Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Multimedia

Help me fix my wireless streaming video setup!

killdevil — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:27:22 -0800

I want to stream video at 720p from a storage server on my apartment LAN to wirelessly-connected clients. I've set up FreeNAS on an old laptop, but the setup isn't even fast enough to stream standard def movies without stuttering. Tell me what I'm doing wrong, and how I can fix it. More details about my setup inside My setup is as follows:

FreeNAS 0.7 running on a vintage ThinkPad X30. The OS (FreeNAS is a special-purpose FreeBSD distro) is loaded from a USB key.

eSATA PC card in the X30 provides the connection to a 1.5Tb eSATA external hard drive. The drive is shared out to windows clients via samba.

Laptop is plugged directly into a Linksys WRT54g V2 wireless router running the latest DD-WRT firmware. Router's wireless LAN is 802.11g.

I can mount the remote drive on my laptop with no problem, but transfer rates are no faster than 200Kb/s. I suspect that 802.11g is the culprit here, though I could be wrong. Would an 802.11n router be fast enough to stream 720p to other machines on the wireless network, or will I have to resort to a wired network to fix this?

Slideshow like a pro!

milkdropcoronet — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:06:50 -0800

Multimedia Journalism Filter: How do you make a New York Times-style photo slideshow? Is there an easy way to make photo essays? I like the simplicity of the NYT slideshows (see example here): they keep it simple with just a photo and a short caption against a black background.

I've Googled a few programs but many of them don't have the storytelling aspect that the NYT design does (clear navigation options, the ability to add text/narrative). Photo programs like iPhoto or Flickr don't have the caption option (that I've seen). And of course a free program is preferred. I'm no web whiz, so minimal technical know-how also preferred (i.e. no plug-ins or coding please)

If anyone's had success making narrative photo essays (image + text) let me know what programs you recommend! Many thanks.

PS The NYT has a "Teaching and Learning About Journalism" education section online, but I couldn't find any technical/production information.

how can I learn to create multimedia?

Wolfster — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:28:24 -0800

How can I best learn multimedia? Recommended programs or ways to learn? Best examples of multimedia that you have seen on the web? I am currently a medical writer, but have been enamored by the idea of being able to create my own graphic animations to demonstrate how a drug works on a molecular level, etc (I know the material could be even more accessible and interesting i.f such animations were used). From time to time, a potential client reaches out to me and inquires as to whether I could offer both medical writing and multimedia services.

I’ve also thought it would/could be fun to try science writing on the side, with games, animations…either looking for potential markets (eg, education for university students, book supplemental, CDs) or writing on my own and seeing if it goes anywhere.

Because this interests me, I thought I would query the hive mind as to ideas as to how best learn multimedia, and suggestions for best programs/practices, etc.

My questions include:

1. Best program or programs? What tends to be used for webpages, ppt, or CDs? The best “wow”/CD animations that can be created, either for a webpage, ppt, or CD.

I am going to be honest and say that I don’t have much of a background in programming. I’d be willing to invest time, but not thousands of hours of time. I’m not sure what skills I even need to learn or if I learn how to use program X, could that be used to create a webpage and/or CD, too.

2. Best examples of multimedia that you have seen on the web (to tell a story, to teach a concept – it is related to #1, that would be great).

3. Would anyone know the market rate for something like this? There are tasks I am motivated to learn just for myself, but if this is only going to pay $50/hour or less for medical writing plus multimedia… it isn’t worth my time as a business investment (maybe as a fun/side project, but I won't want to invest 300 hours time plus a $1000 program). So if anyone knows rates and is willing to share ...(feel free to memail me if you don’t want to share that info in a public forum).

4. Would it be better to collaborate with multimedia people vs trying to acquire this skill on my own? Or do a hybrid of this? Perhaps by learning to create a basic animation and letting someone with more art skills enhance it.

5. Because I don't really understand the skill sets I am trying to acquire - is this the same skill or several skills? For example, if I wanted to create a phenomal webpage or a great animation for a PowerPoint - one program or several programs?

