Video FAQ

Updated 27th May 2009

XVID is also DivX compatible. Xvid encoded files can be written to a CD or DVD and played in a DivX compatible DVD player. However, Xvid can optionally encode video with advanced features that most DivX Certified set-top players do not support. Files encoded with global motion compensation, Qpel, MPEG quantization, multiple B-frames or files that exceed the VBV limitations may not play back properly on DivX Certified hardware devices. The DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality. Thus making it possible to have 4 to 6 movie in one 4.7 gigabytes single-layer DVDR disc.

See Magic DVD Ripper - Able to compress the DVD from a 4.5GB to 700MB, which fits perfectly in a CD. Key Features of Magic DVD Ripper:
Convert DVD to DivX or other AVI formats/compressed AVI (XVID). Useful for AVI_ReComp (See Below) require AVI formats/compressed AVI (XVID) which create a new avi file with hard-subs.
Also see alltoavi which is a tool to convert especially ogm and mkv files to avi, with subtitle and audio track selection, video resizing, bitrate selection and codec selection. It is centered around mencoder, with a commandline tool as well as a GUI for Windows. Supported conversions

* OGM to avi with subtitle and audio
* MKV to avi with subtitle and audio
* VOB to avi with audio [SUB not tested]
* AVI to avi
* WMV to avi
* RM/RMVB to avi
* MOV to avi
* MPEG (all) to avi
* H.264
* AAC audio
* Full list

Convert Create Hard Subs with Xilisoft Ultimate.AR 720X480 Advanced setting:Resolution Stretch or full screen to TV size, Video Quality normal @ 1500 birate , Zoom = full. The hard subs reproduce by Xilisoft Ultimate is rather big though.

[See ConvertXtoDVD for soft subs]

DVDshrink DVD vob to get non split single title (from ConvertXtoDVD)

Recommended video birate at 1500 to avoid mosiac. File size is larger. Though from good video source 750 to 1000 birate is ok.



How to create multiple subs?

Multiple steps to create multi-audio, multi-subtitle DIVX from DVD Project:- AVI from DVDs with two audio streams (English and Japanese) and two subtitles (English and Japanese) 1. Fairuse Wizard 2.9. ----- Use µTorrent file download ------- Homepage for Free FairUse Wizard (Light Edition) -Create a new project in Fairuse Wizard 2.9. -Choose the appropriate stream. -Allow it to capture the stream to my hard drive. -Auto set the cropping region. -Check "Include subpicture" (English) and "Extract it." -Autodetect Native Mode or IVTC. -Choose DIVX * -Choose size to approximately 10x the minutes runtime. So if the video is 2 hours, I choose 1200 MB. -Choose "Two pass." -Set encoding speed all the way to the right (quality). -Add audio streams such that I have both English and Japanese. Set them to MP3 at 160 kb/s. -Check "Use TV Mode." -Use the suggested resolution size. -Defer processing. -Follow all of the same steps again except this time choose to extract Japanese subtitles. ** -Defer processing. -Allow both sessions to process. 2. SubToSup 0.9 Beta *** Developer:Huisendobler -Convert only the second IDX/SUB file (Japanese) to SUP. 3. DVDSubEdit 1.5 *** -Choose the SUP file. -Run OCR. -Save the file as SRT. 4. sub2divx 3.3.3. **** -Choose either of the AVI files (they both have dual audio streams). -Add the first IDX/SUB file (English) -Add the SRT file (Japanese) -Create the DIVX. Alternative suggestion is to make the AVI with no subs at all, create the IDX/SUB file yourself with the 2 languages, and then mux the subs into the AVI. Just muxing subs won't degrade the AVI. AutoGK can easily create a 2-audio AVI. It can also create an external 2-language IDX/SUB file. Then you can mux the subs into the AVI later on using AVIMux GUI or whatever. It takes next to no time at all to get a 2-sub IDX/SUB file using VobSub Configure or somesuch. Here's a guide: http://www.doom9.org/dvobsub.htm Then mux them after the AVI has been created

How To: Digitally backup your DVDs for playback on A2 + Multi-subtitles Cowon A2 Using XviD codec is in every way, better than DivX and every other format supported by the A2 portable video player. Another great feature of the A2 is its ability to display text-based subtitles as well. This is especially helpful when watching foreign movies or just wanting to have them. In one of the A2's latest firmware updates, there is support for having multiple selectable subtitles. Before this update, if you wanted to change the language of the subtitles, you would have to connect the A2 to your computer, rename the current subtitles to something else, then rename the new alternate-language subtitles with the same prefix as the movie. With multi-subtitle support, this all can be done at the convenience of the on-screen display (abbreviated OSD) Requirements: 1. PC (XP preferred), since the programs I'm using aren't supported on MAC. 2. DVD Decrypter 3. AutoGK (and all the programs it installs for you) 4. Aspect (http://aspect.fre3.com/) (optional) 5. VLC or any other software DVD player (optional) 6. SubRip (optional) 7. 10 GB of free hard drive space, although probably 5 GB is good enough. *Note: All of these programs should be installed with default settings. *Note: You should have your file extensions showing. Turn them off after if you want. Tutorial: PART 1 - Ripping the DVD This is an important part to follow. This step involves copying the necessary DVD files from the DVD disk to your computer's harddrive. Once it is copied, then conversion can take place. You should not convert from your computer's DVD drive directly to XviD on-the-fly because the encoding process may take awhile, and this process won't make encoding any shorter. Also, if you were to do it this way, the constant reading from your DVD drive can cause overheating and damage to the drive. To get to the guide, follow this: http://www.doom9.org/ -> Guides -> Ripping -> DVD Decrypter guide -> IFO Mode Alternatively, you can follow the first step of this guide: http://www.doom9.org/ -> Guides -> MPEG-4 -> XviD -> Auto Gordian Knot The latter part of this page leads into the next part of this tutorial; AutoGK. But before we do that, here are some tips. Rip only what you are planning to use. If you just want english audio, make sure to only choose english audio. The A2 is capable of multiple audio tracks. Same with subtitles. Really, you want to rip as little as you can so the actual ripping process won't take forever, this is particularly for those with slow DVD-ROM drives and slow computers and not so much HDD space. But if that's not an issue, then go rip as much as you want. This process can take from anywhere between just a few minutes to as much as an hour. PART 2 - Conversion This part takes the longest of all the parts. Again, specific encoding times depend on your machine. If you have a very fast machine, you can actually convert this faster than real time if you were to record via the A2 by analog means. You can continue the guide: http://www.doom9.org/ -> Guides -> MPEG-4 -> XviD -> Auto Gordian Knot Or look at the official guide: http://www.autogk.me.uk/modules.php?name=TutorialEN PART 2.1 - Aspect Here are just some pointers to use Aspect. 1. To determind the AR, open one of the ripped .VOB files in DVD software or VLC player. If it plays and the video frame is square-ish, then it's 4:3. If the video frame is wide, and the picture takes up the ENTIRE frame, then it's 16:9. If the frame is wide, but there are slender black bars at the top and bottom, then it's 1.85:1. If it's a wide frame, but has thick black bars at the top and bottom, then it's 2.35:1. Otherwise, you can check for the DVD information online or at http://www.imdb.com/. If you don't want to do that, then just play it on your TV. If it fills the TV screen, 4:3. If the black bars are thin, 16:9; thicker, 2.35:1. Really, 16:9 and 1.85:1 will almost all of the time give you the same width when you Autosize it. 2. Under the Output file box in AutoGK, there is a box that tells you the length of the movie. Use this for Aspect. 3. If you plan on converting to MP3, choose the bitrate. Again, I usually like to use 128. If you want to keep the AC3, then it will usually come in 2 flavors, either 384kbps or 448kbps. Since these are both high figures, you'll most likely need to add on another CD. 4. For the frame rate, choose 23.976 for NTSC DVDs (USA) and 25 for PAL DVDs (Non-USA). 5. For the target size, choose a multiple of 700MB. For MP3 audio, I would only make 1 CD (1 CD = 700 MB). For AC3, choose 2 CDs, or more if the movie is longer. At the same time, the video bitrate should be calculating. You usually want around 1000 kbps for video bitrate. It depends on the type of movie too. For action movies, you want something a bit higher, like around 1500 kbps. For slow paced movies, you can go as low as 700 kbps. 6. When you're happy, hit Autosize. The resolution should come up. The first number is the width. Put this number into AutoGK's advanced settings (fixed width of course). Make sure, in AutoGK, to match the audio bitrate if you choose MP3 (VBR, always) (for AC3, choose Original), and the CD size. You may want CD size so you can backup to CDR later if you want to watch on a DivX DVD Player or something, or choose the size of 1/3 or 1/4 DVDR; whatever floats your boat. PART 3 - Subtitles After AutoGK is done, the subtitles come in IDX/SUB format (also split into however many disks you wanted it to make). Subtitles from the DVD are actually pictures of text. The A2 does not support picture-based subtitles, only text-based. We must do this; this is called OCR. This process is the most tedious because if you type in the wrong letter of the picture of the letter, you may have to start all over again. If you use SubRip, there is a way to save the character matrix (a file that tells the program what each picture of a letter means in text), then you can edit it and it'll run through the entire subtitle file again until it reaches the letter you messed up on. This is out of the scope of this guide, but if you need specifics on that, I can help you out. Here is a guide for SubRip: http://www.doom9.org/ -> Guides -> Subtitles -> SubRip Remember to do the same for the other languages. And save them something like movie-english.srt and movie-french.srt. Alternatively, AutoGK also installs VobSub for you. In the VobSub folder (C:\Program Files\Gabest\Vobsub), there is a utility called subresync. If you open the subtitle (IDX) in it, choose a language in the drop down box, then save it as a SRT or SMI file, it will go into OCR mode in which, again, you will have to enter the corresponding letter for the picture of the letter. I have no link to a guide for this, but I can go into specifics if requested. Again, do the same for the other languages. PART 4 - Converting and making multi-subtitles 1. Skip this step if you OCR'd using subresync and saved as SMI. Open up your SRT subtitles in subresync (mentioned in last step). Save as .SMI file. Do the same for the other set of alternate-language subtitles. They should be named something like movie-english.smi and movie-french.smi. 2. Open up one of the .SMI files in NOTEPAD. If you OCR'd using subresync, you will probably see ENGLISHCC all over the place, if you chose to do the english subtitles. If you did French subtitles, it will probably also show FRENCHCC or something. If you OCR'd using subrip, you will see UNKNOWNCC instead. 3. If you used subrip (or downloaded SRT files) and have UNKNOWNCC, then first open one of them in notepad; let's say movie-english.smi. Click Edit -> Replace. Find UNKNOWNCC and replace with ENGLISHCC, replace all. Now open up movie-french.smi in another NOTEPAD window and do the same, but replace with FRENCHCC. Now in your french file, COPY EVERYTHING from the FIRST line to the LAST line. Now in the movie-enlgish.smi file (with all the UNKNOWNCC replaced with ENGLISHCC), PASTE what you just copied before the end tag. Put in some carriage returns to make it look neat. You may also want to put in an end tag after the body tag, if it's missing. 4. If you OCR'd using subrip (or downloaded SRT files), saved as SMI, and had to replace all the UNKNOWNCCs, follow this step. Otherwise, skip to the next step. Read through this step anyway. So now in your movie-english.smi, you should have a set of english subtitles with ENGLISHCC and then another set of subtitles after that with FRENCHCC. Before we close this file, take a look at the top portion of textfile. In between the HEADer tags, there are STYLE tags. In between the style tags, you will see one line that says .ENGLISHCC (this used to say .UNKNOWNCC, but remember that we replaced all the UNKNOWNCC with ENGLISHCC). Just copy and paste this entire line (it should be something like: .ENGLISHCC {Name:Unknown; lang:en-US; SAMIType:CC;}), carriage return, and paste it right under it. Now there should be two lines that say the same thing. However, for the second one, rename ENGLISHCC to FRENCHCC (or whatever the other language is). After that, you'll see that the Name for both are Unknown. For the .ENGLISHCC, replace Unknown with English, and for the .FRENCHCC, replace Unknown with French. You'll also notice that there is a en-US. You may need to change it for all the other languages. Here's a handful; en-US, de-DE, es-ES, fr-FR, it-IT, nl-NL, pl-PL, pt-BR, ru-RU, sk-SK. You can probably guess what each of those mean, but if you're not sure what to put, you can just probably leave it alone. I'm not exactly sure if you definately have to do this step, but this is really just making the SMI file correctly without any errors, just like how I suggested to put the end tag at the end; just to finish it. 5. If you OCR'd using subresync, that one line at the top should read something like .ENGLISHCC {Name:English; lang:en-US; SAMIType:CC;}. Similarly, in movie-french.smi, it should have something like .FRENCHCC {Name:FRENCH; lang:fr-FR; SAMIType:CC;}. So copy this line from movie-french.smi, and paste it under the .ENGLISHCC line in movie-english.smi. Again, not sure if you have to do any of this, but it's just doing it correctly to prevent any errors. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4/5 for every language file. Maybe you have a SPANISH file or whatever else. 4. Now save this and rename movie-english.smi to movie.smi or just save this as a new movie.smi file. Now transfer the movie and subtitles on your A2 in the same folder and play the movie. If you scroll through the settings to choose anothe language for the subtitles, you'll see some other options that don't do anything. Just make sure to look for ENGLISHCC and FRENCHCC, like our example. Things to notice: 1. On your computer, make sure to rename your subtitle file with the same prefix as the movie file, like Matrix.avi and Matrix.smi. 2. VobSub also installs another utility, d(irect)vobsub. This allows you to watch the movie in any media player on your computer and have the subtitles show. It won't exactly work correctly with our multi-language .smi file; it'll display all languages at once, which isn't what we want. 3. The SRT file is good to have because most DivX Certified DVD Players work the best with SRT files. 4. When encoding, you could've had multiple audio streams. The A2 lets you choose whatever you want. 5. If you want to backup your AVI and subtitle files to disk, just burn as data. 6. In the SMI file, at the top, in the STYLE tags, you will see margin and font information. There's no need to edit any of this, and editing it will not make it look any different on the A2. However, this information will most likely change how the subtitles are viewed on the computer. 7. Not all special characters are supported when OCRing. There's nothing you can do; it is based on the A2 firmware.

With Ashampoo Movie Shrink substitle (hard) are automatically included when subs file are in the same directory and have the same title as the movie file.

Conversion to Divx:
CovertXtoDVD in conjunction with TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress
Resolution Stretch or full screen to TV size
AR(Aspect Ratio)
720X480 NTSC
720X576 PAL

[Select Full for Zoom Options and 720X480 NTSC or 720X576 PAL to have wide screen without black bars above & below it] [Increase video birate (to avoid mosiac pixels) from 1000 to 1500 as to size preference]

ZOOM options:-
1)letterbox-Letterboxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting videographic image has mattes (black bars) above and below it; these mattes are part of the image (i.e., of each frame of the video signal). LTBX is the identifying abbreviation for films and images so formatted. The term refers to the shape of a letter box, a slot in a wall or door through which mail is delivered, being rectangular and wider than it is high.


