Archive for category Multimedia
Upgrading my HTPC — It’s time to bring it up to date!
Posted by eric in Audiophile, Hardware, Multimedia, Reviews on June 2nd, 2009
Many moons ago I decided to build an Home Theater PC (HTPC) for miscellaneous computer uses that I might want to display on a TV…. OK, really it was just the thing everyone was doing at the time and I wanted a new project, so a small HTPC fit the bill. We’re all friends here, so no need to beat around the bush, right? 
So I built an HTPC. I built a GREAT HTPC. It was small, fanless and had everything I’d ever need. But I was disappointed though, only because the quality of the video combined with what I was ACTUALLY able to do with it let me down. I suppose it was my own fault because I had let my desire for the system to be completely silent and fanless impact its performance.
Fast forward a couple years later and I have this shoe box sized PC sitting below my computer desk at home. What should I do with it?
Importing movies from a Samsung NV24HD into iMovie ‘08
Posted by eric in Apple, General Software, Multimedia, iPhone on February 11th, 2009
I’ve been using my Samsung NV24HD camera for some time now to capture both standard resolution (640×480) and high definition (720p) video, but recently my wife needed to import one of those movies into iMovie to edit it down in size. To my surprise, even though Quicktime is able to play the MP4 files created by the Samsung camera, iMovie 08 is unable to properly import the videos and just locks up.
Turns out that the MP4 files made by the Samsung NV24HD camera are a of a non-standard H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format. So what’s to do?
Well, if you’re an Apple user (which I assume you are since you’re reading blog entry about iMovie ), then you’re in luck. There’s a tool you can download called ffmpegX which allows you to convert the MP4 files to iMovie compatible MOV MPEG-4 files. In addition, ffmpegx can convert video files to a multitude of formats inlcuding iPod, iPhone and DivX formats. So even if your issue isnt EXACTLY the video files from the Samsung NV24HD camera, ffmpegx is still a great utility to use for video transcoding/covnverting in OSX 
Screen Shot of ffmpegX
The only down side I had to doing this was the time it took to convert. It took over two hours to encode a 25 minute movie at 640×480 on my 2.4ghz Macbook Pro. So if you’re planning to use this method, plan to leave your Mac plugged in for a while.
Also, I’ve yet to try newer iMovie ‘09 which also just may fix this issue. When I’m able to get my hot little hands on a copy of iLife ‘09, I’ll be sure to let everyone know if it works out!
Hope this post is able to help out my fellow Samsung and Apple users out there!
Cheers!
Car Hacking — Installing an iPod Adapter in my 2004 Acura TSX
Posted by eric in Audiophile, Hardware, Multimedia, Reviews, iPhone on January 31st, 2009
My car is old. Ok, not REALLY old but old enough that it doesn’t have an AUX input or an iPod adapter. I drive a 2004 Acura TSX with Navi and recently canceled my Sirius subscription to save money, so I wanted to be able to plug in my iPhone 3G and listen to Pandora or songs off my iPod.
I checked around the net for models that were supported by my car (which was hard because it was a 1st generation, 1st year TSX). I know there’s an MP3/DVD Player option as well as an XM head unit available for the 2004 TSX, but no iPod adapters from Honda. I finally decided on the DICE Electronics R4 Kit for Honda/Acura because it had received positive reviews and seemed a pretty simple install
I purchased the DICE iPod Kit from a reputable seller on eBay for $139 + tax and had it within a few days. The unit itself is pretty small (only a couple square inches) and has inputs for the iPod cable as well as AUX input. It’s a good thing the unit is so small because it has to fit up in the dash
Installing the unit in my car took about all of 2 minutes. Literally.
(Sorry about no pictures, I’ll add them as soon as I’m able to!)
Step one was to remove the storage bin that is located below the factory radio. This is where the factor XM or MP3 player would go. Simply open the bin and pull it out towards you. There are two clips on the bottom right and left as well as clips on the top.
Pull out the storage bin carefully as the light above is still attached to it. Carefully remove the light taking care to not break the housing. Once the bin is out your radio compartment will be exposed. Just a warning: be careful in there! Unless you’ve unhooked your battery, there’s still live current as well as some wires for the airbags Don’t kill yourself over an iPod hookup
Step two is wiring it in. You’ll see one wire running straight up into the stereo. Unplug this. This is the wire that will plug into the daisy chain provided by the DICE iPod kit. Plug the other end of the DICE iPod kit into the factory radio.
