Windows Experience Blog : Soapbox

Add MSN Video Feeds to Zune as Video Podcasts

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:09:00 GMT

The MSN Video folks have updated Soapbox on MSN Video to allow users the ability to subscribe and add someone's video "stream" to Zune. You'll notice a new Zune icon next to the RSS icon on people's profiles on Soapbox for MSN Video.

When you click the Zune icon, it adds the video feed to the Zune software. For example - when you go to my profile on Soapbox for MSN Video (where I host my videos I post here) and click the Zune icon - my video feed will appear in the Zune software.

Any new videos I publish to Soapbox on MSN Video will then be downloaded into the Zune software which can also be synced to a Zune device. When I post video demos of cool Windows or Windows Live features and announcements - you can put them on your Zune and show your friends.

I expect to be doing more videos in the coming weeks so definitely pay attention here of course and my video feed on Soapbox for MSN Video.

Need a webcam? Try the Microsoft VX-7000 LifeCam

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:18:00 GMT

Back in September, Nick blogged about two new LifeCams from Microsoft Hardware: the VX-7000 and NX-3000. Recently, I've been looking for a new webcam. I already owned the VX-3000 - but I wanted something a little more powerful and higher quality. And the VX-7000 is just that! I went ahead and picked one up last week and thought I'd share some notes on my experience with it so far.

First off, let me give you a brief introduction to the device. The VX-7000 is the top-of-the-line webcam in the VX series of LifeCams from Microsoft Hardware. The VX series LifeCams are designed for desktop PCs while the NX series LifeCams are designed for laptops. The VX-7000 is a Certified for Windows Vista device so it is designed to work great with Windows Vista. All LifeCams are optimized for Windows Live - specifically being used with Windows Live Messenger for video calls. The VX-7000 comes with a pretty slick set of specs (you can also read the specs here from the Microsoft Hardware site):

2.0 Megapixel Sensor for clear video
Built-in Microphone designed to capture crystal clear audio
Universal Attachment Base to fit on top and clamp on to most monitors
Auto-Adjustment for Low Light Conditions
71 degree Wide-angle Lens
High Definition 8 Megapixel still digital photographs

Both video and still photos are shot at 1600x1200 screen resolution which is really nice.

The VX-7000 (and all LifeCams) utilizes the Microsoft LifeCam client where you can take photos and videos using the camera. You can download the Microsoft LifeCam along with the drivers here.

But what the VX-7000 is perfect at, I found out, is doing video calls with contacts in Windows Live Messenger. I used Windows Live Messenger's Audio and Video wizard (under the Tools menu) to set the audio and video up with the VX-7000. I then initiated a video call with a friend of mine and within seconds my friend could hear and see me via my VX-7000 webcam. And the quality was pretty good!

As I mentioned above, you can use the Microsoft LifeCam client to record photos and videos using the VX-7000 (or any LifeCam). And with Windows Live Photo Gallery - you can upload those photos you take to your Windows Live Space (or Flickr). Did you also know that with Windows Live Photo Gallery you can upload videos to MSN Soapbox as well?

I was able to take several videos I shot with the VX-7000 and use Windows Live Photo Gallery to upload them to MSN Soapbox.

Overall though I've been really impressed with the quality of the VX-7000 in general and it should certainly be looked at if you're looking for a new webcam.

MSN Video V4 Launched with new Soapbox features

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 04:23:00 GMT

Here on the Windows Experience Blog, I use Soapbox on MSN Video to embed and share all my videos for my blog posts. Tonight, the Soapbox and MSN Video Team has launched MSN Video V4 with new features to Soapbox worth taking note of:

Enhanced Copyright violation. Soapbox users will now be explicated told one of their videos has been flagged for copyright violation versus previously the video would simply not show up without any sort of message.
Improved encoding time. This is a HUGE plus for me because it lets me get videos uploaded faster when writing a blog post. Previously, it took quite a bit of time to get a video completely uploaded to be embedded into a blog post.
New Mini-Showcase. The Mini-Showcase is a new area on the landing page where the video team editors can show you what's hot on the site. I'm hoping to get one of my videos flagged for the Mini-Showcase sometime in the next few months.

