DVD Catalyst Newsletter 49

[dvdcatalyst]

Thank you for reading DVD Catalyst Newsletter 49.


Almost to the big 50!


It has not been easy, but I haven't missed a beat. For 49 weeks straight now, I have managed to post the newsletter every Friday, and I still enjoy doing it.

This week has been a bit harder for me though. I had some personal things to take care of, which of course caused some other things to shift up a bit.

I did manage to post the 3rd multi-part-merge article this week, but other than that, it has been mostly support emails and non-work related issues. It didn't help that I am still a bit under the weather as well.



But, lets continue with this week's tech news:



Who knew that after Apple's new iPad release, the technology world just seems to have stopped.

I wonder what they are doing.

Are they just holding off new announcements to wait for the iPad3 reviews and stuff to reduce, or is there something else in the air that is causing the tech-drought?

Since there wasn't that much out there this week, I'll include some rumors this time.



Playstation 4:
Supposedly the next Playstation, code-name Orbis (what a name), is scheduled for the 2013 holiday season.
Honestly, I will not pick one up.
I'm sure that there will be a lot of cool features in it, and those will likely be announced at E3, but the thing is, half of the features that will be mentioned will never make it out of development stage due to potential "security issues". Then, when it finally is released, additional features will be removed from the PS4 with every update, and the ones that remain will be severely crippled.
On top of that, when some random hacker claims to have found a way using some game to run homebrew on it, the game will be made unplayable, or even removed completely, similar to what is currently happening with the PS Vita.
I can understand the reason to protect against piracy, but I think the best thing for Sony to do with the PS4 is to go back to the cartridge system. Release a PS4 that looks like a Nintendo SNES or Sega Genesis or something, but don't release something cool and a month later cripple or remove it.



New iPad:
Apple is experiencing some complications in the land down under, Australia.
While the iPad4 is 4G capable, there is no 4G network in Oz where it can actually connect to, so there are some legal issues going on there.



Temple Run for Android:
Released earlier this week, one of the big hits on Apple devices is now finally available for Android.
The object of the game is pretty simple, your character runs, and you have to guide it to take turns, jump, duck etc. Pretty cool, and amazing looking time-waster.



PS Vita:
This week, a second game was pulled from the PS Vita PSN store.
Following Motor Storm, now a Tennis game was pulled after someone announced that with some tricks with save games for that game, it was possible to run homebrew apps like Doom.
I wonder what would happen is someone just mocks up a video showing off a fake hack with Vita Uncharted or Marvel vs Capcom 3, will those games be pulled then as well?
Anyway, another reason for picking up your games and movies in physical format, rather than digital downloads. If you did purchase one of the games that were pulled, and something happened to your memorycard, you will not be able to re-download it. Would you be able to get a refund for your game?



Tools4Movies News:



DVD Catalyst 4:
As mentioned last week, I am finishing up an update for DVD Catalyst 4.
I had planned to release it this week, but unfortunately due to some personal stuff, and some things that I ran into with testing, it will be somewhere this week instead.



ImageGallery:
I ran into a snag.
One of the most popular features in ImageGallery is the custom background selection, and with the updated development tools, this part is not working properly. Once I get this figured out, it should not be long before release.



Tools4Movies.com Articles:

Just one this week,


How to : Merge Multi-part Movie Bluray (Method 3)
http://www.tools4movies.com/2012/03/...uray-method-3/
A bit more technical than the other 2 merging guides, but with the best results.



