Wednesday 30 April 2014

Help Using Screen Savers By TheWraith517

.. READ THE INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE USING MEDIAFIRE OR SCR's

Mediafire runs using adverts, so the download button may NOT be obvious to you if your new to file sharing web sites.. this is why i have added the FILE SIZE  next to each screen saver, mediafire has many download buttons.. only ONE has that file size on it.. and that's the file you want... be careful..

Virus False Positives And Solutions...
Every RAR file is locked (not password-ed.. just locked against modification)
and the maximum winrar recovery record is also stored within the rar code
This locked rar means.. NO website or files on a website can modify the SCR file...

Your own computer (if infected, or has remaining remnants of a virus that was never fully removed in the past) can use parts of the SCR file packing compression code, and part of the RSS feed code is sometimes detected as "PUA.Packed.PECompact-1"  this is a false positive and is only the code used that makes the "SCR Dialog Displays" options pop up onto your screen and display the window, also for the Preview image in the windows desk top scr settings box.

Virus Total  initially said these screen savers where riddled and had 100's of names for it... Here
(But then when you try just scanning the SCR on its own outside the rar, rather than in the RAR)  
you'll find the rar compression also creates false positives, because the SCR on its own just gets this result Here.  Those two red flags are code results and are irrelevant to a user, But i guess could be used in conjunction with something else (if you have a firewall, you could open the properties box and click my Blog URL) then when yoru asked if the SCR wishes to go online or anything, say no and block
This way 3rd party stuff infecting your machine can not use any part of the scr for its own gain..

Jotties malware scanner gets ONE result....  See you can't even Click on the scr when its running, so i never added a URL to open or an RSS feed to load.. i could of.. i never... So even though virus total initially condemns the files, the results are to bogus and far fetched to be positive, and today.. jotties malware scanner beat the VT site hands down.  I have these on my own systems and my own systems attempt to download Nothing.... also other people have them to.  Ide like to thank Daniel Shaffer of the stargate community on facebook for approaching me with an issue that has helped me update this content your reading, so that it better helps explain the factors that may arise when using these scr files (or mediafire as a web host)
Remember these are home made, an SWF coded into an SCR, so their is no digital signature, no safe list and you can NOT add an SCR to an exception list because they can be infected by other means.. Again this is why i do not want them packaged with themes.. there's more to it than "your theme being clean"  it's how you pack it, how the site keeps it... i have picked the best method of release (been at this stuff since 2001 online) and 1999 offline..  Anyways here's the shot from Jotties page.. Also read the TECH Warnings below to avoid colour spots and dead pixels..

False Positive Due To Compression Used On The SCR
 

Screen Saver Important Technical Warnings:

A Screen Saver Is Supposed To Run Full Screen
Using screen savers that have none animated sections such as wide-screen boarders, or black lines down either side of your monitor/display is not healthy for it.

It's ok to look at and play about with, but a screen saver being active for hours at a time MUST be fully refreshing every pixel on your screen or it'll damage your screen over time, damage even more so than not using a screen saver... because 2 lines (top and bottom) or even (left and right) will end up showing colours differently than the rest of your screen.

Q) I have downloaded one and i have black boarders on the screen, what size do i need?
A) Only way to determine that is looking at your own computer or laptop, telling someone what your screen size is or model of your machine is irrelevant...  Windows sets your "Aspect Ratio" so everyone's can be different, even with 2 of the same machines...

On Windows XP Systems you can "Right Click" on your "Desk Top" and select "Properties" and this box will pop up....  Click on the "Settings Tab"


And you'll be presented with this box


There you can see your systems Screen Resolution AKA Aspect Ratio
that shows the size of the SCR you will need for that specific display, click "Cancel" to close it

On Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 8 Systems you can "Right Click" on your "Desk Top" and select "Screen Resolution" and this box will pop up....  click "Cancel" to close it




QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q) What about duel displays where one is bigger than the other?
A)  That shouldn't matter as windows normally uses the same size on duel displays

Q) When i run the screen saver the screen is a blue background with faded blue borders?
A) Place the scr file into either your "system32" folder, or directly on your "desk top"
     It will not run from the root drive, or from inside a folder on the desk top or any other folder for that matter, due to windows permissions over SCR files.


