#since i cannot get the stream setting of the recording software to work without an annoying looping echo
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if, in theory, I had the time, would anyone want to watch a video of me playing the grunkle dating sim???
#since i cannot get the stream setting of the recording software to work without an annoying looping echo#but the screen and mic recording itself works fine without live broadcasting#maybe gonna give my ol' youtube account some use besides liking and saving videos and music lmao#anyway i still daydream of becoming a silly little let's player for fun
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FLAC CUE Splitter To Cut up FLAC On Mac
Claims is also eligible for One Day Pay processing if submitted on-line by the use of Aflac SmartClaim®, together with all required documentation, by three p.m. ET. Documentation necessities range by kind of declare; please evaluation requirements in your declare(s) rigorously. Stellar is suitable with 7 of the preferred audio file formats—MP3, MP4, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG, and FLAC. Not as broad because the one for the top converters, however adequate to convert many of the widespread audio recordsdata. This system is also able to extracting audio knowledge from video information. And simply as the title implies, it does a stellar job converting video file codecs to totally different codecs. I strongly encourage the use of free formats over these which are proprietary. Initially, utilizing free formats will make your life easier on Linux, since all distributions include audio players which include support for these by default, without the necessity to install extra codecs. There may be additionally a disadvantage to this though: most transportable gamers out there support MP3, however not Ogg. This isn't a very huge challenge as a result of there are additionally portable gamers who support Ogg too in addition to MP3, and there are also options like Rockbox , which replaces the firmware on these players who cannot learn Ogg Vorbis or FLAC and provides assist for those too. It may well convert from MP3 to WAV and OGG, and WAV to MP3 and convert ape to wav WMA. It has a recording utility lets you document any audio supply, equivalent to Internet radio streams, www.audio-transcoder.com directly to a digital audio file, equivalent to the popular MP3 format. Different useful options embody audio cutter, audio joiner, resampling, audio-quantity normalization, and helps 5.1 or 7.1 channels WMA file, the flexibility to edit tag information, and auto renaming with tag information. APE - APE is a really extremely compressed lossless file, meaning you may get probably the most house financial savings. Its audio high quality is the same as FLAC, ALAC, and different lossless information, however it is not suitable with practically as many gamers. Additionally they work your processor more durable to decode, since they're so highly compressed. Usually, I wouldn't advocate using this unless you're very starved for house and have a player that supports it. This bug repair release fixes incorrect conduct when removing customized frames (COMM, PRIV, TXXX, free type), setting of POPM frames using kid3-cli, import of composer from MusicBrainz and other smaller points, in addition to platform-particular bugs such as kid3-cli output redirection on Windows, assist for case-sensitive filesystems on OS X and drag'n'drop on OS X 10.10. APE is a Monkey's Audio lossless codec that is without doubt one of the hottest algorithms in the present day for compressing digital audio with out losses. The APE format is used for storing compressed audio. The recording of such audio information requires a minimal storage space. The format permits to revive music in its original type with high sound high quality. APE: APE is a really extremely compressed lossless file, meaning you'll get essentially the most area financial savings. Its audio quality is similar as FLAC, ALAC, and different lossless recordsdata, however it is not appropriate with almost as many gamers. They also work your processor tougher to decode, since they're so extremely compressed. Usually, I would not recommend utilizing this unless you're very starved for house and have a participant that supports it. On this tutorial I'll focus mostly on manipulating and changing files to free formats, which in our case will likely be FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and Ogg Vorbis (free lossy codec), however assist for MP3 is also included where it is the case. These codecs aren't patented and are free to use with out the need to pay for utilizing them. Extra particulars on this may be discovered on the official website.
edit and optimize louder ringtones flac acquire volume Terms equivalent to "mp3 normalizer, mp3gain have become well-liked in recent years; baixar mp3 normalize audio batch volume lower wav normalize software. Obtain Mp3 Converter Cut back Measurement at MP3 Informer. learn how to elevate volume mp3 recordsdata program to improve your track recordings. normalisieren von musik. Audio editing software the way to fix excessive quantity recording The right way to improve quantity in your Apple iphone by 50-a hundred%? download mp3 resizer free volume conversion audio amplifier greatest normalize software normalize positive aspects on batch of mp4 Low sound mp3 to high sound converter.FLAC stands for free lossless audio codec. It's extensively known for compressing the unique media file to about 50%-60% with none loss of quality. The range of FLAC is from three to 32 bits per sample. WAV refers to waveform audio file format and additionally it is a lossless audio codec. Each the file codecs are appropriate with windows, Linux and Macintosh operating systems. They're able to containing each compressed and uncompressed data, thus making it quite versatile for satisfying varied sorts of needs.
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The Easiest Technique On How To Convert APE To FLAC
Tips on how to convert APE to FLAC on-line with APE to FLAC Converter? i use Avdshare Audio Converter to convert FLAC to APE. To get started, just click on the Add Files or Add Folder buttons on the high. This program solely works with MP3 information, so if you're looking to convert a WAV or FLAC file into MP3, try extra of the applications talked about below. Throughout the turning ape into flac , you'll be able to change the priority of the method or set an computerized event to be executed when the conversion is over. After the conversion of ape to flac has completed, you can find the flac recordsdata within the output folder you specified.

FlicFlac is a transportable (no set up required) utility for changing WAV, FLAC, MP3, OGG and APE recordsdata to any of the opposite formats. To avoid that some passages can sound loud, whereas others have a really low quantity. clarity of music online normalize album. how one can enhance music volume without distortion mp4 volume increaser download freeware elevate volume. sound code to make nokia volume louder gain improve. Compressed file assist will be the next smartest thing after above. Plenty of downloads are in rar or zip format to bundle multiple files. It could be good bliss can learn them. This is also very easy to do.

After you drop the songs in APE audio format that you want your iPhone to play in tremendous high quality, WALTR 2 will routinely sync your device using it is personal expertise and put the finalised recordsdata right into your iPhone's native Music app. Is there any Linux utility that can convertape files to FLAC? Presumably break up tracks to separateflac files? I have been googling, however to no success. If shnsplit can be used for the conversion, substitute theflac in "$1%.cue.flac" with the extension of the format you're changing from. Proper click the APE audio to open the context menu, then click "Split by Chapter", the APE audio might be robotically split to separate audio recordsdata appearing beneath the unique APE audio. The CD participant has the perfect sound quality, warm, very clear and full of particulars; The second is Itouch 4, clear and full details but dry; The last one is my laptop, dry, lack of particulars and just a little distortion of music even when enjoying ape or flac format. APE is a filename extension for a well-liked lossless audio format, Monkey's Audio. Lossless signifies that no audio data is discarded whenever you convert music into this format. That is totally different from MP3, AAC, and different lossy codecs. Click "Add information" to browse and open your audio information (like MP3, APE, WAV, FLAC, and so on). Bigasoft Audio Converter does not require loading the CUE recordsdata to the interface. So simply add your music files to the Converter. CNET explains what FLAC is, the place to buy music within the format, and tips on how to play it on your telephone, laptop or hello-fi. I then restarted the conversion course of with flac chosen and the right path to the target location. I obtained a series of error messages, all to the effect of "cannot open Didn't have time to troubleshoot and could possibly repair after I get dwelling, however am simply wondering if there's anything I ought to be on the lookout for.
Click on the "Profile" drop-down record to pick out MP3-MPEG Layer-three (.mp3) from the "General Audio" category. And in the following passage, we'll cowl largely in the best way to convert APE audio information to MP3 or other codecs, which may be performed in some moveable and well-liked media players. Some need to be downloaded onto your laptop or Mac, whilst you can obtain with some online converters. Simply verify the desired options from the article now. Other codecs supported by Libsndfile are also decodable. XLD uses not decoder frontend however library to decode, so no intermediate files are generated. The entire supported codecs might be directly split with the cue sheet. XLD additionally helps so-known as 'embedded' or ‘internal' cue sheet. With out the normalizing your MP4's, your music experience could possibly be dull, boring, and even annoying at occasions; audio leveling software edit volumen mp4 wavgain edit wav vista mp4 normalizer freeware change volume level in mp4. Improving Recording High quality. Converter mp4 to mp4 low sizer. Free, and converts between FLAC, WAV, MP4, MP3, ape, Ogg Vorpis, AIFF, Apple Lossless, and others. Additionally superb at batch processing (ie. I exploit it to transform a folder from FLAC to Apple Lossless, add cowl art, and import into an iTunes playlist). merchants little helper will work with ape,flac and program and free. MediaHuman Audio Converter là ứng dụng chạy trên các thiết bị sử dụng hệ điều hành Mac OS X và Windows, hỗ trợ người dùng chuyển đổi các tập tin âm nhạc hoàn toàn miễn phí sang các định dạng MP3, AAC, WMA, FLAC, WAV, OGG hay AIFF hay Apple Lossless, cùng nhiều định dạng khác. SQ sensible wavpack seems to me on par with ape (my humble and subjective impression) however I did not take the time to analyze further. Free Studio is a free and superior audio converter software program that supports multiple codecs. Since it consists of a group of several programs, you've got to specify the task i.e. audio conversion. Simply navigate the primary menu and click ‘convert', then choose the ‘Audio converter possibility'. It isn't only the most effective MP3 ape/flac youtube converter for mac on the web, but in addition creates superior MP3 sound with the help of the accessible lame encoder presets (Insane and Extreme).APE can be referred to as Monkey's Audio, which is a free lossless audio compression format and may cut back the audio dimension to 50% of the unique and preserve the previous quality on the identical time. Nonetheless, APE is restricted to be formally supported on Windows operating system and only few players can acknowledge these audio format. In distinction, FLAC is a cross-platform open supply and is appropriate with extra devices and players. What's extra, there is no such thing as a any difference in audio quality between APE and FLAC so many people are inclined to convert from APE to FLAC for helpful playback and large utilization. Subsequently, this article aims to introduce three sensible strategies of changing APE recordsdata to FLAC with out high quality loss.Monkey's Audio's chief opponent is FLAC, which has extra features than Monkey's Audio (streaming help, for instance) and hardware assist to its edge, though its efficiency in compression is not as nice. We also present you tips on how to play Flac information on iPhone (with out changing). A cue sheet, or cue file, is a metadata file which describes how the tracks of a CD or DVD are laid out. Cue sheets are stored as plain textual content recordsdata and commonly have a ".cue" filename extension. Added changing APE to Ogg files.
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Switch House Products, Other Instruments Could Be Inducing Pleasure.
Our experts are actually still working with the video game's main tale timetable and also possess many of the activity products ready. Gogo's repetitions informed me publish speeds are actually nowhere near the download speed functionality, and that's partly as a result of airline companies certainly not wanting travelers to make phone calls and upload video recordings to socials media (although as United can easily attest, when you are actually still on the ground, all bets are off). This even occurred on YouTube and also additional video recording companies including Hulu and also Amazon.com. This functions as additional recognition that our company definitely cannot have such a large number from authentic relationships. Your ship and meet are fragile, and every conflict could test your skills to the limit. I think component of the trouble is that some folks think that social media substituted" Web 2.0 as a condition while others think that social media is actually a part" from Web 2.0. The gamer can easily acquire a distant web indicator and replace their strength as if they were in the town if a gamer's token is someplace near an internet-connected village. Rather you must utilize the action food selection or even control-click the connect with's contact number to initiate a phone call. I think Facebook has to possess been actually pretty peaceful about that, although the social media giant did issue a press release in 2015 when the attribute went online. Male, if I 'd had some of these throughout my BBS days I will possess had also less from a social life in comparison to I did, and also's mentioning something. Make http://fitnesswelt-de.com/himbeer-ketone-preis-bewertungen-forum-aktion-zur-gewichtsreduktion-kaufen-sie-in-einer-apotheke-oder-auf-der-website-des-herstellers/ of the application's Bonjour scanner to observe what gadgets are actually providing the World wide web Publishing Protocol. Along with its own automated hardware evolution, the consumer will certainly never once again have to acquire a computer. That shows up that at least some from these fans simply required to social media sites the moment a Trump succeed looked possible. As a matter of fact, the screechy dial-up audio you listened to when connecting your computer system to a phone pipe was the records translation on its own. Since the legislation of the Communications Action in 1934, telephone solution has actually continued to be remarkably consistent. 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These wires permit tools on the front from the Personal Computer, including USB slots, audio ports, hard drive signs and the capability to energy on your computer. Due to the fact that concerning a 3rd from all net visitor traffic reportedly streams with AWS hosting servers, removing a whole bunch of those servers screwed up a few folks's times. One could argue they are actually multi-function devices and being a pc is one of those features. The Internet service provider ultimately acknowledged the occurrence after the Pastebin blog post was actually taken out. . As well as, naturally, iOS as well as Android mix a camera, a touchscreen, GPS/location, an accelerometer as well as net gain access to, and also provide means for third-party designers to circulate their software (application shops). You may use the Drive client to erase images from your Google.com Photos cloud storage as well-- simply delete all of them on your personal computer.
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Vlc Download Youtube Mac
Mar 25, 2014 Download VLC for Mac here: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html. Click the Download VLC button and save the DMG file to your Mac. Double-click the downloaded DMG file in your Downloads folder. Drag the VLC icon (the orange-and-white cone) to the Applications folder.
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Devices and Mac OS X version
VLC media player requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later. It runs on any 64bit Intel-based Mac. Previous devices are supported by older releases. Note that the first generation of Intel-based Macs equipped with Core Solo or Core Duo processors is no longer supported. Please use version 2.0.10 linked below.
Web browser plugin for Mac OS X
Support for NPAPI plugins was removed from all modern web browsers, so VLC's plugin is no longer maintained. The last version is 3.0.4 and can be found here. It will not receive any further updates.
Older versions of Mac OS X and VLC media player
We provide older releases for users who wish to deploy our software on legacy releases of Mac OS X. You can find recommendations for the respective operating system version below. Note that support ended for all releases listed below and hence they won't receive any further updates.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Use VLC 2.2.8. Get it here.
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Use VLC 2.0.10. Get it for PowerPC or 32bit Intel.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later is required
Use VLC 0.9.10. Get it for PowerPC or Intel.
Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
QuickTime 6.5.2 or later is required
Use VLC 0.8.6i. Get it for PowerPC.
Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
Use VLC 0.8.4a. Get it for PowerPC.

Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah and 10.1 Puma
Use VLC 0.7.0. Get it for PowerPC.
Summary :
Sometimes, you may need VLC alternatives because of the annoying 'Rebuilding Font Cache' thing or others. This post lists different VLC alternatives for Windows/Mac. Choose the best VLC alternative 2019 depends on your actual situation.
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Have you ever used VLC media player? This post is going to show you some excellent VLC alternatives for Windows/Linux/Mac. You can find a suitable VLC alternative 2019 to play video and audio files.
VLC is a free, open-source, portable, and cross-platform media player and streaming media server developed by the VideoLAN project. It is able to play incomplete, unfinished or damaged video, but it will drive you crazy sometimes.
For example, here is a true story.
