posted Nov 22, 2011 5:54 PM by Matt Hartley
So what's up with the project and when are the next updates coming? Well, as Patrick has informed me, there are indeed some fantastic updates coming up. The biggest is some back-end changes to improve on speed, dependability, etc. And as you might guess, this also means changes to the GUI. Tons of good things are in the works, but it means we must be patient as Patrick has to have time (his free time) to make these things happen.
One last item: Once we begin rolling out the new GUI, I will resume making howto videos again. At this point, making howto videos is self-defeating since the GUI is evolving for a smoother workflow. But once the project has consensus on what will be the new GUI, I will begin rolling out a whole new set of howtos, videos and more.
Thanks everyone for sticking it out with us. :) |
posted Nov 22, 2011 5:32 PM by Matt Hartley
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updated Nov 22, 2011 5:37 PM
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In the next post after this one, I will be updating everyone on the latest happenings and what to expect from WebcamStudio. But first, I want to take a moment to call attention to a small New Zealand library under legal pressure from a company call LibLime. I will not be linking to them as I have no interest in doing them any favors. According to a post on the 21st of this month from the Koha Library Software Community, LibLime managed to somehow get their Trademark on the word "Koha " (meaning the New Zealand Māori custom of gift giving). Yes, these guys managed to Trademark a term ironically named for gift giving despite not even coming from the country where the term has an important meaning.
Other companies have pulled this sort of stupidity before and lost, the key here is that the Koha Library Software Community needs help with their legal fund. And because it's open source, this means us. This means it's up to us to stop Trademarks gone mad. As you can see in the comments at this link, the community is already beginning to respond -- this just leaves us to offer these guys a chance at a fair defense. Understand, if it can happen to that project, it can happen to other open source projects as well. So let's demonstrate that as a community, we're willing to come together to defend one another.
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posted Nov 13, 2011 7:52 AM by Patrick Balleux
Hi The worst thing that can happen to a developer is having a user reporting an issue with "It does not work...". We, the developers, need more information than "It does not work...". Since we cannot guess what you have done, how you did it and what you are expecting, you need to provide the maximum details of your issue so we can figure out what is wrong. - What is the version of Ubuntu you are using: Version, archtecture, etc... For example: Ubuntu 11.10, AMD64
- What are your specs when reporting a performance issue: Dual Core 2GHZ, 4 Gigs or ram, ATI video card
- Have you customized your setup: I have a custom kernel, I have custom build, etc...
- What are the steps to reproduce the issue: Start WS4GL, load a Studio, Add a source, Save Studio, etc...
- What version of WebcamStudio are referring to... Often, the issue has been fixed in a recent version
- What are the expected results: Should display all the source
- What are the actual results: I only see the "Movie" sources
I've been investigating all kinds of issues related to WebcamStudio, and some times, the issue is related to the setup itself and not WebcamStudio. Like wise man said: Help me to help you. If you encounter an issue, you should post it to the issue list on the project page: - It's easier to track issues
- Other will see existing issues and may add more details
- You'll be notified when the issue is fixed
Here's the link to the issue list: http://code.google.com/p/webcamstudio/issues/list Have a nice day!
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posted Nov 12, 2011 8:03 PM by Patrick Balleux
Hi All! As you may have seen in the last weeks, I am moving away from GStreamer to FFMPEG. There is a lot to be done, but things are shaping slowly... This new design looks really promising as the CPU usage has dropped in a significant way. So, what's the plan for the next release? - Movies, Webcams, Full Desktop, DV, Music will be handled by FFMPEG instead of GStreamer
- Windows Users will be able to use WebcamStudio without having to install complex libraries. All is required is FFMPEG.exe in the path...
- As I get stuff working, I will probably release the FFMPEG integration as a standalone library, for other projects to use.
- Customizable sources, even using your own executables/scripts to feed WebcamStudio
- Customizable sinks (outputs) to send the output to whatever you want (FME Server, Shoutcast, TCP Link, File, etc...)
- Support for webcam detection or virtual video device may be removed in a distant future to have a more universal software... Don't worry, the "Source"/"Sink" will eventually take care of that part...
- Access to an Audio Mixer, where you'll be able to adjust volumes/mute etc...
- Future versions will focus more on broadcasting/recording than using a virtual video device...
Already done new features: - Studio and Studioz file format. Studio is the same as usual, but the Studioz is a compressed zip that will hold the file sources also making your Studio portable from one machine to another
- Better hotkey system to activate a layout
- Better transitions from one layout to another
- Nested Layouts, where a layout can be a source for another layout
For those updating from the source code... Don't! Things are really messy right now as I re-design almost everything . I'm almost starting from scratch on the core system to handle video images... Next release will be a simple one, trying to go back to what was already working in 0.57 Beta 4, but with FFMPEG instead of GStreamer. Advanced new features will show up once I get everything working again... Until then, have fun! |
posted Nov 12, 2011 7:58 AM by Patrick Balleux
Hi,
I just got an email from a user complaining about recent changes. I don't have any problem with that if those comments are constructive... But this one was a bit out of bound...
Anyway, I do understand that lately, a lot has changed mainly in the GUI and it may not be what you wanted. But I want to remind you that WebcamStudio is still in an unstable version and a lot of stuff can happen. Also, I do work on the project on my personal time, and when I feel like it. So things can be slow, as things can be crazy. I'm doing my best to create a software that people will enjoy...
