Arcane Phantasm

My Review of Dazzle® DVD Recorder Video Capture System

2009-05-30T00:48:00.001-04:00

Radio Shack

Transfer your videos to DVD easily with the Dazzle DVD Recorder.

Works great for me!

Darksidehearts East Greenwich, RI 5/29/2009

Pros: Durable, Easy to Use, Compact, Reliable, Fast

Best Uses: Home or Business, Travel, Anywhere

Describe Yourself: Quality Oriented

Primary use: Personal

To note: this is a personal review for this item and I am in no way saying this will work for everyone the way it did for me. So why did I type this little bit? The fact is that most people read reviews like this to see how well the product works or not and most times when people write reviews they write on how it worked for them with their specific machines and settings, which in my opinion is not an accurate way to rate a product but then again that is the point of this so....

I find that this device does exactly what the name implies, records anything hooked up to it. I like how you have the option to record it to your computer as a file or DVD because most of the time similar devices are tricky as they tend to do file only stuff in formats that are hard to put on DVD without further conversions.

Initially I was a little concerned because it's MPEG4 compression, I mean MPEG 4 is okay but there are better methods. Despite that the quality is rather amazing to me, Dazzle does an incredible job....now if only they could find a better name for the product... For the few people that wondered how I recorded the games, I say "Oh I used a Dazzle" and the response "Isn't that the thing that girls use to jewel stuff?" ....Dazzle....Be-Dazzler ....yep it happens.

The best thing I like is that it's portable, not that I have my gaming consoles on me all the time but it's good if I go over to a friends house and we can record our sessions. I did buy this mostly for game-recording purposes but it's great to be able to hook up my camera and other devices to it in order to record some home movies and projects. Now I do have a DVD recorder so technically I don't need this but it was a pain to have to record stuff, then rip it to my computer. Most of the time the file sizes were huge and it would take me more time for editing than you can imagine.

Here I record what I want and then it's only up to fine editing. I like the USB cord being as long as it is so I don't have to keep everything on my desk all the time (Not that big of a desk to begin with, it's built into the wall, so I can't just move it or make it bigger.) I was more than thrilled to have S-Video on this as it gives me a chance to actually USE my S-Video cable lol.

The only downside to the built in app is that the view window for recording is way too small, it's hard to see what your doing in the game unless your really looking at the screen. Then again that could be due to the fact I'm using my laptop also I haven't looked into if you can alter the window or not as of yet. I am very satisfied with the Dazzler as it does work for what I want. Now, would I say I'm keeping this thing forever...well I do want to get the Mac version but since that's $99 I kind of figure "get the PC one and then eventually get the Mac one." but for now I'll have my fun with what I have. "Why not wait and save up for the Mac one instead?" well because I'm in no rush to get it as I'm using Windows XP on my Macbook via Bootcamp so technically I can use either device but for the price, also since it was on sale where I am, it was worth it.

I would heavily suggest this item to anyone looking for an easy way to record devices straight to your computer for gaming records or just storing those home videos. Also thanks to gnrfan5000, I didn't talk to him personally but I did hear he uses a Dazzle to make his Youtube LP's (LP = Let's Play)

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[DSH.com] Again with this....I know

2009-03-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, added the link to the main page on Darksidehearts.com so go there if you want to check it out...unless you did already from the previous post in which case never-mind.

[DSH.com] DSH Travelcast Page

2009-03-07T14:51:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, here is the Travelcast page...yes I know it's crap right now but I'll work on it more tonight when I get home, my source files are on my external drive.

Most likely the newer shows will be uploaded here first before this hit the site but if not make sure to check the page every once in a while.

[DSH.com] DSH Travelcast Episode 3

2009-03-07T10:00:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, long time no see. Well to be honest with you all I wanted to come out with some other projects before this one, eh...what can you do?

Any who, introducing our new show: the DSH Travelcast!

[The DSH Travelcast is an unscripted little show that is as the title ensues a taping of travel sessions to different places, going to school and such. For the most part the show will be unscripted so therefore loose language may be present. Make sure to check the show notes to judge for listening.

As a disclaimer, some episodes might contain some information not accurate in nature, that's what you get with an "on the road show" also some topics may get confusing based on how the people in the car are, tired and all sometimes.]

feel free to comment below and let me know how you like it or don't.

Episode 3 [Burger King & Stuff]

Ah...show notes....well now I guess that means I'll have to make a new page, geez just put the foot in my mouth lol. That was an unintentional spoiler there, sorry. Well there will be a page worked on for this new show but I'm still in the decision making process on how this one will work with the others in production. But for now this show will be on going here and there.

[DSH.com] Weekly Updates?

2009-01-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

Well as the site returns so do many of the features of it. However as time goes on many changes are to be made in order to keep the staff sane during the interim, here is a list of the approved and plotted changes for 2009.

1. Downloads
- We will no longer have scheduled weekly downloads instead will be a bi-weekly posting. What we mean is that while the downloads will still be delivered, they will be posted at any given time during the week if not then it will be noted.

- Direct downloads will no longer be available to PSP users instead you will be able to download the full archived version, then you will need to unzip the files on a computer unless you have the proper software on your PSP to do so. The reasoning behind this was based off an error that would not allow the videos to play even when downloaded to the right folder.

