Tech Spot

Many people already use the fantastic (and free!) VideoLAN VLC media player or Media Player Classic (also free) to play videos.  But newer digital cameras and camcorders with 720p or 1080i/1080p output are using the AVCHD ( A dvanced  V ideo  C oding  H igh  D efinition)  output format.  Unfortunately this means you get to see a blank video or extremely choppy video when playing it back on your computer. Here's how to play without choppiness (provided your Windows computer is relatively newer and not say, a netbook). 1) If you don't already have it, download the excellent  Media Player Classic HC version  (offshoot of the "original" MPC, which appears to have ceased development).  Remember to pick the "x64" download option if you are running Vista 64-bit or Windows 7 64-bit. 2)  Download the ffdshow codec  and install. 3) Run MPC-HC, go to View -> Options and select 'Output' under Playback.  Change the DirectShow video to "EVR"

It seems hard drive makers have long struggled with fierce competition, leading them to manufacture disks that are not terribly reliable.  Hitachi/IBM had the infamous Deskstar 75GXP (aptly renamed the Deathstar by exasperated owners and amused bystanders).  I do believe Hitachi has long since recovered from that.  When my Samsung HD642JJ 640GB SATA drive started showing a S.M.A.R.T. B8 end-to-end error code, I sought to find a good replacement without having to set up RAID.  My initial research brought me to the Western Digital Caviar Black series, and then to their enterprise offering, the RE3 and RE4.  However, reviews on Newegg.com and Amazon.com showed no anecdotal improvement in reliability (around 10%+ DOA and quick failures, though poor packaging may have been to blame).  I ended up getting the well-reviewed Samsung HD103SJ 1 TB SATA 7200 RPM 3.5" HD.  Now here is how I ended up almost botching the data transfer: 1) I read that XXCLONE was much easier to install and use,