I have been using VLC media player for a while and was pleased with it. Then I get a notice about an update, which I did. Now all I get is green lines over the movie. I have tried everything to solve the problem, installing the backup, uninstall and install, with no success. Everything worked great until this update. Does anybody have a solution to this? It is driving me crazy. Please help. Thank you.
In general, a VLC alternative can solve this problem easily. The below are some common problems you might encounter when using the VLC media player.
4 Reasons Why You Need a VLC Alternative
1. VLC is unable to play broken files.
Generally, VLC media player can play unfinished or damaged video. But, sometimes, it cannot play video file and tells you that the file is damaged. Actually, this file is just being downloaded.
2. VLC doesn’t support a few codes and file types.
VLC supports a lot of video and audio codes and formats, but it requires codec settings for a few formats. For many common people, it is a difficult job.
3. VLC crashes without warning.
Sometimes, VLC media player suddenly crashes when you watch some normal files, try to insert subtitle or make it full screen.
4. VLC media player will damage the speakers!
If you are using VLC media player and keep the volume loud for a long time, your speakers could be damaged. Sadly, some manufacturers like Dell say replacing the speakers will not be covered by the hardware warranty. Therefore, please keep the volume down while using VLC.
Now, it is time to look for VLC alternatives to play your video or audio files. No matter you have come across these problems or not, it is a good idea to prepare a suitable alternative to VLC.
You will find many people are searching for VLC alternatives on the Internet. Here, we list different alternatives to VLC media player for Windows/Mac/Linux. Read on and find out which one suits you best.
Part 1. VLC Alternatives 2019 for Windows
VLC is a free video editing software, you might need to look for a VLC alternative because of the unfriendly UI, “Rebuilding Font Cache” thing and other problems. Now, try the following alternatives to VLC media player for Windows.
No 1. Windows Movie Maker
There is no doubt that many people have probably heard of Windows Movie Maker, a video editing tool developed by Microsoft. It not only allows you to watch video, but also lets you edit this video simply, for instance, add text to video.
Related article: How to Add Text to Video in Windows Movie Maker (Step-by-Step Guide).
Now, some users might want to know where to get this tool since it was officially discontinued on January 10, 2017. Fortunately, you can get this Microsoft video editing tool by clicking the following button.

Cons
It supports playing videos as well as pictures.
It can edit your videos simply.
It is able to share your videos on YouTube, Facebook, etc.
Related article: How to Use Movie Maker | Step-by-step Guide for Beginners.
Pros
Microsoft does not support it now.
It cannot play music alone.
No 2. 5KPlayer
5KPlayer is a mixture of free (MKV) HD video player and music player. This real media player is compatible with Windows as well as Mac OS X. If your VLC crashes suddenly, you can try this alternative.
Pros
It supports a lot of video formats, including MKV, M2TS, MPEG1/2, WMV/ASF, AVI, MOV, RM, OGV, FLV, MP4, H.264, M4V, WEBM.
It can play 4K UHD videos without any glitches.
It is able to play 1080p or 1080i high-definition videos under 10% CPU cost.
It can play MP3 AAC APE FLAC music perfectly to activate your senses.
It can download online videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.
Cons
This alternative to VLC media player for Windows might be confusing for beginners.
No 3. Windows Media Player
Windows media player is another VLC alternative. It allows you to play video and audio files. Besides, it allows previewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices.
Pros
It provides a less cluttered user interface.
It offers a better music library.
It supports network sharing.
It can access to online music services.
Cons Age of empires 2 hd free download pc.
It cannot handle 4K, 3D and 360-degree video.
It doesn’t support for VR headsets.
No 4. Photos App
If you are running Windows 10, you have another great VLC alternative 2019 – Photo app. This Windows 10 hidden media player not only can play video but also can play images. Besides, it can help to trim video.
Related Article: How to Cut Video Easily and Quickly (The Definitive Guide).
Pros
It can play videos quickly.
It has a simple, touch-friendly interface.
It also supports browsing photo, and is able to create albums automatically.
It has cool video editing effects.
Cons
It cannot tag faces.
It doesn’t support panorama stitching and selective focus.
No 5. KMPlayer
KM player can play video as well as audio in Windows. This alternative to VLC supports almost any format that Windows can play including AVI, ASF, WMV, AVS, FLV, MKV, and many more. With the VLC alternative, you can slow down or increase playback speed, select parts of a video as favorites.
Pros
It supports many audio and video formats.
It supports 3D and VR and setting related to that.
It has extensive subtitle management.
It can capture audio and video.
Cons
Advertisement (There are no hidden or misleading clauses while installing, but we will be asked whether we want to install Avast Antivirus after installing.)
After learning these different VLC alternatives for Windows, you can take a look of the below wonderful video tool.
No 6. MiniTool Movie Maker
MiniTool Movie Maker, free and simple video tool, lets you review videos, and pictures. Besides, it also lets you create videos and slideshow easily and quickly. For instance, I usually use this simple and free tool to create Facebook Slideshow.
Pros
It supports a lot of video format including WMV, MP4, AVI, MOV, F4V, MKV, GIF, MP3, and so on.
It offers wizard-like interfaces. This tool can help you create a movie without requiring professional knowledge and skill.
It offers movie as well as trailer templates. You are able to easily create cool movies or Hollywood-style movie trailers.
It allows you to make video with pictures easily and quickly.
It offers some filters to help you change the color, style, or tone in minutes.
It offers plenty of useful transition effects to make the presentation, slideshow or movie good looking and impressive.
It not only can split large video into small parts but also can trim video to remove the unwanted frames from the start or end of a clip. More details can be found in How to Trim Video Easily (Step-by-Step Guide with Pictures).
Vlc Download Youtube Mac Free
Cons
It only supports Windows OSs, now.
Part 2. VLC Alternative Mac
Mac users can try the following alternatives when the VLC media player isn’t working.
No 1. QuickTime Player
QuickTime player, the best VLC alternative Mac, is the most familiar media players for Mac users. As the default movie player as Mac, QuickTime player is capable of supporting various formats of videos, music, images, and other media files.
QuickTime player enables you to set playback from 1/2x to 3x the normal speed.
This alternative to VLC is capable of watching videos from hard drive and internet.
This VLC alternative Mac allows you to screen recording your Mac, edit movies and extract audio from a video. However, you need to purchase the QuickTime Pro license key to unlock the recording, editing and extracting features.
No 2. MPlayerX Media Player
Avian mac miller. MPlayerX, a free and open source media player, is another VLC alternative.
It can handle any media format in the world without extra plug-ins or codec packages as it is armed by FFmpeg and MPlayer.
It provides you the easiest way to control the playback as it will follow your gestures.
It can automatically and seamlessly detect and convert the encoding method of the subtitle file.
No 3. Movist
Movist, a free, simple yet powerful player for Mac, supports QuickTime, FFmpeg as well as subtitles.
It is easy to use.
It owns a beautiful and convenient user interface.
It is available to adjust aspect ratios and configure keyboard shortcuts.
Unfortunately, this VLC alternative Mac doesn't support Apple remote.
Part 3. VLC Alternative Linux
Let’s start with a true example from my best friend.
I've used VLC in Linux for years. But lately, it's been choking and dying for no discernible reasons and attempts to troubleshoot have failed. Are there any other comparable alternatives for media players out there at the moment?
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Now, my friend can try the following VLC alternative Linux.
No 1. Bomi Player
The best VLC alternative Linux, Bomi player (known as CM Player), works well on Linux and provides GUI features.
This easy-to-use VLC alternative Linux provides some powerful features which you will find in the context menu.
It supports audio file and subtitle at all.
It allows browsing your old playlist because it generally saves all your playback record.
No 2. SMPlayer
SMPlayer supports for all the default formats as like as other media players.
This VLC alternative Linux allows you to play YouTube video directly from this player because of its built-in codec.
This VLC alternative 2019 loads the subtitle of a movie from the internet. And, it saves your all settings when you play video.
This alternative to VLC is fully resume supported video player.
Your Choice
The above video editing tools are good alternatives to VLC media player. You can choose a suitable one to play your videos.

Which VLC alternatives do you like to choose? Let us know by leaving comments.
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Should you have any other good suggestions about VLC alternatives, please share them with us. Thanks in advance!
VLC Alternatives FAQ
VLC is a free, open-source, portable, and cross-platform media player that can play incomplete, unfinished or damaged video.
Download Youtube Vlc Mac
QuickTime Player is bundled into the macOS, thus it becomes the default option for a lot of users. However, VLC is often the best option since it supports a massive number of both audio and video file formats, and it is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
PotPlayer
KMPlayer
Media Player Classic – Home Cinema
ACG Player
GOM Media Player
DivX Player
Kodi
Plex
5KPlayer
MediaMonkey
VLC Player
PotPlayer
Media Player Classic – Home Cinema
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Download Video For Mac Safari
Fortunately, Free Video Downloader for Mac software is an effective way to download and convert videos for Mac. Being compared with the online application, the professional software excels at its accelerated downloading speed, expanded video formats, great stability and more complete functions.
Download Safari For Mac 10.5.8
Download Video For Mac Safari Browser
Apr 28,2020 • Filed to: Video Downloader and Recorder • Proven solutions
'Is there DownloadHelper for Safari available that is like Firefox's DownloadHelper?' - Jarad
'I want to save online video. Is there an Safari video downloader for Mac?' - Sarah
In the Safari app on your Mac, click the Show Downloads button near the top-right corner of the Safari window. The button isn’t shown if the downloads list is empty. Do any of the following: Pause a download: Click the Stop button to the right of the filename in the downloads.
IFunia YouTube Downloader (Mac) iFunia YouTube Downloader is a free video downloader for Mac.
Streaming videos has become the norm today, but there are occasions where you would want to download videos instead. If you are looking to watch the video on a large screen with no Internet device for instance, or maybe for viewing when you know you will have no Internet access at all such as a camping trip, or you could want to download videos just to keep as part of a collection, especially historical videos of your favourite sports team or similar, there are many reasons to grab permanent copies of online videos from browsers like Safari. Downloading videos from Safari is a good choice for most users.
Many users would like to use a DownloadHelper for Safari to directly download videos on Mac through Safari browser. Video DownloadHelper is a free Firefox extension to download videos from websites that stream video via HTTP protocol. With it, you can free download unlimited video from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc. But if you are a Mac user, you may want a similar tool to download video in Safari. Here we will provide you the best solution for downing videos in Safari .
Part 1. Download Videos from Safari Using the Best DownloadHelper for Safari
Well, here is my recommendation of the best Video Downloader on mac for Safari - iTube HD Video Downloader, which enables you to fetch and download any video embedded in the page with one click from over 10,000 sites. This Safari Download Helper also lets you to save the whole YouTube playlist, download YouTube to MP3 with one single click. Turbo Mode at 3X Faster Download Speed for videos in Safari. It can work well on the new macOS 10.9 or later, including 10.9 (Mavericks), 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.11 (EL Capitan), 10.12 (macOS Sierra), 10.13 (High Sierra) and the latest 10.14 (Mojave).
iTube HD Video Downloader - Best Safari Video Downloader Extension Helper
Download online videos with Safari download extension or URL easily with original quality maintained.
Downloading online videos in Safari sharing sites at 3X faster speed.
Record any playing video or screen from any online sites, including those 'unable to download ones'.
Convert downloaded Safari videos to other media formats or even directly to preset formats for mobile devices.
Directly download YouTube 4K HD and YouTube to MP3 according to your need.
Transfer downloaded Safari videos to mobile devices with USB cable to enjoy on the go.
Private Mode to download videos from Safari in secret with a password protected.
How to Download Video with DownloadHelper for Safari
See how to download online video in Safari with iTube HD Video Downloader step by step, and convert to any format you want, including MP3, MOV, MP4, iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc. For Windows users, DownloadHelper for Safari Windows version is also available. Or if you want to download YouTube videos, check to see the best YouTube Downloader for Safari.
Step 1. Run Download Helper for Safari

After downloading the .dmg file to your Mac, open it by double clicking and a wizard will help you install this Video Download Helper for Mac quickly and easily. After installation, a download button will be integrated into Safari to download Safari video on Mac. For Windows PC, you need to firstly install the videodownloader extension to your Safari, Chrome or Firefox browser, get installation guide on video downloader extension here.
Step 2. One Click to Download Video in Safari
From now on, any video of supported sites you play in Safari will provide you with a 'Download' button. When the 'Download' button appears at the top left corner of the video, click it to start downloading the video to your Mac. You're able to process multiple downloading at the same time at 3x faster speed.
Besides downloading online video from web browser, this DownloadHelper Safari application also helps you download video via the 'Paste URL' button. Make sure you've copied the video page URL prior to clicking the 'Paste URL' button in the primary window of the program.
Step 3. Convert downloaded video from safari to MP3 (Optional)
DownloadHelper for Safari is also a robust video converter which lets you watch online video anywhere by converting to the compatible format of your device. To convert the downloaded video, go to click the 'Add to Convert List' icon in the 'Download' tab. This way, you can import the video to 'Convert' tab for converting.
Then in 'Convert' tab, you can click the 'Convert' icon beside your video, in the window that appears, choose your desired format. Click 'OK' to start converting.
iTube HD Video Downloader for Mac is the best DownloadHelper for Safari alternative, highly recommended. Try it. Also see the video tutorial about how to use DownloadHelper for Safari alternative.
Video Tutorial on How to Download Videos from Safari
Part 2. Download Videos from Safari Directly
Actually, Safari has a hidden feature that allows you to download videos directly on the browser without installing extra add-ons like vlc plugin safari or tumblr video downloader extension, or any other programs. The steps to download video using Safari as below:
First update your Safari to the most recent version on Mac.
Launch Safari, and click 'Windows' tab, and then select 'Activity' option.
Now go to the website to open the videos you want to download.
And then go back to 'Activity' to find the video in the list. Double click it to download the video.
However, you will encounter many problems when downloading videos from Safari. Sometimes, it can only load YouTube videos. And you might not find the video in the 'Activity' list. Or you will get error when downloading videos from Safari. So the security way to download video from Safari is to get help from Video DownloaderHelper for Safari.
[Tips]: Problems encountered when downloading videos in Safari
Downloading videos from the Internet is a big part of the internet experience; but often you cannot download videos directly from your Safari browser. Sure, you can opt to stream videos online, but streaming requires that you be connected to the internet all the times, which may not be realistic. Downloading videos is also a great solution when you have a slow internet connection that leads to long periods of video buffering. There are some common issues users face when downloading videos from the Safari browser directly such as:
Problem 1. Saves in the wrong format
When trying to save video files directly using Safari, the window brings up a 'save as' option and once downloaded it becomes a .webarchive file as opposed to a .mp4 or .mov file as preferred.
Problem 2. Requires built-in-apps
Unlike other files you can probably download into built in apps like e-books, e-PUBs, and PDF files, videos don't usually download into in-built video apps when using Safari. This is especially a problem when using iOS.
Problem 3. It's not an obvious feature
It is possible to download by clicking on the 'window' tab, followed by the 'activity' tab and double-clicking the largest file. However this is not available in Safari 8.0 or other newer updates and it's not as immediately obvious to the user as a 'download' tab.
