Category Archives: Anatomy

by Bryan Hastings, Macworld.com

Youre shopping for a camcorder, and youre swamped by a sea of letters, numbers, and indecipherable acronymsAVCHD, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, MPEG-2. What do they all mean and which ones should you care about? Here's the lowdown.

Each of the above labels describes a video format. Fortunately, most people have a simple choice: MPEG-4 or AVCHD. You decide between convenience (MPEG-4) and a wider variety of features (AVCHD). However, as camcorders, computers, video players, and editors grow more powerful, AVCHD format is gradually becoming as convenient to shoot, edit, and preview as MPEG-4, making it the clear choice for a growing number of video enthusiasts.

MPEG-4 is a standard format from the Moving Picture Experts Group and has been around for more than 20 years. The current version is officially called H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, but it's usually shortened to a snappy MPEG-4 (pronounced M-Peg-4). Social networking sites, video editors, and video playersincluding QuickTimeall work with MPEG-4 files. Thus, the MPEG-4 standard is popular on pocket point-and-shoot models, and with people who want to quickly shoot video and pop it onto YouTube or Facebook, which folks can view on their computers, tablets, and smartphones.

AVCHD (pronounced by its initials) stands for Advanced Video Coding High Definition. It arrived on the scene in 2006, is more fully featured than MPEG-4 and is rapidly gaining broad acceptance. Think of AVCHD as a kind of MPEG-4 "Plus. Thats because AVCHD is a container format that includes the MPEG-4 format, but tosses a lot of other stuff into the mix, like coding for audio, writing to different media including DVD and Blu-Ray discs, and Digital Rights Management, such as copy protection. AVCHD even gives you media presentation tools so you can add menu items, make slides, and add subtitles directly from your camcorder. With AVCHD format, you dont need to export your video file to an editor to perform simple editing tasks. Unfortunately, AVCHD is an all-or-nothing format. You cant buy an AVCHD camcorder and decide to shoot using just its MPEG-4 part. If the camcorder offers only AVCHD, you have to shoot in AVCHD format.

AVCHD has other downsides. You need more computing oomph for the video editors and players to crank through AVCHD files, even if they can do it natively. You need a minimum dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM, but it would be better if you had a quad-core with 4GB of RAM. And you need relatively new software if you want to run and edit AVCHD files natively. Final Cut Pro X can process AVCHD files natively, but with the previous version, Final Cut Pro 7, you first have to transcode the file (translate the file bit-by-bit) into ProRes, a set of video compression formats developed by Apple for use in post production. The ProRes family of intermediate codecs are used for editing, but not as a final format for publishing video. Transcoding slows down file imports.

In 2009, Apple introduced the iFrame video format. You can transfer iFrame files directly into iMovie, no transcoding needed. However, few consumer camcorders offer the option to shoot video in iFrame. iFrame video is only 960-by-540 resolution, yielding only a half a megapixel per frame, only one quarter the resolution of Full HD.

You'll likely find AVCHD on more traditional camcorders that have larger lenses and higher end features than pocket camcorders, such as powerful optical zooms and a wider range of focus. However, were starting to see traditional models that let you switch between AVCHD and standalone MPEG-4, including Canons Vixia HF M50 and R30 series.

For each video format, your camcorder usually offers several profiles of four settings: resolution, frame rate, scan method (interlaced or progressive), and bit rate (in megabits per second, or mbps). These offer a trade-off between video quality and file size. You can increase video quality by raising the resolution, frame rate, and bit-rate, but you generate a larger, more unwieldy file.

The rest is here:
Anatomy of a video file

Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. (UPI Photo/ Phil McCarten)

License photo

SAN FRANCISCO, June 3 (UPI) -- "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes, was honored at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards in San Francisco, the organization said.

GLAAD held the third installment of its 23rd annual Media Awards Saturday at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, recognizing and honoring "media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives," the organization said in a news release.

Actors Kerry Washington, Guillermo Diaz and Katie Lowes presented Rhimes with the Golden Gate Award, which is given to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality.

"I think that love is universal. And I think in telling LGBT stories, I'm telling everyone's story. Love is, in fact, universal, right? I want my daughters to grow up in a world in which there is more love than hate," Rhimes said in her acceptance speech. "I'm going to do my best in the future to deserve the honor that's bestowed on me and make GLAAD proud."

Other award-winners included Wells Fargo for the Corporate Leader Award, Facebook for the Special Recognition Award, "Grey's Anatomy" for Outstanding Drama Series and "Days of Our Lives" for Outstanding Daily Drama, the release said. The award for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article went to Max J. Rosenthal of the Huntington Post for "Adam and Pete: Love in a Time of War."

Saturday's event in San Francisco wrapped up GLAAD's three-part Media Awards. Earlier ceremonies were held in New York City in March and Los Angeles in April.

