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!

The Samsung SC-MX20's Three Big Problems and a One Stop Fix

I got the Samsung SC-MX20 for Father's day this year. I had done a little research and had come to the conclusion that this was the best camera for the money we were able to spend. Being a Father of a large family, having a video camera is important, especially when grandmas and other extended family live far away.

So I read the reviews, checked the websites, then went to Wal-Mart and plunked down the money on a brand new Samsung SC-MX20 and a memory card to go with it.

Unfortunately, my research didn't prepare me for the issues that I would have. I was disappointed at first, but I was impressed with the SC-MX20's ease of use, breathtakingly long battery life and just general good looks. (I got the red one, it looks like Iron Man's camera!) But right out of the box there are three big issues that no one bothered to mention.

So, if you just bought the camera and are facing one of these frustrations with Samsung's SC-MX20, then hold tight, I have a fix for you.

Issue 1: Video doesn't work right away with Windows Movie Maker

The Samsung SC-MX20 comes bundled with Cyberlink Media Show. This is an issue in and of itself, but I have covered that in other blog posts. (Conclusion, use the disk as a coaster.) But I have seen many many comments saying the videos from the camera don't work with Windows Movie Maker.

This isn't really a bug, it was a choice by the camera makers. The format used is MP4, which you probably know better as Quick Time. It is a really good format that doesn't cause much distortion.

However, when you plug in your Samsung SC-MX20 and move your files to your computer and try to drop them into Windows Movie Maker, they won't work. For whatever reason (probably because it's Microsoft) they did not allow native support for MP4 files.

So, before you can use the MP4 files from your camera, you will have to convert them to a format that Windows Movie Maker likes. There are many ways to do this. Do a Google for "convert MP4 to Windows Movie Maker" and you will get thousands of hits. I have a personal favorite, but I can't honestly say that one method is better than any other.

However, there are other issues with the videos that come from this camera, and I do have an all-in-one solution, so keep reading.


Issue 2: Videos filmed in wide screen (16:9) format do not play that way on my computer


This is a bug, but one that is easy to overcome. Here's the issue: When filming with the wide screen option on the camera selected, your videos look good on the camera, but when you copy them to your computer and play them with Quick Time, they are squashed and stretched. (To make matters more confusing, if you do use the Cyberlink MediaShow program, they look fine, but then when you save them from there, they are still squashed and stretched.)

So what happened? I don't fully understand the issue myself, but my understanding is that the format has a "flag" that needs to be set in order for your computer to play it in the right format. The designers of the firmware for the Samsung SC-MX20, for some reason, forgot to have the camera set this "flag", leaving your videos squashed and stretched.

So how to fix it? Well, again, there are many ways to do it. As in the previous issue, you can use just about any converter program to re-format your video. But, again, I do have an all-in-one fix coming up. Keep reading!

Issue 3: What's with all these lines? It looks terrible!

When filming in wide-screen format, the Samsung SC-MX20 uses a method called "interlacing" to keep the file size manageable or something. I don't fully understand it, but for whatever reason, it's what they decided to do. As a result, even if you have it appear in wide-screen (see previous issue), it is full of lines.

Again, this isn't necessarily a bug, but in the day and age of high-definition displays, interlacing is not only unnecessary, it's ugly. I don't know why they chose this method for the videos, but it's easy to fix.

Which brings us to what you've been waiting for. How does one deal with all these issues without having to convert, re-convert, and generally degrade the image quality of the videos from the Samsung SC-MX20?

The Answer:

(Click on icon to download)

I created this all-in-one Repairer/Converter for you. It's takes the videos from your Samsung SC-MX20 and fixes all your problems. The best part is, it does it all in one shot!

I have written up a how-to on this post, so go there for details on how to use it. (The newest version of The Answer has an option to re-render your videos in hi-def format too! It's doesn't make your videos hi-def, but it stretches them to that size making them more friendly for that format.)

Hope this helps you! If you have other issues or have any great tips or tricks or samples you want to share, please, leave me a comment.

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!

To interlace or deinterlace that is the question...

Apart from all the other issues the SC-MX20 has, there is the issue of interlacing. If you plug your camera into an "old" style TV (the kind with a tube, which many of us still have) with the supplied cord and play your video directly from the camera, you probably won't notice the interlacing. However, when you transfer your video to your computer (unless you have an "old" style computer monitor) you will see it.

What exactly am I seeing do you ask? What is this interlacing and why is it an issue?

Here's a definition:

Interlacing - Interlacing is a method 'borrowed' from television, for refreshing an image on a computer monitor. Interlacing refreshes an image on the screen by scanning every other line, and alternately scans every opposite line. This allows a faster refresh rate, and less information during each scan. Unfortunately this may cause flickering or noticeable line movements in some situations. - http://www.systemax.co.uk/contentModules/htm/monitors/videoGlossary.htm

In a nutshell, you might see something like this:


Is this bad? Well, no, not really in itself. If you transfer your videos straight to DVD without any editing, and play them on a "tube" TV, then you're OK. But most computers now use a flat screen display and almost all new televisions are flat panel as well. They no longer use the "scan" method to provide your picture and the interlacing will be very noticeable.

So what to do? Here comes my handy dandy tool to the rescue again. The latest version deinterlaces your video, if you choose, allowing for a smoother, sharper image. You can even leave them in MP4 format for working with Cyberlink MediaShow.

You can download the fix here. I'm still trying to come up with a creative name and icon for it, but it does the job. I have given a how-to for it here.

How is it broken?

