Audio/Video

Look Mom! I'm on the Internet!

Streaming video to multiple people always has been a challenge. Back when Kyle Rankin and I did "Linux Journal Live", we'd use services like ustream or justin.tv in order to accommodate the bandwidth requirements. The problem with those services is that unless you pay significant money, the features are extremely limited.

The AtoMiC Toolkit!

If you're a cord cutter (and a nerd), you most likely have a server or two dedicated to serving and possibly retrieving videos from the Internet. Programs like Kodi and Plex are awesome for media delivery; however, there's more to a complete system than just playing the videos.

Non-Linux FOSS: Animation Made Easy

If you've ever wanted to make an animated film, the learning curve for such software often is really steep. Thankfully, the Pencil program was released and although basic, it provided a fairly simple way to create animations on your computer (Windows, Mac or Linux) with open-source tools. Unfortunately, the Pencil program was abandoned.

Tomahawk, the World Is Your Music Collection

I don't listen to music very often, but when I do, my tastes tend to be across the board. That's one of the reasons I really like Pandora, because the music selection is incredible (in fact, I can't recommend the Pithos client for Pandora enough—I've written about it in past issues). Unfortunately, with Pandora, you don't get to pick specific songs.

Roll Your Own YouTube/Flickr with MediaGoblin

Everyone has wasted an afternoon on YouTube clicking through videos of talking cats, screaming goats and bad-lip-reading renditions of popular movies. Heck, there are plenty of YouTube videos of me doing odd and silly things as well. (Does anyone remember 'Buntu Family Theater?) For important family videos, however, I much prefer to control my own data.

Great Scott! It's Version 13!

No matter how much I love Plex, there's still nothing that comes close to XBMC for usability when it comes to watching your network media on a television. I've probably written a dozen articles on Plex during the last few years, so you know that's tough for me to admit.

Pro Video Editing with Pitivi

Several decent video editors are available on the Linux platform. Kdenlive, OpenShot, Cinelerra and Pitivi are those that come to mind as "big players" in an admittedly small market. I've used them all through the years, with varying levels of success.

Blu-ray Encryption—Why Most People Pirate Movies

I get a fair amount of e-mail from readers asking how a person could do "questionable" things due to limitations imposed by DRM. Whether it's how to strip DRM from ebooks, how to connect to Usenet or how to decrypt video, I do my best to point folks in the right direction with lots of warnings and disclaimers. The most frustrating DRM by far has been with Blu-ray discs.

Video Art: Experimental Animation and Video Techniques in Linux

Animation and video editing in Linux can be treacherous territory. Anyone who has tried working in these media probably has experienced the frustration of rendering a huge file for an hour only to see the program crash before the export is finished. A bevy of tools and applications for manipulating video exist for Linux, and some are more mature than others.

Kdenlive 0.8 Released

April saw the release of Kdenlive 0.8. I'll take you through some of the new features, along with some notes on how I built it for Debian Sid.
The mixer selection GUI in Minim.

Processing, With Sound

Processing The graphics capabilities of modern computers are truly amazing. Whether you're viewing an animated Mandelbrot fractal, watching a DVD, designing a highly-detailed 3D image in a CAD program, or just playing a contemporary game, impressive graphics are the rule.
audiopreview Multimedia Previewer

Multimedia Previewer

I love niche programs, especially in the area of multimedia. If you're like me, you probably have a folder full of MP3s and Oggs collected from the last ten years that's reached the point where you've forgotten half the files in there. This month, I stumbled upon the charming little command-line program, audiopreview. To quote the project's Freshmeat entry:
xbmc

Interview with Cory Fields of XBMC

I recently had the honor of spending time with Cory Fields, the Public / Business Relations Manger for XBMC. XBMC is the premier free and open source, cross-platform home entertainment system. XBMC was originally created for the first-generation Xbox, but has evolved to now be primarily available for Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows.
Making chapter points in a video is easy with Bombono DVD.

Bombono DVD—Open-Source DVD Authoring Software

Bombono is a simple to use DVD authoring program that doesn't have the steep learning curve of many others in its field. Or in the words of the Web site: “Bombono DVD is a DVD authoring program for Linux. It is easy to use and has nice and clean GUI (Gtk).” Also from the Web site, the main features of Bombono DVD are:
Crafting Digital Media book

Crafting Digital Media: A Book Review

I don't usually write book reviews, but this one is special. My friend and colleague Daniel James has written an introduction to the world of media production with Linux, or as the subtitle describes it, "A manual for creative media on a modest budget". I'll put the spoiler right up front: This book is wonderful and is an essential read for all artistically-inclined Linux users. Read on to find out why I think so.
Linux audio

Linux Audio Plugin Update

Audio processing and synthesis plugins are always a lively topic for musicians. Many contemporary music-makers rely completely upon their plugin collection for all their sound sources and processing routines, and it is not at all uncommon to discover that some of these composers have never learned to play a traditional instrument. However you feel about audio plugins they are a fact of life in modern music production.

The Gifting Season: Linux Audio For The Holidays

During the final months of 2009 Linux audio developers and users were working overtime. If you feel that you didn't get enough goodies in your holiday stocking perhaps you'll find a few more stuffers listed here as another year closes in the world of Linux sound and music software.
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