Today Dell is announcing it’s new line of performance workstations, and we at Videomaker were lucky enough to get a Precision T7600 in for an early look. Even before firing it up, it’s clear that this workstation was built to work. If you’re getting a Mac Pro vibe you’re not alone. The carved mesh front and rectangular top handle is reminiscent of that iconic look, but don’t let its looks fool you. Dell has pushed functional design to new levels with the T7600, by putting user convenience at the forefront. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category
Dell Announces New Line of High Performance Precision Workstations
Learn to Make a Viral Video with a Free Report
How do successful viral videos like the dramatic prairie dog, Nyan cat, and OK GO do it? Learn how to make a viral video with a free report from Videomaker Magazine, How to Make a Viral Video: 11 Tips to Create a YouTube Sensation.
Every videographer dreams that their work will go viral, that they will shoot something that so speaks to people that it spreads like wildfire over the Internet. It’s a great way to bring attention to your business or show off your video-creating talents. And while it’s impossible to predict what will go viral, there are certain things that you can include in your videos to increase the odds that you’ll have a smash Internet hit on your hands.
A viral video is any video that becomes popular by being passed from person to person via the web. Marketers, entertainers, and videographers spend a lot of time trying to create videos calculated to “go viral” sometimes with great success. They can be anything from remixes of poorly translated video games like “All Your Base Are Belong to Us” to funny clips from the news like “Boom Goes the Dynamite,” but they can garner thousands (or even hundred of thousands) of views!
How to Make a Viral Video: 11 Tips to Create a YouTube Sensation is the free report from Videomaker that will show you how to do it. It includes 11 proven tips for increasing the likelihood that your video will go viral. Learn the reasons behind the popularity of some of today’s hottest videos and how you can use the same ideas to catapult your own way to video stardom. There’s no telling what videos will take the Internet like wildfire, but we’ll show you some easy ways to better your chances of success.
Download your free report, How to Make a Viral Video:11 Tips to Create a YouTube Sensation.
NAB 2012 Spotlight: HP Z1 – Workstation
Spotlight: HP Z1 – Workstation
We’ve been watching this one for a while, and a good thing since it’s going to change the layout of lots of video editor’s desktops. The Z1 brings the upgradeability of a workstation to the desktop, and an all in one desktop at that. Building from a good base is a life lesson, and the Z1 understands it with two of it’s three available processors as a quad-core Intel Xeon processor that is usually reserved for the highest-end computers.
Since the largest thing you’ll see in this computer is the monitor, HP provides a 27-inch display that can tilt horizontally and snap open to allow your to add your upgrades. Cool features also include a Blu-ray slot-load writer, 1080p webcam and SATA storage up to 2TB and 300GB SSD.
In case you missed our first post on the Z1 or are interested in how the announcements sound when they become presentations – click here.
World Backup Day – Are you Prepared?
When was the last time you experienced that Blue Screen of Death? March 31st is World Backup Day and is a reminder that anything that can go wrong with your computer, will go wrong, and backing up is an important step in protecting your precious files. There are many ways to backup your files, from hard drive to CD/DVDs and cloud storage online.
Hard Drive: if you have room on your hard drive, create a copy folder of your essential data. This not only gives you a second copy but is what you can use to copy out to CDs, DVDs or other media.
CDs and DVDs: if your computer has a CD/DVD burner, you can create your own CDs and DVDs to store data.
External Hard Drive: an external hard drive can connect to your computer via a USB connection and they can hold 1 TB at a relatively cheap price (some under $100). What’s also nice is the size: some can fit in the palm of your hand.
Online Backup Services: there are a variety of sites that allow you to backup your data some even for free! Read the rest of this entry »
HP Makes the Z1 Stand for All-In-One
This is HP’s first workstation to have it all. A 27-inch display that snaps open makes for easy upgrading of internal parts, the Z1 features high end Intel Xeon processors and NVIDIA Quadro graphics, with more than one billion colors from A-FRC technology. This brand new computer should stand up to the rigors of video production and render intensive projects.
