Paolo Tosolini shares his approach to getting better video from an iPhone or Android smartphone.

His DIY mobile video setup adds a tripod mount, hande bracket, external microphone and an LED light panel.

via CDM

Wizzard Media today announced the official launch of an integrated, Netflix-style subscription service for podcasts, MyLibsyn.

Through the Libsyn platform, audio and video content can be designated as free or paid, letting producers charge for selected ‘premium episodes’.

“Producers are embracing the subscription service as a way to offer not only premium content but hundreds of episodes from their back catalog of content for sale,” said Rob Walch, VP Podcast Relations, Wizzard Media. “The flexible subscription pricing allows the over 10,000 shows on the Wizzard Media network with continually expanding content catalogs, to offer exclusive online media and generate ongoing revenues for the show.”

The Blue Microphones Yeti Pro is the described by blue as ‘the world’s first USB microphone combining 24-bit/192 kHz digital recording resolution with analog XLR output”.

At $250, it’s probably not going to be a first podcasting mic or mic for general recording. But, given its power and flexibility, the Yeti Pro is a great first ‘grown up mic’, when you’re ready for a microphone that offers professional features and audio quality.

The key features of the Yeti Pro are:

• Three custom condenser capsules and four different polar pattern settings: Cardioid, Stereo, Bidirectional and Omnidirectional.
• Advanced A-D converter chip plus a separate analog circuit path for use with professional studio mixers and preamps
• Built-in headphone amplifier for zero-latency monitoring, and direct controls for headphone volume, pattern selection, mute, and microphone gain
• 15 Hz-22 kHz frequency response
• 192 kHz/24 bit sample rate and bit depth

The first thing you’ll notice about the Yeti Pro is the mic’s weight and style. The Yeti Pro weighs a little over 3 pounds on its stand, so it feels extremely solid. Everything appears to be made of metal and features gorgeous finishes. Stylewise, the mic looks like it was inspired by vintage designs, but isn’t slavishly retro.

Controls for the Yeti Pro are intelligently placed:

• On the front, there is a mute button and a volume knob for the headphones.
• Around the back, the Yeti Pro has a gain knob and a four-position switch for setting the mic pattern.
• Finally, on the bottom, there are the connectors – for USB audio, analog output, mini headphone jack and a threaded mic stand mount.

The mic base has no-skid pads on the bottom and has enough weight to keep it firmly in place. There are two knobs on the stand that you can loosen to adjust the position of the microphone.

The necessary cables for using the Yeti Pro are provided, including a USB cable and a stereo XLR splitter.

Dave Winer posted some interesting thoughts at Scripting.com today on the current state of television:

I read this piece on TechCrunch last week, in which a Samsung product manager says this about Apple and their TV.

“TVs are ultimately about picture quality.”

Okay. That marks Samsung as one of the pigs in an Angry Birds game. Like Kodak and Blackberry in years-gone-by.

I was watching the Knicks game on Time-Warner cable last night, and remembered why TV sucks, and it had nothing to do with picture quality. The picture quality was absolutely fantastic. If you had time-transported me from ten years ago to my couch last night I would have been blown away. HD is great. Unbelievable how beautiful it is. And the sound quality was great too. I have some very nice Polk Audio tower speakers, and a very powerful receiver driving them, connected optically to the set-top-box. Amazing audio experience.

Yet the whole overall experience sucked.

And that’s it, in a nutshell. People have known that Apple is working on an improved approach to television for years. Competitors have had the opportunity to make television work intelligently.

Yet most of us are still struggling with three remotes, every time we want to watch something. And no Internet integration. And no gaming or social media. No support for broadcasting your own channel from your home.

Apple just dropped the ‘Mac’ From OS X. There’s a reason for that.

Expect the next version of Apple TV to wreak havoc on the TV and broadcast industries, just as Apple has done with the PC industry, the MP3 player industry and the phone industry.

Blubrry has updated its PowerPress podcast publishing plugin for WordPress to version 3.0.

Features:

• PowerPress offers HTML5 audio/video player with flash fallback and multi-channel/multi-category podcasting support.
• Adds Meta Marks a new feature that lets you link rich meta information, including audio, video, images, comments, etc.
• Customizable HTML5 audio/video-play icons.
• Auto Media Length Detection added for .m4a/.mrv/.mp4
• Podcast channels tied to custom post types.
• Six languages includes Chinese, Danish, English, French, Italian and Romanian.
• Optimized for WordPress 3.3+ (WordPress 3.0 is now the minimum required).

See the Blubrry site for details.

Avid today announced the release of its first video editing application for the iPad—Avid Studio, available immediately at the Apple App Store. In other words, Avid Studio is taking on iMovie on Apple’s turf.