2) medium -



3) Pan & Scan
Pan and scan is one method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects.

4) full -

How to create a hard sub

What you will need: * Virtualdub * SSA-Hardsub filter plugin for Virtualdub * Aegisub Using Aegisub for timing and typesetting. You can import subtitles from nearly every format, even plain txt files. The most important buttons to Aegisub are found in this screenshot: Right Click to view image in bigger size The most important hotkeys are ctrl+3 and ctrl+4 which set start and end time of the sub. If you wish you can import a txt file in aegisub first, export as *.srt and do your timings in Subtitle Workshop if you prefer this program for rough timings. Always create your styles in the storage first in the style manager. Many times you will need to reuse styles for follow up episodes, etc. Aegisub can sub-to-video and sub-to-audio. Some subbers prefer the ‘audio only’ modus. I wouldn’t recommend this as the only thing to time to, because sometimes you may want to adapt your sub to scene changes. From the video menu you are able to load your video file. When you’ve loaded your video file, in the audio menu you can now select ‘load audio from video’. It’s something I’d only recommend when you’re going to do Karaoke. Exporting to SSA Aegisub works in the format *.ass. You will need to export your work to *.ssa for it to be ready to create a hardsub. Go to the File menu -> Export Subtitles. This time, select format *ssa. Using Virtualdub / SSA Plugin to hardsub When your file is completely done you can proceed to create the hardsub. For this load your RAW video into virtualdub and go to the filters menu under Video. Look up the newly installed “Subtitler” filter. Select your subtitle file in *.ssa and preview. If everything is ok, set all your compression options and go to the file menu to ‘Save as Avi’. Now you have created your first hardsub.

Easy solution to Convert Soft Subs To Hard Subs
You have many avi/srt files that you wish to create hard-subbed DVDs with. there are lots of method around, nere is an easy solution.It burns the subtitles directly onto the file, so you don't have to worry about whether or not your player supports subs or not. (hardsubs (i.e. the subtitles become a part of the actual video). softsubs (the subtitles are included with the video, but are not a part of the video and so they can )

be turned off.

1. Obtain AVI ReComp (free), a Windows only program (run under Parallels if you only own a Mac).

AVI ReComp allows you to recompress your AVI files. For the time being the program uses only XviD codec to recompression process (versions: 1.0.3 or newer). The installation pack contains all required components (the newest versions of: VirtualDubMod, AviSynth and XviD). AVI ReComp can be very useful for users who want to prepare their clips for standalone DVD players. The program contains the feature of embedding subtitles into video. So if you want burnt in subtitles, you can use this software. Additionally the newest versions allow you to add black borders to your movie and place your subtitles on them. You can also adjust all settings for ssa and ass subtitles (style, colour, position).

2. Set up Source & Output (Open AVI, Save AVI, New AVI Size)
3. Set up Additions (check Enable under Load Subtitles and navigate to the srt file ... experiment with Black Borders if you want very large subs)
4. Set up Settings (Process priority to Normal)
5. Set up Queue (Add to queue, Start)

AVI_ReComp will then create a new avi file with hard-subs.

For Mac users, take that new avi file to VisualHub and create the DVD. VisualHub, a leading video encoding tool for Mac OS X might live again thanks to the open source community. VisualHub gets reborn as FilmRedux, goes open source. If you're in the market for video trans-coding utilities and you missed VisualHub or iSquint, you can always try Elgato Turbo H.264 (hardware and software) or RoadMovie.

During early October 2008, Techspansion, the developer of two very popular Mac OS X video conversion tools -- iSquint and VisualHub -- was shutting shop left the Mac community feeling a little, well, empty. Both apps made it easy to convert videos for playback on an iPod, while VisualHub added the capability to convert to PSP, DV, DVD, AVI, MP4, WMV, MPEG and even Flash.

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With ".001avi" or "avi.001" file extension
Download ALL parts and join with HJSplit before watching