Step three is running our cables however you choose (into the glove box, storage bin, middle console) and putting the storage bin back in! Presto! Done!
I used a Dremel and cut out a small section of the bin to run the cables through. To keep it clean looking, I used a bit of rubber (read: old mouse pad) to cover the Dremel spot and cut a slit down the middle allowing the cables to run through it. This helps seal up the bin without having a gaping hole into my dash. Also, for the sake of future use I added a small amount of hot clue to the connectors that are plugged into the DICE iPod Kit so (god forbid) someone pulls on the cable too hard it wont unplug from the DICE iPod Kit while still in my dash. 
I didn’t add a LOT of glue, just a small drop to hold them in place nicely.
Finished storage bin with iPod & Aux Cables
A few “gotcha’s” about this unit and the 2004 Acura TSX. The ‘XM’ mode of the DICE iPod Kit only works with Honda/Acura models with an actual ‘XM’ button. This wasn’t introduced until the 2005 model year. The 2004 Acura TSX only has a “CD/AUX” button. Because of this, the DICE iPod Kit cannot work and will not be detected in XM mode. You have to set the unit to “CDC” (CD Changer) mode.
Other than that, the unit works great! It’s able to charge my iPhone 3G while I’m listening to music as well as allowing me to stream my iPod and any audio from my iPod straight into my factory radio!
Setting the DICE iPod Kit to ‘iPod’ mode allows you to control the iPod manually on the screen and not with the wheel controls. I find this much easier than trying to navigate the songs using a ‘track up’ & ‘track down’ method on my steering wheel. Also, in ‘iPod’ mode, the DICE iPod Kit acts as a standard audio source. Meaning it’ll play Pandora and send ring tones to your factory radio without having to use the AUX input, like iPod adapters from other manufacturers!
I hope this helps someone else out there in the same situation I was in Please feel free to ask any questions and I’ll be sure to post pictures of my setup as soon as I get them!
Cheers!
Listen To The JRPG Soundtrack Of The JRPG That Doesn’t Exist!
Posted by eric in Audiophile, Gaming, Multimedia on January 27th, 2009
I was out checking my morning feeds when I happened across this article over at kotaku.com . It seems this guy has created a soundtrack for a Japanese RPG (Final Fantasy-sorts), but the catch is the game doesn’t exist anywhere else bit his head!
Talk about backwards game development!
It’s a pretty sweet soundtrack and I highly suggest everyone take a click over this his website to check out the soundtrack as well as his other musical creations which are just as good!
Cheers!
Backing up a DVD to DivX — My way or the highway!
Posted by eric in Audiophile, General Software, Hardware, Multimedia on January 22nd, 2009
I’ve been backing up my DVD collection for years in order to watch the movies I own on my portable devices as they evolve. Currently I love watching my movies on the iPhone! I’m currently using a FANTASTIC new application from Elemental Technologies called Badabom! It uses nVidia’s CUDA technology to harness the power of my GPU to convert movies from DivX to MP4! Currently it’s able to convert a movie to iPhone size/format at over 200fps using my Intel Q6600 and nVidia 8800GTX!
SCIENCE! 
Backing up to DivX is another story though. I’ve always been a stickler for quality and control over the process. A perfect example of this is my use of “old” programs such as VirtualDub and refusal to use the “1-Click” applications because I feel like I lose control over the quality. I think this stems from my age and time of use because back during DivX 3.11 there were no “1-Click” applications that could copy a DVD and any attempt at making one usually failed terribly.
So I’ve always manually converted them, again, out of my own stubbornness. I thought I’d post my steps here to see if anyone agrees that there’s some method to my madness (or to tell me that I’m getting old and should get with the times!)
My process allows me to encode any DVD content into DivX using 2-pass XviD encoding while still maintaining the original Dolby Digital AC3 audio track.
Your Netflix client been crashing on your TiVo?
Posted by eric in Internet, Miscellaneous, Multimedia, Reviews on December 9th, 2008
I was excited as probably many of you that Netflix had finally come to TiVo! I was tired of Amazon UnBox and although it was super cool that I could get Netflix on my 360 it’s far more conventient that I have it on my TiVo
Well, the other night my wife was watching a movie through Netflix on the TiVo and about four times it just quit out to the main TiVo menu. What the frick?