- Material downloaded will be updated or changed as time goes by, we will update you on the blog as to when a particular show is updated. This does not mean that the show is not updated, it's more of a matter of when we have the time to convert it. A new plan has been set up to convert all episodes if possible, upload them and then just link them on a given day but this will depend on the staff's time and disk space.

- DSH.com's media page, this page will be receiving a major overhaul in the next few weeks for better organization so that portion of Darksidehearts.com will be taken down temporarily.
- - - -

2. Site Fixes
- We do realize that some pages do have errors (Dead links, graphical errors ect.) these pages will be fixed as we get to them, the site will be overhauled within the next few weeks.

- Some pages will be taken off the site as they are no longer needed or get in the way.

- Any issues that we don't get correct please inform us via the forums or blog if we missed them.
- - - -

3. New Pages
- Again as stated above some pages will be taken off the site however some new ones will be added as time goes on, we have some new features lined up for you guys to enjoy.
- - - -

4. Possible New Projects
- Well while I won't go into it fully there is a new plan for a show also a return for a popular one. Stay tuned to the blog for any updates.
- - - -

5. Forum Contests
- We here at Darksidehearts.com would like to announce that there will be a new contest at the forums starting up very soon, stay tuned to the blog for further updates as they come along.
- - - -

Again I would like to thank you all for making this past year a huge success for the site and we appreciate your continued support.

[Life] Continued Downloads

2009-01-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, here is the V2 edition of my Megaman Legends PS1PSP game. All errors have been fixed and it will run nicely, additionally to make up for this delay in downloads I have included a little extra download for this week.

Zone Of The Enders [IDOLO]

[AVC] -331.8MB- [PMPAVC] -229.2MB-

This movie is Japanese voiced with English subtitles, US versions may be granted if asked upon because I have the policy "Subs not Dubs." So if you want the english voiced version let me know via the comments.

[DSH.com]

2009-01-18T09:09:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone I know in the previous post I added as a download the PS1PSP game Megaman Legends but there was no download link, that is because I have a little more work on the eboot than I originally thought I did. I will have it up here within a couple of days.

[Life] Browse Easy

2009-01-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

The digital life is great, it's even better when you have the best tools at your hand right? Well for a long time we PSP users have had to use whatever we could get on the system, sure we have the power of the custom firmware but one of the main issues like the Wii is that the features of the system are lacking anything that is actually worthwhile. On the Wii you can do all the stuff you would like from reading the news, to voting in about an hour....then what? Once you have done what you needed your left waiting days or weeks for changes here and there. Well the simple solution was the Homebrew channel, now even when done with the Wii's features you can go watch a DVD or play a game or something you want on the system. Well the PSP has been the lord of Homebrew for a long time, we all know that right? Well even though *And I'm not complaining here* we have all that, it's still good once in a while to use some items like the web browser and built in music/video player.

The main crux of the matter is why they aren't used too often. The music player is limited as to what it can play, the video player is so specific on the encoding process that you tend to loose patients in making vids for the unit sometimes, and let's be honest here, the browser is just outdated junk.

So instead of all these newer features like the PSN store or connecting to the PS3, better money and time could be used to advance what's already there. I mean Sony wonders why we all head towards the Homebrew scene so much. Well your answer is that they don't make any attempts to get you interested in the machine. The best improvement they made is to allow flash ability to the browser, however keep in mind that's it's flash 6, a format barely used now a days at all. Let alone the fact that the number one unheard of issue.....

Well anyway we in the PSP Community have always taken the next step to fix whatever Sony cannot. Some simple solutions for the common problems, here are a list of the applications I use on a daily bases:

1: RSS reader can only view videos or audio podcasts. You cannot read whatever is written, "so what?" you say, well perhaps not all the information in the audio file/video may be enough or may be in the written info that the publisher of the feed was great enough to post for you. Well anyway the simple solution: Devour RSS Reader, you not only get to read the full post but you get to know if there is any downloading content for you. The main issue with this app is that it hasn't been updated since the day it came out so for now, you cannot download anything within the reader because it is what it is, just a reader. However I still feel it's more valuable than the built in RSS reader, so much that I delete the actual PRX file that powers it in order to fit room for a theme.

2: The internet radio feature added on firmware 3.00 was a grand idea but never really got launched too much into anything else. Seeing as you were heavily limited as to what you could listen to *Great idea Sony, "We tell you what to listen to"....yeah that will bring 'em in to use the feature."* until Freeplay came out with FreeRadio, an HTML portal that allows you to use whatever internet radio stream you would like. However it still uses the initial browser in order to play it which makes it kinda slow and heavily unreliable. It kind of cuts out here and there with no warning if there is a weak signal. Now I'm not blaming Freeplay here, it's Sony's issue. I thank him/her for being one to step out of the box and help the community. However we had something better way before the feature was added, PSPRadio. A nice little app that can not only play internet radio streams of any kind but can still play your own music and or podcasts you would like.

