What I'm here for.

I get many messages from trolls and haters that say "just get a better camera" and "Windows Movie Maker sucks, get such-and-such" and "why bother, just go download such-and-such from piratedsoftware.com".

And you know what? If I had more money and didn't have a sense of morality that didn't allow me to pirate software, I might. But guess what? I'm broke, so getting a new camera right now is not feasible. And as a former software designer and developer, I know how much work goes into these programs and I firmly believe the developers deserve to get paid for their work.

Why do I continue to use the Samsung SC-MX20 when there are less buggy camera's out there? Why do I use Windows Movie Maker when I could just go download an Adobe program or something else?

Because once you overcome the bugs, the Samsung SC-MX20 is a really good standard resolution camera. It meets my needs of recording the events of our busy life and sharing them with family far away. And I use Movie Maker because it's free and it too meets my needs of putting together my clips into a good movie that I can burn to DVD and pass off to my mother to play on her TV.

Simple as that. I'm not a movie maker. I'm not a YouTube partner who is making money on his clips, I'm just a guy. A dad who takes short movies of his kids' programs and plays and shares them with family. I am currently disabled, so I can't afford another camera. I'm also a firm believer in getting your money's worth. I bought it, so I'm going to use it until it dies. Simple as that. Fortunately, I'm also technical enough that I was able to figure out how to fix the issues with the video produced by the camera and I'm happy with it.

So, would I suggest spending the money on a Samsung SC-MX20 to someone looking for a new camera? Probably not. You can get a Flip or something similar that doesn't have the issues his one does. Plus with everything going HD, you'll want an HD camera for your HD television.However, if you find one on Craigslist or eBay for cheap, get it.

And would I use Windows Movie Maker if I had access to a better program? Probably not. But I'm not going to steal it and you can't beat "free" as a price. Movie Maker does a great job for what I need it to do. Any more bells and whistles I probably wouldn't use anyway, so why bother with them? With patience and practice, you can get some great effects.

So, that's why I'm here. To help people like me who bought the Samsung SC-MX20, can't or don't want to spend more money on a different camera, and also can't spend the money on other video software and/or believe illegal downloading is wrong.

If that's you, then welcome, this site is for you. Please participate and ask questions and share your creations.

If you'd rather be a hater or a troll, that's your right, but I'm not going to respond to you, that's my right.

Have a happy!

Did you know?

You can follow me on Twittter @samsungscmx20! Be notified of new versions of The Fix as well as any exciting or interesting blog posts.

Still Out here

Hi folks. I know it's been a long time since I've posted an update. The only day I have for blogging is Saturday and during wrestling season my Saturdays are taken up by my son's meets.

I've been using my Samsung SC-MX20 a lot over the lasts couple of months. I must have 10 hours worth of wrestling. Once I get it sorted out and pared down, I'll post some good stuff.

I do have some good news. At the request of a follower I have been working on a new version of The Fix that will handle the audio much better - less compression/distortion. I am in the testing phase now and will post it at soon at it is ready.

I'll talk to you all soon! Get out there and get shooting!

Please help!

If you've been helped by what you have read or seen on this blog, then please help! No, I'm not asking for money, but you can help by linking to this site from you own blog, Facebook or anywhere. Post a link to: http://samsungscmx20.blogspot.com or on Facebook you can also become a fan! Just search for Samsung SC-MX20 and join the fan page.

Spread the word so more people can join our community and start using their cameras instead of hating them.

Windows Movie Maker Live - hands on

I am in the process of condensing close to 20 hours worth of video taken during 2009 into about 2 hours to fit on a DVD that I give to my parents and in-laws that live far away. I do it every year and they love it. It allows them to see the goings on of the kids, even if it is well after it happened.

This year all my video was taken with the Samsung SC-MX20. Along the way I've figured out the glitches and am doing my best to make good quality videos, even it if is just home videos, and share what I'm learning with you.

I've decided to use Windows Live Movie Maker for my project this year. In the past I've used various versions of Move Maker, but it's my understanding that with the release of Windows 7, the Windows Live version is the only one being supported going forward. So I'm giving it a whirl.

