DiggsMcGee

@Hendricks3 How's it going with the podcast? I'd love to hear if I was any help. And even if I wasn't I'd love to hear what you've learned.

You should check out some podcasting videos on YouTube just to get a better idea of what setups look like and what other people have done. Another thing on the sound side is figuring out how you're going to record. As I mentioned I record to OBS and all my mics end up on separate tracks. Since I record video also I use DaVinci Resolve to edit the podcast. Then you also need to be aware of some audio mixing terminology and techniques: Gain is going to be the power of the incoming audio signal. The more gain the more noise. Lower gain will also limit the amount of audio spill you get from other speakers. If your gain is too high you may pick up speaker one well, but you might also pickup speaker two on speaker one's mic. Your volume slider will change the volume of the audio, but if you are pushing it too high you might need to adjust your gain. It's a balancing act. Compressors, expanders, limiters... these will help keep the audio volume consistent. If you speak really loud but then speak really soft these will keep the volume at the same level. Again, check out The Video Nerd on YouTube for a good tutorial on these filters/settings for OBS. Headphones will come in handy to monitor your volumes. You could have one headphone set for a sound guy or just yourself if you are doing the mixing. You could also get a heaphone amp/distributor. You'll go out of a monitor port of the mixer into the headphone amp. Then, each person plugs their headphones into the amp and even get their own volume control. This is also nice if you plan on playing audio or video clips, or even games. Everyone will be able to hear. Don't forget to normalize your audio. You want each speaker, as well as intro music, sound effects, and audio/video clips to ALL be the same volume. I do this two ways: using the audio meters in OBS, and using a few YouTube videos I have bookmarked. In the audio meters in OBS (and this is similar for the audio meter on your mixer or other audio recording software) I adjust everything so my audio meter is hitting the upper limits of the yellow section of the meter. As far as the YouTube videos, I play them through the mixer along with the mics and adjust my audio so the PC volume slider, mixer, etc. all produce the same audio levels. This way I have reference for audio volume and then I just match it. However, that's just a double check. The volume meters are more reliable, especially when you consider the mixer will have a headphone jack with it's own volume knob, the monitor port will have volume knobs or sliders, and then a headphone amp will also have volume knobs. That's all I got for now. If you need anything else just let me know.

I just setup a podcast studio so I'll let you know what I've found: According to a sound guy I know Behringer is a consumer brand concerning audio devices. That being said, I have the Behringer Flow 8 and I really like it. It's around $200-$300 I believe (I bought it a few years ago). When connected to a computer the device has multiple inputs to choose from in software. I have Mic 1/2 input set for one mic track in OBS. Mic 1 gets recorded to the left channel and Mic 2 recorded to the right channel. Similar for Mic 3/4. There's bluetooth connection to a smart device for recording or music playback. I like it. It works well and can even be controlled entirely from my tablet. I am also using a Zoom mixer at church that has like 12 channels on it (even though we're only using the one coming from our main sound system right now) and it's a good one for podcasting. It's around $500 if I'm not mistaken. You can record right to the device onto an SD card. You can also always go with a GoXLR, that's pretty popular. There's lots of mixers out there, but you really just need to pick the one that has the features you want to use. If you just need a device to record to then Tascam and Zoom both make good stuff. The big thing concerning audio quality is going to be your space and your microphones. People say don't use USB mics. Get something that will take XLR inputs and get XLR mics. Get dynamic mics so you don't need phantom power (basically meaning the microphone isn't powerful enough on it's own to produce good sound for your recording device). I originally was going to use Blue Yeti USB mics, but we needed at least 5 mics max so I switched to using the Behringer mixer and bought some Rode PodMics. They're about $100. They sound great and have a pop filter built in. All the YouTubers seem to be using a Shure mic (probably the SM7B) but those are very expensive at around $400. Fifine and Neewer seem to have good mics also, especially if you use some effects like a compressor, expander, limiter, noise reduction, and even an EQ. You can check out videos by The Video Nerd on YouTube. He's got some good advice. Depending on the space you might need to get some sound dampening. You can buy those egg crate style foam squares really cheap. There's also lots of alternatives. Basically anything to limit the echo. YouTube channels like I Make Stuff have built homemade sound dampening out of materials you can pickup at the local hardware stores and even old towels you might have lying around the house. And if you're doing video recordings of each episode that's a whole other set of concerns, requirements, etc. I can tell you about that too if you need to know. Undoubtedly other people here can verify or even correct my advice -Diggs