Here’s what they have to say about Avid Studio:

Avid Studio for iPad allows users to begin editing with ease by offering access to any videos, photos and audio already in their iPad library, or media that can be imported from iTunes, cameras and more. Users can then arrange clips in the Storyboard, make precision edits using the Timeline, and enhance their movie creations with high-quality transitions, effects and a soundtrack. They can then share movies directly to YouTube, Facebook and more—or export projects to Avid Studio software, where they can continue editing with even more advanced tools on their PC. In addition, editing enthusiasts can get started fast with an easy-to-understand how-to guide, included with the app.

Unfortunately, users report that performance on the iPad 1  is terrible.

“With a 64GB wifi Ipad 1 with 40% free it crashes repeatedly and it would not render even the small size of a small test video,” notes an early user.

If you’ve given Avid Studio for the iPad a try, let us know what you think!

Apple today announced an update to Final Cut Pro X that addresses some of the criticisms that many FC users had with the latest version.

Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3 features:

• Multicam editing that automatically syncs up to 64 angles of video and photos;
• Advanced chroma keying for handling complex adjustments right in the app; and
• Enhanced XML for a richer interchange with third party apps and plug-ins.

Available today as a free update from the Mac App Store™, Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3 also includes a beta of broadcast monitoring that supports Thunderbolt devices as well as PCIe cards.

• Multicam Editing: Final Cut Pro X automatically syncs clips from your shoot using audio waveforms, time and date, or timecode to create a Multicam Clip with up to 64 angles of video, which can include mixed formats, frame sizes and frame rates. The Angle Editor allows you to dive into your Multicam Clip to make precise adjustments, and the Angle Viewer lets you play back multiple angles at the same time and seamlessly cut between them.
• Chroma Keying: Final Cut Pro X builds upon its one-step chroma key with the addition of advanced controls including color sampling, edge adjustment and light wrap. You can handle complex keying right in Final Cut Pro X, without having to export to a motion graphics application, and view your results instantly with realtime playback.

Apple notes:

In the seven months since launch, the third party ecosystem around Final Cut Pro X has expanded dramatically.

XML-compatible software like DaVinci Resolve and CatDV provide tight integration for tasks such as color correction and media management. The new 7toX app from Intelligent Assistance uses XML to import Final Cut Pro 7 projects into Final Cut Pro X. In addition, some of the industry’s largest visual effects developers, including GenArts and Red Giant, have developed motion graphics plug-ins that take advantage of the speed and real-time preview capabilities of Final Cut Pro X.

Broadcast monitoring in Final Cut Pro X is currently in beta and allows you to connect to waveform displays, vectorscopes, and calibrated, high-quality monitors to ensure that your project meets broadcast specifications. Final Cut Pro X supports monitoring of video and audio through Thunderbolt I/O devices, as well as through third party PCIe cards.

TASCAM has released a new free app for iOS, TASCAM PCM Recorder, that is a free stereo recorder for iOS devices.

It works on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

PCM Recorder supports up to 12 hours of recording, using the built-in microphone or connected USB devices like the TASCAM iM2 stereo microphone.

Other features include EQ, limiting, Soundcloud support and more.

PCM Recorder is a free download via the App Store.

Tascam has introduced the iM2  – microphone adapter that turns an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch into a high-quality stereo recorder.

The microphones are adjustable over 180 degrees for optimal sound placement. The iM2 contains its own microphone preamp and analog-to-digital converter for low noise and premium audio quality.

Features:

• Stereo condenser microphones for iPhone 4, iPod Touch or iPad dock connection
• High-quality stereo condenser microphones – same as our best-selling DR-series recorders
• Microphones adjustable 180 degrees front to back
• Built-in analog to digital converter and microphone preamp for low noise recording
• 125dB SPL maximum level for recording loud shows without distortion
• Switchable limiter attenuates high-level signals to prevent recording overload
• Adjustable input level control
• Powered through iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch dock connector
• USB input allows the iPhone or iPad to be charged from a USB connection or optional TASCAM PS-P515U
• CD-quality digital recording (44.1kHz/16-bit linear PCM)
• Compact size ideal for mobile use
• Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 4G, iPad, iPad 2

Pricing & Availability:

The iM2 Stereo Microphone is available now for US $79.

Fostex has released an interesting bit of gear – the AR-4i audio interface dock for the iPhone 4.

The Fostex AR-4i is a docking interface that connects to the iPhone dock connector, adding stereo microphone inputs with AD converters, to improve on the audio quality of iPhone 4 for video recording, live streaming and recording podcasts.

Here’s an overview of the AR-4i: