Apr 3
How-To Guides David
bbc, conversion, iplayer, multimedia
[Windows Freeware - MultiMedia Conversion]
Quick Media Convert is a straigth forward, dare I say idiot proof, multimedia transcoding tool.
It has a simple drag and drop interface for adding the files you want to convert, along with a row of readily identifiable icons to choose the format you want to convert your content to. If the simple interface doesn’t give you enough control, there is an advanced interface which allows you to handle every specific detail of the conversion.
It can even handle Flash video files. Which is perfect if you just have to have that skate boarding dog from Youtube on your mobile phone or PMP. From some preliminary* testing I’ve done, it even seems that it can miraculously handle BBC flash video files too!
*(Note: So far I’ve just tested an episode of EastEnders, although it was a painfully slow conversion, which I guess is due to the DRM method they use.)
It isn’t an open source application, but it is free of charge. It also has a webcam and DV cam capturing mode, as well as a screen capturing mode; (I haven’t tried these so I can’t say much about them).
I would be interested in feed back about this one from non-Windows users. Can you make it work under Parallels (for Mac) or WINE (for Linux) ?
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Oct 29
Editorial David
audio, internet, long-format, multimedia, netcast, new media, podcast, video
I am an avid netcast viewer (I’m using the word “view” as a blanket term for watching or listening). Content produced by individuals on the internet has really taken over my viewing habits. There is very little broadcast TV & radio I listen to now, compared to what I watch and listen to from the internet.
There are two key benefits to internet delivered content compared to broadcast content. First is that it is on-demand; you view it when you choose. Secondly, you are able to enter search requests for what you want to view. You cannot search within individual shows, but you can search the text describing individual shows.
Next, some shows that I get are nice little 7 to 15 minute episodes that take very little time out of my day to view. Although, some shows are bohemouth 50 to 100 minute shows. Not only do these provide a headache for either finding a long enough slot in my day to view or for remembering where I stopped listening each time, but it’s also pretty hard to find an any specific moment with content I may need to refer to.
However, there is something that netcast producers can do, and are starting to do, to cure this problem. CBC Radio’s science show, “Quirks & Quarks” is usually over an hour long. However, when their netcast comes out every week, it is split into 5 or 6 parts, one for each section of the show. Also, the popular Linux netcast, “The Linux Action Show” is also just about to start doing a similar thing. Rather than doing their usual long format show. They will be producing short, on the fly shows to cover the latest news as and when it come out.
I think this approach to long-format internet multimedia content is excellent and provides a number of benefits to viewers:
- Easy to keep track of where you’re upto in a long show.
- Allows you to delete the parts you’ve listened to as you go.
- Makes the content more searchable.
This post has been written in response to the following blog posts:
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