I'm not going to bore you with a how-to because, honestly, all versions of Movie Maker are very simple to use and anyone can crank out a projects. Making a high quality video, however, can take some patience and practice.

Windows Live Movie Maker focuses a lot on the simple, almost to the point where it makes it hard to do some of the "cooler" tricks. It seems aimed at your average junior high student that just wants to crank out something to post on YouTube. It's still possible to make your videos look more professional, but it's not easy.

So far I've been kind of disappointed with what I've been able to produce. I mean, for the grandmas and grandpas, it's good enough, but for the wannabe Spielberg in me, it's just not good enough.

Have you used Movie Maker Live? Do you like it? Have you learned any tricks to make it better? Let me know.

A firmware fault

I discovered a fault in the firmware that was really heartbreaking, but easy enough to work around.

My wife was recording my daughter's baptism. When she was done, she didn't push the record button, she just shut the camera off.

Now, almost every other electronic device I have, my computer, my cell phone, etc. They all go through a shut down routine. They finish and close what they were doing before the power goes off.

The Samsung SC-MX20, however, just powers off. It doesn't stop what it's doing, it just shuts off.

When recording, just powering off does not save the file you are recording, it's just gone. My daughter's baptism was not recorded.

It should have been easy enough to build in a shut down routine that does the same as pushing the record button to save your movie.

I really wish Samsung would release a new firmware update to fix these issues. I know I'm not the only out here that is having a love/hate relationship with this camera.

Remember: Always end your recording by pushing the record button BEFORE powering off your camera.

Interval Recording

I'm always on the lookout for great projects to use my Samsung SC-MX20 camera for. I love recording home videos of my kids, but I always feel like I want to do more, something really creative. But my creativity fails me. Fortunately, we have the Internet, which makes it possible for everyone to share everything all the time. Where my creativity fails, someone else's shines and I'm able to steal ideas from them.

I found this video online of someone using the interval recording feature of the SC-MX20 to record themselves drawing.




My daughter is an art student, so maybe when she comes home from college this summer we'll make a video of her drawing.

I also found this Internet meme called "Geddan" or "Get down". Here's a video explaining this very weird meme:



There are literally hundreds of these videos out there. Here's one of the more odd ones:



I don't know why, but I like these. Maybe it's weird or sick or whatever, but for some reason I think they are just hilarious. The interval record feature on the SC-MX20 lends itself perfectly to making one of these. If you've made one with your camera, let me know, I'd love to share it.

Have you used the interval record feature for anything really interesting? Send me the link and I'll share it here.

I'm sorry.

I need to apologize to me regular readers.

When I started this blog I used the "monitize" option in Blogger. I thought, what the heck, I could use a few bucks. I didn't read the fine print and didn't really pay any attention to it after that. I thought just showing the ads I would make like half a penny per view or something like that, I never really expected to see a check.

Well, that's not how it works, people actually have to click on the ads for me to make any money. But that's not the point. I happened to look at my blog on another computer (I use FireFox with an ad blocker on my own) and say that there were some very confusing and offensive ads!

I am so sorry. I have no control over the ads and it was not my intention to mislead you or to offer services that decent people might find offensive.

So I have disabled the ads. This blog is free and will always be so. Content wants to be free, so share it.

If you like what you find here and would like to buy me a coffee or something, I have put a donate button on the sidebar. I won't ever ask for donations, don't worry, but I do like coffee. If I've helped you in some way and you'd like to donate something, it's there for your convenience.

Again, I'm so sorry for the ads. But, they are gone now.

Merry Christmas and HiYa!

Merry Christmas! And welcome to any new readers out there. I'm noticing an increase in hits, so that can only mean that some of you out there got a Samsung SC-MX20 as a gift and now you're trying to figure this con-sarn-ed thing.

So welcome, and don't be frustrated. I've written many posts to help you. Check the label cloud on the right hand side for the quickest help. If you can't find what you want, PLEASE ask! Please! Seriously. I won't call you stupid or anything like that. I just want to help. I'm not an expert, I don't work for Samsung, and I'm not a professional videographer or anything like that. I'm just a guy who bought a faulty camera and I was too cheap to return it and get a more expensive one.

