Here are some audio and video trends for 2019:
The global Hi-Fi Systems market was valued at million US$ in 2018 and is expected to grow. EISA Awards has selected Hi-Fi product category winners, but I did not see anything really fancy new innovations that would excite me there. The Hi-Fi speaker market has seen considerable consolidation over the years but is expected to grow. The global Hi-Fi speaker system market is highly competitive. Various established international brands, domestic brands and as well as new entrants form a competitive landscape. The market is expected to have higher growth rate as compared to the previous years due to the booming electronic industry globally. It is due to the rising income of individuals globally and increasing affordability of technology products globally. Due to technological adoption and smart gadgets, North America region is showing steady growth in the Hi-Fi speaker system market. On technology standpoint the Hi-Fi market is mainly based on pretty much stabilized technology as class D amplifiers have been on mainstream for many years.
Smart TVs are everywhere. The vast majority of televisions available today are “smart” TVs, with internet connections, ad placement, and streaming services built in. Despite the added functionality, TV prices are lower than ever. Your new smart TV was so affordable because it is collecting and selling your data. It is clear that TV companies are in a cutthroat business, and that companies like Vizio would have to charge higher prices for hardware if they didn’t run content, advertising, and data businesses. Google wants sensors and cameras in every room of your home to watch, analyze, you, patents show.
Streaming services competition stays high. Apple’s embracing the TV industry for the first time: Vizio and LG TVs will support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, while Samsung TVs will get an iTunes Movies & TV app, as well as AirPlay 2 support. Google and Amazon are playing are important players on smart speaker markets.
4K video resolution is still as hot as in 2019 – it us becoming mainstream and getting cheaper. Peraso showcases 4K wireless video at CES 2019. LG has produced a market-ready rollable OLED TV. The new 75-inch 4K Micro LED TV announced at CES 2019 proves Samsung is serious about scaling the technology to do battle with OLED. But it seems that even in 1029 “4K” trend remains woefully deficient from a compelling-content-availability standpoint. CES 2019 is already full of weird and wonderful monitors.
But new higher 8K resolution is being pushed to market. The “8K” (resolution) tagline was apparently everywhere at CES this year. Samsung announced a 98-inch 8K TV because why not. LG has come strong to CES 2019 with an 88-inch 8K OLED TV, a 75-inch 8K LED/LCD TV, HDMI 2.1, new auto calibration features, Alexa built in, and many more features. It seems that this ongoing evolution is occurring out of necessity: as a given-size (and -pixel-dense) display becomes a low profit margin commodity, manufacturers need to continually “up-rev” one or both key consumer-attention-grabbing parameters (along with less quantifiable attributes like image quality) in order to remain profitable … assuming they can continue to stimulate sufficient-sized consumer demand in the process. I am not sure if they can stimulate 8K to mass market in next few years.
Wall size TVs are coming. Samsung announced a modular TV at CES. Samsung first showcased this MicroLED TV technology at CES 2018, showcasing how the screens were composed of millions of individual LEDs. Individuals screens could be combined to create massive displays, which the company calls The Wall TV. The wall-sized displays shown in recent years at CES are, in my opinion, quite ridiculous, at least for the masses.
HDMI updates are coming. At present, the HDMI equipment uses the 2.0 standard (adopted in 2013) tht provides support for example for 4K video. HDMI Forum announced a new 2.1 standard already in November 2017, but it just starter showing in CES in January 2019. 8K fiber-optic HDMI cables seen at CES 2019. The 2.1 standard is a big change in technology at the bus bandwidth increases from 18 gigabit to 48 gigabits per second. This enables up to 10K video transmission and up to 120 frames per second.
Bendable displays are really coming to PCs and smart phones. LG’s “rollable” display shown this year neatly showcased the technology’s inherent flexibility while also addressing the question of how to hide a gargantuan display when it’s not in use. Several foldable smart phones have been shown. Chinese company Royole was showing off the FlexPai at CES in Las Vegas.
Micro displays for VR and AR glasses have developed. MicroLED is better looking, more efficient and more versatile than any previous display tech. Now all Samsung, Sony, LG and others have to do is figure out how to manufacture it affordably.Nanoco Technologies and Plessey Semiconductors have partnered to shrink the pixel size of monolithic microLED displays using Nanoco’s cadmium-free quantum-dot (CFQD quantum dots) semiconductor nanoparticle technology. Microchips and organic LEDs that deliver 4K-like high resolution displays a quarter of the size and half the weight of existing virtual reality (VR) headsets have been developed under a European Union project. Marc Andreessen says VR will be “1,000” times bigger than AR even though VR seems to be the popular whipping boy amongst the tech community.
There seems to be no shortage of angst with the current (and unfortunately burgeoning) popularity of usage of the term artificial intelligence (AI). Intelligence has been defined in many ways which makes it hard to get good picture on what is going on. I am still waiting for sensible intelligent AI to do something useful. But the ability for a sufficiently trained deep learning system to pattern-match images, sound samples, computer viruses, network hacking attempts, and the like is both impressive and effective.