Q) What are these and How are they made?
A) Each SCR is a container for an SWF file, icon, and a dialog/settings box with a jpg banner (nothing more is included within the screen saver, no adds, no rss feeds or anything)
   the SWF was compiled with "Flash Image Builder" and the compiled into an scr using "Alexis Screen Saver Producer Corporate Edition"

Q) What is the scr and windows requirements?
A)  It is tested and works on my windows 7 desk top and in my windows 7 system32 folder
      It is also tested and working on the same "file locations" on Windows XP and Windows 8.1
       (it will also work on windows 98 & milenium) as long as they have flash player installed
  (this does not require a specific version of flash, any version will do)

Thursday 24 April 2014

Airwolf Duel Over The Pacific (Audio Story & Book)


Story Book Front


Information:
Duel Over The Pacific is one of two Airwolf based audio story books released by Rainbow Communications LTD.


The package consisted of a 25 page story book along with a Cassette Tape.  The concept was to listen to the tape while reading the book and a bell would ring to remind you to turn the page.


It doesn't contain any Airwolf music or cast from the series. Its a one man show sort of story with alternate vocal tones from one person reading.







The story opening comes across like the Pilot Episode "at first" but if you listen to it all.. It's a new story, which means its worth a listen and a read.  Its a shame it didn't have the original sound effects and music, but funny enough it has a cheep season 4 music flare, like you thought season 4 could be any cheaper lol.  When the theme tune kicks in it also has a feel of the CSI "The Who" opening style, so i guess Airwolf was still ahead of its time when it came to music use within 3rd party multimedia work outside the realms of the music industry.

Cassette Tape


Tape Side A
runs for approximately 
10 minuets and 22 seconds.

Tape Side B, 
runs for approximately  
9 minuets and 59 seconds.









One of the most interesting aspects is the fact "the bad guy" is someone who helped develop Airwolf and he worked along side moffet.... and more interestingly (although this is a 1985 production) he refers to working for "The Company" not "The Firm"  which makes an interesting thought to something i noted a few years ago on the org, long before i had heard this story.. but people didn't like the idea, so i never elaborated on it any further.  Kinda sad because if you use your imagination (rather than the official facts)  You can actually Bridge Season 3 with Season 4, and you can explain how the Firm and the Company became one and the same (but they weren't to start with) I just may write up how i think things went down one day, but back to the all important review and info...







The artwork is not as good as the 1986 Airwolf Annual, but for such a small budget production i think it worked pretty well. The book features a few of the rare publicity photos that would be thrown around the "Look-In" magazine and Tv Guides back then for show promotion, and also come with some hand drawn art specifically created for the story book.

















They got the copywrite correct on this release but apparently the other book "the desert collection" reads
(Copyright 1985 Paramount Pictures Corporation and Amblin Entertainment, Inc)   lol

Other Books In The Rainbow Audio Tape Series


Review by TheWraith517

We would love to review The Desert Collection, but we don't have it...

You can see an Unnoficial Trailer for Duel Over The Pacific  HERE
You can listen to the Cassette Side A HERE (features the audio & pages)
You can listen to the Cassette Side B HERE (features the audio & pages)

Monday 14 April 2014

Airwolf Season 1-3 (1984-86) UK Region B Blu-Ray Box Set 2014


Region B Blu-ray

Here it is.. for the first time ever.. Airwolf actually remastered and released on 11 Discs.  The vibrant visual is said to blow the Universal Playback dvd releases right out the water.

But one wonders (after buying ALL the DVD sets) should one now spend more money to get the Blu-ray release
(Note This Remastered Version IS Also On DVD) Here

Region B means its a Region 2 UK/European release and not compatible with American B/R machines unless unlocked.










Well... what was the cheepest place on Release day?
A)  This is what zavvi offer Here note at the time of this blog post their set is/was £69.99
B)  Here is what "apparent"  customers using zavvi have to say about the company Here
They have mixed reviews.. but more bad than god i am afraid...
(and this isn't a case of rivals saying NO use these instead, they just apparently suck)
We Shall See...

UPDATE:
So far we have had 2 Airwolf fans let us know that they "have" used zavvi in the past and had NO problems at all.. all we can do now is wait and see...
(and we will update this blog post as soon as they get an item to us) 
Update: 15th May and still no shipping confirmation email as of yet... 
Update: 18th May and still no news... or word from that company.... 
Update: 20th May had an email saying its been shipped....
Update: 22nd May It arrived, in a big padded jiffy bag (inside another jiffy bag)
So we would recommend them :)


IMPORTANT NOTE:
We may of found a problem with this remaster release ...
(which is down to Universal OR Fabulous)   Not the sellers.

