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Flip Video Camcorder: 60-Minutes (White)  | 
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| Brand: Flip Video
Category: Photography
List Price: $149.99
Buy New: $99.99
You Save: $50.00 (33%)
New (7) from $99.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  474 reviews
Color: White
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 0
Display Size: 1.5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3
nv:Size: 1/4-inch
Movie Resolution: 640 x 480
Memory Included: 1GB Internal
Movie File Format: AVI (MPEG-4)
Digital Zoom: 2X
Focus Mode: Fixed
LCD Monitor: 1.5-inch
LCD Coverage: 100%
Maximum Aperture: f 2.4
Movie Mode: 30 fps
Movie Image Resolution: 640 x 480
Movie Audio: Yes
Computer Interface: USB 2.0 high-speed
Video Out: NTSC Standard
Battery Form Factor: AA
Batteries Included: No
Battery Charger Included: No
Height: 4.17 inches
Width: 2.25 inches
MPN: F160W
Model: F160W
UPC: 892684000519
EAN: 0892684000519
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Simple to use, pocket-sized camcorder with one-touch recording and digital zoom | | • | Holds 60 minutes of TV-quality video on 1GB of built-in memory; no tapes or additional memory cards required | | • | Convenient USB arm plugs directly into your computer for easy sharing and archiving | | • | Built-in software lets you easily e-mail videos, share them on YouTube and Grouper, edit footage, and capture still photos from video | | • | Watch videos instantly on TV with included cable |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Flip Video is a new line of digital camcorders designed to revolutionize how everyday consumers shoot and share video. These remarkably simple and affordable devices feature a major advance in video sharing technology combined with an ultra-portable design and easy video capture and editing. Developed with Internet video sharing software integrated into the device, Flip Vide is the first camcorder to seamlessly upload directly to YouTube and other online video sharing sites.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 469 more reviews...
Inexpensive Alternative May 28, 2007
758 out of 771 found this review helpful
PROS:
* Inexpensive.
* Conveniently small size (fits in a shirt pocket).
* Easy to use.
* Easy to just drag movie clip files straight over to hard drive (they are stored in the DCIM folder sequentially).
* Movie files in the AVI format (but see Con comment about codec below).
* Easy enough to delete clips you don't want to keep.
* Play straight to TV.
* Seems durable though no protection for lens or playback screen.
* Uses ordinary AA batteries.
CONS:
* Menu buttons a little hard to press (zoom & volume control)
* USB connector arm bad idea. Should have just been a USB socket. Never matches up with the USB socket on any computer or laptop so you have to get an extension cable anyway which can be difficult to connect without breaking the arm off.
* Uses DivX codec (technically 3ivx, Wiki the difference if you really want to know) which means having to install one of a variety of 3rd party plug-ins. Would have been nice if they could have used H.264 but using 3ivx probably helps keep the cost down by using a less powerful chip.
* Included software was a hack job, UI is terrible.
* Silly proprietary interface at the top to burn contents to DVD at participating stores. Just a way for water to get in, should have been a memory card slot.
* Included carrying bag just gets lint all over it - don't use it.
* Sound playback level is lost once the unit turns off which means having to turn the sound down every time you turn it on.
CONCLUSION:
If you really want to record some video to edit on your computer but don't want to shell out hundreds for a digital video camera, this is a worthy alternative. Go ahead and get the 1 GB version (1 hour) since there is no memory card slot or upgrade path. After installing a DivX plugin on your computer, you should have no problem editing the clips in your favorite movie editing program like iMovie. I had to install a plugin on both my Intel MacBookPro and Dell 8600 Windows XP (SP2).
Accept that you are going to have to purchase a short USB extension cable unless your USB ports are on the side and the extension arm lines-up perfectly (i.e. the computer doesn't put any weight on the arm). Even a short 3 ft cable like Cables To Go 19003 3-Feet USB A/A Extension Cable will do. The kind you need is a USB A socket on one end and USB A plug on the other (if you can connect the cable ends to themselves and make a hoop you probably have the correct one).
This is a great first try but there is lots of room for improvement like replacing the connector arm with a USB socket, ditching the DVD burning interface for a memory card slot and making the menu UI buttons easier to push.