Handy Links:

On a daily basis, I receive questions regarding video conversions with DVD Catalyst 4, and while these links are on a lot of different locations on my website, I figured it would be easy to include them in the newsletter again as well:


How to make your movies full-screen. (the DVD Catalyst 4 Black Border Removal Guide):
http://www.tools4movies.com/2011/08/...k-bar-removal/


Screen Resolution. (why some conversions have a lower resolution than your device):
http://www.tools4movies.com/2011/08/...en-resolution/


Profile differences. (standard, HQ, fast, HQXT, what and when to use):
http://www.tools4movies.com/2012/01/...st-hq-hq2-hqx/


Problem DVD List.(DVD's that are or that are reported as being picky, with their solutions)
http://www.tools4movies.com/2011/08/...blem-dvd-list/


CRF. (Special conversion setting to enhance quality while (usually) reducing file-size):
http://www.tools4movies.com/2012/03/crf/


Bluray.(How to use DVD Catalyst 4 with Bluray):
http://www.tools4movies.com/2011/08/...-bluray-guide/


Streaming Movies. (How to stream your movies rather than store them on your device):
http://www.tools4movies.com/2011/11/...-guide-part-2/
http://www.tools4movies.com/2010/07/...hone-for-free/


Newsletter Signup. (sign up to receive this newsletter by email):
http://www.tools4movies.com/home-page/newsletter/



Thoughts:



Used Games:

There are rumors floating around the web regarding the new XBOX and PlayStation consoles putting sanctions against used games.

I really hope that this will not be happening, because it will kill both consoles.

Sony supposedly will turn a game that was owned by someone else into a trial version, with an option to pay them a fee to make it a retail version.
Microsoft supposedly is planning to go a step further and just tie the game to the first console it is played on.

Either way is just sad.

I can understand that the used game market is keeping profit away from both companies, but these tactics will treat people who actually purchase games as pirates, and by treating them as pirates, guess what, they will become pirates.

With both the XBOX and PlayStation consoles adding more and more media content by means of HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu etc, it is quite feasible that people will use these consoles as media devices in more than one room.

If I look at the pile of players I have in my living room, it would be awesome if I could just keep a Sat-box, replace the 360 for an XBOX 720 there, and get rid of the Bluray player and HD Media Player I have sitting there already, but, if MS decides to lock a game to one XBOX, that whole idea goes out of the window because I could not just play the game in one room, and if the wife wants to watch TV, move to a different room to continue.

On top of that, first-gen XBOX-systems always had issues from day one. What if my XBOX 720 dies after a month, and MS is nice enough to send me a new one? The game is supposedly locked to the one they kept, so should I have to send in the games I bought for it as well, so they can replace those, or would I end up having to buy them again?

The trial method from Sony would be more forgiving, but still, it is just wrong.

What is next, doing the same for DVD and Bluray, or car companies limiting cars in some way when they are sold used?

If both companies decide to go through with this, an entire industry will be reduced to rubble. Game Fly, Red Box (game division) Game Stop, etc, all will go out of business.

The thing these companies don't realize is that quite a few people use the used-games market for play-testing. I like my games "pristine" however, with so many bad games (along with skewed reviews) out there, I pick up used games every now and then, and if I really enjoy the game, I trade the used one in for a brand new one, or a collector's edition or something like that. In some cases, even both, just because I don't want to damage the box.

Of course I pick up big-name ones I would like on release day, but sadly, more often than not, I am quite disappointed with it, and trade it in. but if this goes through, I don't have the option anymore to get at least some of my money back out of it when I test-play something, so all that happens is me filling the pockets of someone else, and I am stuck with a pile of crappy games. Since that is not going to happen for me, I will no longer pick up games on release day, no more impulse purchases of games, I will do my research instead. Wait a few weeks until the price drops a bit, read multiple reviews, and then decide if I would pick it up or not.

They think that doing this would generate more money for them, but in the end, it will hurt them a lot more in sales, I am sure of that.



Game of Thrones:

Because of high cable-prices in my area, I didn't get into Game of Thrones until it came out on Bluray, but with the Dish-setup I have now, I can finally watch it, and timing seems perfect, because season 2 starts this Sunday.
There were some pretty big surprises in the end, so I can't wait.

Normally I don't start watching TV series like this until the season is over, but for this one, I will endure the week-wait in-between episodes. If I am getting too anxious as to what will happen next, I'll just pick up the books (which I might do anyway).



Closings:

For next week, the big five-oh one, I have something big planned. I hope I can pull it off.

Anyway, that is it for this week's DVD Catalyst Newsletter, have a nice weekend,


Sincerely,
Mitch