I've gotten a lot of hits on this blog from people searching for "Samsung SC-MX20 broken" or "how to fix Samsung SC-MX20" and variations on that theme.

The problem is, I don't have an answer to that because it's not a question that can be answered.

I know that the nature of web search kind of forces one to be extremely vague to get an answer that is even in the ballpark of what you are looking for. But those searches led them to this site and I really want to help if I can.

So, is your Samsung SC-MX20 broken? Or are you just experiencing the same defects the rest of us are dealing with? Or is it just something annoying?

If your camera is missing parts, or is in some other way physically damaged, it's broken. Contact Samsung for repair. And if you are searching for someone besides Samsung who can repair it, you won't find anyone. You might find some local guy - a Luis' Fix-It-Shop, that might be willing to give it a try, but there are no "authorized Samsung Repair" places besides Samsung itself.

If you battery is charged and you camera won't turn on, it's broken.

If the battery won't charge, you might try getting another battery. Make sure you get one from Samsung, others aren't designed to be a perfect match.

If your camera starts but the internal software isn't working right, it's broken.

If you camera starts and seems to be working right but no files are saved to the memory card, it might be broken. It's also possible your memory card is defective. (Oh, and you do need a memory card. In spite of some specs you might see around the 'net, the SC-MX20 does not have internal memory. ) Consult the manual to be sure you are properly recording, then try a new memory card. And make sure you have the RIGHT KIND of memory card. You need an SDHC card, not just SD.

If you take the card out of the camera and put it in your computer and the computer won't read the card, make sure your computer has the right kind of card reader. You need an SDHC card for the camer, you need an SDHC reader on your computer. Just because it fits in the slot doesn't mean it's the right kind of reader. Try using the supplied cord that came with your camera and use the camera as the card reader to see if the files are intact.

If your camera does record, but the files are somehow distorted or blank or missing audio or missing video or any other combination of similar problems, there is any combination of things that could be wrong. At this point, it's a matter of going through a long list of trouble shooting steps to rule out a camera problem or a user problem. I don't have the time to post that list here, and whatever I write won't be all inclusive. However, the first step would be to reset your camera to factory settings. Go through your camera settings and you'll find the option to do it. After that, there's too many other things that could be wrong to list any one fix. Try different lighting conditions, try different locations, try and try and try. If you are convinced that there are no environmental conditions that could be causing the problem, then it's probably broken.

However, before you give up, try leaving a message here. If you didn't find what you were looking for in this post or elsewhere on this blog, then leave a comment and ASK. Just because I haven't thought to write about it doesn't mean I don't have an answer. You came to this blog looking for something, what is it?

Now, if we're talking about the widescreen issue or the interlacing or the fact that it records in MP4 files that won't work Movie Maker or other problems like that, then you are dealing with defects, not broken-ness.

Cyberlink MediaShow and Vista - I think I finally got it to work

I've mentioned Cyberlink's Media show, the software bundled with the Samsung SC-MX20, the problems with it, and why I don't use it.

The main problem is that my "good" computer is Vista. Anything I try to do with MediaShow blows up. A small edit to a two minute video clip takes HOURS to re-compile, if it does at all.

I really want it to work. I really do. There are some features that I think would be great as a companion to Windows Movie Maker, such as the "fix shaky video" option. (The Samsung SC-MX20 does do a small amount of stabilization, very small, but if MediaShow can add some more, that would be great.) There's also option for white balance and others that Movie Maker doesn't have. I don't think I would ever use MediaShow as my main editor, it's just too complex, bloated and hard-drive intensive. But, if I can make a couple of quick edits that Movie Maker can't do, then take the tweaked video to Movie Maker, then that would be awesome.

I tried it again today. I have a 7 minute clip of my son's marching band that I did without a tri-pod. To make it worse, it was stinking cold that night, so the camera is REALLY shaky, beyond what the image stabilzation in the camera was capable of. So I imported the clip into MediaShow and gave it another chance.

The only tweak I made was "Fix shaky video". I hit the back button to save it, and let it go. The counter got to about 50% in 5 minutes or so, but then the countdown timer started to go the other way. When it got to 56% it was telling me it had 3 hours left, and it was still climbing. An hour and a half later it was still on 56%, only now the timer was well over 12 hours, and climbing.

Sigh. I really want this to work. I have another computer, a laptop, very old, that has less than a half gig of memory and runs XP. I use it like a netbook, only using it for the Internet, and even then not any video-intensive tasks. But desperate times and all that, so I installed media show on that. Doing the same edit on the same video took 10 minutes. Boom done.

But the hard drive on that laptop is tiny. And slow. I can't depend on it to do a lot of videos.

Vista, like XP has a compatibility mode. What the heck? Let's give it a try. So I found the shortcut, chose properties and set the compatibility to Windows XP.

Restart the program, find the video, choose the fix, hit the back button and....

Well, when I started writing this post it was at 91%. I thought it would be done by the time I got here. 5 minutes later it's at 91% telling me it has 3 minutes left, but the timer is climbing. Now it's at 3:20. Sigh.
Here's another attempt. You can see that 2 hours have elapsed and it says there is 17 minutes left. When 5 minutes had past it said there was 3 minutes left. It was at 87% then too. The video I'm trying to edit is 2:22 long. (That's two minutes).


Has anyone out there had better luck with this program on Vista? Maybe getting it to work on XP was a fluke? What works for you?

Maybe we can learn something here

I stumbled across this blog yesterday. It talks about still photography, but many of the principles apply to videography as well.

Stop Shooting Auto