I’ve struggled to use Handbrake for conversion of .MKV to an Apple/iTunes aware format (either .M4v or MP4). It’s easy enough to do, but the file size would grow exponentially. And scaling Handbrakes “Constant Quality” would reduce the file size but create an inferior playback. Through research, I became aware that possibly the wrapper was all that needed to change. And that is indeed the solution I landed on.I am using a program called Subler (https://bitbucket.org/galad87/subler/wiki/Home). With this, I am able...
read moreI spent a great deal of time over the past 3 years concerned if Apple had intentional or willfully abandon their professional user base. The long and short is, doesn’t matter why, it appears they are not going to return. So after much consternation and resistance I made the jump from Final Cut to Adobe Premier. It ended my 14 years of editing on Final Cut, beginning with 1 and ending with X. What I learned was, there is no reason to not consider Premier if you are not happy with Final Cut. The transition was seamless. I simply set...
read moreIt make take some time to get this up and running…but it will be worth it. Also, this procedure cures an issue where One-X users cannot retrieve voicemails.Before you begin installing the One-X Portal, you must have “Web Voicemail” installed and running on your VoiceMail Pro Server. This is a special feature that is NOT install by default.If you do not have it installed and/or cannot see the “Web Voicemail” option, follow this procedure. You will want to backup your VM Pro install before attempting the...
read moreWe recently experienced trouble with our Avaya Unified Communications Module (UCM). Naturally this occurred just after the 1 year warranty expired. So despite there being a proliferation of problems with these modules…Avaya would not do anything – so, we were forced to make some decisions.PROBLEM SOLVEDWe were able to resolve the problem by re-imaging the UCM. I’ll try to post the procedure we used shortly…BUT! CONSIDER THIS Consider NOT replacing or fixing the UCM. After the UCM failed, our tech felt the quickest way...
read moreI’ve resisted going to ProTools 11 due to the requirement for AAX plugs. I was holding out for Waves to do DSP versions, not just Native. Another program forced me to Maverick (OS X 10.9) which put an end to my coexistence of 10.3.8 and 11.0.1. What I didn’t realize over the past year, is I rarely booted into 11. So, I’m just now spending my first three weeks of significant time in version 11 – and I can’t believe I haven’t been using it all along. The verdict for me is a resounding YES! IMHO, Avid...
read moreFinally performed the upgrade to Maverick (OS X 10.9). For the most part … not too bad. But with that provides the ability to update Final Cut Pro X (10.0.9) to (10.1.1). Subtle increment, but supposedly significant change to media handling – an area where FCP X fails miserably. I’ll put down my thoughts on the move to Libraries after I’ve had more time. But this is about the upgrade process. WHAT HAPPENED? After the upgrade, all of my projects and media events disappeared. This is by design from the shift to...
read moreFor over a decade I used Retrospect to accomplish my back up tasks. However, Dantz/EMC just continue to abuse their user base. The two most annoying: A time out on the software. At the end of five years, the software license expired and you were force to buy a moder version in order to continue archiving. A lack of backward compatibility. It is complete absurd for software design to archive and restore to not be backward compatible with itself. How the brain trust at Dantz concluded that Restrospect V7 did not need to be able to read V6...
read moreI’ve used Aperture since it’s first release. For many years I used a philosophy to organize the library based on date. My initial thought was to use a root folder hierarchy that would NEVER change. Therefore the Decade/Year seemed appropriate. However as my library swelled to almost 100,000 photos shot over 40 years; and as Aperture evolved as a program it became apparent that this wasn’t necessarily the best approach for me.I came to this realization after struggling to remember the approximate year a particular photo...
read moreAfter years of experience using Handbrake, I found myself struggling to get version 0.9.9 working on a new Mountain Lion installation. I tried the usual: Installed VLC Installed libdvdcss.pkg Installed Handbrake When I would attempt to rip, I would receive a “No Valid Source Found” error or the rip would simply end abruptly. I believe the solution turned out to be a preference needed for setting the viewing region of the DVD. Since the Mac Pro was brand new, I had never watched a DVD on it. Here is the solution I believe worked:...
read moreApple’s Compressor takes a lot of knocks. Some are warranted! It has a cumbersome interface; multiple independent windows that are hard to hide and show; and hidden everything! But it is also a powerfully flexible and high quality encoder for conversion or transcoding. For several years I’ve been burning BD5 discs for clients. These are hybrid discs that allow high resolution content to be burned to a Standard DVD media. The only caveat is, this type of disc, must be played back on a Blu-ray player (at least to my...
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