Potential problems related to the coming of self-driving car technologies and cameras are expected. A man at CES in Las Vegas says that a car-mounted lidar permanently damaged the sensor in his new $1,998 Sony a7R II mirrorless camera. Man says CES lidar’s laser was so powerful it wrecked his $1,998 camera because the LIDAR laser power rules ensure lasers are safe for human eyes—but not necessarily for cameras. Is this something that camera and car manufacturers need to figure out together?
2019 Will Be the Year of Open Source from software and even hardware. Open source video player app VLC has now reached 3 billions downloads.
When almost all AV products are pushing more and more features, it seems that almost Everything is too complicated for an average Joe.
1,491 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Normal People Try HIFI Headphones!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsoJacx1yTs
Tomi Engdahl says:
32 ohm vs 250 ohm – Which Headphones Sound Best?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CYmTNc9K14
I am always being asked which headphones are best and which impedance (ohm) is best!
In this video, I hope to quickly answer lots of questions about headphones including:
Viewer comments:
Minor gripe: the difference between high and low impedance headphones is the voltage needed to drive them. The power should be about the same across headphone types.
Yes Sean with a higher voltage amp the current will be lower, however, different headphones do have different power requirements (based on more factors than just impedance) so the overall power does need to change. But I can see that to a more educated viewer, my use of language is a bit too vague! Sorry!
The power required is a matter of sensitivity. Some higher impedance headphones CAN sound louder than lower impedance headphones on the same amp, it depends on how efficient the headphones are. However, higher impedance means you need more voltage for the the SAME power going to the driver. How much volume is created by that power depends on the efficiency of the driver.
I think it’s still important to mention that sensitivity also matters a lot. Something like Abyss, Audeze, Hifiman often have low impedance but also low sensitivity so they need much more power to get loud enough.
Two more points to add to the benefits of higher impedance headphones: 1. because they need more voltage to produce the same volume, you get a higher Signal to Noise ratio (small voltage noise from the electronics). 2. the ratio between the headphone impedance and the cable resistance is higher, so more of the audio energy is converted to sound, as opposed to dissipated on the cable.
Love the breakdown. Only one problem i noticed was the discussion about magnets. The magnets themselves don’t do much in terms of “fidelity” or accuracy in sound. The composition of the magnet is purely down to weight and overall mass for the given resistance levels needed to be obtained. You can tune magnets of any material to get the sound profile you need, but the trade-offs means you may have to use more or less of a certain material which will change your design and mass. Just like with battery technology, lighter materials means you can increase the density of a unit for higher power levels for a given size constraint. Companies don’t choose between one type of material over the other because of sound quality. It’s a matter of cost, weight and size constraints. Ciao!
The higher impedance version has less mass in the coil. Lower moving mass of the driver makes it more responsive to the electrical signal, the jargon term is a ‘faster’ driver. This is why the higher impedance versions of otherwise similar headphones sound better (given sufficient amplification).
Correction: The reason studios used, and in fact demanded, high impedance phones was that they used so many of them and the easiest solution was just stringing them electrically in parallel. I have many parallel-wired headphone distribution boxes with 10 ohm resistors in series with each output to protect against low impedance multiples.
I had this question coming up in my head, too. So I asked Beyerdynamic directly. Specifically regarding the DT-770 and its three variants.
Low impedance: thicker wire for the coil, makes it easier for the current/electrons to flow through that wire -> low resistance/impedance.
High impedance: lighter wire, but the electrons have a harder time to travel through that “narrow hose”
Having a thicker wire makes the coil heavier and less reactive, MEANING moving a bit slower compared to a lighter coil. So the the 32-Ohms-version has less top end, compared to the 80- or 250-Ohms-variant.
I used and use all three versions here in a professional environment (broadcast). Being the convinced Beyerdynamic user that I am, my latest buy was a bunch of 32-Ohms DT-700 Pros. I do regret that buy! These cans sound too compressed and they’re a tad too much on the dull side for my taste. But it was too late to return them, so I use them in a less exposed setting. When choosing headphones, in our field, besides the sound, other aspects come into play, too. For instance when being used by multiple persons it’s good when you can clean the cushions more easily. Or, Beyerdynamic offers every single part as replacement parts, for decades and all models. They’re made in Germany and they are a very solid company. The DT-770 Pros are built very sturdy, too.
That being said, I can really recommend the 250-Ohms-version for a broad variety of use cases. IF you have weak headphone amps such as in mobile phones, I’d give the 80-Ohms-version a try or switch to maybe a Sennheiser HD-25 or an Audio-Technica ATH-M50x for that.
In fact the choice of headphones really depends on the output impedance of your headphone driving device. If the device has a relatively high output impedance, you’ll not get much volume out of a low impedance headphone: The output current leads to a waste of output voltage (which is distributed between the two impedances in the ratio of impedance values) and thus waste of power in the high output impedance of the driver. Ideally, to be most efficient, driver output impedance and headphone impedance should exactly match. This way you’ll be able to get the most volume.
You should’ve mentioned that the main benefit of higher impedance is greater signal to noise ratio. This mean that the difference between the actual sound signal and background noise is greater.
