Issue 47 just dropped: eight new dispatches from the Harbor District. Build your reading queue before the next power cut.

WIRE::LIVE  ·   ·  REPORTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS  ·  9 RESPONSES LOGGED

INTERMEDIATE

Compression Torture Test: Big Buck Bunny at Low Bitrates

DMITRI COLE 2 MIN READ 219 WORDS 9 REPLIES 8377 VIEWS LEGENDARY
Photo accompanying the story "Compression Torture Test: Big Buck Bunny at Low Bitrates"

The Big Buck Bunny trailer is a favourite for codec testing because of its fine fur detail and fast motion. Here is the reference clip we used.

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Home labs start with a single machine and a vague plan, then expand to fill every shelf in the apartment. The appeal is freedom: a place to break things without consequences, to learn how services really fit together, to host your own photos and calendars instead of renting them. Salvaged enterprise hardware makes it cheap to start, though the power bill can be a rude surprise. The builders we met treat their labs as ongoing experiments. Nothing is ever finished, documentation is always slightly out of date, and something is always blinking amber.

Numbers That Matter

Open-source tools changed the economics of making things. A decade ago, a small studio needed expensive licences before it could render a single frame or edit a single minute of footage. Now a determined team with donated hardware can produce work that stands next to studio releases. The catch is labour. Free software is free to download, not free to maintain, and the communities behind it depend on volunteers who juggle bug reports with rent. The healthiest projects we know treat documentation as seriously as code, pay contributors when they can, and say thank you often.

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DMITRI COLE

DMITRI COLE

@dcole // HARDWARE BENCH

Dmitri runs the repair bench and reviews hardware nobody else will open. He owns four soldering irons and trusts one of them.

9 TRANSMISSIONS RECEIVED
  1. Bea Novak

    Beautiful photos. The rain shots in particular.

    1. Kai Moreau

      Happy to share notes. Drop by the Thursday meetup.

      1. Sol Mendez

        Fair, though I think the costs will come down fast.

    2. Bea Novak

      Happy to share notes. Drop by the Thursday meetup.

  2. Lena Varga

    This is exactly why we need independent outlets.

  3. Omar Siddiqui

    This matches what I saw on my block last winter. Great reporting.

  4. Sol Mendez

    I disagree with the conclusion, but the reporting is solid.

    1. chris [MOD]

      Same experience here, especially in the older buildings.

      1. Aiko Brandt

        Fair, though I think the costs will come down fast.

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