There are a few more notable changes to take into account. When going to soapbox.msn.com - you will be directed to MSN Video. Soapbox is now directly part of MSN Video. In the menu you will see a new addition of "Soapbox user videos" where you can access user generated content from Soapbox including your profile via a new drop down menu. Also: you will note that MSN Video now consumes the most out of the browser window instead of being a fixed width at the center.

Congratulations to the MSN Video Team for pushing out an excellent new release of MSN Video and Soapbox and I look forward to continuing to use the service to share videos with my readers.

Users using the new Windows Live Photo Gallery beta can also now publish videos directly to Soapbox on MSN Video. This feature continues to work absolutely wonderful for me especially with the improved encoding time from tonight's release.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on the Soapbox on MSN Video Blog for more on tonight's update.

Edit and Share Photos and Videos with Windows Live Photo Gallery

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:25:00 GMT

Along with updated betas for Windows Live Messenger 8.5, Windows Live Mail, and Windows Live Writer - users can now install and test the second beta of Windows Live Photo Gallery. Back in June, Microsoft announced Windows Live Photo Gallery as the successor to Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista with a closed beta program. Starting today - anyone can now choose to install and try out Windows Live Photo Gallery.

This new release of Windows Live Photo Gallery offers some impressive enhancements over the previous beta as well as the existing Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista.

First off, users get improved color adjustment and cropping capabilities for fixing their photos. These enhancements allow users to easily make changes to their photos before sharing them. You can now adjust the detail of your image by sharpening your image up or change the levels of shadow and highlights in the image's exposure. Under "Adjust exposure" users now have a Histogram of their photos. This will help in adjusting the right levels for making your images look the best.

A new feature has been added to Windows Live Photo Gallery that will make many users happy (I for one am crazy about this feature). Users can now right-click on an image file to resize that image. You can even select multiple images and resize them together (batch resize was a popular feature request by users).

I do a ton of resizing images and being able to do this right from Windows Live Photo Gallery is a deal thing for me.

With shooting a ton of photos, not all of those photos turn out to be worth anything. So why import them onto the PC? With Windows Photo Gallery I was unable to preview and pick and choose the images I want to import off my camera. With Windows Live Photo Gallery you can with the new Photo and Video Import tool.

The Photo and Import Tool is a lot smarter in Windows Live Photo Gallery. It will list your images by date and allow you to enter names and tags for different photos on different dates.

After importing your images and fixing them all up - Windows Live Photo Gallery lets you publish those photos to your Windows Live Space. This makes it incredibly easier to share photos with friends and family. In importing photos to your Windows Live Space, you can create an entirely new album of photos or add the photos to existing albums already on your Windows Live Space.

You'll notice that Windows Live Photo Gallery supports the recently announced new optimize feature for your photos when publishing them to Windows Live Spaces. By choosing to "Optimize photos for printing" - your photos will be uploaded to Windows Live Spaces at a higher quality so that you can either print your own photos or order prints of your photos online. Users can also enjoy impressive full screen slide shows from Windows Live Spaces after uploading higher quality images through Windows Live Photo Gallery. Through Windows Live Spaces, you can take advantage of their new partnership with HP Snapfish (U.S. only currently - with more markets expected to come online later). Click here to read a bit from Windows Live Spaces Product Manager Chris Keating on Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Spaces.

Users are not only able to publish photos to Windows Live Spaces, but also videos to Soapbox on MSN Video.

Another on my favorite new features is the ability to create a panoramic photo. You can take a series of photos and stitch them together to create a panoramic photo. Here is a panoramic photo of the parking lot at my apartment complex (I stitched 8 photos together to create it):

If you love Windows Photo Gallery - you're definitely going to love Windows Live Photo Gallery. .

Keep your eyes on the Microsoft Photography and Video Blog. Matter a fact, Program Manager Scott Dart has posted pointing people to where they can download Windows Live Photo Gallery. Expect to hear more from Scott and his team very soon.

In testing out the latest Windows Live Photo Gallery release, be sure to submit feedback using feedback.live.com. This is the best place to submit bugs you may found.