Playback speed of the IP4AP video tutorials

[CharlesW]

I think it is well settled that most of us find the narration of the IP4AP videos a little too slow. I appreciate the underlying reason but here is a work-around to make it a little more enjoyable. Save the videos to the hard drive in your computer. Get VLC, a free download, and open the videos in VLC. Under the Playback tab is a "Speed" choice. You can adjust the playback speed in either fine or course adjustments. You only have to do it once as the settings are maintained from video to video. With about five or six "Fine" adjustments, the narration speed is back to a normal conversational pace and the audio and video quality are nicely maintained.

[pfile]

that's great - i didn't realize the videos could be downloaded. problem solved!

[NGC7789]

I guess it will be for Warren to comment but I am pretty certain downloading streams, while technically possible, is not legal. There is no download link provided and the PixInsight page at ip4ap.com states "tutorials may not be downloaded". If you have the DVD it is technically possible to pull the individual video files off but I am not certain of the legality of that either.

[CharlesW]

Okay, maybe I should have been a little clearer on this. Download the tutorials from the DVD. You can do whatever you want with any media you've purchased as long as you don't give it away or resell it. Ipods are a testament to that. For those of us in the US, 17 US 107 is the controlling authority on Fair Use.

[NGC7789]

If you were a rolling release subscriber then a download version is now being offered for $10. I wrote and Peter said a part 1 download version will be made available at some point. Thus the speedup becomes available!

[Warhen]

Thanks very much for your support gents- we do appreciate it very much. For English as first language speakers, thanks for your understanding. When I do the voiceovers, I try to find a pace which will make it easier for our overseas clients (and there are many) to follow. Given the opinion expressed here however, I may consider stepping it up a bit. Would any of our Euro and Asian clients care to express an opinion on that here? That would be most helpful.

While we don't push it, we can on a case-by-case basis as stated here, provide a download in lieu of a physical disc.

Thanks again all! I'm currently working very hard with RBA on mosaics. While some including Steve Allan have done a nice job on documenting these, I want to create a definitive, one-stop resource on the subject.   

[Carlos Milovic]

Warren, IMO you can speed up the voice without problems. I find more helpful to give subtitles (in english) to better understand what is said. Many of us non-native english speakers may have a good understanding of written english, since we read it a lot in forums, technical papers, etc, but the pronunciation could be difficult to understand sometimes.

[Warhen]

Thanks Carlos! We indeed have captions available in the player. I took it upon myself to take a poll of 20 Euro/Asia customers via email today. Interesting- the Spaniards and Italians valued the slower pace; Germans, a Dane, an East Indian- not so much.  Humm, we need a snoring emoticon Juan! I'll bet Harry has one. :>) I may pick up the pace just a tad to try and keep everyone happy. Thanks all!

[Warhen]

UPDATE- I have some pretty exciting news for IP4AP tutorial clients. In their latest 8.4 version, TechSmith's Camtasia Studio screen recorder now includes a variable speed option!

We've updated the existing 5 chapters of PixInsight Part-3's rolling release to include the new feature. This will allow you to slow down or speed up the movies. While this affects video speed as well as audio, the .75x and 1.25x setting are subtle enough to be helpful. Native English speakers can increase speed to 1.25x (at least after an initial viewing), and English as 2nd language speakers can consider using the .75x setting while the video remains quite watchable.

The 'Player Settings' icon appears at the lower right of the window when played in a browser. As always, DVD/Download owners can also open the MP4 file directly and increase playback speed via a media player, though generally with less fine control.

Thank you and enjoy!

[rockyraccoon]

Are there any plans to re-encode the streaming versions of part 1 and 2, to allow playback at faster than 1x speed?
I'm enjoying part 3 (played back @ 1.75x), but I can't see myself sitting through the glacial pace of 1x playback...