MacX DVD Ripper Pro Review

MacX DVD Ripper Pro is a DVD ripper program developed by Digiarty Software. It currently stands as one of the fastest, easiest, and best DVD rippers out there.

Getting Started

When you start up the program, it’s ease of use is very immediate. The actual user interface is very simple, nothing too complicated. But what really caught my attention were the directions. They appear every time you start up the program and explain how to begin with just three simple steps. I find these directions very appealing considering that I’ll know where to get started.

You start off by selecting what you want to rip. The actual DVD disc, an ISO image, or a folder containing DVD content. From there, you can choose from a huge variety of output format profiles. Some profiles include a DVD backup, Apple devices, Android devices, and even Microsoft Devices. Therefore, MacX DVD Ripper Pro definitely stands out when it allows you to convert the DVD to almost whatever format you want.

However, I did get somewhat confused while I was poking around the PC General Video profile. I went ahead and ripped the DVD using the Recommend format under that profile. But, I was perplexed about why the ended up video fine, but the audio didn’t. It wasn’t even in sync with the video.

When I asked customer support, I realized that the output profile was purposed to preserve the video, not necessarily the audio. Although it was my own personal mistake for not paying closely attention, I do wish the issue would’ve been obvious. Maybe a pop-up that explains what may happen to the output file appears when your mouse hovers over one of the profile tabs.

Variety of Customization Options

Once you’ve chosen your output format, you can customize your output file a bit more by clicking on the “Edit” button next to the selected title. A new window will appear that’ll give you options to trim, crop, or add subtitles to your output file. Again, MacX DVD Ripper Pro has definitely nailed it by using variety as a necessity.

As soon as you have all that set up, you’re almost ready to begin ripping. You have three other options near the “Run” button that you can decide from. They’re the High Quality Engine, Deinterlacing, Safe Mode, and CPU Core Use.

The High Quality Engine basically preserves the converted output file in the best quality possible. Deinterlacing helps improve the quality of the output file. There may be some added time to the conversion though if you have any of these selected. But the added time isn’t major at all, it’s only by a couple minutes for an hour and a half movie. I highly recommend trying out these features because they work out great.

But, if you’re running into any issues, that’s what Safe Mode is for. Safe Mode is basically a smooth conversion process where it avoids any errors during the conversion. Again, a couple minutes may be added, but it’s not major. This is only recommended if you run into any issues while ripping the DVD.

If all these options slow down the conversion process a bit, you can select multiple CPU cores to increase the speed. Or just stick with a few to save some for later.

All in All…

Once you’re set, you can finally click on the big “Run” button. Now, the conversion is pretty fast. It took me around 20 minutes to fully rip and convert an hour and a half movie.

Overall, the program definitely stands as one of the fastest, easiest, and best DVD rippers out there. If anything, this program is definitely worth a try for anyone.

Bandicam Review

Bandicam is a free screen capture software that is mainly designated for gameplay recording on low-end PCs. It gives you the option to record in full screen or a DirectX/OpenGL application. The free version does come with a minor watermark at the top and only allows you to record for up to 10 minutes. The full version itself costs $39 for one copy. It comes with a variety of advanced features from selecting the recording frame rate and to the recording audio lines.

When I first started off, I thought I was ready to go to get some recordings in. Sadly, that didn’t happen. I had to frequently readjust the frame rate and the video codecs to finally get the right options. It really disappointed me since I’ve heard so many times that Bandicam can just work on any PC you have. Well, that is somewhat true. However, you have to actually customize the program options to fit the specs of your PC.

But once you’ve got all that setup, you’re actually good to go. The recording does decrease your frame rate in the actual gameplay, but not majorly. I received a smooth and easy performance while I was recording. And even after I watched the video. It was crisp and didn’t lag that much.

Regardless of the minor watermark at the top, the video was really smooth when I was watching it. It was exactly as I recorded it with the precise graphics and smooth performance. Although, I did realize that the audio quality wasn’t has good as expected. But it was good enough to listen to.

Overall, Bandicam is a great option for those who would like to record their gameplay for free. Although the free version only allows for 10 minute recordings and a watermark at the top, they’re just minor issues that can be resolved with the actual content of the recording itself. Nevertheless, Bandicam is an adequate tool for those who are interested into recording their gameplay.