 Great for point-and-shoot, but the editing on a Mac stinks September 29, 2007
145 out of 151 found this review helpful
In order to promote their new video reviews (which I think are a great idea), Amazon sent me (for free! I love Amazon) a brand spankin' new Flip video camcorder. It came today and my daughter and I had some fun with it on the way home. I haven't gotten a lot of use out of the thing yet, but I have some initial thoughts:
1. It couldn't be easier to take videos. You insert the batteries and press a button and you're filming.
2. You connect it to the computer by plugging it into the USB port. Software downloads to your computer, all very smoothly. The connection to the USB port is problematic. A USB connector pops out of the side of the camera, which is very elegant but doesn't work well in practice. I had to unplug another device to fit it into the available slot next door. It's kind of like having one of those big plugs taking up so much room on a power strip. I've already ordered an extension for it.
3. The editing software is very basic. This is to be expected. This is supposed to be a quick, point-and-shoot device that takes basic video that can quickly be shared on the web. Which is a great idea. But here's the thing: you can edit a video from either end, ending it earlier or starting it later. But you can't crop out a part in the center. Is that insane? Now, you can make copies of a movie and then take the beginning part of one and the ending part of another. It's inelegant but possible, right? And there is a "movie-making" feature that allows you to mesh these two movies together...except that you can only save the product if you're in Windows. With Mac you can't save it, so it's useless for posting the amalgam on the web. As far as I can see, at least.
4. Quality seems okay for the purpose. Looks good on my computer, at least.
So in short if you're going to take very short videos that you don't intend to edit and post them on YouTube, this works well. Though I have to say, it isn't super speedy. While I've been writing this my computer has been processinga three-minute video for posting online, and it's only gotten through about 5% of it so far.
 THE Ultimate user-friendly "Plug-n-Play" May 14, 2007
141 out of 153 found this review helpful
If using and enjoying this little gem were any easier, well, someone else would be operating it for you! Superlative "User friendly" camcorder.
With no pretense of being an SVGA professional camcorder, the Flip Video is built for immediate out-of-the-box FUN! The videos looks great via Windows XP Media Player and I had to smile as I enjoyed watching it play on my TV.
The sound is remarable when you consider the built-in mic's size!
I love it! I will enjoy it! I will also enjoy getting a couple for my siblings (GREAT gift idea!)
PS: I found it to be very "battery-friendly" as well! That, alone, is worth the cost!
This is the answer for video! May 18, 2007
I love this camera. It is easy to use and easy to get the video off the camera and make fun videos. no cords or hard to use programs. We make a lot of videos on [...]and these short clips look great - I have had DVDs made and also sent videos to my TiVo and am so impressed with the video quality. I highly recommend this to anyone I meet who expresses an interesting video. Great for kids as well. We take it backpacking, traveling, anywhere.
 Unfulfilled Expectations July 1, 2007
51 out of 62 found this review helpful
The short review: nonexistent customer support, poor audio quality, poor support for the Flip Video file format by video editing software (only 1 out of 3 worked for me), and the Flip Video software for uploading clips results in very low video quality. Details below:
I bought my Flip Video for web site video clips. After shooting several in various settings, I used the Flip software to put them online (I used YouTube and two other sites). The quality was terrible - the video was heavily pixilated and the audio was garbled.
Then I tried using my Sony Vegas Movie Studio video editing software - which can't read the Flip AVI format (no audio). Additional research on optimizing video quality suggested converting video clips into Flash before uploading to YouTube (something I confirmed with clips from other cameras). My Riva Flash encoding software couldn't read the Flip Video file either (great video, audio track was just noise).
Finally I bought the $30 version of Apple QuickTime Pro. This program can read the Flip Video file format and allows me to select different compression and encoding rates, greatly improving quality of the resulting clips on YouTube and other sites. From my limited experience with QuickTime Pro, it appears that the "uploading software" provided with the Flip Video applies the lowest encoding rates and highest compression - which is why the quality is so poor.
Flip Video does not have a user forum for support, nor any phone support (not surprising given the cost) - but you can email in for support, which I did. I received 2 auto replies promising a real response to my email. I never received an actual response to my inquiry (video quality and editing software support).
The audio quality of the unit I purchased has problems with silibance. The "s" and "th" sounds come out extra loud and distorted relative to the recorded speech.
Despite the glowing reviews from the NYT, WST and others, the Flip Video is *not* ready for prime time. Improved audio, better support for the device among editing software, better internal software, and actual customer support that is more than an empty promise are needed.
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