I told my wife to give the XBox 360 a try and see how it handles. Well turns out that the 360 had a hiccup too, but you know what it was? A buffer underrun! That’s right! My internet connection for whatever reason couldn’t keep up with the Netflix stream and it ran out of data. Of course the XBox client was smart enough to realize this, displayed a message and buffered some before streaming again.
My TiVo client? Crashed out. Talk about two code bases not up to par with one another.
So if you’re having the same issues, odds are your network connection (for whatever reason) is not keeping up with the Netflix stream and it’s just crashing out to the main menu of TiVo.
My suggested work around for the time being is try watching it on your XBox 360 if you have the option. Otherwise, you might want to contact your cable provider or stop torrenting all that norwegian snow porn
Cheers!
Netflix comes to the XBox and TiVo!
Posted by eric in Internet, Multimedia, Opinion, Reviews on November 20th, 2008
Welcome to the Revolution!
This week Microsoft rolled out Netflix instant streaming support with the new XBox 360 Dashboard (which they’re calling the “New Xbox Experience”) while TiVo is also rolling out Netflix support this week in their latest beta firmware update.
Netflix streaming allows people who subscribe to the (currently) $8.99 subscription to stream UNLIMITED movies available for Instant Online viewing to their XBox or TiVo for no extra cost on top of their monthly subscription. To sweeten the deal, Netflix also offers up to 300 movies in ‘HD’ quality at no extra charge.
So, let’s review the score. HD-DVD has gone the way of Beta Max and although both Apple and Amazon have offered rental and purchasing of movies electronically but are still bound to their respective platforms (Apple being iPhone/Pod and Amazon being TiVo) including the PC. I’ve yet to see either party partner with another distribution outlet which is expected from Apple but almost a shock with Amazon.
When I think about it though, Netflix is an obvious answer to the question of what company would be the first to provide movies to Microsoft for online streaming. Netflix partnered with Microsoft in the first place to provide online instant viewing of movies through Microsofts (at the time, new) Silverlight technology, which is a competitor to Flash (which popular video sites like YouTube use).
So now you have a company with an already established shipping and distribution system setup for physical media (both DVD and Blu-Ray) and has partnered with two ‘direct to TV’ companies who have in total over 30 million set top boxes already installed in homes across the WORD! Could this be the coming of the revolution?
I certainly hope so!
About six months back I finally decided to just sell my entire DVD collection. I personally was just done with physical media. I was tired of moving them, dusting them, having them take up space and never really sitting down to watch them. I mean really, I owned a little over 200 movies and sat down AT MOST one time a month to watch one. It got so bad that some of the movies were still in their original shrink wrap packaging. The industry had hooked me on the idea that I needed to COLLECT movies and I had come to the realization that it’s seriously a stupid hobby.
I became a personal flag barer for electronic distribution starting with the ability of renting a movie from Amazon unbox for only $.99 (when they’re on sale) but even then I’d have to wait about 30 minutes for the movie to buffer enough for me to be able to watch it the entire way through without having to pause and let it buffer some more.
Enter Netflix. Not only does it let me INSTANTLY begin watching a movie by detecting my connection speed and ability to download data at real time, but I can also ’shop’ online for more movies to watch while not at home using Netflix.com. This means I can think of a movie while at work or on the go, queue it up and watch it instantly when I get home.
The bonus? This is all covered under my $8.99 Netflix account that I already had. Oh sure, there are more costs involved, but let’s break that down (and to keep it fair, I’ll break down as if I’m starting with NOTHING):
- Netflix: $8.99/mo ($107/year)
- XBox 360: $199 for Arcade Edition ($199/year, first year)
- XBox Live Gold Account: $7.99/mo ($49.99/year)
- Digital Cable: $39 for 10mbit down/1mbit up (in my area) ($480/year)
So even including your monthly Cable bill, you’re only looking at a monthly average cost of only $70 or only $29 pr month if you don’t include your monthly cable internet bill! FOR UNLIMITED INSTANT MOVIE VIEWING!
That’s pretty amazing to me! I hope more people hop on this bandwagon and we begin the revolution! Down with physical media!
I’ll step off my soapbox now
Cheers!
Does a DVD player that outputs 480i over HDMI really need to be more than $100?
Posted by eric in Audiophile, Hardware, Miscellaneous, Multimedia, Opinion on September 15th, 2008
I mean seriously!
There is no simpler a solution than a DVD player that outputs the 480i signal decoded from the DVD to an HDMI output. There’s no processing, no deinterlacing, no scaling. Just decode it and output it. Bam! Done!
My current home theater is based around a Denon AVR-2308CI Receiver which handles all my video processing thanks to it’s magical voodoo (and a DCDi video processor ). When searching for a DVD player to solve my previously mentioned DVD watching dilemma, I wanted just a simple DVD player that can output 480i over HDMI. Why should I waste my money on an upconverting DVD player when my receiver can do the same function (and probably better). Seemed simple, right?
WRONG!
It seems the internet defacto DVD player that does 480i is the Oppo Digital DV-980H which weighs in at $169 MSRP! 
There are a couple other options as well, including the previous Oppo Digital DVD player model, DV-970HD which was specifically marketed as a ‘cheap’ player that supports 480i over HDMI. The problem you ask? It’s no longer offered directly from Oppo and it still sells for > $100 in the secondary used market.
An hour or so of Google-Fu later I landed on the Pioneer DV-400V-K DVD Player! Pioneers own website lists its MSRP as $99 and with some luck I found it refurbished through an Amazon reseller for $49! EURIKA! At last the lords of the Internet blessed me with a little devine intervention on my search results
I got to wondering after my pilgrimage to find this DVD player, why does it have to be so hard? I mean, if manufacturers like Denon offer Receivers with video upscaling and deinterlacing already included, why do they also sell DVD players with the SAME functionality? You’d think they’d try to offer a family of products that not only work well with one another but don’t waste your money on duplicate hardware that you won’t be utilizing. Denon is a prime example of this because even their ‘low end’ DVD player still carries an MSRP of $169 (and even then, it uses the built in DVD hardware deinterlacer without offering pure 480i output).
So as I said, there HAS to be a good quality family of products out there that are symbiotic and AFFORDABLE because they’re saving money on not having to waste it on unused hardware.
Samsund NV24HD — Choppy High Definiton Video?
Posted by eric in Hardware, Miscellaneous, Multimedia on July 5th, 2008
I recently sold my entire DVD collection in order to buy some things I’d actually use around the house. On top of a small upgrade for my desktop computer, I also purchased a new Samsung NV24HD Point and Shoot Camera. I decided that I wanted a Point and Shoot in addition to my SLR because it seemed silly lugging around a giant camera and lens when going to simple events such as a friends birthday party.
One of the selling points for me on the Samsung NV24HD was the fact that it was able to capture high definiton video in 720p (1280×720, MPEG-4 H.264). Combine this with the 16GB Transcend SDHC memory card I bought to use with it, and I now had a point and shoot camera AND an HD video camera that could record over five hours of HD content.
After a couple test trials using my cat among other things, I started to notice when playing back the files using Quicktime on my computer that the video seemed fairly choppy and also the audio would drop out and then come back from time to time.
My first suspect was the memory card thinking that it might not be fast enough to record the video. But the Transcend 16GB SDHC card I purchased was certified Class 6 SDHC (guaranteed minimum 6mbps), which is the fastest you can buy for SDHC cards, so that couldn’t be the issue.
I then tried perhaps using another computer to play back the file, so I fired up my wife’s Black MacBook and used Quicktime on her machine. I had the same issue of choppy playback (at the beginning of the file) as well as the audio dropping out at the same points.
I suspect one of three things:
- This is an incompatibility with the MP4 files generated by the NV24HD and Quicktime, which I should probably e-Mail and ask Samsung about.
- It’s an issue with the memory card I’m using not being able to keep up with the recording device and thus losing data while recording video.
- It’s an issue with the NV24HD itself or an issue with the hardware encoder that’s used to compress the H.264 video stream.
I imagine it takes a bit of CPU power to compress video to 720p real time, and it’s evident on the NV24HD because after shooting continuous video for over five minutes the camera gets noticeably warmer.
ANYWAYS, if you have experienced this issue or have some ideas for a remedy I’m all ears
Cheers!