Guide To Understanding The Movie Releases This great FAQ should be helpful for all the n00bs who are wondering what telesync, CAM, screeners etc are. Sources CAM A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod is sometimes used, but a lot of the time this wont be possible, so the camera make shake. Also seating placement isn't always idle, and it might be filmed from an angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the top and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear signal will be heard. TELESYNC (TS) A telesync is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source (most likely an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). A direct audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background noise can interfere. A lot of the times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically, check the sample before downloading the full release. A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled. TELECINE (TC) A telecine machine copies the film digitally from the reels. Sound and picture should be very good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is the JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done last year. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on screen throughout the film. DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr) Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterbox , but without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually in the black bars, and will disrupt the viewing. If the ripper has any skill, a DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD. R5 LINE (R5) R5 refers to a specific format of DVD released in DVD Region 5, the former Soviet Union, and bootlegged copies of these releases that are distributed on the Internet. In an effort to compete with movie piracy, the movie industry chose to create a new format for DVD releases that could be produced more quickly and less expensively than traditional DVD releases. R5 releases differ from normal releases in that they are usually a direct Telecine transfer of the film without any of the image processing common on DVD releases, and without any special features. This allows the film to be released for sale at the same time that DVD Screeners are released. Since DVD Screeners are the chief source of high-quality pre-DVD release pirated movies, this allows the movie studios to beat the pirates to market. In some cases, R5 DVDs may be released without an English audio track, requiring pirates to use the direct line audio from the film's theatrical release. In this case, the pirated release should be tagged with ".LINE" to distinguish it from a release with a DVD audio track. The image quality of an R5 release is generally comparable to a DVD Screener release, except without the added scrolling text and black and white scenes that serve to distinguish screeners from commercial DVD releases. The quality is better than Telecine transfers produced by movie pirates because the transfer is performed using professional-grade film scanning equipment. DVDRip A copy of the final released DVD. If possible this is released PRE retail (for example, Star Wars episode 2) again, should be excellent quality. DVDrips are released in SVCD and DivX/XviD. DVDR A DVDR is called DVD Replica which means the exact image of the disc. Replicas feature the bonus features along with the menus and everything that come with the standard DVD that would be sold on the market. DVDR's are released here before they are released in the stores. TVRip TV episode that is either from Network (capped using digital cable/satellite boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from satellite feeds sending the program around to networks a few days earlier (do not contain "dogs" but sometimes have flickers etc) Some programs such as WWF Raw Is War contain extra parts, and the "dark matches" and camera/commentary tests are included on the rips. PDTV is capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally giving the best results, and groups tend to release in SVCD for these. VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by the TV scene. WORKPRINT (WP) A workprint is a copy of the film that has not been finished. It can be missing scenes, music, and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from the final print (Men In Black is missing all the aliens, and has actors in their places) and others can contain extra scenes (Jay and Silent Bob) . WPs can be nice additions to the collection once a good quality final has been obtained. DivX Re-Enc A DivX re-enc is a film that has been taken from its original VCD source, and re-encoded into a small DivX file. Most commonly found on file sharers, these are usually labeled something like Film.Name.Group(1of2) etc. Common groups are SMR and TND. These aren't really worth downloading, unless you're that unsure about a film u only want a 200mb copy of it. Generally avoid. Watermarks A lot of films come from Asian Silvers/PDVD (see below) and these are tagged by the people responsible. Usually with a letter/initials or a little logo, generally in one of the corners. Most famous are the "Z" "A" and "Globe" watermarks. Asian Silvers / PDVD These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, and these are usually bought by some groups to put out as their own. Silvers are very cheap and easily available in a lot of countries, and its easy to put out a release, which is why there are so many in the scene at the moment, mainly from smaller groups who don't last more than a few releases. PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto a DVD. They have removable subtitles, and the quality is usually better than the silvers. These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD. Formats VCD VCD is an mpeg1 based format, with a constant bitrate of 1150kbit at a resolution of 352ÃÃâ€*’â₉€Ã‚Â�240 (NTCS). VCDs are generally used for lower quality transfers (CAM/TS/TC/Screener(VHS)/TVrip(analogue) in order to make smaller file sizes, and fit as much on a single disc as possible. Both VCDs and SVCDs are timed in minutes, rather than MB, so when looking at an mpeg, it may appear larger than the disc capacity, and in reality u can fit 74min on a CDR74. SVCD SVCD is an mpeg2 based (same as DVD) which allows variable bit-rates of up to 2500kbits at a resolution of 480ÃÃâ€*’â₉€Ã‚Â�480 (NTSC) which is then decompressed into a 4:3 aspect ratio when played back. Due to the variable bit-rate, the length you can fit on a single CDR is not fixed, but generally between 35-60 Mins are the most common. To get a better SVCD encode using variable bit-rates, it is important to use multiple "passes". this takes a lot longer, but the results are far clearer. XVCD/XSVCD These are basically VCD/SVCD that don't obey the "rules". They are both capable of much higher resolutions and bit-rates, but it all depends on the player to whether the disc can be played. X(S)VCD are total non-standards, and are usually for home-ripping by people who don't intend to release them. DivX / XviD DivX is a format designed for multimedia platforms. It uses two codecs, one low motion, one high motion. most older films were encoded in low motion only, and they have problems with high motion too. A method known as SBC (Smart Bit-rate Control) was developed which switches codecs at the encoding stage, making a much better print. The format is Ana orphic and the bit-rate/resolution are interchangeable. The majority of PROPER DivX rips (not Re-Encs) are taken from DVDs, and generally up to 2hours in good quality is possible per disc. Various codecs exist, most popular being the original Divx3.11a and the new XviD codecs. DVD-R Is the recordable DVD solution that seems to be the most popular (out of DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD+R). it holds 4.7gb of data per side, and double sided discs are available, so discs can hold nearly 10gb in some circumstances. SVCD mpeg2 images must be converted before they can be burnt to DVD-R and played successfully. DVD>DVDR copies are possible, but sometimes extras/languages have to be removed to stick within the available 4.7gb. MiniDVD MiniDVD/cDVD is the same format as DVD but on a standard CDR/CDRW. Because of the high resolution/bit-rates, its only possible to fit about 18-21 mins of footage per disc, and the format is only compatible with a few players. Misc Info Regional Coding This was designed to stop people buying American DVDs and watching them earlier in other countries, or for older films where world distribution is handled by different companies. A lot of players can either be hacked with a chip, or via a remote to disable this. RCE RCE (Regional Coding Enhancement) was designed to overcome "Multiregion" players, but it had a lot of faults and was overcome. Very few titles are RCE encoded now, and it was very unpopular. Macrovision Macrovision is the copy protection employed on most commercial DVDs. Its a system that will display lines and darken the images of copies that are made by sending the VHS signals it can't understand. Certain DVD players (for example the Dansai 852 from Tescos) have a secret menu where you can disable the macrovision, or a "video stabaliser" costs about 30UKP from Maplin (www.maplin.co.uk) NTSC/PAL NTSC and PAL are the two main standards used across the world. NTSC has a higher frame rate than pal (29fps compared to 25fps) but PAL has an increased resolution, and gives off a generally sharper picture. Playing NTSC discs on PAL systems seems a lot easier than vice-versa, which is good news for the Brits icon_smile.gif An RGB enabled scart lead will play an NTSC picture in full colour on most modern tv sets, but to record this to a VHS tape, you will need to convert it to PAL50 (not PAL60 as the majority of DVD players do.) This is either achieved by an expensive converter box (in the regions of £200+) an onboard converter (such as the Dansai 852 / certain Daewoos / Samsung 709 ) or using a World Standards VCR which can record in any format. Release Files RARset The movies are all supplied in RAR form, whether its v2 (rar>.rxx) or v3 (part01.rar > partxx.rar) form. BIN/CUE VCD and SVCD films will extract to give a BIN/CUE. Load the .CUE into notepad and make sure the first line contains only a filename, and no path information. Then load the cue into Nero/CDRWin etc and this will burn the VCD/SVCD correctly. TV rips are released as MPEG. DivX files are just the plain DivX - .AVI NFO An NFO file is supplied with each movie to promote the group, and give general iNFOrmation about the release, such as format, source, size, and any notes that may be of use. They are also used to recruit members and acquire hardware for the group. Usenet Information Format Usenet posts are often the same as those listed on VCDQUALiTY (i.e., untouched group releases) but you have to check the filenames and the description to make sure you get what you think you are getting. Generally releases should come down in .RAR sets. Posts will usually take more than one day to be uploaded, and can be spread out as far as a week. Scene Tags PROPER Due to scene rules, whoever releases the first Telesync has won that race (for example). But if the quality of that release is fairly poor, if another group has another telesync (or the same source in higher quality) then the tag PROPER is added to the folder to avoid being duped. PROPER is the most subjective tag in the scene, and a lot of people will generally argue whether the PROPER is better than the original release. A lot of groups release PROPERS just out of desperation due to losing the race. A reason for the PROPER should always be included in the NFO. SUBBED In the case of a VCD, if a release is subbed, it usually means it has hard encoded subtitles burnt throughout the movie. These are generally in malaysian/chinese/thai etc, and sometimes there are two different languages, which can take up quite a large amount of the screen. SVCD supports switch able subtitles, so some DVDRips are released with switch able subs. This will be mentioned in the NFO file if included. UNSUBBED When a film has had a subbed release in the past, an Unsubbed release may be released LIMITED A limited movie means it has had a limited theater run, generally opening in less than 250 theaters, generally smaller films (such as art house films) are released as limited. INTERNAL An internal release is done for several reasons. Classic DVD groups do a lot of .INTERNAL. releases, as they wont be dupe'd on it. Also lower quality theater rips are done INTERNAL so not to lower the reputation of the group, or due to the amount of rips done already. An INTERNAL release is available as normal on the groups affiliate sites, but they can't be traded to other sites without request from the site ops. Some INTERNAL releases still trickle down to IRC/Newsgroups, it usually depends on the title and the popularity. Earlier in the year people referred to Centropy going "internal". This meant the group were only releasing the movies to their members and site ops. This is in a different context to the usual definition. ASPECT RATIO TAGS These are *WS* for widescreen (letterbox) and *FS* for Fullscreen.

Related Posts:
Perfect 1:1 DVD Copy

Adding and Editing Subtitle
Ashampoo Movie Shrink & Burn 3
Burning Multiple Videos Onto A Single Disc
TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress
Convert various CD/DVD-ROM images to ISO format
Convert Matroska (MKV) to DiVX video format

How do i burn a .mkv file to DVD?-ConvertXtoDVD
Compress into smaller good quality movies.
.MOD file extension for Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate
K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
MPlayer for Windows
Zoom Player
AnyToISO Converter
Creating a new hybrid installation CD -WinXP Bootable CD- Nero
Burning Application- ImgBurn
DVD2One
FilmShrink
DVD Flick
ConvertXtoDVD:convert and burn all your videos and convert Avi to DVD!
Copy protected DVDs- RipIt4Me 1.7.1.0
Daemon Tools
DVDShrink

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Nine Browsers of Today and Tomorrow Compared

Mozilla's Firefox emerges from Netscape Navigator's demise and win over enthusiasts with a potent combination of speed, security, and an unprecedented level of customization. Thus begun the browser wars. But what started as a two-man battle is quickly growing into all-out warfare with onslaught of new browser releases in the coming months as Microsoft, Mozilla, Apple, Opera Software, and Google all vie to provide your vehicle for navigating the web.

