Java has a support to media playback through it’s Java Media Framework, which unfortunately, on it’s current version (2.1.1e) does not support many formats for video playback.

So I quickly looked for alternatives, including IBM Toolkit for mpeg4, that hadn’t a sufficient production performance I was looking for, and didn’t offer an easy option for frame grabbing or plugin extensions as JMF does.

Next was Fobs4JMF, which is JMF + ffmpeg. This solution was much more interesting, since it offers a wide variety of codecs (ogg, mp3, m4a, divx, xvid, h264, mov, etc) and is based on the solid ffmpeg solution to decode audio and video.

My implementation, uses the plug-in capabilities of JMF to extend a custom renderer that does a pixel type conversion and rendering to a texture:

This custom renderer works with RGB textures, a type I seemed to make work on my two test machines:

• MacBook with a Integ GMA x3100 - Leopard;
• PC with a Radeon x600 - Debian.

You might wanna try different pixel types to increase the performance for different target machines.

First, lets describe how the Renderer works:

It got to be an implementation of a javax.media.renderer.VideoRenderer since it will be installed as a plugin on JMF.

For the different methods we need to implement, there are a few we need to take proper care of:

• process: this is the method JMF calls passing the movie current frame buffer. Here we treat this buffer and leave it in a way we can latter render in OpenGL;
• getSupportedInputFormats: we return RGBFormat, our target texture format;
• setInputFormat: here we simply tell JMF that the format it chooses is the one we want. Since RGB was the only one we returned as supported there is not much to do here as well.
• getName: returns the renderer neat name!

Next we need a way to access this render from the outside of the JMF world, we need the texture so that we can do GL calls with it (teapot). For this purpose our class must also be a javax.media.Control. Then we can easily get it through an getControl call as:

player.getControl(”javax.media.renderer.VideoRenderer”);

So we implement:

• getControl: returns it’s instance;
• getControls: returns an array containing only it’s instance as a valid control.

The renderer implementation is org.pirelenito.multimedia.jmf.plugin.RGBGLTextureRenderer that you can check on the source code attachment bellow.

And also, to make further development easy, there is an IGLTextureRenderer interface with the public methods called by the Canvas:

• render: that plots the buffer on the texture surface;
• getTexture: to retrieve the texture instance.

Last but not least important, you need to register the render on JMF using the JMFRegistry application. The easiest way to do start it is through Eclipse, since we will need our custom render on the class path:

• Create a new run configuration;
• Set the main class as: JMFRegistry;
• Start and go to the Plugins tab then Renderer;
• Add the org.pirelenito.multimedia.jmf.plugin.RGBGLTextureRenderer;
• Move it to the top of the list;
• Push Commit and you are good to go!

To test it out there is also a helper class to instantiate the movie player, and the Main class which is an OpenGL canvas, to render the teapot with the texture on its surface.

I am not very experienced with OpenGL, so there might be more effitient ways to do this using, for instance PBO (Pixel Buffer Object), if you have any question or suggestions on how to improve this, don’t hesitate on drooping a comment!

Here is the Eclipse project. You will need to download a few dependencies, check the Readme for more information.

Update: I wasn’t properly initializing the Texture. and since I want to add support for more pixel formats, it is easy for you to checkout the updated Eclipse project at: http://labs.pirelenito.org/experiments/svn/java/MovieGL/ latter this afternoon now.

Update 2: Added the repository link on the image above.

Cheers!

” It is time for us to change the face of Show Business as we know it.”

Dr. Horrible, a three act musical made by him and some friends will be broadcasted for free on the internet from today till the 20th of this month an then will be available for purchase :

“We intend to make it available for download soon after it’s published. This would be for a nominal fee, which we’re hoping people will embrace instead of getting all piratey.”

Kinda of an interesting method of marketing, you get to “taste” it, and if you like it, you can have it. Very indie, and pretty much mimics the way everyone whose is not in the industry do to get their work some attention, (despite the taking away of air part).

So if you wanna watch it for free, check it out:

• Act 1 is already up;
• Act 2 “airs” tomorrow (17th July);
• Act 3 “airs” Saturday (19th July)

On the 20th it will be gone!

And let’s see how far this goes! Good luck Mr Whedon!

Since I’ve seen other people with similar problems on YouTube, such as:

I decided to put my experience on how I fixed it.

You will need Nintendo screwdriver, which you can easily find on eBay.

I’ve used the following video as a guide during the disassembling of my console:

Now how I did it:

There is one screw above your Wii’s drive that is right above the power button, loose it a little and stick something to level the plate a little bit up. You can test this with your Wii still opened until you don’t hear that noise anymore.

Here is a front picture of my fixed Wii (follow the link to see the Flickr notes):

I should have taken a picture from above, but I was too happy that the problem was gone, that I just remember to register how I did it after most of my Wii had been put back together already.

Hope it helps someone!

Being aware that this phone is basically a Series 60 device, I searched the web and find an easy hack, on how to get things working. Credits go to http://laiwebdejuan.50webs.com.

Here how it goes:

You will need to fake your phone as a 6131 to the iSync software:

• Open a Finder window, then right clink on iSync’s package on the Applications folder and select “Show Package Contents“;
• Then go to the folder: Contents/PlugIns/ApplePhoneConduit.syncdevice/Contents/Plugins;
• Right click on the Nokia-6131.phoneplugin file and select “Show Package Contents”;
• Then go to the folder: Contents/Resources and edit the file MetaClasses.plist with TextEdit;
• Search and replace for all “6131″ occurrences for “5200″ and that is it.

He also pointed that you can change the icon for the device by putting a .tiff file on that folder: com.nokia.5200.tiff.

Thanks Juan for that tip!

I just thought maybe a review could wipe-away my friends preconceptions about this movie, which is truly a Live Action Anime. I mean, if you like animes, there is no reason you would not like this movie.

I myself wasn’t believing in the movie in the first place, I guess mostly because of the Trailers used to promote it. My first impressions wore that the movie would going to be very good or very bad. Most people I guess took the second for granted and for no apparent reason decided to discredit the movie (before even watching it).

Another motivation on writing this review is also due to the amount of bad/mediocre movies I’ve watched in the past few days. The last, Get Smat, was a truly pain to watch.

Back to Speed Racer:

Visually the movie is gorgeous, a truly work of art, pop art I must say Also loved the way editing was done, mixing for instance time past and present while telling Rex Racer Story and Speed’s childhood with Speed’s win at Thunderhead. Stuff like that are very common on Animes!

Chills provoking soundtrack, composed by Michal Giancchino (the guy responsible for “The Incridbles”), get it’s at it’s best on the last race (Reboot track). Buy it!!!

The movie sure is cheesy, but that is it’s purpose! Watching it took me back to my childhood, when I myself used to “act/play” japanese animes with my brother, just like Spritle and Chim-Chim.

Mostly a big boys movie, with great replay value (I mean, I watched 3 times) and outstanding visual effects… if you missed it… please at least get in HD!

Next, a fan video, that show how EPIC this movie is:

Go Speed Racer Go! Vrummm!

Hope to get some personal projects and random thoughts to be posted here! All on games, programing, movies, photography, chocolate and Coca Cola!

No big pretentious, just a place to dump my thoughts and to get eventually some discussion!

So, be my guest!