I’ve reported here earlier about an easy way to convert Flip camera movies to WMV files so that you can import them into Windows Movie Maker.
Imagine my surprise last week when several folks in a workshop I was facilitating agreed to a Flip upgrade, only to find that after the upgrade to Flipshare v5, converting to WMV no longer worked.
While I am still waiting for an answer about whether this is a “feature” or a “bug,”* I did find a way to un-upgrade and return the conversion functionality. Here it is:
- (I suggest you back up any video files on the camera before proceeding.)
Connect to your computer and open the Flip icon. Delete all files except for the DCIM folder.
Empty your recycle bin.
Disconnect the camcorder.
A. Uninstall FlipShare
1. Go to Control Panel>Programs and Features and remove Flip Share.
B. Reinstall FlipShare 4.5
1. Reboot your computer
2. Ensure that your camcorder is not connected to the computer
3. Click on this link and follow the on-screen instructions: http://download.theflip.com/update.theflip.com/app/fvsw/451/update/Setup_FlipShare.exe
4. Reboot again and launch FlipShare
(And obviously, if you want to keep this functionality, say no to future Flip upgrades.)
* Note to anyone from Cisco who might be reading this, eliminating this functionality would be tragic to many who use Windows Movie Maker as an editing platform. Using third-party conversion tools for this (as your tech support responses suggest) is not an option to many. Please bring back the conversion utility!
Our school discovered this last year, too. We have multiple Flips on campus and it is a continual problem with inadvertent clicks of the install update. I also discovered that there are several software companies now capitalizing on Flip conversion. Do a search with terms “flip converter” and you will find them for around $30. We are using freeware Pazera (mp4 to avi) converter. http://download.cnet.com/Pazera-Free-MP4-to-AVI-Converter/3000-2194_4-10784027.html
and am still on the lookout for easier way to deal with this. Hope this helps someone!