Problem 4. More often than not, you can't download videos from Safari
Download Safari For Mac 10.5.8
Download videos directly from Safari may not be possible at all. You may require third party tools such as apps, some add-on's or converters to do it. As such, more often than not, it's not an good option.
Part 3. Tips and Tricks on Using Video DownloadHelper
Video DownloadHelper is an online video download addon that is exclusive for Mozilla Firefox. It can help you download videos from 1000 plus video sites, for totally free. It's extremely easy to download video with Video DownloadHelper plugin. When it detects videos on a web page, its icon will start rotating. Just click it to save your desired video to your computer. Since DownloadHelper only works in Firefox, you have to find a DownloadHelper for Safari alternative. Best Video Downloader in Safari provides similar and even easier way to download online video (via a download button on the video). Plus, iTube HD Video Downloader for Mac supports Firefox, Safari and Chrome. It's the best DownloadHelper for Safari alternative you can really rely on.
How to Use DownloadHelper on Firefox
Step 1. Install DownloadHelper on Firefox
Go to the mozilla Add-ons site and click the 'Download Now' button. And you will get instructions to set up the DownloadHelper on your browser. Once completed, you will get the DownloadHelper icon on your browser toolbar.
Step 2. Start downloading videos
Now go to the video site and find your favorite video. When DownloadHelper can download the video, the icon will animate. At this time, you can click the arrow beside the icon and start downloading the video.
[Tips]: Troubleshooting on using DownloadHelper
Firefox Downloadhelper is an add-on that is useful for extracting web content. It is capable of detecting videos in your browser and it can be used to download videos onto your device. It is very helpful with the Firefox browser, but it is not available in other browsers like Safari. However, 'Downloadhelper not working' is a common error and it can be very frustrating. Some issues with Downloadhelper include:
Problem 1. DownloadHelper does not work with YouTube
YouTube might sometimes block add-ons so you will no longer use DownloadHelper to capture YouTube videos but you need to get help from a third-party video downloader like iTube HD Video Downloader, which could download video with Youtube other other over 10000 sites.
Problem 2. Cannot disable DownloadHelper
You can go to the 'Tools' tab and find 'Add-ons'. Then you can find the DownloadHelper in the Add-on list. Simply click 'Disable and Uninstall' to disable it from your browser.
Problem 3. The Version of Firefox in Use
Sometimes with a new version of Firefox an older version of Downloadhelper is required for it to work. Similarly sometimes the Firefox version is too old for it to work with the version of Downloadhelper. The mismatch can be very frustrating.
Problem 4. Not Working with YouTube
YouTube is the most popular video sharing website with videos ranging from cat videos to science tutorials to the moon landing. So downloading videos from it is commonplace. Yet sometimes Downloadhelper will work for years and then suddenly stop working with YouTube due to compatibility issues with the website.
Problem 5. Troubleshooting may be too technical
Most internet users only have layman computer skills so when the need to troubleshoot Downloadhelper arises, they may only be able to do basic things like restarting their browser or updating the extension. Anything more complicated than that may leave them stumped.
Problem 6. Downloadhelper does not detect the video
Sometimes the video file is available on the browser but Downloadhelper does not detect the video and therefore doesn't offer the download option. Even with the latest versions of the browsers and the extensions, this could still happen.
Problem 7. Flash files may require conversion
When a file is in MPEG-4 format, once it's downloaded on an Apple device, you're set to watch it again offline. However if it's a Flash file you might need to convert it and when using Downloadhelper the conversion process is technical and may be difficult to execute.For more troubleshooting, go to DownloadHelper Not Working Fixed.
Conclusion:
Download Video For Mac Safari Browser
Today we have discussed two solutions to download videos in Safari, one is iTube HD Video Downloader, the best DownloadHelper for Safari. Another is to download videos from Safari direcly. Besides, we also talked about the downloaderhelper for Firefox and the problems about it. Among them, we highly recommend iTube HD Video Downloader, which could download any video embedded in the page with one click from over 10,000 sites and solve all the problems encountered on using safari directly or safari add-ons to download videos.
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Best Ways To Get Your Free Unused Steam Wallet Codes List
What is Steam?
Steam is a favourite Digital distribution System. It had been to get started with set in movement for Residence windows individuals way again in 2003. Down the road, it opened as several as Marketplaces and Linux.
It can be developed substantially to element Among the many many most favored Personal computer gaming communities. Which may well perhaps be thanks to its excellent selections which entice lots way more moreover a lot more new avid gamers every day.
Quite a few third social gathering publishers have hopped on board, which incorporate Namco Bandai, Activision, and Sq. Enix. The Program has drawn Numerous impartial action builders that use choose capabilities to succeed in viewers.
Creating a Steam Account
It is exceptionally clear-cut to generate a totally new Steam account. You might only total the fields as necessary more than the menu and pick an alias that hasn't been taken. It really is a pain-no cost process which you may only have to perform following.
eight Essential Qualities of Steam
Steam is undeniably a Laptop gaming juggernaut. And, while it genuinely is vastly most popular for obtaining awesome gaming bargains and managing sport libraries, it sports activities an excellent give of other magnificent machines. These are categorized since the Significant Photo Method and In Dwelling Streaming. Beneath, we go over quite a few of The actual essential possibilities of Steam:
I. Enjoy Thrilling On the net, Multiplayer Movie video games
Aside from video games that operate in the course of nearly all genres at this time, Steam is brimming with titles that you can easily work from the gadget without dilemma.
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You can make recreation purchases making use of the built-in Steam Shop aspect. Even so, we propose skimming via the item description in Every single online video match's sub menu to assure your gadget fulfills the small system needs and it has the expected challenging disk push specifications. That would assist be particular that the Activity you need to to get will operate extensively without having problems.
Certain, various of that info could take a look at to acquire very specialised. But, normally, you could just have to give some thought to the general specifics. Furthermore, you are going to bear in mind that the online video online games are highlighted in a number of exceptional sections, Linux, particularly Laptop, and Mac. It'd be your best choice in case you get ready to get your gaming library instantaneously Or even are wanting to look at fast gaming.
II. Get Guide
You can ask for steerage in the Steam Neighborhood just in the event you can obtain caught up anywhere. Apart from, you can use the Steam Advice for help with Remarkable titles. You can Also accessibility precious match publications by Steam's video clip activity guide Local community.
You can get these by deciding on a certain activity from your Library. A listing of one particular-way one-way links will open up on the appropriate. Just only simply click on' Neighborhood Guides', and you may encounter A good number of pertinent guides.
III. Socialize
When it boils down to communities, Steam could not get any bigger. The Team is unquestionably a great location to dedicate time, produce new buddies, and talk Whilst experiencing distinctive titles.
You could assume to be capable to come upon shut good friends' names swift throughout the' Group' tab. Also, you can hunt for many actions along with examine By means of Dialogue board posts. Consequently, you are going to have an uncomplicated time connecting with gamers who're into the Choices of yours, whether it is hardcore part-taking part in movie video games Or even simple third-unique man or woman shooter types.
By no means hold out to go in and Have a look at for just about any practical information. Be respectful, But.
IV. Are living Broadcasting
Most supplemental businesses like Twitch need Excellent Laptop or computer computer software for online video video game streaming. On the other hand, Steam will permit the chums of yours to take a look at you Perform seamlessly with no need for any Distinctive software.
Just make the Steam Broadcast attribute while in the vogue that any Steam user Or maybe only friends can easily request to look at. You will require to have not be concerned about avoidable resource drain. You can expect to certainly not be broadcasting a thing proper up until finally when an individual starts off observing.
The sole draw back Here's that movie online games are certainly not recordable for viewing afterwards. But, the Steam Broadcast attribute is excellent for sharing with your buddies.
V. Kinfolk Sharing
With Steam's Family Sharing, Computer buyers are able to authorize other Laptop or computer systems to go into their finish gaming library. That works seamlessly extremely perfectly provided that you are not actively playing the recreation titles at the very same time.
To mention your gaming library, that you are expected to sign in through the keyboard you want to grant entry to your library. Authorize their account Together with the' Relatives' tab to permit them to put in and be associated with the online video movie video games you personal. Steam permits you to definitely authorize as much as five clients and ten devices.
VI. Video game titles' Backup and Restore
Considering the fact that video clip clip sport titles can easily just get up a substantial amount of Position, It may be reasonable to will need to include Or even alter actually really hard drives from the gaming Laptop. Steam enables people to backup and replenish their online video online games straight.
You can get that by heading to your' Backup and Restore' tab from the most important menu, selecting the Film video games you want to backup, and acquiring your suitable backup sought after desired destination. You might have the aptitude to revive the backup suitable from the exact same menu.
VII. Hear Tunes Despite the fact that Taking part in
When having fun with, the audio you happen to be Hearing will set up the mood for that distinct gaming session. That's effectively the motive why Steam manufactured a New music Library In addition Participant. Involve your favored MP3 tunes about the Steam Library in advance of actively participating in them.
The Audio Participant how to add money in steam wallet for free will work during the desktop. Nevertheless, when you start off actively actively playing, you can entry the assorted controls from the exact same Steam's overlay you are going to use to access the Steam browser, chat, or your mates' tips.
VIII. Server Supervisor - Keep watch over your preferred Servers

On occasion, determining a certain server for a selected match can set up to be a impediment. Also, it could most probably have to own a handful of attempts, dealing with in addition the undesirable men and women. But, Steam's inbuilt Server Supervisor enables buyers to look through by means of distinct servers, While a person is not in a very Activity.
So, you can mark specified servers as favorites. You can keep a listing of your respective LAN servers, in addition. It truly is a neat perform that tends to make maintaining with lots of the places you prefer participating in from a fairly fast endeavor. Shoppers can use their Steam servers by heading into your Look at menu and picking the' Servers' tab.
Including Resources to your Steam Wallet
You have the ability to include dollars on the Steam Wallet by subsequent the simple issues down underneath:
one. Sign into your Steam account
two. Click your alias in the best of suitable-hand corner and get there at the' Account Areas' tab
3. Click the' +Increase income' button and decide on your needed total
Using Steam Wallet Codes to incorporate Cash
Steam Wallet taking part in playing cards are introduced all around the environment at a lot of usefulness outlets, electronics outlets, and match suppliers. These consist of codes which you can redeem into your Steam Wallet. In addition, clients can buy codes which might be printed on receipts or simply shipped by means of e-mail as a result of various cybercafes, kiosks, and e-Commerce Internet sites.
Preserve on Steam Purchases with Cost-free Steam Wallet Codes
Steam has actually been readily available for about 10 a long time now. It is actually Nonetheless Among the many a lot of most ideal means of buying on the web online games, owing to its usability, a lot better accessibility, and usefulness.
However, there are infinite interesting, but sizeable-priced on the net video games during the Steam Retail retail store. But, not Absolutely everyone is Completely ready or Completely ready a lot of dollars for video games. That would not imply that you select to simply cannot love these expensive functions.
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Steam Repo - Completely absolutely free Steam Wallet Code Generator
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You have the chance to take advantage of our Steam Wallet codes equally as you'll in all probability with existing playing cards. You can then redeem the codes of yours to primary up your account's credit history. Subsequently, you can have the prospect to acquire further sport titles, Personal computer application, Or perhaps any other remedies you want to accumulate inside the Steam Retail retail outlet.
Steam is just not going to Regulate any place from working with these codes. Abide by these steps to redeem your Steam Wallet codes:
one particular. Pretty initial, assure you have got obtained a Steam account. You can then indication into your head and account to http://www.steampowered.com/wallet.
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Sampling Music: The Complete Guide
Sampling Music: The Complete Guide: via LANDR Blog
Sampling music is fun, useful, and inspiring.
You hear samples used in almost every genre on the radio.
Making music with samples is an important skill that every producer should master.
With modern sampler plugins, DAW software, and impressive libraries of royalty-free samples it’s easier than ever to use samples in your tracks.
But where do you start?
Knowing where to find samples and how to use them without legal issues is intimidating.
In this guide you’ll learn where to find the best samples, how to use them to make tracks and how to avoid some common mistakes when using samples.
What can I sample legally?
Where to find your samples
How to use samples in your track
How to sample in your DAW
What is sampling?
Sampling is a music production technique where artists take a section of existing audio and repurpose it into a new creation. Artists will use a hardware sampler such as an Akai MPC, a sampler plugin or their DAW to create a sample. These song snippets are usually looped and modified, sometimes beyond recognition.
Sampling originated in 80s and 90s hip-hop and dance music. But today it’s used in everything from rap, R&B, rock, country, and even modern classical music.
And although some critics have questioned the legitimacy of sampling–the Grammys only recently allowed songs with samples to be eligible for song of the year– so many producers use the technique it would be challenging to find a genre of music that doesn’t use it.
Whether you’re paying homage to the legends of the past or you want to create something unrecognizable and new, sampling is definitely a technique you want in your toolbox.
What can I sample legally?
Before we talk about how you can use samples in your music, let’s talk about sampling music legally.
Getting sample clearance is a big topic.
If you don’t clear your samples you won’t be able to digitally distribute your track on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
You could even face legal action for using uncleared samples in your tracks.
And even if you do manage to get sample clearance, you’ll still have to give away a percentage of revenue in royalties.
Fortunately, there are plenty of curated libraries with royalty-free samples that you can use in your track.
Separating fact from fiction
There’s plenty of misinformation out there around sampling.
Here’s some copyright facts you need to know to sample smart:
Sampling any part of a song without clearance is illegal no matter how long the sample is.
You can’t sample someone’s work even if it was never registered with the copyright bureau.
Even if you don’t plan on profiting from your music uncleared samples are still off-limits.
Copyrights expire 70 years after the last surviving author or co-author of the work dies.
You can’t quote lyrics from another artist in a recording of your own voice.
What are the creative commons?
Creative Commons is an organization that makes it possible for content creators to offer levels of access to use and distribute their work through a variety of licenses.
There are several different licenses in the creative commons. Each of them provide a specific level of access to use, modify and remix content.
You’ll need to pay attention to what Creative Commons license was applied to the work you are using in order to comply with the law.
There are some creative commons licenses that allow anyone to use, modify, and distribute a particular work.
How Sample Clearance Works: The Business of Borrowing Sound
How to Copyright Music: What is Music Copyright and Why it Matters
How to Use Samples in Your Tracks Without Getting Sued
Back to top ⟰
Where to find your samples
With copyright law out of the way let’s take a look at a few places to find samples.
Free sample packs and websites
There are plenty of websites where you can find free sounds that are in the creative commons.
You also might find samples you like in a free sample pack.
Here’s a few free sample packs you’ll find interesting:
Emotive Trap and Hip Hop
50 Best Free Synth Samples
40 Best Free Piano Samples
50 Best Free Guitar Samples
Use a curated, royalty-free sample library
Free and copyright cleared samples are great. Wasting studio time wading through thousands of samples isn’t.
No one wants to spend hours going through 300 kick drums. And let’s face it— free samples aren’t always the best.
Using samples is only fun if you can actually find what you need to make your track.
Luckily there are some great options for getting awesome samples at a very low cost.