I have a Lumens VC-A61P PTZ camera that I don't have the password to anymore. So I can't connect it to the LC200 CaptureVision Station. The company just sent me a YouTube video for how to use VISCA commands over IP to send a factory reset command to the camera. However, they simply say "You'll need packet sender software or another third-party application capable of sending VISCA over IP commands..." I've heard of packet sniffers before, but not so sure where to start when looking for a good, reliable, not-full-of-malware program that I can use to send packets to this camera to reset it. Can you guys point me in the right direction? Thanks!

Thanks for the replies! I guess my thought was a laptop that runs an ARM processor most of the time (for power conservation) and is able to run some applications on a more powerful chip (or simply a chip it needs) in order to do video editing, gaming, or high power processing. Thanks again!

What if you had a system that utilized both an ARM and x86 processor on the same board? Then you could run applications on either instruction set by passing them through the OS (which would be made to handle this sort of thing) on to the CPU that it needs to run? Everything else is just an interface, right? So graphics cards, USB devices, etc. would act as usual, with the OS and maybe a third chip on the motherboard directing traffic to and from each CPU...

Thanks everyone. Sorry for the late reply. I also found a video where a guy explained that the system would render frames at, say, 100fps and throw them at the graphics card to give to the monitor. The monitor would just show the next available frame (I'm paraphrasing). So the system would seem more responsive and quick. Thanks again!

I see people talk about getting their games up to 300 FPS or other similar large number. But, do they make monitors that can handle 300 FPS? And how exactly do people get such (noticeable) high frame rates on monitors with much lower refresh rates? I have most of my games using vsync because I see tearing otherwise. And even when I see a game saying it has over a hundred FPS I never really notice a buttery smooth difference like I see, say, Linus talking about. Is he just using high refresh gaming monitors all the time? XD Thanks!

So, I just realized that my Note9 almost never uses the secondary, telephoto camera when I zoom in. Whether it's when I pinch-to-zoom or when I tap the zoom button (which on Samsung's advertising as well as the reviews of all the tech people I watch on YouTube seems to mean changing to a different camera) the app doesn't actually change the camera. It just uses a digital zoom. I noticed this while playing with my new DJI Osmo 3 gimble. It's a lot of fun. But the camera didn't seem to change like I thought it should when I tapped that fake "switch camera" button. So, I did a simple test: With the camera app opened, and everything just in normal settings (not zoomed, default upon opening, etc...) I put my finger over each camera lens. Putting my finger over the middle, main camera lens blotted out my view. Putting my finger over the secondary, telephoto lens showed no difference on my viewer. BUT THEN I clicked the fake zoom button. I put my finger over the telephoto lens and my view was NOT obstructed. However, when I put my finger over the main camera lens, guess what, view obstructed! Now to be absolutely clear, I did this a bunch of times. And I noticed that sometimes the secondary, telephoto lens camera would in fact work. Until I put my finger over the lens, and then it would suddenly switch back to a zoomed in main camera view. Upon sliding my finger to the main camera sometimes it would switch back to the secondary camera. I searched the web for what might be happening, but there was no mention of it. So, of course I came here and I found this (dead) post: Apparently, the secondary camera is only used in two of the MANY, MANY modes in this camera app. VIDEO NOT BEING ONE OF THEM! (what the ever living....) AND it's only used if there "is enough light." So basically, I paid almost $1000 for this phone (well, on contract, so I guess I haven't really paid for it yet...) and I don't even get to choose when I want to use the secondary camera? A feature that was boasted about (along with all the other manufacturers that touted their multiple camera phones)? I guess this is just a rant, but any other explanations would be helpful. Thanks!