Should I use llvm, or yacc/lex or what?

idiopath — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:50:53 -0800

Should I use llvm as a backend for my multimedia programming language, is there a better alternative? I am working on a personal multimedia programming project, where I want to compile visual directed graphs into audio / video synthesis chains. Basically, this will be Max/MSP or PD with some "syntactic" differences, and better integration of video/image rendering. My approach right now is to parse an SVG file containing the graph and compile that into a runnable application. At this point my program is written in c and uses the expat library to load the SVG and parse it into a directed graph ready for compilation. Ideally I could eventually have a self-hosting compiler where all the source code would be expressed as visually laid out graphs, but I do understand that it could realistically be years of work to get to that stage.

I am looking for suggestions for the compilation stage. I could use csound or the supercollider scsynth backend, or even produce a valid PD file, but I think that for the kind of audio/video integration I want, and the kind of performance I would need from this sort of app, that compiling to machine code or at least low level byte code that can access system libraries would be best.

Which brings me to the question: what is my best approach here? I am under the impression that the JVM and Parrot are a bit more overhead than I want, I am skeptical of the .Net/Mono CLR route because it is a Microsoft technology and I just want as little to do with them as possible. Making a full fledged GCC extension frontend seems like a large amount of work, which leaves me leaning toward llvm.

Is this a wise choice? How usable is llvm, is there something else with better performance or a more straightforward usage scenario for multimedia?

Why has it taken so long for internet multimedia to match TV and telephones in speed and latency?

lunchbox — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:34:46 -0800

Why has it taken so long for internet multimedia to match TV and telephones in speed and latency? It was only recently that my internet connection finally became able to deliver decent-quality streaming video & audio, and reliable voice over IP that doesn't suffer from delays and distortions. Yet this quality of video and audio multimedia has been possible for many decades through TV, telephone, and radio. Why is it seemingly so much more challenging technologically to deliver high-throughput signals over the internet than through these traditional media? Is it because one is digital and one is analog? Or because of the internet has a more complex architecture? Or something else?

Help me find an artist for collaboration.

nosila — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:23:06 -0800

I have a story and I'm looking for an artist to collaborate for little to no money on a sci-fi comic book. I will pay for the actual production (it will be a limited run to accompany a record), so I have at least that to offer to the artist. Know of any websites/forums that help foster this labor-of-love type collaboration between media? So far, I've placed ads at tribe.net and in the rpgnet forum for free art/writing.

Do you know of any other places where I might find an excellent artist for said collaboration? (Of course, mefites and friends are welcome to inquire within.) Thanks in advance!

If I can't find a job it's down to Dad and Myrtle Beach

riane — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:54:38 -0800

What person, place or thing in Myrtle Beach, SC, lends itself to a multimedia piece? I'm heading down to Myrtle Beach with my dad, sister and dad's girlfriend for a week. We'll get there Feb. 21, this Saturday. I've got about a month of school left and need to get some stuff done on vacation, so I don't run out of time.

Long story short, I'd really like to get a multimedia piece out of the way. I'll be coming at it from a photojournalistic standpoint so I want something that will work photographically, but I also need some audio and video and possibly a "talking head" kind of interview to run through the whole thing.

I've been thinking about plopping myself down on the beach and shooting everything that walks by me, or maybe a specific old diner or shop, or a specific interesting neighbourhood? I've done the hard-hitting stuff before and sort of want something a little more light and fun.

I can travel a bit, but not excessively so.

Any ideas? I'll take any suggestions.

Heartrate monitor for computer?

cccorlew — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:54:59 -0800

I'm looking USB heartrate monitor I'm doing a multimedia project and want to feed heart rate data (actually just the beat, not even the numerical rate) into my computer and read it in MAX/MSP.
I'd prefer a finger clip or ear clip model.
I can find all sorts of monitors, buy none that will let me grab the signal from it. They're all stand alone units.
Suggestions?