3: Video is not too much of an issue for the PSP however it is a little bit of a pain to do. When converting it's a little difficult if you don't have the right software, for my AVC video's I use PVC for Mac in order to create HQAVC videos using the purest Audio/Video Bitrate of course in doing so this means that only VLC can be used to play it on the computer lol. But still it's near DVD video on the PSP. I don't have a clue what to use on the PC side no matter what programs I use I can't get close. The only encoder that is nearly close enough to me is SUPER. Well anyway a simple solution is needed right? Well you don't get simpler than PMP. The PMP format allows you to use full resolution video on the PSP meaning that the video is only as good as the original file for used with PMP Player Advance. PMP formatted videos are also less in memory than AVC ones. Not to mention that you can just use the original title of the vide, no MAQ numbers. Even easier just make a small .png file for the thumbnail

4: With firmware 3.00 also came the addition of the PS1 emulator by Sony.... one of the only good things they have done for the unit in a long while. Well so you would think, but the one thing they forgot to mention is that you can only play the titles downloaded off the PS3 from the PSN store. Of course that was limited at the time, now you need to buy them online or off the PSP, well either way it's still a pain. So then what do you do? Buy titles from the PSN...or make them yourself for free? Well now the decision is rather easy, also it's not too difficult to do. With the Popstation you can make any PS1 game into a PSP playable one, with more detail work you can even make them have custom icons, music or even have it say something to you when you launch the game. The main thing you need to do is make your game into a file, this can easily be done with Toast Titanium on the Mac or Alcahol 120% on the PC side. Only issues on the Mac side is that the newer computers no longer read PS1 games, in fact they out right eject them. I don't know why, guess Sony let them know people where using them to make copies and such, guess it's reasonable. Again easily fixed with either an external CD burner or DVD burner. I use the iOmega SuperDVD or Lacie CD Burner. Well anyway after you make your game feel free to play it all you like. You can even make multi-disc games like Final Fantasy VIII.

5: Ah the PSP's web browser, now on to the finest of all the flawed features. Now I have nothing against the browser and I do feel that it is a good conceived idea but still it's not enough to say that's it's perfect. Sony did try to correct the problem with firmware 5.00 by adding memory filters to reduce the amount of data needed to use the memory but it can still happen if too much material is on the site or if the content is too new for the browser to handle like something in a higher flash format or bigger sized photos.

It's a great concept as the browser comes with a "Tabbed System" meaning that much like the Opera, Safari and many other browsers you can surf a page then open a tab to house another page so that you can come back to the others at another time. The PSP's browser is limited to three tabs at a time, which is good as the system may not take much more than that. But with the memory issues you can't even use the three. The best you can do is hope that things don't mess up with one. Loading pages takes far too much time on the browser than it should, even if there isn't a lot of content on the page it still takes a good amount of time. For my site it takes about 3 minutes to load even on 100% wi-fi connection, of course this is provided that I wait until the page loads before surfing on it otherwise it will run out of memory.

Well anyway for loading times on mobile devices it will take a little more time then on a computer but the PSP's browser sets a poor limit on this time. Another thing that's an issue that I have never understood is that you cannot charge the PSP while using the browser even though on many wi-fi applications and games it can charge. How this is a issue is when your downloading files or surfing for a while. The browser for some reason takes up a bit of power from the system. I'm not too sure why it does this as it's not a game but none the less it does. The browser in my opinion almost runs better with the features shut off than on. The only advantage that is still good about the PSP browser is that it allows you to download all sorts of items, even music all you have to do is direct them to the right folder and wham! Your all set to go with your portable media, it even alerts you to when your low on space. Also the addition of the Google Search?....come on, your kidding me with that right Sony? I mean can't you just go to google.com in the browser? It doesn't matter as half the sites off the search most likely with come up with memory errors.

Well now that I have done my litany of why the browser is a failure, let's move on the the solution shall we? Well again the simple solution is, toss that old browser aside and use the Opera Browser! Now most of you will be starring at this and saying "what is he talking about? You can't install the Opera Browser on the PSP, that's a computer app isn't it?" Well yes and no, Opera is a web browser that is well known but it's not just limited on the computer. We have seen this browser on a few different platforms already, the Wii, the phone, the DS and even a few PDA's. Well since January 21, 2008 PSPKVM has allowed you to do such a marvel. Sleepper and M@x brought to the PSP community a chance to enjoy a new form of internet browsing, for a long time people wondered if there was a homebrew browser aside from 2ch and the Tenchi No Mon browser but have always been let down by the results. Well what's better than an homebrew browser, a real browser powered by an homebrew app! Well in some cases that's not the best but in this case we have a real gem. This little app PSPKVM not only will allow you to install the Opera Mini but you can install other Java based .jar app's. The Opera Browser Mini is an intuitive browser that loads pages in a matter of seconds.

Best of all, no memory errors! I have been told that it runs off an emulated cache which saves a small bit of data which is deleted after executing an action, so it never takes up memory nor does it loose any. This does mean that it needs to load pages every time as the page data is not saved but still it's worth it as it loads very fast. You loose the ability of the tabs with this browser, which to me isn't too big of a deal as I tend to get lazy and leave other pages open forgetting to close them. So I end up one day launching the Opera browser with about 20 different pages I don't need open lol. The downloads system is a little tricky at first as it's not as direct as the PSP's browser but it's easy enough to figure out. The main issue with the Opera Mini is that you can not save any files from pop up windows, so if you were to go to a page with a Megaupload link your kind of at a loss. However it does allow you to save direct linked items if the link is on the page. For instance I can download items from the Phantasy Star Connect page but not from my DSH Media page, yes I suppose I should fix that for those using the browser.