If impedance goes up, power goes down automatically if the driving voltage stays the same. That’s why higher impedance headphones sound less loud. In fact, depending on the type of amplifier, you may want to exactly match the headphone impedance to the output impedance of the amplifier; e.g. for a class-A amplifier. In this case, you get the optimal power transfer when the impedance matches.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Plasma Arc Speaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ5HFBm0TsQ
2011 Capstone Project, University of Louisville, Created by Jordan Colburn, Paul Faget, and Seth Tucker. Using a TL494 motor control chip, an input audio signal is turned into PWM to switch a MOSFET bridge. This in turn switches a flyback transformer at 35VDC. The resulting output is a stream of plasma that produces audio. The system was built incorporating an adjustable active crossover network that allows you to connect another speaker to function as a woofer to producs bass frequencies. The resulting audio would be much more impressive if a flyback with a higher resonance frequency were found.
https://github.com/paulfaget/PlasmaArcSpeaker
Tomi Engdahl says:
What GAMING Headphones do AUDIOPHILES Use?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrpn1XhVD_Y
Its confusing sometimes to watch reviews of SUPER expensive headphones and then wonder if that’s what you actually *need* for gaming. I definitely have my opinions, but I wondered what headphones other actual audiophiles use and recommend for gaming.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCM vs FLAC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrMQ_1BA4Io
What’s the difference between PCM and FLAC?
Viewer comments:
The FLAC format is basically a wrapper that holds the PCM data within.
Similar to how when you zip a file, you end up with a .zip file, but your original file is contained within. Once unzipped, you will have back your original file, down to the last byte. Nothing will be different.
audiophiles don’t understand the L in FLAC
What’s the point of different FLAC compressions (ie. uncompressed FLAC)? If it’s lossless why bother with the option of a bigger file size?
It has everything to do with how much strain you put on the cpu decoding/decomposing the file.
the same point as compression levels for zip, bzip, lzma or zstd – space versus CPU load
FLAC is lossless. It’s contents, once uncompressed, are an exact digital copy of the original file?
If you’re converting PCM to LOSSLESS Flac and getting a difference, you’re doing something wrong.
Nonsense – typical audiophile imagination – lossless means bit perfect and identical after decompression
because audiophiles don’t know anything about audio. We the people in recording studios know all these tests.
FLAC. has previously been incompatible with many players such as car players and older mp3 players. This is due to the flac. requires more processor power and then uses more batteries on the mp3 player.
win7 and win8.1 win10 I do not think support flac. before installing software or used winamp.
all new mp3 players and most mp3 players on ebay now support flac.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What is the ACTUAL difference between the DT770, DT880 and DT990 Beyerdynamic headphones?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FplFbUDVqm8
It is the question nobody asked but should have
The Beyerdynamic 770, 880 and 990 all share the same driver design but have totally different sound signatures. Now… I know there are many versions of each of these headphones with impedances ranging from 32ohm to 600ohm which all sound different but in this video we will look at how they have tuned the sound of the driver an enclosure. It is quite interesting to see the differences and the techniques they have used to tune them
New DT PRO X Headphones – All Beyerdynamic Headphones Compared
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbKEY80Ychk
In this video I compare the new DT PRO X headphones to the classic Beyerdynamic DT models to see which is the best.
Does spending more really get you a better sound?
The answer is not as simple as I thought it might be!
The new DT PRO X headphones have added a new sound profile to the range and this has left a lot of people wondering what the differences are between the DT PRO, DT PRO X and DT Premium (Tesla) range. They are all made in Germany and in this video we compare the price, sound, style and build quality to see which are best for you.
00:00 – Intro
00:45 – My Experience
01:23 – Price
01:45 – Sound
04:50 – Style
05:20 – Build Quality and Features
08:28 – Conclusion
09:40 – Ask me a question
Tomi Engdahl says:
9 STUDIO HEADPHONES for Music Production, Mixing, Tracking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kKAIIAxI-M
Timestamps
0:00 How I tested them
1:33 Technical terms
2:46 Beyerdynamic 770
4:14 Audio Technica
5:50 Beyerdynamic 990
7:16 Sony
8:30 Sennheiser
9:41 OneOdio
10:41 Status
11:35 AKG
12:52 Neumann
14:05 My top choices
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samplerates: the higher the better, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jCwIsT0X8M
In this video tutorial, Dan Worrall explains when and why you should use higher samplerates for your recordings and mixing sessions, and more importantly… when you should NOT. Also, Dan goes in depth about oversampling vs. higher sample rates.
Viewer comments:
Georgia Tech Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Digital Signal Processing Technical Interest Group here… This is the first explanation of sampling, aliasing, upsampling/downsampling, antialiasing filters, etc. I’ve seen/heard, in print or in video, in 20 years that (a) didn’t make me cringe at any point, and (b) completely blew me away with how illuminating it was.
I can say exactly the same!
I have designed and built a DSP guitar amplifier. I have seen a lot of videos and articles that are incorrect and / or misleading.
This one is superb!
This is, in my mind, the clearest and most informative demonstration and explanation of sample rates, aliasing, and the tricky bits of digital audio I’ve ever encountered. I’m also digging the Reaper mixer setup.
