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Guest
Guest
Agreed!
Cinemartin goes bankrupt
- Thread starter S.Blanchardon
- Start date
Didn't he use the camera money to buy a Lambo and now he's going back to cabbing (with the Lambo!?) vs. IT?
I've been aware of Cinemartin for a long time (from their plugins, e.g. http://www.cinemartin.com/cinec/plin/ )- PBloom's review made me think the whole thing was a scam. However after reading this: http://www.cinemartin.com/ , perhaps they were overwhelmed and just said f*ck it after some issues with their parent companies? They are providing support until 2020 for all purchased gear, and are looking for other ways to keep going if possible. The purchase of an old Lamborghini Murcielago after selling an existing Ferrari F355 (likely worth a LOT more than the Lambo) doesn't sound like anything shady went down.
I wrote the real-time video+audio recording software for MySpace Music's Karaoke product for Windows and OSX. DirectShow was the most (over) complicated and over engineered API I'd ever used (and still is!). AVFoundation on OSX is relatively trivial and super easy! I found and worked around a lot of bugs/issues with DirectShow, especially bogus video timestamps and memory leaks (two fatal errors I had to create workarounds for else the project would have died. The memory leak was fixed the weekend of product launch- I slept under my desk working the weekend until it was fixed (had to create a custom memory allocator and manager- from scratch!)).
I haven't used the latest Windows API (Media Foundation Platform API), so I don't know if the new API is better or worse than DirectShow (I'd expect it to at least be much simpler!), however I'm 100% certain I could make a 100% reliable camera using Windows 10 and DirectShow. The only thing that could make it impossible is if there's a fatal hardware problem that caused the system to crash and/or drop frames. A Windows license includes H.264 (and likely H.265) and Cinemartin appears to have created a reverse-engineered ProRes solution which would have provided decent codecs. So functionally, a Windows-based camera would operate like a laptop with camera, API-wise. Thus, not really a big deal as there's been tons of webcam and video capture apps for Windows for years.
Anyway, wish them the best of luck, at least they tried to build something vs. so many people who talk and do nothing!
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Guest
Guest
Well, I do hope so. Thanks for sharing that.
SJX
Veteran
Take away patents, ego, and a quest for dominance over others (the driving force of big corporations), and building superior cameras (or anything) is easy. Look what mankind did in the 60's with rockets and the moon*. Apple's iPhones already have computing power that easily dusts all top of the line video cameras. Pair an iPhone with a big sensor and storage and we've got a tiny camera system that can blow away anything on the market and for the foreseeable future. Samsung (the other top phone maker) gave a brief demo of tech before its time with the NX1 (+H.265 over 3 years ago!). Samsung could easily produce the "AI Camera" I mentioned earlier, but they won't do it for the same reason the NX1 was dropped.
The biggest constraint for a small company to compete with the big boys is the inability to license the necessary tech to build something the big boys don't want built. If a small company develops their own tech without licensing from the big boys, they'll be blocked by patents. In the rare case they can get around the patents, they'll be given an offer they can't refuse to sell out / exit and the product(s) disappear and/or get absorbed into the Borg.
Yes I think this is what happened to reelstream andromeda for example.
Mitch Gross
Veteran
JCS, I don't know what you actually know or what you think that you know, but I do know one thing -- you're wrong.Take away patents, ego, and a quest for dominance over others (the driving force of big corporations), and building superior cameras (or anything) is easy. Look what mankind did in the 60's with rockets and the moon*. Apple's iPhones already have computing power that easily dusts all top of the line video cameras. Pair an iPhone with a big sensor and storage and we've got a tiny camera system that can blow away anything on the market and for the foreseeable future. Samsung (the other top phone maker) gave a brief demo of tech before its time with the NX1 (+H.265 over 3 years ago!). Samsung could easily produce the "AI Camera" I mentioned earlier, but they won't do it for the same reason the NX1 was dropped.
The biggest constraint for a small company to compete with the big boys is the inability to license the necessary tech to build something the big boys don't want built. If a small company develops their own tech without licensing from the big boys, they'll be blocked by patents. In the rare case they can get around the patents, they'll be given an offer they can't refuse to sell out / exit and the product(s) disappear and/or get absorbed into the Borg
So be happy with what's available now- even the Sony A6400 and Fuji X-T30 are vastly superior to even professional offerings just a few years ago. It's fun to imagine better cameras which overcome annoying limitations with current cameras- we'll get them when the Borg decides it's time to release them
* and that's only what's been shared publicly, the US government has had advanced electrogravitic tech likely since around 1947 (Roswell wasn't aliens- all the alien stories are cover). Here's an example of one of the US Navy's ("Space Force") toys: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/UFO-Navy-476912603.html (yeah, released by the Navy and DoD. Not aliens). This is what's possible with unlimited budgets and no constraints to the imagination of man. Going back farther in time: see the Great Pyramid of Giza and other megalithic construction around the planet (look beyond the mainstream science explanations- e.g. the Sphinx (and pyramids) are far older than the official story).
I've been pretty far on the inside. I know what the development process is like and I know what the technology is. You are not correct in your assumptions.