Stable Releases

Internet Explorer 7
Feeling the pressure from Mozilla's popular Firefox browser, Microsoft ended a five year hiatus after burying Netscape in the ground and finally jumped back into the browser game with a long overdue update. The IE team went back to the drawing board and totally reworked the browser's rendering engine, also adding tabbed browsing and add-ons to the mix, and then finished it off with a facelift.

Firefox 3
Just how popular has Firefox become? Enough so that when Mozilla announced it would be releasing Firefox 3, power users lined up to download the new version, promptly setting a Guinness World Record for most number of software downloads in 24 hours. And rightly so. Better memory management, improved security, an aptly named AwesomeBar, and several other improvements made the best browser on the market even better.

Opera 9.6
Diehard Opera fans might take exception to referring to Opera as an alternative browser, and with the release of 9.6, they have a point. Several speed enhancements made the already fast browser even snappier, but our favorite feature is the new magazine-style RSS feeds.

Safari 3
Apple's DNA is evident in its Safari browser right from the get-go. Hardly surprising given that it began life on the Mac OS X operating system in early 2003. In the summer of 2007, Safari shed its Mac-only shackles and surfed over to Windows with claims of performing up to twice as fast as the competition. Soon to be old news, Apple is gearing up to replace Safari 3 with a significantly faster fourth version.

Chrome 1.0
Google surprised everyone when its Chrome browser showed up on the web unannounced, and while there's clearly much work to be done, it's hard not to get excited over better tab management. Chrome treats each tab as its own process, so if there's a bug in a website's code that causes a crash, you only lose a single tab and not the entire browser. Bodacious!

Upcoming Releases

Firefox 3.1 Beta 2
Initially intended as a 'fast-track' update to Firefox 3.0, lingering bugs in 3.1's new JavaScript engine, called TraceMonkey, likely means IE8 will ship first. And that's okay with Mozilla, who contends that its much more concerned with getting the new browser right than it is with beating Microsoft to the punch.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2
There's a good chance Microsoft will release IE8 scheduled end March and some wonder whether or not the web will promptly be broken. That's because Microsoft is putting a much greater focus on becoming web standards-compliant. The downside? All those sites specifically coded for IE, including Microsoft.com, fall under IE's incompatibility list. D'oh!

Opera 10 Alpha
The only browser of the bunch to be in a pre-beta state, we include it here because it's one of the first browsers to fully comply with the Acid3 test with a 100 percent pass rate (Safari 4 being the other). If the new build can live up to its promise of a 30 percent performance boost, Opera may finally find its way onto more mainstream machines.

Safari 4 Beta
Apple says its new Safari 4 browser is up to 4 times faster than the previous version, and according to its own testing, it destroys the competition when it comes to JavaScript performance. A redesigned UI and a smorgasbord of added features makes Safari 4 Apple's most ambitious browser to date.

VIA

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File Synchronizer

1)Super Flexible File Synchronizer Pro
Back up your data and synchronize PCs, Macs, servers, notebooks, and online storage space. Homepage
Features:

Synchronizes or Backs Up Files
Each sync job is saved as a profile
Includes a scheduler.
Internet Support
Compression and Encryption Support.
Detects Moved Files.
SmartTracking.
Unattended Mode
Exact Mirror Mode.
Versioning:
Versioning: this feature enables you to keep multiple older versions of
each file in the backup.
Partial File Updating (or delta copying)
Database-safe mode
Can Use Recycle Bin for older versions of files that are overwritten, as well as for
deleted files.
File Masks & Filters.
Daylight Savings Time / Time Zones.
Easy Resuming On Disk Full.
Obsolete File Folders.



Download Super Flexible File Synchronizer Pro 4.55c198 for Windows: Click Here

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Burning Multiple Videos Onto A Single Disc

1)Program Name: DVDx
Developers
License Type: Freeware
Date Added: August 1, 2007
Forum
Download
Mirror download DVDx_2_10_setup

DVDx allows you to convert DVD to VCD2.0 or SCVD1.0 or DivX in one step (Including multiplexing, splitting). It produces good quality movies in MPEG1/2 format you don't need to have 5GB or more free on your hard disk and it is simple to use ! You only need program like Ashampoo, Nero etc. to write your VCD/SVCD. DVDx is likely the fastest solution ever to copy a DVD into a DivX file because the DVD reading (and decrypting) is done while encoding to DivX. Recommended to upgrade your DivX codec to latest version.

Platform: 4.3 MB / Windows All
DirectX 9.0 or later

DVDx 2.10 Ultra
Portable DVDx 2.10 Ultra

2) Magic DVD Ripper - Able to compress the DVD from a 4.5GB to 700MB, which fits perfectly in a CD. Speed wise it is not as fast as other DVD compression in the market but with the ability to shrink your DVD to 700MB is a plus point. You can then enjoy them anytime without DVD discs or burn them to blank DVD or CD discs using burning software.

Key Features of Magic DVD Ripper:
Convert DVD to DivX or other AVI formats
Convert DVD to WMV
Convert DVD to MP4 (iPod and PSP formats)
Convert DVD to MP3
Convert DVD to VCD or SVCD
Copy DVD movie to hard drive without any loss of quality
Remove all the restrictions of DVD (CSS, Region, RCE, Sony ARccOS, PuppetLock)
Copy main movie only or split DVD-9 into 2 DVD-5
Compress DVD to fit on a 4.7 GB disc
Very easy to use, just by one click
High ripping speed and wonderful output quality

Producer Page
Free Download (Full function trial, size:3.1 MB)

Download Magic DVD Ripper v5.3 Build 8
Download Magic DVD Ripper v5.4.1


3) Cucusoft Ultimate DVD Video Converter Suite

converts DVD's and videos to play on almost any portable device including iPod, iPod touch, iPod video nano, iPhone, Zune, PSP, video capable MP3 players, video capable mobile phones, and Pocket P.C., etc. Meanwhile, it can also support output almost any audio/video format including Video format(H264, MP4, WMV, AVI, MOV, RM, 3GP, flv, SWF, mpeg-1, mpeg-2, VCD, SVCD, DVD, etc.) and Audio format(AC3, AAC, MP2, MP3, MP4, RA, WMA, etc.).


Homepage
• Video File Converter : DVD/Video files to H264, MP4, WMV, AVI, MOV, RM, 3GP, flv, SWF, mpeg1, mpeg2 video files and VideoCD, SuperVideoCD, DVD, …
• DVD Ripper : DVD/Video files to iPods(iPod video, iPod touch, iPod video nano), Zune, PSP, iPhone, Apple TV, PPC, PDA, PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, etc.
• Audio File Converter : Convert DVDs/Video to AC3, AAC, MP2, MP3, MP4, RA, WMA, … audio files in DTS and Dolby Surround audio.
• Subtitle Selection and Audio Track Selection.
• Video resize modes : “Keep aspect ratio” and “stretch to fix screen”.
• Crop modes. eg. 16:9, 4:3, full screen, …
• Setup (new) device profiles (own output video file size and video quality).