Well anyway getting back on to the point, the better deal with this little gem is that you can use it to receive RSS feeds along downloading the items from them, you can add pages to the Speed Dial menu, which allows you to use pages in a quick menu so that you go to the ones you like right when you start. One of the better features I found out is that you can synchronize your Mini with the computer browser or anything Opera is on. Which means you may a bookmark on the PSP you can then go on the computer and use that bookmark without emailing it to you or writing it down as the moment you save it the bookmark it will show up on the Mini's folder within the computer browser, you can also access your computer bookmarks on the Mini as well. Same with the Speed Dial. It takes a little getting used to but it's nice to use. Especially when your in school, need to bookmark or save a page and then when you get home just continue on from where you left off. Of course you still can't enjoy sites like Youtube as there is no current flash version but at least you can actually load the page and download Youtube videos from this browser. Well that is to say the page loads so you can make comments and manage your account but you cannot view the video. On the PSP's browser you can't get pass the log in page.

Well anyway as a side note I should mention that you can use Youtube on the PSP via PSPTube, along with 23 other video websites to view and download videos....unlike on the iPhone *cough, cough, cough* not to mention it has support for Youtube's HQ versions.

As a nice added bonus Opera Mini takes little to no power, you can surf for hours before it needs to charge, I surfed on my PSP for about 4 hours before my battery got down to 83%. Granted I wasn't using it all the time, bathroom, dinner and all but you get my point. Well you can download images of any kind if they are on the page, this includes embedded images that you otherwise would need to go through the source to get. Now the downside the PSPKVM and Opera Mini is that your PSP is not a phone and so the control layout is not the same as a phone however you can fix this through the app's settings and even through the installed app's settings. Yes you can change the settings of Opera and PSPKVM. You can even edit the .INI file to change your locations for downloads and how the app works. Main point is that this an amazing app, not to mention that I always wanted to have Opera on my PSP. It's worth a try for anyone looking for a better browser than the PSP's.
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*To note, these programs are meant for use on the 1.50 Firmware or Custom firmware only, if you don't have these you'll need to research a way to use then via loaders and such.*
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By now your probably saying "Didn't he promise a download this post?.....enough with this blah, blah, blah....I WANTS ME DOWNLOADS NOW!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" ....well alright, perhaps your not quite saying that but still I did promise that and I do keep on my promises.

Crystal Blaze ~Episode 1~ [147.8MB]

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! ~Target 1 [What!? I'm the 10th generation Mafia boss?]~ [152.1MB]

Finally, a bonus - PSPS1: ~Megaman Legends~ [.MB]
----

Lol, more from me....yes I know this seems a bit too long but why not add another sentence or two right?

Well anyway the only real rants I have for the Opera Browser would be that for the RSS feeds, the Mini browser unlike the computer version doesn't alert you when the feed has been updated where as you get a small popup window that appears when an update is made. You have to manually go into the feed menu and look for the update, however the updated ones are in a bold text. I would love to have a chime or something when a download is done because it's hard to tell when it's finished. Also some download accelerators may be a good thing to add, I did a testing on this already:

Download Speed Test for a 8.9MB File
PSP's Web Browser: 1:04:77
Opera Mini: 10:21:14

I mean it does the job and I should be happy as the PSP's browser had more of a chance of fragmenting the file where as with Opera it keeps it safely packed but come on, 10 minutes? That's a bit too much, well perhaps this will be fixed in the future on later versions of Mini or PSPKVM. The bigger advantage is that downloading a file with Mini doesn't drain the battery unlike the PSP's browser. At least the PSP's browser chimes when it's done but then again it would be useless if your out of the room at the time I suppose. Well anyway that is all....or is it? Nah, I'm just kidding.

Hope you had a Happy New Year and have a great day! More updates to come as we continue in this new year.

[DSH.com/Life]

2008-11-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

[Original Post Date 10-31-2008 9:00 AM]
Hey everyone, just wanted to say that this weeks downloads will be the last for a while. Things are starting to stir up here and there in my video production course and I need to focus on that for the time being. If you noticed that the last couple of weeks the downloads were not posted, that was due to the amount of video editing I had to do the night before. I was wiped out afterward so I slept most of Wednesday morning and then went to work on my Thursday night class's project. Then afterward there was too much in the following weeks with Mid-Terms and such.

Well anyway, no this will not be the last blog entry. I will post as I get the free time to. This is just the end of the weekly downloads for now. It takes time and disk space to make them possible and I have neither one at the moment, the downloads may pick up again around Thanksgiving or so depending on the progress of the projects in question.

Well anyway, embrace it, the next post will have the final weekly downloads. Happy Halloween to you all!

[Edit]
Yeah as you can tell that was meant for a Halloween release and I wanted to post a few movies I own such as "Deep Blue Sea", "Friday The Thirteenth" and such but needless to say I couldn't convert them due to the fact I needed the disk space for my Mid-Term project for another class. Well anyway I may post them either way in time because we all like a little scare now and then right?

Well anyway DSH.com and this blog are not gone and will be back in a little bit so stay tuned to this blog for any of the latest DSH news!

