Video and audio techniques
Explanations and tutorials on technical concepts related to video and audio. How to avoid blurry movies, remove the background, reduce shaky footage, improve sound, and how to reduce background noise, etc..
« Previous ArticlesThe do’s and don’ts of the autostart feature
Autostart is an attribute of embedding code to determine if rich media should start to play automatically when a page is loaded. There is a bit of confusion about when to use this feature, so I’ve thrown a couple of scenarios on a heap to explain best practices.
When is autostart a bad idea?
Generally, it is [...]
Joomla: How to serve videos based on subscription type
Here we discuss a free Joomla plugin to serve content on your site, depending on a subscription plan. For those not familiar with Joomla, you can register new users and give them a Joomla group status, like Registered, Author, Editor, Manager, etc… just as you would in WordPress.
Depending on that status, a user can do [...]
TimedText and how to use it
TimedText is a convention to place subtitles in videos without actually embed them in the video itself. This has huge advantages over embedded (hardcoded) subtitles because you can use the same video while using different languages, depending where you show it. TimedText can be used in two ways: Closed Captions or Open Captions.
Closed Captions(CC) [...]
How to use screenshots for poster images
Creating a custom poster image for video and audio is quite simple. In the video tutorials below I show you how to capture part of the screen and turn it into a poster image. We also add text to the poster image to make it more clear what the video or audio is about, but [...]
How to do an interview on Skype with PrettyMay
PrettyMay is a call recorder for Skype and in this article we show with video tutorials you how to configure the basic audio settings of PrettyMay and then we do an interview with Skype. First from Skype to landline phone, then from Skype to Skype. You will notice a considerable difference in quality [...]
S3 Amazon: Protect files against unauthorized use
Here you see how you can create expiring URLs to protect your files from leeching and this time we work with CloudBerry Explorer Pro, the competitor of S3 Browser. The Pro version does not differ from the free version when it comes to creating expiring URLs, but the free version expires after some time and [...]
Review of a video presentation
This is not the first time I show a video from MissK, and the reason is that she is a natural performer. Let’s have a look at this video and see what is good and what is bad:
Now you have seen the video, let’s review what we have seen here:
The good points:
MissK is not reading [...]
Recording a video interview with Skype
Sounds absolutely fantastic, recording video with Skype, isn’t it? Well, it is sort of hard to believe, even with the latest version of Skype, optimized for video and with video recording software like Call recorder for Mac or SuperTintin for PC.
After installing the latest version of Skype on PC (there is no new version [...]
Recording audio interviews with Skype
For those who do not know Skype, it is an application somewhat comparable with Yahoo Messenger or MSN. You can talk with friends or business associates by using a headset (headphones with build-in microphone). It is a free service and the quality of the sound is much better then telephone. But Skype goes a step [...]
YouTube doubled the size for uploads
YouTube announces that as from today, the upload for standard videos doubles from 1GB to 2GB, making it possible to upload bigger videos at higher resolutions.
New features
In addition, the YouTube team’s implemented new features to make it easier to show your HD videos on your site or blog by appending &hd=1 at the end of [...]
VidLogo contest changed
Since so far nobody reacted to the contest on the Vidlogo watermark contest, we changed the rules. Apparently, nobody was interested or we demanded too much. Anyway, we drop the idea that you have to submit a video. Instead, we ask you to test the watermarking application and give a comment about the application on: [...]
Vocal booth for podcasting
A vocal booth helps improve acoustics for a microphone and it can be a complete cabin or a portable booth. A complete cabin is relatively expensive but offers generally a better result then the portable version, although it depends on the situation. Some studios use a cabin and place a portable booth inside, but that [...]
The Video Watermark Contest!
To celebrate Spring after a loooong winter, we organize The video Watermark Contest which will run until the 1st of May 2009! The winner of this contest will receive a full license of VidLogo, an excellent utility for Windows to burn mark existing- and new videos fast and easy.
Read our review on Vidlogo to [...]
Broadcast quality audio for video interviews
Regarding audio and video, there is huge difference between broadcasting quality and podcasting or play back from computer. Although computer sound cards are getting better, it lacks way behind in comparison with professional audio equipment. This article shows a couple of pitfalls you have to avoid if there is a chance that you interview is [...]
How to keep a mic close by without revealing it in video footage?
To keep the microphone out of view while holding close to the interviewee you have 3 options: either use a mic stand, a boom pole or, under certain conditions, attach the mic to the camcorder. If you are on your own, using a boom pole can be impractical, because you have to monitor your camcorder [...]
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