al mcguire

Solar Charger For iPhone Swiftly Sucks Up The SunThe very concept of keeping an iPhone fully charged? Laughable. But using the sun as a power source? That's positively preposterous. Apparently crazy is on the menu over at Dexim HQ. Their new solar-powered P-Flip promises to juice an iPhone's talk time up to eight hours. The rigging basically looks like a bulky black and camouflage case. You slide the iPhone in (there's a version for BlackBerry schlepers too) and the panels soak up sunlight and transfer it over to the phone's power-hungry battery. While the P-Flip manual claims a full solar charge takes 10-12 hours, Dexim's website says 15 hours. Whatevah! In our testing we found it takes at least half a day of sun exposure to get the power meter full. But check it out: It doesn't matter if it's cloudy, foggy or smoggy — the battery charges up at the same rate no matter the conditions. Want to know just how much charge the P-Flip battery has? Push the side button and an array of three LED mini-lights tell you how much energy you've got left. The middle light also keeps you informed if a solar or USB charge is taking place. The P-Flip is also digitally ambidextrous, flipping both horizontally or vertically — cool for hands-free viewing of videos in either direction. There's an included USB cord too that you can use to sync the phone with iTunes on a PC or Mac. The dock folds up for compact storage, although we suspect sensitivity to dings and scratches of the exposed solar panels. A form-fitting storage case might be a good idea if you don't mind added bulk. In any event this solar charging case isn't a bad idea. Anyone who needs their phone charged and won't be near an electrical outlet for a while would be smart to get one. After all, it looks like those crazy kids from Hair were right to demand that we let the sunshine in. WIRED Unique solar-paneled charger and sync dock for iPhones (and BlackBerry) keeps you talking for extra hours. Collapsible clamshell dock can be used as a kickstand for viewing video and for syncing as well. With a male-female iPod extension cord, you can recharge an iPad as well. TIRED Charging the dock via the solar panels takes half a day. Plastic covered solar panels get ouch-worthy hot when left in direct sunlight. Manufacturer: Dexim Price: $80

hi all I'm thinking sound vehicles would be another great permanent topic I have a 1998 Ford E 150 w/ 210,000 miles, gets 14 - 17 mpg I'd buy a new van tomorrow if there was something that would still be economical in 10 years crew I like the nissan I've also been watching the full size Transit Ford UK site http://www.ford.co.uk/Commercialvehicles/Transit/Overview download the e-brochure pretty cool verhicles with a lot of choices diesel or gas front or rear wheel drive wheelbase and height choices I'm hoping if I just hold on more choices appear when will they show up in our market ? who knows but the Transit Connect wasn't here a year ago al mcguire

guys use them to tie their hair in ponytails just a few years ago ...

I have also experienced this " audio error " camera was hard mounted on a truck and was using the on camera hard drive, The solution that day was to use the RED CF cards . I think we are the canary in the coal mine as removing audio doesn't resolve the error. Thanks for retrieving this topic from it's bipolar highjacking. al

