tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303270762009-07-14T08:03:25.335+02:00For television professionals. Technical tips, editing tips, random thoughts, inspirational advice, rants. Mostly editing-focussed, but also featuring broadcasting, camera issues, VJing, Apple Mac stuff... and more!Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-6809789345018699442009-06-25T17:18:00.004+02:002009-06-25T17:22:17.630+02:00

A very useful utility for the Mac is NTFS-3G. It's a peculiar name. Anyway, the latest version installs very simply (automatically installs the required "MacFUSE" without needing a separate download/install), and works straight away.With NTFS-3G installed, you can read (and write to) NTFS-formatted volumes easily. This is very useful in a mixed-platform environment where you want to be able to

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-87716702864607791372009-05-20T08:52:00.004+02:002009-05-20T09:02:35.153+02:00

We've been having such issues with rising 3G bills in the last 3 months, and couldn't work out why it was happening. Finally, discovered that the OS X "Software Update" has a setting "download important updates automatically", which doesn't do exactly what you think. I mean, for some of us, the latest version of iTunes is not exactly an "important update". Be sure to switch this off!I eventually

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-23964514101735085262009-05-18T15:43:00.002+02:002009-05-18T15:52:46.075+02:00

A great site where AI or EPS (vector illustration) versions of most company logos can be found (including South African ones): www.brandsoftheworld.comVery useful for those corporate videos! Often better quality than the ones the client tries to e-mail to you.

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-80355716081206052492009-04-24T11:49:00.005+02:002009-04-24T12:02:02.571+02:00

We've hooked up two of our biggest edit suites with dual fibre channel cables now, into our Xsan. So each of them has 8Gbps bandwidth. In practice, I've seen one edit suite system hitting a peak of about 360MB/s (2880mbps) and levelling off at 320MB/s quite comfortably. Of course, you could go even further, and get quad-port fibre channel HBAs - a 4Gbps version will therefore offer 16Gbps. I

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-74917749429428053812009-04-24T10:04:00.003+02:002009-04-24T10:08:58.051+02:00

Here's a classic shot: COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) General Sectretary Zwelinzima Vavi, on SABC 3 News, talking from what are presumably the COSATU offices... And there is his shiny new MacBook pro behind him? Wow, the Trade Unionists have style!

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-77969260191215765212009-04-17T17:07:00.002+02:002009-04-17T17:10:37.107+02:00

Had to help import some footage stored on a memory card of a Sony Z7. This is HDV footage (not XDCAM like Sony's other card-based cameras), but it is in an unusual "M2T" format, which you can't just import directly into FCP.The answer is to visit this page and download the Final Cut Pro 6 "plugin". Install the package, restart Final Cut Pro, and then you can use the "Log and Transfer" option in

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-71290751786819487922009-04-08T12:52:00.005+02:002009-04-08T13:06:38.552+02:00

Our PS3Eye camera has arrived, but it's proving quite tricky to get the thing working on the Mac. I've downloaded macam, which supposedly supports the camera just fine - but it still doesn't work! On my Mac Pro, plugging in the camera immediately disables the keyboard and mouse completely. So I tried it on my MacBook Pro, which kind of works - even to the point of being able to click the "play"

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-15896364007929455672009-03-31T12:00:00.004+02:002009-03-31T12:03:11.005+02:00

Our IR bandpass filter has arrived! ABOVE: Weird, huh? It gives off this strange reddish reflection, although you can't see any visible light through it at all.ABOVE: They wrapped this thing well. Had to get all the way from the US to South Africa!ABOVE: Uh, thanks for the cute handwritten note. Obviously I'm not the first one to try put this thing into a PS3 Eye Toy camera!

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-1965631101953839312009-03-23T12:53:00.005+02:002009-03-23T13:01:12.133+02:00

I see that the ygboX project on sourceforge (sourceforge.net/projects/ygbox) has now hit over 500 downloads. Not massive, but there is definitely some interest out there.I do get e-mails from time to time, from users with various queries. I hope to point you to our Forum Pages: one is specifically for Help using ygboX; the other is aimed at Developers.I really need some developers to come on

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-36658553725609946722009-03-20T10:24:00.004+02:002009-03-23T13:02:09.652+02:00

A lot of Mac fans have probably been wondering for some time now why no Apple computers feature Blu-ray drives. And Final Cut Studio users have been wondering why there is absolutely no sign of Blu-ray authoring support.Here follows some conjecture.The one possibility is that Apple is simply "waiting" till Blu-ray becomes a runaway success (which it isn't). They might also be waiting till Blu-ray

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-24764294240626025562009-03-19T17:40:00.001+02:002009-03-19T13:22:58.801+02:00

After building our first working prototype, I'm not very happy with the FTIR technique. Before you criticise, I will admit that our particular version is probably not perfect, i.e. we could improve it (more LED's? different wavelength? better camera?), but even then some major drawbacks will remain.We have decided to move on and attempt to build a Laser Light Plane (LLP) table. (See how LLP

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-74679276091073777592009-03-19T12:27:00.006+02:002009-03-19T13:22:58.802+02:00

Very, very rough. Did I mention rough? Here are some pics of the FTIR multi-touch screen in action:ABOVE: "Ghosting" of the image is a problem. It's because of our multiple layers of perspex and glass, and all the internal reflection going on. FYI, the interface goodies above are created using the ControlP5 library for Processing.ABOVE: Tracking lots of points quite easily, which is good. Just