Curated sample libraries are the best way to find good samples because they are home to packs of samples that complement one another.
LANDR Samples
LANDR Samples is a great resource with millions of curated samples.
When you find a sample you like, hit the Selector option and LANDR will offer AI curated recommendations for what goes best with that sample.
Selector makes it possible to quickly identify and match samples from LANDR’s extensive sample library.
LANDR also is home to artist-curated sample packs that make it easy to start a song with a sample.
Sample yourself and the world around you
Creating your own samples is just as fun as using the ones from libraries and sample packs.
Grab your field recorder and snag some ambient samples from a nature walk!
Or jam with yourself on your instrument, record the whole session and take the juiciest bits.
Self-sampling is a good way to get around clearance issues since you can modify anyone’s work by creating a personal rendition.
Some of the coolest instrumental hip-hop today comes from self sampled work.
Remember that chord progressions cannot be copyrighted, so inspire yourself with a cool chord progression for your sample!
How to Use Selector to Find the Right Sample Faster
Field Recording: 10 Ways to Use Found Sound in Your Production
10 Emotional Chord Progressions Every Producer Should Know
Back to top ⟰
How to use samples in your track
Having access to a library of royalty free samples opens up creative opportunities to experiment with interesting textures and flavours.
An instrumental track might benefit from a chopped and screwed vocal take.
If your drum track sounds thin, sample replacement can help to fatten up your drum loop.
Finding that perfect kick sample can really make your track thump.
Sometimes a track needs an ambient SFX sample floating in the back ground to add a extra layer of depth.
Listen to your arrangement and try to hear what the track is missing. Be creative!
And to get away from sounding like everyone else listen to what your track needs and blend the samples in properly.
Follow the key signature
Always try to match the key of the sample to the key of the track you are working on.
To make it easy sample libraries often tag the key in the name of the sample and there are key finding tools that can help too.
Having a little bit of ear training practice under your belt can help you know how to transpose the sample.
Pay attention to the mix
You’ve found the sample that your track needs and you’re comfortable with how it fits into the arrangement.
Now it’s time to fit the sample nicely into your mix.
Make sure your samples are prepared properly to make your mix process easier.
If you’re stuck there are a few sample processing techniques that can help if something in your mix isn’t working.
How to Creatively Use Sample Packs Without Sounding Like Everyone Else
How to Choose the Perfect Kick Sample for Your Track
Ear Training: Theory Tips for Using Samples Better
7 Unique Ways to Process Samples for a Better Mix
Back to top ⟰
How to sample in your DAW
Now that you’ve found a sample and you’re 100% sure you have the right to legally use it, it’s time to get into your DAW.
You may be wondering how to create a sample in your DAW.
In general sampling workflows are usually the same between DAWs.
Often it’s as easy as dragging and dropping the snippet of audio into your track timeline.
With a little bit of cutting and chopping you can make your sample work in your track.
Most DAWs come stock with a sampling tool. But if you don’t like the one your DAW came with there are plenty of great sampler VST plugins that you can try.
The most difficult part is making sure the key and tempo of your sample matches your track and fits nicely. It takes time and practice to get good at this.
To get you started, here’s a few tips on getting started sampling in some popular DAWs.
How to Sample in Ableton
Ableton’s entire workflow is based on sampling. Any audio clip you use in Ableton can be treated like a sample with its Warp feature.
Ableton makes it possible to adjust the timing of a track with warp markers that you can click into a track and slice it up.
Once your warp markers are set, all you have to do is right-click on the track you tagged and slice the track into a new MIDI track.
You can also use Ableton’s dedicated sampler plugins to do your sampling.
Simpler is Live’s most straightforward sampling tool. It only loads a single sample at a time, but don’t let that fool you. It’s a super creative tool for slicing and playing back samples.
Sampler is Ableton’s full featured sampler plugin. Sampler is suitable for everything from basic sampling tasks to realistically simulating acoustic instruments
However you prefer to work, Ableton Live has powerful workflows to integrate samples.
How to Sample in FL Studio
To sample in FL Studio, start by dropping the song you want to sample straight into a track.
Find the section of the song you want to sample and open up the Edison tool under your first empty FX slot.
Hit the record button and roughly record the sample into Edison. Once you have the sample recorded you can edit and trim down the clip into to the exact sample you need.
Click the drag icon and drag the sample to where it needs to go.
Compatible locations to drop a sample include any track channels, Fruity Slicer, DirectWave, or the Playlist.
You may also want to adjust the EQ, speed, and pitch of the sample according to the context of the track after dropping it into the track.
How to Sample in Logic
The most common way to start sampling in Logic is by chopping up your samples and using them directly in your DAW timeline.
But if you want to map your samples to a MIDI controller or keyboard you’ll get more control by importing your samples into Alchemy or EXS 24.
Right-click the track you want to sample, select Slice at Transient Markers, and Logic will automatically cut up the track.
Highlight the chopped samples you want to play and select Convert to New Audio Files and save the samples to a new audio file.
Once you’ve created the audio file open Alchemy, select the advanced tab, click on Source A and select import audio.
If you want to play one sample pitched up and down on a MIDI keyboard, select the sample you like from that folder and click import with the mapping set to “pitch”.
If you prefer to play a group of samples mapped to a MIDI controller select the samples you want and import them with the mapping set to “drums”.
Alternatively, you can right click on a sliced track and select convert to new sampler to import directly into EXS24.
How to Sample in Cubase Elements
Sampling in Cubase is best done within its Sampler Control track.
The Sample Control track comes with it’s own sample library known as Kaleidoscope, but you can also use any audio file from your hard drive.
Just drag and drop any sample from the sample library into the sampler control track and Cubase will automatically map the sample to your MIDI keyboard.
The Sampler Control track offers many options for adding effects and modifying any sample you use.
The 10 Best Sampler VSTs for Music Producers
The 10 Best DAW Apps in the World Today
How to Build a Beat From Scratch In Your DAW
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Get inspired and start your sampling journey
Sampling is one of the most exciting parts of music production today. It changes the way you listen to music and can expand your musical taste.
Who doesn’t love the idea of finding a gem and making it into something special and new.
There are so many ways to learn and get inspired. Check out Rhythm Roulette on Mass Appeal if you want to see the masters at work or LANDR’s Sample and Hold series.
Now that you know where to find good samples and use them in your DAW the only way to get better is to practice using them in your own tracks.
So get out there, good luck, and don’t break the law!
The post Sampling Music: The Complete Guide appeared first on LANDR Blog.
from LANDR Blog https://blog.landr.com/sampling-music-the-complete-guide/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/188909765434
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The Best Headphones, DACs, and Amplifiers For The Desktop Music Lover
How To Build The Best Gaming PC Guide Hub
While gaming is often the primary motivator, people build or buy PCs because of the versatility they offer. Unlike dedicated consoles, gaming PCs also function as top notch web browsers, content creation stations, and media consumption devices. There are loads of users who spend hours each day in front of their PC for work or recreation. Since wide adoption of the MP3 codec back in the late 1990s, music playback is one of the most commonly used functions of a PC. In a previous guide, I went into depth on the use of studio monitors for desktop music listening. You can get amazing results going that route, but it may not be practical in every use case. This is where headphones come in. In the last several years, the market for enthusiast headphones has exploded (with much of the interest coming from the rise in popularity of the Beats headphone line) and PC users have a ocean of choices when it comes to great products for music playback.
For recorded music lovers, this is inarguably the greatest time to be alive. File compression and the global adoption of the internet has made finding and acquiring music easier and cheaper than it has even been in the past (much to the chagrin of some labels and artists). Streaming music platforms put massive libraries of tunes at the fingertips of the masses and even diehard audiophiles are having their needs served (via Deezer, Tidal, or Qobuz). Platforms like Bandcamp give independent acts the chance to be heard (and sell) to millions. Many users may have locally stored files that date back to the days of Napster and Kazaa. Music is everywhere and for those that are serious about their listening, a high-end set of headphones can take the experience to another level.
Choosing The Right Headphones for Music on Your PC
Open-back, Closed-back, Over-ear, or On-ear?
Before diving into the world of high-end headphones, you need to take a moment and ask yourself what you want to get out of the experience. There are many types of headphones and some types excel at certain things and fall short in others. Listeners who primarily consume EDM or pop music will value strong bass reproduction and an “in your face” presentation. While the popular Sennheiser HD600 headphones may be of excellent quality, their open-back design and relaxed sound signature will be lacking in bass impact and lack an upfront presentation. These qualities make them an excellent choice for vocals and jazz, but that won’t help you much if you aren’t consuming those types of recordings often.
Unlike CPUs or GPUs, you cannot simply spend your way to objective upgrades across the board. At a certain point, the differences in headphones boil down to differences in sound signatures rather than the quality of the music reproduction. While you can generally expect a $1000 set of headphones to sound better than a $150 set of headphones, there is no guarantee that you will get more enjoyment out of the more expensive set if its design does not compliment your listening tastes or preferences. Acoustic isolation can be another important factor. While most headphone enthusiasts prefer open-back headphone designs for music reproduction, those designs are worthless for users who want to avoid sound leakage or external ambient noise/distraction.
Most enthusiast headphones come in two flavors: on-ear and over-ear. On-ear designs were very commonly included with Walkmans or portable CD players in the 1980s and 1990s. They rest on top of your ears and typically have foam padding to give your ears a bit of extra comfort. They offer no acoustic isolation, but are still very popular for portable use due to their size and affordability. Over-ear designs have large cups that surround your ears and keep the driver from resting on your ear. They can offer sealing properties that will help block outside sounds and help prevent your music from leaking out and bothering others. The design offers the user the most comfort. For the purposes of this guide, I’ll be focusing on over-ear headphones as they offer a better experience to the critical listener.
What Are DACs and Headphone Amps and Do I Need Them?
While most headphones will work fine with the jacks you have on your motherboard or laptop, there are several reasons to consider upgrading to a dedicated DAC and amplifier (or a combination unit). Motherboard audio solutions are often made with the cheapest possible parts and are susceptible to EMI and other noise problems. They may often introduce unwanted noise or distortion into your music. Some of these solutions simply lack the power to drive high-end headphones to acceptable volume levels. Motherboard audio chips typically use low-cost parts that combine a DAC (digital to analog converter) and a mosfet amp into a small package. In the same way better amps and sources for their living room or car audio setups improve the listening experience, desktop headphone DACs and amps can offer the same improvements.
Add-in sound cards used to rule the world of gaming PCs. Once Microsoft removed sound acceleration when it introduced the Windows Vista operating system in 2005, the dedicated internal sound card began to die off. Newer games could no longer make use of the dedicated sound chips and software surround and effects processing made huge strides. While a few models are still available commercially, most PC music enthusiasts have shifted to using outboard USB devices for DAC and amplification purposes. In addition to offering improved audio quality, removing the sound device from the PC itself can help eliminate EMI and other problems that can affect your signal.
Headphone impedance is another consideration that must factor into your purchasing decision. Low-impedance headphones are designed to work well with low-power sources like mobile phones, motherboards/laptops, or handheld gaming devices. High-impedance headphones are designed to be used with dedicated amplifiers or high-end home audio receivers. While you can use either type of headphone with any source, you will get the best results when you properly match headphone impedance with the capability of your source device. For slightly more in-depth explanation about why headphones use varying impedances, I highly recommend you check out this guide from CNET’s Steve Guttenberg. The short guide explains why using smaller wires on the voice coil of the headphone driver can result in better sound quality, but requires a high-impedance. Generally, headphones with an impedance of 25-70 ohms can be used with portable devices and low-power sources. When dealing with headphones using 100 ohms or higher impedances, you are going to want a dedicated amplifier (though lower impedance designs can still benefit from a quality amp).
The Best Headphones for Music Listening
Under $100
Samson SR850 Superlux HD668B
If you want to dip your toes into the world of enthusiast headphones, there is no cheaper way to do it than with the Samson SR850 or Superlux HD668B. Both of these semi-open models are designs that could accurately be considered a knockoff of the more expensive AKG studio headphones. China don’t care, and in this case, is giving you an exceptional product at an unbeatable price. These headphones offer a similar level of performance and have low impedance, so they play well with all sources. The main difference between the two sets is that the Samson uses a velour padded ear cup while the Superlux uses a pleather covering. The pleather pad will offer better sealing and slightly more impactful bass, at the cost of comfort and increased heat retention on your ears. While these headphones are relatively dirt cheap, they are still good enough that you can clearly hear the advantages of upgrading your DAC and/or amplifier down the road.
Sennheiser HD280 Pro Sennheiser HD 579
Sennheiser is one of the most trusted names in high-end headphones for good reason. They have been offering high-quality designs for years and their products have stood the test of time. The HD280 Pro is a closed-back set that offers good isolation and clear, even music reproduction. These qualities have made the HD280 Pro a mainstay in recording studios for years. The pleather ear cups offer good isolation and impactful bass. The HD 579 is one of Sennheiser’s newest open-back sets. For around $100, this is the set to choose if you want to get the “Sennheiser sound” at a good price. While they are not the best option for bass fanatics, their open-back design and laid-back sound signature make them perfect for vocals, stringed instruments, and live music. The velour ear pads are very comfortable and the set just looks luxurious compared to virtually any other set you’ll find in its price range. The HD 579 will give you performance similar to what you’d get from the much more expensive Sennheiser G4ME headsets (without the mic, of course).
Philips SHP9500S
If I was asked to recommend a set of headphones to someone that wasn’t exactly sure what they wanted, but was excited to enter the world of high-end headphones, I would choose the SHP9500S every time. These are simply one of the best headphones you can buy at any price, so the fact that you can often find then for well under $100 is pretty awesome. They do everything pretty well and manage to be comfortable at the same time. With only 32 ohms of impedance, they can be plugged in to anything and sound great, but can also be improved with a nice DAC/amp. The user-replaceable cable is a huge plus, though the non-replaceable ear pads is kind of a bummer.
Sony MDR 7506 Audio Technica ATH-AD700X
Sony’s MDR 7506 is a headphone that’s been around forever. Similar to the legendary MDR V6, this closed-back set can be found in virtually every studio on earth because of its sound quality and sturdiness. While some may not be fond of its flat EQ, you can’t argue that it will let you hear exactly what is in the recording. The coiled cord could be a plus or minus depending on the user, but most find the foldable design to be ideal for portability.
The Audio Technica ATH-AD700X is the current generation follow up tp the company’s legendary ATH-AD700 headphones. This set offers the best comfort of any headphone design (unless you have a small head) and its large, open-back drivers deliver a massive soundstage. The AD700X make it effortless to pinpoint where the individual instruments are in a recording (and this accuracy made them incredibly popular with competitive gamers). These are perfect for acoustic guitars and female vocals, though they lack bottom-end impact that EDM fans might be hoping for.
$100-$300
Audio Technica ATH-AD900X Audio Technica ATH-M50X
The Audio Technica ATH-AD900X is very similar to its cheaper sibling the AD700X. They share the same basic design and construction, meaning they are some of the most comfortable headphones you can buy at any price. The AD900X is simply better by any measure than the AD700X while still retaining a similar sound signature. Fans of acoustic rock, alternative, or folk will be absolutely smitten with the AD900X (and they make for an outstanding gaming experience as well thanks to the massive soundstage).