Camtasia Studio 8 Review

Camtasia Studio 8 is a screen recording software that also comes along with a video editor. The program costs $299.00 for one individual copy. It offers new and advanced users to easily accommodate to this program in order to meet their needs.

It all starts off with the classic interface. You have your library area on the top-left, video preview on the top-right, and a timeline at the bottom. Even by just taking a quick skim around this look really gets my mind going. I was also really intrigued by the color choice. The black gradient-style really caught my attention. It gave me the idea of a modern-interface that really grabbed me.

The screen recorder itself is pretty nice. It offers the basic start, pause, and stop buttons. As well as the option to change your settings for the audio and video. The video codec that the program offers, known as the TechSmith Codec, is really nice. You don’t lag while recording and it doesn’t lag afterwards when you watch the video. Which really helps improves your performance.

But the thing that really stood out in this program is the video editor. As we go down into the timeline, you have the nice basic features. You can add multiple tracks, remove and rename them. You also have the option to import a recording into the timeline, and extract the audio as a separate track. Which is really nice if you want to get rid of a piece of audio or video.

Another really nice feature to this program is the variety it offers. When you look at the library pane, there is just a huge amount of music and animations you could use. In fact, the media the program offers is actually some good stuff. Using this really helped me feel like a professional video editor.

Although we have all these huge features that seem to really stand out, it’s really the small ones that make the bigger effect. These include zoom & pan where you can zoom and pan along the video. Or callouts that include text effects, arrows, and labels. Even the fact that you can directly move around objects directly from the video editor. Which is really handy if you don’t want to be messing with numbers.

New or old users can accept the fact that Camtasia Studio 8 offers the capability to record and edit not only recordings, but you’re own media as well. The program has grown to accommodate people of all areas. Including teachers, workers, and even the average YouTube user. Overall, Camtasia Studio 8 is a tool that you can’t leave out.

Game Review – Minecraft

What is Minecraft? Where Did it Come From?

Minecraft is a sandbox game originally developed by Swedish programmer, Markus Persson, also known as “Notch.” On June 1st, 2009, Markus quits his job as an established game developer to create his own game.

For a while, Markus was playing a game called Infiminer, developed by Zachtronic Industries. The game was designed for you to collect resources in order to gain points for your team. Simple really.

Unfortunately, the game was discontinued. However, this game inspired Markus to develop his own game a few weeks later. He reused the concept of building blocks from Infiminer and creativity itself to be the basis for his game.

On May 17, 2009, Markus released the first release for a whole new beginning for the world of gaming. Over time, the game has gained huge popularity and has become on of the top indie-games in the industry. This game eventually became to what we know as of today, Minecraft.

Here’s What I Think…

When I first started the game, the interface was very simple. Nothing special or too fancy. It just gave you a nice, warm, and welcoming feel. Which is really nice, especially for beginners because in most other games, there would be buttons all over the screen. Each with their own special little feature. Which can be pretty overwhelming for a beginner and could take a while to master. But, Minecraft just keeps it nice and simple so you can get straight to the action.

I’ve also been enjoying the gameplay lately. I enjoy the survival and creative modes in the game. In survival, you basically have to survive. Which really satisfies me that I get to explore the Minecraft world and do things that your parents won’t let you do. Like going hunting in the forest or even riding on a pig!

In creative, you basically get to be your own creative mind. The game will give you all the blocks it can offer, you just have to make something out of it. I’ve created a tree-house, mansion, and a few apartments. For me, it’s really fun to do it block by block. Especially if you can do it with your friends.

But what is also nice is that the developers of this game tried to put some realism into the game. For example, the fact that fire won’t burn on dirt. Or that it’s easier to mine sand than it is to mine stone. The game actually gives you a real understanding of the real world. (Except mobs, riding pigs, and creepers.)

Another thing I enjoyed about this game were the servers. There was just such a huge variety of servers to choose from online. They’ve got Hunger Games and even Call of Duty! Basically, people download some plugins and texture packs to give you the feel of a Hunger Games arena. Or maybe some action like in Call of Duty. It’s a really fun experience and one that I won’t regret.

