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Twitter will no longer destroy the quality of uploaded JPEGs
Twitter is making some changes to the way it processes image uploads, and photographers on the platform are delighted. According to Twitter engineer Nolan O'Brien, JPEG encoding will now be preserved in images uploaded to Twitter via the web. Previously, images were transcoded, which meant lower quality pictures, much to the rightful annoyance of talented creators.
Schlage's WiFi deadbolt lock can open the door for Amazon couriers
You now have another (and potentially better) option if you want a Schlage lock that can let Amazon couriers into your home. The company has unveiled the Encode, the first WiFi-equipped deadbolt that supports Key by Amazon. Unlike the Connect, you don't need a hub -- you just install the lock and fire up the app. It unsurprisingly plays well with Ring's devices, too. You now have the option to let people in when watching live video from a Ring doorbell or camera.
Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along
Making the Raspberry Pi affordable involved some tough calls, including the omission of MPEG-2 decoding. Licensing fees alone for the video software would have boosted the board's price by approximately 10 percent. Now, after many have made media centers with the hardware, the foundation behind the project has whipped up a solution to add the missing codec. For $3.16, users can purchase an individual MPEG-2 license for each of their boards on the organization's online store. Partial to Microsoft's VC-1 standard? Rights to using Redmond's codec can be purchased for $1.58. H.264 encoding is also in the cards since OpenMax components needed to develop applications with the functionality are now enabled by default in the device's latest firmware. With CEC support thrown into the Raspbmc, XBian and OpenELEC operating systems, a single IR remote can control a Raspberry Pi, a TV and other connected gadgets. If you're ready to load up your Pi with its newfound abilities, hit the source link below. Update: The Raspberry Pi Foundation let us know that US customers won't have to pay sales tax, which means patrons will only be set back $3.16 for MPEG-2 and $1.58 for VC-1 support, not $3.79 and $1.90 for the respective licenses. We've updated the post accordingly.
Dolby ups TrueHD lossless audio on Blu-ray to 96k, says every upsampled bit is amazing (video)
Just because your home theater can handle lossless audio doesn't mean the sound is as good as it could be. Dolby is now giving Blu-ray producers using Dolby Media Producer Encoder v2 the choice of premastering TrueHD surround sound at an upsampled 96k. Along with just squeezing the most possible clarity and depth out of 48kHz audio, the encoding purportedly eliminates some of the harshness of digital sound through an apodizing (signal altering) filter. At least three projects have already been given the 96k treatment, and authoring firms like Technicolor have upgrades in place to give that noticeable boost to your next Blu-ray movie.
Netflix CPO gets technical about encoding for streaming
Go on, confess. If you're reading this now, chances are you have at least a passing interest in learning how all of this glorious streaming content actually gets to your TV set / computer while still managing to look at least halfway decent. If you're willing to be honest with yourself, there's a lot in the read link that you'll love. Without going too in-depth here (wouldn't want to scare anyone off, you know?), Netflix's Chief Product Officer covers the basics of first- and second-generation encoding as well as how it handles the wonderful high-def encodes that are used to deliver Watch Instantly content to the Xbox 360. Oh, and now that the New Xbox Experience is live, you can chime in below and let us know if all that hard work that's being done behind the scenes is paying dividends on your HDTV.[Via CNET]
RoadMovie: batch encode movies with subtitles
If you've been looking for a way to get subtitled movies onto your iPod, Apple TV, or web server, then RoadMovie may be for you. RoadMovie has subtitle support from SubRip (.srt), SubViewer 1 & 2 (.sub), and MicroDVD. It has built-in presets for Apple TV, Cellphone, iPhone, iPod, PSP and Web. You can also use Elgato's Turbo.264 hardware for encoding at higher speeds. Some of the main features in RoadMovie include: Batch encode a list of movies Use presets to encode or create your own Batch upload to FTP, SFTP, .Mac, WebDav or Amazon S3 Add to iTunes after encode To get subtitle files, you will need an application like Submerge (from the same company). Doom9.net has a guide for getting subtitles in sync with your movies. With RoadMovie's beautiful looks and strong feature list, this could be the bridge for no subtitles in iTunes. RoadMovie is available from Bitfield's website and costs $19.95 (US); a demo is also available.%Poll-11382%
QTAmateur does full-screen playback, batch exporting, more
QTAmateur brings a lot of the handy QuickTime Pro features to the table without having to pay the $30 upgrade. Full screen video playback (with a more streamlined, iTunes 7-like video window) and batch exporting of any format QuickTime can read and write make for a handy little app.QTAmateur is free, Universal and available from Mike Ash, a Rogue Amoeba programmer.
Mark/Space announces Missing Sync for PSP
Mark/Space, purveyors of popular Missing Sync middle-man software that lets more than just iSync-friendly devices shake hands with your Mac, has just announced yet another version in their lineup: Missing Sync 1.0 for the PSP. In addition to all those games, movies and music files you're lugging around with Sony's hot little gaming machine, you can now synchronize Address Book, iCal events and tasks, notes (with their included Notebook app), WebSnacks™ (a website downloader that can include RSS feeds for offline viewing), iPhoto albums, iTunes playlists, game backups, and even track content across multiple memory sticks. To top it all off: Mark/Space even included a Universal Binary video encoder if all those other goodies are already boring you.If all of this has your PSP thumbs 'a tappin' and you're ready to download a demo, you might be disappointed by a Mark/Space tradition that's always irked me: as far as I can tell, no demo is available; you either have to take the plunge and drop the $29.95 for a license, or gaze at the product page from afar, never to open a Missing Sync for PSP .DMG file of your very own.
DivX 6.5 offers Universal Binary player, encoder
DivX has released what Macworld is calling their first official player for Mac OS X (though I could have sworn I've used DivX software in the past in a pinch). In case you aren't familiar: DivX is an independent video codec that has quite a strong following, and it isn't just for computers; many portable devices and even some DVD players support the DivX codec, offering a useful alternative to the sometimes difficult and clunky DVD burning standard.The company didn't short us on options either - this 6.5 Universal Binary release includes a stand-alone Converter application, as well as DivX 6 codec software for QuickTime so users can convert their video from within any QuickTime-compatible video software. A 15-day free trial of DivX 6.5 is available, at which point you must register for $19.99 to continue using the conversion software; the player, as always, remains free.
Forty-Two DVDVX Plus v3.0 = movie encoding heaven
Apps that convert video for portable devices just keep getting smarter, and Forty-Two DVDVX Plus v3.0 is a prime example. Recently updated to version 3, I think this just might be the perfect tool for the job, whether you're rolling with a 5G iPod, a PSP, a Nokia series 60 phone or a handful of other devices. They main feature that makes Forty-Two DVDVX Plus (could that name get a little shorter, please?) so appealing in my eyes is that, on top of encoding for all these different devices, it also handles batch encoding of both movies files and individual chapters from a DVD. But wait, there's more: its UI has that easy-to-use "inspired by iLife" feel to it, and it offers a bunch of other goodies like automatically adding files to the iTunes library and Automator actions, as well as a choice of format, quality, resolution and more.I'm encoding some stuff into H.264 with the demo right now, but just from playing with it I'm really impressed. This should definitely give both iSquint and that Automator action I found earlier a run for their money - which, of course, is the only ding here: Forty-Two DVDVX Plus will set you back a cool $19.99 (upgrades are only $9.99). But if you're serious about all this video on the go stuff and are looking for one app to encode everything from local files to DVD folders, chapters and DVD's themselves - Forty-Two DVDVX Plus just might be the app for you.
