Articles about Video

Matroska Multimedia Container -- or MKV as it’s more commonly known -- is a great format that supports most codecs and offers a lot of features. It can store numerous video, audio and subtitle tracks, in addition to any metadata.

If you have an MKV video with (non-hardcoded) subtitles, turning them on or off can be quite simple, if you’re watching the video in an app like VLC Media Player (just go into the Subtitle menu and access the options there). But these subtitles may play by default if viewed on a TV, for example, with no way of disabling them. Fortunately, there is an easy way to strip out these subtitles.

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Almost three quarters (72 percent) of workers in the UK and US agree that video calls are a more effective work communication channel than voice calls.

According to a new report by Kollective entitled Generation Now, almost two thirds (64 per cent) of workers now trust a message more if they see a person actually delivering it.

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When you buy a laptop nowadays, it is becoming much more common for it to only have USB-C ports. While you can thank Apple for leading the way with its MacBook line of laptops, plenty of Windows PC manufacturers are following suit. This is wise, as it future-proofs your computer while giving the ability to connect to legacy devices (if needed) with low-cost dongles. Microsoft has infamously omitted USB Type-C from its Surface devices, which may cause pain to consumers in the future.

If you have already invested in one of these USB-C-only machines, there are two dongles that are definitely worth buying to keep in your bag -- USB-C to HDMI and USB-C to USB-A. Some users may need an Ethernet adapter too. Satechi has two new USB-C to HDMI options -- an adapter (dongle) and a cable. Both appear very well made and are quite affordable. Best of all, not only do the products offer 4K output, but at the much desired 60Hz. Despite being sold in color options that match Apple's laptops, the adapters will work fine with both Windows and Linux too.

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Summer is here, meaning many folks will spend time outdoors at places like the beach, the park, or in the pool. Let's be honest though, not everyone is into going outside. If you are like me, rather than relaxing in the sand or playing in the water, you might choose to play video games, watch movies, or chat on IRC instead. There is no shame, guys.

Now is the time that Steam historically has its PC game sale for the summer, but the company is getting some major competition from Microsoft. The Windows-maker is once again having its own discount celebration called "Ultimate Game Sale." Unlike Steam, which only offers PC game deals, Microsoft is also offering Xbox One title discounts too. In fact, you can even go into a retail Microsoft Store to pick up the games.

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As a tool to backup your photos and videos to the cloud, Google Photos should give you a fair degree of control over how and when you want the backups to be performed. However, a new update to the popular app on Android manages to do quite the opposite, removing a very useful feature -- which is sure to frustrate some users.

Google Photos has dropped the backup while charging option from the settings menu, forcing users to either perform backups manually or accept that backups can happen anytime their smartphone or tablet is connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network.

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Terrorism is a scourge on society. When people live in fear, they cannot truly be free. While some governments are constantly working to fight terror, it cannot be done alone. To truly keep people safe, the private sector must participate in anti-terrorism efforts too -- especially when fighting propaganda and recruitment.

A good example of this is Google with YouTube. The company's video-streaming site is ubiquitous for a reason -- it is easy to use and non-restrictive when it comes to content. In other words, Google has supported free speech on its platform, but with that said, it also takes down videos that violate the terms of its service. Unfortunately, disgusting content -- including terror-related videos -- have slipped through the cracks. While expecting perfection is unrealistic, Google still wants to do better. In fact, the search-giant is presenting a four-part plan to better fight terrorism on YouTube. In addition, the company is working with other tech giants, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft to bolster its efforts.

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The negative attention that Kodi has been attracting recently continues. A number of high-profile add-ons, such as Phoenix, have disappeared recently as interest in the piracy potential for the media player increases.

The latest victim appears to be TVAddons, a site which lists unofficial Kodi add-ons. The site was sued last week in a federal court in Texas, so the disappearance is not entirely surprising. But the removal of DNS records -- rendering the site inaccessible -- without any explanation is a little strange.

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The action camera market has exploded. There is an overwhelming number of options to choose from, with the vast majority targeting price-conscious buyers. In fact, many of those affordable action cameras are actually underpinned by the same chip, even though the price difference may lead you to believe otherwise.

The WiMiUS L1 is no different, having the same processor as, for instance, the hugely popular SJCAM SJ5000X Elite. The L1 is on the low end of the price spectrum, undercutting its rival by a significant margin, but is it any good? I've tested it to find out.

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Kodi -- built from the ashes of XBMC -- remains a popular but controversial streaming media solution. The beauty of the software is that it allows for the streaming of just about anything, and that includes contents of questionable legality (oh, OK... let's just admit there are a bunch of add-ons that can be used to stream pirated content).

There has been a great deal of legal interest in so-called "fully-loaded" Kodi boxes of late, and this has had something of an unfortunate side-effect -- for fans of certain add-ons at least. Seemingly fearful of the legal implication of what their add-ons make possible, the developers of numerous well-known plugins are closing down. One of the latest is the popular Phoenix add-on.

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DirecTV is a popular satellite service for those who don't or can't get cable TV. Many people love it, especially because of its exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket experience.

Roku is also a bit of a darling to people. The tiny box continues to add new "channels" that enhance the functionality of the device.

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Samsung has released a new app which is designed to give users more control over the audio on their Galaxy devices. It's called SoundAssistant and it is compatible with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 lines as well as other handsets running the latest version of Android.

There are three main features in SoundAssistant that are worth your attention. First is the option to change the behavior of the volume keys which, by default, will raise or decrease the volume for the ringtone.

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MP4Tools is a cross-platform collection of tools for the lossless splitting and joining of MP4 files. The package is the project of Alex Thuering, the developer behind DVD authoring application DVDStyler.

Installing MP4Tools gets you two applications, MP4Splitter and MP4Joiner. Despite the single "MP4Tools" brand, they’re separate programs with no integration.

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Live-streaming of video is continually gaining in popularity, but it isn't just for gaming. While platforms like the Amazon-owned Twitch were designed for video games, they have evolved to the streaming of almost anything. Popular YouTuber Barnacules has a daily Twitch show where he drinks coffee with fans, for instance. With that said, gaming is definitely still the bread and butter.

In an effort to compete with Twitch, Microsoft bought the Beam platform in August 2016. Today, the Windows-maker announces that it is giving the platform a rebrand -- it is now called "Mixer." It is not merely a name-change, however, as Microsoft is also adding some new features. Not to mention, Mixer will get a dedicated page on the Xbox One Dashboard.

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Security researchers from Check Point have discovered a major vulnerability in popular media players, like VLC, Kodi and Popcorn Time, which leaves users vulnerable to hacker attacks via malicious subtitles. The security firm estimates that the number of potential victims is around 200 million.

Media players give users the option to load subtitles from repositories, which can be tricked by attackers to rank their altered subtitles higher. This leads to those malicious subtitles being recommended to the user. If they are loaded, attackers can gain control over "any device running them." Check Point notes that the "potential damage the attacker can inflict is endless, ranging anywhere from stealing sensitive information, installing ransomware, mass Denial of Service attacks, and much more."

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Live-linear streaming over-the-top video (OTT) will surpass traditional broadcast TV within five years, a new report by Level 3 Communications, Streaming Media and Unisphere Research says.

It’s based on a poll that says 70 percent of respondents agree with the claim. The report, entitled OTT Video Services Study, polled almost 500 media industry professionals.

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