoom out using the sensitive zoom lever on the top of the unit. But because of handholding and the sensitive lever (the more you move the lever, the quicker the zoom), the final footage is definitely not as stable as one taken with a tripod and using the remote to zoom out.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Image Stabilization

Panasonic has developed something called Power O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) in the TM700. There are 2 modes; Mode 1 is for normal shooting and Mode 2 is for recording while walking, which you will see in the video above. Both modes work fairly well when used correctly. The best image stabilization I was able to achieve was using either Mode 1 or Mode 2, mounting the camcorder on a tripod and then carrying the legs of the tripod and wakling. I even did a run sequence and the recorded footage was actually better than walking with the camcorder in my hands. The trick is to hold the tripod legs so your arms and elbows act like shock absorbers. I did not get a chance to include this sequence in the above video but holding the tripod while moving is a good technique to decrease camera shake during recording.

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Highlights

1. Extremely High Quality HD Video: I cannot say enough of the high quality video capabilities. This HD camcorder has produced some of the best quality videos I have ever seen from a consumer level HD camcorder.
2. On-Board 5.1 Microphone: 5.1 microphones are not determining factors for choosing an HD camcorder but having one is neat when you are able to utilize it during playback if you have a digital surround sound audio system.
3. Lens Ring: There is a lens ring located near the front of the camcorder. You can use it to manually focus a scene or to zoom in and out. Very cool and easy to use, especially for manual focusing.
4. 1080 60p: For those who are looking for silky smooth videos, 1080 60p will deliver. As I mentioned in point #1, this HD camcorder is able to produce very high quality HD video.
5. Time Lapse Shooting: This camcorder can be set to shoot from 1 frame every second to a frame every 10 second, 30 seconds, one minute, or two minutes. You can get some pretty neat results with this function.
6. 18X Intelligent Zoom: Even though this camcorder has an optical zoom of 12X, Panasonic implemented something called Inteligent Zoom and allow you to reach 18X digital zoom without too much video degradation. This extra reach can be useful in many situations. I normally set my camcorders to only use optical zoom but because Panasonic’s Intelligent Zoom is so good, I can use 18X in confidence knowing that the quality in the final footage will still be acceptable.
7. Fairly Wide Angle Lens: Most consumer camcorders will not have as wide as a 35mm lens; the TM700 does. Without having to purchase additional adapters or lenses, this camcorder’s 35mm wide angle allow you record a fairly wide field of view. In other words, you won’t have to stand as far back to capture everyone in the frame during those family gatherings.

Things to Improve on the TM700

There are 3 things that stand out for improvement.

1. Jittering / Vibrating When Zooming Out: For some reason, I am seeing quite a few recorded scenes where I would notice jittering or vibration of objects in the scene when zooming out from 18X to 1X (or somewhere in between). This happens when OIS is on for both modes and even when it’s off. I see less jittering when the camcorder is stationary and mounted on a tripod but it’s still there. Panning does not bring out this problem, only during zoom outs. I have a feeling it’s the OIS coupled with zooming out coupled with the autofocus that is causing this issue. Many users do not notice this but on a 24 inch computer monitor and a 50+ inch LCD, the jiterring is there and very irritating. In fact, you can see the jittering I am referring to in various parts of the video above.
2. Fan Noise in Recorded Footage: Panasonic decided to use an internal fan on this HD camcorder. Perhaps a unit like the TM700 that records in 1080 60p requires a lot of cooling. The fan noise is not noticeable until you record in quiet environments and this does not have to be a super quiet environment either. In most of my indoor footages, I can hear the fan noise. Many owners have commented it’s a non-issue but I have analysed their files and the fan noise is definitely there. They just do not hear it or simply takes it as the typical white noise that is common among consumer HD camcorders. The only saving grace from the TM700 fan noise issue is that white noise produced by this unit is very low as compared to the other HD camcorders like the Canon HFM31. And because white noise is low, the fan noise sounds noticeably louder (probably also enhanced by the ultra sensitive on-board 5.1 microphone). Despite many owners saying they do not have the fan noise problem, I have ran footages from these same users inside Adobe Sounbooth CS5 and found fan noise in all of them. Adobe Soundbooth CS5 allow you to visually see sound in frequencies so knowing that the Panasonic TM700′s fan noise has a frequency of around 800 Hz – 1,000 Hz, you can clearly see fan noise in these so called “non-issue” recordings. It comes down to whether one can hear it and/or are bothered by it.
3. Zoom Out speed Control for Remote: As I mentioned above, I wish Panasonic would have included a function to set zoom speed on the remote control. Or at the very least, allow speed adjustments on the camcorder body zoom levers themselves (like available on the Canon HFM31).

