, , , , , ,

Two Computers One iPods

x-ipod-rip-1I’ve always wanted to be able to work with my music when away from my desktop, and until recently I haven’t been able to swing it. It always made more sense to me to manage my music over the weekend for example, in the middle of a ski weekend. They say that an iPod will only sync with one computer but really one iPod will only sync with one iTunes library. So I set out to make this work. It was a bit annoying trying to work out all the bugs in the process, but the concept is really quite simple.

The first step in the process is to move all of your music files onto an external hard drive, one which runs from USB without an extra power cord is ideal. You’ll need to change the lettering of the drive. I recommend calling the drive “M:/”. Short for media, this is probably a letter higher then any you’ll see unless you plug in 10 thumb drives. The process for changing drive letters is a relatively simple process. After changing the location of your library you’ll need to setup iTunes. If you install the same version of iTunes on both computers and make sure iTunes is loking for the media on the M:/ drive. iTunes will still be looking for the library files at “My DocumentsMy MusiciTunesiTunes Music.”

Now close iTunes & make a new folder inside your iTunes folder and throw your old library files into there. After creating this backup you can begin copying the files from your former “iTuenes master computer” into the iTues folder. After this is done your music should open on the new computer. You should also notice that your iPod will sync. If this is the case go ahead and delete your old files from the newly added machine. Download Windows Live Sync and 1st set this up on the new machine. add your iTunes folder as the sync location, tehn repeat this action on the Master computer. Give the computers time to sync and then try playing music on both computers, and connect the iPod to each computer and they should both sync.

/by
,

James Cameron’s Epic Quest for Avatar

article-1208038-06212B30000005DC-264_306x423-777174Titanic director; James Cameron gets ready to unveil his long-awaited sci-fi adventure “Avatar.” While I admittedly hadn’t closely followed what he’s been up to recently, an article in Wired magazine quickly peaked my interest. Wired takes a looks at the filmmaker and the technological achievements that helped him bring his stunning 3-D Avatar to the big screen. There was a lot of vision & patience that went into the creation of Avatar, and technological advancements that needed to happen before the movie could really be made. I for one respect his passion and patience and will do my part to help ensure that this movie earns at least the 250 million that it needs to in order to be profitable.

Link: Wired Magazine: James Cameron’s Epic Quest for Avatar

Link: James Cameron Stereoscopic 3D camera

 

/by
,

How To Watch Olympic Sailing

I’ve been watching NBC all week looking for Olympic Sailing coverage, but I’ve learned they don’t show it on TV. It’s available on the NBC website, and you should watch it there.

Here’s a Message From Dean Brenner, Head of the US Olympic Sailing Committee:

Hello everyone,
I’m heading to the west coast on Wednesday for three days of team processing and a send-off event in San Francisco. We leave for China from SFO on July 26, and the Games begin on August 8.

Here are the best ways to follow along during the Games: http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/blog/dean/index.asp. Our PR officer will be managing our own site with features and information specific to our team: http://olympics.ussailing.org/Olympics.htm. I’ll have a daily blog from the Games as well, starting on July 29: NBC Sports will be a great place for hard news and scores: http://www.nbcolympics.com/

NBC has decided to feature more than 20 sports on the web only. Sailing is one of them. You won’t see one minute of sailing on TV, but you’ll see tons on NBCOlympics.com . They will be paying attention to see which of these 20+ sports get the most hits. IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING REALLY GOOD FOR SAILING, make this link one of your daily visits: http://www.nbcolympics.com/sailing/index.html

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ON THIS. The more traffic we can drive to the sailing portion of NBC’s Olympic site, the more they will be willing to cover us in the future. Finally, if you want to get fired up, start here: http://www.amazingawaits.org/#/universe,video/

I’m about to test the theory that a person can’t be on an adrenaline high for 5 weeks straight. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Have a great day, sail fast, and GO USA!

Dean

/by
, , ,

Internet TV and my new station

I’ve been wanting to integrate a video player into my website for a while now. I have a number of shows that I produced while at WETC and would like to try and post more of them on my website once I find a good codec that squeezes them down to a reasonable size and preserves some of the quality I worked so hard to create in my shots. About a year ago I went to a seminar about an emerging technology and company called Brightcove. It’s a lot like YouTube, but you can create your own channel and manage the content displayed there. For example just because I post a video about rock climbing on my player, you wont see a video on my player that someone else made a bout rock climbing. You will only see content that I post there. Like I said the task of capturing, converting, posting, and managing all of those shows is quite daunting, but I have wanted to experiment for a while now. Recently I finally found some media that I could post to experiment with this.

For Christmas my father gave me a helmet cam. It’s great, I have shot a lot of great short video clips, and I started posting them onto my player as a way to share them with the people who I took video of. It’s pretty cool, so I thought I’d post it here and create a link to that player so more people can find and enjoy it. The player is pretty stripped down at the moment, and is very utilitarian, simply accomplishing the goal of sharing the videos, not really making them look too pretty, perhaps eventually I will find a chance to make this player a little nicer looking. In the meantime check it out.

Link: Brightcove
Link: SkiCam

/by
,

Is prime time a waste of time?

It’s September and It’s time again for TV season to get started. I’ve set my PVR to record Heroes, a show I really got into last season, and Journeyman, a show that looks promising. Last season I learned that television networks have little to no commitment to new shows. I started watching Drive on Fox. After a busy week I sat down to catch up on my PVR’d shows, and after only a handful of episodes Drive had been puled and I was stuck with some rerun saved in it’s place. This season I have taken that lesson to heart and will DVR at least the first 5 shows of the season before I decide to start watching any new show. Why should I waste my time in gaining interest in a story line just to see it dropped. In a world with online media, DVR, PVR, and DVD box sets, why should you waste any time watching a story line you will never see completed.

There’s many options when it comes to recording television these days beyond VHS. With the recent advancements in digital television (and no, I’m not pushing HDTV, but that’s a story for another day,) VHS should be your last choice. Whether you get your TV fix from the Network’s website, a DVD recorder (which can be loaded with DVD-RWs for reuse,) a DVR, or a PVR, there’s no reason to be a slave to the networks saying what shows to watch, and when to watch them. What a time to be alive! Now if we could just find a way to avoid radio DJs spoiling television’s surprises the next morning…
/by
, , ,

A closer look at Joost (Joost invite offer)

At this point I have had a chance to take a closer look at Joost, the IPTV program from the makers of Skype & Kazaa. As I said in my initial review, I am very impressed. I think that once more companies buy into their technology Joost will definitely be a major contender in the industry.

The interesting thing about the timing of Joost’s release is that there is increasingly fewer and fewer networks out there who are giving us our television. The big three with Networks with easy to remember acronyms come to mind; ABC, CBS, & NBC. Joost could just be the equalizer that allows more people to get in the shrinking door. The scary thing about the direction that the television industry has been going is that there are less and less options available to the viewers. Sure, it may seem that more and more stations are being added, but in reality there is major consolidations going on at higher levels. This means that the opinions we are seeing are coming from fewer and fewer places.

Joost hits the scene bringing an eclectic collection of programming that you can only imagine will continue to grow. It uses a sleek, stylish design that I think looks really sharp. The video quality is as good or better then I was expecting, and for the most part it keeps right up with the rather monumental task of streaming high quality video. Coupled with a TV output card this is a really wild experience.!

Joost is marketing themselves using street buzz & viral marketing. Joost is available by invite only. So, who wants a Joost invite? Here’s an offer to get yours easily. I will pick three people who will get Joost judging by the comments you leave here. Explain to me why you want to try Joost, and what you think of this marketing strategy, as well as any others you might have noticed recently. Please make sure you include your email address. Good Luck!

/by

Online movie rental services

A few years ago I was in college. During that time I majored in Communication Studies. I didn’t have a minor, because they didn’t offer what I wanted as a minor, but rather as a focus. That focus was in “Television & Video Production.” So when someone asks me what I studied in school I have started to tell them the following; I was a Communications Studies major, with a unofficial concentration in Mass Communications & a focus in Television & Video Production. The reason I bring this up is that I studied film A LOT. I have grown accustomed to watching a lot of movies. This was always a difficult and expensive task. At almost $5.00 per DVD rental it got expensive quickly. Enter Netflix, DVD rentals just got a whole lot easier and a whole lot more affordable. I was loving it, renting movie, after movie, after movie. until I got added to “The Slow List.” I put that in quotes because I am not the first person to be put onto the slow list. This is something that Netflix does often. So what can I do, well I can quit, and I did. My next mouse click was on Blockbuster.com. I was signed up in minutes, and it’s way better then Netflix. For every DVD I take out from their online outfit, I get a coupon for an in store rental. This means that I walk into any Blockbuster store and grab a Movie (or game) and place it on the counter with my membership card. Scan, Scan, & X is due back on Y by Z’oclock. That’s it. Just return it on time. Meanwhile, the moment they scan your online DVD, the next one is scheduled for delivery. It actually gets shipped while you are watching your free DVD. I am so impressed. I know this post sounds like an ad, but it is because it is truly as good of a deal as it sounds like in the commercial. I would defiantly recommend checking it out.To see the ad click the image at the top of this post.

/by
, , ,

Joost: A First Impression

So I received my long sought after Joost invite yesterday. I quickly dropped everything and downloaded the program. After the install was complete I ran the program. What I saw was not what I was expecting, but was really impressive. Joost is like nothing I have ever seen before. The interface at first glance appears to be very intuitive. and the video quality is as good or better then I was expecting. My computer is tied into my TV and watching video on demand on my TV is truly impressive. Of course ParPerView and OnDemand have been available for years, but getting content over the Internet is truly impressive. you get the feeling that you are more in control when this is coming from the Internet to your TV rather then a cable provider’s closed, private network. I have only taken a brief look at the program and will offer a more in depth review in the coming weeks.

For weeks I had been intending to make a post about the future of the television industry, but Joost may have just changed some of my opinions or predictions.

For those people who only surfed here because of the words Joost invite. I will be offering Joost beta test invites in the coming weeks as well, once I receive them.

/by
,

My 24 debacle

Fox decided to have a 4 hour premier event for their hit show 24. At face value this seemed like a great idea. I must say though that it was terribly excited because I really enjoy 24. But there were a couple of problems. First off, Fox decided to put the premier of 24 up against playoff football, and to start it an hour earlier then usual. Since the show was also being aired on a Sunday (during a holiday weekend) my schedule was different, and I was not home to catch it. No problem, it’s 2007, and if you are enough into a show into a show that you can’t miss an episode, there are a few options open to you. You either watch the episode with commercials on the fox website, or download it from iTunes (usually for around $3.) When I returned from New Hampshire, I had every intention of buying & downloading the first 2 episodes I had missed from iTunes. But leave it to Fox to try and get more money out of it’s viewers. Fox had decided to sell the first 4 episodes on DVD starting the day after the premier event. Because of this the episodes weren’t available anywhere on theInternet (legally anyways.) Sure there were plenty of opportunities to download this episode from other fans who record it and are sharing it online with other fans, but this starts to enter into a bit of an ethical/legal debacle.

I guess my big issue is that Fox’s greed to make a few more dollars by selling a DVD of the first 4 episodes forces a fan who wanted to catch the 2nd night’s 2 episodes, to either download the episodes illegally, or to read an online synopsis of the content they missed. Since the whole concept of 24 is time, you CAN’T miss an hour, and this was a major oversight. I guess it’s not such a big deal, because it will all probably become available on iTunes in a few days, but I definitely feel like I was/am being taken for a ride on this one.

/by
, , , ,

Getting back in the swing of things

Well I had a big headache with the final mile of the computer restoration project. Specifically the program I use to encode the video you see on this website. It is up and running now, and ther eis a new program posted. Check out “SWAT” in the work section. It’s a piece I shot last month about the special weapons and tactics training program, held throughout the metro Boston area.

I do still have 3 programs to install before I am totally done with my big project, but it should all be smooth sailing from here. Count on my promised post regarding protecting yourself from that computer catastrophe by the end of this week.

/by