Tech - VIDEO GRANDPA

The Cheap Podcast Studio

It turns out people are still podcasting. So here's a cheap setup that'll get you the best bang for your buck.

Problem with Wacom Tablet in Chrome? Here are Some Things to Try

I use a Wacom tablet as my mouse. Recently I had to build a new laptop, and half the time when I tried to click something in Chrome it didn’t work. The first thing I found to try was turning off “Use hardware acceleration when available” in the Advanced

Podcast

Decrypting the Living Room

In this special we look at the technical details of the consumer side of the industry, from TVs and game consoles to the marketing-speak that confuses everyone. HDMI, HDCP, 4K, HDR, VR – if it’s been debated in a comments section, we’ll cover it.

Management

The Importance of Inclusive Diversity

Not too long ago I attended an event for broadcast engineers. After more than one welcome to “engineers and wives,” a speaker talked about how important it is for us to bring new people into broadcast engineering. I, and many others, nodded in agreement. Then they handed out gendered raffle

Tech

Ubiquiti US-16-XG Beta - Invalid Firmware Fix

Taking a beta switch out of beta with a particular set of firmware

Tech

HDR Explained for Regular People

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. When an HDR source like a game or video is displayed on an HDR TV, there’s a much bigger difference between dark stuff and light stuff than there is on a regular TV.

Tech

Does Star Trek Teleportation Just Kill You?

In prep for our teleportation podcast, I remembered a conversation I had years ago with @gregbobak about teleportation in Star Trek, and if it’s actually you that comes out the other end.

Distribution

How the "Meet Me at Starbucks" YouTube Ad Works

A coworker sent over a link to this Starbucks ad campaign, interested to know more about the technology behind the YouTube integration. So of course I pulled it apart to get down to the secret guts. Basically, it’s an external web page, hosted on Amazon S3 and Cloudfront, that

Gaming

So You Want to Work at IGN?

Today there are a bunch of open jobs up at IGN, in both Editorial and Video, that I’m sure a lot of you are eyeing or even applying for. But stop! Take a breath, and make sure you’re doing it right. Here are a few quick tips to

Copyright

The Twitch Hunts: How to Fix Automated Copyright Enforcement

Well, here we are again. I’ve written before about the dangers of automated enforcement before, and very little has changed. This time it’s Twitch, which has implemented a system that will scan for, flag, and mute copyrighted music in VOD’s. It’s going about how you’d

Adobe

AVerMedia ExtremeCap U3: Review, Walkthrough & Quality Comparisons

AVerMedia sent me one of their new ExtremeCap U3 capture units, which promises 1080p60 H.264 and uncompressed capture options for under $200. I’ve spent the past month putting it through its paces. Check out the video coverage:

4k

Netflix Didn't Win CES

Last week The Verge ran an article about How Netflix won CES – they also named Netflix “Biggest Story” in their Best of CES 2014 awards. By the end of the show, every major TV company had announced support for Netflix in 4K. That’s a big deal: as 4K sets

Adobe

OS X Mavericks Production Software & Driver Compatibility

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, OS X Mavericks (10.9) released yesterday, and it’s free. But should you upgrade? If you’re in production, check this list first to see if your software is compatible. Obviously this list is only current as of 10/23/

Copyright

"Mistaken" DMCA Notice Kills Benefit for Children's Miracle Network

Well here we go again: another live stream killed by overzealous, negligent, and ultimately abusive application of the DMCA. Tonight’s UMG Gaming COD tournament was unexpectedly cut short, with viewers now seeing the following page: What’s so much worse about this specific case is that all proceeds were

Featured

The Best Stuff to Travel With

I’ve been traveling for a significant portion of my career. Tokyo, Amsterdam, Vancouver, Illinois, even Timbuktu – I’ve lived in many a hotel room. In that much time, you tend to fall into a pattern of travel, which includes figuring out what you can bring along to make being

Featured

Criminalizing Gameplay Capture Hurts Everyone

Since E3 we’ve been talking a lot about what the gameplay capture landscape will look like when the new consoles launch this fall – specifically, whether or not we’ll be able to capture using anything besides Sony’s or Microsoft’s built-in tools. This centers around HDCP – High-bandwidth Digital

Android

OUYA Videos: Review, First Impressions, and Emulators

Ramping up to E3, Ty and I spent a lot of time with the OUYA. We documented our first experiences with it, played some games, emulated some NES and other classics, and finally returned a review. Here’s all those videos in one place.

5D

Monoprice DSLR Shotgun Microphone Review vs Rode VideoMic

Wondering if Monoprice’s $40 DSLR mic is any good? Wonder no more: we tried it & put it up against the Rode VideoMic.

Audio

Zoom H4n vs Tascam DR-60D

Can Tascam’s DR-60D dethrone the reigning king of DSLR audio recorders, the Zoom H4n? The (cat) verdict is in.

Microsoft

Shut Up About Microsoft's Stock and the Xbox One

In the midst of the pile of news that came out of today, some were quick to jump on news that Sony’s stock gained about 9% today, while Microsoft’s lost almost 1%. TechCrunch went so far as to say the Xbox “fails to woo investors.” You’re doing

Apple

How to Install Windows 8 + Boot Camp 5 on an Unsupported Mac

While we’re stuck waiting for the “something really great” for pro users that Apple keeps promising, a lot of us are still limping along on older hardware. This is starting to present some compatibility problems, as software has started dropping support for the aging yet functional machines in our

BitTorrent

BitTorrent Sync Is Dropbox Without Dropbox

Despite my less than glowing reaction to BitTorrent Live, I’ve been really excited to see peer-to-peer distribution being used for legitimate tasks. From Eve Online’s client updates to beating Justin Timberlake on iTunes (albeit briefly), BitTorrent Inc. is showing that the peer-to-peer protocol can move past its pirate

Audio

Tascam DR-60D Audio Recorder Review

In our first-ever product review, we take a look at the Tascam DR-60D – a 4-track audio recorder designed for on-set production. Does the cat like it? Find out below.

Blackmagic

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Hands-On

Blackmagic has made their presence known in the camera world with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, and this year’s NAB saw the introduction of two more cameras to BM’s stable. @gibsonfilms took a look at the smaller option, the $995 Pocket Cinema Camera – a 2k camera that takes Micro

Encoding

Matrox Monarch: Specs and Details from NAB 2013

I’ve been yelling a lot about the Matrox Monarch since it popped up at IBC last fall: a stand-alone H.264 streaming/capture device that has no competition, but does have tons of uses in production. It was officially unveiled this past Monday at the NAB 2013 show in