[DSH.com] This Weeks Downloads

2008-10-15T22:00:00.002-04:00

Direct downloads for the week of 10-15-2008

Ghost Whisperer Episode 3 ~Ghost Interrupted~
[AVC~268.2MB] [PMP AVC~148.2MB]

Soul Eater Episode 3 ~The Perfect Boy, Death The Kid's marvelous mission~
[AVC~151.4MB]

[Life]Odd Expressions

2008-10-14T22:00:00.001-04:00

You know, I was thinking about this the other day but: I was wondering where the expressions we use come from. I mean rather it be "The grass is greener on the other side, or beating a dead horse with a stick." It's obvious they came from some place. Every valid expression contains a little bit of truth to them but the main question is how did someone come up with them? For example "The grass is greener on the other side" was someone on the other side and found out it was greener or perhaps someone didn't water there grass on one side some year. Or perhaps the greener grass was on the other side of a hill, the side with shade and no sun.

"Beating a dead horse with a stick" well I suppose someone may have done this, why I don't know nor would I want to. Well anyway my main point is where do these expressions come from? And what was the actual situation they were created in? If someone would like post the answers on the forums today!

[Life]Goodbye PSU~For now

2008-10-12T10:00:00.002-04:00

Well it's a bit of a sad toss up but from a combination of lacking funds and less time then previously schedualed in my life I can no longer play PSU anymore. Now that doesn't mean I quit PSU it's just not possible for the time being for me to do so, or rather it's not possible for me to give the best patience and attention I would need to play. I'd probably be on for a few minutes and then gone. I want to spend at least an hour or so online to really enjoy every aspect of a game, I don't like to do little cuts of time here and there. Additionally with the help of Dr. Gregman I finally am playing PSOBB. Since the game's server is hosted on Schthack it's free and therefore I don't have the lingering time limit on my head. Now $50 a year was actually a grand deal to me as I used to play WoW years ago for $30 every 2 months. I would feel just awful paying that bill without really logging on and enjoying the game. I will get back to the Guardians Colony and Neudaiz as soon as Summer comes around again perhaps even sooner. But for now I'm a BB only guy, that's right even though I hate to say it I'm giving up on PSOPC. I recently re-installed it trying to keep hopes up until I got the broadband adpator for my Dreamcast but I need to face the reality of it all. PSOV2 & PSOPC are kinda dead right now and since they lack the updates of the future stories and gameplay your left with meeting the main goals and then saying "Alright....now what?" In fact the game isn't even worth the effort of trying to make it to Lvl 200. Plus I have before twice in a row, not to say I hate PSOPC or PSOV2 it's just that BB is the same game plus more added to it and while the stats and such may have changed I almost feel it's better in some ways as it makes more of a challenge to the player to work with what you have. Also BB is strictly legit, I got bored in hacking PSOPC here and there just for fun, it got to a point where all I would do is play offline mode and then screw around with making items and such to see what I could do.

Now I never used hacks online as I like to play as legit as possible but that's not to say others follow that philosophy. Many on PC/DC hack all the time, also I am concerned when I learned about a hack that can destroy a DC by screwing with it's firmware, now with all the effort I went to fixing mine up I don't think I want to loose it like that. Well now that I got that all out of my system I would like to just say that I love PSO and I don't see me really leaving any of these realms, I might and most likely will even return to PC/DC at some point. I always do, creature of habit I suppose. Well when it comes down to it I'm still playing PS games and that's what matters. As many of you know this blog started out as a PS blog and then spanned beyond that. I still am proud of this place and it's origin, this blog always reminds me of the good times I have playing them. So in conclusion for those I have played with on PSU and PC I would like you to know that I'll be back within time. Especially on PSU the run vids will continue once again when we meet once more!

So in short

PSU:~On Hiatus for the moment
[Phantasy Star Universe *Not AOTI, I play original PSU*]

PSOPC:~Quiting, for now
[Phantasy Star Online PC]

PSOBB:~Just starting out in it
[Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst]

PS-P:~Still play it when I get the moment lol Final Fantasy Tactics gets in the way
though
[Phantasy Star Portable]

PS-Z:Hasn't been released yet and so I don't know about it yet
[Phantasy Star Zero]

[Life]Camera Mods?

2008-10-11T20:00:00.001-04:00

Well it's been a while since the last [Life] post, I think you all know why and I don't really want to go into it but I figured I'd post this whilst it was on my mind. You know I was wondering if anyone had ever made a camera mod for the PSP that allows a Flash to be added to the Chotto Shot Camera?*1 I know there is a night vision mod that allows the camrea to be used in the dark...duh. The mode is accessed by taking apart the camera and removing a filter from the lense and then putting it back together. The lighting adjustments on the camera allow the light to poke through the lense and create the night vision mode.

