Related articles

• The reason why YUV boosts performance is easy to explain - the vast majority of DVDs retailed these days already store information in YUV color space. Thus, converting from MPEG-2/YUV to MPEG-4/YUV saves precious processing time in comparison to the classic FlaskMPEG procedure. Unfortunately, FlaskMPEG 0.6, the old standard, only offers RGB as a target color space. And using RGB implies that, in addition to converting the image data, the color space has to be converted also, from YUV to RGB. This latter step is almost always unnecessary when converting from MPEG-2/YUV to MPEG-4/YUV. Flask XMPEG 4.2a: Step In The Right Direction On the left, the settings for the video compressor. On the right, those for the audio codec. The originalFlaskMPEG 0.6 developed by Alberto Vigata was last updated on March 6, 2001. It was then taken and developed further by programmers from the French website www.mp3guest.com (information appears in English, too), and now bears the name XMPEG 4.2a. Flask XMPEG 4.2a's design fits in seamlessly with the Windows XP look. The pre-installed AVI plug-in can also be accessed from other applications, such as Pinnacle Studio 7. Please note, however, that if you rely on Microsoft's MP3 encoder, the bit rate will max out at 56 kBit/s, whereas if you install the radium codec (ra-codec12.zip ), your bit rate can break the 128 kBit/s barrier. The YUV2 option presents a revolutionary change in XMPEG 4.2a. Once activated, this option dramatically pumps up the encoding speed for DVD rips. Although previously only available in less-developed tools, YUV seems to be undergoing a renaissance in popular software applications.

• How To: Windows XP Mode In...Ubuntu Linux?

  With Windows 7 due out later this month, many of you are no doubt counting the days until release. I've played with both the beta and RC of Microsoft's latest OS, and quite honestly, I liked what I saw. If this had come out in 2006 when 'Longhorn' was promised, I have no doubt that I would not have switched to Linux (at least not yet). However, that's not how events played out. What really happened was 'Longhorn' became Vista, and it didn't make it out the door until 2007. It arrived late, buggy, irritating (UAC), overpriced, underwhelming, confusing (licensing), and in some cases, incompatible. Now, almost three years later, and almost five since Longhorn's initially-planned release, Microsoft is releasing the OS they should have launched several years ago. Unfortunately, Windows 7 is also overpriced (slightly less so than Vista), and even more confusing. But first, let's go over what Microsoft did right. Windows 7 is going to launch when the company said it will launch. Because of a long beta and RC testing phase, 7 is not going to be as buggy as Vista was when it debuted. Microsoft has taken the UAC down a notch. It has also come down on the price a little. The highest edition of 7 (Ultimate) is fifty percent more expensive than the highest edition of XP (Pro). This is opposed to 100% more expensive (Vista Ultimate versus XP Pro). But fair enough, the price did drop somewhat. Underwhelming, 7 is not. In terms of its user interface, Vista was pretty much XP with a reorganized Start Menu and a black taskbar. Flip 3D was basically nothing more than a choppy gimmick (though the thumbnail previews of windows within the taskbar are pretty sweet; Windows 7 kept them, and I use them in Linux). Windows 7 actually succeeds in terms of a being a unified vision that pays tribute to the brand. Everything is made of glass in 7. Vista began this trend with the transparent glass window borders and the overlaid faux-reflection texture. But 7 really takes the use of transparent glass and reflections to the extreme. The window borders, menus, some applications, and even the taskbar and start menu are all made of glass. New tricks include being able to make all windows transparent to see the desktop. As a total package, Windows 7 has what I consider to be the first true Windows theme. Finally, we're left with how Microsoft figured out how to solve its backward-compatibility issues. With the introduction of XP Mode (XPM), Windows 7 will not fall victim to the nightmare of incompatibilities suffered by early-adopters of Vista. XPM is a fully-licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3 running in a VirtualPC Virtual Machine (VM). In many cases XPM is the clincher that holdouts needed in order to finally upgrade. Unfortunately, the confusion created by the Windows 7 licensing scheme has all but ruined their compatibility fix. XPM is only included in Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate. If you want a full retail boxed copy of Windows 7 with XPM, you're going to have to fork over $300 for Professional, or $320 for Ultimate. If you already own a copy of Windows XP or Vista, you can pay $200 for the upgrade to Professional, or $220 for Ultimate. Let that sink in for a minute. That's right, Windows 7 Home Premium (and below) does not have XPM. Most systems sold by retailers come with a version of Windows completely lacking XPM. Wait, it gets better. Thanks to Microsoft's ingenious Windows Anytime Upgrade, consumers who bought a new PC with Windows 7 Home Premium can upgrade to Professional for $90 or Ultimate for $140. If you were sold Home Basic or Starter edition, you'll have to first upgrade to Home Premium for $80. Like I said, 'ingenious.' One way or another, you are probably going to have to pay Microsoft some amount of money if you want XPM... ...or not. If you're open to using Linux , you too can have a fast and secure next-gen OS with full XP compatibility, all for free!

• Boy, Don MacDonald, former general manager of consumer electronics efforts and recently promoted to vice president of sales and market and general manager of corporate brands and marketing, will not be happy seeing Viiv appearing on this list (MacDonald gave us an in-depth interview on Viiv in July.) Let's take a step back from all the advertising and marketing blurbs and have a real world look at the entertainment PC platforms of the two processor manufacturers. Intel and AMD promised a whole new approach (two different approaches, actually) to digital TV. Viiv and Live are technologies that are designed to make the computer more useful for entertainment and provide the functionality of what is often described as a digital entertainment hub in our home. About a year ago, we were told Viiv would be key to participate in a movie premiere (at home, on your sofa, whether you like the movie theater or not) and bring a wealth of content to our home. The fact is that this promise has not become a reality yet. Viiv and the competing Live! are marketing names for a combination of hardware components. Both names indicate very little added use for the PC buyer today, but allowed both processor manufacturers to stick yet another label on your new PC. An early Viiv PC In preparation for Vista, I recently bought a new PC for our office and it appears that these days you really don't have much choice in PC operating systems, at least when you want to buy from your local retail store. Windows Media Center Edition is standard in the price range above $500 and more than half of these PCs carry either a Viiv or a Live! logo. So I ended up with a Viiv PC and I was surprised how little Viiv actually offers. Viiv Content, which is often criticized by AMD as closed feature, is virtually non-existent and Intel's ClickStar joint venture with Morgan Freeman currently tells me that I have to wait another week for a movie to be available. I admit that I have very little experience with AMD Live! and I'd have to speculate on available Live! content. But I don't think that it is content why Viiv and Live! are disappointing. The problem really is that both concepts are not transparent enough to make sense for consumers who consider spicing up their living room experience with a PC. Intel wants to be right under the TV and AMD, which launched Live! as sort of an anti-Intel answer, wants the PC to be a PC but stream entertainment content throughout the house (read this article for some more detail on Live!). There has to be an obvious added value of these technologies to make sense. But both, Intel and AMD, are currently not providing a value that goes beyond the Media Center software. Plus, keep in mind, AMD and Intel are high-tech brands that never succeeded in consumer electronics. Viiv and Live! do not have the genes to change that track record. Viiv and Live! are marketing terms that fell well short of expectations this year. An improvement for 2007 is rather unlikely, but we know that Apple is prepping an entertainment device, which means that Intel will be equipping a much more conclusive entertainment platform in the near future - even if it won't carry the "Viiv" label.