What are the best programs that can convert almost ALL kinds of video files and vice-versa?

omaralarifi — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:59:44 -0800

What are the best programs (paid/shareware/freeware/open source) that can convert almost ALL kinds of video files and vice-versa? All sort of video files such as : MJPEG · Motion JPEG 2000 · MPEG-1 · MPEG-2 · MPEG-4 ASP · MPEG-4/AVC · H.120 · H.261 · H.262 · H.263 · H.264 · AMV · AVS · Bink · Dirac · Indeo · Pixlet · RealVideo · RTVideo · SheerVideo · Smacker · Snow · Theora · VC-1 · VP6 · VP7 · VP8 · WMV · 3GP · ASF · AVI · Bink · DMF · DPX · EVO · FLV · Matroska · MPEG-PS · MPEG-TS · MP4 · MXF · NUT · Ogg · Ogg Media · QuickTime · RealMedia · Smacker · RIFF · VOB · AIFF · AU · WAV · FLA · Flash · and others

Note: It does not concern me if it a paid software or free.

Also are there programs that can rip VCD, SVCD, so the I can burn the files into DVD?

Thanks

Thinking about hiring out some video production...

aught — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:18:39 -0800

The company I work for is interested in doing more with video clips in multimedia/video sales pieces (for tradeshows and sales visits) as well as smaller Flash web pieces for our company site. To that end, one of our marketing managers is starting to talk to video production houses in our area about doing some shoots to give us stock video footage to use in our marketing campaigns. What are the questions you would ask when talking to such outfits you're thinking about hiring? What are the industry standards for video deliverables (file types and formats that can then be redeployed via Premier or Flash into a variety of media)? What red flags should we look for that indicate someone doesn't know what they're talking about and should not be contracted? Thanks!

How to best handle my iTunes library?

arniec — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:47:29 -0800

What is the easiest and best way for me to share my large iTunes multimedia library amongst 4 Macs? I have a multimedia library (mostly MP3 files ripped from my personal collection, a few purchased iTunes songs some with DRM somewithout, and one or two movies/TV shows purchased from iTunes) that is approaching 100GB. This is stored currently on a 100GB external hard drive.

My wife and I have 4 computers; we each have a desktop and a laptop. All 4 are authorized on our shared iTunes account for our content.

Currently the library is hooked into my Airport Extreme's USB port. As the router uses little power and is always on, it seemed the best way to share the files across the network. However we have 2 problems:

1) To add this library to a computer takes overnight. It must process all the files on the drive, then cover index, etc. This isn't a problem if it were a one time thing or even once per computer but...

2) When one of us purchases more music, etc. it only appears on one computer at most (if, for example, we make a DRM free purchase at Amazon it shows up on no computers).

As we like to keep our media organized by Artist, Album, Song, we end up having to purge our entire iTunes library and re-add it (taking, again, overnight) to find the few tracks added.

What I want is a simple way to have the library on all 4 computers and when any computer adds a file all computers see it.

Bonus points: 1) If one of us accidentally opens a file like an MP3 sent by e-mail in iTunes and then deletes it, it does not cause a dead link on all computers.

2) Uber bonus points if there is also a way to share these files with my X-Box/PS3/multimedia receiver to play my music in our living room.

Thank you hive mind! Help me see the links I can't see for myself in this conundrum.

open source questions for ya

yonation — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:58:09 -0800

drupal vs joomla. some questions inside. 2 questions:

a) we're setting up a website for a film client who wants to be able to add a lot of multimedia (esp. video) to their site. bandwidth providing, which is the better CMS for this kind of serving?

b) which is easier to skin/template/etc? i'm quite comfortable with php/css and the concepts of of semantic skinning (eg wordpress and shopify). which of these follows more easily from knowing those two sites?

Job Interview help for a DVD menu position, what are the essentials I need to know?

0217174 — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:37:07 -0800

Job Interview help for a DVD menu position, what are the essentials I need to know? The position is not a design or DVD authoring position, it handles regionalization using 'regionalization tools'. The job description didn't list any extensive experience, mostly asked for interpersonal type of skills (attention to detail, motivated, etc). Technical requirements only lists Adobe CS Suite. I'm suprised there's no software/technology requirements (They list DVD production as 'desirable')

So I am guessing either this position is low-level and more about production than skills. But it does pay in the 50-60k range so I don't know if it's more complex than it sounds? I know regionalization is basically making sure the menus function in multi languages, I'm familiar with it and seen really simple software that's incredibly easy to use.