Aligns with my own experiences and lessons over the years: bandpass everything, all audio is bandpassed at some stage anyway so you better do it.. before it is too late and the signal encounters something that can’t cope with its demands. Distortion and heat will be the result of that and you will get degraded audio signal.
Also: Hi-res record releases are not meant for consumer consumption, you once again have to deal with bandpassing the signal before it hits your speaker. The end result is intermodulation distortion in the analog chain too. Most of it will be turned to heat but it is never a good idea to push too wide of a sausage thru a too small hole… A good speaker has ultra- and infrasonic filtering but one of the principles i have picked out is that it is far better to cut the signal before amplification than after. If for nothing else, components are smaller and the circuit design can be considerably better.
“If the song is good and the mix is good, no one will care about a bit of aliasing!” Phew … sanity is finally restored.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
UBS: Tubi, the free ad-supported streaming service Fox bought in March 2020, is expected to hit $700M in 2022 revenue, up from $145M annual revenue at purchase — Tubi, the free ad-supported streaming service that was acquired by Fox last year, is expected to hit $700 million in revenue in 2022, according to a new UBS analysis.
I’ll be back.
- Terminator
Tubi is the largest free movie and TV streaming service in the US. We are not available in Europe due to changes in EU laws.
https://gdpr.tubi.tv/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DON’T SET AMP GAIN with a DIGITAL MULTI-METER!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-UTA59pfPA
In this video I explain why you don’t want to set your amp gain with a digital multi-meter.
Viewer comments:
I actually bought this oscilloscope multimeter of your recommendation last week. Been using it on multiple systems since, works great! I love how I can SEE when it starts to distort, track the voltage, and use my ears to tune amps. Like I might have a good ear and the target voltage might look fine, but the graph shows otherwise, and now I feel more confident off properly tuning it every time
Tomi Engdahl says:
Can auto-tune make me a good singer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKPQ6JYVhU
0:00 Vocal lessons with Beth Roars
13:53 Auto-tune with Adam Neely
Tomi Engdahl says:
What to study to become an audio engineer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLqqe6Pn5UE
So you want to design high performance audio gear? Do you go to school first or dig in and learn along the way?
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Matterhorn – Worlds Largest Subwoofer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o36Kp6veJ6c
The most powerful sub ever created. It was born out of a military request and is housed in a 20′ x 8′ x 8′ shipping container. 40 drivers, 40,000 watts of self powered and built in generator to boot.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Does This App Blow Out Candles?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX6XSs2T5Go
I show you how an app can blow wind out of your phone enough to blow out candles.
The most amazing thing about this channel is how many ideas for videos he comes up with. Sometimes, the explanations are simple and sometimes they reveal some complex or hidden phenomenon, but the result is always fascinating. In addition to being very technically knowledgeable, The Action Lab is extremely creative! It inspires millions to learn about science and to be curious.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hardware vs software crossovers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PWlHHODCNM
Paul helps us understand the differences between a hardware based passive crossover and the electronic kind.
An active analog crossover is still a hardware crossover. A software crossover uses logic to mathematically filter the signals. Crossovers that make use of thousands of finite impulse response filters can be much steeper and avoid phase shifts. They can sound better, but it depends on the ADCs and DACs too. A software crossover can be so compute-intensive that much of the logic must be implemented in dedicated hardware, such as an FPGA. So a “software” crossover may be more like a “firmware” crossover.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audio Hygiene 1: power cables
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lHPjcXhK4c
Why do audiophiles think that the last meter of high quality power cable does make a difference in sound while it is preceded by perhaps hundreds of meters cheap cable in the grid? This question is often asked with an undertone of skepticism. Time for some clarification.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CCA is copper clad aluminium that is usually a good idea to avoid.
https://www.belden.com/blogs/cca-cable-5-reasons-to-stay-away
Tomi Engdahl says:
Just saying, people can, and do, pay for spools of wire with whatever labeling on it they choose.
It used to be sort of a, “got money to play in high end, and none of you f’s using Brax have your own custom cable” type of move just ‘cus….so take that into consideration.
Guaranteed if you search, you’ll find a dozen of the same exact cables with another name on the mylar in these Alibaba/Amazon drop shipping days.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://diyaudioprojects.com/Power/DIY-Braided-Speaker-Cables/
Me: few notes on the results shown on this article. First finding is that the inductance of this construction seems to be higher than with zip cord (braided are typically claimed to have low inductance). The second is that the measured capacitance seems to be unbelievably low compared to other cables (I suspect measurement error here).
Pete: i would really like to try to do my own. I was also thinking about separating the two wires, physically. Can that give similar benefits. The braiding is to reduce the interaction between the wires, right!?
Me: separating two wires (that carry same signal in opposite directions) physically will reduce capacitance, increase inductance, increase noise pickup and radiated noise
compared to those wires being very near each other. When sone capacitance is not an issue, best to keep wires next to each other.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/blog/2016/06/08/bi-wiring-speakers-exploration-benefits/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/coppers-sound/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Difference between OFC and CCA Wire
https://www.ctsounds.com/blogs/main/difference-between-ofc-and-cca-wire
You should never underestimate the importance of good quality wire when you’re installing a car stereo. Two standard types of wire for car audio are CCA (Copper-Clad Aluminum) and OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper). They’re far from equal. Let’s go over the differences between these two options.
