Handy tool- Replug.

replug_laptop_anim.gifIf you need to use headphones into an 1/8″ jack (like on a camcorder- even professional, mixer, or laptop) then you’ve probably experienced a situation where your head went too far from the gear and the headphones either got yanked off your head or the gear got yanked around, or broken. I found this cool little add-on called Replug that looks to save your head, save your gear, or both. 

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March 10th, 2008 Posted by IEBA | Audio, Gear | no comments |

DTV deadline? The end is not so near, maybe.

tv_video.pngI previously noted that the end of analogue broadcast TV is fast approaching.

Apparently the FCC has changed its rules. Cnet is relating a Reuters article that:

The Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules giving broadcasters more flexibility in making the switch to digital television from traditional analog signals.

The rules would, among other things, allow some broadcast stations to make a “phased transition” to digital broadcasting.

After moving the deadline back several years from it’s original deadline, now the deadline isn’t so much of a deadline at all…

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January 28th, 2008 Posted by IEBA | Audio, Business, Gear | one comment |

NAB hates production crews! Kill all non TV wireless!

nabint1.gifI don’t know what the National Association of Broadcasters is thinking with its latest campaign- urging anyone who visits its web site to contact the FCC and urge it to “tell them not to allow unlicensed personal and portable devices to operate in the television spectrum.” You know, wireless microphones, wireless video feeds, wireless intercoms, wireless IFB, wireless of all sorts! This is because “American consumers deserve and expect to have interference free digital television.”

Uh… how do we create television and films without wireless video and audio?
Does the NAB want to render every wireless mic from 54 - 800 Mhz illegal?

Apparently so!

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January 25th, 2008 Posted by IEBA | Audio, Gear, Video | 6 comments |

Have you voted for TechThoughts yet?

bloggies.gifAs the Bloggies itself says:

Honor. Prestige. Wealth. These are some of the things that a Bloggie won’t bring you. But that won’t stop the Web from voting…

So vote for TechThoughts.org, maybe as “Best-Kept Secret” or “Best New Weblog” or “Best Computer & Technology” or wherever you see fit.

There’s no physical award or big prize, but if advice or information here has helped you, then it costs you nothing to nominate TechThoughts.org for a Bloggie. But it would give us a warm fuzzy feeling.

Thanks!

January 9th, 2008 Posted by IEBA | Apple, Audio, Business, Computers, Gear, JVC, Panasonic, Sony, Video, rant | no comments |

TechThoughts could win. We need your help.

bloggies.gifAs the Bloggies itself says:

Honor. Prestige. Wealth. These are some of the things that a Bloggie won’t bring you. But that won’t stop the Web from voting…

So vote for TechThoughts.org, maybe as “Best-Kept Secret” or “Best New Weblog” or “Best Computer & Technology” or wherever you see fit.

There’s no physical award or big prize, but if advice or information here has helped you, then it costs you nothing to nominate TechThoughts.org for a Bloggie. Thanks for your support.

Thanks!

January 7th, 2008 Posted by IEBA | Apple, Audio, Business, Computers, Gear, JVC, Panasonic, Sony, Video, rant | no comments |

Drobo. Worth the hype?

drobomain2.pngThe Drobo made Macworld’s “Year’s Best” hardware list, and was also mentioned on ProLost:

You can cram any configuration of drives into it and it will keep your data redundantly safe. Don’t worry about mixing and matching drives, just throw in what’s cheap and plentiful. As drives get cheaper, toss bigger ones in there.

So what makes this so amazing?

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January 4th, 2008 Posted by IEBA | Audio, Computers, Gear, Video | 5 comments |

$299 HUI touchscreen for ProTools? Check it out!

touchtools.jpgThere’s a wondrous little YouTube video that demonstrates some custom code enabling an iPod Touch or iPhone to wirelessly control ProTools with very little lag time.

It’s been a long time since I read about high-end studios using large screens outfitted with touch overlays to enable hands on screen editing, but this is a whole other trick.

It takes “control surface” to something that was never intended to do it and actually does a very good job of it…

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December 14th, 2007 Posted by IEBA | Apple, Audio, Computers, Gear | no comments |

New Compression Tool: Stomp

stomplog.gifI’ve added a new link to my tower of links over to the right there. This one is for version 1.0 of Stomp, a compression utility by Shinywhitebox. It includes support for all QuickTime codecs, presets for all sorts of outputs (check out the video demo on their web site), manual control of all audio and video options, compression of multiple videos at once, video effects, and other features. Stomp is a Universal Binary priced at $29.95, is Universal, as well as Tiger and Leopard compatible.

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November 17th, 2007 Posted by IEBA | Audio, Computers, Video | 4 comments |

Specs lie. (Actually they just mislead us.)

hddlog2.gifIn a wonderful commentary article (rant) at High Def Digest, Joshua Zarber takes a moment to put down the hardware and the manuals and speak directly to the “number purists” among us and basically tells us to grow up.

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November 5th, 2007 Posted by IEBA | Audio, Gear, Video, rant | one comment |

HD Home Audio Formats Explained.

High Def Digest audlogos.jpghas an amazing rundown of each audio format available on each high-def home video standard- i.e. Blu-ray and HD DVD. Moreover, Joshua Zyber gets into the nitty gritty about the various audio interconnects between the players and other equipment, and how the myriad of audio formats are handled by each interconnect, on each optical standard. Yes, that’s a matrix of 56 different possibilities that Mr. Zyber has organized into a nice, neat article. Read More…

October 21st, 2007 Posted by IEBA | Audio, Business | no comments |