So, that being said, I welcome you comments and suggestions. but keep it clean and polite.
In the event that you do not like the direction I'm taking with WebcamStudio: Start your own project!
That being said, back to the code!
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posted Oct 22, 2011 5:59 PM by Patrick Balleux
I've made a breakthrough with WebcamStudio development as I was able to get rid of the GStreamer dependencies and move toward FFMPEG instead. Why? Simply because gstreamer is a bit heavy in Java, and hard to install on other OS than Linux. So the next release won't be 0.57, 0.58 or 0.59, but 0.60 Alpha 1... Yeah, I know, it's a bit strange, but the new integration of FFMPEG requires a new version. So what is the benefit of moving to FFMPEG?- CPU Usage has dropped by 50%
- Less external dependencies
- More portable: Yes, Windows users will get almost the same version as Linux users, and probably OSX also...
- Integration of features like FME, recording, or whatever will be much more easier
- The possibility of have your own "Source" and "Sink" using simple bash script, or your own binaries
That's nice, but what is lost?
Effects on audio (fade in and fade out) won't work anymore until I find a solution GISSCaster has been remove, will be replace by custom "Sink" Recorder has been removed, will be replace by custom "Sink" Webcamera (iPhone) has been removed, will be replace by custom "Source" In the end...That new design will make possible more options and more customizations with WebcamStudio. From the user perspective, it will look the same, but the experience will be a lot smoother... Next step is to make WebcamStudio 0.60 Alpha 1 work on Windows, with almost the same features. Only the virtual device (loopback) won't be available. But Windows users, as Linux users will be able to stream directly to services like Justin.tv or Bambusers, without having to rely on the web browser. Services will be added like "Shoutcast" streaming, or local recording in what ever format you wish to use. |
posted Oct 9, 2011 10:31 AM by Patrick Balleux
Yep, you read correctly... Beta 4 is now available! There was some minor annoyances in the beta 3, and previous that needed to be fixed... So instead of waiting, I decided to release today. What's new: - Fixed audio glitch on VideoSourceMusic
- Fixed few transition glitches
- Fixed app not being saved in Pulseaudio selection
- Added ALT+Hotkey to be invoked from everywhere to change layouts. Not, using ALT+KEYSELECTED, from anywhere in the app, will activate the selected layout
- Fixed adding new desktop, qrcode, fulldesktop name duplication
- Fixed webcam with duplicated tabs
- Modified GUI to have a list layout instead of a combo layout. Makes navigation a lot easier
- Added double-click and Enter key on layout list to activate the layout
Enjoy! |
posted Oct 8, 2011 10:33 AM by Patrick Balleux
After much wait, here it is, the version 0.57 Beta 3 is available... What's new: - Fixed layout events not stopping proper last layout
- Improved performance and smoothness
- Added keep ratio on the position controller
- Added name and icon to pipelines file for better customization
- Added a new video source for full screen capture
- Fixed background opacity in text
- Fixed opacity in Desktop source
- Fixed restarting animations
- Included a seek feature for movies and music upon activating a layout
- Modified to stream to flv instead of ogg
- Fixed mirror output for Google hanghout
- Fixed uyvy output
- Added quit menu
- Fixed image animation
Enjoy! |
posted Aug 27, 2011 9:40 PM by Patrick Balleux
Hi!
Debugging is almost complete. There is something wrong between java and a compiz enabled desktop (like Unity), so I left that on the side for now. I just made a live broadcast on Justin.tv from a Gnome classic desktop without compiz and everything went really well.
I used FFMPEG to broadcast the stream instead of relying on the Flash interface. It makes a big difference on the CPU usage as Flash is a beast with the latest version. I was broadcasting at 320x240, 15 fps. Several layouts were used:
1 - Main webcam, text and animation
2 - Text and pipeline (using goom to display the sound)
3 - Two webcams, text
4 - Full Desktop (5 fps), Desktop and Text (5 fps)
In every layouts, the CPU usage was around 25-40% depending on the source used. So basically, my laptop was not even strugging, even with the Full Desktop source.
Some effects and shapes were applied to have a cool display. See the recording here: http://justin.tv/patrickballeux2/b/293665919
I've also tried the Google Hangout feature, and it worked great beside the fact that the image is reverse. Just needed to activate the "Mirror Output" in the output menu to make the image as it should show.
Tried Skype also, and still no luck. With a previous version, WebcamStudio was able to work with Skype, but with the latest release of Skype, it's not working anymore...
And finally, I fixed the UYVY output where only 640x480 was working. The issue was in the module itself...
Keep watching, 0.57 Beta 3 will be out really soon...
Patrick
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posted Aug 25, 2011 12:42 PM by Patrick Balleux
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updated Aug 25, 2011 12:55 PM
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As previously posted, I am currently fighting with a weird bug where the CPU usage is rising for now reason.
Seems that using a compiz enabled desktop is triggering the issue. I still don't know why it does this, but it seems related to image manipulation and the video card. Anyway, If you are facing this issue, log in a classic desktop like gnome without compiz effects enabled. I've done this on my laptop and everyting worked well. I will put this bug aside for now to finish the others issues related to the code itself. There is a lot that has been done, but I'm still waiting on some issues to be updated on the project page. I've again modified the GUI a little bit to make it a bit more efficient... With this new gui, you can assign almost any key as a hotkey to activate the layout of your choice. See the capture! Have a nice day! |
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