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Build Log: Skype Desk
After wrapping up the LED slat wall project last week, I had switched Skype Station to using a temporary plastic desk. Building a permanent desk replacement was an urgent priority though since I could see the monitor arm clamps deform the desk more every day.
Interim Skype Station Update
Skype Station has been an incredible success: high marks for usability, reliability and both image and audio quality. What it’s not great for? Being portable.
I’d like to look at a mobile-focused Skype station this year so I need to do a bit of a roundup to see if a specific camera I’m thinking of can live up to the bar set by Skype Station.
Build Log: Entertainment Hutch
A fairly quick project for getting all the living room TV ‘stuff’ off the ground and into a manageable place with a home for a robot-vacuum.
A Dive into Security Cameras, Part 1
Security cameras can be different things to different people - for some, it’s a vehicle for peace of mind acting as a deterrent or aiding in a recovery. For others it’s just a tool for package delivery notifications.
Guide: Video Encoding, Part 2 - Deep Dive
In the previous post, we laid the groundwork for how the encoding process comes together, This week we'll put all of that to use and dive into which codec and configuration might be best for long term archival. H264? H265? AV1? GPU? CPU? What settings?
Guide: Video Encoding, Part 1 - The Basics
Every year, new cameras and phones come out, all promising to make it easier to capture sharper, brighter - better video. By far and large, manufacturers have delivered on this promise to make it easier to capture high quality video - anyone can pull out a smartphone and start rolling 4K footage. The downside is that all of this incredible footage has to go somewhere! This post lays the groundwork around video encoding before I can talk about ways to make your limited storage space go further.
Weekend Getaway to San Francisco
I took a 4000-km weekend getaway to San Francisco to get engaged. I rented a camera and a couple of lenses and we took some photos while we were there.
Guide: Getting Better Video Calls
Building Skype Station was the easy part - getting value out of the equipment takes a bit more trial and error. In this post, I talk about three common mistakes holding your video call or streaming setup back.
Build Log: Skype Station
Like many people working remotely, my wife needed to be able to have video calls. We settled on using a part of a spare room to be converted into a dedicated video-call space. In this build log, I focus a bit more on the equipment that make this a possibility.