Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with output

Red Fuji southern wind clear morning... on my wall

killdevil — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:55:14 -0800

I need suggestions as to how I can most easily and inexpensively get the full-size version of this arresting image reproduced at large size and on high-quality art paper. So, which Web-based printing vendors have you dealt with who'd be worth looking into? I'm guessing there are Internet merchants whose business focuses on print production for digital art applications, and who could take a huge emailed JPEG file, run whatever pre-press conversions and cleanups may be necessary, dump out a finished art-print via a shockingly expensive print production system, then send back the end result rolled up in a big tube?

And, secondarily, if you have advice as to the specific paper or printing process we should seek out, or as to easy/cheap/attractive framing options you think would work well with the subject matter of the print in question, well, that'd be greatly appreciated too.

Command-line video quandry

Alterscape — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:23:32 -0800

I have two synchronized 720x480 miniDV files. I have OS X 10.5.5. I want to render them side-by-side into a single webcast-resolution widescreen video (eventual target: Vimeo), preferably in a way that can be scripted/automated (so a command-line tool would be great). Right now, I actually edit the two streams in Final Cut Studio, switching between one or the other. However, I need to change the format and rig up some solution that someone who is not a FCP editor can execute repeatedly. Also, we don't have another license of FCP, so something that can work with FCE or a F/OSS tool is preferable. I'm not super-picky about whether the output is 640x230, (2x the width of the input files, scaled down to web-resolution) or regular 16:9 widescreen with black bands along the top or bottom, so long as the solution is easy, automated, etc. I regularly work with ffmpeg but as far as I know that tool won't do this. The files are about 60 minutes in duration, but I don't think this should affect what can be done. Thoughts?

GeekTool issues

djgh — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:44:33 -0800

Get GeekTool to print in columns? I'm using GeekTool to print song lyrics on my desktop, with the following command:

osascript -e '''tell application "iTunes" to set currentLyrics to the lyrics of the current track'''

However, this prints everything in one long column. How can I get GeekTool to print excess output in a second (or even third) column?

Dirty laser printer!

dance — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:43:02 -0800

My HP1200 Laserjet has begun producing very unsatisfactory output - the text is repeated (faded) down the page and there are black marks at regular intervals at the side of the page and at the top. I've tried looking into this via Google and on HP's website but can't find a similar description of my problem. I would love the solution to be as simple as buying a new toner cartridge - but is it? Can anyone shed any light? Thanks

one xbox two tvs

lockestockbarrel — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:52:01 -0800

How can I output one Xbox 360 to two TVs? I want the one Xbox 360 signal to output to two TVs. I want the same exact screen, just playing on two different TVs. How would I do this?

Say you want to wake up to music in your pillow. From an Ipod...

rileyray3000 — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:38:01 -0800

Ipod Device Filter: I am looking for an ipod alarm clock that has a jack for an external speaker or headphones on it. Input jacks? Sure. Output that's NOT usb? Not so much. I haven't found one yet after an hour of looking. Does such a thing exist? I want to wake to my Ipod and then have the music play through this speaker I've got with a headphone jack that can fit in a pillow. Unfortunately, short of STICKING the ipod radio INTO the pillow, I haven't found a way to do it. Is there such a thing?

What printer would you recommend for graphics department for printing color ads and proofs of magazine and newspaper pages?

Brandon Blatcher — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:23:58 -0800

What office printer would you recommend for a graphics department for printing color ads and proofs of magazine and newspaper pages? NEED Postscript level 3 compatibility , Ethernet, good type output and a nice chunk of RAM (256mb or more). We previously had phaser 8200DP, but it's slowly dying. 11x17 and duplexing would be nice, but not required.

Help me output a list of files in a directory to Excel or HTML...

gwenzel — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 08:17:55 -0800

How can I output a list of files in a specified folder, including certain file attributes (i.e. date created, date modified, etc), to a HTML or spreadsheet file? I'm using Windows XP. I know it's a simple question, but all of the search terms I've used are too common to yield good results, and some of the software I've found appears to be somewhat "sketchy".

I need a piece of software (or some kind of extension to Windows Explorer) that will allow me to output a list of files in a given directory, including the file name, date created, file comments, and any other attributes tied to the file. Ideally the output would be in a spreadsheet or HTML format.

Is there a (preferably free) piece of software out there that accomplishes this task?

Recording audio from Windows mixed output

rxrfrx — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 05:36:29 -0800

How do I set my (Windows XP) PC to record audio using the mixed output as the recording source? I built my own machine with an M-Audio Revolution 5.1 and can't figure out how to do this. On my previous computers (Dell laptops and desktops, all using onboard audio) there was an option in the Windows recording control settings to set the recording source as "mixer" or "mixed output." This would allow me to easily record (e.g. in Windows Sound Recorder) anything that was coming out of the speakers (e.g. audio from a video playing in YouTube).

I'm pretty sure I also had this option on an old desktop using a Sound Blaster 16 or Awe32.

The Recording Properties options on my computer (with the M-Audio software installed) are "Cd/Aux Monitor," "Line Monitor," "Mic Monitor," and "Mic/Line." These all seem to refer to external inputs, and none of them takes audio from the mixed output.

Filmscanner input resolution?

carter — Sat, 08 Jan 2005 12:16:24 -0800

Filmscanner 101. Is there any advantage to setting the *input* resolution for scans intended for monitor display to anything greater than 72dpi? The default input resolutions on my scanner vary with the dimensions selected for the output file. Bigger output files require higher input resolutions (from 704dpi to 1759dpi). As everything will be displayed at 72dpi, why not *scan* everything at 72dpi? It all looks the same to me on my screen.