Cinema Mac

Some time ago I wrote about encoding video files to suit both the AppleTV and Sony’s Playstation 3. It was a bit of a painful task back then, but now, it’s pretty simple.

First, install Handbrake (if you haven’t already)

Open your video file or DVD, open the presets in Handbrake, and choose “Regular -> High Profile”.

This preset will encode an MP4 to suit both the AppleTV and the PS3. Note that you will need to ensure you set the exported file name to .MP4 (will possibly be .m4v by default)

No other changes are required to the settings! The exported file will suit playback on AppleTV and on PS3.

One thing I noticed is, that when playing back using XMBC on the AppleTV, I can get the Dolby Digital audio track to work. But I cannot get the PS3 to find the same audio track, therefore playback on PS3 is stereo only. (does someone have some tips for getting this working on PS3?)

I recently bought a Sony PlayTV. It’s a device that plugs in to your Playstation 3 and allows you to record television to your PS3. You can then export the clips to the cross media bar, and transfer them to your computer. The files are mpeg2 (m2ts) and play fine on the PS3, but what about the AppleTV? Or importing them to iTunes? Enter MPEG Streamclip.

MPEG Streamclip is a free app that converts several types of video files into different formats.

I wanted to be able to play my files on both the PS3 and the AppleTV, so I created a preset that looks something like this (exporting to MPEG4)

My file is roughly half the size of the original source, looks good, and plays on multiple platforms. win!

Brandon Holland has just released Couch Surfer 0.3.

Here are some new features:

• accelerated scrolling holds up and down
• improved Bookmark support, now with support for adding current page
• history support
• back menu
• USB keyboard support for text entry dialogs.

The best part is that once Couch Surfer 0.3 is installed, USB keyboard feature is available to all other plug-in’s.

You can get the new software update from Brian’s software page here.

Adobe launched the Adobe Media Player 1.0 today. Adobe’s Media Player is a standalone Video Jukebox application that runs under their AIR platform. The Media Player is compatible with both PCs and Macs.

In many ways, the Adobe Media Player mimics iTunes Video and Podcast functionality by providing users with an all-enclosed application that provides access to network shows and podcasts. Content is sparse at the moment, but Adobe has partnered with a number of content providers such as CBS, PBS, MTV and more. Unlike iTunes, however, Adobe’s Media Player is not presently a “store” and offers free and ad-supported content. Adobe, however, has said that it plans on adding payment systems later to offer purchase and rental options.

The player supports playback for FLV and h.264 encoded content at up to HD quality (1080p, 720p). Content may be available for streaming or download with and without DRM depending on the rights granted by the content providers.

Predictably, there will be many iTunes users who don’t see the point of transitioning to a different player, but what this represents more than just another media player is the first effective cross-platform Digital Rights Management (DRM) video platform alternative. As much as end users dislike DRM, the lack of an additional cross-platform video DRM has hindered some features on Mac. Notably, Netflix stated that the lack of a publicly-available Mac DRM solution was what prevented them from offering their streaming service to the Mac. It’s not clear if Netflix will necessarily adopt Adobe’s DRM, but this may open up additional alternatives to Apple’s iTunes for content delivery on the Mac.

Article Link

If your looking for software to perform a particular task like streaming audio to your airtunes, or recording TV shows, or syncing your iTunes to your XBOX 360, check out this site with a great list of apps to suit your needs:
http://www.pure-mac.com/mediacenter.html