The physical form of the Z1 is easy to handle since it eliminates the large desk-hog tower and does not require tools to get internal access. With seemingly little space for storage, options had to be made available, so between SSD, RAID, removable drives, memory cards, slot-load Blu-ray writer, and 7.2K and 10K SATA, most editors will find a method that fits their current workflow. Speed is always a question for video editing computers and with room for two internal 2.5-inch HDDs and one 3.5-inch HDD and as much as 32GB memory, the Z1 should be fast enough to keep up with lots of computers. For transferring data to and fro, USB 3.0 should suffice. The operation wattage comes to 400, which puts it close to that of mid-range towers.
The rest of the body houses the near 180 degree viewable LED display, IPS panel, 2MP 1080p HD webcam, and front SRS Premium Sound speakers. There are a total of 11 USB ports in and around the Z1, with the important 3.0 ones easily accessible on the side along with other commonly used ports for FireWire, mic, headphone, and media cards. The backside ports add LAN, SPDIF, line in/out, display port in/out and subwoofer. I get the feeling, this machine will make video playback a true joy.
Time may hold the best answer for how well the tool-less upgrades combine with the all-in-one package. Many across the globe will begin testing it for themselves in April when HP plans to make the desktop workstation available. With prices starting at $1,900 the Z1 may not only be a great investment for any computer shopper, but a space saving tool for any video editor.
We’re Living in a Golden Age of Video Production
We live in an age were most every family in America owns a video camera and editing software, even if they never sought out either. Anyone with an internet connection can put their video online where it can be seen by everyone on the planet. The web has given anyone who wants it, access to far more information than any film school alone can provide. The world of video production has entered a golden age. There are no more excuses not to pursue whatever goals you hope to achieve with video.
In the late ’90s, when the average middle-class American could purchase video editing software to run on the home computer they already owned, it was clear that we were entering a new era of video production. Consumer camcorders were already common, but with non-linear editors entering people’s homes, so too, was a quality of production reserved only for professionals or those willing to spend thousands on uni-tasking equipment.
Consumer video production stayed at that point for about 10 years, as individuals shot SD footage on their home camcorders and edited on their PC or Mac. In the last few years, however, we’ve seen a surge forward in the process of consumer level video production. It’s a result of computers and cameras getting cheaper, and moving into every electronic device in the home.
When The Blair Witch Project came out, people were amazed that someone could shoot an entire film that would be released world wide, on a simple consumer camcorder. Today, an iPhone 4S could easily take better quality video and cost significantly less. The only reason, I believe, that we haven’t seen a nationally released film shot entirely on a smartphone yet is simply because an upgrade in picture quality and functionality can be purchased for under a thousand dollars.
It’s not just the cost of quality cameras and accessibility of editing software that is bringing good looking video to the masses, it’s also the size. It turns out that a fluid-head tripod capable of supporting a 3lb camcorder doesn’t cost a lot of money. The same can be said about slider dollies, jibs, and even stabilizers.
Of course some equipment is as pricey as it’s ever been. Lights and microphones, for example, don’t seem to be getting any cheaper, but we live in the age of the internet. It’s much easier to learn from others about how to build your own lighting rig, or even record studio quality ADR straight into your laptop or iPad.
Cameras and editing systems are getting cheaper by the day, and the free flow of information on the internet is making it easier than ever to break into video production. As a result, Hollywood is losing its hold on the film industry, which is a good thing for both consumers and producers of great video.
Still No Apple MacPro Update Should Make Video Pros Nervous
When Final Cut Pro was revealed, video professionals were unhappy. Personally, while I loved previous Final Cut Pro releases, If FCP went away, I could get over it pretty quickly. Editors still have the powerhouse that is Avid, and I’m learning to like Adobe Premiere (admittedly, that’s mainly because of it’s integration with After Effects). The problem is, with the future of the MacPro in question, it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll be forced to migrate to Windows or Linux. The idea of giving up OS X is not something I, or many other videographers, relish.
Some will argue that with thunderbolt peripherals becoming more common, video editors can easily work on an iMac or MacBook Pro. While it’s true that thunderbolt allows for an amazing amount of modular expansion in terms of storage, monitors, and even PCI slots for GPUs, thunderbolt doesn’t address the limitation of RAM and processing power. If you’ve ever rendered out a complex After Effects composition, you know the importance of hyper threaded virtual cores and piles of RAM, something that out of the entire Apple line of computers, only the MacPro can provide.
