Posts filed under Video

Why Encryption Matters

John Oliver addresses the need for encryption in an hilarious way. The clip is ~18 minutes, but well worth it.

If you still think that encryption is only used for evil (terrorism, child pornography, etc.), and that governments / security agencies should need (backdoor) access to your data..... Well, I'm not gonna end that sentence.

Posted on April 12, 2016 and filed under Fun, Internet, Privacy, Security, Video.

Entering The World Of Android Based Media Players

This is gonna be a good one. An Apple Fanboy Going Android..... WTF!?

Yep, it's true to some extent. The reason for letting myself into the Android world is a media player one. Up till recent I was quite happy with my Popcorn Hour A-110, which I bought 6-7 years ago. Happiness started to fade when transfer speeds and connections to the device started to fail. Networking was never its strongest part, even though it had a 100mbps interface. For some reason it never got above the 10Mbps speeds. Had something to do with the processing priority of the device.

Anyway, lately, larger FTP transfers failed for whatever reason, and using SAMBA transfers.... well, don't get me started on that file transfer protocol. Sending communications by pigeon-mail is faster. And since streaming over the network was not an option for the larger (far less compressed) x264 encoded movies or TV shows, I started to look for an alternative.

The alternative should be able to connect to remote media sources, and have enough processing power for the network adapter to get decent a throughput. Also some additional multimedia features were on the 'very-nice-to-have' list. These features included (but were not limited to);

  • stream various content from the web
  • not limited to just video
  • easily modifiable (apps etc.)
  • prepared for the future (4k video?)
  • xbmc (or something alike)

With this list of requirements, there were about a gazillion candidates, because every player out there tends to support this. So I needed to narrow down the candidates. I did exclude the current Popcorn Hour because of the physical size of there latest models.

Posted on December 27, 2014 and filed under Gadgets, Hardware, Personal, Review, Tips'n Tricks, Video.

Stephen Colbert On Amazon's Latest Patent

Amazon patented the practice of photographing objects against a white background... Huh? What the F*ck?

Well, that's exactly what Stephen Colbert thought;

I guess that I'm not the only one violating that patent.

Dandelion seed against a white background

Posted on May 18, 2014 and filed under No Way!!!, Fun, Video, Photography.

The 4K Video Enabler

Differences in resolution

The biggest thing during The Consumers Electronics Show in Vegas (CES) was the 4K televisions. 4K is a reference to the resolution. Current TV's (LCD/LED/OLED/Plasma) usually have a resolution of 1920*1080 pixels (1080p). The 4K versions have 4 times the resolution. Capable of displaying UltraHD content at an affordable price. These TV's sell for $1000 - $2000.

NaughtyAmerica offers 4K downloads

All very nice, but the average Joe has no real access to 4K content. Sure, there are some videos on YouTube in 4K, but most of the time it's just plain old 1080p (if you're lucky). The current HD media (BluRay) isn't officially certified for 4k content, so the only alternative at the moment is downloadable content. Guess which industry is on top of things? (pun intended).

As with almost everything in the past (VHS / Internet / DVD), the porn industry is one of the first to embrace the new technology. Now all we need is fiber to the home with a minimum of 100Mbps to enjoy the new format.

Posted on February 8, 2014 and filed under News, Personal, TV, Video.

Muse - The Unsustainable Tour - Amsterdam Arena

Last night, me and the misses, went to the Amsterdam Arena to see Muse. The show was greater than great. A lot of new songs from their latest album 'The 2nd Law', and several oldies. They started around 20:30, and they wrapped things up around 23:00. 2.5 hours of musical happiness and an excellent show. Even our prime-minister Mark Rutte made an appearance on video (along with Frau Merkel of Germany).

Posted on June 5, 2013 and filed under Music, Personal, Photography, Video.

Skunk Anansie in the Heineken Music Hall (2011)

After being gone for at least a decade, Skunk Anansie is back with a new album. Last week thay gave a concert in the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam (NL), and it felt like old times.

It wasn't a concert where they played mainly new songs from their new album Wonderlustre. They mainly played those great old songs like Hedonisme, Brazen, Every Day Hurts (Twisted), and many many more.

Skunk Anansie @ HMHThis was also the first time I could use my new Nikon P7000 at a concert. Photo's were pretty much out of the question, since we were sitting all the way at the back. That's to far. Even for the 200mm at the long end on the Nikon. So I shot several videos.

Posted on March 1, 2011 and filed under Photography, Review, Video.

Triggerfinger in Paradiso

Last night we went to a concert/CD-release of the Belgium rockband Triggerfinger. This was also the first time I brought my new Nikon P7000. The following photos and video were shot with this new Nikon Coolpix Perfomance series compact camera.

The concert was great. Great enough to get their latest CD in the lobby. I hope we're gonna hear more of them.

Posted on December 23, 2010 and filed under Personal, Photography, Video.