MediaCoder is one of the best free video converters as it can convert from almost any video format to another. It’s fast and is very flexible with its conversion settings.

As we are now using MediaCoder in our video conversion guides for our gadgets (i.e. mobile phones), I have made a general tutorial on how to use MediaCoder . This would help novice and first time users in using the software.

Why Use MediaCoder?

MediaCoder when first launched or opened, looks like it’s difficult to use because of the several panes, tabs, icons, and buttons of the software. Although video conversion is not an easy task in itself, these could confuse the user and divert his/her attention on the few core steps needed to convert their videos.

However, these several buttons and icons are there because MediaCoder has powerful conversion features which we can take advantage of. MediaCoder can be used to convert almost any video format into another with the specifications we want which makes it ideal for our video conversion needs. 

Continue Reading… »

What are the best free video conversion software out there today? Let’s take a look at these applications which help us watch our favorite videos/movies in the gadget of our choice.

Almost any gadget today, whether it’s portable or not, is able to carry and play video. Mobile phones are sometimes gauged on the extra features they bring which include video playback and video recording. iPods and iPhones are not just known for their great music and nice user interface but also for the clear video they bring.

However, as there are numerous video file types out there today, we often discover that we can’t play a certain video or movie that we like in some of our gadgets. We would need to convert them into playable file types by our gadgets.

That’s why I’ve compiled a list of the best free video converters out there today. You can use these applications to convert almost any known video file into another format that your device or gadget can play. (Be sure to check this page from time to time as we would be regularly updating this page for new video conversion software. You may also subscribe to the RSS feed or email updates – its free!)
Continue Reading… »

If you’re using Windows 7 and you encounter problems in using web folders or web disks (or more technically known as Windows Web Client or WEBDAV) how do you fix it?

Ever since the launch of Windows 7, I’ve been asked this question several times. Many people have already reported to me that they’re experiencing connection and setup problems for web folders or web disks (also called web client or WebDAV) .

I personally have Windows 7 64-bit in one of my PCs and I’m also having problems using web folders. Whenever I try to setup a web folder by “adding a network location” or “map a network drive” through My Computer, I’m given an error saying that either “The folder you entered does not appear to be valid. Please choose another” or “Windows cannot access… Check the spelling of the name. Otherwise, there might be…”. These errors appear whether I’m using SSL or non-SSL.

Continue Reading… »

Using the best free video converters and the right settings, you can convert almost any video or movie to watch it in full screen in the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic.

With the success of the Nokia 5800, Nokia has released another phone much like it but with a lower price tag – the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic. Unlike the Nokia 5800, the Nokia 5530 doesn’t have 3G, has no GPS, and has a smaller screen (from 3.2 inches to 2.9 inches). Despite this, the Nokia 5530 is still a great phone as it is sleeker, cheaper and packs all the other good features of the Nokia 5800.

And like the Nokia 5800, the Nokia 5530 is great for watching movies and videos as well. Let’s now try to convert videos and movies for the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic.

Below are three video conversion applications we can use to convert videos and movies for the Nokia 5530.

Continue Reading… »

Knowing how to take care of your notebook or laptop battery will prolong its life saving you from buying a replacement or a second battery.

Taking care of your notebook or laptop battery is as important as taking care of the laptop or notebook itself. It’s the very thing that makes it mobile in the first place. Properly taking care of your battery will prolong its life.

That’s why when I read an article by Chris Yano on a forum on notebookreview.com about notebook batteries, I can’t help but share the information here for all of you to know. I know several ways to take care of a laptop battery, but Chris’ article makes it crystal clear. The article may be 2 years old, but the information he provided is still applicable today. (Read on below to quickly know how to take care of your laptop or notebook battery or you can go directly to Chris Yano’s article using the link above)

Note: Since majority (if not all) of laptop or notebook batteries manufactured nowadays are Li-ion batteries, that is what we will be discussing here. If in doubt, check your battery if it’s Li-ion. There’s a very big chance that it is.