hi all I greeted the arrival of RED audio by buying the needed break away cables - one for a Coopers +4db output level , another for the Sound Devices 0 db output level, so I can be right on the REDs -20 db hash mark. I jam timecode from a Denecke sb-t sync box and also do a separate back up recording to a SD 744t or 788t. These audio files end up in an audio folder on the production hard drives This is my way of working with file based cameras. I also listen through the camera I am recording to, as I know the editor will start w/ the files audio, and it usually works out that the camera recording is sufficient quality. The RED manual states " Audio is recorded 24-bit 48khz, which provides high audio fidelity and wide dynamic range ". That has not been my experience or the experience of others on this board. I follow up RED jobs by calling the editors and ask how the audio was. Some would hear what I heard and others would not, let's face it good audio monitor systems are not always a part of an editors tool kit, I see a lot of less than $100 compusa type of monitors in edit rooms. The current thinking on this board is to pad down the inputs another 7-10 db and stay in the green area of the meters and do not push the level. Wait a minute, this is supposed to be a 24bit recorder so why can I not use all of that resolution ? I work with a lot of RED owner operators and they really do not like it when I have a negative opinion of their cameras audio, " no one else has a problem with it al " I don't like having a negative opinion either, but a system that works with all sorts of other cameras should work well with a RED. How would they feel about a rental camera that always overexposed their correctly exposed work and the solution was to underexpose ? Like a lot of production sound folk my backround was in music recording. If we had a new piece of gear that we liked but didn't sound right we would call in the technoids who would look at the schematics ( anybody ever see a RED audio circuit schematic ? ) and see ways to improve the circuit usually by tweaking the resitors and caps and we would have solder parties at the studio to change out the components, aah the good old days. So what do we do now, keep recording guide tracks for those editors who hear the difference or try to get RED to acknowledge that there is still a audio problem. Reduser.coms audio forum is useless for a professional re: " whats the best cheap camera mic for a RED ? " . Do we want to make it a topic on the Cinematography.net Digital Raw forum ? Jim Jannard reads and replies to that list and that might inspire some changes. Do we hope that the next generation RED will have AES audio inputs ? What do we do ? Al McGuire

Apple Unveils All New Mac mini CUPERTINO, California—June 15, 2010—Apple® today unveiled a completely redesigned Mac® mini, featuring up to twice the graphics performance, a new HDMI port and a new SD card slot, all in an amazingly compact aluminum enclosure. Mac mini is the world’s most energy efficient desktop and starting at $699, is the most affordable way to enjoy Mac OS® X, iLife® or Mac OS X Snow Leopard® Server. “The sleek, aluminum Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini.” Created with the unibody construction process pioneered by Apple, the new Mac mini features a compact aluminum enclosure just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. A new integrated power supply eliminates the need for an external power adapter, reducing overall system volume by 20 percent and keeping cable clutter to a minimum. A removable panel underneath provides quick access for memory expansion. Mac mini is incredibly versatile, effortlessly connecting to existing peripherals such as mice, keyboards and digital displays, while the new HDMI output connects Mac mini to an HDTV and the new SD card slot enables easy transfer of photos and videos from a digital camera. Inside its sleek, compact enclosure, the new Mac mini includes the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market today. With 48 processing cores, the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor delivers up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, making Mac mini ideal for graphics intensive applications or visually rich games. Mac mini comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 320GB hard and 2GB of RAM for $699. With twice the graphics performance, the new Mac mini is still the world’s most energy efficient desktop.* The new Mac mini reduces power consumption by an incredible 25 percent to less than 10W at idle, less than half the power required by competing systems. Mac mini meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.** The new aluminum enclosure is highly recyclable and Mac mini uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants and features material-efficient system and packaging designs. Mac mini comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server fulfills all the server needs of a workgroup or small business including email, calendar, file serving, Time Machine® backup, Wiki Server, Podcast Producer and more. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server uses less than 11W of power at idle, a fraction of the power consumed in comparison to typical entry-level tower servers.*** Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is faster than before with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 500GB hard drives now running at 7200 rpm, 4GB of RAM and supports unlimited clients for $999. Pricing & Availability The new Mac mini is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $699 (US), includes: • 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache; • 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB; • a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive; • 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm; • NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics; • AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; • Gigabit Ethernet; • four USB 2.0 ports; • SD card slot; • one FireWire® 800 port; • one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort; • HDMI to DVI video adapter; • combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and • combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack). Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB hard drive running at 5400 rpm, Apple Remote, Aperture™ 3, Final Cut® Express 4, Logic® Express, iWork® (pre-installed), Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare® Protection Plan. The Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes: • 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache; • 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB; • two 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm; • NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics; • AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; • Gigabit Ethernet; • four USB 2.0 ports; • SD card slot; • one FireWire 800 port; • one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort; • HDMI to DVI video adapter; • combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and • combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack). Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, External SuperDrive, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan. *Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA Energy Star 5.0 database as of June 2010. **EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visitwww.epeat.net. ***Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA Energy Star Small Scale Server database as of June 2010. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_scream http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm.html

