Blogs

It’s frustrating when you get an email from a reader that you don’t know the answer to. Here’s one from an overseas streamer who is releasing very topical videos on their site, and despite using RTMPE+ token authorization, suffered massive piracy. Here are the questions, which I only partially responded to. I am looking for suggestions before and after the …

Though Final Cut Pro X is billed as an upgrade, it’s really a totally new program in most respects. New interface to learn, new plug-ins, new project files, no looking back for Apple. So if you’re a Final Cut Pro 7 editor, you have to choose a new editor. The two most logical choices are FCPX and Adobe CS 5.5, …

I reviewed MediaPlatform’s WebCaster product for Streaming Media Magazine and loved it. Here’s the intro; check out the full review here. Webcasts are a great tool for acquiring and retaining customers. They’re also great for training and communicating to both employees and partners. If you’re considering presenting webcasts for any of these reasons, MediaPlatform, Inc.’s WebCaster should be on your …

Just finished a four-part series on converting DVD-based content for H.264-based adaptive streaming, and you can read all four parts on OnlineVideo.net. Technical issues that I covered included: The best technique for ripping the video from the DVDs The best editor for assembling the various VOB files for streaming encoding Pre-encoding filtering and deinterlacing Choosing parameters for adaptive streaming Encoding …

There’s been lots of sizzle around HTML5, but to my mind, very little steak. Last week I chatted with a developer from the Annenberg Space for Photography, who has created a pretty beefy site that works in Flash and may soon work in HTML5. I guess I’m a sucker for video presentations that foster interactivity, and Annenberg’s is great for …

I compare four H.264 encoders in this article on OnlineVideo.net. Here’s the gripping introduction: OK, so you’re cheap and in a hurry and you just want the answer to a single question, “What’s the best free H.264 encoder?” Well, you’re in the right place, in this short review; I compare HandBreak, Miro Video Converter, MPEG Streamclip, and Apple Compressor 4. …

Most camcorders capture audio at 48 kHz, so there’s a natural tendency to produce your streaming files at that sample rate. There’s just one problem; it can cause loss of audio/video synch during playback on the Flash Player. Andy Stevenson of the University of Manchester reported this in an interesting thread on the Linked In Streaming Media Professionals group last …

Creative Cow just published a thorough and thoughtful story about switching from Final Cut Pro to Premiere Pro, written by Helmut Kobler, and entitled A Final Cutter Tries Out Premiere Pro. Kobler starts by noting that he had been considering moving from the Apple platform for several years, as he “started to sense that Final Cut, along with all of …

OnlineVideo.net published my review of Apple's Final Cut Pro X here. At about 3500 words, it's one of the longest reviews I've written in awhile, with 16 screen shots. My conclusion? While not fully rendered, my project is done, and this review almo

By now you've probably heard that Final Cut Pro X lacks many features that professionals need, including the ability to load Final Cut Pro 7 projects, multicam support, plug-in support, OML or EDL support and tape output. Judging from the noise on bl