Users looking for a closed-back set of headphones that bring an incredibly lively sound signature should consider the Audio Technica ATH-M50X as a primary option. This stylish option has swiveling cups and can be folded for portability. The successor to the wildly popular ATH-M50, these headphones can make pop, hip-hop, EDM, and metal come alive. They also respond very well to amplification, particularly the lower registers. If you consider yourself a basshead, the ATH-M50X can literally shake your eyes in their sockets if you give them a slight EQ boost in the 40-60Hz range. A stronger clamping force is required to produce the bass impact, so these may not be ideal for those with large heads or for wearing over extended periods of time.
HIFIMAN HE-400I HIFIMAN HE400S
The HIFIMAN headphones are pretty different from all the other options in this guide in that they use planar magnetic drivers. In the simplest terms, planar magnetic headphones often sound “clearer” than dynamic headphones, although they aren’t capable of the ultrawide soundstages you will find on the best open-back headphones. The HIFIMAN HE400S is a big, comfortable set of headphones that work well with just about any type of music. The HE-400I is the company’s replacement for the 400S, though both can still be found in retail channels. The 400I offers better earpads and a flatter EQ than its older sibling. While both of these sets have a low impedance, it is highly recommended that you pair them with a powerful headphone amplifier (due to the planar magnetic design). There is currently no cheaper way to get into the world of planar magnetic headphones than these models from HIFIMAN, so they represent a great value for those who are curious to try them out.
AKG K701 AKG K702
AKG headphones have been around forever. The Austrian company is world famous for its microphones and headphones as they have been mainstays in professional recording environments since the mid-70s. The AKG K701 and K702 are a great choice for those looking for a comfortable set and enjoy a more detailed sound signature. The biggest differences between the models are the colors and frequency emphasis. The K701 is white/silver and has a slightly boosted top end, yet it never produces a harsh, sibilant sound. The K702 comes in black and has a flatter frequency response. Neither of these headphones are recommended for bassheads, though. The AKG sets do offer a very wide soundstage and work very well in gaming.
Sennheiser HD 599 Sennheiser HD 600 (300 ohm) Sennheiser HD 650 (300 ohm)
The Sennheiser HD 599 is similar to the previously mentioned HD 579, while offering more accurate bass and a midrange that is very relaxed. Once the clamping force on this set relaxes after a few hours of use, they can be worn for hours. While they do have an open-back design, the soundstage is not as wide as those found in the Audio Technica or AKG headphones. The tan and brown color scheme is polarizing, but the design and materials scream “high quality”. If you like the HD 599 but are repulsed by the color scheme, Amazon offers a similar version of this set known as the HD 598 SR.
The HD 600 and HD 650 are legendary among headphone enthusiasts. Released forever ago (the HD 600 in 1997 and HD 650 in 2006), these headphones have stood the test of time. Before high-end headphones became all the rage, these Sennheiser units stood alone as masters of the market. Enthusiasts consider the HD 600 to be the cheapest headphone available that is considered to be “endgame quality”. Many audiophiles and music lovers begin their equipment journeys with cheaper options and work their way up the totem pole. Most that reach the HD600 find it to be the top of the mountain (with a select few willing to venture into the >$1000 market).
Upon the first listen, users may wonder what all the fuss is about, as the Sennheisers offer a sound signature that is anything but lively, yet once you adjust to it, you wonder how you ever lived without it. The midrange and high-end reproduction is incredibly smooth and you can listen to them for hours with no fatigue. Those that prefer their high to sparkle may not enjoy these as much as the AKGs or Beyerdynamic DT 880s, though. The main difference between the HD 600 and HD 650 is the sound signature, with the HD 650 having more bass and an overall darker presentation.
With 300 ohms of impedance, amplification is a must with these headphones, though they do work well with even the most modestly priced options. Headphone enthusiasts love these models because they are good enough to reveal upgrades in your signal chain in price categories way above their MSRP. It is not uncommon to find people who pair their Sennheisers with amps costing $1000 or more. Bargain hunters should also look into Massdrop’s Sennheiser HD 6XX, which is just a rebranded HD 650 for $200 (though quantities are limited).
Beyerdynamic DT 770 32 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 770 80 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 770 250 ohm
Beyerdynamic DT 880 32 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 250 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 880 600 ohm
Beyerdynamic DT 990 32 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 990 250 ohm Beyerdynamic DT 990 600 ohm
Germany’s Beyerdynamic is a major player in the enthusiast headphone market. If Sennheiser is Coke, Beyerdynamic is Pepsi. The DT series of headphones offers option for all type of listeners in a durable, comfortable package. All of the models have metal construction with premium velour earpads, with a premium look and feel. The closed-back DT 770 gives strong bass and sparkling highs along with an “in your face” presentation. The open-back DT 880 has a sound signature that leans more toward a lush midrange and crystalline highs. If you like you music presented with a slant towards high-end detail and a wider soundstage, the DT 880 fits the bill. Finally, the DT 990 makes use of a semi-open design, sporting a sound signature that has the classic “V” shape, with the low-end and top-end being emphasized. While its midrange is more recessed, instruments and vocals remain clear. The DT 990 should be considered the most “fun” sounding of the set, but critical listeners may prefer the DT 880.
Each of these Beyerdynamic headphones are offered in a variety of impedances to suit the needs or equipment of the listener. Generally, they all sound the same, with the high-impedance models having slightly lower distortion and getting the edge in overall quality, provided you have enough power to drive them.
The Best DACs and Amplifiers For Desktop Music Lovers
Combo DAC/Amps
FiiO E10K
The FiiO E10K is a small USB-powered DAC/Amp combo that gives life to your music and pairs wonderfully with virtually any low-impedance headphones. It uses a micro-USB plug for signal and power, using its DAC chip to give your digital audio a much cleaner signal that you’d get from a motherboard solution or a laptop. It also features a hardware bass boost switch to give your cans a little extra oomph on the bottom end. The E10K also has a line out if you’d like to send a fixed signal to an external amp or a set of desktop monitors. For $75, I can wholeheartedly recommend pairing with all of the sub-$100 headphones in this guide and a few of the more expensive choices (ATH-AD900X and HD 599).
AudioQuest Dragonfly Red
The Dragonfly Red is Audioquest’s newest Dragonfly DAC revision. It features a better DAC chip and more power than its Dragonfly Black predecessor. This ultraportable unit is perfect for use with laptops and can even be paired with a USB OTG cable for use with Android phones or a Lightning adapter for use with iPhones or iPads. It is relatively pricey at $200, but you do pay a premium for its portability and size.
Schiit Fulla 2
The Fulla 2 is Schiit’s cheapest combination unit and, like all Schiit products, made in the USA. This desktop DAC is perfect for your low-power headphone needs and also works perfectly as a desktop preamp for your powered studio monitors. It’s shiny, luxurious knob feels great in the hand and makes it easier to adjust the volume of your monitors (when used as a preamp). Performance is similar to the FiiO E10K, but the extra $20 gets you that premium knob (and I’m the kind of guy who really appreciates a quality knob).
Schiit Lyr 3
If you have hard-to-drive or high-impedance headphones and you’d really like to have a slick box of Schiit on your desk, the Lyr 3 may be just what the doctor ordered. This tube-powered monster can deliver 9000mW per channel at 16 ohms and 450mW at 600 ohms. Like the Fulla 2, the Lyr 3 also acts as a preamp when the headphone jack is not being used. Unlike the Fulla 2, the Lyr 3 runs the signal through its tube stage to give your music some of that “tube magic” before it’s sent off to your desktop monitors. It features a modular design, allowing the use of a USB DAC module (the same DAC found in Schiit’s Modi 2) or a phono preamp (for those who love spinning wax). You can also buy the Lyr 3 as just an amplifier without either module for $100 less. With either module included, the Lyr 3 costs $599, but it will drive literally everything and may be the last amp you ever need to purchase.
Headphone Amps
Schiit Magni 3
If someone asks me to recommend a headphone amp, I’m gonna go with the Schiit Magni 3 every time. At $99, this solid monster has enough juice to drive power hungry planar magnetic headphones like the HIFIMAN HE-400I and the finesse to work well with earbuds (using its low-gain switch). Like the other Schiit amps, the Magni 3 has preamp outputs so you can use it as a volume control for your desktop monitors when the headphone jack is not being used. It can produce 430mW at 300 ohms, meaning it has more than enough oomph to work with the Sennheiser HD600s or the high-impedance Beyerdynamics. The Schiit Magni 3 simply has no equal in its price range and is the best bang for your buck in this market. It is made to be paired with Schiit’s Modi 2 DAC and both units will sit in a neat little stack on your desk (I have been rolling with a Schiit stack myself for years - currently using a Modi 1 with a Magni 3).
Little Dot MKII
Listeners who are curious about dipping their toes into the world of vacuum tubes without wanting to break the bank should give some consideration to the Little Dot MKII. This is the cheapest you will be able to find an all-tube design (rather than units that only use tubes for the buffer stage). Tube enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the MKII supports tube rolling (term for swapping tubes) for dialing in that perfect sound. It is not recommended that you use this amplifier with extremely low-impedance headphones or IEMs (earbuds).
Schiit Valhalla 2
The Valhalla 2 is Schiit's cheapest all-tube amplifier. You get similar performance to the Lyr 3, though the Valhalla lacks the ability to have a DAC module built-in (or installed). Its preamp can be used with a set of desktop monitors and it supports tube rolling. Unlike most OTL tube amps, the Valhalla 2 can be used with all of your equipment, from high-sensitivity IEMs to 600 ohm planar magnetics. At $349, this amp can be the centerpiece of your desktop audio setup.
DACs
Schiit Modi 2 / Modi 2 Uber
When it comes to dedicated desktop DACs, the Schiit Modi 2 is the only unit I’ll recommend. For $99, you get a high-quality DAC with a quiet, clean output. It is a perfect match with Schiit’s Magni 3 and Valhalla 2 amplifiers or any other amplifier you have. Spending more money than this for a desktop DAC puts you into the realm of insanely diminishing returns. The Modi 2 Uber variant costs an extra $50, but you get coaxial digital and optical inputs, along with a front panel input selector switch. The Modi 2 Uber can be a perfect match for your CD player, Chromecast Audio, or other device with a digital output. I use the Modi 2 Uber with this exact setup in my listening room, allowing me to have my PC, CD player, and Chromecast making use of its high-quality DAC and outputting into my preamp.
Bring Your Desktop Audio To Life With These Studio Monitor Speakers
How To Build The Best Gaming PC Guide Hub
The Best Headphones, DACs, and Amplifiers For The Desktop Music Lover published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/
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11 Quick Tips On How To Improve Live Streaming
Hooray! Since you are reading this I’ll assume you’ve started live video streaming and I’m proud of you. We all are! Or maybe you are an experienced broadcaster. Regardless whether you are just starting out or a veteran, you will be hard-pressed to find a better list of tips to improve live streaming!
Now I know you’d like to fine tune your skills to take your live streaming to the next level. The tips below, each armed with its own special purpose, will guide you to new heights in broadcasting. Some of these may be obvious but it’s always nice to practice good streaming habits. So without further ado, let’s begin my 11 quick tips on how to improve live streaming.
1. Ethernet Connection
Improving your internet connection can be a crucial step in taking your live stream to the next level. Switching from WiFi to a wired LAN can vastly improve connection speed and therefore the quality and reliability of your live stream.
In addition to people and things that can interfere with the strength of the WiFI connection, your computer is periodically scanning for new WiFI networks even though it is already connected. This can cause dips in your connection speed and reliability on WiFi.
This does not make your internet speed faster, but the wired LAN will give you a faster, consistent local connection and more usable bandwidth between you and the router which is why a wired connection is the way to go!
2. Interact With Your Viewers
Interacting can be one of the best ways to gain viewership. While you have tons to offers your viewers, they will most likely want to offer something back. Having the ability to ask questions, make comments and interact with you, plus the other viewers, can have a profound impact on your live stream.
You could offer a live chat window next to your broadcast or conduct a Q & A session after your time is up. This will create engaging audience members and will have them coming back to your stream time and time again!
3. Proximity to WiFi Signal
If you can’t connect with the Ethernet cable then another tip is being as close as possible to the signal. It seems pretty obvious but some people overlook the fact that actually broadcasting closer to your WiFi connection will strengthen your stream and cause less connection problems.
Getting closer to the router is also ideal because it offers less opportunity to have the signal blocked. If you are three rooms away from the router that signal has to travel through three walls to connect. Whereas if you are sitting across the table from the router, it will connect a lot easier and you will have a more reliable stream.
4. Backup Everything
The artist known as Juvenile once said “Back that thang up” and he was probably talking about your files. Backing up your live stream lets you create Video on Demand (VoD) files and playlists afterwards that can be accessed by your viewers at any time. This is a great way to continue to build viewership as now anyone can watch a broadcast they missed or previous ones broadcast before they realized that they adore you.
To do this on the encoder is typically pretty simple:
Click on ‘Save to File’ to save a copy of the stream to your hard drive.
For Adobe Flash Media Encoder click on the save to file option on the right hand side to save it to your hard drive.
In WireCast, hitting the record button will save your live stream as a file.
For WireCast hit the ‘record’ button at the top to record your broadcast to your hard drive.
Most other software encoders also have this feature, but might be different to set up. DaCast also offer an auto archiving feature, free at all plan levels, to record your live stream into mp4 video files. These files can be directly downloaded directly from the back office after the live events.
But the backing up doesn’t just stop there, o no! I also recommend backing up equipment as well. The last thing you want is a broken tripod that completely ruins the whole experience. Obviously having a backup camera can be expensive but at least having backup microphones, headphones, iPhones, xylophones (ok maybe not those last two) can be the difference between a successful broadcast and a forgettable one.
5. Plan Ahead
Live streaming isn’t just something that happens on a whim. I bet there was a set goal in mind when you first thought about live streaming. So keep thinking ahead and make sure you get to the location you will be filming early to check out the conditions/lighting/sound/distractions and plan accordingly. Oh, and don’t forget to also check out the internet connection — it isn’t unusual to find that the 5MBps connection you were promised is actually less than 1 MBps and that can ruin your day.
This also goes for promoting your broadcast. Make sure your viewers know when it is scheduled and how they can access the stream. Use appropriate marketing strategies and social media platforms to inform your viewers and update them on any changes. Don’t make extra work for your viewers to find you since that can lead to them missing the broadcast (and possibly not return as a viewer).
There are tons of things that can and will go wrong during a live broadcast, but being prepared for every situation is crucial in producing a successful stream.
6. Keep Organized
This may seem like another obvious tip but it can make live streaming a lot easier and more enjoyable. Keep cables from being tangled up to prevent things from becoming unplugged during the broadcast. Having a game plan will also help keep you on schedule and concise when live streaming.
If any problems may arise, locating and fixing equipment issues will be a whole lot easier with an organized work place.