Download Cucusoft.Ultimate.v7.8.7.6

4) Ashampoo Movie Shrink & Burn

Burning a full movie or a few movies onto a VCD (700 MB), but the quality will be affected. You can define the output size manually and it will automatically compress the movie. Choose “to use with DVDPlayers” adn select “Burn Movies”.
In the next page, select the appropriate encoding (all options are explained on screen) and click NEXT.
Here, you have to select and add the files. The program will automatically compress the selected movies so as to fit them onto a VCD.
(The latest version, 3.x now supports burning Video DVDs too…)
Download

See also ConvertXtoDVD at How do i burn a .mkv file to DVD?
#Burning 2-5 movies onto a single layer DVDR (4.7GB)
See also DVDShrink Use in conjunction with ConvertXtoDVD to compress 8hrs(tested )or more movies to ISO image for burning to a single layer DVDR (4.7GB)

The main RULE when making a file convert to DVD is that you NEVER add more then 4 hours of video to a DVD5 disc.
Original filesize is not critical. Total playing time is.............
You can have 20Gb AVI file that has only 15 minutes of video in it or a 1Gb AVI file that has 180 minutes.
In general -
120 minutes fits without any loss of quality.
180 to 240 minutes - usually no visible loss of quality.
over 240 minutes - some loss, depending on a lot of factors.
These values are for DVD quality original.
HD encodes will always loose quality when converted to DVD

RElated Post : Video FAQ

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Linux Gaining Strength In Downturn

A February survey of IT managers by IDC indicated that hard times are accelerating the adoption of Linux. Sixty-five percent of the 330 respondents said they plan to increase Linux server workloads by 10% or more this year. Sixty-three percent said they will increase their use of Linux on the desktop by more than 10% this year. Of the CIOs, VPs of IT, and IT managers and professional staffers surveyed, 97% had Windows Server in use; 57% had Linux in use as a server system, and 39% also used Unix. The paper seemed to show that those already using Linux tend to use more of it during a recession, and in some cases, decrease their reliance on commercial Unix.

Linux server use has surpassed that of Unix for several years. Another source of growth for Linux is either on the IBM mainframe, where it runs natively, or in those shops migrating away from the mainframe to lower cost x86 servers. The two top factors that would accelerate Linux deployments according to respondents are reducing costs and stronger interoperability with Windows.

Although Linux is distributed for free, technical support for Linux from Red Hat, Novell, and other vendors is charged for via annual subscriptions, and IT staffers knowledgeable in Linux frequently command good salaries. VIA
Related Articles: Linux Operating System

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Convert various CD/DVD-ROM images to ISO format

AnyToISO Converter
Convert BIN, MDF, PDI, CDI, NRG, B5I, IMG, DAA, UIF, DMG CD/DVD-ROM images to ISO, Extract DMG files, read all features and supported formats
Universal, fast engine
Works on Windows and Mac OS
Free * * the program is free to convert CD images, Professional license allows to convert DVD images.

AnyToISO supports all CD/DVD formats popular in Internet.
AnyToISO works on Windows and Mac OS X.
Most CD/DVD burning software works with ISO images and its native images only. Use AnyToISO for conversion before burning.
With AnyToISO you can mount any CD/DVD image found in Internet to your Parallels/VMWare virtual machine.

Download:

AnyToISO for Windows (2.5 MB)
AnyToISO for Mac OS X (4.2 MB)



Play back those full videos you have saved as ISO or Image files on your computer with MPlayer for Windows from MULDER

For VCD movie files

If disk image format is ISO type you can extract with Winrar.
IF disk image format is non ISO type e.g. Bin & Cue format you may burn to a Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW) first. Then extract by copying MPGAV folder from CD-ROM to hardisk .
-Import the movie files(Dat)in the MPGAV and convert to desire output format in TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress or convert to DVD with ConvertXtoDVD

See DVDShrink (freeware) for backup DVD discs into DVD ISO images file.
See ImgBurn to burn BIN, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI image file and backup CD & DVD images to BIN .
See Daemon Tools to mount BIN/CUE, ISO, NRG, IMG, ISO files as a virtual CD-ROM or DVD-ROM or Blu-ray drive. You can utilise Imgburn or Dvdshrink to make(convert) a CD or DVD ISO images from the mounted virtual drive.

Also, if you are running on UNIX or Linux, then you can use a different program called bchunk to convert .CUE and .BIN files to ISO.You can install the the software by typing in the following command:

yum install bchunk
Then in order to perform the conversion, all you have to do is use this command:
bchunk XYZ.bin XYZ.cue XYZ.iso

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License

Related Posts:
Video FAQ
MagicISO
Burning Application- ImgBurn
Daemon Tools
ISO disk image
DVD / CD format: ISO or UDF
DVDShrink
Copy protected DVDs- RipIt4Me 1.7.1.0
Ashampoo® Burning Studio
cdburnerxp-pro Convert BIN, CUE, NRG to ISO
Ashampoo Movie Shrink & Burn 3

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Adobe Portable softwares

1)Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended (Portable)
Ideal for:

* Film, video, and multimedia professionals
* Graphic and web designers using 3D and motion
* Manufacturing professionals
* Medical professionals
* Architects and engineers
* Scientific researchers
Item Page

2) Portable Adobe Illustrator CS3 + plugins
Adobe® Illustrator® CS3 software is a comprehensive vector graphics environment with new transparency in gradients and multiple artboards that invite you to explore more efficient ways to design.
Item Page

3)Portable Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 RC build 534370 with Camera Raw 5.3
Ideal for:

* Professional photographers
* Serious amateur photographers

Item Page

4)Adobe Acrobat 6 Professional - Virtual (portable). Item Page
Download Part Rar 1
Download Part Rar 2

5) Portable Adobe Acrobat 8 usbtools
Download links:
[Rapidshare]
Portable_Ad0be_Acr0bat_8_downarchive.part1.rar
Portable_Ad0be_Acr0bat_8_downarchive.part2.rar
or
[Megaupload]
Portable_Ad0be_Acr0bat_8_downarchive.part1.rar
Portable_Ad0be_Acr0bat_8_downarchive.part2.rar
------------------------------------------------------------------
Download Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended (Portable)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Download Portable Adobe Illustrator CS3 + plugins Part 1
Download Portable Adobe Illustrator CS3 + plugins Part 2
Code
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Portable Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 RC build 534370 with Camera Raw 5.3

Related article :
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 RC

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Bluetooth 3.0 Almost Ready

Bluetooth 3.0 will be unveiled on April 21 which is expected to be 10 times faster than USB 2.0. with new specification achieves faster speeds with Wi-Fi (802.11n) technology. Bluetooth is not just merely a way to wireless pair a cell phone with a headset, but the technology is capable of transferring files, and even can be used by advertisers.

By utilizing Wi-Fi via an 802.11 Protocol Adaption Layer a Bluetooth 3.0 device will be able to pair with another device, and use Wi-Fi for the data transfer. If there's no Wi-Fi present, Bluetooth will be used. The new version also will have Enhanced Power Control, which is meant to reduce the number of disconnects that are caused by things like putting the cell phone in a pocket. Users won't have to connect to a Wi-Fi network to implement high-speed file transfers via Bluetooth.

On the technical side it is a Generic Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP) that will enable Bluetooth profiles to take advantage of 802.11 speeds. The 802.11 Protocol Adaption Layer (PAL) will enable the Generic AMP feature to be used with an 802.11 radio.
In other words, if it takes 10 minutes today to load up an Apple iPod with a wide selection of multimedia tracks, it would only take 60 seconds over a USB 3.0 connection, according to Intel. VIA

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Dewan Eja Pro

Dewan Eja Pro is the #1 proofing and reference suite for the Malay language
that helps you write better and learn faster. It ensures your correct
spelling in MS Office, and you can learn new words instantly just by
highlighting in any Windows applications.

Not only does it contain the acclaimed Dewan Eja spell checker, it also
features a full suite of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) dictionaries, including

* Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat. A Malay-to-Malay dictionary that consists of
over 49,000 entries.
* Kamus Inggeris Melayu Dewan. An English-to-Malay dictionary that consists
of over 47,000 entries.
* Daftar Istlah. Cross-reference between English and Malay terms in various
fields, including science and mathematics. It consists of over 267,000
entries.

