COVERDISC AUDIO & VIDEO ▲

Foto2avi

●Create videos from photos ●Supports audio, video and images

●Produce Flash animations easily ●Uncomplicated interface

Since Windows Me, Microsoft’s operating

system has included Windows Movie

Maker – a straightforward piece of

software that makes it easy to create

videos. Foto2avi is a good alternative to

Movie Maker for cash-strapped directors,

with a number of features that make it

preferable to its Windows rival.

The program supports audio, video

and, as the name suggests, image files.

Data can be added to the current

project by dragging items from the Input

▲To watch Flash videos offline, you’ll need a standalone player like GeoVid

▲

The Preview window lets you check your video before saving it as an .avi, .flv, or .mpg file

box on the left to the Output boxes on

the right – it couldn’t be simpler. Once

added to the production, each individual

sound, clip or picture can be

manipulated in numerous ways.

Subtitles can be added, elegant

transitions can be inserted between two

items, and there are dozens of

animation effects to choose from –

making images or movies zoom and

rotate looks especially impressive.

All the commands are laid out in an

uncomplicated tab format, so even the

Foto2avi offers dozens of transition and animation effects, which can all be tweaked ▲

complete beginner shouldn’t get lost.

Adding music or sounds is also an easy

process. Once the chosen track has been

added to the Output box, it’s possible to

define the precise point of the animation

when the audio begins to play.

Foto2avi is very easy to use and has an

ample selection of features under its belt.

Whether you’re producing a video for a

file-sharing site like YouTube or just want

to make some fun family compilations,

this application is more than capable.

Location \audio and video\foto2avi_setup_16.exe System 98/Me/XP/2000/Vista Licence Freeware Contact www.trustfm.net

InstantStorm

●Create high quality screensavers ●Import Flash videos

●Customise screensaver settings ●Install saver as an .exe file

InstantStorm easily creates custom

screensavers from Flash movie files in

the SWF format. The generated .exe file,

once installed, is added to the normal

Windows Display Properties dialog,

alongside the default screensavers.

If this is your first time using this

type of tool, we recommend trying the

New Project Wizard, which does most of

the work for you. If you prefer, you can

use the wizard as a starting point then

edit the screensaver in more detail later.

▲InstantStorm has a few options that help you use Flash SWF files as screensavers in Windows

▲The installation process, shown when users install your screensaver, is customisable

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It’s not just the screensaver’s settings

that can be tweaked – extras can be

edited too, such as the installation menus

for the screensaver, the .exe file’s icon,

and the screen’s resolution. However, the

Settings Dialog Designer is a little buggy,

so is best avoided. A customised readme

file can be added to the installation

process. There are also options to include

an uninstall shortcut in the Start menu, or

to add password protection if your

screensaver contains private information

or is only suitable for adults.

Once installed, your screensaver will appear in the Display Properties dialog ▲

To check your project before you save

it, there’s a set of preview options.

These enable you to view the finished

screensaver and also the finished

installation process, if you’ve taken the

time to edit that section.

It’s not currently possible to splice

together more than one video file to

create a longer screensaver. However,

InstantStorm converts .swf files well,

and is worth using if you are sick of the

default screensavers in Windows.

Location \audio and video\ InstantStormSetup-1.5.0.0.exe System 98/Me/XP/NT/2000/2003/Vista Licence Freeware Contact www.instantstorm.com
MISCELLANEOUS ▲

COVERDISC

LEGO Digital Designer

●Create LEGO models on your PC ●Mimic real-life LEGO designs

●Vast choice of bricks ●Check price of chosen model

LEGO bricks have proven a popular toy

with children around the world since the

1950s but you no longer need a bucket

full of plastic pieces to assemble your

designs. With LEGO Digital Designer it’s

possible to create virtually any type of

model by slotting together virtual bricks

in a 3D design environment.

The sheer number of blocks available is

impressive, with over 750 different types

of brick on offer. This variety lets you

design pretty much whatever you want,

The graphics are very good and allow the most intricate details to be added ▲

and means you should be able to digitally

create most commercially available LEGO

models. Designs can be built up by

dragging and dropping parts from the

Brick Palette onto the main display.

Blocks slot together quite easily, but as

designs get more complex it can become

fiddly to connect pieces correctly.

Finished models can be viewed

against a range of backgrounds. Better

still is the ability to blow up your

creations with the Explode The Model

option, which sees your bricks fly apart

▲

Watch your LEGO creation explode and then magically reform on the screen

▲Find out how many pounds you would have to spend if you bought the bricks for your design in real life

and then reform.

If you want to recreate a LEGO object

in real life, the program will tell you how

much it would cost to buy the bricks

needed. It’s also possible to make a

virtual LEGO model on the screen and

then play back the instructions of how

to put it together.

LEGO Digital Designer is more than

just a promotional tool. It’s actually a lot

of fun and great for filling up your lunch

hour or keeping the children quiet.

Location \games and leisure\setup.exe System XP Licence Freeware Contact http://ldd.lego.com

Griffith for Windows

●Create a database of your movies ●Download info from the Web

●Produce DVD covers ●Track your loaned films

There are a few good freeware programs

available for cataloguing your home

movie collection, but Griffith has some

neat features that make it worth

considering. By adding your DVD

collection to the Griffith database

system, you can search for a film by title,

year, actor, genre – to name just a few.

When adding a new movie to the

database, Griffith only needs the title of

the film – if it’s not too obscure – in

order to retrieve more information

You can rate your DVDs out of ten, making it easier to weed out those you can flog on eBay ▲

about the DVD from a number of online

databases. Several movie website

sources are integrated into the

software, but we recommend

DVDEmpire and IMDb for the best

results. If the online resources don’t

have the information you require, you

can, of course, supply the relevant

details yourself manually.

The Print Cover feature is useful if

you’ve lost a DVD’s box or the original

cover is lost. You can either use the

automatically retrieved box art image,

▲Once added to the database, Griffith displays lots of information about the films in your personal collection

Griffith can be used to create a basic replacement box using downloaded cover art ▲

or import another picture to be placed

on the front of the new cover.

If you’ve lent out a number of discs to

friends or family, Griffith can be used to

track their whereabouts, helping you to

ensure that you never forget who has

borrowed your DVDs.

Other free movie database tools such

as Eric’s Movie Database have more

attractive interfaces, but lack some of

the features Griffith contains. If you

want to create a good, solid film

database, this is a good option.

Location \misc\griffith-0.9.2-win32.exe System XP Licence Freeware Contact http://griffith.berlios.de

issue 90 www.pc-utilities.co.uk 51 ▲