Category Archives: Technology

creating a video on a mac for youtube

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I’m currently taking the Coursera Public Speaking class.  It’s a nice supplement to Toastmasters.  In the class, we create 4 videos.  I’ve never recorded myself on a webcam before, so this is interesting.

Setup

I used PhotoBooth.  I liked the narrower field of view than QuickTime player because it meant I didn’t have to move anything in my home to get a decent view.  I shifted the webcam up a bit to get papers behind me out of the way.  If I was recording something important, I’d fix this to get a better background.  Interestingly this turned out to be a lot easier than cropping a video from youtube.

Recording the video

Photo Booth is really easy to use.  You select video and click to start.  It gives you about 3 seconds to get in position before starting.  Then you export it at the end.

Cropping

Photo Booth takes care of the problem of leaning over to the computer to start the video.  It doesn’t for the end, so this takes cropping.  Which I did in iMovie.

  1. In iMovie, create a new project and import the video.  A 4-5 minute video took about a minute to import/
  2. iMovie automatically splits the video into short thumbnails.  Drag the one(s) you want to the top.
  3. Then mouse over the last video segment until you see yourself leaning over.  It’s frame by frame so easy to find.  Select the parts you want to remove and then just cmd-X to cut.
  4. Share > Export movie.  It took about 4 minutes to export.

Uploading to YouTube

  1. Upload > video manager
  2. Close the box about creating a channel on google plus.  I don’t want one and I’d like to not be prompted every time.
  3. Drag the video in.  (The first time I made in smaller so people with slower connections could see, but then I learned youtube shrinks it for you.)
  4. Choose unlisted access to the coursera students/peer evaluators can view.

 

roku replacing cable?

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A friend asked me to help her set up Roku to replace Time Warner Cable.  I’m not a fan of Time Warner (I had to get a DVR on no notice and the DVR periodically doesn’t record.) so no worries about helping them have one less customer.

Requirements

We started by listing what shows she watches to make sure the Roku met her needs.  The must haves were all on network tv with the exception of Fox News and HGTV.  HGTV doesn’t stream live anywhere although some shows are on their website.  Knowing this, she decided it wasn’t worth cable for just that one channel.

Setting up the Roku

They made this part really easy.  The instructions were simple and easy to follow.  The only wrinkle was that the Roku comes with a RCA component cable.  There is an option to use a HDMI cable, but you have to buy it separately.  My friend’s TV requires an adapter to use a RCA cable.  Lucky her cable box uses a HDMI cable so we borrowed that.

Activation was online.  Roku gives you a URL to type in.  It then polls to see if you’ve activated because the Roku knew it was activated as soon as we entered the registration info on the computer.

What went well

The Roku is easy to use.  It is easy to search for channels on it.  In fact, it does everything it promises.  The problems were almost all caused by external parties.

Problem #1 – six month Hulu Plus gift card

Roku is running a promotion that you get 6 months of Hulu Plus for free if you buy the $79 version.  They said you get it even if you buy the hardware in a physical store.  Needless to say, Best Buy knows nothing about this.  Calling Roku tech support, they insisted that Best Buy has the 6 month gift card and knows about it.

Problem #1.5 – CBS on Hulu

This isn’t really a problem; this is me not looking in advance.  I figured we would test the Roku with a show that we both like – Big Bang Theory – and tried to find it on Hulu Plus.  This show is available live free on over the air tv.  And later on cbs.com.  (We then tested watching Modern Family and the quality was good.)

Problem #2 – Fox news

The Fox News Channel listing shows an option to watch “Live Video.”  Including a link to the image because this is so key.  

See how it clearly says you can watch live video?  Well, you can’t.  Going to that channel on the Roku only shows three options – live audio, shows and topics.   Roku support says it is available “certain times depending on your area.”  I don’t buy that.  Searching online said this feature was always intermittently available.   The website live.foxnews.com takes you to FOX Business channel.

I did find an explanation of what is going on that is better than Roku Support’s answer.  Per RokuGuide.com:

FOXNews.com Roku channel has been relaunched as Fox News Channel. Gone is live weekday streaming of the Web-based Fox News Live program. In its place you now get live 24/7 streaming of Fox News Radio and clips from several popular Fox News television shows.

So far, Roku provides a convenient way of getting shows from different websites.  Which can be done for no additional fee.  Convenience doesn’t generally save money.

Conclusion

Over the air tv + watching internet streams on the tv seem like a better bet.  Still doesn’t show Fox News, but why should my friend pay $80 to have the same abilities she can get for free.

new samsung tv

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I bought a new HDTV/computer monitor.  I’m only using it as a TV, but they brand it as both.  Which is good as I can easily use it as a second monitor if I want to.  I went to B & H to see it in person before I bought it.  I like seeing electronics in the store.  The TV came well wrapped a few days later.

The missing manual

Setting it up was easy.  However, there was no manual.  Instead there was a CD which I imagine has the manual on it.  I say I imagine because the CD can only be used on Windows.  While I haven’t gotten rid of or given away my old Windows laptop, I don’t particularly want to take it out to open this CD.  The manual was downloadable via a PDF online.  I printed it and now have a printed manual.  Now I’ll grant you they saved paper not shipping a manual.  But there was plenty of other paper junk in the box.

The devices I actually use

All the devices a normally plug into the TV work fine.  It’s my first HDTV so I still need to plug in the HD cable from Time Warner.  I’m sure that is easy.

Over the air tv

I own a standalone antenna and digital converter box so I can provide tech support  for those to devices to family.  I’m considering upgrading said family’s tv so I decided to try out over the air tv to see what happened.

  1. With the cable box still plugged in, I scanned for over the air channels.  Three channels were found.  One of which came in poorly.  And one of which was displaying FOX on a channel number that should have been NBC.  None of the three channels came in well (analog fuzziness) and none of them had sound.
  2. I read online and tried changing a number of settings.  None worked.
  3. I emailed Samsung who suggested I check my connections.
  4. Then it occurred to me to try the standalone antenna.  I unplugged the cable box, plugged in the antenna and tried again.  (I do own an a/b switch letting me use both, but I’m not leaving the antenna plugged in long so it is easier to switch out.)  I have 47 channels over the air!  All of which come in decently to well.  For those who haven’t used over the air tv since before the digital cutover, each station can broadcast more channels now so there is a 2-1, 2-2, etc.

Is it worth having cable?

Probably not.  Now that over the air comes in, I imagine buying tv shows individually over hulu and watching streaming for events is more cost effective.  That would require faster internet though so I’ll revisit it when FIOS comes to town.  (Opportunity here for Scott to tease me about Tivo or Apple TV.)

Why did reception suddenly get better?

I have two things that changed.

  1. The new TV that doesn’t require a digital converter box.
  2. I moved since I last tried to watch over the air tv. (when the cable went out a few years ago.)  I suspect this is more significant as the current location of the antenna faces Manhattan – where broadcasting comes from.  Before I moved, it didn’t.

I was under the impression the HDTV had an internal tv tuner.  Not sure if it as an antenna, but probably not.  That explains why plugging in the antenna helped.

I tried my old tv with the external antenna and digital converter box.  The reception was good as well implying it is my new location more than the tv that helped.