One might argue that Apple hasn’t updated the MacPro because the hardware in the current generation MacPro still stands up to today’s standards. While that may be true, wouldn’t they at least update it to include the thunderbolt technology they’re putting in every other Mac? It’s my belief that by abandoning the MacPro line, Apple is unofficially abandoning professionals that need serious horsepower in their workstations. Would they do that? I doubt it, as if they want users to submerge themselves in the Apple ecosystem of consumer products, they’ll want people using Apple products at work as well. Apple wants a presence at school and at the office. It just doesn’t make sense to not offer a product for power users. Still, it is very fishy that it’s been a year and a half since the last update, and every day that goes by without word of a refresh makes me nervous.
What Does Shooting in 4K Video Mean for You?
Shooting and working in 4K is nothing new to professional film makers and compositors, but with the announcement of the JVC GY-HMQ10 being priced at under $5,000, 4K is finally within reach of prosumer and hobbyist videographers. However, most TVs and computer monitors will still max out at 1080p, so what’s the point? Personally, I don’t see 4096 × 3112 pixel TVs entering the average American’s living room any time soon, since if you’re sitting ten feet from the screen, the TV will have to be 80 inches before you’ll be able to see the difference between 4k and 1080p.
Even if your final output is still 1920×1080, you’re still going to get quite a bit of use out of 4k footage once you’re in post production. 4K footage is a whopping four times as many pixels as 1080p, and if you’ve ever had the experience of editing HD footage down to a final SD output, you know those extra pixels are a glorious luxury to have. It’s not uncommon to have a shot you’d like to crop and re-frame in post, and if you have four times the pixels, the amount of flexibility you have is enormous.
Additionally, shooting high resolution for green screen keying will make your keying process much simpler. With four times the data, your keying software should have an easier time differentiating the green pixels you want to key from the edges of your subject. Similarly, if you plan on doing any motion tracking, a more detailed image should help your tracker to stay on the points you’ve defined.
Now for the bad news. Much higher resolution images means much bigger files. The JVC GY-HMQ10 shoots to a variable bit rate h.264 file, which should be manageable, but if you’re editing in Final Cut Pro and have to trans-code to ProRes, file sizes are going to be enormous. If storage is a problem, plan on shooting in 4k selectively, and sticking to 1080p for the bulk of your footage.
It’s worth noting that with files being compressed to h.264, much of the color data will be lost. We’re excited to get our hands on some GY-HMQ10 footage to see exactly what we can do with it.
What are the Best Video Formats for Online Distribution?
How can you c
hoose the best video format to make sure that people view and spread your work over the Internet? Find out with our new free guide, What’s the best video format for online distribution?
So you’ve just finished completing the world’s next blockbuster and you want to get your baby on the web fast. The most important preparation is choosing how to format it for the web. Our newest free report explains video formats for the beginning to intermediate user — what the different video formats are and which are the best video formats for web distribution. You’ll learn the strengths and weaknesses of MOVs, AVIs, FLVs, WMVs, and MP4s, so you can make an informed choice when you decide how the online world will see your movie.
Whether it’s a question of finding the best compression for YouTube or choosing a format that allows your users to interact with the video, there is a video format out there for your exact purposes. Choosing the best video format for web distribution is absolutely vital for getting people to watch your videos on YouTube, Vimeo or other video sharing websites. We asked filmmaker/videographer Chelsey Grasso to decipher the mysteries of getting the best compression for YouTube and the web. Download this all new free report to have all the different video formats explained in plain English. You’ll never have to worry about your format choices adversely affecting your finished productions again.
Learn:
- Sharing Your Video Masterpiece with the World
- Why Video Formats Are Important
- Getting Down to Business: The Types of Video Formats
- Common Mistakes in Choosing a Video Format
- Tips for Selecting the Best Video Format in Any Situation
- Video Formatting: Wrapping It Up
- Additional Resources
Download your free report What’s the Best Video Format for Online Distribution?
Videomaker Best of CES 2012 Awards Announced
CES 2012 is nearly over and if you’re like us, you’ve probably passed the point of information overload even before the annual tech show began. Even so, we’ve decided to help you sort things out by showing you our picks for this year’s Videomaker Best of CES awards. Videomaker’s Best of CES awards were created to help you find products that were especially innovative, affordable, dependable, easy-to-use, and most of all products which empower each of you to make better video. So we’ve scoured the show floor, trekked many miles, and ruined more than one good pair of shoes to find out once and for all which CES products would do just that.