But my favorite part of the game is the concept of using building blocks to express your creative mind. The reason why this is my favorite is because it’s just a unique idea. I’ve never seen any game like this before with this concept. Although some creations may not end up so perfect due to this, players have made astonishing creations out of it anyways. For example, people made mansions, dragons, pixel art, and so much more!

Now one major downfall of the game was the graphics. I can see that this is a building-block game, but honestly, the graphics seem very pixelated. One example is the glass block. I don’t really understand why there should be white dots on the glass. But thankfully, the game has a feature called “Texture Packs.” Where you can go online and download a huge selection of textures. Ranging from simplicity to medieval. Hopefully, the game will look into improving the graphics though.

This is an astonishing game that exceeds anything that I could’ve imagined. I’ll give it a 9 out of 10 and would totally recommend it to anyone. I would also like to encourage this for young kids and families because this really offers the family fun and creativity everyone needs.

That’s all guys! Thanks for reading! Please make sure to check out the links below and stay tuned for upcoming posts. See you later!

Official Minecraft Website

Infiminer

YouTube Channel

Minecraft Addict Page

Game Review – Star Wars: The Old Republic

Hello there!

Welcome to another game review on a popular MMO known as Star Wars: The Old Republic! Yup, its Star Wars alright! A classic science fiction world of imagination. Now, let’s start talking about this popular MMO.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a popular MMORPG developed by Bioware. This game was released on December in 2011 as a game you must buy, but is now free. The game has been recorded as the fastest growing MMO ever with over 1 million subscribers within 3 days.

When I first saw the cinematic trailer and started playing the game, I realized what a huge story line I was going to be a part of. What I mean is the fact that the game was designed for you to get a knowledge of the history in that time period. And what I enjoyed was the fact that whatever choice you made in a conversation, it’ll shape your outcome in the game. Meaning, if you make good choices throughout the game, you get a good result at the end of the story line. But that depends on which faction you choose.

Another factor of the game that I enjoyed was the huge planets. These planets really gave you an idea of the environment that you were playing in. As well as giving a great opportunity to explore such wondrous worlds of creativity.

What I also enjoyed was the variety this game had to offer. Everywhere you look there was at least one mission. As well as some alien-like creatures, robots, and pirates. Which really give you a strong idea of the game itself.

But my favorite part of the game was the gameplay itself. That’s mostly because when you’re on missions, you can actually invite your friends to come and help out. The battles are out in the open, so when you’re in range, your enemies automatically attack. Which is great because it really gets you involved in the action.

However, once you realize how big a planet is, you know you have a lot of work to do. What I mean is that you have to walk back and forth all around the planet on one mission. Although there may be some taxis around, you still end up walking. But I suppose the designers of the game wanted us to slow down and take in some of the action the planets have to offer.

That is all for now. Thanks for reading this article. Hopefully, it’ll give you guys an idea of what the game is like. Anyways, just check out the links below and I’ll see you guys later!

YouTube Channel 

Official Star Wars: The Old Republic Website

Game Review – Brick-Force

Hello there!

I’m back with another game review on Brick-Force. It’s a free online sandbox shooter developed by Korean companies known as Infernum and EXE Games. The game went into beta of early spring in 2012. But a few months later, it became officially released. It’s a comic-style themed game and has mixed a bit with the Minecraft theme as well.

When I first started the game, the interface felt like it was meant for kids 10 and up. The booping sound every time you make a click or the square-headed avatar your playing gives you a nice young feel. It’s actually pretty enjoyable since it has that classic FPS theme. I thought I was being an eight year old playing this, but it turns out it’s popular amongst teenagers and is pretty awesome.

What I found really unique about the game was its mix of an FPS shooter and a sandbox game. In other words, it’s Battlefield Heroes and Minecraft combined. Literally! You get to shoot small screaming cartoony guys and play in a map that you created yourself. The best thing about these maps, is that they don’t need approval. You just need enough brick-points to submit your map and that’s it! Seriously, this can get addicting!