The PSP camera is a 1.3 Megapixel*2 camera that can do images in the following file sizes:
320 X 240
480 X 272
640 X 480
1280 X 960

for taking movies:
320 X 240 (15 FPS)
320 X 240 (30 FPS)
480 X 272 (15 FPS)
480 X 272 (30 FPS)
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Along with many other great features, however the one thing it lacks is the most obvious feature of any great camera. It has no flash, so if you want to take great pictures but don't have the best lighting well your out of luck unless you find a way to lighten the room your in. As many know when you go on trips and such options like lighting isn't always in your control. So I was wondering if anyway ever made a successful mod to the camera to allow flash photography? I tried going on some forums but no one has a clue about it. Well I'm not expecting a huge amount of responses but it would be nice to know

Post about it in the forums today! Oh and on a side note, feel free to join the fourms as well. I'd love to build a grand community but I need good people to make it better!
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1* The Chotto Shot camera is the official camera attachment for the PSP also known as the GO! Cam in the UK.

2*1.3 Is standard for most Cell phones to my knowledge but never quote me on things like that, check the net for further info.

[DSH.com]Product Listing~October

2008-10-11T16:00:00.006-04:00

Here are some of the new items added to the shop this month.
Clck on the images to get a bigger preview.

Sony Playstation 2 Multitap *New*
$25.00

Neckband Stereo Headphones with SP Adapter *New*
$8.00

Socom U.S. Navy Seals~Fireteam Bravo *Used*
$18.00

[DSH.com]Patience Please

2008-10-08T20:00:00.001-04:00

Hey all, as you know I have added a couple of new shows to the direct download section on the PSP site but I would like to mention that I have kept my word, as a special download you now can direct download Bleach Episode 189 ~The Fallen Shinigami's Pride~ the end of the Amagai arc. Additionally I have been thinking of adding the direct download page to the actual website as well as the PSP site. Since most of our media is hosted with Megaupload and seeing how some of you don't like waiting I feel this would be a good addition. However remember that nothing is set in stone as of yet, so stay tuned to the blog for any updates and results.

This Weeks Downloads

Ghost Whisperer Episode 2 ~The Crossing~
[AVC~277.2MB] [PMP AVC~148.3MB]

Soul Eater Episode 2 ~I am the Star! ~The "Biggest" Man of all will show himself here?~
[AVC~150.0MB]

*Special Download*
Bleach Episode 189 ~The Fallen Shinigami's Pride~
[AVC~150.8MB] [PMP AVC~90.0MB]

[DSH.com] October Downloads

2008-10-02T22:00:00.001-04:00

Well now that the site is up and running again you may proceed in downloading the newest direct download content any time you feel like it.

The shows that have been added for the month of October are:
Ghost Whisperer Season 1
Soul Eater

To note that the full seasons of these shows may not be uploaded to download off the PSP due to the fact the episodes will be for direct download only for this month and then removed to make room for another month of downloads. You will be able to download the archived versions at a later date including updated episodes.

PSPWebnet Media Section

Again you can view these videos on your PSP by placing them in the 101ANV01 folder in your MP_ROOT folder and to view these on your computer open them in VLC or on your Wii with MPlayer -DVDLib- Version.

[DSH.com] New Direct Download for October

2008-10-02T14:00:00.000-04:00

Lol, sorry everyone I forgot yesterday was Wednesday and as you know every Wednesday means a new direct download will be added to the PSP site. Fret not I'm in the process of working on it as we speak. After all the old downloads have been safely backed up and archived they links will be removed and the new downloads will be added.

[Life] Cutting The Heart Strings~ My little lady, my Sweet Pea

2008-09-24T14:00:00.003-04:00

I personally hate this, I mean it seems like our family never seems to get a break here and there, like life is nothing but turns and disasters. What did she do? All she does is live on this planet, I'm so sick of this. Many say "you can't blame god for what happens here and there in life" well then who do I blame exactly? Personally I have lost my faith in religion as it seems like there is a personal vendetta against me and my family.

We recently lost Tiffany a member of our family for years and now I'm about to loose another. My cat Mae,we just found out that she has Lymphoma Cancer, we haven't a clue how long she has to live but I want to keep her as pain free as possible. It seems like every time we make a turn something else has to happen, and I hate it. I mean what did she ever do to anyone, all she does is live here with us! The only faith I have is in my family, if people believe that to be blasphemous then so be it, none of you matter to me as your just mire numbers and nothing more to me. I haven't the belief in my religion anymore after this.

*I'm not demeaning the public, just the nay-sayers that will go against my words here in the sake of defending religion. I haven't a thing against religion I'm just saying I no longer have the belief's in it as much as I did before. I do want to make it clear that I do not hate people nor anyone who believes in their religion, I'm just saying that I have lost my faith and do not feel after all that has happened in the last few years that anyone like "god" would allow such things to happen to people that haven't done a thing wrong but just live. It's one thing if you do something to me as I can recover but when you attack something so small and innocent like a Dog or Cat that can't do a thing to stop it, I think it's just sadistic and for what? You have a beef with me, you deal with me. Don't bring my family "home" because you have an issue with me, be a real being and deal with the problem head on instead of hiding in the clouds and cutting the heart strings of families. My Mother had asked me if I'm going to believe in the Devil now as I kept making remarks about my disbelief, I told her "at this point anything would be better right now that what I do already, to me god's the real Devil" I know I didn't mean that but I'm just tired of having to get upset every day because someone won't let our little family live in peace. It's just the three of us, why do you need to keep taking away anyone who lives here, what sick kick is he getting from this?
-

When I wrote this I was very angry and now, I'm not too sure how I am. I'm a mix of angry,sad, calm with an air of clarity all combined into 1. I'm angry because all she ever wanted was just to sit next to you and be with you, she didn't deserve to be singled out the way she was. I'm sad because she's gone and now I'm alone, I still have my Mother in my life and I'm happy for that but it's still lonely being here with no one to even say hello to in the morning. The air of clarity came when I realized that live is far shorter than I really had known and that you must be grateful for everyday you have on this planet and the people you are with. Also I know even though she's no longer with me Mae's always in my heart.