Here's some common questions I've seen and some quicky answers:

What kind of memory card do I need?

You need an SDHC. The brand doesn't matter, as long as it's SDHC and not just SD. I have a SanDisk that I bought with the camera that works great.

How do I activate the internal memory?

If you camera is not a model SC-MX20"C","CH","E","EL", or "ER", then it doesn't have internal memory, you have to have a memory card. Let me state that again, only models SC-MX20"C","CH","E","EL", or "ER" have internal memory, not every SC-MX20 does. Most camera's sold at Wal-Mart or Best Buy in the United States don't have internal memory and you will have to buy a memory card as mentioned above. If you DO have one of the models mentioned, consult page 37 of your manual for directions on selecting internal storage.

Can my camera use such and such or so and so lens?

I don't understand this question personally. In my opinion, this is not the type of camera you'd want to use a telephoto or fish-eye lens or any other type, but I guess some people do. If you need to use a lens you need one that has a 30mm thread size. That is a non-standard size, so finding one is another story, but if you need a lens, there it is: 30mm thread size. I think there might be adapter rings out there, too.

My camera won't charge.

There are several things that might be going on here: Check to be sure the battery is seated properly - push it all the way in. Check to be sure your charger is plugged all the way in - your camera should have an amber light on the back when it's charging. If you bought a battery that is not Samsung brand, it won't work. Wait, what? That's right. Samsung requires you to use proprietary batteries, so if you got a spare one from Wal-Mart, it won't work. But a fully charged battery will last 3 hours, so why do you need a second one?

Those are the most common searches on Google that have led to this blog. Do you have another? Write it in the comment section!

Still here

Sorry I've been quiet lately, but I honestly haven't had a thought of what to write about. I haven't used my camera in a while, so all the issues that I might have had with it haven't come to my attention.

The Samsung SC-MX20 is still out there for sale and I suppose others will be getting one for Christmas, either to use themselves to film holiday festivities, or ON Christmas as a present. Either way, this blog is here for you guys, the users. It's a community, not just one guy, me, talking about my problems. If you would like to write a post, let me know. If there is a topic you would like covered but can't write it yourself, let me know. If you have a problem that I haven't mentioned here, or I have mentioned and you would like better discussed, let me know. Use the comment machine to talk to me!

Needed: professional looking template

Any of you out there good at making Blogger templates? Or do you know of a good one I can use for this site? I'm not really good at that kind of stuff and I've been tinkering with this one and I think I've messed it up. Any ideas?

An Alternative to My Program

One thing I love is hearing about how others are approaching the same problem I'm having and seeing how they are fixing it.

An anonymous commenter pointed me to AVIDemux and how it was being used to fix the same issues I was trying to fix with my program. (Sorry, Mr. Anonymous, your comment got lost somewhere and I wasn't able to publish it!)

I think that's great. I didn't build my program (which still doesn't have a proper name!) to compete with anything anyone else is doing. I just wanted something that worked for me. Then, when I blogged about it (on my journaling blog, which I didn't think anyone read!) I suddenly got hundreds of people asking me for help! So I put it out there. If you find it useful, great! If you find something else useful, tell me about it! I'll write it up here! Or better yet, YOU write it up and I'll post it.

But I'm getting off topic. We're talking about AVIDemux.

Mr. Anonymous, if you're out there, I'm glad it works for you, but I can't get it to work. I've tried every possible combination of encoder and format and I can't seem to get a file that does anything. The program is just too complex and too buggy to be as simple a fix as mine.

That being said, from the looks of it, if one can get it to work, AVIDemux does have tons more options for tweaking your video than mine does. As it should. Mine is a simple converter, AVIDemux is an editor.

Also, it looks promising as a solution for Macs, which my program is not.

So, Mr. Anonymous, if you are out there, please respond to this post and let me know how you got it to work. I'd love to be able to write about it, but it's impossible to talk about something that does nothing.

UPDATE: I was able to get AVIDemux to output an MP4 file that was pretty good. It kind of knocks it out of the league as a converter, like mine. But using the deinterlace and resize options, the output did look as good as what comes from my program. The only issue at that point is you still have to use something else to convert it to a format that Windows Movie Maker likes. I haven't explored all the options to see if there is something in there worth keeping it for.

