Wisnaes.com - Visual communication

I like carrying programs and data with me. I love my laptop. But recently, I have found that the really portable thing is a 1GB USB memory drive. So I got myself a 1GB Flash Voyager.

The reason I got it was to move data. But I found a few programs that did not need to be installed, just double-click on them to run them. I added them to the Flash Voyager and started to search for more programs like this. I am definitely not the first one that has this idea! Several websites are dedicated to this.

One of them is PortableFreeware . On the frontpage, you find the latest updates. But if you click on All in the top menu, you will find categories with a lot of programs. At the moment this site only caters for Windows users.

The first program you should get is PStart portable. This gives you a “Startmenu” in your systray (at the bottom of your screen, next to the clock). After that, it is up to you to add the programs you find interesting.

Another site for you to check out is TinyApps.org . Here you also find programs for OSX.

As with everything else that has to do with computer, it is very important to make a backup. And Microsoft has made available an application that do exactly that. It is called Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager .

If you know any other good resources for this type of programs, or if you know any good programs that should get a mention, just leave a comment!

When I started working with video the format was called Umatic and C-format. And we had a few pieces of equipment that was crucial for the production. Broadcast monitors and video scopes. But with the introduction of DV, this seems to have gone out the window. I for one, miss those things. But very many people today enter the video business from the computer side. They start playing with Photoshop, Flash or other applications and somehow find out that it is just as easy to load a videoediting program on their computer and start using it.

But even if video is easy to work with and manipulate, the technical specifications have not changed. We still have limits we need to stay within. And a lot of people do not have any idea if their video is within these limits. On top of that, traditional scopes rarely has FireWire inputs and they cost a fortune. A waveform monitor and scope plus a good broadcast monitor can easily cost more than all your other equipment combined.

Along comes DVRack. A software that takes the input from the FireWire port, process it and show it on the computer monitor. It is really a whole rack of tools and Serious Magick that makes it, wanted to make something that could assist anyone shooting with a DV camera. So here you find ten different tools that can help you evaluate the quality of what you are doing. At an affordable price. If you shell out 295 USD you get the following:

• Digital Video Recorder
• Professional Field Monitor
• DV WaveForm Monitor
• VectorScope
• Automated Quality Monitor
• Audio Spectrum Analyzer
• Video Analyzer
• DV Grabber
• Timer/Clock Module
• Sureshot Module

A HDV addition is available for USD 195.

I think this is  one of the best investments you can make if you are working with DV video. It enables you to reliably monitor your signal while you are shooting. But you can also use it while editing or to analyze your production facility to find errors.

When you are shooting, you can keep a PC attached to your camera and immediately see if the signal is within the limits, and see if your framing is ok. And if you want to, you can even let the laptop record the DV signal as a backup for the tape. The DVR will detect when you start and stop recording and follow it. There is also a setting called Shot Saver that will buffer the video so when you hit record, it already has the previous seconds captured making sure you will never miss a situation.

I will not go into too much detail here, go to the website and check it out. But I will mention a few things. A lot of people use a TV as a monitor in their editing suite. This is fine if it is only for watching the cutting itself. But never use it when you do color correction or to evaluate the quality of a signal. A TV has a lot of filters to remove artifacts in a signal. But when you are editing you really want to see every artifact that exist in the material. DV Rack has a monitor that will give you a true picture.

There are a couple of things I am missing. First of all, it does not run on a Mac. And second, I really wish there were a version that would be able to monitor other types of video inputs. SDI, component, S-Video and composite would give people in the industry all over the world an affordable way to monitor their signals. 

To run DV Rack you need a PC running Windows XP or 2000, based on a Pentium 4 1,4 GHz or equivalent with a minimum of 256 MB RAM and a FireWire port.

This is the one tool that can help you perfect your video. But remember - you also need to know how to use it. So when you have bought the software, spend some time on learning how to use each tool. Knowledge is more important than every tool you can buy. Even here, DVRack can help you. The Sureshot module is a collection of charts and a software wizard that help you set up your camera and lighting correct. Do yourself a favour, download the 30-day trial version and check it out today!

I must admit I like to challenge my students sometimes. Just mess a little with their brain. And one of my favourite subjects is the dpi setting in Photoshop. It might be old news to you, but there is still a strong belief that if you are going to use an image for web or TV, it should be 72 dpi. So here is what I say.

Statement 1: Dpi has no impact at all on filesize.

Statement 2: A setting of 3167 dpi is very nice for web. Or TV.

Do you feel the urge to shout "Wrong!!!!!!" ? A lot of people do… But let us examine it closer.

Dpi has no impact at all on filesize.

