RipIt is a great small app to quickly rip a DVD to your harddrive. However, it uses ffmpegx which can only utilise two cores.

Handbrake goes nuts. It uses as many cores available and can rip discs from DVD to mp4 on the fly (without having to rip to harddrive first).

Of course you have to click a couple of buttons (source, then start) with Handbrake, whereas RipIt can rip without any clicks.

Here is the CPU log of just RipIt (notice the 150%):

Now, here is Handbrake:

Results:
Handbrake 33mins, 743mb
RipIt 1hr 58, 1503mb

Handbrake wins. Flawless victory.

Chris Morris is a satirist who created a mok-news show called Brass-Eye has created a new movie called “Four Lions” about the daily goings of Islamic terrorists. It looks amazing and is being screened at the Sundance festival.

If you own a PS3 and have trouble finding a decent media server, check out ps3MediaServer http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/

Apparently it’s supposed to be easy to setup and get running. I’m not entirely sure how it works, but look forward to having a tinker once i get my PS3. One day…

It transcodes MKV and other foreign files to the PS3 in realtime, over wifi or ethernet. You’ve got full control over the video and audio settings too which looks nice.

Occasionally I buy/rent movies from iTunes, if I really want to see them there and then and think it’s worth forking out money for protected content. But a lot of movie connoisseurs don’t like iTunes because the audio quality is only stereo or Dolby Pro Logic (fake surround sound over two channels). But upon inspecting the content of a movie file, I’ve found an AC3 5.1 track in the m4v container.

It says it’s protected, and when I enable it (and disable stereo) I can’t hear anything. This could be because it’s firing out my optical cable with encryption. When I connect my Sony receiver to my Mac via optical spdif, it should (in theory) be decrypted and played in full surround, right?

Hope so!

QuickTimeX is an awesome new version of QuickTime. It does what it’s supposed to – without all the tiggely bits.

However, it (or Perian) currently has an issue opening MKV files.

I’ve just found a fix via foolrulez – and have confirmed it works.

Enjoy watching your 720p’s!!

Apple have just released iTunes 9 for download and they have finally fixed the annoying and inconsistent green button. The green button now functions like every other app, expanding the window to its maximum (instead of toggling the mini player).

Some new features too, like home sharing – which allows you to copy songs to another computer. Don’t really see the benefit of this, unless it also allows you to sync your ipod/iphone via a different computer. iTunes already allows you to stream music over the network so this idea is a bit grey atm. They allow up to 5 computers.

iTMS has had an upgrade which is more pleasing to the eye and easier to navigate. Movies have genius results now, which is great. Movies still seem a tad expensive in my minds eye. Most movies are £7 when you can buy the DVDs off of Amazon/HMV for about £3 (inc postage). Hiring movies is probably the better win here, but obviously doesn’t let you keep them.

Speed increases are abundant in the new upgrade, and a slight user interface refresh has been added.

Updated: this has now been changed back by Apple.

Just saw this movie, and was blown away. It’s a movie about the lives of a bombsquad working in Iraq (2008) disarming cluster/roadside bombs. The story is well told, and directed to screen. It shows what it must be like there from both sides, invading and being invaded. Caution if you’re a little squeamish, as this movie doesn’t hold out on the gory details (which are a fact of life).

IMDB gives it a hearty 7.9/10 which i think is well deserved.

I love this kind of stuff. Science fiction ftw!

Don’t really have any details about this, nor can i find any. All i know is that it’s created by Matthew Santoro.

O F F L I N E from Matthew Santoro on Vimeo.

NIN are famous for their industrial music and their independence from mainstream record companies.

A couple of years ago Trent Reznor bought out the rights to most of his songs and paid off his former record company due to conflicts in their contract. Now he is fully independent and can do what ever he wants. Last year, in celebration to being free, he released his latest album “The Slip” for free (which is still available from theslip.nin.com).

At the end of last year he toured around North America with a battalion of HD camera operators and filmed the live shows. He has now released that raw footage on the internet via bittorrent, for free. He is encouraging the internet community to come together and join groups who can help out on the projects of editing, mixing and producing a full length masterpiece. He also encourages people who have their own footage to submit so others can use it.

But why the hell would he do this? Just give his video away for free like that?

Well, the answer is pretty easy. Getting someone or company to edit and produce the DVD/BD would take a lot of money. And fans would become eager for the eventual 18+ month release. Trent realises that fans want the stuff here and now. As soon as it becomes available. Like, why do studios finish an album and wait 4 months for its release on iTunes or the shelves… The album is usually leaked on the internet by then anyway. This way both sides win, trent gets a (likely) well produced and high quality master of his tour – for free. And fans get it for free. Trent still owns the rights to sell the final master as DVD or BD for fans who would want it. Just like The Slip. Its a free download, or you can buy the physical package (which I did).

quote via NIN.com

The wealth of live tour footage that recently surfaced was released with the hope that fans will come together to edit a wide variety of video content, from music videos to full DVDs. Several different projects to this effect are already underway, and we’ve created a new forum to help everyone keep organized.

In the new forum you can find downloads of materials, seek out others who may have footage of their own, and join groups of fans who are working on various editing projects. And if you just want to view the results, keep an eye on the nin.com video galleries – particularly Victoria, Portland, Sacramento, and the fan video gallery.

And watch nin.com, as we’ll be highlighting some of the best video creations we come across as we find them.

Idiots…