Cycorder

Record Videos On Your iPhone 2G or 3G With iVideoCamera

Until now, the only way you could record videos on your iPhone 2G or 3G was to jailbreak it and use Cycorder. For some reason, Apple didn't deem necessary adding video recording to the 2G or 3G, even though this isn't a hardware issue, but simply a software one.

This week, Apple finally approved the first video recording app in the App Store. The application is called iVideoCamera and can record videos at a whopping 3 fps... According to MacNN:

Users will be limited to one-minute segments at 3 frames per second, while the resolution is just 160x213. The developer, Laan, claims the next update will bring improvements to the frame rate, resolution, and clip length.

Just like the video camera of the iPhone 3GS, iVideoCamera allows you to save your videos directly to your camera roll and share them on FaceBook, YouTube, Vimeo or Twitter.

iVideoCamera [iTunes Link] is available from the App Store for $0.99.

Edit Videos on Your iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G

iPhone Download Blog reader kper sent me a very good hack for iPhone 2G or 3G owners who would like to have the same video editing capabilities as the iPhone 3GS. Basically, this allows you to view the videos you record with Cycorder or VideoRecorder directly in your Camera Roll. Additionally, you can trim the videos, exactly like on an iPhone 3GS.

Record Videos On Your iPhone 2G/3G With Cycorder

Are you an iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G owner feeling left out by the lack of video recording on your iDevice? Rejoice because I have good news for you. You don't have to spend $$$ on the new iPhone 3GS to get video recording capability.

This might sound like old news to some of our readers, but for those of you who don't know, it is possible to record videos on your iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G thanks to an application called Cycorder. I wrote about Cycorder in the past but I think this app deserves more attention, especially from all the iPhone noobies (no offense).

Cycorder allows you to record videos on your iPhone at the maximum speed of the iPhone camera (6-15 frames per second). That's not great, but it's better than nothing...

How to record video on your iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G?

First, if you haven't already done so, you'll have to jailbreak your iPhone. If you're hesitant about jailbreaking, understand it's very safe and besides being able to record videos, there are many many other reasons to jailbreak your iPhone.

Then simply launch Cydia and install Cycorder.

One installed, open Cycorder and start recording videos. It's that simple!

When you record a video, it is stored as a .mov movie on your iPhone in /var/mobile/Media/Videos. Use iPhoneBrowser or SSH to get the video from your iPhone to your computer and then you can email it or put it on YouTube.

Here is a video I shot a few weeks ago with Cycorder. It will give you a good idea about the quality of sound and images.

LiveCLIQ brings video streaming and recording to the iPhone

Like Qik and FlixWagon, LiveCLIQ is a free application that allows live streaming and recording of videos directly from your iPhone. Before some of you get too excited, let me tell you right away that this app is only available for jailbroken iPhones. This means that if you're on a stock iPhone, you will have to wait 2017, until Apple finally decides to add video recording to the iPhone for you to enjoy this neat feature...

Here is how LiveCLIQ works. First I downloaded the application from Cydia. After installing, when you launch the application a message shows up asking for your "token number". This got me confused for a while. I understood that I needed some type of registration but nothing was telling me where to get this "token number". The "more info" link for this app in Cydia was showing the LiveCliq.com website and going there didn't help me at all. After googling "livecliq", I finally found the LiveCliq.NET website where you can register.

Cydia Store Applications vs. The App Store – The Download Showdown

[digg-me]UPDATE: The Cydia Store is now open! I invite you to read this post for more details.

If you didn't read the title to this article in the deep voice of the movie previews guy, please go back and do so at this time, just to give you an idea of how huge this is. Now, if you've navigated to our blog and are reading this article, hopefully you have some idea of what Cydia and the App Store are. For those of you who don't, I will provide a brief breakdown of each program before I list their stand out features.

Both programs offer a sizeable library of applications and games that can be downloaded directly onto the phone from virtually anywhere you can get a cell phone or wifi signal. Please no hate mail from Installer fans, as it's obvious it has not garnered near as much support as Cydia since the iPhone was updated in firmware over the summer. But now to the main event, the Download Showdown. Who will take home the title as the Champion of iPhone applications? Let's get it on.

You've seen the commercials, you've seen it in the world-reknowned iTunes software, heck you see the icon everytime you look at your iPhone, it's the App Store. Riding the coat tails of success of Apple's enormous online music store, is the online application store that has redefined software distribution for the mobile market. Never before has an online library of mobile software been so accessible, as it can be reached from any mac or pc, or from any iPhone or ipod touch with web connection.

Another reason it is so groundbreaking is the 70/30 deal it has made with iPhone platform developers. That means that Apple keeps 30% of the profit from the software sales, and gives the remaining 70% to the people that make them. On top of attracting big name software companies like EA and THQ, this 70/30 deal has made several independent companies like Tappulous and The Blimp Pilots (koi pond creators) extremely wealthy.

The App Store's main advantages have got to be it's stability and ease of use, two of the most important things you can find in any software.  I can't tell you the last time my App Store crashed or froze, and its interface is about as simple as you can get. You'll also find that most applications fall in the $0.99 - $9.99 price range, keeping purchases from breaking your bank. For the froogle audience, there is also a large FREE section of applications and games that has yet to disappoint me.

Finally, the fact that Apple, is the company behind the App store has its ups and downs. For example, Apple pre screens all apps submitted to the App Store, minimizing malicious code and low quality software epedimics. This also prevents very good software from reaching the App Store due to opinions held by Apple (see R.I.P article). Downloading is also kept very quick and simple by Apple, as typing in your iTunes password, ok's any download, free or not. You also don't have to jailbreak or "hack" your iPhone to access the App Store, how charming. So bottom line here is that the App Store is easy to use, extremely reliable, has a huge library of free and non-free applications, and it's not against AT&T's TOS (terms of service) to access.

Now for the challenger. A product of James Freeman, or Saurik, Cydia has been around since the original jailbreaking days of Ziphone and iBrickr. Originally, Cydia stood in the shadow of the Installer application by the Dev Team, which did the exact same thing (offered 3rd party downloads). Now, thanks to its I-got-to-firmware-2.1-before-you-did attitude, Cydia is flourishing.

But these guys [devteam, Saurik, Spazio, etc.] really opened the eyes of the world to the possibilities of the iPhone, and let users unlock their iPhone's potential with 3rd party applications, a touchy subject in the beginning of the life of the iPhone due to Apple's lack of 3rd party support.

Enough history, how does it stack up today against the colussal App Store. Size? Nope. The size of Cydia's library of software doesn't hold a candle to Apple's App Store. Price? Nope. While a majority of Cydia downloads are free, some are only trial versions that demand paypal payments to continue using them. So then why in the world would you even want Cydia? Exclusivity. Boom. Cydia is the only place to download applications like Winterboard and Cycorder, software that goes against Apple's guidelines for App Store approval. I couldn't have a see-through dock with a customized icon set without Cydia. I couldn't have recorded a video of my dog doing cart wheels without Cycorder, and it's only available through Cydia. Is VIP access to cool customizeables enough to make this underdog a Champ? Let's review.

It seems on paper Apple's App Store should win by a landslide. Thousands of more software titles, the technical and customer support of a Fortune 500 company, and its overall ease of use should give Apple the belt hands down. But you can't forget about the little guy. If a firmware update prevented the downloading of Cydia or a similar program, how many users would be devastated? How many would avoid updating? If you're like me, chances are you have App Store, Cydia, and Installer (at least the first 2) icons sitting on your springboard right now, and aren't likely to delete any of them any time soon. I like having all 3 for the simple fact that if I read about an application and want to download, I know I am covered, and can find it in one of the 3 libraries.

It looks like a split decision here, but I am going to give the nod to Apple's App Store for a number of reasons I already listed. Once again in an ideal world we could have a united application that would offer the best of both worlds. For now, it seems the App Store will hold the download Showdown title. Thanks for reading, this article is a treasure, so digg it!

Record videos on your iPhone with Cycorder 0.9-4

Hooray! Cycorder just updated to version 0.9-4 and now allows you to record videos with sound on your iPhone. I have to say I am really impressed by the quality of the picture and the sound recording.

Cycorder allows you to record videos on your iPhone at the maximum speed of the iPhone camera (6-15 frames per second), with no compression delay between pressing sop and getting to view the resulting video.

Cycorder does MJPEG compression and video files are recorded at 384×288, a 4×3 TV aspect ratio.

How do you get your recorded video from your iPhone to your computer? When you record a video, it is placed as a .mov movie in /var/mobile/Media/Videos. Apparently, a future version might integrate into DCIM.

Here is what this 0.9-4 upgrade brings to Cycorder:

audio recording TV out supported playback (does that mean TV output?) no autolock when recording a few minor fixes

I recorded my own video and made it available to you. You can view this video made with Cycorder here.

The application is only available in Cydia and believe it or not, it is free. It shows ads while you record but these ads are not intrusive at all. Ads don’t show anywhere on your recording when you’re watching.