Am I missing something here? Anyone know exactly what this position is and can tell me if it's the 'janitors' of the multimedia job world? =) Thanks.

a dream preferred

pinto — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:50:22 -0800

I'm looking for a dynamic, multimedia online portfolio system. Does such a thing exist? Kind of like a flickr model, but for different media types and personal domains. (details inside) My dream: To simply upload a file in a particular folder on a server, and have my portfolio (or gallery) automatically update and add the new media to its current presentation. FTP transfer preferred over a web interface, but whatever.

Ideally, a metadata field could be read to include caption or tagging information.

Further, different media types (audio, video, picture) would be automatically recognized and added to unique galleries of that mediatype.

What's more, customizable css for aesthetic fiddling.

Is it out there?

Start judging me -- I need a free/cheap online photo-multimedia contest judging software

jkl345 — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:40:41 -0800

Is there any decent free or cheap online contest judging software out there? I'm looking for a tool to help people submit and judge media contests (specifically photo and multimedia contests) for a non-profit organization. The closest thing I've seen for this is this Omni Contest site: http://www.omnicontests3.com/ (But it costs money, is hosted elsewhere, isn't as flexible as I'd like, etc.)

Ideally, it'd be able to:
- Allow entrants to upload their entry directly online
- Allow judges to view, comment on and rate entries directly online
- Allow user classes (so judges and entrants have different permissions)

Would be cool stuff:
- Free or cheap cost
- Allow integration with Wordpress blog software

I know this might be kind of a pie in the sky fantasy because I've never heard of anything like this for free/cheap, but if there's anything that might be hackable or modified to work with this, I'd love to hear about it. Perhaps some sort of photo gallery system that allows multiple media formats and raitings? I'd like to hear all ideas. :)

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

JPEG Slideshow with Audio

sepsis — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:20:01 -0800

I have pictures and audio files that I'd like to be able to burn to a CD and see/hear when I put it into a DVD player. I have 158 .jpegs with corresponding .wav files (file001.jpg and file001.jpg.wav; because the audio came from embedded exif audio tags). I'd like to display the pictures in a slide show, with each picture showing as long as it takes for the corresponding audio to play, before moving on to the next photo/audio set. (An automatic slide show is fine, bonus points if there is a way to make it advance with the fast forward button on the remote control). I'm wondering what program, or programs I would need that would allow me to do this (preferably free programs, although I do have Nero 7).

I assume the end result would be a VCD or an SVCD, but the other stipulation I have with my end product is a .doc file I'd like to have on the CD so that it can be put in a computer and retrieved.

I don't need step by step instructions, just wondering what programs I would need to get me pointed in the right direction.

Home Made Classroom Films

absalom — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:12:02 -0800

Help an absolute beginner make short videos for use in a classroom setting. [Requirements Inside] I am looking for video creation and editing software, or a suite of different programs, as necessary. I would like to make short (10-15 minute) instructional videos, mostly by splicing together static images, maps, video clips, etc. and with a voice over. I would especially like to be able to do the following:

1. Capture very short videos from DVD sources (decryption not a problem) and put them in
2. Static images overlayed with small animations. (Think, maps with moving arrows, etc.!)

Recommendations accepted from the humble to the most expensive welcome.

Bonus points to web sites, FAQs, etc. that might help me figure all this out as well.

How does Apple TV behave?

ascullion — Mon, 14 May 2007 09:46:24 -0800

Can someone with an Apple TV tell me something? When you listen to a music track on your Apple TV, does the play count of the song in the relevant iTunes library increase?

MediatedExperienceFilter

Alterscape — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:17:46 -0800

I'm looking for scholarly research and writing on the topic of experience mediated through recording devices, with an emphasis on cell-phone still/video cameras, point-and-shoots, etc -- casual, frequent media gathering activities performed by nonprofessionals in support of blogging and other personal storytelling. As part of grad-school prep, I've been reading a lot of papers regarding everyday storytelling using multimedia (think blogging, flickr, youtube skits, etc). One aspect these specific papers haven't touched is how the use of recording equipment for media-gathering affects the individual's experience of events, as opposed to experiencing the same events as a spectator without intent to record. Is anybody doing research on these issues from a technical or anthropological perspective? If not, why not?