It is not easy. Not by a longshot.
Mitch Gross
Veteran
It was a guy - one guy - who had developed this camera hack. He was pretty clever, so he was hired as an engineer. Part of the hiring included purchasing the intellectual property so that the development work could continue.
As big as this industry is is as small as this industry is. A handful of people here, a handful of people there. That's who develops this stuff. People talk about big corporations with 100,000+ employees, but the people designing pro video cameras are usually a half dozen or so.
David W. Jones
Veteran
NorBro
Major Contributor
Didn't one of the guys who hacked the GH2 get a job as well?
Can you give us their phone numbers and what flavor cupcakes they like?
Yeah, you're right David, I'm certainly biased for Ferrari. Years ago I talked my way into a private auction at Ferrari's Fiorano racetrack in Maranello Italy (showed them video of a racing simulator I was developing on my phone), and later that day they sold the highest priced Ferrari at that time, $11M: https://money.cnn.com/2008/05/19/autos/record_ferrari_sale/index.htm . The record was broken in 2014 at $38M, and most recently in 2017 at $48.4M https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-gto-sells-for-record-48-4-million-at-auction
The Ferrari factory, museum, and Fiorano race/test track are super close together and worth visiting if one is a sports car / Ferrari fan (The factory and racetrack aren't open to the public, though if one spends some time at their local Ferrari dealer (or Ferrari club) and makes some friends (or you purchase a Ferrari), doors can be open and appointments made). While I'm also a Lamborghini fan (the newer Audi versions), the top Lamborghini is around $5.6M (new), they don't appreciate like Ferrari- not a single Lamborghini on this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_cars_sold_at_auction . I don't even know where the Lamborghini factory is... Stuttgart?
(had to look it up: Sant'Agata Bolognese- about 20 miles from Ferrari's factory in Maranello- cool)Ferrari has a rich and storied racing history, and I especially love the story about Ford beating Ferrari at LeMans after they snubbed him- wonderful drama!
As much as I love Ferrari, the Ford GT40 was a fantastic accomplishment for a man and a company who'd never won a big race. Used ~2005 Ford GTs have gone up in value quite a bit (approaching $300k). Want the real deal? $12M https://www.topgear.com/car-news/classic/1966-le-mans-ford-gt40-auction-12-million
There's a man who didn't think it was too hard or "not easy"! He said BS, we're going to win, he found a new team, thought outside the box and used big block American-based V8's and did the impossible: beat Ferrari at Le Mans! Didn't just beat them, destroyed them with a 1, 2, 3 finish!
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/pi...ory-behind-le-mans-winning-ford-gt40-roy-lunn
Back on topic- again, given that Cinemartin is supporting their products to 2020, it really doesn't sound like the car deals were evidence of any wrongdoing (sold the F355 and bought two used cars (Mercedes for taxi and the Lambo)). My guess is Alex has access to a mechanic who's a close friend- working on old German and Italian cars would be very expensive otherwise.
David W. Jones
Veteran
As an owner I have visited the factory, and driven the Fiorano for private instruction. Both were wonderful experiences!
Brother, I've been in tech, videogames/VR (wrote first full S3D/VR games in history), image processing (published patents), cameras (including AI vision projects), and artificial intelligence (CPU & GPU), since the beginning of all these industries, including running small companies as CTO. Not just build and leading teams as CTO, but also developing core technology and writing real time code (including computational physics and fluid dynamics- in integer! (later in floating point haha)). I recently turned down a gig working for Apple on some crazy advanced tech most would think is a job of a lifetime (don't want to live in the bay area- friends, family, and weather are far more important). Also turned down a gig working for Bloomberg in Manhattan- money isn't everything.
After all these years of tech (always with a creative aspect) and facing death a few times, I took time off for a kind of spiritual journey (that's what Cosmic Flow was about), looking at what's really important in life. These lessons are enhanced each time there's loss of loved ones. I've sold almost all of my material possessions and don't chase money or materialism anymore. Focus is on friends and family, creating value for others, and sharing what I've learned with anyone who cares to listen. Each time in life I was challenged, I hunkered down and learned as much as I could about the challenge. Be it math (I was a C math student before using computers), law (hired the #1 lawfirm in CA and got tired of paying crazy high invoices- so I fired them and did all future work myself, including patents). The published patents in my name were prosecuted by a large NYC lawfirm for a client (I still wrote the claims and did much of the work- was still fun at the time). While I'd still work on a patent for a client, I've moved on from that space once learning the truth about the system.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard "it's too hard" "it's not easy" "it can't be done" and then went on and did the so-called impossible. The hardest tasks which ultimately paid the most for the least amount of work (to me), was getting people (and companies) to do things they thought were too hard or impossible. I recently did a deep dive into NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), spending a month in a hotel to learn it 24/7, and found what I've been doing is not entertaining Limiting Beliefs. Doing a deep dive into consciousness and quantum physics there's even more to ponder: consciousness affects reality, not just with the placebo effect with health (proven over and over), but consciousness itself affects the manifestation of what we call "reality". See the quantum double slit and quantum eraser experiments, The Intention Experiment by Lynn McTaggart, and the Princeton Global Consciousness Experiment: http://noosphere.princeton.edu/ . The Schrödinger wave equation and Heisenberg uncertainty principle along with the wave-particle duality experiments show us that our thoughts can have a subtle (and sometimes more!) effect on possible outcomes of quantum states, which manifest in what we call "reality".