Pixar Gets Dolby to Invent ’Rain of Sound’ to Match 3-D Movies By Ryan Flinn May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co.’s Pixar made the latest installment of its “Toy Story” franchise in 3-D to satisfy the growing appetite for immersive visual effects. Its next challenge: getting the sound effects to match. The current setup in most theaters, known as 5.1, couldn’t direct sounds precisely enough to specific parts of the theater, says Paul Cichocki, post-production supervisor at Pixar. The audio didn’t feel like it was putting the viewer in the middle of the action, he says. “We really wanted to take sound to the next level, and we just weren’t able to do much in 5.1,” Cichocki said. “If we could put sound in the right places, it helps your brain look in the right place.” That’s why Pixar urged Dolby Laboratories Inc. to develop a new version of its sound system, the dominant audio technology in theaters. The resulting Dolby Surround 7.1 standard lets movies deliver sounds through seven speakers, plus one subwoofer, which handles bass. For Dolby, the technology helps the company keep pace with other cinema improvements -- from crisper digital images to reclining seats -- and give audiences a reason to keep coming back. Sound technology alone doesn’t compel people to see a movie, says Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com’s box-office tracking division. It’s just a subtle part of improving the experience, he says. ‘Generates Goodwill’ “It’s kind of hard to convince people to pay more for better audio,” he said, “but I think it pays dividends just in how it generates goodwill with audiences, and how audiences perceive your theater.” Adding digital video and other enhancements to theaters has helped U.S. cinemas raise ticket prices to about $7.95 this year on average, up 7 percent from 2009, according toHollywood.com Box Office, an industry website. “Toy Story 3,” which debuts on June 18, is the first film to use the 7.1 technology. Cichocki faced the limitations of 5.1 when re-editing some of Pixar’s earlier movies. In a scene from 1999’s “Toy Story 2,” a film the studio is rereleasing in 3-D, the characters are riding though a store and crash into a pile of balls that fall around them. The sound originally didn’t match the action on screen closely enough, Cichocki says. “We went in and recut the ball effects, so that now those things are falling from all the speakers in the room,” he said. “It’s this rain of sound, omni-directional all around you.” ‘Toy Story’ Franchise The first two “Toy Story” films generated more than $800 million at the box office, according to IMDb.com, a movie- tracking website. And “Toy Story” merchandise has grossed $8 billion in global sales since the first movie was released in 1995, according to Disney. The new 7.1 system is the first upgrade to the technology since Dolby Digital Surround EXcame out for “Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace” in 1999. It breaks out the sound channels in the back of the theater, allowing for four separate surround-sound zones. All of them can be used independently. “It really shows off,” said Fred Walraven, technical director for Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, which owns about 96 cinemas with 973 screens. “If there’s an action that goes down, say, the right wall or left wall, it can actually turn behind you, and it does, and it’s very evident.” For theaters already equipped to run EX, switching to 7.1 only requires a free software update, says Stuart Bowling, technical marketing manager for San Francisco-based Dolby. Locations without the current Dolby system may have to add speakers and rejigger wires. At most, he says, “you’re looking at an investment of around $700.” Small Investment Kerasotes’ new 16-screen location in Chicago is already wired to use the new technology, Walraven says. “You can just swap a bunch of pins, and then you balance the channels, and you’re set. It really is not a very expensive option to put on,” he said. “Probably other guys in my same position with their companies are going to start doing the same thing.” Some form of Dolby’s 5.1 surround sound, which debuted in 1979 on Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” is already in most theaters worldwide. The company is working to extend its technology beyond movies into mobile phones and personal computers. That expansion helped Dolby boost sales 19 percent last quarter to $243.4 million. The company also has started to provide 3-D video technology to theaters, opening up a new source of revenue. Impact of ‘Avatar’ “Avatar,” the highest-grossing film of all time, opened the floodgate to 3-D movies. It’s taken in more than $2.7 billion in worldwide box-office receipts since its Dec. 18 release. Three-dimensional films, such as “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Alice in Wonderland,” have continued to dominate, leading the box office in 12 of the first 19 weeks of the year. “They’re trying to create a unique experience now by giving a giant screen, better seating and more powerful sound systems,” Dolby’s Bowling says. Several theater chains had approached Dolby before Pixar about improving their audio. “They were saying to us, ‘How can we move forward, how do we do this?’” Consumers won’t go to see a bad movie just because it looks and sounds good, but they may spend more on a film if a theater has the latest technology, Dergarabedian says. “I don’t know that kids say, ‘Mom, I got to go see this movie, it’s in 7.1 Dolby,’” he said. “But once they see the movie, they may be so blown away by both the visual and audio experience they may want to go back and see it again.”