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-46394555264224495262009-03-18T16:55:00.008+02:002009-03-19T13:13:34.675+02:00

In my previous post, I mentioned how using a single sheet of perspex (plexiglass) for the touch surface and projection surface was not a good idea...We therefore tried a different configuration (imagine this is looking side-on):------ Touch Surface --------PERSPEX 6mm thick--------------------------(Small air gap, about 1mm)------Projection Surface------Glass 3mm thick-------------------------We

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-77653661384630531952009-03-16T16:47:00.009+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.310+02:00

ABOVE: A close-up view of the perspex (with polished edges) resting on the frame, with InfraRed LED's on circuit boards pointing edge-on.ABOVE: The wooden frame and "table" we built for the system. Shown with only two of the LED strips, and no perspex in place.ABOVE: Wire leading into the frame through a small gap (the gaps double as air holes to allow a bit of ventillation since the LEDS and

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-32882084518910255342009-03-12T17:27:00.002+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.313+02:00

It's not just a myth! Frustrated Total Internal Reflection works!I tested in a darkened room (although I also had my IR bandpass filter mounted on the camera). I literally tested with the perspex resting on a chair, and someone holding up two short strips of LEDs against two of the edges... The camera sees nothing, then... You press your fingertips on the perspex, and suddenly there are little

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-68488675044998788112009-03-12T12:27:00.004+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.314+02:00

Took a few steps closer today towards our working prototype.The perspex has now had its edges polished. We purchased P330, P400 and P600 strips of sandpaper - the number refers to the density of "grit" in the paper, i.e. higher numbers have much finer grit. I took the advice from a page entitled FTIR Touchscreen Hardware FAQ, which recommended working with the low-grit (very rough) sandpaper

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-84023501754860905092009-03-06T15:20:00.004+02:002009-03-19T13:14:36.434+02:00

It seems that one of the increasingly popular ways of building multi-touch screens involves using InfraRed lasers instead of LEDs. The method of generating "blobs" on touch points is therefore not FTIR, because the laser "line" is actually projecting on a plane just in front of the surface, not inside it. For example, the "NUI Group" created prototypes of what they're calling "LLP" (Laser Light

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-44083351576248543762009-03-06T12:56:00.004+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.317+02:00

Our IR bandpass filter has arrived!Such a strange filter. It is totally black! You cannot see through it at all, not even when looking at bright sunlight.As soon as our "night vision"-enabled handycam comes back, I'm going to give it a try.(The filter is a 30mm size (for small handycam), RG-780 Schott Media 780nm IR Pass Filter.)

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-27272599561373670272009-03-04T09:59:00.002+02:002009-03-04T10:05:46.137+02:00

So Apple today released a new line of iMacs, Mac Pros (still look the same) and... new Mac Minis!I'm particularly happy about the Mac Minis, which were long overdue for an upgrade. As I had suspected, they have put the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor, which is waaaaay better than the old Intel one. So now the Mac Mini becomes a decent system for doing editing, graphics,

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-33234785173003750232009-02-24T15:14:00.002+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.318+02:00

Got some more of the components today:Here we have 60 x InfraRed LED's, 60 x 680ohm resistors (for stepping down voltage for each LED), and a 500x400mm (8mm thick) clear perspex.

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-21352824235457954332009-02-19T14:38:00.005+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.319+02:00

While I'm busy building the software, we are trying to source all the parts needed to build a very rough "prototype" of the touch screen system.What we have so far:The computer, and the software to process the touch pointsA projectorI've just found the right camera, as well! Here it is:It's very much a garden-variety Sony Handycam, a HDR-HC3E to be precise. It's a DV/HDV camera, provided courtesy

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-26609843259419364402009-02-19T14:21:00.004+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.320+02:00

But how are we going to build a multi-touch screen, you ask?Or even: why are you building one? Surely you can just buy a touchscreen? Three reasons we need to build our own:We ultimately want to build a very large (3m high!) version, which would be either impossible to find, or ridiculously expensive.We want to be able to track multiple points on the screen ("multi-touch"), not just simulate a

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-48853568868912814472009-02-19T10:03:00.007+02:002009-03-19T13:14:20.321+02:00

I am busy attempting to build a multi-touch screen powered by Processing.I've included a screenshot of my Processing application that will eventually power the touch screen. Since we haven't built the actual touch screen yet, the webcam is currently just tracking any "dark" objects in its frame, and treating those as "Touch Points".I am using the built-in Processing "Video" library to get the

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-71006295021837286592009-02-19T08:42:00.004+02:002009-02-19T09:03:39.099+02:00

Funny, you'd think someone like me would have discovered Processing (processing.org) a long time go, seeing as I've been playing with Quartz Composer for so long, and I love interactive visualizations.(If you've never seen Processing in action, check out the Exhibition section on the Processing site. There are plenty of examples; some even work in your browser.)Anyway, better late than

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327076.post-71133105310213322402009-01-29T10:59:00.003+02:002009-01-29T11:04:06.605+02:00

This is for real. A massive LED advertising display on the corner of one of the busiest intersections in the most prestigious business area in South Africa: the corner of Grayston and Rivonia in Sandton!Yet another reason why Windows is not a good platform for digital signage applications.

Stephen Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17059891232922196507noreply@blogger.com1