Copper-clad aluminum wire can look the same as other copper wire on the outside, since it’s essentially aluminum that is coated in a thin layer of copper. You need to see it head-on in order to see the aluminum in the center.
It’s less expensive than a wire that’s made up entirely of copper such as OFC. It’s also lighter than pure copper wire.
CCA does a better job of conducting electricity than a wire made entirely out of aluminum. The copper coating helps, but it’s still not as good as a pure copper wire. It’s also stronger than pure aluminum wire, but weaker than pure copper.
CCAis essentially a big upgrade over plain aluminum wire, but it’s still a stepdown from OFC. Even for a budget car audio build, it’s recommended to save upand get pure copper wire instead of using CCA.
While the idea of oxygen-free wire has been called a bit of a gimmick in the world of home theater and car audio, with some saying it’s only marginally more conductive than regular copper wire, the term itself is often used to describe various qualities of wire. There are different standards of “OFC”.
In any case, OFC or regular copper wire are both a lot better than copper-clad or pure aluminum.
It’s often recommended to buy a gauge larger if you’re going with CCA over OFC, but you should just go with OFC wire instead.
At the end of the day, look for OFC wire, even if it doesn’t meet the highest standards of being below .001% oxygen or any of the highest standards set out for industrial purposes, it’ll still be a big step up from cheaper alternatives.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SPDIF, TOSlink, AES/EBU or I²S, what’s the best?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZw-hZaKIlQ
What digital interface is the best? This is a question that is often posted on this channel. When it passed again last week, I found it time to explain the differences and try to weapon you with knowledge so you can decide for yourself.
Contents of this video
00:00 – Intro
00:23 – Start of program
00:57 – The AES-3 interfaces
02:01 – Bi-phase mark
05:41 – Physical level
06:51 – The subcode
07:54 – The quality
08:52 – USB Audio
09:33 – Audio Class 1
10:58 – Audio Class 2
12:00 – The quality
12:59 – HDMI for audio
14:29 – I²S is not HDMI
16:24 – The wrap
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andy Maxwell / TorrentFreak:
Malaysia passes a bill to imprison people who facilitate access to pirate content via illegal streaming, for up to 20 years
Malaysia Passes Bill to Imprison Illegal Streaming Pirates For Up To 20 Years
https://torrentfreak.com/malaysia-passes-bill-to-imprison-illegal-streaming-pirates-for-up-to-20-years-211218/
Malaysia’s House of Representatives has passed amendments to copyright law that will boost the country’s deterrent against those who facilitate access to pirate content via illegal streaming. The amendments, which cover both hardware and software, could see offenders imprisoned for up to 20 years.
Streaming KeyLaws that forbid the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted content are common around the world but the rise of streaming has sometimes exposed gaps in legislation.
Piracy-equipped Kodi devices, illegal streaming apps, and similar tools have led legal specialists to attempt to apply laws that didn’t envision the technology. In Malaysia, for example, it took a decision by the High Court last May to determine that the sale and distribution of streaming devices configured for piracy purposes does indeed constitute infringement under the Copyright Act.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The End Of The Electromechanical Era
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/18/the-end-of-the-electromechanical-era/
When viewed from the far future, the early years of the 21st century will probably be seen as the end of a short era in human technological development. In the beginning of the 20th century, most everything was mechanical. There were certainly some electric devices, but consumer products like gramophone players and “movie” cameras were purely mechanical affairs. You cranked them up, and they ran on springs. Nowadays, almost every bit of consumer gear you buy will be entirely electronic. In between, there was a roughly 50 year period that I’m going to call the Electromechanical Era.
Jenny List’s teardown this week of an old Fuji film movie camera from 1972 captures the middle of this era perfectly. There’s a small PCB and an electric motor, but most of the heavy lifting in the controls was actually put on the shoulders of levers, bearings, and ridiculously clever mechanisms. The electrical and mechanical systems were loosely coupled, with the electrical controlled by the mechanical.
I’m willing to argue the specifics, but I’d preliminarily date the peak of the Electromechanical Era somewhere around 1990.
But that era is long over. The coming of the CD player signaled the end, although we didn’t see it at the time. Sure, there is a motor, but all the buttons are electronic, and all the “mechanism” is implemented almost entirely in silicon. The digital camera was possibly the last nail in the Electromechanical Era’s coffin: with no need to handle physical film, the last demand for anything mechanical evaporated. Open up a GoPro if you don’t know what I mean.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Menards $34 Video Projector
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiprcXje51c
How this POSSIBLY be any good? Spoiler warning – it isn’t. But what’s inside? Let’s take a look!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
TikTok faces allegations that it copied code from broadcast app OBS Studio and other open source projects for Live Studio without adhering to licensing terms — TikTok’s latest video production tool is said to be violating open source licenses: The company’s new Live Studio Windows app …
TikTok is accused of violating GPL with new live streaming software
The Open Broadcaster Software project has already reached out to TikTok.