Another thing I found pretty impressive was the high-quality graphics. Although in games like Battlefield Heroes the graphics were just nice and cartoony. Brick-Force is like off-the-hook!The developers did a really great job on using its lighting and maintaining its high-quality as well. It’s a very well job done. Though it doesn’t compete well with games like Need For Speed: World, it does pretty good compared to Battlefield Heroes and other cartoon games.

That’s all I have to say now. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed this review. Check out the links below, rate, comment, subscribe, and I’ll see you later!

Official Website

Software Review – iMovie 09

Hello there!
Welcome to another software review on iMovie 09. It’s a free video-editing software that came with the iLife 09 package in January 2009. It restored some basic features that weren’t available in iMovie 08. But they also implemented more advanced features such as picture-in-picture and chroma-keying.

When I first opened iMovie, the interface, just grabbed me. It was sleek, clean, and it had a nice modern feel to it. Not only that, it was very well laid out and organized. If you sum this all up, it’s a very nice and easy interface. Especially for young beginners.

Another thing I enjoyed was the videos panel. Unlike previous iMovie versions where the videos you upload are only available for that project, all the videos you upload are stored there. Meaning, you can have as many projects, but all the same videos are still available to you. This is a really nice feature for many users because they can have a place to store their videos. And then make a quick movie if they want. I find this a really big improvement from Apple since I’ve never seen this being done before.

But, my favorite feature is the video editor. It’s so easy to create titles and add effects. Plus, it has a variety. Meaning, it has other effects that most other free video-editing software don’t give you. As I mentioned before, it included effects such as picture-in-picture, chroma-keying, and even trimming. You can probably download plugins to get these effects for your video editing software. But why do all that when it’s right in front of you!

Overall, this is a really great software for young amateur film makers. I totally recommend it even if it takes buying a $1,000 Macintosh. So, that is all for now. Rate, comment, subscribe, and I’ll see you guys later!

Software Review – Stencyl

Hey guys!

Welcome to another software review on Stencyl. Stencyl is a free game engine that allows people to create 2D games with either programing experience or not. It was developed by a man named Jonathan B. Chung and was released on May 31, 2011. The software allows you to export your games to Adobe Flash Player by using ActionScript 3 and Flixel 2.32. It’s mainly aimed towards young developers awaiting to excel in their future.

When I first opened Stencyl, the interface seemed sleek and clean. It had a good theme to it and a very organized layout. However, I noticed that every time I attempt to open a new tab, it can lag a bit. But, it never crashes the software. So, that’s a very good thing. Overall though, it has good interface that really pushes me away from that downfall.

Another thing that was really nice about Stencyl was the programming. Like most other software for young developers, it uses the drag and drop system or pieces of code you can fit together. But, what was unique about the programming was that you can go type it at the same time. So, as you drag pieces of code together, you can also view it as a script file to see how it was all put together. I’m not exactly sure what programming language you’ll be viewing it as. But from what I’ve heard, it’s either ActionScript 3 for Flash or Objective-C for iOS. However, this is a really nice tool since it can give you a head start in reality programming.

But, one thing that makes it really unique from other programs is StencylForge. StencylForge is a free online open-source market within the software. It offers sounds, backgrounds, codes, and other resources you can use in your project for free. This makes it easy for early developers to create their own games without worries of creating their own resources.

Overall, I think this is a really great software for young game developers. I totally recommend it to anyone out there who are determined to understand the reality of game programming. Anyways, check out the links below referencing to this post. If you have any questions, feel free to ask by leaving a comment below. Rate, comment, subscribe, and I’ll see you guys later!

Official Website

Software Review – Alice 2.3

Hey guys!

Welcome to a software review on Alice. Alice 2.3 is a free program aimed towards beginners and learners of programming. It’s meant to teach and help people understand the basics and concepts of programming in the real world. Such languages include Java, C++, and C#.

When I first tried Alice, I felt like I was living in the 1980s. The graphics seems old, sketchy and just out of date. I felt like quitting the program seeing it was a waste of space on my computer. But, after giving it a few tries, I eventually had fun and even a few laughs while making some animations.

