Video

For the past couple of years, people wishing to create ultra-high-resolution panoramic photographs have been able to do so, using their own digital camera and a GigaPan robotic tripod. The device slowly pans the camera back and forth across a user-determined vista, triggering it to take up to several hundred shots in the process. The included software then stitches all the photos together – side-to-side and top-to-bottom – creating one big panorama, which retains its resolution even when details are zoomed in on, much like Google Earth. So, what could top that? Time-lapse videos created using GigaPan Time Machine software, as it turns out. Read More

Converting captured high quality video to edit-ready format can be a time consuming business, but the new Ninja Recorder from Atomos is a little box that takes care of this task by bypassing in-camera video compression and recording uncompressed 10-bit video directly to a 2.5-inch removable SSD or HDD in Apple ProRes format (HQ, 422 or LT) in real-time. The self-contained portable device connects to a DSLR or camcorder's HDMI connector and allows incoming video to be monitored or recorded video to be played back on its 4.3-inch 480 x 270 touchscreen. Read More

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has unveiled a rugged external drive and some new high capacity storage solutions aimed at audio/video professionals at this year's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas. The new additions to the G-Technology range support Standard Definition, High Definition, 2K, or 4K post production workflows for Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and a host of other post production software solutions. Interface options include FireWire 800, USB 2.0 and eSATA, with 3TB 7200 RPM Hitachi enterprise and desktop class hard drives playing a central role and various RAID configurations also on offer. The company has also announced that Thunderbolt I/O devices will be landing later in the year. Read More

The video capture capabilities found in today's mobile phones has made it easier than ever to record those priceless memories whenever and wherever they may occur. However, one of the downsides to cramming a video camera into such a small device is the lack of stability that often results in videos that look like they were shot the morning after a big night. With a full-blown steadycam rig probably not the best solution for smoothing out things on the go, Midnox has created an app that provides real-time image stabilization for the iPhone 4. Read More

Seth Goldstein must hate doing up his ties even more than I do. I changed my lifestyle about four years ago so I'd never have to wear one again, but Goldstein has put countless hundreds of hours into designing a robot that can do the job for him. The 'Why Knot?' kinetic sculpture is hypnotic to watch, as the video after the jump shows – and it makes you wonder at the marvel of our human machinery when you see how difficult this simple task is for a purpose-built robot to replicate. Oh, and when you watch it in double-speed, it also sounds a bit like glitch techno music. Very cool. Read More

Anyone who regularly uses a video camera will know that the devices do not see the world the way we do. The human visual system can perceive a scene that contains both bright highlights and dark shadows, yet is able to process that information in such a way that it can simultaneously expose for both lighting extremes – up to a point, at least. Video cameras, however, have just one f-stop to work with at any one time, and so must make compromises. Now, however, researchers from the UK’s University of Warwick claim to have the solution to such problems, in the form of the world’s first full High Dynamic Range (HDR) video system. Read More

Retailers, hotels and real estate agents have been using aromas to entice us to part with our cash for years now and there have even been a few attempts to transmit smells via the internet and mobile phones. California-based company Scent Sciences is now looking to bring an olfactory dimension to computer games with its ScentScape personal digital scent delivery system. Read More

Sony has unveiled its five new compact digital cameras at CES 2011. The new Cyber-shot models include the world’s first still compact digital camera to offer full HD (1920 x 1080/60p) video recording – the Cyber-shot TX100V – and feature 3D still imaging and 3D sweep panoramic imaging, 16.2-megapixel CMOS sensors, 10fps burst shooting and dual recording capabilities that allow you to take still shots and video at the same time. Read More

Presently, most automated systems can only identify copyrighted video material if it’s a direct copy, still bearing the unique digital signature of the original. This can sometimes be circumvented by altering the copy, or creating the copy optically using a video camera to shoot a movie off the screen. A new anti-piracy technology called “video DNA matching,” however, sees past such deception. Read More