This is actually very easy to show. Open a picture and change the dpi to 300. Save it. Then change the dpi to 50 and save it again with a different filename. If you have done this correct, the files should be very close in size. There could be a few bytes difference due to the way the filesystem store things. But no dramatic difference.

But maybe you have a huge difference between the files? Then you forgot to uncheck the Resample checkbox. Remember, I said change dpi. Not resample the image. As soon as you uncheck the Resample checkbox, the pixelsize of the image is greyed out in Photoshop. And the only thing that happens when you change dpi, is that the print size changes.

A setting of 3167 dpi is very nice for web. Or TV.

Actually, a setting of 64 dpi is just as nice. Try it.  Make a 300 x 225 pixel file at 3000 dpi. Then make a 300 x 225 pixel file at 50 dpi. Put them on a webpage and compare. Or take a look at my examples here.

The reason for both of these statement is the same. And very easy to explain. Dpi is all about print. Not about monitors or other forms of similar displays.  It is actually very clear in Photoshop. Take a look at the area that has the print size and dpi. There is a border around it that separate it from the pixelsize. This is because on most  monitors you can display a variety of resolutions and as the resolution change, the ratio between the physical dimention of the monitor and the number of pixels it displays per inch changes. Without any change to the dpi setting of the file. And on a TV in Europe, the size is 720 x 576 non-square pixels. This fills the TV no matter how big or small the TV is. So all that matters when you are going to output on a monitor is the number of pixels. Get the pixelnumbers right and set the dpi to whatever you prefer.

You might argue that if only the software could detect what monitor it is and how big it is, you could add a feature that will display the picture according to the right size. But this is a big if. I do not know about any software that can do this at the moment. The only software I know that really cares about dpi is software that is primarily meant for output to a printer. They will scale a picture on a page, relative to the size of the paper.

Please add any comments you might have.

The internet is and endless source of information. But it can be difficult to keep up with the constant flow of news. The simple task of checking for new articles at 20-30 websites each day is a very timeconsuming task even if you use bookmarks. And with the invvention of blogs, the number of websites that would be interesting to follow each day has multiplied several times over.

This is what RSS feeds, also called syndication, sets out to overcome. It is a way to tell a special reader program what is new at a website. The most common way to list up new articles is in an e-mail like format. But what reader should be used? There are three main types.

Plug-ins for well known programs or web browsers

If you prefer to minimize the number of applications you need to keep running, you might want to see if there are any plug-ins available for one of the programs you already have. Outlook, Internet Explorer, ThunderBird and Firefox are only some of the programs that have plug-ins available. Check with the respective websites for each of these programs to find the plug-ins or do a search on the net.

Stand-alone programs

This is where you find most of the heavy, feature rich, programs although you also find programs that focus on being simple and easy to use. Some of the programs in this category are amphetaDesk, FeedDemon, FeedReader, NetNewsWire, SharpReader and Straw.

Web based services

If you are a real cyber nomad than keeping it on the net is a good thing. That way you can access your feeds no matter where you are and you can use any tool that can display webpages. You are not restricted to one operating system, you do not even have to use your own computer. Any computer connected to the internet will do. Even your phone if it has a browser like Opera. If you want to look at some of these services, you can check NewsIsFree or Bloglines. These are only a couple of examples. Try a search to find more.

My own choice (so far..)

I have tried many different systems and they all have they good and bad sides. I like to be able to download the feeds to my laptop so I can read them later. This rules out the web based services. I also prefer to have as little functions and plug-ins in a program as possible. In my experience this leads to faster respons times and more stable programs. So when I find something new, I check their webpage first, and if it look like it might outperform the one I am using at the moment, I download it and try it out. I never go for a new program that does not have OPML export/import. This is a format for exporting and importing the list of feeds you subscribe to. And it makes it very easy to switch from one reader to another.
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If you are not living in total isolation, it is quite likely that your computer will at some point be vulnerable to viruses. So you need something that can protect you from it.

There is not shortage of these products. Antivirus software can be downloaded for free, you can use online scanners, you can buy it in the nearest supermarket alongside potatoes and diapers and I guess you even got a CD from your ADSL supplier and from your PC dealer.

But the quality of these programs differ a lot. And some of them totally drain your computers resources. A standard install of some of these might even make it impossible for you to be able to do your work on the computer!

Through a friend that run an ISP I was made aware of a company called Eset that have a product called NOD32. He recommended that I tried this antivirus solution and I have not regretted it for a second. It is fast, it uses very little resources and it performs well in all tests I have seen so far.

If you need a good program for your facility, your office or your home, I suggest you take a look at it. There is a 30-day free version that you can download and it is not crippled in any way.