OK. I never thought of the x- and y-axis as being on paper, and the z-axis coming up from the desk! Thanks! What power one little word can have (the word "above" hit me and made it sink in). Thanks again!

I would have said to put SketchUp on there, but the free version is online now, and you have to log in to use it.

That hurts my brain ? but thanks. I guess I just won't worry about... Is it different than you learned in math classes?

High school was a long time ago... but in math class we learned that, on a 2D plane, the y-axis goes up and down, and the x-axis goes left and right. However, in programs such as Blender, SketchUp, and TinkerCAD, this is not the case. In Blender specifically the z-axis is shown as going up and down, the y-axis going left and right, and the x-axis going forward (out) and backward (in). Why is this? Are you supposed to look at these axes as NOT axes, but planes? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that, but if I squint I can see it... But even if that's the case, when using the panel to move an object it doesn't move in the direction you would imagine the planes to occupy. It moves along the axis line (the colored line) which is not the same as the axes I learned in math class. Does anyone know why this is? Thanks, -Diggs P.S. - In Minecraft, the x-axis and z-axis are relatively speaking left/right and forward/backward, while the y-axis is up/down... in case you were wondering...

I'm NOT an Apple guy, but I do think they make pretty good products. The only thing I'd change about Apple is their attitude towards their own mistakes. Just apologize and fix the issue (bend-gate, exploits, battery issues, PCB issues, overheating, keyboards, lack of features as a feature?... and so on). Just a simple, "we messed up, let us fix it for you" would be nice.

Thanks! I’ll take a look at those.

Since Windows 8 or 10 I’ve only bothered using what came with Windows. I’m pretty tech savvy, and know what to look out for when I’m on the Internet. I also have had a few extra PCs or tablets laying around to look up stuff like software that I’m afraid to put on my main PC. But I’ve also used Avast in the past.

I used to use the Microsoft Garage app Mouse Without Borders. It worked well, but I haven’t had a need to use it for a few years now.

Hello, I’ll spare you all the details, but here’s the premise: a kid I’ve know from a local community/teen center had his gaming pc stolen by his dad’s ex-girlfriend (along with other stuff). His dad then ran away. As he’s telling me this, I just can’t believe it. However, lets look at the positive side. This gives me a chance to build a new pc, and for a great cause. What I came here for is recommendations on a build I’ve already pieced together on PC Part Picker. Here’s what I got: PCPartPicker Part List Type Item Price CPU Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor $363.99 @ Amazon CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED 66.3 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler $29.89 @ OutletPC Motherboard Asus TUF B360M-PLUS GAMING S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard $99.99 @ Amazon Memory G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory $204.99 @ Newegg Storage Samsung 960 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive $369.99 @ Amazon Video Card Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING OC PRO Video Card $349.99 @ Amazon Case Corsair 270R ATX Mid Tower Case $74.99 @ Corsair Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply $105.88 @ OutletPC Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit $133.87 @ Amazon Wireless Network Adapter TP-Link Archer T6E AC1300 PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter $34.69 @ Amazon Monitor AOC C24G1 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor $144.99 @ Amazon Keyboard Corsair K68 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard $79.99 @ Amazon Mouse Logitech G403 Prodigy Wired Optical Mouse $45.80 @ OutletPC Headphones Logitech G230 Headset $38.98 @ Amazon Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total (before mail-in rebates) $2108.03 Mail-in rebates -$30.00 Total $2078.03 Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-06 12:34 EDT-0400 His original PC had an i5 processor, GeForce 1080, and 32GB of RAM. (I was impressed he knew that much, for a 6th grader.) He played video games on it mostly. That amount is about as high as I’m willing to go, but would love to bring it down. What I would like to know from you guys is what did I overdo, what did I miss, and did I pick the “best” components and peripherals? I’m especially not sure about the mouse, keyboard, and headset. Mostly because I don’t care about those things that much. I have the Surface headphones XD And I love them! So let me know how I did and what you think I could improve. Thanks, -Diggs