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two months since my last entry. . .
2002-12-15 17:16:41
And what am i going to do? bitch about mp3
anyone usinge cdex to strip audio from a cd for amv purposes has discovered how useful a tool it is especially being free.
well, after i started getting 120gig drives, out of sake of using the space i just started ripping cd's for convenience into the copmuter, most at 128kps mp3s.
conveniant yes, practical . . .to me no. . .
I always knew it was muddying the audio quality a great deal, as i'm very anal about sound. . ask quu or mcwagner. but i couldn't understand to what extent until i got bored last night.
After x-over/bandpassing/and eq-ing i discovered a profound weakness in the LAME mp engine.
heavy artefacting. . .clicking, sine wave modulation issues. .
dropouts. . .
the problem must lie in the algorhythm used in the compression (because i unchecked on the fly and it still gave problems.) Lame itself is the weakness, as i can't get the problem to happen in the other codecs, or layers. Layer 2 in mp1, or mpeg2s don't create the problem.
so once again, uncompressed is the only way to go for video editing.
if all your stuff is downloaded for free off the net, do yourself a favour. . . .go buy the cd. say thank you to the artist who wrote/sang the song you thought was cool enough to make the video. . .
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Copyrights. . ..and fair (hah) use
2002-10-18 17:39:41
I read in pc world, they had a detail on the DMCA and other such copy thingies. Now i don't mind big business trying to protect its interest, but now they're talking about how big business is stepping on the fair use laws to protect they're copyrights.
Supposedly, Intel is working on a hard chip on their motherboards which would be able to be programmed for various 'piracy control' methods, including digitally signing programs, file manipulation, and blocking certain content. A cd could have a string of code on it that would be read by this chip on the motherboard with instructions, like "only play, disable wave recording device while playing, do not allow track at once digital extraction" or other similar copyright instructions. . .
this tech inst new or anything, but its gaining popularity, and lawmaker support. I disagree with the DMCA law, because it says if i do ANYTHING to work around that kind of digital security feature, i've broken the law. This clashes with the fair use laws which say I have the right to copy for backup, copy to another medium, or copy for educational purposes, so long as no commercial value is extracted at the expense of the rights holder.
So why bring this up? Because there arent alot of computer geeks in us government to help defend our rights. People in hollywood and riaa are buying off the stupider or less computer literate congress/senate members with their campaign $$$ and telling them we're eveil and its okay to step on our rights.
the article in pc world talks about a few key players: first enemy:
Senator Ernest Hollings: Democrat from SC. he proposed a bill to outlaw the sale of any computer, tv, or other electronic media device if it didn't have a copy-protection technology in it. Who lines his campaign wallet? Almost $300,000 from tv/movie industry.
Representative Howard Berman, Democrat from CA. He's the numbskull who threw the bill on the floor that would give the RIAA the right to hack a Peer-2-peer computer if the riaa thought they were pirates. his bank? $570,000
Representative Howard Coble, Republican from NC. He sponsored the original Digital Millenium Copyright Act piece of trash, and is back ol Berman on RIAA being able to hack p2p computers. his bank totals $150,000.
So we look at this and notice that both republicans and democrats don't have a clear clue. they're just following the instructions of their purse strings with hollywood on the other end. ALl three are also over 45, showing they have lost touch with current technologies and uses. what can we do? obviously we cant rally the $$$ of hollywood or actors or whatever, but we can use our votes next elections, and we can thank the ones who are fighting, like::
Representative Rick Boucher, Democrat from VA. He's been bad mouthing the DMCA since it passed in 1998, and been trying to get it amended or repealed in favour of a better law. And who pulls in for his campaign dollars? Computer industry. . .and how much? . . . .
. . .only $26,000.
wheres the justice. If we cant scrounge up the $$$ lets at least say thank you to those who have the clue. ;/ -
Bargain Watch
2002-10-11 16:42:32
Hey guys, for those of us who can't or don't use pricewatch for whateevr reason, retail stores are usually not competetive with pricing. HEre's some cool things i've noticed in circulars.
@ OFFICE MAX
Hi-val CDR 48x16x48 $79.99 - theres a instant $30 rebate making it [$50] which is good for a retail store. And don't knock Hi-val, its either a mitsumi or a sony burner under the cheapy label.
add this and distro your stuff at cons! -
Kanchou. . Post AWA
2002-10-04 12:25:56
phew.
lots of things to discuss. Events, panelists, and many people i pissed off, oh my.
[/kasumi]
stay tuned tho, and hit the AWA message board for AMV info on our con.
www.awa-con.com -
Otakon Showing
2002-07-30 21:41:49
Quu tells me he showed my "Not Dead Yet" video at the AMV panel and is trying to convince me that people actually enjoyed it and asked him about it afterwards.
Which convinced my little bitty ego to drop this note about it. Yep, it was mine. Yep it was done on 2 vcrs. Thanks to anyone who asked.
JOURNAL: madmallard (TJ Hamilton)
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