I sent this thread off to my news camera pal here is his $.02, w/ OT $.03, w/DT $.04 al ______________________________________________________ That's said but true. Hard to get more $25-$30 for a transcription kit...but you stay on the clock while doing the transcription upload and...here's the genius part...and wait for confirmation It all works out. The pen is always mightier than the sword.

This has been a great thread I didn't have anything to contribute until a friend sent this 3 string dulcimer video al

hi pascal you can do this easily select CREATE REPORT button next window shows a FORMAT button PDF is default and CSV is selectable when you are finished select the SOUND REPORT button wave agent is a swiss army knife kind of audio application a great tool thank you sound devices al

" How about referring to it as a "traditional slate" and not a "dumb" slate? As there's really nothing "dumb" about it, just because the term "smart slate" came into play with the advent of the timecode slate, doesn't mean that suddenly the "traditional slate" got stupid. You got to accentuate the positive, to eliminate the negative.... " +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ that was wonderful thank you RVD al

With a build 21 camera last week - camera locks up and says "sound error" Anybody with similar experiences/comment solutions ?? ______ Yes I have RED b21 w/ hard drive mounted on a truck bouncing over ruts Camera assistant unplugged the audio and it had no effect other than to get a big WTF? look from me apparently audio is the canary in the coal mine Next time we had that scenario camera had switched to CF cards and we had no issues al mcguire jacksonville fl

" Using "Free run" means that there will be TC breaks throughout the tape when digitizing for NLE's " Tape ? what is this tape ? I haven't seen any tape lately, just hard drives and film al " freerun " mcguire jacksonville fl

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/03/wonderland-tech-tricks/ green boom poles !

thanks for the information, all al

it is a union commercial apparently there is low budget provision if the daily budget is under $75k and the LA rates are the commercial rates hmmn

I had a call yesterday asking about a low budget commercial rate for a soundmixer. I didn't know that there was a low budget commercial contract. Can anyone shine some light on this ? al mcguire

netflix shows a february 24, 2009 dvd release

hi wayne I faced this same dilemma. Here is how I made my decision . Ambient is in Germany, Denecke is in California. A 1 800 number gets you to Charlie Parra who can help you through any issue, plus the printing is bigger on the Denecke. I do wish the SB-T had a case. al mcguire

phil I think sitting down and writing out the days events is a wonderfully cathartic way of dealing with your projects challenges, especially if you can find a chuckle or 2 after the day is over. You want to do good work and you are doing the best they will let you do. Take good notes and keep your good attitude. al mcguire

Top 10 April Fools' Pranks for Nerds http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2008/03/pranks08

Want to climb into the cockpit of an Airbus A380? http://www.gillesvidal.com/blogpano/cockpit1.htm al

we've done this shot before I agree w/ GT wire the hero boom the rest if there are too many folks around the steadicam use a longer pole don't make it more difficult than it is forrest gump mode = simple is as simple does al mcguire soundguy inc. jacksonville fl