RobC

I would firstly suggest using Google to find other projects of similar types , there must have been other ones , its up to you to think of what keywords you search for . As an engineer myself and to tell you what I would personally look at and with a requirement of 10m , Id be looking for running it on batteries . Again , people can point you in directions but ultimately you have to do the work - use Google .

Download the HD clips from YouTube (Google for the tools) and try playing the clip off your hard drive . Other than that , reinstall/update video drivers , then if not better , try updating/reinstalling your soundcard drivers (they are connected and one can break the other) , make sure hardware acceleration is turned on .

Audacity doesnt rip , it re-records the audio - ie downgrades it . If you want to rip the original you need tools like Packet Sniffers and downloading tools or all-in-one programs or you accept a downgraded copy of a poor quality streaming file - its your choice . If you want to really "rip" , then Google with words like "stream , rip , capture , download , tool" etc . I`ll briefly touch the subject of protocols - different types of stream use different protocols (languages if you like) , different rippers can interpret and download different protocols . If you want to know how to rip from a certain site then Google something like "how do I rip from XXXX" , there are various sites / forums that give specific advice on ripping from certain sites . The relative recent introduction of the RTSP / RTMP protocols which the BBC use are a pain in the butt to rip from , the ripped files are FLV , but the FLV is just a wrapper for MP3s usually - to extract you need another tool . Doing it with Freeware is a pain in the arse (which is what the above writing is for), but if you want to spend money then the Replay Media Catcher software is one that works .

You dont say what you want removed , if you know what it is , then type that into Google with the word "remove" or "removal" etc .

A quick/reliable internet broadband connection and a PC faster than a tortoise with a limp

Pwned ;)

Quite a few of my PC issues over the years have been video driver related , I`d uninstall my video drivers (and a deep clean of them) and reinstall them . Uninstall IE and reinstall or fix it . Disable half of my programs that start on startup with msconfig , if it still crashes then swap over to the other half that I disabled etc try again . Including my virus checker and firewall (after turning on the Windows firewall again) - and dont do much browsing/running of programs . Check my virtual memory wasnt full Hardware Check device manager for any exclamation marks Disk check (full) of all disks I`d check my PC was cooling properly , check BIOS on running temp (although this would probably turn the PC off ) or use a BIOS temp program on my desktop , check my HD was cool enough (fans clean etc) . Leave the side of the machine off and see if it still keels over . I know you will have done most/some of the above , Ive put them there for others less PC literate .

It wasnt a film for those with short attention spans .

I have 2.5TB of drives and theyre rammed full of concerts , captures from my dvd recorder etc etc , 500GB my arse , give me more godammit ;)

Uninstall , reboot , reinstall .

As above , install the software , you should be able to then open the camera like a hard drive and drag/copy or you can set it up to autocopy everything across .

When you say the write was unsucessful , did the disk come up with "read error" or just not work , or the writing software told you there was a problem with it ? And you made the DVD with DVD compatible format video clips ? If its a speed issue for sure - try using some different software (or change the settings of the one you have if it supports it) and drop the write speed on it (to 8x for example) .

First thing I`d try though is uninstalling Vuze and then reinstalling it . If that doesnt work , then uninstall Vuze and try something like utorrent , as I recall when I last used Vuze it gave me firewall problems (cant recall what happened , apart from Vuze locking up on me as well) , so I use utorrent .

You missed my point about Googling sorry , you`re the one who`ll have all the settings to his fingertips , linking me to the manual won`t help , to sort it , I`d need to be in front of your PC with access to your router and PCs firewall (as your friend did by remote access) - there are just to many variables otherwise (especially if you have adjusted settings on Vuze as well) . My point about mentioning the make of things was a general one for getting help , not so much for this issue . Google your routers make , with the words (or variants of) - router , sky , guide , help , bittorrent , firewall , nat .

You`ll have to look up your routers firewall and your pcs firewalls manuals or google for a guide on setting them up for Bittorrent - each manufacturer will have different settings for what you want (I think its Port Forwarding and all that sort of thing) . You also might find that Sky (as Tiscali does) throttles Bittorrent traffic (again google for info) at certain times . I know 100% for definite the guides are out there as I used one to set mine up . Dont take this the wrong way , but if you need help , you also need to put all info in the post , modem manufacturer , PC firewall etc .

Im using a Canon A590 , not bad at the time , but my daughters Kodak is even better as its very very small (got it for her for Xmas) , I bought the Canon for its video capability , but more for use as a temporary camcorder replacement than to take to gigs . Id look for one that will give good pictures even with low/poor light (my wife just told me a camera with at least a capacity for ISO 1600 - the video function might not use the ISO function she added) but the stills should come out better . And for me a zoom function is an absolute necessity . Distortion of sound is hard to stop and will most probably be only be helped by where you are stood , if you look on YouTube I have seen some good gig video with good sound - could be worth an email ?