Minimum System Requirements

* Intel Pentium II or 100% compatible
* 128MB RAM
* 720MB of free hard disk space
* MS Windows 98/2000/ME/NT/XP/Vista
* Integrates with MS Office/97/2000/XP/2003/2007


Producer Homepage

Dewan_Eja_Pro_v1.9.part1.rar
Dewan_Eja_Pro_v1.9.part2.rar

Dewan Eja Pro v1.2.rar

Kamus 3000 adalah perisian Kamus Dwibahasa Elektronik: Bahasa Inggeris-Bahasa. Dewan Eja Pro adalah kombinasi dari kamus 3000 dimana ia adalah perisian mengenai microsoft seperti word,excell dan sebagainya.
Kamus 3000 + Dewan Eja 3000

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Thinstall Makes Your Own Portable USB Apps

Portable Applications are usually designed either be created to run off a specific platform such as Ceedo or U3, or made to run as stand-alone applications. Thinstall is an Application Virtualization Platform that enables complex software to be delivered as self-contained EXE files which can run instantly with zero installation from any data source. The core of Thinstall VS is the Virtual Operating System, a small light-weight component which is embedded with each “Thinstalled” application.
The Thinstall Virtualization Suite has seems to be able to provide functionality for everyone from the System Admin with its ability to create MSI files to the average desktop user with the desire for portable applications. Nothing to install, no admin rights need, and no traces of anything left behind. These stand-alone applications are typically accessed by directly launching the program, or by a light-weight menu called PStart that sits in your system tray.

VMware ThinApp Suite (Formerly Thinstall) HomePage-
VMware ThinApp
Deploy and Run Applications without Conflict

Online tutorial- Make Portable With NSIS
How to make portable app using NSIS eBook
PASS

Thinstall Virtualization Suite 3 300
Thinstall Virtualization Suite v3.348.0 Full

Thinstall Virtualization Suite Package Editor v2008.03.01.22.10

Useful Link:

µTorrent file download

VIA

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DVD+R/W Media code using Nero CD Speed

How to get the DVD+R/W Media code using Nero CD Speed
Download Nero CD Speed here and extract it to a folder and if you do not have Nero installed then download Nero ASPI and save it to the same folder as CD Speed.
Run CDspeed.exe
1. Select your DVD drive where you have your DVD-R,DVD-RW,DVD+R or DVD+RW media.
2. Select Extra -> Disc info.
3. Copy the Code, it is the "media code".

Guide for CD-DVD Speed available at CD-DVD Speed - A user guide.


For unusual brands and media IDs, check out the VideoHelp.com or CDFreaks.com media forum.

Alternatively if you want specific suggestions for your make/model of drive or information on disc quality, best deals, best brands, testing methods, burners, recorders and more, refer or ask for advice in digitalFAQ.com Support Forum .

1ST CLASS MEDIA - EXCELLENT DISCS: -


More info.

Related Posts:
Dvd identifier- identifying a disc's real manufacturer.
Burning Application- ImgBurn

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Portable Antivirus

1) ClamWin Portable
ClamWin Portable is the popular ClamWin antivirus packaged as a portable app, so you can take your antivirus with you to scan files on the go. You can place it on your USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive or a CD and use it on any computer, without leaving any personal information behind.

Features

ClamWin Portable Screenshot ClamWin is a Free Antivirus for Microsoft Windows. It provides a graphical user interface to the Clam AntiVirus engine. It features:

* High detection rates for viruses and spyware
* Regular virus database updates. ClamAV team regularly updates virus databases to include a new virus/variant immediately after it appears
* Standalone Virus Scanner

Please note that ClamWin Free Antivirus does not include an on-access real-time scanner, that is, you need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware. Also, ClamWin Portable has scheduled scans and updates disabled as they are not used in a portable scenario.

See Real-Time protection at Spyware Terminator with AntiVirus.
Real-time Protection
Real-time Protection constantly guards your system and ensures that spyware programs can be intercepted and disabled before they are installed, helping to prevent potential security breaches before a spyware program can run. It uses the antivirus application ClamAV freeware to prevent virus infection. (To include ClamAV antivirus, HIPS must be selected)
HIPS(Host Intrusion Prevention System) - Spyware Terminator HIPS protects user’s computer from running unknown applications that can infiltrate your system through security holes within the system or any used application. During the Full Scan, Spyware Terminator creates a database of executable files of local disks. When this database is created and the HIPS function is active, any attempt of an unknown application or library to install is analyzed by the Real-time Shield. If the Real-time Shield cannot determine that it is a safe application, it displays a warning.

Download Details
SourceForge.net

0.94.1 Rev 2
* File size: 6MB (download), ~25Mb (installed with definitions)
* Publisher: PortableApps.com (John T. Haller) and the ClamWin team
* Date updated: November 10, 2008
* System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Vista/2003
* License: Free / Open Source (GPL)
* Source Code: launcher source (included), ClamWin source
* MD5 Hash (for the geeks): 08e799c85b2e3fab44dcabb11b9c882c
* Downloads: 4,586,000


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2) Portable Antivirus 1.6.392 Beta
Portable Antivirus is a small antivirus build to remove certain variant of virus, trojan and spyware from your computer. Portable Antivirus is free to distribute, free to scan and free to use.
License: Freeware
Size: 1024.0 KB
Author: Nur Mohammad Kamil

· Scan & remove an infected files from all fixed and removable drives or make your own choice.
· Smaller size and can be fit to your thumbdrive even also to your floppy disk.
· Automatic prompt for update if available.
· no additional external files required.
· Use less CPU and memory resource
· System process scanning and terminate immediately when virus is detected
· Give you 2 options for scanning - Always Delete and Report Only.
· Use HOT-KEY to control your Portable Antivirus without using mouse.
· Support drag and drop files to Portable Antivirus to scan instantly.

Requirements:

· Visual Basic Runtime
DOWNLOAD LOCATIONS
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3) Antivir - Portable Avira AntiVir Removal Tool
Authors Website: www.free-av.com

License: Freeware

Download: You can download the Free Portable Virus Remover HERE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) Microsoft Malicious Software Remover Tool

The Malicious Software Removal Tool by Microsoft ®, is a stand alone tool that can be used to check a PC for infections from malicious software like Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. The Malicious Software Remover could come in handy on a USB Flash Drive if you tend to work from multiple computers. The utility will automatically attempt to remove any infections it finds. Microsoft releases updated versions of this tool on the second Tuesday of each month.

Authors Website: microsoft.com/downloads

License: Freeware

Download: Download the Malicious Software Remover HERE
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5) Portable Norton Security Scan
Norton Security Scan is a Free Anti Virus Scanner made by Symantec. Norton Security Scan is typically used to ensure your PC is protected from common threats.
Authors Website: Norton Security Scan

Distributor: Norton

License: Freeware

How to make Norton Security Scan Portable:

1. Download Norton Security Scan. You can obtain it HERE or via Google Pack
2. Proceed to install Norton Security Scan
3. Once installed, copy the Norton Security Scan directory from C:\Program Files\ to your USB device
4. Click nss.exe from your Norton Security Scan folder on your USB device to launch the program

Note: This Antivirus tool does not provide Live Antivirus Protection. While it may identify Spyware, Adware, Tojans and Viruses and even remove Viruses.

*Norton Security Scan detects but does not remove Spyware or Adware.
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6)Multi Virus Cleaner

Multi Virus Cleaner is a Free tool that can be used to detect and remove harmful viruses. It can detect over 6,000 common viruses, trojans, worms and dialers, including variations of Bagle, MyDoom and Sober viruses.

