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My first impressions of the (1349) Lego Studio Steven Spielberg
Moviemaker set.
(As of this date there is no Newsgroup for this type of set. Cross
posted to lugnet.robotics.vc)
Purchased at Toys R Us for $250 Canadian.
First, let me say that I used the following systems in my tests.
Machine 1 is a Desktop (Pentium III 700 MHz with 128 megs of RAM running
Windows 98 second edition. With a 30 GB hard drive at 7500 RPMs)
Machine 2 is at Dell Inspiron 7500 laptop (Pentium III 700 MHz with 256
megs of RAM running Windows 98 second edition. 12 GB hard drive)
The box is similarly shaped to the large Pod Racer Set. Inside were
several bags of Lego elements including one fully illustrated polybag
featuring a four-wheel-drive vehicle. This set contains a female
minifig with her jacket unzipped showing off a bra/small top. Rather
refreshing to see an adult oriented minifig.
Also included in the box were two backdrops of cityscapes, (One looking
normal and the other of a destroyed city. Heavy on the destruction.) a
pamphlet entitled "Studio Action", (which is an advert from Pinnacle
Systems for a version of the software that comes with a standard
VCR/camcorder USB cable and the Lego software.) a Lego USB camera with
15 foot cord, a Quickstart guide pamphlet containing a Lego studio's ID
card for using on the Web site, and a fully illustrated software manual
containing software instructions for using the Lego Moviemaker software,
building instructions and tricks and tips for making better movies.
The CD came in the standard cardboard, scratch the CD to pieces,
"protective" case. Upon loading the software it became immediately
evident that the CD was very poorly balanced and rattled so badly that
the CD ROM was causing read errors. After burning a CD-R copy I
attempted the installation again.
The installation goes smoothly enough showing full-screen stills of some
of Lego's funnier movies and then your machine reboots and prompts you
to plug-in the Lego camera. After installation is complete you have the
option of running the moviemaking software.
I found the tutorial entertaining but too short. They could have
elaborated on how to edit existing clips and did not explain the ability
to raise and lower sound volume over the clips (I discovered this quite
by accident). At first glance the software looks great enough. There
are many transitions to play with and even special filters (like rain)
that can really add to the enjoyment of the moviemaking process. You
also get a host of sound bites on the CD broken down by themes. There
is even some looping mood music that you can get running right away.
Lego has even tossed in a way to copy CD audio tracks right from your
compact discs and into your movies. A nice touch.
The sound files are in standard wav format and you can even add your
own. The same goes for the filters which are stored in BMP format.
There is no ability, that I could find, to add external video files into
the program. Everything must be recorded with the Lego Cam.
This brings me to the worrying part of this whole package. So far, any
video that I shoot has the following disturbing features:
All Video tests that I've shot so far (about 20) have the audio
desynchronized from the video by approximately one second. It does not
matter if it is five second clip or a 30 second clip. I have not yet
found anyway to adjust the settings in the Lego software.
The second main issue I have with the software is that it seems to
encode your movie footage in a highly compressed MPEG format. (I deduce
this by the fact that my captured footage looks like it is filled with a
few thousand small squares. The artifacting is quite poor and does not
go away with varied lighting conditions. Flipping through the manual I
discovered on page 12 a screenshot of the moviemaker screen. In the
display window I see a close-up of the T. Rex that suffers from the same
artifacting.
When you first start the software after installation there are about 9
clip "examples" that you can play with. When I view these clips there
are absolutely no signs of the artifacting. In fact, the shots look
perfect. I'm starting to wonder if these were made with the Lego
camera. If they were not then we have a case of false advertising and a
reason to return this set. (Which, after my phone call to Lego software
support on Monday, I will be doing if I do not get satisfactory answers
to my queries.)
The last issue I have with the software is the fact that you have
absolutely no control over the exporting of your finished movie. When
you click on the export movie button you're asked for a name and the
location. It then saves the movie in MPEG format. The resolution looks
to be about 160 by 120 (postage stamp size). I find this disappointing
that we cannot select the size that we wish. With more and more of us
on high-speed connections keeping the file size down is less important
than quality.
As one last good point, the Lego Cam can be used as a standard Windows
video device. It has the nice features of auto white balance and
brightness and can adjust itself for lowlight. It can capture up to 640
by 480 pixels in a variety of formats/color depths. The still quality is
quite acceptable but I have not tried to do any video capturing as of
yet. It is also rumored that it works with some Logitech device drivers
and that may allow it to work on Macintosh and Linux in the future.
In point form the good points are:
-Good Interface and a good host of editing options and special effects.
-A nice selection of building parts and characters.
-Good backdrops and some very good tips and tricks.
-A fun and inventive manual.
-Capability to record audio tracks from audio CDs
-Software can automatically update itself from the Web site.
-Lego Cam can be used as a standard Windows video device.
And the bad points...
-Terrible image quality (Artifacting)
-Misleading clips as samples.
-Desyncing audio from the video.
-Lack of any preferences for viewing and/or exporting movies.
- Inability to add external video footage
In closing, I feel that unless the above disappointing issues are
addressed, users will be sorely disappointed in their movies and will be
returning this product to the stores for a refund. If you are looking
for a USB camera with Lego studs I strongly suggest picking up the
Vision Command instead. You get the same camera but for much less cost.
As I find out anything new I will update this review. If anybody has
any similar or dissimilar reports please voice them as these are my
findings alone and should not be taken as absolute.
Dean
--
Coin-Op's For Sale!: http://www.akasa.bc.ca/tfm/coin-op.html
Dean's Lego Workshop: http://www.akasa.bc.ca/tfm/lego_wr.html
Vancouver Lego Club: http://www.akasa.bc.ca/vlc
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