Recording, edit and embed WMV/ASF video streams

Last update : January 30, 2013
Several methods are available to record WMF/ASF video streams:

  • VLC Media Player : To record WMF video streams with VLC Media Player, use the following procedure – Select File->Open Network Stream – Select HTTP/HTTPS/FTP/MMS and paste the URL/Link – Select Stream/Save under Advanced Options and click on Settings – Select Outputs and Play locally and File – Select ASF as Encapsulationd Method – OK and VLC should start play and also capture the video to the file
  • VM Recorder : WM Recorder uses a unique Stream Capture Technology to give perfect bit-for-bit reproductions of the original video stream.
  • Net Transport download manager

A full list is available at the Videohelp website.

To cut the video streams, I use the Video Cutter V1.0 software. To embed the video streams in a webpage, I use the licensed version of the JW Player – Silverlight Player 1.1.

Net Transport : a fast and powerful downloading manager

Last update : February 27, 2012
“Net Transport” (also called NetTransport or NetXfer) is a fast, exciting and  powerful downloading manager.

It supports the most pop Internet protocols, including: HTTP / HTTPS, FTP / over SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) / over SSH (Secure Shell), MMS (Microsoft Media Services), RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol), BitTorrent, eMule, RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPT (Real Time Messaging Protocol).

The current version is 2.96c issued on August 4, 2011. Net Transport is shareware, the price is 29,95 US$, a 30 day trial version is available.

JibJab starring you : online humor with Actionscript 3

last update : January 30, 2013

JibJab Starring You Skating

JibJab, an online humor site with original and user generated jokes, live videos, flash and other animated videos, is run by the digital entertainment studio JibJab based in Venice, California. Founded in 1999 by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, the company achieved international acclaim during the 2004 US presidential election when their video of George W. Bush and John Kerry singing  This Land is Your Land became one of the biggest viral video hits in history. More details are available at Wikipedia and on the JibJab Blog.

The HeadCut Tool of the video application JibJab Starring You, with which the user can cut head and jaw, and generate relevant graphic files, was produced by Filippo Gregoretti, an italian born ActionScript developer and New Media consultant. His blog pippoflash.com was developed to showcase his work, but especially to provide help or give inspiration to all those out there who love the creativity allowed by ActionScript and Flash.

Filippo Gregoretti’s other love of his life is the Piano, he perform internationally as pianist.

To start with jibjab, yoiu can subscribe for a free membership. In order to personalize and send exclusive content, you will need to purchase a Membership (12 $ per year). With a Membership, you get access to exclusive eCards & videos!, make unlimited Starring You! movies, share unlimited JibJab Sendables eCards, get discounts on digital downloads,  are the first to know about new releases and  support great artists!

The videos are available in two formats for download (1,99$ per video for members):

mpg:

video : MPEG-PS, MPEG Video version 1, 425 x 319 pixels, 24 frames/s, ratio 4:3,  4.985 kbps;
audio : MPEG Audio Version 1, Layer 2,  44,1 KHz, 2 channels, 160 kbps;

mp4:

video : MPEG-4 (Base Media),  Visual Simple&LG1, 425 x 319 pixels, 24 frames/s, ratio 4:3,  2.275 kbps;
audio : AAC (Version 4 LC),  44,1 KHz, 2 channels, 152 kbps;

Combine Flashdevelop and TortoiseSVN

Flashdevelop has no integrated CVS or SVN file management. To do this is a huge task. The core FlashDevelop team can not start such a project and suggest to use Tortoise.

TortoiseSVN is a Subversion (SVN) client, implemented as a windows shell extension. It’s intuitive and easy to use, since it doesn’t require the Subversion command line client to run. The  version 1.6.7.  was released on january 23, 2010, the most recent version is 1.6.9 released on june 21, 2010.

Away3D source checkout with Tortoise

Dowloading svn files with Tortoise

Flashdevelop : open source Actionscript editor

Flashdeveloper screen snap

FlashDevelop is a popular open source ActionScript 2/3 and web development environment designed for Windows systems. FlashDevelop is built on the Scintilla editor component and is a Microsoft .NET 2.0 application. FlashDevelop was developed by the members of FlashDevelop.org in 2005 as an alternative to Adobe Flash.

FlashDevelop project is runned by two active members Mika Palmu (aka Meychi) and Philippe Elsass. Other developers like Nick Farino and Alessandro Crugnola have also contributed to the project.

The current version is 3.0.6 RTM was released on november 4, 2009.

Collada : Digital Asset and FX Exchange Schema

COLLADA is a COLLAborative Design Activity for establishing an open standard digital asset schema for interactive 3D applications. It involves designers, developers, and interested parties from within Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) as well as key third-party companies in the 3-D industry. With its 1.4.0 release, COLLADA became a standard of The Khronos Group Inc., where consortium members continue to promote COLLADA to be the centerpiece of digital-asset toolchains used by the 3-D interactive industry.

COLLADA defines an XML database schema that enables 3-D authoring applications to freely exchange digital assets without loss of information, enabling multiple software packages to be combined into extremely powerful tool chains.

Virtual mini aquariums on the web

Last update : July 11, 2012
Okuyama Kazuya, the creator of Q-BLOCK, is also the developer of virtual mini aquariums on the web. The first version was published in 2005. The mini aquarium tropical fish versions are based on ShockWave and are provided as javascript links to integrate in blogs or third party websites as widgets. Different fish types are available : neon, discus, clown, platinum angel. A free main application called Virtual Aqua is also available.

3D Pixel Fun with voxels : Q-BLOCK and Cube Kingdom

Q-BLOCK screen snap

A voxel (volumetric pixel) is a volume element, representing a value on a regular grid in three dimensional space. This is analogous to a pixel, which represents 2D image data in a bitmap (which is sometimes referred to as a pixmap).

Q-BLOCK

Q-BLOCK, created by Okuyama Kazuya, is a Flash-based application that can be used to create and share 3D models made out of coloured square blocks. Wallpapers and icons are easily generated at the press of a button, and models can be shared using permalinks or through a Twitter account.

The drawing tool is extremely simple to use, yet offers enough diversity for pixel art veterans to quickly design something in just a couple of minutes. You can even draw a model layer by layer with the handy canvas feature, which comes with editing options like copy, paste, and an extrude button to automatically apply one layout to every other layer of the block.

Cube Kingdom

Cube Kingdom is a free Japanese desktop application, created in 2009 by Ramza3D, that can be used to create 3D models out of blocks with the same size and dimension. Squares can be placed, erased or coloured over with just a click or two, and there are sixteen different colours that you can choose from to apply to your building blocks.

Hold the middle mouse button to move your construction around the window. The scroll wheel can be used to zoom in or out, and models can be saved or retrieved by selecting the first menu bar option. You can also edit Cube Kingdom’s text configuration file to change background colour and other settings.