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/tiktok-obs-gpl-violation
TikTok’s latest video production tool is said to be violating open source licenses: The company’s new Live Studio Windows app, which launched last week, is using code from the Open Broadcaster Software project’s popular OBS Studio app and other open source projects without adhering to the respective open source licensing terms, according to allegations that first surfaced on Twitter late last week.
Open Broadcaster Software business development manager Ben Torell confirmed that his team had found “clear evidence” for these violations when contacted by Protocol. Torell said the project had already reached out to TikTok, but hadn’t gotten a response yet.
A TikTok spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to Protocol’s request for comment.
TikTok released its Live Studio app without much fanfare last week. The Windows-based app is supposed to help people produce high-quality live streams, and allows broadcasters to incorporate video game streams, image and text overlays and more. The app is currently only available to a few thousand users in a couple of markets, the company told TechCrunch.
OBS Studio is a popular broadcast app that is used by many live streamers. A number of companies, including Reddit, have also used OBS Studio code to build their own live streaming software. Under the terms of the GPL, which OBS Studio is released under, those companies have to make any modified source code available publicly under the same license as well.
If a company doesn’t follow those rules, it can be taken to court. However, Torell said on Twitter that Open Broadcaster Software was looking to avoid a legal confrontation. “We have a commitment to dealing with GPL violations in good faith, and in the case of TikTok/Bytedance we would be happy to have a friendly working relationship with them as long as they comply with the license,” he said.
TikTok is testing a desktop streaming software called TikTok Live Studio
https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/15/tiktok-is-testing-a-desktop-streaming-software-called-tiktok-live-studio/
What if instead of watching your favorite TikTok star stream on Twitch, you could watch them play video games live on TikTok? For the last few days, according to the platform, TikTok has been testing a Windows program called TikTok Live Studio.
Once downloaded to your desktop, the program allows users to log in with their TikTok account and stream directly to TikTok Live. Within the program, you can communicate with viewers through the chat feature, and you can stream content from your computer, your phone or a gaming console. TikTok told TechCrunch that this program is currently available only in a handful of Western markets for a few thousand users.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Camera Gear Do YouTubers Use? (2021 Edition)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrX-2EBdy5U
I asked my YouTuber friends in the photo/video & tech genres to tell me what camera gear they use to film their YouTube videos with in 2021.
Lighting for YouTube Videos – Make Your Videos STAND OUT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXe3rEWrDVg
Learn how to light your videos so that they will STAND OUT! These simple techniques will drastically improve the look of your videos.
Hey Creatives, thanks for stopping by! In this video we are taking a look at lighting, and giving a few tips on how you can utilize it for your advantage. In this video we are following a simple three point light set up. All the lighting equipment used in this video is linked below:
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vinyl Records – Worse Than I Remember?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmjRrkUcii8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Know Audio: Mixtapes, Tape Loops, And Razor Blades
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/20/know-audio-mixtapes-tape-loops-and-razor-blades/
In our no-nonsense journey through the world of audio technology we’ve so far have looked at digital audio and the vinyl disk recording. What’s missing? Magnetic tape, the once-ubiquitous recording medium that first revolutionised the broadcast and recording industries in the mid-20th-century, and went on to be a mainstay of home audio before spawning the entire field of personal audio. Unless you’re an enthusiast or collector, it’s likely you won’t have a tape deck in your audio setup here in 2021 and you’ll probably be loading your 8-bit games from SD card rather than cassette, but surprisingly there are still plenty of audio cassettes released as novelties or ephemeral collectables.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Holographic Display Hacks The Light Field
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/22/new-holographic-display-hacks-the-light-field/
[Petapixel] has an interesting post about a startup company’s new holographic display that claims to be “indistinguishable from reality.” The company behind it, Light Field Labs, claims their system requires no glasses and handles different angles.
New ‘Solid Light’ 3D Holographic Display Can Give Photos Depth
https://petapixel.com/2021/12/15/new-solid-light-3d-holographic-display-can-give-photos-depth/
Science fiction has repeatedly promised a future filled with holographic 3D displays, but that fantasy has always eluded reality — until now. A startup says it has created a new “solid light” display that renders photos and videos in three dimensions.
Light Field says that it has managed to create what it calls “solid light,” which replaces physical objects with software-controlled holograms. The word “holograms” might not be the best term to describe what the company has created, however, as it has been conventionally diluted over the last several years to be nothing more than a trick of light or patterns on two-dimensional objects.
“SolidLight is the next generation of display combining unprecedented resolution and density to accurately project dimensional wavefronts to form objects that escape the screen and merge with reality,” Light Field says.
