Axel Segebrecht » Tips

How to block your caller ID

Axel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:59:53 +0000

Just a quick note to myself really that I can just pre-fix any number I want to call with #31# to hide my caller ID. This works on o2 with my iPhone and should work with any other GSM provider and phone in the UK!

Example: #31#07794132161

Joost Invites Available

Axel — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:19:04 +0000

Just a quick note to let you know that I’ve got three free invites available for the new Joost Beta over on my personal website! Get them quick before they are gone again

How to convert video files to Flash video

Axel — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:11:58 +0000

Since the question arises quite often in the forums, I thought I post up a little note to summarise the best software for converting WMV, AVI, MOV or MPEG files into Flash video files (flv).

For Windows: Riva VX Encoder (free)
For Mac OS X: VisualHub (free to try and 23.32 US$ for the full monty)
For Linux: ffmpeg (free)

All three use the excellent ffmpeg tool, which is available for all major operating systems. SÃ¶nke Rohde wrote a nice tutorial on how to use it to convert videos to flash video files. Although that particular tutorial is for Windows users, it is still relevant for Mac and Linux.

Mac users should look no further than VisualHub! It’s 23.32 US$ well spend for a tool which is not only easy but also very fast. I’m using it for everything these days. Export a master MOV from iMovie or FCP and then convert the hell out of it using VisualHub (ffmpeg)

Bonus Tip: Now that you can convert to Flash Video (flv) you probably want to know how to get it on your website. I suggest the excellent FLV Embed plug-in for WordPress, which is a really simple integration of Jeroen Wijering’s FLV Player. You can see it on this ~~website~~ vlog.

Have fun.

Laptop als Vorschau Video Monitor

Axel — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:01:09 +0000

Falls ihr nach einem einfachen Weg sucht euere Video Aufnahmen zu kontrollieren und der eingebaute Sucher / LCD zu klein ist, dann gibt’s nichts besseres als iRecord fÃ¼r den Mac Die Software ist kostenlos und wiegt nur 288kb (gezipped). Um Vorschaubilder live von dem DV Camcorder zu holen gibt’s nichts was einfacher wÃ¤re: Camcorder Ã¼ber Firewire (oder USB) an den Mac anschliessen, iRecord starten und sicherstellen das was man sieht auch OK ist.

NatÃ¼rlich kann man die Bilder auch als Quicktime Movie aufnehmen. Es ersetzt selbstverstÃ¤ndlich keinen professionellen Videovorschaumonitor, ist aber besser (und billiger) um einfach mal zu sehen ob das ganze OK aussieht was man da aufnehmen will. Kontrast, AuflÃ¶sung und Farben sind natÃ¼rlich nicht kontrollierbar damit aber besser als die eingebaute mini-LCD oder b/w Sucher allemal! Hier ein kleines Testvideo was ich vor einer Minute in meinem unterbelichteten Zimmer aufgenommen habe:

[flv:/media/testrecording.flv 440 330]

Mehr:

Download (288kb, ZIP Archive, O/S: OS X 10.4.+)
Homepage (www.mindsprockets.com)

Preview Firewire Video with iRecord

Axel — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 19:54:46 +0000

If you have a DV Camcorder (firewire or USB) and are looking for a simple, quick tool that allows you to preview and capture your camera’s live image on an Apple Mac, then look no further than iRecord from mindsprockets.com It’s free (as in beer) and has nothing more than a friendly red record button and a nice large window. No preferences, no other buttons, no fuss – just the image, live and straight from your camcorder.

This way I can use my Apple Mac PowerBook as a preview monitor and even capture quick clips. OK, so it doesn’t have the best resolution or give you any control over image colour, sharpness, etc. but it works just dandy to check that you can actually use the image you are about to record. Beats a small LCD panel or b/w finder any time! Here’s the test footage, recorded about a minute ago in my darkened room: