Audio and Video

Video conversion tools

SUPER (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) is a GUI to many video tools. If you need a simple, yet very efficient tool to convert (encode) any Multimedia file, without reading manuals or spending long hours training, then SUPER © is all you need. The supported tools include o FFmpeg, MEncoder, MPlayer, x264, musepack, monkey’s

HDTV resolution

xkcd webcomic has a nice strip on HDTV and how awesome it’s resolution is. Image source: http://xkcd.com/732/

Transparent Car Video

Shell Corporation has an interesting advertisement for their Helix oil. Transparent Nissan 370Z is the star in this sweet engine oil ad. Shell Helix Ultra Transparent Car – The Making Of video shows you the ad and also gives you information how this is made. They use a plastic/pyrex model that simply illustrates how oil

LED light ring for macro photography

For good macro photography you need to have good light. Getting nice light nicely to location near camera lens can be sometimes hard. Some photographers use special Macro Photo Studio. Some macro photographers use two flashes mounted on opposite sides of the lens. Some prefer to use ring lights. After some experimenting I thought that

DIY projectors

There are many plans for DIY video projectors on the net: Easy DIY iPod projector, $6 Ipod Nano Projector, DIY iPod Video Projector – Requires no Power or Disassembly of the iPod, Super Sleek iPod or Other Device Video Projector and Make an iPod Video Projector. This is a good opportunity to build a simple

Is H.264 a legal minefield?

H.264 use isn’t all free all the time. MPEG-LA is the industry group that licenses the H.264 patent portfolio to the likes of software companies, optical-disc duplicators, Blu-ray player makers, and others who have need to use H.264. MPEG LA licenses a portfolio of more than 1,000 H.264-related patents on behalf of 26 companies that

Unshielded RCA cable is bad design

Here is a bit long article about HIFI system interconnect cables. There are pages promoting use of different unshielded cable constructions for HIFI systems interconnections. But the truth is that unshielded RCA cable is bad design and should be avoided. This article tells the truth about unshielded RCA cables, why they are bad and how

About THX certification

THX began life as part of LucasFilm. The initial goals for THX was to ensure that movie audiences in theaters heard the same audio that sound engineers heard in the listening booth after the final audio mix. Eventually, that goal has mutated. The new THX idea was to ensure that home theater buffs heard the

Theremin musical instrument

I visited Microsoft Tech Days 2010 two days ago (I got free ticket), and if you are interested in technical stuff I leaned at the event and understand Finnish, you can my news report of that event published at Prosessori web site. I saw a quite interesting musical performance on the evening party. There was

Unbalanced to impedance balanced

Just about all professional equipment uses balanced audio lines, which, if properly executed, will eliminate the hum completely. They help especially with long interconnects where earth loops can be a real pain. Circuits driving balanced lines must themselves be balanced to maintain the benefits of balance. This may be achieved by differential signaling, transformer coupling