What it has created is touted as the highest resolution holographic display platform ever designed and allows viewers to experience digital objects in the physical world and are “indistinguishable from reality.” The company says that each 28-inch SolidLight Surface Panel, the name of its technology, contributes 2.5 billion pixels to the generated holographic object volume. The panels can be combined together to create large walls or tabletop displays for a variety of use cases.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Taste the TV: Japan invents lickable screen to imitate food flavours
Prototype uses carousel of canisters to create flavour samples on hygienic film over flatscreen TV
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/23/taste-the-tv-japan-invents-lickable-screen-to-imitate-food-flavours
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Lord of the Rings’ at 20: Why Peter Jackson’s Trilogy Was One of Hollywood’s Riskiest Projects Ever
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/lord-of-the-rings-peter-jackson-risky-trilogy-1235123548/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hdmi:n nimeämiskäytännöistä tuli vitsi, joka ei naurata
21.12.202120:01
Kun erot hdmi 2.0:aan olivat selvät ja 2.1 toi aina merkittäviä ominaisuuksia, oli laitteen teknisten tietojen listalta helppo tarkistaa asia. Yhtäkkiä tämä ei enää pidäkään paikkaansa.
https://www.mikrobitti.fi/uutiset/hdmin-nimeamiskaytannoista-tuli-vitsi-joka-ei-naurata/e01f80a7-fa71-44e1-9854-4a731dd59ded
Hdmi 2.0:aa ei standardin omistajan, Hdmi Licensing Administratorin, mukaan ole enää olemassa eikä valmistajien pitäisi enää viitata laitteissaan hdmi 2.0:aan. HDMI.orgin tiedottaja Douglas Wright totesi, että valmistajat eivät voi enää sertifioida laitteitaan hdmi 2.0 -yhteensopiviksi laitteiksi. Siis mitä ihmettä?
Hdmi teki usbit – järkevä ja selkeä nimeäminen heitettiin romukoppaan
https://www.mikrobitti.fi/uutiset/hdmi-teki-usbit-jarkeva-ja-selkea-nimeaminen-heitettiin-romukoppaan/7903f32e-cd6b-484f-8d29-974cb856d18f
Hdmi-standardia hallinnoivan tahon mielestä kaikki hdmi 2.0 -liitännät ovat nyt myös hdmi 2.1 -liitäntöjä.
Kaikki pian samaa. Asuksen XG43UQ-näytössä on neljä hdmi-liitäntää, joista kuvassa näkyvät ovat hdmi 2.0:ia ja suojamuovin takana olevat ovat hdmi 2.1:ä. Tulevaisuudessa kaikki voisivat olla hdmi 2.1 -liitäntöjä ja kuluttajan olisi hankala varmistua siitä, mitkä portit kannattaa valjastaa käyttöön. OUTI JÄRVINEN
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/physics/this-is-the-center-of-the-universe-a-sound-anomaly-found-in-tulsa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ideal monitor rotation for programmers
https://sprocketfox.io/xssfox/2021/12/02/xrandr/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Behind the scenes – näin tehtiin Renny Harlinin ja DNA:n toteuttama ainutlaatuinen etäohjaus
https://www.dna.fi/blogi/-/blogs/behind-the-scenes-nain-tehtiin-renny-harlinin-ja-dna-n-toteuttama-ainutlaatuinen-etaohjaus-?fbclid=IwAR0IJBypOUAEFYXfa33agU-LOlpOVSRiopLMN4PzVEPdubitbIxtYKrQb_Q
Suomen menestynein toimintaelokuvien ohjaaja Renny Harlin tunnustautuu kovaksi Rahapaja-sarjan faniksi. DNA halusi nähdä, miltä sarjan kohtaus näyttäisi Suomessa kuvattuna. Helsingin Postitalolla maanantaina 25. lokakuuta kuvattu näyttävä ryöstökohtaus ohjattiin etänä Lontoosta.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Physicists discover special transverse sound wave
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-physicists-special-transverse.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/these-gifs-show-you-what-it-s-like-to-be-color-blind/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Label Says HDMI 2.1 But That Doesn’t Mean You’ll Get It
https://hackaday.com/2021/12/27/the-label-says-hdmi-2-1-but-that-doesnt-mean-youll-get-it/
Technology moves quickly these days as consumers continue to demand more data and more pixels. We see regular updates to standards for USB and RAM continually coming down the pipeline as the quest for greater performance goes on.
HDMI 2.1 is the latest version of the popular audio-visual interface, and promises a raft of new features and greater performance than preceding versions of the standard. As it turns out, though, buying a new monitor or TV with an HDMI 2.1 logo on the box doesn’t mean you’ll get any of those new features, as discovered by TFT Central.
HDMI 2.1 aimed to deliver multiple upgrades to the standard. The new Fixed Rate Link (FRL) signalling mode is the headline piece, providing up to 48 Gbps bandwidth, a major upgrade over the 18 Gbps possible in HDMI 2.0 using Transition Minimised Differential Signalling, or TMDS. TMDS remains a part of HDMI 2.1 for backwards compatibility, but FRL is key to enabling the higher resolutions, frame rates, and color depths possible with HDMI 2.1.
Thanks to FRL, the new standard allows for the display of 4K, 8K, and even 10K content at up to 120 Hz refresh rates. Display Stream Compression is used to enable the absolute highest resolutions and frame rates, but HDMI 2.1 supports uncompressed transport of video at up to 120 Hz for 4K or 60 Hz for 8K. The added bandwidth is also useful for running high-resolution video at greater color depths, such as displaying 4K video at 60 Hz with 10 bit per channel color.
