Resources >> Introduction to Computer Entertainment
Introduction to Computer Entertainment
Article By Paul Stern
Not everyone is an artist. Not everyone enjoys the attempt at becoming artistic. Almost everyone, however, likes viewing art of one type or another. Computers are no exception to the art world and its various works. Many enjoy finding pictures they can use for the background on their desktop. Others prefer finding this through a program of one type or another so they do not have to spend a lot of time searching endless sites to find what they like. Then there is the genuine artist that prefers having to make his or her own pictures for this purpose.
Individual pictures and the whereabouts of them on the Internet or in the artists mind are just the beginning. Computers are in almost every facet of our lives now, so finding the likenesses that make your mood perfect are being dealt with electronically everywhere you go. Watching television, billboards on the side of the road while you drive, theatrically released movies, music on your radio and even machines in the local hospital all have your comfort in mind in relation to scenic views and moods.
The one thing everyone would like to have is choice. Most choices are made for you in programming games, television, even in small things like that traffic light you had to stop at on the way to work. Everyone has something in mind for you to do the way they want you to do it. A lot of people are very uncomfortable around computers, yet they live with them every day without knowing they are there.
I do not want to put the fear of computers into you, because there is nothing there to fear. When it comes right down to it, computers are nothing but bits of metal with electricity running through them when they're on, and so much slag when turned off. The trick to using computers, is to find something you enjoy doing in life and applying that to the world of your computer. Doing this you should be perfectly comfortable and now its YOUR turn to tell IT what to do. With enough persistence in learning the way your computer can work for you, it turns into fun instead of fear.
I intend to write a series of articles to show you how to become comfortable with your computer by explaining what I am comfortable with. Be assured, I will keep it in the simplest of language so nobody could get lost along the way. You might actually enjoy some of what I do by following the steps I used yourself. I also will keep to the low cost or no cost way of doing it. You would be surprised how much is out there for you and your computer to do.
My first few articles will talk about using your computer for all your entertainment needs. I did buy myself some equipment, but believe me when I say I am cheap. I will mention now that I purchased a video capture card for my computer for only $50. Compared to the computer itself, it was definitely a finite cost. My computer is not any where near as top-of-the-line as most on the market now, so you should be able to keep up with me fairly easily. My articles will be for the novice computer user, so all you techno-geeks beware, I may bore you with this information. It might also be something you never thought to do with your computers either, so keep tuned in to see what happens.
Entertainment is what I think computers are all about. For programmers, solitaire players, music lovers or movie goers, its all entertainment and it can all be on the computer. I am sure you would like me to go into music first, but I think everyone should get into this generation of computing. I intend to start out with television and/or movies first. I want to do this as there are several small things to discuss along the way. Sound is very much a part of TV or movies, and maybe if you want music we could try this out on things like video music on television.
Before my first article on "Capturing Video" you might prepare yourself by getting a video capture card of your own. Some of these cards can get quite expensive so shop around, remember I found a $50 special that works just fine and there are plenty of those out there too. Do not get a digital camera or digital camcorder; we are looking for a simple capture card that would go into your computer. Your case may be different from mine so getting into it while it is turned off will be something I could not describe here. Once inside your computer you are looking for white slots about the same length of the card you bought, this is called a PCI slot. It will probably have a metal strip attached to the case next to this slot by a single screw. Remove this piece and fit the capture card snugly into that slot. Once it is in, put that screw back into the same position it was in before. When you turn on your computer, this is after you have put the case back together, the computer will boot up with a screen that says something about new hardware. You will have probably noticed there was a CD included with you card and now is the time to use it. Wait a minute before clicking the okay buttons on the screen, so your CD drive recognizes that it has a disk in it. Once the light on the drive has flashed it should be okay. Click the next buttons as they appear, and if all went well you have successfully installed a device to your computer. If there are any problems, be sure to read the manual that came with your card. Okay, you have the video capture card in your computer now, I am sure you can find out how to run the software it came with at least to the point where you connect to having TV channels on the computer.
There are several formats a capture card can save files to. One format is called AVI which is audio and video interleaved (combined), and this type of file can literally take up your entire hard drive with a single movie. Another format is called MPG for multi layered picture graphics. This style is used in almost every DVD player, but they like to think it is in different formats called VOB for version object base. MPG can be used on standard CDs where VOB would need DVD disks. Not too many folks have a DVD burner although they are now available for as little as $180, but remember I'm that cheap guy.
Find in your manual which style or format your video card records in and look for that section in my next article. Recording movies and TV is fun, but there are ways to do it and not have to use a lot of space up. A CD is only 10¢ to 25¢ and the case for it about the same. This is a lot cheaper media to save your movies onto than your expensive hard drive. We still need to USE the drive, but we will move it to a CD to view anytime we like later. Be sure to have a few disks handy just in case anything happens to one. I will tell you about some software to get for free next time and we will get to the easy recording session by the time we reach the end of that article.
Remember that computers can only do what YOU tell them to do. If something happens to slow you down along the way, it's probably because someone told your computer to act that way. Try not to take aggressive actions against the computer. It honestly knows nothing of what happened. Instead we will get you to using it the way you really wanted to when you bought the darned thing. Meanwhile, have fun and relax and I will see you next time.