Continue Reading… »

Here is how to activate your Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 if you’ve recently purchased one through a shop or online.

Kaspersky Internet Security is one of the highest rated security software in the market today. It boasts the same antivirus packaged in Kaspersky Antivirus and packs in other Internet security features as well – such as protection from Hacker attacks, Spam, Phishing, and Identity theft.

So if you’ve purchased Kaspersky Internet Security, how do you go about on activating it?

(If you’ve downloaded Kaspersky Internet Security and plan to immediately activate it, skip to number 3. Also, if you’ve purchased it through a store, skip to number 3 as well. If however, you’re activating Kaspersky from a trial version start from number 1.)

1. Click on “License” located at the bottom of Kaspersky

Continue Reading… »

With the Samsung Omnia supporting DivX and other popular video formats, converting videos or movies are very easy.

The Samsung Omnia is a great touch screen phone powered by Windows Mobile 6. It’s a phone which more than lives up to the standards of smartphones today. Being a person who likes movies, I immediately noticed the great multimedia capabilities of the Samsung Omnia. It may be a smartphone and not a multimedia phone but the multiple video formats it can play especially DivX, make it great for playing videos and movies.

However, it does take a little step back in terms of the display. Compared to the Nokia 5800 which can display up to 16M colors, it can only display up to 256K colors. It’s understandable though as the market of both phones is different – the Nokia 5800 is a multimedia phone and the Samsung Omnia is a smartphone.

Display color aside, the Samsung Omnia is still great at playing movies and videos. It comes preloaded with a trailer of the movie Kung Fu Panda.

Continue Reading… »

Super Video Converter is one of the best free converters available today. It supports multiple video formats (even unpopular ones) and is very flexible.

We’ve been using Super Video Converter for quite some time now as it supports multiple video formats and its conversion options are very flexible. You can convert from almost any kind video format, and then convert it to another format with a different aspect ratio, video bitrate, aspect size, etc.

We now have quite a few tutorials on how to convert videos on various gadgets (i.e. mobile phones) in TechieChips. As we use Super Video Converter in almost all of them, I decided that it’s time to make a general tutorial on how to use Super Video Converter so that I don’t repeat them on every video conversion article I make.

In the middle of this article you’ll also see a list of all the video conversion guides I’ve made. You can always check this page if I’ve made one for your gadget (I’d be happier if you subscribe to the feed or email updates!). If not, you can always use the contact form (not the comments area please!) and ask me to make one for you!

Continue Reading… »

Have you ever encountered the error or pop-up Adobe Flash Player: Where is the debugger or host application running? Here’s how to fix it.

A friend recently complained to me that whenever she was browsing the net, she would get an error or pop-up saying: Adobe Flash Player: Where is the debugger or host application running? There would then be two choices: Localhost and Other Machine (directly below it is Enter IP address). She says that this always happens to her even though she upgraded from Adobe Flash Player 9 to Adobe Flash Player 10.

It gets pretty annoying as it always pops up several times in websites with flash graphics. And you can’t proceed any further without clicking “Ok” or “Cancel”

  Continue Reading… »

The Lenovo Ideapad Y330 is a 13-inch laptop which features a Core 2 Duo processor, a slot load DVD writer, HDMI, and Dolby sound.

The Ideapad Y series notebooks are branded by Lenovo as for “Family Entertainment”. The Y series notebooks focus on multimedia features to be able to deliver superb home entertainment. Let’s take a look at how the Lenovo Ideapad Y330 fares.

I’ve seen two kinds of Lenovo Y330 laptops available at stores. Both have the same specs but with differences on the processor, video card, and hard disk capacity. The more common Lenovo Y330 (since I see it more often), has a Core 2 Duo T5900 processor (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), 320GB hard disk, and has no dedicated video – equipped only with the onboard Intel GMA x4500.

The less common Lenovo Y330 is equipped with a slightly slower processor – a Core 2 Duo T5800 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), a smaller hard disk capacity with 250GB, but has a dedicated video card – an ATI Radeon HD3450 with 256MB memory.

Continue Reading… »