For the record, as a film studies undergrad, I'm aware of the extensive body of work surrounding ontology and documentary filmmaking theory (cinema verite, direct cinema, etc), but I'm interested specifically in non-professionals recording photo/video/audio media for personal (or at least non-'old media') use.

Multi-Media project with old photos

aisleofview — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 06:23:17 -0800

I have recently been given old photographs of my family and would like to do a multimedia presentation of them adding music, fades, effects etc. What is the best software to use to make this project possible. I would like to share it over the net also maybe make dvd's out of it. I am presently using a pc but am not averse to doing it with a Mac.

Renting a multimedia space in L.A. for a one-night event

Flying Saucer — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:49:57 -0800

I'm the co-producer of over 30 short films that are intended for cell phone and internet distribution. Rather than rent a theater for the premiere, I'd like to have a space, such as an art gallery, that will house five to seven video stations where guests can sample these short videos at their leisure. I'm in L.A., where there's no shortage of art galleries or performance spaces. Can any Angelenos recommend a space that matches my needs? A place that already has video screens or computer monitors or TV's? A place that will rent to me for a single one-night event?

Video Editing and Processing

McGuillicuddy — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:26:03 -0800

What resources can you recommend for professional digital video editing and processing? Books, magazines, websites, forums, courses and software suggestions are all appreciated. I'm a software developer in a position that requires video editing and post-editing processing work. I generally use scripting or batch processing to create solutions. As an example, my task today is to demux a large batch of muxed MPEG2 files, hopefully without creating 2 separate files. Another time, I'll be looking for information on optimal keyframe settings for progressive downloading FLVs. Or looking for optimal MPEG4 settings for the iPod. Or editing videos to equalize volume levels (hopefully by the batch). I'd like a source of good general information for digital video professionals, like a magazine or books, and recommendations for places to look for platform specific questions.

So what is the reading list for YouTube engineers? What short course did you find fantastic? Are there good blogs that follow developments in the field?

Math for the impatient?

toastchee — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:22:42 -0800

Relearning math... I would like to find an intuitive, multimedia product that would clearly explain math concepts from algebra all the way to calc and beyond. I guess I am a visual learner, so lots of pretty graphs and interactive visualizations would be the bomb.

Help me hook up my basement

TuxHeDoh — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 11:16:19 -0800

I'm in the market for a low-end (under $2k) HD flat panel tv, I'm thinking plasma, but could be persuaded otherwise. DirecTV, MediaPC and I've got some questions though, I've got DirecTV, do I need a separate HD Receiver for DirecTV to work with the new tv? What is needed to hook up a pc to these tv's? Will I be able to record HD content and playback from a PC? Are there other reasons to hook up a pc to the tv? I've seen HDMI bandied around, but I'm not sure if that's what I need, do I need a special video card, or just one that does DVI? 1080i or 1080p? Does anyone have any good links to beginners setups/configs?

I've got some time and would like to make an educated decision.

Lobby slideshow, compose on Mac, run on Windows?

purplegenie — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 08:59:05 -0800

Lobby slideshow, compose on Mac, run on Windows? One of my tasks where I work is to create slideshows that runs 24/7 on a large plasma screen in our lobby, which has a windows box attached to it. Previously, I did it in a Windows program called ProShow Gold. The slideshow could be saved as an executable, dumped in the startup menu, put on a loop, and I had the machine automated to shutdown at night and start back up in the morning. My issue now is that I'm getting a mac for my computer at work. The lobby slideshow will still be run on the windows box. I know how to do create slideshows in iPhoto on the Mac (and would prefer to do so), but however I create these things, they will still have to be run on this Windows Box. Can I generate something on the Mac that will work like the slideshows I generated in ProShow (that I can just put in the startup menu of the Windows box, and that will automatically start when the machine boots up everyday and run fullscreen all day on a loop)?