Remember how I said the interface seems old and the graphics were a bit sketchy? Well, to me, that’s true. However, if you put those facts aside, you’ll see the interface is actually very useful and simple. For example, my favorite part is the object details area. It’s where you can customize your object and drag blocks of code into the methods area.

That’s another thing I like about Alice, is how easy and organized it is to drag blocks of code and piece them together. They even have some of the different statements used in actually programming. Such as if statements, while loop, and for loop. Just imagine how easy all that is!

One thing I find it really unique though from other programs is the events area. The definition is really in the name itself. There’s a sequential order of events that will happen. It’s almost like your daily that will keep going on forward and start over when it ends.

The last favorite of mine is the variety of objects it has. In other programs, you’d have to recreate the entire object. And I know how painful it could be. In Alice, it has buildings, people, small objects, and so much more. Sure, it could be a bit blurry. But I mean like, your not going to make a $5,000 game out of this. This software is meant to educate you. Not to become Executive Game Designer of EA. However, this software can help you get there.

There is only one thing that really annoys me. It’s the interface. I just can’t stand the fact of how old and outdated it looks. Sure, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Basically, it’s fine and nothing special to it. But, they should redesign the theme to make it more appealing.

That’s all for now though. Hope you guys enjoyed the review. Check out the links below for anything referencing to this post. Rate, comment, subscribe, and I’ll see you guys later!

Official Website

Learning Series

Game Review – Need for Speed: World

Hello there!

I’m back with a brand new game review on Need for Speed World. I’ll spend a few minutes explaining about how the game works and as well as my overall opinion of the game. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below or shoot me a PM if you have any ideas for future reviews. Now, let’s get rolling!

About Need for Speed World & How it Works

Need for Speed World is a free online MMO racing game co-developed by EA Black Box(Canada) and EA Singapore. The game was released for Windows-based operating systems with the Play4Free and Need for Speed franchise in late July of 2010. It focuses on illegal street racing as well as the classic races with other players.

When you first register, you’ll realize that the game is sorted into 3 different tiers. Each tier has its own events that can only be accessed if you bought a car from that tier. So, tier 2 cars can only go to tier 2 events and tier 1 cars can only access tier 1 events and so on. Newly registered members start off with tier 1 cars along with $35,000 of cash to select their car. From there, they’ll be taken through a tutorial and a demo race to get a feel of the game.

Once all that is done, you’re ready to roam the free world, literally. The different maps aren’t like different servers you can join to get there, it’s all one big map. So, you can teleport to different parts of the world by going to the nearest event or just drive all the way there! It features highways, boulevards, underground tunnels, and so much more. This is called Free Roam.

So, as you’re driving along down the street knocking some taxis or bringing down monuments, you’ll find different events placed on the road available for your tier. There are three different events players can enjoy. Racing, pursuit/team escape, and treasure hunt.

The different type of events are simple. In racing you compete against others, in pursuit/team escape, you run from the cops, and in treasure hunt, you look for gems.

During these events, you can use powerups that’ll help boost your performance in-game and hopefully helps you get a better score.

My Point of View
When I first enetered the game I was like, “Wow!” The graphics were insane especially for a free online game. I never expected EA to make such a fabulous looking game. What was even better was that it rarely lagged. So, that was a big plus.

But my favorite part of the game is how I get to drive freely in Free Roam. I’ve never heard of another racing game that did this so this just caught my attention. All the time, I’d be crashing through gas stations, taking down donuts, looking for secret passages, tunnels, and so much more.

Another thing I enjoyed was the fact of how balanced the game really is. You can get some big cars like a Lamborghini with paid money. But you can also get some models with the cash you earn in-game. It gets very hard to find a balanced game compared to all others.

However, one downside of the game was the space it took on my computer. When I first downloaded it, it just took 1GB – 2GB. But now, the game has taken up like 10GB. This really annoyed me and I didn’t seem to receive back some space that I used to have before I installed the game. So, I recommend that you have at least 10GB – 20GB of space to play the game.

Overall, I think this a great game for all those NASCAR drivers our there. If you want to check this game out, just take a look at the link below. Don’t forget to check out my blog, follow it, and subscribe to my channel. As for now, see you guys later!

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Official Need for Speed: World Website
YouTube Channel