Best of Show: Nikon’s D4 DSLR -
It’s no surprise that our biggest award of the show went to Nikon’s newest DSLR, the D4. With features like an ISO range of 50 to 204,800, 1080p video with an uncompressed HDMI output, and an FX-format (36mm x 23.9mm) sensor, this DSLR has many features that videographers have been wanting in a DSLR for years. An interesting new feature is the camera’s ability to use a new 2.7x Crop mode to zoom into an image on a sensor without losing any of the 1920×1080 quality of the picture. This means that you can easily turn a 35mm lens into a virtual telephoto lens instead. The camera also has on screen audio indicators and a 20 step audio adjustment making this a real force to contend with in the DSLR world.
Best Lighting: Sunpak’s LED Video Lights -
We’ve seen lights like these before but never in such quantities and interesting designs. At CES 2012, Sunpak unveiled 5 LED products ranging from their DSLR67 ring light (that attaches directly to a DSLR lens) all the way up to their LED 96 which sports 96 high-powered LED’s. Best of all, almost all of their lineup runs off of easy-to-find AA batteries and can be attached on any camera’s shoe mount.
Best Microphone: Blue’s Microphone’s Spark Digital -
We’ve been impressed with Blue Microphone’s products ever since we laid eyes (or ears?) on their surround sound microphone the Snowball, but they’ve managed to impress us again with their newest offering at CES, the Spark Digital. The Spark Digital is a cardioid, solid-state condenser microphone that provides two different usage modes at the touch of a button: the Normal mode which is supposed to provide increased low frequency for those times when you need to sound like Don LaFontaine, and a Focus mode which changes the microphone’s frequency response in order to pick up more clarity and detail. The newest part about the Spark Digital is that it offers both USB and iPad connectivity. Better yet, Blue Microphone even thought to include a custom shockmount and pop filter for the microphone so that nothing will stand in the way of capturing the kind of audio you need.
Best Software: Corel’s VideoStudio Pro X4 Editing Software -
When we reviewed Corel’s VideoStudio Pro X4 back in October, we loved how easy it was to bring a project from start to finish. At CES 2012, our minds still haven’t changed. We love how VideoStudio Pro X4 offers great support for beginners by offering the Corel Guide – a useful repository for video training, customer support, and user forums. We also like how the software also offers dual screen support (something most introductory editing software leaves to the pros) and an easy stop motion video creator making VideoStudio Pro X4 a great choice for the Best Software at this year’s CES.
Best Computer: Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y580 Notebook -
Though NAB is where the real workhorses come out to play, we really enjoyed the power and affordability of Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y580. It has JBL speakers, an optional Blu-Ray burner and Intel’s Wireless Display technology. You can also get up to 8 GB of RAM along with a Core i7 processor in this beast to boot. As for the display, the Y580 sports a 1920x1080p screen and has a 2GB GTX66M card to drive it. Not bad for a laptop that starts at $899.
Best Storage Device: Lacie’s 2big RAID Drive with Thunderbolt -
LaCie never fails to do something big in the world of hard drives and this year was yet again no exception. LaCie introduced a new version of their popular 2big that now has the power of Thunderbolt which gives the drive speeds up to 311 MB/s. The 2big also conveniently adds RAID technology to protect all of your valuable footage and has hot-swappable drives so there’s never any need to reboot the system in order to upgrade or repair the drive.
Best Support: iOmount’s iOstand and iOmini -
iOmount is a brand new company at CES, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less eligible for the Best of CES award. No, if you have a product as innovative as they do, there’s no way we would be able to keep from talking about it. iOmount stood out for its innovative mounting idea for iPad and iPod-like devices. Their mounting device allows a free and unobstructed rotation of any device using a ferro-magnetic sphere and a specially engineered magnetic carrier. In laymen’s terms, this means you can mount your iPad easily to the stand just by placing snapping it into place and then rotate your iPad without the need for holsters or locks. In addition, iOmount plans on releasing an articulating arm so that you can have your iPad or iPhone over your bed while you read a book or text message hands-free.
Best Bag: Tiffen’s Domke RuggedWear Camera Bags -
Tiffen has been a leader in optical filters for years but camera bags? You bet. At this year’s CES, Tiffen released a new line of Domke RuggedWear camera bags meant for almost any situation you might find yourself in. Each Domke bag is made of weather-tough and durable cotton canvas along with a strap made of durable cotton webbing and a steel snap hook so they’re built to last. They were also designed from the ground up to be easy to carry and easy to clean which we always love to hear.
