Motion DSP's new Ikena system, announced today, looks to perform some astonishing cleanup on cruddy-looking, overcompressed videos. The initial Linux-based product (including hardware) will set you back $30,000, but this type of interpolation-based cleaning will certainly trickle down into affordable systems before too long. Check out the examples at MotionDSP.com and prepare to be amazed. I particularly like how the...

Some things are just basic, and you do them daily right? Like showering, flossing your teeth, locking your front door (unless you live in one of 'those' small towns where that's still not necessary). Right in line with this list should be backing up your hard drive regularly. It's one of those things that's just absolutely necessary, especially if you...

No matter how good your camera is, no matter how pretty you are, no matter how great your script, it's the audio that will make or break your video podcast. We can suffer through bad lighting, a poorly scripted joke, an ugly background, etc. But if we can't hear or understand you, you're podcast is going in the trash.

One of the most interesting technologies at the recent Audio Engineering Society show wasn't accompanied by pulsing LEDs or Bavarian vacuum tubes. In a simple booth, CEntrance was showing its Universal Driver (UD), a $79 piece of software that enhances FireWire audio and MIDI on Windows. In addition to low latency (reportedly 5ms roundtrip), UD supports device aggregation, which...

Recently I installed Microsoft Vista Release Candidate 2 on my MacBookPro using Paralells. So far it seems to be fast, stable and very attractive. So far I've only been running Office 2007, FrontPage 2003 and Firefox, but I plan on installing a 3D CAD program soon to really stress it out. I must say that I'm just doing this because...

A lot of people are shooting in the RAW fromat, but a lot of people are still asking why they should. I shoot almost exclusively in RAW and recently I was shooting in what Derrick Story calls "Stupid Mode", not paying any attention to my camer's settings and RAW saved me. I think this shot really demonstrates the power of...

While I was packing for my recent trip to Ireland, I mentioned to Derrick Story that I had three fully charged (proprietary) batteries ready for my Canon point-and-shoot. When he asked if I'd packed my charger, I said I thought that three batteries should be enough, but he insisted I take it. (His words, I believe were, "Wrongo.") I'm writing...

I realize that there are some podcasters who feel very strongly about keeping the dream alive of an inexpensive platform, driven by social media and ready access to affordable technology. But I think that soon, (like it or not) the podcasting community may have to re-assess its opinion of what constitutes "affordable" and what level of quality the audience will come to expect. I'm not saying I want this to happen. I am predicting it will happen. Please note the difference.

Looking for some creepy soundscapes for Halloween? Check out the latest release from Darwin Chamber, 3D Halloween Sound FX 2006, which just hit the iTunes Store. Chamber, aka Mark Greenfield, brings an unusual musical sensibility to his environmental soundtracks, thanks to his background in techno music and sound editing for TV and film. Instead of simply pointing a mic...

My colleagues at PaidContent.org shared some insights from a recent Steven Levy article in Newsweek regarding the iPod turniing five.......here are the most entertaining pieces: iPods are cool and useful, but the fifth anniversary of the digital music player is getting an enormous hype party -- the full cultural milestone treatment, sort of like when Tom Cruise turned 40. Newsweek...