Making videos, compressions, codecs etc, help please

I recently got some good info and found Camstudio and looking at the possibility initially of creating some basic editing tutorials for friends, family etc.
I'd like to know peoples opinions on compression codecs and audio setup.

I've seen some videos of decent quality which seem to be about 1 meg per minute and these include audio?

I can't seem to get anywhere near this esp with audio but admit to being a real novice with video and audio.

I also have a problem getting decent audio, using a skype type headset with boom mike,(my wife got it with her pc and it saves on buying a mike specifically)

I either get barely audible and fuzzy or lots of distortion no-where near as good quality as half of the tut videos posted

Any experience greatly appreciated.

Mike

notext

and likely to be on the PC already, some of the friends wanting to try these are not very PC au-fait and I don't want to have them mess around downloading unecessary codecs etc

Anyone else, i'm sure there's someone doing these that could ship in their 2 cents, Robert Mizarek springs to mind but I know there are others

For starters, here is a link to a generalzation on codec's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codecs

CamStudio says it uses a lossless codec which creates much larger files than a regular lossy codec. I would find a device that is compatable with MS mpeg4.

As far as the headset mike..... not the best choice. Probably only usable in the 2-3k range. Carbon telephone quality. If that is exceptable, then I would look at levels and properties in the volume control on your desktop. Above that I could give a disertation on impedance matching and mixer interface that is not what you are looking for.
Give that a try.
George
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http://www.gwtphoto.com

Thanks George, i'll have a play with the volume properties and take a Wiki at the codec info.

A new mike is definitely not on the desperately needed list at the moment but if I enjoy doing the tuts and want to get better sound do you have a recommendation for a good mike and settings, (hoping you don't point me to EV's finest here)

You could use a USB to bluetooth adapter + a good cellphone headset. A friend of mine recently used this sort of a setup for a local telivision station (hes a TV/Radio station engineer), and had good results. He used a Motorolla headset of some sort, said is cost him around ~$50, but I cannot remember the headset model number . . .sorry.
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-Yyrkoon

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