As you know it was made for Tv and at times the screen will go black then come back on.. This we know is from the Ad Break Moments right....
But that doesn't explain why their are scenes "MISSING"   For example  "Bite Of The Jackal"
18.39 (approx)  into the Original Episode & Playback Releases..
Santini Fires a Flare Gun.. then says   "I Don't Like The Look Of This"
That line and the following 3/4 scenes are CUT on the HD release and the Blu-ray... WTF
(now im wondering how many other scenes are cut)
And this has also been verified as a problem by my self.. to also be true with the HD-DVD :'(
we have emailed them to see what they say...
You can  follow that issue at the bottom of the HD-DVD Review  Here

UPC: 5030697026798
ASIN: B00IGRO3NY
STUDIO: Fabulous Films
RELEASE DATE: 14 April 2014
RUN TIME: 2707 minutes
AUDIO: Stereo 2.0
VISUAL SIGNAL: PAL
REGION: B
DISC COUNT: 11

Although this box set has no subtitles it does support  Closed Captioning, so in theory if your watching it on a tv with tellytext then it should essentially show subtitles if you click on tellytext and type in  888


PLEASE BE AWARE..  AGAIN!!!
THIS BLOG POST IS INCOMPLETE AND IS ONLY POSTED EARLY
TO SAVE FANS BEING "POSSIBLY" RIPPED OFF....







Airwolf Season 1-3 (1984-86) UK HD-DVD Box Set 2014


UK Region 2 Box Card Front

Airwolf Season 1 to 3 HD DVD Box Set

This set should NOT be confused with the "Universal Playback Release" 

This  New Set   Released In April 2014 by Fabulous Films is a Remastered release to accompany the Blu-ray release as shown here.

Many thought this "dvd" box front was faked from the blu-ray and was being used to sell pirate versions of the playback release, which in some instances... it was...  But we can confirm that this remastered dvd set is a genuine product that is available and has its own UPC code.

The card sleeve houses 3 pretty proper sturdy DVD boxes and each box also has a booklet, detailing the episodes & cast members. It's a pretty nice looking package first glance.






Season One:
Boxed with a 12 page booklet (6 double sided pages) featuring promo photos along with information about the episode and cast listing.  Season 1 comes on 3 duel layer dvd discs that are single sided... so they have artwork on one side.  Menu options for disc 1 and 2 consist of "Play All" and  "Select Episode"
Disc 3 is the same but also has an "Extras" button.
Upon selecting the episodes their is information about the episode and an option to play. There is no menu for chapters within the episode.  The extras on dvd 3 (season 1)  has cast bio screens with some text regarding the person,  oddly that list includes Caitlin from season 2 & 3.

Cast Bio Screen
The Main Menu design is semi static and semi animated..
IE: the main rotor spins and the clouds move...
Maybe when they researched it, what they watched was my video...
Where i took airwolf through the stargate.. or maybe the gfx editor was a sliders fan lmao.

Season One - Disc 1 Main Menu - Disc 2 Is The Same
Season One - Disc 3 Main Menu Has The Extras Button
The Cast Bio Screen Is Above
Episode Information screen is pretty nice, although ide of done it like a top secret file (almost like flashpoint briefings on a clip board) with "Top Secret" and "The Firm" and the firms logo, like the dvds are top secret them selves.  JMV seams to be the featured character on all 3 discs for episode selection.

Episode Selection Screen
Episode Selection Screen
Episode Selection Screen

Season Two:
Boxed with a booklet again.. 16 pages (8 double sided pages) featuring episode information and promo photos again. If you own the "Airwolf The Movie" on dvd or blu-ray you will of noticed a lot of the promo shots in these books are included on those disks in their extras menu and one starts to wonder could they not of been linear kinda notes from actual guest stars on the show, mini photo and a few paragraphs of what they thought of the show. Season 2 comes on 5 Discs, Duel Layer Single Sided bearing artwork.


Season Two - Disc 1 Main Menu

And you guessed it.. The Episode Selection Screens are the same to

Season Two - Disc 1 Episode Information
After that menu disappointment im going to head straight to Disc Five... to check the extras
(ide of expected at least an alternate tint to its menu)

Oooo nooo... Guess what the extras are on Season 2 disc 5

Season Two - Disc 5 Extras Menu - Same As Season 1


Season Three:
Boxed with a booklet again.. 16 pages (8 double sided pages) featuring episode information and promo photos again..... So guess what the menu looks like... Guess what the extras are...
Note that all 3 disks (the menu music)  is the music used when Driving to the Lair.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
We may of found a problem with these Episodes to...  As you know it was made for Tv and at times the screen will go black then come back on.. This we know is from the Ad Break Moments right....
But that doesn't explain why their are scenes "MISSING"   For example  "Bite Of The Jackal"
18.39 (approx)  into the Original Episode & Playback Releases..
Santini Fires a Flare Gun.. then says   "I Don't Like The Look Of This"
That line and the following 3/4 scenes are CUT on the HD release and the Blu-ray... WTF
(now im wondering how many other scenes are cut)
And this has also been verified as a problem ..with the HD-BluRay releases  :'(

Season Four:
Not Included...