7. Test your broadcast
Live streaming without doing a test run first is like going skydiving without checking your parachute. Sure you might have a perfectly working parachute and have the time of your life free falling 15,000 feet, but there’s also a chance you end up with an anvil attached to strings like Daffy Duck.
Run a full test, preferably at the venue where you are going to stream the real thing, and check for any sound, lighting, or encoder problems. Cameras, microphones, and other equipment will also be crucial to check before you go live. You don’t want to have your viewers not able to hear you because of a faulty microphone.
8. Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) Provider
Using a platform that streams over a real CDN is always very helpful. Content Delivery Networks allow your broadcast to reach more people, depending on the CDN. DaCast is partnered by Akamai, one of the
leading CDN’s in the world.
Using DaCast’s platform allows you to live stream around the globe, giving you the opportunity to have many viewers from different places and backgrounds. The CDN prevents the servers from being congested from lots of viewers and gives your stream the reliability and professionalism you want.
9. Don’t Shoot Your Video Just In HD (High Definition)
Shooting your video only in High Definition will ensure that your video will not be seen by a portion of your viewers. Not everyone will have the capacity to watch your broadcast in HD and it will deter many viewers from watching. Make sure that if you live stream in HD (good for you!), you also push a stream in Standard Definition so everyone can participate! As a rule of thumb you want to stream at half your total upload speed. Use a speed test to measure your average upload speed to make sure you have the capacity to stream at the bitrate you want.
Just to explain in further detail the process of shooting in HD and SD would go something like this. Say you have a .5 megabytes (MB) SD version while streaming alongside a 2.5 MB HD version, which would net you 3 MB of per second of bandwidth. This would require around 6MB per second upload speed to maintain that stream without potential problems.
10. Closing Programs/Applications
If your stream is running really slow or is choppy, try closing all unused programs on your computer, including anti-virus. Make sure you haven’t just minimized them but clicked on Close, Exit, or Disable. You can also use the Task Manager (Windows only) to close programs that the system cannot.
The reason why you’ll want to close all of the programs is because live streaming uses up a lot of the computers resources. Specifically the encoder you are using to live stream. You want your computer to be putting forth all of its effort for the broadcast and you don’t want to waste any resources on unused programs.
**Make sure that if your virus scanner is active it is not scanning your computer because that will use up a lot of resources.
11. Consistency/Be On Time
This is an important tip for not only regular broadcasters but first time streamers as well. Being on time is a huge aspect of streaming that sometimes goes unnoticed. Being on time doesn’t just mean starting right when the time slated is- getting there 15 minutes early is always recommended. This prevents any viewers who are early from leaving because there is nothing to watch or do.
The other thing you want is to be consistent regarding what day and time you are going to stream. It will be hard to follow your broadcasts when you live stream on a Tuesday at 5 p.m one week but Friday at 2 p.m the next. Keep consistent with the day and time you stream to keep your viewership consistent and informed.
Conclusion
Now that you know much more about live streaming than when you started this article, it is time to go off into the world using these tips. Become the best broadcaster you can be by practicing good streaming habits and always challenging and pushing yourself to become better. Remember to plan ahead and keep organized because it will make a huge difference in your on-camera work if you are neat and tidy behind the camera.
Use any chance you can to market your live stream and yourself to your viewers and update them on any changes. Be consistent with the day and times you stream to keep your viewers informed and happy. This may not even be the most cliche’ thing I’ve ever said, but the most important thing to remember is HAVE FUN! (Oops sorry, cap locks got jammed).
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“What does QA actually do?”
Ah yes, it's time for my first post! My name is Carlos Kidman and I am a QA Automation Engineer by day and a singer/songwriting, book loving, article reading, Magic the Gathering streaming, soccer loving dad by night.
Although this is my intro post, I did want to start things out with speaking to a comment I once heard at work. I do think that some context to the scenario will help set the stage.
We had just undergone some pretty big lay-offs at the company (basically half the people, of which I was one) and people were understandably shaken. I was looking for another position when I was hired back on because they had gotten rid of the entire QA team except one (crazy story for another time). Immediately upon returning, I heard one of the higher-ups say something that really worried me.
"What does QA actually do?"
The way it was said was meant to mean something along the lines of "do we really need QA people?". For anyone in QA, you would immediately be concerned because you know your role in the company and the crucial responsibility you have in the lifecycle in software development and your customers.
I have read many articles where the author talks about how QA should be a major part of the overall process and how automation is becoming a necessity. Obviously I agree, but I have yet to read a post about why QA is important and why a good QA Engineer team is a must. Although there are many reasons, I would like to go over a few to help shed more light on this.
QA Engineers look and think about products in a different way than developers I'm not saying that developers don't care about the end-user, but most of the time, developers are tasked with specific features or stories that have (hopefully) specific requirements to be done. QA Engineers are tasked with the responsibility to validate that the features and stories are not only done correctly, but continue to work for the overall product and ultimately for the end-user. In this way, QA is also testing the overall user experience (UX). There have been countless times where I've pointed things out that may seem obvious, but the product managers and developers just didn't see it that way. For example, one of our products contained a list of companies that would automatically be generated and displayed when the user navigated to the page. It usually took anywhere from 3-5 seconds for that page to load and the entire list to be displayed. The issue was that there was no obviously visual way to know that there would eventually be a list on the page. Although we knew that there would eventually be data, what would a user think if they got to a page and the content was empty? Once I pointed this out and recommended adding a loading image, it was quickly added and the "feel" of that case was greatly improved. Along those lines, I have heard the argument, "We will add it when our customers request it". While this may work for certain features, if we had that same mentality, then how expensive does that simple loading image become? "Expensive" refers to the cost of resources needed to complete something. What if we don't add the loading image and our customers get to that page, scratch their heads not knowing what's going on, and then leave the page or close the window altogether? Once they "request" it, the developers will be working on something entirely different and have to stop what they are working on to pick up this new feature IF that request ever makes it out of the backlog. Product managers have to add it, developers have to work on it, QA needs to test it, and then push it out to release. All of that is time and money wasted for such a small feature!
No amount of Unit Tests can replace QA Again, to some this is obvious, but this is an argument I have also encountered, especially since I do QA Automation. Let me make this part clear - unit tests are a great way to go about development (known as Test-Driven Development or TDD) and can quickly let the developer know that the critical functionalities of the program are still working as they make their changes. That's it, and that's coming from a programmer that writes entire frameworks and tests for a living! There will always be a need for human or manual QA because testing the "feel" and experience of an app cannot be done by scripts. On top of that, there are entire QA methodologies that are used constantly throughout the QA process. From the beginning of Test Plan and Test Case creation, to the controlled and recorded environments that are used to create detailed repro steps, there is an entire QA lifecycle that no one else in the organization would have time for or know how to do without a learning curve. Just like with programming, good QA takes practice because it isn't just clicking and looking at things in an app. To further illustrate this, here is the definition of "Engineer" from Oxford Dictionaries: "a person who designs, builds, or maintains engines, machines, or public works." The first three verbs! Hallelujah! I could not have said it better myself, so thank you Oxford. QA needs to be just as agile and flexible as the other teams while also adhering to the organization and methodologies that good QA requires.
Good QA and proper integration of QA into the development lifecycle will not only increase the quality of the product, but will also speed up the release process One of the biggest myths I've run into is that QA is just another layer that ends up slowing the release process. This is almost always the result of two things: a) QA is inexperienced or the QA processes have just been recently added to the lifecycle. b) QA has not been integrated into the lifecycle correctly. There can be a combination of both, but just because you may have had a bad experience doesn't mean that it's wrong. If QA is a new process being added, then the expense and "growing pains" should be considered when making that decision. I would recommend hiring someone who is experienced in QA (mid or senior level) to run the team and proceed from there. The worst mistake you can make is thinking that QA is easy or a quick checklist and hire an all entry-level team. Just like with any new team, invest carefully and seriously. However, most of the time it's the second point. I have seen many teams include QA in the wrong way. I'm sure you've heard or read that QA should be part of every step in the development lifecycle, but it needs to actually be done! From scrum meetings to daily standups, include the QA team so they are aware of what is happening. They cannot create a Test Plan if they don't know what to plan for. They cannot create an accurate Test Case if the requirements keep getting tweaked without them knowing. I was once asked to create a new test script that validated that certain links navigated to the correct page because they had tokens that could expire and could change. When I was first asked to do this, there were twelve of these posts and, when clicked, they would redirect the user to a page in the same window. They needed to know if any of the links were no longer on the page or if they redirected incorrectly. For additional context, I was working on another project that was also "critical", but this was deemed more critical. I was told this at noon and told that I had two hours to get this completed. Talk about agile! An hour in, the script was done and I was wrapping up my tests when I realized that they began to fail over and over again even though they were working perfectly just minutes before. I began looking through my code try and find the issue. After some debugging, I realized that clicking on the links now opened in a new tab and they didn't tell me! Ok. I added the logic to handle the new tabs and as I was getting ready to turn it in, three of the tests starting failing over and over again! After some debugging I learned that they had removed three of the links without telling me. This happened a couple more times, but you see the pattern. The project that should have taken me an hour ended up taking the rest of my day. Management delegated the requirements to the developers and the testing to me, but they didn't manage the actual process and it became very expensive since the rest of my day was spent on maintaining one script. This also resulted in me having to push the testing of the other critical project to the next day.
I can understand the speculation that QA is not as crucial as other teams or processes in the development lifecycle, but I can promise you that it is one of the most important pieces and can be a huge blessing if implemented correctly. Imagine if the managers had a quick meeting once they got the "emergency feature request" so the developers and QA were on the same page. Perhaps we could have solidified the requirements there instead of constantly changing them throughout the day.
In the end, since part of the product approval lands on QA, it is easy to point the finger and lay blame. If you or your organization is struggling with your QA, take a step back and try to identify where things can be improved. If not, then I recommend taking some time to talk to the people in the QA team and ask for their ideas of ways things can be improved. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
There is more I could list and discuss, but I think it's best to save it for another post. In other posts I will make sure to come back to this topic, but will even get more technical at different levels. I'll do some beginner posts like "Getting Started with Selenium" and more advanced posts like "Using Docker to Run Tests in Parallel". Anyway, thanks for reading and make sure to tune in for more!
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Computer ethics
What is ethics?
Ethics is defined as a moral philosophy or code of morals practised by a person or group, an example of this could be a code of conduct set for staff in a business/knowing the difference between right and wrong.
Computer Ethics
Is a part of practical philosophy which deals with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct.
Amazon.VS. Arkansas Police.
Police in Arkansas in the south-eastern America have been investigating a murder case where James Andrew Bates has been accused, the police investigating the case have requested that Amazon hand over the recordings from his Amazon echo as they may contain evidence that will help to unravel the whole case. The police strongly believe that music was being streamed via Mr Bate’s speakers on the right of the murder, however Echo speakers don’t record while they are at rest, it is triggered by a key word which can be accidentally triggered at any time if Alexa misinterprets conversation for its wake word. Amazon at the initial request for the data declined stating its consumer privacy right and refusing to submit any information stored on the device, police has not established the fact that the investigation was more important than a customer’s right to privacy. "Given the important First Amendment and privacy implications at stake, the warrant should be quashed unless the Court finds that the State has met its heightened burden for compelled production of such materials," Amazon stated in the court documents.” Taken from : http://us.blastingnews.com/tech/2017/03/amazon-echo-alexa-recordings-could-help-solve-arkansas-murder-001531555.html. Later the police asked the court to force Amazon to provide the data that Mr Bate’s echo may have collected. People have had a big problem with police requesting this information in the first place as it diminishes their right to privacy, is it right that the police should ask for this, but with always active microphones around us such as Apples Siri or Google Now is it expected that we should all just hand over our privacy rights to the government on request. There is also a question of how reliable information is from smart home devices, an example of this could be when you ask Apple’s Siri something and it misinterprets your voice. “Bates' attorney argues that it shouldn't. "You have an expectation of privacy in your home, and I have a big problem that law enforcement can use the technology that advances our quality of life against us,”. Taken from : https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161227/12042636351/amazon-refuses-to-comply-with-police-request-amazon-echo-recordings-murder-case.shtml .
Apple .VS. FBI
In 2014, Apple started to produce iPhones with additional encryption software that they said even they could not unlock, even if they were faced with a court order. Apple said this was done in the name of consumer privacy and cyber-security, but since the company has been in a public feud with the FBI.On the 16th of February last year a US federal magistrate ordered Apple to help the FBI with a case to help them unlock the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. The Chief Executive of Apple Tim Cook describing the demand as “chilling”. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/17/apple-challenges-chilling-demand-decrypt-san-bernadino-iphone.Not only was this a high-profile case but there was already a heated debate between Apple and the FBI relating to the balance of national security and electronic privacy. The FBI needed the phone unlocking so that they could search for evidence to help them determine to what extent the shooters had been radicalised and whom they had communicated with prior to the event. With the crack-down or terrorism recently you’d think Apple would have to unlock the phone to help solve the case, however apple stated that they could not unlock the phone because of consumer privacy. So the federal judge asked them not to unlock it but just to dumb down the encryption so the FBI could guess the password easily and to turn off any “auto-erase” features therefore not going against Apples ethical stance. Mr James Comey the FBI director, has recently acknowledged the Obama administration will not dictate how Apple should code its popular phones. This means his agency had to figure out other ways within existing laws to still get access to the information they wanted.” Cook claimed that “in the wrong hands” this software could be used to unlock “any iPhone in someone’s physical possession”, and warned that Apple would not be able to guarantee that the software would only be used by the FBI in this case.” ““The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals,” he wrote.”https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/17/apple-challenges-chilling-demand-decrypt-san-bernadino-iphone .Apple could not take away the strong encryption that is in place on the IPhone to protect the users and then weaken it to make the users less safe. Finally, Apples Tim Cook has said that he finds the implications of the governments demands “Chilling” and if the government can use the law to unlock your iPhone, they could have the power to reach into anyone’s device and capture their data. “The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.”
Ethics of the Internet
The internet was introduced in 1982 when the National Science Foundation funded the Computer Science Network to create the internet protocol suite. In January 1989, the Internet Advisory Board issued a memo titled Ethics and the Internet that first focused on the need to protect the U.S. government. These guidelines were meant to protect the government's investment in the Internet infrastructure from disruption or lack of access resulting from "irresponsible use” from users. The memo consisted of five things that people were prohibited from doing, these were seeking unauthorised access, disrupting the intended use of the Internet, wasting resources, corrupting data, and compromising the privacy of users. The Computer Ethics Institute has since devised the Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics.
These are: ( Taken from: http://computerethicsinstitute.org/publications/tencommandments.html)
1. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Harm Other People. 2. Thou Shalt Not Interfere With Other People’s Computer Work. 3. Thou Shalt Not Snoop Around In Other People’s Computer Files. 4. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Steal. 5. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Bear False Witness. 6. Thou Shalt Not Copy Or Use Proprietary Software For Which You have Not Paid. 7. Thou Shalt Not Use Other People’s Computer Resources Without Authorisation Or Proper Compensation. 8. Thou Shalt Not Appropriate Other People’s Intellectual Output. 9. Thou Shalt Think About The Social Consequences Of The Program You Are Writing Or The System You Are Designing. 10. Thou Shalt Always Use A Computer In Ways That Insure Consideration And Respect For Your Fellow Humans.
