Make 3D worlds extrapolated from a pile of photographs

Create Digital Motion � Microsoft Live Labs Photosynth Transforms 2D Photos into 3D Worlds; Hands-on

Good geekery!

New fangled 2K+ camcorder comparison

SI-2K vs Red One

For those who haven't been keeping up on new camera developments, Silicon Imaging will be releasing their SI-2K camera in the next few months, and Red Digital Cinema will be releasing their Red One probably in the second quarter next year. I (Mike Curtis, rare contributor here) wrote a ridiculously long article (about 12,000 words) going through how the specs between the two compare.

Both of these two cameras are doing some radical new stuff as compared to traditional camcorders:

-modular/configurable form factor, moreso than regular camcorders
-data centric, tapeless recording
-full raster, 10 (now Redcode is 10 or 12) bit wavelet based proprietary RAW codecs to 2.5" hard drives
-12 bit RAW uncompressed recording as well
-record to small form factor disks, then copy to a computer/other hard drive
-emphasis on the post solution with a desire for widespread native NLE support
-under $20,000
-variable frame rates
-720, 1080, & 2K resolutions all from same camera
-windowed/cropped sensor mode for lower resolution, smaller lens coverage, but higher frame rates
-higher than video frame rates
-progressive imaging
-multiple lens mounts available

Anyway, if you are trapped in a mine and have some time to read, and are interested in these kinds of next generation cameras, check it out.

-mike

Video the Vote

Shadowplay by Joy Division | C505

This video project was inspired by the famous album cover art of 1979 album, Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" designed by Peter Saville. Original video footage is from Joy Division's TV performance of "Shadowplay" on Granada Reports. The video footage was animated with the same topographic style of the album cover design.

Link
Found via Rhizome

Sharp demos 4Kx2K 64" experimental LCD

Sharp's very, very sharp experimental screen | CNET News.com

Somebody asked me how you would monitor a 4K signal - if not using the Viewsonic monitor (like Red had at the IBC booth) that is slightly sub 4K, or using the incredibly pricey, really for theatrical display Sony 4K projector, perhaps something like this would be used in the future - a 64" 4K LCD panel, DCI spec resolution - 4096x2160 (which is twice 2Kx1080 in each dimension). That
s about 9 megapixels. Another company was showing a similar resolution panel at IBC, I can't recall the name though.

This unit is experimental only, however, and not planned for resale at this time. They were also showing off a million to one contrast ratio screen.

EyeTV Hybrid

One of the guys here at work just got the Elgato Eye TV Hybrid and I'm really impressed with it. It's a usb dongle for the mac that gets HD tv off the air and lets you record it and automatically outputs to ipod, dvdstudio pro, idvd, transport stream, toast, and just about anything else you can think of. It uses the mac remote and has it's own layer in frontrow. It also provides you with analog hd inputs in case you feel like plugging in your game console and playing/recording it on your computer. I'm not a big TV watcher, but this is an unbelievably slick device/software package, and I totally want one now.

Opinion: High-Definition Video--Bad For Consumers, Bad For Hollywood - News by InformationWeek

Cory Doctorow from BoingBoing on how consumer HD video products are being used as a carrot to con people into accepting a bevy of DRM that will severely cripple how they can use the content that they purchase.
Link

ProLost: Less is more

ProLost: Less is more

Digital Heaven

Digital Heaven

LoVid

LoVid create artwork using homemade video synthesizers that remind me a little of Peter Blassers audio synths. The use of patchwork fabric enclosures give the devices a weird kids-toy quality kind of like Chumby.
Lovid will be performing tomorrow (9/18) on south street seaport in the speigeltent, then will present at iEAR in Troy New York next week.

Apple to release iTV video streaming box in 2007 - Engadget

Codenamed iTV, Apple is releasing a Mac Mini-like settop box in the first quarter of 2007. The presentation listed "wireless component" as a video out option, as well as HDMI. We'll continue to watch this device as more information is released. Shipping price is listed at $299.

Apple to release iTV video streaming box in 2007 - Engadget

Images at iLounge

Motion DSP, pixel restoration/enhancement, free on youtube - The Digital Video Information Network

Motion DSP, pixel restoration/enhancement, free on youtube - The Digital Video Information Network

Ways to make video look better through post processing.

AppleInsider | Microsoft leaks Windows Vista pricing

AppleInsider | Microsoft leaks Windows Vista pricing

$199 for home basic, $239 for Home Premium, $299 business, $399 ultimate; Amazon taking preorders with Jan 30, 2007 preliminary ship date.

See article for more details.

Radical Software

Collected now online- all the issues of Radical Software, a great 70's MacLuhanite zine about early video art and media activism. This stuff is like porn for me, vintage video gear with a good dose of pre-internet media theory.

As problem solvers we are a nation of hardware freaks. Some are into seizing property or destroying it. Others believe in protecting property at any cost including life or at least guarding it against spontaneous use. Meanwhile, unseen systems shape our lives. Power is no longer measured in land, labor, or capital, but by access to information and the means to disseminate it. As long as the most powerful tools (not weapons) are in the hands of those who would hoard them, no alternative cultural vision can succeed. Unless we design and implement alternate information structures which transcend and reconfigure the existing ones, other alternate systems and life styles will be no more than products of the existing process.

Memory Mirror

More awesomeness from the Royal College of Art 2006 show.
Link Via Pixelsumo

Picturephoning.com: Tiny radio chip stores video clips

A 'Memory Spot' no bigger than a grain of rice offers greater memory and faster transfer speeds than RFID tags - and could be read by a cellphone, reports New Scientist.

'The chip, called a Memory Spot, is small enough to be attached to a postcard or a photograph and could be used to append video, audio or hundreds of pages of text to all sorts of everyday objects. In hospitals, for example, the chips could allow doctors to add detailed medical records to a patient's plastic wristband.

Link

Slashdot | Core 2 Reviews All Around the Web

Slashdot | Core 2 Reviews All Around the Web

....and why should you care? Because it is widely expected that Apple will use these chips in their G5 tower replacements, expected to be called Mac Pros. They be fast. Fast good.

Sci Fi Tech Blog- Frisbee Camera

I can think of about a million awesome uses for this. Unfortunately it's still just an idea.

Drifting in from the "What the hell?" department comes the Frisbee camera. Yes, in case there aren't any pretty young things around to impress with your acrobatic Frisbee tossing, now you can record all your amazing jumps and throws for playback on your cell phone, which is way manlier. And if you're thinking the footage from a spinning Frisbee would most likely give you vertigo, designer Adam Sutcliffe is one step ahead of you: a fin on top of the disc attaches to a rod that pokes through the center axis, which in turn attaches to the camera.

Link

More DIY 360° tests

Following up to my post a while back about my experiments with panoramic video, I've just got round to putting some more footage online. I shot these shortly after the original experiment, using a slightly more advanced setup (nice new glass bauble instead of old plastic one! ^_^) but it has, typically, taken me an age to get round to putting the results online.



I've experimented with shooting sideways, and also stuck cheesy video effects on a couple of shots for no good reason. Hope you enjoy.

New lasers from Ricoh read both HD DVD and Blu-ray - Engadget

Link