Discs and Box Art:
So the artwork is not bad i guess, though i am confused as to why...
They re-used the season 2 image on the season 3

Essentially The Same As The Blu-ray
Books DON'T Fit The Holding Clips :(

Packaging wise.. it could of been a lot worse and we know it could...

Box Front's Inc Card Sleeve
Box Back's Inc Card Sleeve












DVD COMPARISON IMAGES:
Ok i guess this is what your waiting for (please note the frames are NOT exact) so please don't assume the remasters have been cropped, you are looking for colour clarity and each image description.  Also note that these are shots when VLC Media Player is paused, some do it justice and others do not, depends how vlc is feeling when you pause it & what movement is going on upon the screen as its paused.

Remember...
Screen Shot (left) = Universal Playback DVD Release 2007
Screen Shot (right) = Fabulous Films DVD Release 2014

Click Them To Enlarge..

In Episode CRT & Projector Visuals Are Much More Clear
Colours Are Much More Vibrant
Such Clarity In This ADF Shot Its Stunning
Surprising thing with this shot is how clear hawkes left hand is
Birds of paradise season 3 sure has that miami vice look to it
My screen shot just didn't do this one justice
They also fixed the really bad greasy smears (approx 39) mins into moffets ghost
Nice Work...


FINAL NOTES:
Little note to these Graphic Designers hired to work on Airwolf stuff..
Read My Lips.... Them Lazar Cannons you keep assuming are on the Nose...
On The LEFT is a Mid Air Refuel Nozzle..
On The RIGHT is a Radio Arial ..
The Weapons Are Not Even Deployed On The Image... Research People...
You can tell that some work has gone into this release, which is unusual, its not fantastic (when it comes to extras or the menus, but the episode visual quality is better than the playback releases)
I guess we should just be happy for the booklets when it comes to added bonuses.....

Ide rate this Box Set pretty high, and although i am critical of certain aspects....
I can still say though that "Fabulous Films" went further on this release than most companies do
and for that i am eternally grateful.. but one wonders what other scenes are missing!!!!
Let us know if you find any others missing in the comments PLEASE...

..To this day.. AirSwe... had the coolest looking dvd menu design demo i have ever seen


UPC: 5030697026750
ASIN: B00IGRO3TI
STUDIO: Fabulous Films
RELEASE DATE: 14 April 2014
RUN TIME: 2599 minutes
AUDIO: Stereo 2.0
VISUAL SIGNAL: PAL
REGION: 2
DISC COUNT: 13




Although this box set has no subtitles it does support  Closed Captioning, so in theory if your watching it on a tv with tellytext then it should essentially show subtitles if you click on tellytext and type in  888


Review by TheWraith517


We have Emailed Fabulous Films "18th May 2014" and we await their response to our questions

Hi, i am known online as  TheWraith517  in Airwolf circles and have been an avid fan since day one in 1984.  I was delighted to see your HD release for season 1 to 3 and jumped on both the R2 DVD and the Region B Blu-Ray releases. Ive just finished writing a review that was very much in favor of the Fabulous Films Release over the Universal Playback (for sheer visual quality)  But i have found an Issue upon the DVD and the Blu-ray and would like to know how your company responds to this issue...

The Issue is as follows..
Season 1 Disk 1 Episode "Bite Of The Jackal"
Roughly 17:58  you removed an important scene (setting up the perimeter line)

To verify this issue, if you In-cert Season 1 DISK 2 of the Universal Playback release and skip into the episode to 18:43 you will see the scene you folks have lost...
where did it go.. why is it missing.. and begs the question what else have you cut?

I am unsure if their are more problems with the release as ive yet to nit pick them all  :'(

Yours.. feeling sadly disappointed.. Bob

ps
I await your response, as do many fans who read our Airwolf blogs..



They never got back to us.. 24th August 2014  :'(
17th May 2016 and still Nada...
Gawd its july 2018 and still no reply....