mkvdts2ac3 version 1.5.2 released

The 1.5.2 release of mkvdts2ac3 is a minor update which addresses two common complaints with the script:

  1. The free space checking on OS X has now been corrected in order to function properly and should no longer result in errors. The new argument for the df command has been verified to work on Linux, OS X, and Windows/Cygwin.
  2. User defaults can now be specified in a ~/.mkvdts2ac3.rc file. This will allow you to specify global defaults for the majority of the options normally configured via command-line arguments. For the file layout see the “User Defaults” section of the README file.

Version 1.5.2 can be download on the GitHub project’s download page in either tarball or zip formats.

A Dutch translation of version 1.5.1 was also graciously done by Govert Pennings which is also available at the top of the aforementioned download page. Version 1.6.0 is in development which will feature string localizations.

Continue reading » · Rating: · Written on: 08-24-10 · No Comments »

What the near future holds…

A bunch of my projects are at large “in between” stages. Here is what the near future holds for them:

SMSMorse

This is the app that got me my developer seeded Nexus One so it gets the first revamping. I have just begun rewriting this from scratch as an exercise to get back in to Android development and to resolve some issues which were brought to light since its release. The development is all open source so more contributions on the GitHub project are always welcome. Coming in this 2.0 will be features such as message start warning, initial vibration delay, multiple morse code dictionary support, and not vibrating while in-call.

SMSBarrage

Banned from the Android market on the cusp of 10,000 downloads and rapidly approaching 2,500 from here this app is definitely in need of a 2.0. A popular teaser shot was posted way back in the day showing advanced features such as multiple simultaneous barrages, scheduled barrages, and drafts but development was never completed due to the lack of a device to test it on. Easily the most useful app (read: mischevous) app I have it too will be given high priority for completion. It also goes faster with development assistance

SMSPoll

Two teaser shots as well as a teaser video were shown for this a long time ago but fell to the same fate as SMSBarrage 2.0 did. Today I discovered Handy Poll which has striking resemblance to my app (though was released many months later). Having not yet had a chance to play with Handy Poll I can’t say as to how it compares but I still would like to continue development on this, albeit at a much lower priority. The source exists on GitHub, as with everything else.

jQValidate

In the middle of a 2.0 rewrite to remove the jQuery UI dependency and is nearly complete once a few minor issues are resolved. Expect to see this within a month or two at the most.

jQTinyTable

Writing this for integration at my work and as it started out dependent on jQuery UI it too must be retooled to work without it. Most likely will be developed alongside but slightly behind jQValidate so two to three months should see a full 1.0 release.

mkvdts2ac3

python rewrite to mitigate inconsistencies between platforms has started and it is just about to a working bare-bones state. Post-1.0 features will be ported to the future branch as time permits but as I no longer use this script and the current version works just fine it will be lowest priority. However, as this natively supports two major features the 1.x versions lack, multiple file and multiple track support, it will not be forgotten. Expect the 2.0 sometime over the summer.

py-video-downloader

This is a python script/library I am writing which allows for the downloading of videos off of YouTube, Vimeo, and any other site (provided you write a small plugin) for use in a small side project. It has gone to 1.0 but is very rudimentary in supporting only certain resolutions per platform. It requires only a few hours tweaking to be a full, world-ready release. Expect within April.

jakewharton.com

WordPress is not the platform for me. I’ll be developing a more project oriented site over the summer with a focus on easier discovery and access to information for each. I do believe Django will be the framework of choice with a wholly custom layout and a few custom Django apps as well. The static layout mockup is nearly complete so porting to a template and then integrating the necessary Django apps will start soon.

Continue reading » · Rating: · Written on: 03-30-10 · 2 Comments »

Still Alive; pyy, mkvdts2ac3, is_awesome, mobile apps, hashtags

Been busy…

pyy is nearing its first major milestone, 1.0.0. All that remains is writing a proper documentation and drafting some good examples but the code is pretty much stable in the master branch. pyy has a very wide scope of applications from rapid prototyping to generating and serving large web sites. Look for an upcoming blog post and formal introduction in the coming weeks.

Version 1.0.4 of mkvdts2ac3 has just been released which fixes the problems with portability to FreeBSD and OS X. A minor rewrite of the script is planned to resolve known annoyances as well as introduce must-requested features such as multiple file input and default settings. Once stable these features will be announced in a blog post and likely be tagged as 1.1.0.

The is_awesome checker has been completely rewritten from scratch to be much more robust and thorough in its testing of MediaInfo output. Native support for localization was also added and a few translations are already in the works. Any updates are likely to be minor bug fixes and will be announced via my Twitter feed.

A MacBook Pro is in the works so SMSBarrage for the iPhone can finally take off. The Windows Mobile and BlackBerry versions will also begin to take shape over the next few months. Android development of SMSBarrage 2.0.0 as well as SMSPoll and SMSMorse is finally resuming too.

Stay tuned to the blog for major announcements or follow my Twitter feed. Some notable hashtags that I use: #SMSBarrage, #SMSPoll, #SMSMorse, #mkvdts2ac3, #pyy, #polyreviki, #thebdmt, #twopr, and i’ll start using #is_awesome.

Continue reading » · Rating: · Written on: 08-30-09 · 2 Comments »

mkvdts2ac3 1.0.0 released!

Version 1.0.0 of mkvdts2ac3 has been released, the first major milestone for the script. mkvdts2ac3 is a bash script which automates the conversion of DTS audio tracks to AC3 audio from within matroska files. You can read more about it here if you are not familiar with it.

You can download tarballs or zipballs from the GitHub download page. The current version is actually 1.0.2. I have made a few fixes since the actual tagging of 1.0.0 in the repository.

Continue reading » · Rating: · Written on: 05-13-09 · 6 Comments »

mkvdts2ac3 – DTS to AC3 conversion for Matroska

Users of the Popcorn Hour A-100 or older-model receivers might not be able to decode the DTS audio that is embedded within their movie files. It is for this reason that mkvdts2ac3 script was developed.

mkvdts2ac3 is a bash script for Linux and Mac OS which automates the task of converting DTS tracks in Matroska (MKV) files to AC3. There are a variety of arguments which control the resulting output file but running the script is as simple as:

mkvdts2ac3.sh Some.Movie.File.mkv

The DTS will be extracted, converted to AC3, and then appended to the file. Now when you play back the file you can switch to this AC3 track and finally enjoy the movie’s sound.

If you do not want to retain the DTS track or you want the new AC3 to be flagged you can indicate that with one of the script’s arguments. You can view all of the arguments in the script’s documentation here.

The source code is available for browsing and download from the GitHub project page.

Continue reading » · Rating: · Written on: 04-24-09 · No Comments »