If ANYONE can get this to work on Windows and produce something that can be edited by Windows Movie Maker, let me know.

I dropped it today

I was using my camcorder to tape my kids helping my wife build a storage shed. I had forgotten to clear the memory card from a previous project and the card got full. At least I think that's what happened. The camera shut itself off and wouldn't come back on.

So I put the camera in my pocket. I was also taking still shots, so I was wondering around with my still camera. I sat down in a lawn chair and my camcorder FELL OUT OF MY POCKET AND HIT A ROCK!!! It fell about two feet and I thought for sure it was a goner.

But guess what? Other than a couple of sand-grain sized nicks in the red finish, it's unharmed! I plugged it in, turned it on, and it's working fine. There's no cracks or scratches in the lens and it's A-Okay.

Now I am not suggesting you press your luck and go around abusing your Samsung SC-MX20, but it's good to know it can take an accidental hit.

It's not HD, but so what?

I've said before that I love my Samsung SC-MX20. I must, given that I spend so much time writing this blog to help those of us who have one.

But I've heard a lot of complaints. One of the biggest is "it's not an HD camera! Why did you waste your money! Buy an HD!"

There are a lot of HD camera's out there now, including a couple by Samsung, the Flip, and many others. But how many of these really produce a quality HD picture? How good is the color and image quality compared to the Samsung SC-MX20? Not many. And even if it is HD, what difference does that make if all you are doing is taping monk shots to post on YouTube? Hardly any.

If you are looking to make professional quality videos, like something you'd see in a movie theater, then the Samsung SC-MX20 is not for you. Most camera's aren't for you, including most HD camera's you can afford. You really shouldn't expect professional quality video from a camera you can buy at Best Buy or Wal-Mart.

I didn't start this blog to advertise the SC-MX20. I don't work for Samsung, or anyone related to them. I bought what I thought was a good camera only to find it had issues. In fact, I probably won't buy another Samsung, they just aren't that good at making cameras. But I have it now, and I've figured out how to fix some of the issues and I'm sharing the fixes with you.

If you don't like the picture you get with this camera, there's not much I can do to help you. And I'm not going to argue with you. It's not that great of a camera. But it is a good camera for recording your average middle class family memories. That's what I use it for and with the fixes that I've come up with along the way, I'm happy with it.

So, in that sense, I'm happy to help you too. If you're looking to get a perfect picture from this camera, I can't help you, but if you are willing to settle for a good picture that is suitable for saving your family memories, then that's what I'm here for.

Ask me. What can I help you with?

Question of the week.

So this question has come up as a hit on my site more than any other in the last few days and I thought since so many people are looking for an answer, I'd give them one.

Question: How can I use the Samsung SC-MX20 as a live web cam?

Answer: You can't.

Thank you for playing and have a nice day.

OK. Let's be specific. While the Samsung SC-MX20 would make an awesome web cam, it just wasn't designed to be one. When you plug the camera into the computer, it shuts off every function except the card reader, effectively turning it into an external drive. There is simply no way around it short of jail-breaking the firmware and I don't know if that is possible at all.

There is one way that it might be done, but I haven't tried it and I'm just theorizing: Using the AV out port on your camera and the cord that came with it for that port, you can plug the camera into a computer equipped with video-in functionality. Then, if the computer is configured correctly, you can use the video in as your web cam.

Yes, that's pretty vague. How do you know if your computer has video-in functionality? Well, did you install a piece of hardware that has it? No? Then you don't. It's not something computers are equipped with off the shelf.

Even then, I'm not sure it's possible. I don't know if the AV out will work on a "live" system. I have never tested it on my computer, but I think it only works to play your videos not play the live image.

The Samsung SC-MX20 is simply not designed for that use. And there' s no reason it should be. There are some excellent web cams out there for a whole heck of a lot cheaper than the mx20. The designers focused on making a good digital camcorder. And while they might have fallen short in some areas, I think they were right in keeping the functionality to it's single purpose.