Also new is the Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology, which helps reduce tearing when gaming or watching video from other sources where frame rates vary. Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) also allows displays to detect if a video input is from something like a game console. In this situation, the display can then automatically switch to a low-latency display mode with minimal image processing to cut down on visual lag.
When HDMI 2.1 Isn’t HDMI 2.1 – The Confusing World of the Standard, “Fake HDMI 2.1” and Likely Future Abuse
https://tftcentral.co.uk/articles/when-hdmi-2-1-isnt-hdmi-2-1
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.doodly.com/special-one-time-price-fb.php?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=advertising&utm_campaign=doodly&utm_term=in_market_business_services_best_countries&utm_content=1455_CV&gc_id=15450510366&h_ad_id=566190877380&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIruH3hICJ9QIVVoCyCh0tewoMEAEYASAAEgJ_LfD_BwE
Tomi Engdahl says:
5 Inventions That Changed How We Sing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MalmmvxtFBQ
0:00 – Intro
1:19 – Before
3:23 – The Phonograph
7:25 – Microphones
9:57 – Multitracking (and Magnetic Tape)
12:43 – The Wireless Microphone
17:15 – Autotune
Tomi Engdahl says:
The future of 3D display and the emergence of holographic television
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-future-3d-emergence-holographic-television.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Miksi suomalaisten suoratoistopalveluiden tekninen laatu on niin huono?
26.12.202120:01
https://www.mikrobitti.fi/uutiset/miksi-suomalaisten-suoratoistopalveluiden-tekninen-laatu-on-niin-huono/51ace89b-4503-47ca-a606-f145bde83389
Mikrobitti on testannut syksyllä Suomessa tarjottavat suoratoistopalvelut. Harmillisesti monen kotimaisen palvelun tekninen laatu laahaa pahasti markkinajohtajien perässä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With ‘aerohaptics,’ holograms can feel real to the touch
The 3D images are a popular Victorian mirror trick, but researchers at the University of Glasgow are elevating the technology that brought Tupac Shakur to life onstage in 2012
https://www.macleans.ca/society/technology/with-aerohaptics-holograms-can-feel-real-to-the-touch/
Tomi Engdahl says:
HDMI-standardin sekasoppa sakenee – nyt tulee uusi HDMI 2.1a
https://mobiili.fi/2021/12/30/hdmi-standardin-sekasoppa-sakenee-nyt-tulee-uusi-hdmi-2-1a/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Freakin’ amazing
sensation.
Woojer is an evolutionary experience that catapults music, gaming, VR and films to another dimension
https://www.woojer.com/?fbclid=IwAR39ELwf2NQHgI0gnLicjBU6zI6eljfbVqJ4Tj09euVgMD4PQAYdSf0goUA
Tomi Engdahl says:
The hidden background noise that can catch criminals
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e0elNU0iOMY&feature=youtu.be
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Samsung unveils Samsung Gaming Hub, coming to select 2022 Samsung TVs, to add built-in support for Google Stadia, Nvidia’s GeForce Now, and Utomik cloud gaming — Plus a mysterious way to pass through your game console’s controller signals — Samsung is revealing a new lineup of smart TVs …
Samsung’s new 2022 TVs bring Nvidia GeForce Now and Google Stadia gaming
Plus a mysterious way to pass through your game console’s controller signals
https://www.theverge.com/22862814/samsung-2022-tv-geforce-now-stadia-nvidia-google-utomik-cloud-gaming?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Samsung says its 2022 TVs will support NFTs, including displaying, browsing, purchasing, and showing history and blockchain metadata — Learn about an NFT’s blockchain history from the comfort of your couch — Staring at your non-fungible tokens on a smartphone or laptop screen is fine and all …
Samsung promises ‘groundbreaking’ new TV feature: NFT support
Learn about an NFT’s blockchain history from the comfort of your couch
https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/2/22858698/samsung-2022-tvs-nft-support-announced-cryptocurrency?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Staring at your non-fungible tokens on a smartphone or laptop screen is fine and all, but why not remind everyone who visits your home of the money you spent on digital art NFTs by showcasing them on your TV screen? Somehow we’re in a world where that’s about to become reality: Samsung says it’s planning extensive support for NFTs beginning with its 2022 TV lineup.
“With demand for NFTs on the rise, the need for a solution to today’s fragmented viewing and purchasing landscape has never been greater,” the company said in a press release. “In 2022, Samsung is introducing the world’s first TV screen-based NFT explorer and marketplace aggregator, a groundbreaking platform that lets you browse, purchase, and display your favorite art — all in one place.”
According to Samsung, this platform (shown above) will let creators “share their art with the world” and let potential buyers:
Preview an NFT before purchasing it
Learn about an NFT’s history and blockchain metadata
Samsung is also minding the details when it comes to viewing NFTs on its 2022 televisions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.ishopiuseireview.com/2017/08/remax-rm-580-dual-moving-coil-earphone.html?m=1