Conclusion – Panasonic HDC-TM700 HD Camcorder Review

The Panasonic TM700 is easy to use, fun and capable of producing extremely high-quality videos. There are very few consumer HD camcorders that record in 1080 60p and this is one of them. In normal and brightly lit conditions, video footage is detailed, vibrant and extremely smooth (thanks to the 60p). I must say, the videos from the TM700 is one of the best I have ever seen from a consumer HD camcorder. For those of you considering the purchase of an HD camcorder, you can check out the video above. No post-processing was applied to the footage; only transitions and titles were added. Happy shooting!

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Highly Successful Brand Awareness Campaign of 2010

Ian Lee — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:09:23 +0000

Companies often pay top dollar to PR and media agencies for help to gain exposure and increase brand awareness. With so many self-proclaimed social media gurus and experts tweeting and connecting in Facebook, you would think there are more successful campaigns out there. This is just not the case. When a campaign is truly successful, it deserves a nod. So this post is dedicated to a highly successful brand awareness campaign of 2010 – The Anywhere Challenge by Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG).

The Anywhere Challenge has Brought Great Excitement to Members

Like elemental Magnesium, online marketing campaigns and user contests are ubiquitous these days. Some perform well but The Anywhere Challenge put on by IHG has performed exceedingly well. There are still two weeks left in the contest and it has brought great excitement and user participation to IHG members.

The object of the contest is to bring awareness to the Hotels Anywhere program that allow Intercontinental Hotels Group members to redeem Priority Club Rewards points for any participating hotel, even competitors of IHG.

“Hotels Anywhere, is the first and only hotel industry redemption option that allows members to redeem loyalty points for more than 73,000 hotels all over the world, even our direct competitor.”

What a neat concept! I can now use my Priority Club Rewards points to book any one of the tens of thousands of participating hotels worldwide, including a direct competitor of the IHG family (Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn / Express, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge and Candlewood). Imagine if the airline industry also introduced a share-a-point system? There would be a lot more happier travelers out there.

The contest gives an opportunity for members to try and correctly guess a worldwide location for prizes and Priority Club Rewards points. Each new day of the weekly contest, members receive an additional clue along with a few photo elements that are revealed in a Flash based slideshow. Here is an example of what a typical week’s clues may look like:

To see the actual clue slider in action, you can view The Anywhere Challenge here.

Increasing Brand Awareness and User Engagement

There are a few online conversations that closely follow this contest but the most active one is located at FlyerTalk.com. Each day, many users compare and trade tips to try and figure out the answer. The contest has only been running a few weeks and the FlyerTalk.com thread has already accumulated over 3,000 replies and 500,000 views! In fact, this thread is so long, the administrators created a second thread to make it easier for users to discuss the remaining weeks of the contest. It is actually a surprise to see this contest getting users to talk more than just contest answers. Here are a few fun examples of users discussing potential future vacation travels and even a quick history lesson:

mealto – fun history lesson of Malaysia – addressed to the creators of this contest
gpapadop - contest inspired him to possibly visit a new location
Motors – attempt to crack the code by extracting images from the Flash file
imchaz – identified matching Shutterstock.com images used in contest
DealDetective – doing some great sleuthing
margharita girl - dashboard of answers and winners

With all of this attention on The Anywhere Challenge contest, there is no absolutely no denying that IHG increased brand awareness over the last few weeks. So does all of this extra awareness translate into?

Increased Brand Awareness is Always a Good Thing

It would be difficult for anyone not working at IHG to figure out their global sales but, I do know IHG has gained at least 1 more loyal customer. Not only did this contest allow me to earn a few extra points for my own Priority Club Rewards account, I now know I can use these points towards any hotel that is participating in the Hotels Anywhere program. In fact, the extra few thousand points from this contest allowed me to achieve Ambassador status so you can bet I am going to choose Intercontinental Hotels where possible on future trips to take full advantage of all benefits that come along with this status upgrade. This coupled with the fact that IHG has been running a Friends and Family discount deal over the last year has made IHG properties my first choice of hotels for all my travels.

During this worldwide economic downturn where hotels are no longer fully selling out rooms and are more often than not are selling them at a reduced rate, The Anywhere Challenge contest is a great driver to try and fill some of these unbooked rooms. Yes, IHG does give out massive points for this contest but if it brings in more customers, more often and helps to fill some of those empty rooms, it can only better IHG’s financials come year end.

For a contest that generates this much attention for IHG, a well-deserved pat on the back goes out to the creators of The Anywhere Challenge contest. This is truly a great example of a highly successful brand awareness campaign.

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