Authors Website: viruskeeper.com/us/mvc.htm

License: Freeware

How to make Multi Virus Cleaner Portable:

1. Download Multi Virus Cleaner and extract setup.exe from the zip
2. Run setup.exe and install Multi Virus Cleaner on your Computer
3. Copy the C:\Program Files\AxBx\Multi Virus Cleaner 2008 folder to your Flash Drive
4. From the Multi Virus Cleaner 2008 folder, Click MVC.exe to launch the program

Note: you can uninstall Multi Virus Cleaner 2008 from your PC once you have copied the folder to your portable device.
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7) HiJackFree

a-squared HiJackFree is an informative system analysis tool that advanced users and administrators can use to help detect and then remove all types of HiJackers, Spyware, Adware, Trojans and Worms. It can be used to manage autoruns, processes and associated modules, control Browser Plugins, and view all DNS entries.
Authors Website: hijackfree.com/en

License: Freeware (For private use)

Download: Get HiJackFree HERE

Making HiJack Free run Portably:

1. Run the executable and set the install path to your USB device and click Next
2. Check the box that says Don't create a Start Menu folder and click Next
3. Ensure that create a desktop icon and create a quick launch icon boxes are not checked and click Next
4. Click Install to complete the installation
See also HijackThis
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8)Sophos Anti Rootkit - Portable Rootkit Removal Tool
Sophos Anti-Rootkit is a portable tool that can be used to discover and remove any rootkit that may reside in a computers running processes, registry or on a local hard drive. A rootkit also known as (Root Kit) is basically a set of tools that are used to conceal a malicious program from the computer user.
Authors Website: sophos.com/products/free-tools/sophos-anti-rootkit.html

License: Freeware

Download: Download it HERE

Notes: Launch the installer and install the application to any folder on your USB portable drive. Then click "sargui.exe" to run the program
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8) Dr.WEB CureIt - Stand Alone AntiVirus Utility
Dr.WEB CureIt is a FREE Portable AntiVirus and Portable AntiSpyware utility that has the ability to quickly scan drives for viruses and if necessary cure an infected computer. It can detect and remove most of the common threats such as worms, E-mail viruses, file viruses, stealth viruses, polymorphic viruses, boiless viruses, keyloggers, dialers, adware, hacktools, backdoors, trojans and more. This application also supports multiple languages if detected via the operating system. Dr.WEB CureIt can be run directly from a portable device.
Authors Website: http://freedrweb.com

License: Freeware

Download: Get the standalone version HERE
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9) McAfee AVERT Stinger - Virus Removal and Cleaning Tool
McAfee a global leader in Antivirus solutions also has their own free AVERT Stinger portable virus removal tool that can easily be run from a portable USB device. This utility is typically used by users and administrators to help deal with and repair infected computer systems. Stinger utilizes next generation scan engine technology, including process scanning, digitally signed DAT files, and scan performance optimizations.
Authors Website: Avert Stinger Home Page

License: Free to use

Download: Grab the latest Stinger release from HERE
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10) Avast - Virus Cleaner and Worm Removal Tool
Avast Virus Cleaner is a FREE virus and worm removal tool that can be installed to and launched directly from a portable USB device. This is a nice tool to have available for those extreme situations when you might encounter an already infected computer. For many common infections a virus or worm can be removed quite easily using this Portable Antivirus tool. Avast has a solid reputation for outstanding antivirus software.
Authors Website: avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

License: Free to use

Download: Get the latest release from HERE


Related Article:
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
PortableApps.com Platform

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PortableApps.com Platform

A PORTABLE or STANDALONE application is an application that stored on a USB flash drive and can run on a computer without leaving any trace of itself when the application is finished. A portable application broadly describes any software that has been adapted for use on a Flash drive, iPod or other mobile external hard drive.

Adding Apps to the PortableApps.com Menu

The PortableApps.com Menu can automatically add apps in PortableApps.com Format. Just download the file you'd like to add. Then, in PortableApps.com Menu, click Options - Add a New App - Install and then select the FileZilla Portable .paf.exe file you just downloaded. The PortableApps.com Menu will automatically install it to the proper location for you.

The PortableApps.com Menu will also work with other standalone and portable apps. You just need to place them in a directory "next to" the PortableAppsMenu directory. So, in a standard layout, you'd create a directory within the X:\PortableApps directory and place it within there. For example, if you have a portable program MyApp.exe, you could create a folder called X:\PortableApps\MyApp\ and place MyApp.exe and all its files within there. Then, just click Options - Refresh App Icons within the PortableApps.com Menu and your new app will show up.

Removing Apps from the PortableApps.com Menu

To uninstall a portable app, you can just delete it. From the PortableApps.com Menu, just click the Explore button and browse to the PortableApps directory. There you will see a list of the directories containing the installed apps. To uninstall Mines-Perfect Portable, for instance, you'd just delete the Mines-PerfectPortable directory from your device. You can then click Options - Refresh App Icons within PortableApps.com Menu and the it will detect that you uninstalled the app.

Download Platform
Version 1.5.2
Download Size 1MB
Free Space Needed 1.3MB installed
Recommended Device All devices
Supported Language Multilingual
PortableApps.com Menu included.
PortableApps.com Backup included.
Custom Folders, Icons & Autorun included.

An important thing to keep in mind when using portable applications is that they can be used to spread viruses between machines. It can be a very big issue when you use a portable app on an untrusted or unknown machine (school, internet cafe, etc). Whenever you plug your portable drive into an unknown computer, it's a good idea to assume that it could now be infected with a virus.

If the PC has a virus that is currently in memory, it may attempt to infect your portable applications as soon as you plug it in. When you then plug your portable drive into another computer (after an unknown) do the following:
1)Do not open portable drive on window prompt. Instead open Explorer by right-clicking My Computer\click Explore, right-clicking on your portable drive in Explorer to scan it for viruses before running any of your applications. Alternatively bring up Windows Explorer by following this path- Start\Programs\Accessories\Windows Explorer
See also Disabling Auto-Run in Windows

Always wait until the drive access light has stopped blinking and then click the icon in your system tray to 'Safely Remove' your device. Don't just remove it. Just because the application's window is closed doesn't mean the app has fully closed and finished writing to the disk. Also removing it without safely removal at system tray may result in data loss.

Setting Windows Explorer startup folder By default, Windows Explorer always opens with My Documents. You can customize it by changing the properties for the Windows Explorer icon and replace the Target field with: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e, c:\yourfolder * Right click on the icon you use to launch Explorer and select Properties. * In the Target box, type (or replace the existing default text %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe with) the following: %SystemRoot%\Explorer.exe /e, path Where in place of path above you should enter the actual path to the directory you want open by default. For example C:\Windows, or C:\Documents and Settings, etc. To have My Computer listed as the default selection, type explorer.exe /e, Starting Explorer with No Drives Expanded:- %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, c:\

2) Avoid double clicking directly on any files and folders in your portable drive. Instead operate from right-clicking on your portable drive in Explorer.
you should first scan it for viruses before running any of your applications.

Always use a solid antivirus program on your primary PC and keep its virus definitions up to date and a solid antivirus program on your portable device,like ClamWin Portable, and keep its virus definitions up to date.
Refer:
1)NOD32 Antivirus with ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite
2)Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic for Windows
3)Comodo Firewall, Comodo iVault, Comodo AntiVirus, Comodo Anti-Malware, Comodo AntiSpam,
4)Spyware Terminator with AntiVirus--it uses the antivirus application ClamAV freeware to prevent virus infection. (To include ClamAV antivirus, HIPS must be selected)
5)Portable Antivirus

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