Michael Graves

I Want A New Kind Of Desktop Webcam

October 11, 2015
Michael Graves
Video

Logitech-C920-Webcam Yes, I want a new webcam! The idiocy of that statement doesn’t become apparent unless you’re familiar with my home office, which is littered with various webcams. They have become something of an obsession. Yet, none of them does quite what I’d like.

My reference for a simple USB attached webcam is the venerable Logitech HD Pro C920. One sits, a near permanent fixture, atop my left-side monitor. It’s a solid product. It’s affordable. Makes great video under various lighting conditions. It can deliver MJPEG or H.264 encoded streams, which makes it capable of 1080p when used with suitable software.

Behind The Scenes At VUC561 With Grandstream

October 8, 2015
Michael Graves
Video

gvc3200-right-300 #VUC561 about the Grandstream GVC3200 was yet another example of bringing my broadcast video production background into the realm of vodcasting. In the pre-call walk-through Randy took a screen-shot of what he was seeing. It seemed a little busy. There was certainly a lot to look at.

Just for fun I thought I’d make note of what was actually there, and how it was being used.

There’s A New Headset Connector In Town

September 28, 2015
Michael Graves
Audio

Sony TRRRS Connector MDR-NC31EM Some time ago I published a backgrounder on 3.5mm headset connectors. It detailed a bit of history of the 1/8″ (3.5mm) mini-plug, from the Sony Walkman of old to present day. That evolution could also be described as from “Tip-Ring-Sleeve” (TRS) to Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve” (TRRS.) That post has proven surprisingly popular.

It’s been said that the universe is continually expanding. That includes the universe of mini-plug variants. Today I got my first look at the next step in the evolution of the lowly mini-plug; TRRRS!

Grandstream Launched A New SMB/Residential NVR

September 25, 2015
Michael Graves
Video

We’re very happy with the combination of a Grandstream GVR3550 Network Video Recorder (NVR) and GXV3672 IP surveillance cameras. That combination provide a reliable, affordable solution to monitoring events hereabouts. The GVR3550 accommodates a up to four, 3.5” hard drive…

The Kranky Geeks Had Fun in SF

September 24, 2015
Michael Graves
Video

Last week marked the second Kranky Geek Conference in San Francisco. This time the entire event was streamed live, and they've put both the recordings and slides online quickly. Kudos to those who managed to get that organized. Great work!…

MOS, Podcasting, SIP Reinvites and WebRTC

September 20, 2015
Michael Graves
VoIP, Wideband

podcast mic & logos According to popular legend, in the early days of talking movies there was a German director working in Hollywood whose pronounced accent skewed his use of English. He would call for another take of a scene, this time without recording sound. He’d yell out “Mit Out Sound!” Over the years industry professionals came to use the acronym MOS as a shorthand for recording a silent take.

Operating MOS may be occasionally useful in film, but it can be disastrous for a podcaster. When producing a podcast reliable audio is a must. Achieving this goal can be complicated when trying to connect to a distributed array of co-hosts & guests via the internet.

Using a SIP service like SIP2SIP.Info allows the use of high-performance audio codecs, like Opus, which makes for superior podcast audio. This is something that I’ve advocated for along time in my series called Making Use of HDVoice Right Now!

This week I had a Twitter exchange with veteran broadcaster and podcaster Mike Phillips about a problem with audio over a SIP connection.