Mae passed away Yesterday morning Wednesday, September 24, 2008. I'm angry because I'm tired of this, I mean what did she do wrong? If he has an issue with me then deal with me, just stop hurting people that don't harm a thing. I mean it's pathetic to just sit up in the clouds and pick off little things that can't speak let alone defend them-self's just because you don't have the gaul to deal with someone that can fight back. I don't mean to be this angry but we just lost Tiffany and now Mae is gone so as of right now to me there is little to no chance of me regaining faith in god or any god like being. Let me just say I'm not against anyone who believes in god or has faith in him, I'm just saying I have lost my faith due to the many occurrences that keep happening, its like we are not allowed to be happy for one-second with having something terrible happen. It's not just a small problem it always has to be a magnanimous thing. I don't want to spend this thread on my anger, as you can read what I have written above the day that she was diagnosed also I wouldn't want her to think that I'm writing this to have anger in her passing. I want to make this as a second memorium for someone loved dearly in our family. Mae brought me out of the darkness I had given up hope in trying times of my life.

I am grateful that she was home when she passed, the night before I had a class to go to. That's another thing I hate, work/school always gets in the way of something important. I mean she didn't look too good that night and all I wanted to do was stay home. I had Mom stay here as I didn't want Mae to feel that she was alone. In the morning I had to go to the campus to have a meeting with the Dean, like I cared about that. I wanted to stay here and be with her, I know she had passed but I wanted to be here with her. Being here wouldn't have helped anything, she was gone it's not like I could be here to take care of her. Still I wanted to so badly, it was a tough day for both my Mother and I. She had a meeting that morning like she wanted to deal with that at the time. But she did great in staying professional and spoke up for herself when it was appropriate. I'm proud of her for doing that. After work we went and got the most perfect baby blanket for her casket, I only wished that I was buying it for her as a new bed and not what I was actually getting it for. She's always been a small little thing, my "Little Sweet Pea". Although small she didn't act small, she's get up to the counter or table and speak with you eye to eye. She's follow you around and talk to you or sit with you. When you were out in the yard working she'd walk by on the way she was going to and stop to come over to the glass door to say hello to you. Yes, she did take food off the counter if left out, but that's just instinct she wasn't a thief. Cat's are naturally scavengers and if she wasn't fed the moment she was hungry who could blame her for having the "Well that's all right I'll serve myself" attitude? She was always doing funny things as well, look at the story I told about her trying to frame Tiffany. Mom was not really a cat person and tried to leave Mae as my cat but even she was changed thanks to Mae. It's not that she was against cats, she loved Tasha it's just she just wanted Mae to be "my baby". When I wasn't here Mae went out of her way to come down and stay with Mom, many of nights coming home late I'd see her lying next to Mom on the couch, curled up as much as she could be. Even toward the end she stayed the same, she couldn't walk too good but she still wanted to be by our sides. She'd come in and try to hop on the hassock or couch but couldn't so we had to lift her. I felt awful the day I went to the bathroom and she came in, looked at the counter and walked away. She used to hop on the counter and sit, purr and talk to me. I know it's a bit weird to some to hear that but I always enjoyed the company. When you were sick she'd always stay be you side all day and night, taking bathroom and food breaks. There was this time last year Mom had gotten sick as did I but she had it worse than me so she stayed home. Finally about two day in I got as bad as Mom, luckily I hadn't a class that week as we had a holiday vacation break I had to go in one day so I got the break later than Mom did. *Going back to the idea that we don't cut a break anywhere even in a break we have a debilitating thing to deal with.* It was funny I came home and went to bed whilst Mom lay on couch, Mae had to have gone back and forth a thousand times just in the morning alone. She wanted to share time with us and make sure to take care of us giving her the title of "Mae Nightingale", and then on top of that power kept going in and out around the house as it was storming for three of our five days.

What I'll miss the most is that she reminded me of Tasha by coming by to distract me from work and make me take a break once in a while. Always the lady cleaning herself as often as possible, I took Mae to the groomer I took Tiffany to for her nails to be clipped, she would always comment on how clean and tidy she is, I'd say it's mostly Mae. She had always yellow eyes but this week they changed to a nice marble green, she was truly a beautiful little girl. The vet was worried about her eyes being as yellow as they were but her eyes were always yellow so I tend to wonder if she was more easily susceptible to deceases like Cancer? Mae I love you and I hope you, Tiffany, Tasha and Nana are having fun wherever you are. She never met Tasha or Nana but I'm sure they'll take care of her and welcome her with open arms like they did me.