Best Accessory: GoPro’s WiFi BacPac -
Though GoPro announced the WiFi BacPac earlier in the year, Videomaker had yet to see what this unit could really do – until now. GoPro’s WiFi BacPac gives GoPro’s popular Hero and Hero2 cameras the ability to transmit live video streams to a smart device such a a tablet, smartphone, or computer while at the same time being able to control a bevy of video options as well. As a result of using WiFi, this remote can travel over an incredibly long distance without losing signal – something that any videographer capturing a sporting event will love.
Best Camcorder: JVC’s GY-HMQ10 4K Camcorder -
JVC has seemed to hit the ground running this year by announcing a new 4K camcorder at CES 2012 and we were impressed. The camcorder can record at a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels using its Falconbird processor and 1/2 inch sensor, can record to SD cards, and has 2 phantom powered XLR ports. Though it has a fixed lens for now, we’ve heard rumors of an interchangeable lens concept coming soon – but that’s our little secret.
Spotlight Award: Panasonic’s 4K x 2K monitor concept -
This is a product that we’ve been waiting for a long time to get: a 20 inch field monitor that packs a 4K x 2K resolution. That means shooters everywhere will be able to see the full glory of their 4K footage from cameras like RED’s Epic or JVC’s newest Gy-HMQ10. Though there’s no price information on this big boy yet, we’re excited about it’s potential.
Spotlight Award: Sony’s Handycam HDR-PJ760V Camcorder/Projector -
It’s funny how close camcorder companies are to blurring the line between professional and consumer camcorders. Sony has done just that by releasing their newest camcorder and projector the HDR-PJ760V. The camcorder comes with 96 GB of internal storage space, an incredible 24.5 MP still image capture option, image stabilization, and of all things a high contrast projector said to be twice as bright as Sony’s offering last year. This means not only will you be able to capture your family’s memories to share with them when they get older, you can also easily show them what you got anywhere you are.
Spotlight Award: Buffalo’s AirStation WZR-1750H Router -
Buffalo’s always been one of the first companies to embrace new technology and industry trends so it came as no surprise that they released an 802.11ac dual band router at CES 2012. We were specifically impressed by the AirStation’s wireless speed which Buffalo claimed could hit 1300 Mbps, approximately three times faster than 802.11n. What’s amazing is that just a few short years ago, standard Ethernet cable used to have a hard time getting speeds up to 1300 Mbps and now wireless routers are doing it in spades. Not to be left out, the router will also have a 2.4 GHz 3×3 802.11n radio inside so that it can be backward compatible with the 802.11a/b/g/and n standards.
Spotlight Award: Tiffen DFX v3 –
If you’ve ever had to try to fix an image after it’s already been edited into your video project, you know how painstaking it can be. Tiffen has come along to help you make that better with it’s DFX video and editing effects suite. Tiffen DFX is a plug-in filter that in many ways mimics the screw-on glass lens filters that professional photographers use, but it’s like having a filter on steroids.
Version 3 has added even more filters for optical effects along with interface improvements and host support. The digital filters are made to simulate Tiffen’s glass filters – and you don’t have to try to find one that fits your lens… nor are you stuck with the effect that a screw-on lens might produce. The effects are easy to apply, fun to use, and can take your videos from good to outstanding in a very professional way, which is why we gave Tiffen the Videomaker Spotlight Award for CES 2012. Read more about the Tiffen “Videomaker Spotlight” award.
Spotlight Award: Satarii’s Swivl –
Asking someone to snap a photo can be a stretch, asking them to do camera movements is crazy unless you plan to hire a camera person. The Swivl is your answer in such times. By using a marker, the Swivl keeps you or your subject in a user-defined frame and has the capacity to record audio via an iPhone app. The 360 degrees panning capability is paired with a 25 degree vertical axis to capture a lot of action. The base and marker take AA and AAA batteries respectively, which provide for about four or ten hours of recording depending on whether you opted for the wall charger or the battery life of your pocket camera.
The Swivl is prepped to ship during the first quarter of 2012 and has been an innovative project for us to see from prototype to product, so we are glad to give it a Spotlight Award for the International CES 2012.
You are currently browsing the archives for the Computers category.
Recent Comments