An ethical issue that has always been big problem is the “Digital Divide”. A form of discrimination between the rich and the poor, between nations being restricted from access or having a lack of means to gain access to new technology. In this day and age surely everyone should have a right to access the internet, it has become a daily essential and has developed so much since it was first made, there should be no question as to whether someone can access this information there should be a right to access. This “Digital Divide “boasts the fact that individuals, groups, and nations must have access to the new technology in order to have a share in the benefits of globalisation and development to not fall further behind.
Conclusion
Overall ethical standards are there to make computing safe and accessible for all, mainly to make it so that everyone one has the right to their privacy and the use of the technology. However, there are rules in place to protect us from those who cannot be trusted with such power that technology brings us. With technology growing every day to heights that you wouldn’t believe there needs to be a way to share this with everyone , it should be a human right that you have access to technology even in its most basic form ,so that everyone can have an understanding of the way it works and the benefits it can bring.
References
http://us.blastingnews.com/tech/2017/03/amazon-echo-alexa-recordings-could-help-solve-arkansas-murder-001531555.html
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161227/12042636351/amazon-refuses-to-comply-with-police-request-amazon-echo-recordings-murder-case.shtml
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/iot-data-amazon-murder-case/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/17/apple-challenges-chilling-demand-decrypt-san-bernadino-iphone
http://news.sky.com/story/fbi-cracks-san-bernardino-attackers-iphone-10221607
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-encryption-lawsuit-idUSKCN0VY2PI
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/17/apple-ordered-to-hack-iphone-of-san-bernardino-shooter-for-fbi
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_20020228_ethics-internet_en.html
https://ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/
https://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet
https://ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/basics/principles/
http://computerethicsinstitute.org/publications/tencommandments.html
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Razer Blade Stealth Review: An Undersized Brute
I’ve been using PCs forever. I prefer to work with desktops unless the situation demands otherwise. I have used laptops on and off since they became ubiquitous in the mid-90s, but I’ve never been a big fan of them for several reasons. The compromises required to fit modern computing power into such a portable form factor have always led to products that are expensive and often become tethered to a desk or wall, negating their benefits. I accepted the opportunity to review Razer’s newest ultrabook expecting to find more of the same. After spending a couple of weeks with the Razer Blade Stealth, I believe that laptop computers are finally nearing their full potential.
Unboxing The Stealth
The Blade Stealth comes in a simple, understated cardboard box that was much less gaudy than I expected from my previous experience with Razer products. Included are the laptop and a nice braided power cable with a USB type-C connector and a very slim power brick. The Stealth is a 13.3” laptop with an IGZO-based display. This display technology offers comparable image quality to IPS and VA while reducing power consumption. The Stealth has a reduced-size chiclet keyboard that features RGB backlighting that can be customized by Razer’s Synapse software.
The model I received included the Intel Core i7-8550U processor. This is a Kaby Lake family part that first debuted last fall and has a base clock of 1.8Ghz and can turbo up to 4.0Ghz. This wide range of available clockspeeds allows for enhanced battery life for normal use without sacrificing the raw power needed for tasks like video encoding or rendering. 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 500GB SSD make up the rest of the critical core components of the Stealth. The graphics are handled by the Intel HD 620 IGP that is included with the i7-8550U.
The display features a 3200x1800 panel that gives a good first impression. Out of the box, the Windows DPI scaling is set to 300% for readability, but all objects on the screen remain razor sharp. I found the screen to be a bit oversaturated compared to other displays, but this could be a positive depending on your personal tastes. It makes colors pop and gives game environments a very lush appearance. Rounding out the feature set is the Killer-branded wireless solution, a USB type-C plug (Thunderbolt-ready), HDMI port, and 3.5mm audio jack.
Going Hands On
The first impression I got from the Razer Blade Stealth is that is a solid piece of equipment. It is small, but has heft. I powered on the device and was pleasantly surprised by how fast I was up and running in Windows 10. As best as I can tell, the Stealth comes with a clean installation of Windows and no bloatware, save for Razer’s own Synapse software for configuring the keyboard RGBs. As an owner of multiple Razer mice, I am not a fan of Synapse at all, but I cannot fault its inclusion in this package.
My first impressions of the laptop are that it is incredibly snappy and responsive. The Core i7-8550U may not be as powerful as its enthusiast desktop siblings, but I don’t see how anyone could reasonably argue that it is not up to the task of powering the Stealth through any workload. My past experiences with Intel’s low-power mobile CPUs were less than stellar, but this chip gives you the desktop experience with no apparent compromise. I copied over some h264 videos and let Handbrake loose on some encodes. The speed of the encodes got closer to the level of my desktop i7-7700K than I’d like to admit.
While most of my early interactions with the laptop where while it sat on my desk, I decided to make use of the portability and brought it to my stereo setup to help with recording needle drops from my turntable. The Stealth’s small footprint was just what the doctor ordered and made the process relatively painless compared to the lengthy cable runs I had previously been using to accomplish this same goal. The USB type-C port was also a huge plus for me. Transfers from my mobile phone’s storage were lightning fast and I was able to grab a charge from the laptop at speeds comparable to using an electrical outlet.
Time to Play?
The last big test was to play some games on this thing. Razer informed me that this particular model was not intended for gaming, but the box it came in proudly proclaimed “By Gamers. For Gamers.” and Razer’s product page for the Stealth advertises a range of games that are playable on the Stealth, including Metal Gear Solid V, Project Cars, Tekken 7, Borderlands 2, Rocket League, and more. I felt that it was fair to see what the Stealth could offer if you needed a break from work or felt like joining some friends for a round of Rocket League while you were cooped up in some hotel room.
I installed Steam and downloaded Rocket League and Borderlands 2 (a pair of games that I owned and were specifically mentioned on the Razer website). In my opinion, both of these games need 60fps to be enjoyed, but I can see an argument for playing Borderlands at 30fps. The Stealth was able to give a steady 30fps in Gearbox’s loot shooter when all the settings were lowered, but it was less than ideal. In Rocket League, I feel that the experience is compromised below 60fps, as it makes controlling your rocket car difficult and the twitch adjustments required for success are hard to make. I could not get Rocket League to hit 60fps at any resolution or combination of settings using the integrated Intel 620 GPU.
I should also note that while the Stealth comes with a 3200x1800 screen, I was unable to select any resolution above 1600x900 in games. I’m not sure if it is a driver limitation set by Intel or a choice by Razer to keep the games from running any worse than they already do. I understand why it is the way it is, but it's a shame to have such a high resolution screen and not make full use of it.
That being said, Razer recommends that you purchase its Core v2 module if you have intentions for making your Razer Blade Stealth a legitimate gaming machine. The Core v2 is an external GPU enclosure that has multiple connections and a 500w power supply. It allows you to install a wide range of off the shelf GPUs and connects to the Stealth via the USB type-C Thunderbolt connection. Assuming you installed a beefy GPU like the GTX 1080, gaming on the stealth would be a breeze, even at the 3200x1800 resolution. This expandability comes with a big price tag though, as the Core v2 will set you back $499, plus the cost of the GPU. Going with this type of setup negates many of the portability benefits of buying a laptop, but pairing a dedicated GPU to the Intel Core i7-8550U gives you a gaming experience that offers zero compromises.
Closing Thoughts
Using the Razer Blade Stealth was a bit of a revelation for me. I was not expecting the snappy performance I got from the i7-8550U. It did not matter if I was plugged into the wall or running on the battery, using the Stealth felt like using a high-powered desktop PC. The sharp display made things easy on my eyes. I took advantage of Steam’s in-home streaming service to play some of my more demanding titles (The Hunter: Call of the Wild, Resident Evil 7, and NIOH) out on my back porch. It was the first time I’ve ever had the chance to play stuff like that away from the desk and the image quality was excellent. I wouldn’t recommend it for twitchy games, but the ease of setup and end-user experience was top-notch.
I have to type lots of stuff for work and attempted to do some of that on the Stealth’s RGB keyboard. The condensed size, along with the almost flush-mounted keycaps led to lots of frustration. The problem is easily solvable with a USB keyboard and other users who weren’t born with 35-lb meat claws may fare much better than I did. I tried the 3.5mm audio jack with a few sets of my headphones and found the music listening experience to be adequate and most importantly, noise-free. The jack does not provide sufficient juice for hard to drive headphones, but it was not designed to, so it's no big deal.
The Razer Blade Stealth has its issues, but the one thing about it that I must focus on is battery life. I have never used a laptop that could provide real, usable power for as long as I got on this Stealth. I don’t know what kind of black magic Razer conjured up (or if it was simply a combination of well-chosen parts), but I was shocked every time I checked the battery icon in the taskbar. There was always power to spare, even when I had previously drained other laptops doing the same types of tasks. The USB type-C charger also got me back up to a full charge in no time.
The battery life on this laptop is so good, that I almost feel comfortable in calling it a game changer. I’ve never been able to count on a powerful laptop to offer more than three or four hours of uptime for heavy use and the Razer Blade Stealth still had enough power for me to screw around on Youtube for an hour after I spent the better part of an afternoon encoding videos and testing out games on Steam. This almost makes me feel like laptops are reaching the point where the power/portability compromise no longer has to be made.
I am still a desktop guy, but I have no reservations recommending the Razer Blade Stealth to anyone who needs desktop-class power with a strong battery in a very portable package. If you need gaming performance, Razer has a lineup of laptops that can server that purpose, or you can opt for the pricey Core v2 GPU enclosure. The Stealth is not cheap (the model I tested retails for $1699), but no computing products that offer a top of the line experience ever are. This is a laptop for those serious about getting work done. The lack of bloatware shows that Razer is also committed to this as well.
This review is based on a laptop provided by the manufacturer. The Razer Blade Stealth starts at $1399. The model reveiwed is $1699 as configured. You can pick up one today from Amazon.
Razer Blade Stealth Review: An Undersized Brute published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/
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HyperX Cloud Flight Wireless Headset Review: Experiencing Some Turbulence
Gaming headphones and headsets are serious business, especially for players on the PC. While everyone used to sport cheap PC speakers next to their CRT monitors, the demands and expectations of PC gamers has lifted the hobby into new heights across all input and output devices. Everyone has incredibly nice HD monitors, lightning fast GPUs, and a collection of cutting edge games to go along with them. The technology behind PC sound reproduction has advanced as well. While some still use dedicated speakers, home theater setups, or studio monitors for their PC sound, most gamers have moved to using headphones or dedicated gaming headsets. Kingston’s HyperX brand has provided affordable performance to gamers for years, but are now set to unleash their first wireless gaming headset into the world, the HyperX Cloud Flight.
Digging Into the Box
The Cloud Flight headset is pretty much what you would expect as you begin to remove it from the packaging. It is all-black pair of headphones with red HyperX branding on each ear cup and red wires peaking out from the space between the cups and the headband. Included in the package is a 3.5mm boom mic, which attaches to the left cup. Also provided is a micro-USB charging cable and a male-to-male 3.5mm cable so that the headset can be used without the included USB bluetooth dongle or if you plan on pairing the Cloud Flight with the Xbox One controller 3.5mm jack.
As for build quality, the Cloud Flight is an all-plastic affair, which is in line with the price category it competes in. Both cups offer around 90 degrees of swivel in a clockwise direction. This allows you to lay the headset slightly flatter on a table or possibly hold them up for some DJ-style one ear monitoring. The red HyperX logos on each cup are backlit with LEDs that come to life each time the headset is powered on in wireless mode. The lights have a few different modes that are set by pressing the power button a few times. Disappointingly, whatever mode you prefer the LEDs to operate in is lost every time the headset powers off, so you must toggle the unit to your preferred mode every single time you use them (or even after they power themselves off after brief intervals of inactivity).
The Cloud Flight’s drivers are covered by a thin piece of foam and surrounded by pleather ear pads. The headset features a closed-back design. When this design is paired with the pleather pads, the clamping force on the headset works to provide some isolation for outside sounds. The effect is not as pronounced as you would find on dedicated noise-cancelling headphones, but the Cloud Flight is not meant for that task, so it’s no big deal. As I prefer open-backed headphones, it took me a long time to adjust to the quirks of a closed-back, sealed setup. I found it very hard to hear myself speaking on Teamspeak as the seal caused the higher frequencies of my voice to be attenuated and I felt like the lower frequencies were being amplified resonating inside my head. I was never sure how loud I was talking compared to normal. The mic works, but the volume is very low and my friends had issues hearing me the entire time I used it. The software driver offers no mic gain adjustment. I found the wireless range to be acceptable, but audio would drop out once I got more than ten to twelve feet away from the receiver. My dreams of sitting on the toilet and talking to my friends on Teamspeak still go unfulfilled.
Taking My Game Wireless
I gave the Cloud Flight headset a spin on the PS4 and PC. On both platforms, getting started was as simple as plugging in the included bluetooth USB dongle and performing a long press on the power button of the left cup. On the PC, Windows automatically installed and configured whatever drivers were needed to make the headset work in a snap. The headset appeared in my Sounds and Recording Devices tabs and were ready to use. There is no other software or controls for the unit outside of what you’ll encounter in the Windows sound settings window. When you use the volume control wheel on the right cup, a small black window will pop up on your monitor indicating the volume level. In some cases, the driver will recognize audio output from different applications and provide additional information or graphics. I’m not sure of what the full software compatibility list includes, but it worked automatically with the Spotify desktop client. This pop-up did not appear in fullscreen gaming, but I did have it appear and annoy me while playing some games in windowed fullscreen mode.
For the purposes of this review, I chose to compare the Cloud Flight headset to the headphones or headsets I currently own or have used extensively in the past. These units include:
Samson SR850 Stereo Headphones (~$30)
Audio Technica ATH-M50 Stereo Headphones (~$100) *Discontinued
Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (~$100) *Discontinued
Logitech G930 Wireless Headset (~$150) *Discontinued
HyperX Cloud II (~$90)
Sennheiser HD598 (~$140)
Strapping Myself In
An important part of enjoying a set of headphones or a headset is comfort. You may find yourself wearing these things for long gaming sessions, movies, or listening to music while browsing the web. As a disclaimer, I have a bad case of stupid head. It is big, like really big. I often find that many sets of headphones provide an uncomfortable amount of clamp that prevents me from using them for any extended period of time. I can safely say that the Cloud Flight headset was able to accomodate my gourd without causing stress right off the bat. Compared to the Logitech G35 and G930 headsets I previously owned, the Cloud Flight was a real improvement in the comfort department.
I am not a big fan of pleather ear pads, as they cause my ears to get too warm and even make my head sweat while gaming or listening. While I absolutely love the sound I get from the Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones, their clamp and pleather ear pads means that I cannot wear them for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Because the clamp was not bad on the Cloud Flight, I was able to wear them for around 90 minutes before the pleather pads had made my ears so hot I had to take a break. In comparison, the Samson SR850s and Sennheiser HD598s, with their open design and velour ear pads, made me forget I was wearing anything while playing. On the far end of the comfort spectrum in the Audio Technica ATH-AD series, which are so comfortable it feels like your headphones are giving you a backrub.
Sliding Off The Runway
In my opinion, the most important factor in deciding on which headphone to use is sound quality. Great sound quality will allow me to tolerate discomfort (at least in short doses, as proved by the previously mentioned ATH-M50s). Poor sound quality simply takes me out of the game, album, or movie I would normally be enjoying. For gaming alone, the Cloud Flight headset performs adequately. Positional audio works the way it should and I had no trouble using audio cues to find enemy players in PUBG. While I prefer the larger soundstage provided by open-backed headphones, at no time did I feel like the closed Cloud Flights were impairing my play. Most sound effects were spot on and the closed-backed design of the headset helped to emphasize the lower frequencies heard in explosions or from certain types of gunfire. To be honest, reproducing sound effects and typical game audio is not incredibly demanding on most headphones. For what the Cloud Flight headset costs, I found it disappointing that it does not offer a superior game experience when paired against a decent $30 set of headphones, though it was no worse than the Logitech G35/G930. I feel that the HyperX Cloud II headset offers a better level of quality when it comes to game audio.
For anyone who cares about music in the slightest, the Cloud Flight is a big let down. I auditioned the headset using a variety of albums using Spotify’s high quality streaming option and using some 24bit/96Khz recordings via foobar2000 (that had to be resampled anyway since the Cloud Flight dongle only supports up to 16bit/48KHz output). I listened to an array of offerings, mostly in the rock, metal, pop, and rap genres. I found recordings that were already full of distortion to be passable and the Cloud Flight did well enough to hide some faults on some songs that were poorly recorded to begin with. For any well-mastered recordings, the HyperX headset really struggled. I heard lots of sibilance in the upper registers of female and male vocals, as well as with any cymbals. Instrument separation was also poor, where the kick drum in a rock recording could cause the volume of other instruments to fade. Airy recordings with strings simply lacked the small details I expected to hear. I did find music performance from the Cloud Flight to be better than what you can get from the Logitech G35/G930 (which are abysmal), but even incredibly affordable headphones like the Samson SR850 simply do everything better when it comes to music reproduction. As with game audio, I found the HyperX Cloud II headset to be much better sounding than the Cloud Flight for music.
I was worried that the wireless bluetooth transmission of the audio could be the culprit for some of the lackluster music reproduction from the Cloud Flight, so I hooked the headset up via the included 3.5mm cable. My wired signal chain includes a Schiit Modi USB DAC and Schiit Magni 3 headphone amplifier. When used in a wired configuration, music reproduction is definitely improved. The biggest benefit I heard was to instrument separation. Every instrument was able to shine through on busy recordings and I was able to reach volume levels well above what I got in the wireless configuration. It did not fix the sibilance issues and whatever headphone drivers are contained within the Cloud Flight are still not able to provide all the background details, but it brings the headset much closer to the level of quality I hear in the HyperX Cloud II.
Closing Thoughts
Kingston built up the HyperX brand on the backs of high-value products for gamers that punched above their weight class. Their HyperX Cloud II headset stood alone for years as pretty much the only affordable “gaming” headset that could provide a really enjoyable music listening experience. It endeared them to audiophiles who wanted the convenience of a gaming headset without having to sacrifice the performance they were used to in their dedicated listening setups. The HyperX Cloud Flight headset is an attempt to bring that experience into the wireless realm and it succeeds in many of the things it set out to do. The headset is fairly comfortable, even to someone like me who shies away from closed-back, pleather pad configurations. The initial setup procedure could not be any easier. Battery life was excellent in my opinion. I let the unit fully charge before using it over a weekend of long gaming and music listening sessions and it never showed signs of running low on juice. With its micro-USB port, you can charge it up just about anywhere and get right into the game.
Obviously, moving from wired to wireless will bring some compromises to the end product. Some of my gripes with the sound quality of the Cloud Flight headset can be chalked up to quirks with bluetooth transmission or how much power is used to drive the headphones while worrying about battery life. For most of the entire time I used the Cloud Flight, I felt myself looking for more volume. It performed better when used in the wired configuration, but doing that kind of defeats the purpose. I understand that many users do not care about listening to music at all and those folks should put no weight into my thoughts on that. If you only care about the games and you find the headset comfortable, go for it. For the $160 price tag that the Cloud Flight currently carries, it finds itself in shark infested waters full of strong competition. It fails to offer the outstanding value of its legendary wired cousin, the HyperX Cloud II. I find it hard to recommend the Cloud Flight, even if the wireless function is most important to you. There are competitors that sell for almost $100 less that can give you a decent gaming experience in a wireless headset. Without the ability to offer strong music reproduction performance, the Cloud Flight only fits the bill if you love the look or the feel.
This review unit was provided by the manufacturer. The HyperX Cloud Flight Wireless Headset works with PS4, PC, and Xbox One (with 3.5mm adapter). The headset currently retails for $159.99
HyperX Cloud Flight Wireless Headset Review: Experiencing Some Turbulence published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/
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HyperX Cloud Flight Wireless Headset Review: Experiencing Some Turbulence
Gaming headphones and headsets are serious business, especially for players on the PC. While everyone used to sport cheap PC speakers next to their CRT monitors, the demands and expectations of PC gamers has lifted the hobby into new heights across all input and output devices. Everyone has incredibly nice HD monitors, lightning fast GPUs, and a collection of cutting edge games to go along with them. The technology behind PC sound reproduction has advanced as well. While some still use dedicated speakers, home theater setups, or studio monitors for their PC sound, most gamers have moved to using headphones or dedicated gaming headsets. Kingston’s HyperX brand has provided affordable performance to gamers for years, but are now set to unleash their first wireless gaming headset into the world, the HyperX Cloud Flight.
Digging Into the Box
The Cloud Flight headset is pretty much what you would expect as you begin to remove it from the packaging. It is all-black pair of headphones with red HyperX branding on each ear cup and red wires peaking out from the space between the cups and the headband. Included in the package is a 3.5mm boom mic, which attaches to the left cup. Also provided is a micro-USB charging cable and a male-to-male 3.5mm cable so that the headset can be used without the included USB bluetooth dongle or if you plan on pairing the Cloud Flight with the Xbox One controller 3.5mm jack.
As for build quality, the Cloud Flight is an all-plastic affair, which is in line with the price category it competes in. Both cups offer around 90 degrees of swivel in a clockwise direction. This allows you to lay the headset slightly flatter on a table or possibly hold them up for some DJ-style one ear monitoring. The red HyperX logos on each cup are backlit with LEDs that come to life each time the headset is powered on in wireless mode. The lights have a few different modes that are set by pressing the power button a few times. Disappointingly, whatever mode you prefer the LEDs to operate in is lost every time the headset powers off, so you must toggle the unit to your preferred mode every single time you use them (or even after they power themselves off after brief intervals of inactivity).
The Cloud Flight’s drivers are covered by a thin piece of foam and surrounded by pleather ear pads. The headset features a closed-back design. When this design is paired with the pleather pads, the clamping force on the headset works to provide some isolation for outside sounds. The effect is not as pronounced as you would find on dedicated noise-cancelling headphones, but the Cloud Flight is not meant for that task, so it’s no big deal. As I prefer open-backed headphones, it took me a long time to adjust to the quirks of a closed-back, sealed setup. I found it very hard to hear myself speaking on Teamspeak as the seal caused the higher frequencies of my voice to be attenuated and I felt like the lower frequencies were being amplified resonating inside my head. I was never sure how loud I was talking compared to normal. The mic works, but the volume is very low and my friends had issues hearing me the entire time I used it. The software driver offers no mic gain adjustment. I found the wireless range to be acceptable, but audio would drop out once I got more than ten to twelve feet away from the receiver. My dreams of sitting on the toilet and talking to my friends on Teamspeak still go unfulfilled.
Taking My Game Wireless
I gave the Cloud Flight headset a spin on the PS4 and PC. On both platforms, getting started was as simple as plugging in the included bluetooth USB dongle and performing a long press on the power button of the left cup. On the PC, Windows automatically installed and configured whatever drivers were needed to make the headset work in a snap. The headset appeared in my Sounds and Recording Devices tabs and were ready to use. There is no other software or controls for the unit outside of what you’ll encounter in the Windows sound settings window. When you use the volume control wheel on the right cup, a small black window will pop up on your monitor indicating the volume level. In some cases, the driver will recognize audio output from different applications and provide additional information or graphics. I’m not sure of what the full software compatibility list includes, but it worked automatically with the Spotify desktop client. This pop-up did not appear in fullscreen gaming, but I did have it appear and annoy me while playing some games in windowed fullscreen mode.
For the purposes of this review, I chose to compare the Cloud Flight headset to the headphones or headsets I currently own or have used extensively in the past. These units include:
Samson SR850 Stereo Headphones (~$30)
Audio Technica ATH-M50 Stereo Headphones (~$100) *Discontinued
Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (~$100) *Discontinued
Logitech G930 Wireless Headset (~$150) *Discontinued
HyperX Cloud II (~$90)
Sennheiser HD598 (~$140)
Strapping Myself In
An important part of enjoying a set of headphones or a headset is comfort. You may find yourself wearing these things for long gaming sessions, movies, or listening to music while browsing the web. As a disclaimer, I have a bad case of stupid head. It is big, like really big. I often find that many sets of headphones provide an uncomfortable amount of clamp that prevents me from using them for any extended period of time. I can safely say that the Cloud Flight headset was able to accomodate my gourd without causing stress right off the bat. Compared to the Logitech G35 and G930 headsets I previously owned, the Cloud Flight was a real improvement in the comfort department.
I am not a big fan of pleather ear pads, as they cause my ears to get too warm and even make my head sweat while gaming or listening. While I absolutely love the sound I get from the Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones, their clamp and pleather ear pads means that I cannot wear them for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Because the clamp was not bad on the Cloud Flight, I was able to wear them for around 90 minutes before the pleather pads had made my ears so hot I had to take a break. In comparison, the Samson SR850s and Sennheiser HD598s, with their open design and velour ear pads, made me forget I was wearing anything while playing. On the far end of the comfort spectrum in the Audio Technica ATH-AD series, which are so comfortable it feels like your headphones are giving you a backrub.
Sliding Off The Runway
In my opinion, the most important factor in deciding on which headphone to use is sound quality. Great sound quality will allow me to tolerate discomfort (at least in short doses, as proved by the previously mentioned ATH-M50s). Poor sound quality simply takes me out of the game, album, or movie I would normally be enjoying. For gaming alone, the Cloud Flight headset performs adequately. Positional audio works the way it should and I had no trouble using audio cues to find enemy players in PUBG. While I prefer the larger soundstage provided by open-backed headphones, at no time did I feel like the closed Cloud Flights were impairing my play. Most sound effects were spot on and the closed-backed design of the headset helped to emphasize the lower frequencies heard in explosions or from certain types of gunfire. To be honest, reproducing sound effects and typical game audio is not incredibly demanding on most headphones. For what the Cloud Flight headset costs, I found it disappointing that it does not offer a superior game experience when paired against a decent $30 set of headphones, though it was no worse than the Logitech G35/G930. I feel that the HyperX Cloud II headset offers a better level of quality when it comes to game audio.
For anyone who cares about music in the slightest, the Cloud Flight is a big let down. I auditioned the headset using a variety of albums using Spotify’s high quality streaming option and using some 24bit/96Khz recordings via foobar2000 (that had to be resampled anyway since the Cloud Flight dongle only supports up to 16bit/48KHz output). I listened to an array of offerings, mostly in the rock, metal, pop, and rap genres. I found recordings that were already full of distortion to be passable and the Cloud Flight did well enough to hide some faults on some songs that were poorly recorded to begin with. For any well-mastered recordings, the HyperX headset really struggled. I heard lots of sibilance in the upper registers of female and male vocals, as well as with any cymbals. Instrument separation was also poor, where the kick drum in a rock recording could cause the volume of other instruments to fade. Airy recordings with strings simply lacked the small details I expected to hear. I did find music performance from the Cloud Flight to be better than what you can get from the Logitech G35/G930 (which are abysmal), but even incredibly affordable headphones like the Samson SR850 simply do everything better when it comes to music reproduction. As with game audio, I found the HyperX Cloud II headset to be much better sounding than the Cloud Flight for music.
I was worried that the wireless bluetooth transmission of the audio could be the culprit for some of the lackluster music reproduction from the Cloud Flight, so I hooked the headset up via the included 3.5mm cable. My wired signal chain includes a Schiit Modi USB DAC and Schiit Magni 3 headphone amplifier. When used in a wired configuration, music reproduction is definitely improved. The biggest benefit I heard was to instrument separation. Every instrument was able to shine through on busy recordings and I was able to reach volume levels well above what I got in the wireless configuration. It did not fix the sibilance issues and whatever headphone drivers are contained within the Cloud Flight are still not able to provide all the background details, but it brings the headset much closer to the level of quality I hear in the HyperX Cloud II.
Closing Thoughts
Kingston built up the HyperX brand on the backs of high-value products for gamers that punched above their weight class. Their HyperX Cloud II headset stood alone for years as pretty much the only affordable “gaming” headset that could provide a really enjoyable music listening experience. It endeared them to audiophiles who wanted the convenience of a gaming headset without having to sacrifice the performance they were used to in their dedicated listening setups. The HyperX Cloud Flight headset is an attempt to bring that experience into the wireless realm and it succeeds in many of the things it set out to do. The headset is fairly comfortable, even to someone like me who shies away from closed-back, pleather pad configurations. The initial setup procedure could not be any easier. Battery life was excellent in my opinion. I let the unit fully charge before using it over a weekend of long gaming and music listening sessions and it never showed signs of running low on juice. With its micro-USB port, you can charge it up just about anywhere and get right into the game.
Obviously, moving from wired to wireless will bring some compromises to the end product. Some of my gripes with the sound quality of the Cloud Flight headset can be chalked up to quirks with bluetooth transmission or how much power is used to drive the headphones while worrying about battery life. For most of the entire time I used the Cloud Flight, I felt myself looking for more volume. It performed better when used in the wired configuration, but doing that kind of defeats the purpose. I understand that many users do not care about listening to music at all and those folks should put no weight into my thoughts on that. If you only care about the games and you find the headset comfortable, go for it. For the $160 price tag that the Cloud Flight currently carries, it finds itself in shark infested waters full of strong competition. It fails to offer the outstanding value of its legendary wired cousin, the HyperX Cloud II. I find it hard to recommend the Cloud Flight, even if the wireless function is most important to you. There are competitors that sell for almost $100 less that can give you a decent gaming experience in a wireless headset. Without the ability to offer strong music reproduction performance, the Cloud Flight only fits the bill if you love the look or the feel.
This review unit was provided by the manufacturer. The HyperX Cloud Flight Wireless Headset works with PS4, PC, and Xbox One (with 3.5mm adapter). The headset currently retails for $159.99
HyperX Cloud Flight Wireless Headset Review: Experiencing Some Turbulence published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/
0 notes