She is my little lady, my sweet pea

Mae "Nightingale" Tucker

[Life] iTunes 8

2008-09-23T22:00:00.005-04:00

Well recently I upgraded my copmuter which I do as all Apple updates come along. When I went to launch iTunes I noticed something, it wasn't the same one I have been using all these years. It was a bit confusing to use as I couldn't figure out how to get to the music listing instead of the new browsing feature they have. Now I know that with every update there is a small little info-bit that does tell you what's going on with the update but the issue is that even with that info, it's not descriptive enough to make you really get it. Also it in no way will tell you if your app will change the moment you launch it, so no warning is given to you stating that you'll have to hit this or that button in order to change it to something your used to.

If you do have the Apple rss feed or visit the Apple homepage enough then chances are you'll get to see screenshots or more info about the new updates but for those that don't or for those that have PC's it's a little tougher. I kinda wish Apple would have sorta graphical popup when you started the app to show you all the changes. Like when you launch Opera for the first time, it brings you to a page listing all the changes and what's new. Same with Photoshop or any other app. But Apple app's tend to lack this, it's like they expect you to know everything before your updates.

Well anyway after using it a bit I figured out everything. Aside from the recently added "Coverflow" they have now added a new UI called "Grid", that sorts your music based on album, which to me was something great as for years I have had all my albums and such listed in folders on the side and after a while tend to get sick of having to search for all my music. Let's say I want something from Bleach OST 2, well now I have to go through all the Bleach music I have to find it. I know iTunes has a search feature but even that is a bit tedious as if you do not know the exact name of the song/album title then it just gives you everything related to what you typed.

Well even with this new sorting method there is a big problem. IMPORTING YOUR MUSIC! I didn't notice this until I went to get a song out of my "Soul Eater Original Soundtrack 1" album, when you import the music to the library sometimes it works and sometimes it goes all wrong. What I and I'm sure many know by now, it will import the music but label songs when it's the wrong songs, or put a different label on the same song, so now you have 3 or more copies of the same song with just different names. Sometimes it won't import the full songs. Also another issue I noticed was we now have lost the ability to convert music on iTunes to something else. before you could make MP3's and such now your limited to converting to AAC. To me it's no issue as I like AAC but I feel the option should be open to other formats if you want to.

On a final note I found this a bit odd, on my iMacDV running Mac OsX 10.4.11 with Quicktime Pro 7.1.5 I have always had the issue where the out-of-date QT was not accepted with iTunes editions below 8 but I have always had the option to just click OK anyway. Since I don't use that computer to do video I could care less about what QT is on it. I did pay for the PRO usage and didn't want to upgrade to loose it because the next update after 7.1.5 requires a new PRO payment otherwise you just get the player. Now I don't use the videos on that computer through iTunes as I don't buy them from the store and any podcasting is done through my Opera Browser or Mac Mail.

[Edit]
On the plus side I have recently downgraded back to iTunes 7.5 so until they update it and fix the problems I'll keep using it.

[DSH.com] Um...Okay

2008-09-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

Well now, I suppose I need to retract my statment about getting the last episode of the Amagai arc for our site before the month ends. As it would turn out there will be no Bleach this week until October 7th. Of course by then the new direct download series will be in play. However don't fret, I will post the episode anyway.

[DSH.com]Store Opening~Part 3

2008-09-22T21:00:00.000-04:00

Alright tonight I would like to announce that the DSH.com store is officially open for business! ~Chardstone Ltd.~ has a new link on the main page! So if your a reader here or not you can still check it out!

Additionally I would like to mention that all things as far as updates to the site and such will be noted here. Apparently some people still look to the main page for updates. I know there are some updates listed there but those are basically add-ons to the actual site. If I feel they need to be posted there they will be. I apologize for any confusion there may be in this.

[DSH.com] Store opening~Part 2

2008-09-22T20:42:00.002-04:00

Lol, as it would turn out while visiting Dr. Gregman today I realized a fatal flaw in my set up, I never put a link to the store on the DSH.com main page. So unless you read it here you'll never know it's there. This problem should be fixed on the spot. I'll update when it's ready!

[Life] Portable Blogging

2008-09-22T14:00:00.002-04:00

Well now this is a bit of a surprise, I just found out that I can update the blog on my PSP. As a matter of fact I'm doing so right now!

[DSH.com] ~Chardstone Ltd™~

2008-09-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone just wanted to announce that the official DSH.com shop is now open, while there is not much there at the moment I will post anything of interest or as stock comes in. But still who knows there could be something you need or what there right now!

www.darksidehearts.com/shop

[DSH.com] Counting Down The Days

2008-09-18T07:00:00.002-04:00

Wow it's almost the end of September, in another week or so we'll be rapping up the first direct download series on the PSP page, incidently the filler arc will end right when we do lol. While I get ready to put a new series to take place for October *I have a great one in mind* you may still download the uploaded episodes for the moment. In the mean time feel free to download the latest episode when you get the chance.

Bleach Episode 188 ~Duel! Amagai vs. Ichigo~
AVC PMPAVC

Oh an by the way I don't know if I mentioned this earlier or not but if you happen to own a Wii and use Mplayer (The one that play's DVD's) then all you need to do is place the AVC version anywhere on your SD Card and then load it up in Mplayer. And bam! You now have the latest episode on your TV, since it was converted to AVC it has been made wide enough so that when on TV it comes out in it's original screensize. Of course you can watch the AVC ones on your computer also with VLC.