Apple TV: Another Internet Asshole’s Opinion
Posted by eric in Apple, Hardware, Multimedia on January 21st, 2008
I recall walking through my local Apple retail store a while back while purchasing my wife’s Black MacBook. One of the products that caught my eye was a little white box plugged into an LCD TV. It was my first exposure to Apple TV.
I was looking through the features and was somewhat interested. It seemed like a media extender for iTunes, which was fine if that was what you were in the market for. Built in WiFi was a big plus as was the built in hard drive. It had HDMI output and was setup on an HD LCD TV, so I decided to poke around the UI looking for some video content. The Apple store had pre-loaded it with a couple TV shows, movie clips and trailers. The content looked very pixelated and low quality. I assumed it was due to the Apple store not loading any HD content onto the Apple TV but after asking the ‘Genius’ at the Apple store what was up, I was informed that there was no HD content available for Apple TV or iTunes.
Say what? Apple built a media extender with HDMI and video playback capability rated at 720p and then decided not to release any HD content for it? Are they retarded?
I then let Apple TV slip into the back of my head as another hardware endeavor destined to fail, along with WebTV and the Apple Interactive Television Box.
This brings us to last week while watching Steve Jobs’ keynote speech at MacWorld 2008. Apple has completely revamped the UI and transformed the Apple TV into a media playing, HD streaming, video renting machine! Is this a good thing? I think it depends on how you handle your media.
Over the last couple years I was a big purchaser of DVD movies. Not only as a fan of cinema but also as a collector. I don’t want to think about how much money I’ve spent on movies as I’m sure it’d be both depressing and staggering. But as I sit here and look at the monolith that is my DVD collection, I look through the titles and think how often I actually watch them. The most I’ve ever watched a title is about once or twice a year, if it’s a movie I really enjoy. Some movies, I’m ashamed to say, are still in their original shrink wrap packaging.
So while watching Mr. Jobs’ speech, I began to wonder, is electronic delivery and rental the next step in my movie watching? At first I rebuffed the idea of buying an Apple TV for $229 because it seemed silly. I mean, $229 for a device that lets me rent movies? That’s like buying a golf cart you only drive to your local Blockbuster Video. But then I started crunching the numbers in my head comparing the upgrade of my home theater to a new HD format, say, Blu-Ray vs. getting an Apple TV.
Let’s assume I’m purchasing a player and movies that I’ll watch once a year. The numbers add up like this for an average of 20 new movies per year for the first year:
Blu-Ray:
- Player: $399
- New Releases (such as Superbad, or Simpsons Movie): $28.99
- Library Release (such as Blazing Saddles): $14.99
Apple TV:
- Player: $229
- New Releases: $4.99
- Library Releases: $3.99
Now if we assume that of those twenty HD movies I’m going to watch are only 75% new releases, our numbers add up to (for the first year):
- Blu-Ray: $908.80
- Apple TV: $332.80
The cost of Apple TV for the first year of ownership is almost ONE THIRD OF THE PRICE of Blu-Ray and most likely HDDVD, which probably won’t be around much longer with the departure of Warner Brothers to the Blu-Ray camp.
The reason I’m comparing PURCHASING Blu-Ray titles vs. RENTING iTunes titles is because there isn’t a Blockbuster or other video rental store within 15 minutes of my home (as they seem to be disappearing), so in order for Blu-Ray to have the same accessibility, it’ll need to be on hand. Unfair? Perhaps, but as I said before, this is MY interpretation of the matter at hand and how it’ll hit MY pocket book
“BUT ERIC,” you say, “BLU-RAY IS 1080P AND APPLE TV ONLY SUPPORTS 720P! YOU n00b!” – Probably You
Alas, I can’t deny the truth. But then, what does science have to say about the relevance of that argument? I point you over to this very good article at Audioholics.com titled “1080p and the Acuity of Human Vision“. If you have some time I do suggest you go read the entire article, but for those not in the mood for some math and reading I’ll quote directly from the article:
“Put bluntly, from 8 feet away while watching a 50 inch plasma TV, the human eye is generally incapable of reliably distinguishing any detail finer than that shown on a true 720p display!“
I’m not an Apple fan boy, far from it. I have just as many PC’s in my house as I do Apple computers. But personally, for MY own reasons and number crunching, it seems that Apple TV is a pretty sweet deal and is in a position to give Sony a run in the upcoming format DELIVERY wars, which will be streaming vs. physical media
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