Here's something to try:
1. Smile, every day, all day, be aware of your smile. Just a hint, and all the time. No matter what happens, bring the hint of a smile back as your resting pose. This will also help prevent/reverse "guppy mouth" and/or Resting B**** Face (RBF)
2. Say to yourself, "I feel good" and imagine feeling good and if you don't at that moment, remember how you feel when you feel good and run that thought. Keep smiling
3. Say to yourself, "I am happy with nothing". Imagine you have nothing, no money, no material objects, no friends, no family, no pets, no food, and you're about to die because you don't have health either. Now in that state, choose to feel good, be happy, and smile! Fundamentally, what else is there in reality? Choose to feel good and be happy
4. After understanding 3, change it to simply, "I am happy". Smile, feel good, and be happy as your centering action of your dynamic reality (which will go up and down like a wave, Yin and Yang, Dark and Light, etc.)
When something "challenging" happens, experience the human emotion, accept it, and work back to center. When something "good" happens, enjoy it, don't get addicted to it, remember you will come back down and come back to center.
When something "causes anger" in your consciousness, take a step back and ask your "self", "Why am I really angry? What is the root cause?" Put it into the context of step 3 above. Are you still angry? Does anger generate toxic biological compounds which damage your "physical" body? (epinephrine and in general catecholamines (epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and dopamine) are wonderful biological tools for survival. When those compounds are released in anger and/or fear, they damage your body and can actually dissolve tissue, including the heart- everyone knows the result of that cascade).
You body is energy, vibration, quantum entangled with every other "particle" in the universe, and entangled at various levels in a holographic, fractal-like way based on- how you think and act! Those mind/thought/speech plant experiments are real- one can do the experiments themselves if one has doubt and thinks this is all 'woo woo' (I used to!
).In terms of corporations and product development, sure, only a small number of people are needed to do really big things which affect many people (Einstein and Tesla are extreme examples). If you are in a management/leadership position, try steps 1-4, let go of your limiting beliefs, encourage your team to think outside the box and inspire them to create, deal with toxic elements by helping them to heal, moving them away from others to work alone if that is more productive, or let them go find their purpose somewhere else.
It's easy* as a manager/leader when you make sure you and everyone around you is having fun, even if progress is slow, time is good when everyone feels good, is happy, and is having fun. What else is there and why are we here?
* I know what you're thinking (some of you), what about personal threats (including in family and business, especially ego/power/selfishness issues) and actual physical danger- including acts of conflict and war. In those moments you do what's necessary to survive and focus on the tasks at hand. You hold no anger for anyone (remember it only melts your bodily tissue), not even the "enemy". When not in those states you plan for survival, and keep doing steps 1-4. What else is there?
Right on brother! Did you have a chance to eat at Ristorante Cavallino across from the factory? Amazing food and history
Lol while I appreciate art, I'm not a materialist so much (not against people enjoying if it's not ultimately causing them suffering from attachment), downvotes to these posts generate this:
So which is it? Roswell was aliens or not? You two have me confused.
Apologies to Mitch for taking his quote out of context.
From publically available evidence, including the government admitting they’ve lied and promoted the alien story, at all levels and all forms of media, Occam’s Razor says all those sightings and crashes (especially) are man made vehicles from this planet. Roswell was likely a US/German advanced technology vehicle (non conventional power and thrust and/or electrogravitic. See Foo fighters from WWII).
Look at the SR-71 that Kelly Johnson designed in the 50’s when we supposedly didn’t have computers for computational fluid dynamics. Form follows function and it’s still one of the most beautiful and amazing jets ever publicly revealed. Ben Rich (worked with Kelly at the Skunkworks) reportedly said we can take ET home. Combine all this with recent DoD video footage and it appears he was telling the truth.
The alien cover story is simply about power- if there’s ever an alien event on Earth that generates fear, most likely fake for a power/money grab, so as per Douglas Adams: Don’t Panic! Haha
Either way/ there’s some ultra cool tech out there! Imagine the drone shots you could get- Earth to moon and beyond and no worry about batteries or FAA license (might have to deal with Space Force haha)!
John Brawley
Well-known member
I'm not sure you do actually.
You've done some computer coding. Good for you. So far I haven't seen you build the camera you claim is "easy". Isn't that the point of this whole thread ?
I've got a bunch of friends that make cameras. At one point you run out of fingers to count the number of PhD's just on the floor of the camera development space. So far they're one of the few that have managed to survive past the making their first model and it's only because they've been disruptive and ignored what traditional users and old hollywood pros and establishment say they want.
If what you say is really true then we'd all be shooting Axiom.
I've also worked with others that have failed to bring imaging developments and innovation to market or failed after launch. And it's for none of the reasons you're listing.
JB