I personally wouldnt , they`ll be after a sale at best and on commission to sell you the most expensive one at worst , do it but keep an ear out to see if they are being objective with their opinions . When I got mine I compiled a list of what I wanted from it , how important each of those was and which I could live without as a possible compromise and how much I was prepared to spend on it all . Very middle age and sensible but it works for me , I read quite a few reviews that also gave me insights that I wouldnt have thought of as well . Id read as many reviews as possible , disregarding ones at either end of spectrum - the kissarses and the braindeads . My Mrs is a professional photographer but her uses dont stretch to gigs so her opinion wasnt any good about my camera apart from the aspect of the lens quality I should look for and how to use the bloody thing :)

I think youve misunderstood what Virtualdub does , it provides an avi file for the GIF animator program to work on (or if you want a series of saved jpgs) , this avi was Full 25fps in full colour . The payoff of size versus quality is the key , its grainy as I reduced the amount of colours used in the Anim program to make it 75k in size , I wanted smoothness and so the only way to make 75k was to reduce the colours used . I have a version of it in full colour / full 25fps but its massive . Virtualdub allows you an easier way to reduce colour depth , frames per second , reduce resolution of the video , frame the piece of screen you want and cut out individual frames all in one stop , a photo program means adjusting each frame individually . The way I make them is - Use VirtualDubMod to input the mpg (this version allows mpg input) Cut out all the video I dont want Use the filters to remove interlace , frame the part of screen I want as a square then reduce the size to 80x80 (or whatever size the Forum uses) Save the avi as Video Only Go into the menus and reduce the fps to 12.5 and save another version , Load up GIF Anim Workshop and load in the avi Copy the video on the timeline , then paste it onto the timeline after the first piece - then select that section I pasted in , then reverse it and delete the last frame (stops it slightly pausing when it bounces) - the pasting/reversing is to make seamless GIF anims Then I take a look at how large the GIF will be in the program , if its OK then I save the GIF and finished If its to large , then I reduce the colours used in steps until it gets to the size I want - if it down to 4 colours and looking shit , I start again using the second version I saved at 12.5fps , then repeat the porcess until it achieves the size / quality I want . Obviously on this forum you can post big GIF anims , on other forums they have a 20K maximum , hence the above . VDub is a video program and using it for this is slightly an abuse of it , but its far easier and free . The thread was for avatar and signature , my method is fine for straight layout mpg->avatar/sig but to make overlayed video/picture like yours , Id make my anim as above and then use Sony Vegas myself and use the overlay function on it to mix the still picture and video (anything to avoid individually playing with the frames ) . These are the programs Id use as Ive bought them or they are free , for a free alternative to make video and still overlayed GIF for avatars and sigs (like yours) Im not quite sure what is out there .

It depends on where you wish to put the gif anim , whether its for an area that restricts the size of the gif or not . And as above you need a gif anim program , when I last made them I used VirtualDub to resize the video and filter it any way I wanted (make it black and white , reduce framerates etc etc) , cut the part of the screen I wanted (save as an avi) and finally GIF Anim Workshop to make the anim and optimise the anim into a size that the forum I use would allow . Art package ? never used one ever on one . Ive just uploaded an old one of mine to my avatar , 74k and seamless .

Thumbs up for Gimp from me as well , it`ll even run some Photoshop plugins as well (google how to do it) like Virtual Photographer (possibly the best free plugin Ive ever used)

I have Vista as well and it does it on mine as well . Ive tried a stack of ways to fix it (including hacking the registry) but gave up - I now use Firefox when I need flash (like Youtube) . Sorry it not a great deal of help , I think the problem is to do with the User Account Control (I`ll also ignore any puerile IE baiting to use Firefox all the time)

You have to supply the details of where the concert is (its url) , each site will have different methods of hiding urls so you cant download them . Different methods means different software to rip them .

Ive read that two critical safety flaws have been found in it (google if you wish details) , the most notable one apparently is the way it can bypass windows security features (please go ahead a make an obvious joke here) , so its a thumbs down from me even if Chrome got out of bed for me and made the coffee . If and When it becomes more secure (eg if it sandboxes itself) and matures from other bugs , I`ll give it a miss from being in effect a beta tester .

From the picture I saw of it , it looked like a turd that hadnt been polished .

Just as well we dont or we`d never get anything done ;)