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'Grey's' Shonda Rhimes gets GLAAD award

After events in the show made it clear that Lexie Grey won't be returning for the 9th season of 'Grey's Anatomy,' Chyler Leigh talks about her departure from the show.

Two weeks after the deadly Greys Anatomy season finale, coupled with silence from Chyler Leigh, who played Lexie Grey, Leigh finally talks about her departure from the ABC show.

Lexie Grey was killed off in a fatal plane crash in the Season 8 finale of Greys Anatomy.

Earlier this year, I made the decision that season eight would be my last on Greys Anatomy. I met with Shonda and we worked together to give Lexies story appropriate closure, Leigh told TV Line.

Leigh was added to the cast during Season 4, after a brief appearance in the Season 3 finale. She was missing from the beginning of the eighth season after the shows creator, Shonda Rhimes, granted Leigh an extended hiatus from the show for family time.

Right after the finale, Rhimes took to Twitter to talk about Lexie Greys death.

I love Chyler and I love the character of Lexie Grey. She was an important member of my Grey's family. This was not an easy decision. But it was a decision that Chyler and I came to together. We had a lot of thoughtful discussion about it and ultimately we both decided this was the right time for her character's journey to end, Rhimes said.

Despite being killed off, Leigh is still appreciative of the show and her time on it, saying I am very lucky to have worked with this amazing cast and crew for five seasons. My experience on Greys Anatomy is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I want to take this time to say thank you to the fans. Your unconditional love and support have made these last five years very special for me. I look forward to my next chapter and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey.

Along with Leigh, Kim Ravers Teddy Altman also left the show at the end of the season.

When talking about the upcoming season, Rhimes does not promise that everyone is safe. She tells TV Guide, Just because you saw people alive at the end of the finale doesn't mean they're going to be alive when the season starts up.

Original post:
Chyler Leigh speaks out about her 'Grey's Anatomy' departure

Viewers may not have seen Lexie's grisly Grey's Anatomy death coming, but actress Chyler Leigh says her exit from the series was a while in the making.

In fact, once Leigh made the decision to part ways with the series, she was able to work with Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes to wrap up Lexie's five-and-a-half years on the show in a manner she deemed appropriate.

PHOTOS: TV bombshells

"Earlier this year, I made the decision that Season Eight would be my last on Grey's Anatomy. I met with Shonda and we worked together to give Lexie's story appropriate closure," Leigh, 30, tells TVLine.com in a new statement, two weeks after her character perished in a plane crash on the show's season finale.

PHOTOS: Grey's most memorable moments

Remaining tight-lipped on her future TV plans, Leigh expressed appreciation to the fans who supported her during her years on the ABC medical drama. "My experience on Grey's Anatomy is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life," her statement continued. "I want to take this time to say thank you to the fans. Your unconditional love and support have made these last five years very special for me. I look forward to my next chapter and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey."

Fans weren't the only ones feeling the sting of Leigh's exit, which came at the same time Kim Raver's Teddy left Seattle Grace.

VIDEO: How the Grey's cast kills time on set

Rhimes explained via Twitter after the May 17 finale that killing off Lexie "was not an easy decision. But it was a decision that Chyler and I came to together. We had a lot of thoughtful discussion about it and ultimately we both decided this was the right time for her character's journey to end."

Tell Us: Do you feel better about Lexie's death knowing Chyler Leigh wanted to leave?

Link:
Chyler Leigh: I Chose to Leave Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy was crowned 'Outstanding Drama Series' at last night's GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) award ceremony.

The ABC medical drama featured a lesbian wedding last season and has included several prominent LGBT characters in its eight-year run.

These include series regulars Callie and Arizona, who married in the episode 'Double Wedding'.

Showrunner Shonda Rimes accepted the award last night, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Grey's Anatomy beat shows such as Degrassi, Shameless and Torchwood: Miracle Day to the award.

The programme is one of the most watched and recorded on US television, with the recent finale attracting 11.2m viewers.

The GLAAD awards recognise media professionals who have increased visibility and understanding of the LGBT community through their work.

Hosted by Glee's Dianna Agron, the ceremony also presented special recognition awards to Wells Fargo and Facebook.

Watch a video of the Grey's Anatomy wedding below:

Originally posted here:
'Grey's Anatomy' wins GLAAD prize for raising LGBT awareness

Does anyone still use telephone booths?  They’re clearly still around here and there, so why not use them for public art projects?  That’s exactly what Sao Paulo, Brazil did with their project titled Call Parade.  They commissioned 100 artists to decorate 100 public telephone booths around the city.  It’s resulted in some pretty fantastic pieces, including the Super Brain above by artist Carla Pires de Carvalho Fernandes.

Take a look through all 100 booth designs here and vote for your favorite!

[spotted by Peter]

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/streetanatomy/OQuC