Google+ YouTube Comments - Why People Are Overeacting

It seems everybody nowadays are severely resistant against any change, regardless of any positive or negative impact it may cause. I'm sure you can somewhat relate, as nobody likes it when they are finally accustomed to something, then have it abruptly change in front of their eyes. Then again, YouTube is no newbie to this, as they are the culprit to changing and screwing around with their site hundreds of times.

Google+ rolling out their "better" commenting system caused one of the most massive outrage on the internet, even potentially surpassing the outrage caused by the very first 2.0 channel layout back in 2009. It also spawned numerous petitions on change.org, garnering over 50,000 signatures to revert back to the way things were.

Honestly, I really don't think it's as bad as people are making it out to be. Call me crazy and hammer me on the head, but I actually like a lot of the new features and improved convenience of the new comments system. However, that doesn't mean its without its flaws. At the moment, if Google would iron out the bugs and possibly squash the enforcement of Google+, I truly think the new system would be mostly favorable compared to the old system.

Here's why:

Pros of the new comments system:

* Unlimited character length - One of the most annoying nuisances with the old comments was the maximum 500 character limit, which caused many people to break their long comments into many separate comments. Thus, this causes more comments posted than necessary and additionally increased confusion amongst viewers.
* HTML links allowed and clickable - If you didn't recall, the old comments didn't allow any sort of HTML links embedded. This was I believe due to Google enforcing anti-spam measures to protect comments from spammers. For the users ourselves, this is sort of a double edged sword—we can finally post HTML links in comments, but we are now more susceptible to spam. Nevertheless, I think the former outweighs the latter. As the manager of comments ourselves, we can safely block or delete all the nasty spam.
* Threaded replies - When people reply to comments, you can now much more easily see all the replies as they are correctly lay out and indented from the post being replied to. This is similar to how old comments used to work, until Google somehow screwed it up some time ago.
* Editing comments - All new comments can be edited infinitely, from changing a small typo to completing changing the contents. I'm not sure how I positively feel about this, as it could definitely cause increased fraud—where one user can say something, then turn around to say something else.
* Comments notifications - Albeit losing the YouTube Inbox completely for comments, the new notification system allows quick and easy access to new activities on your channel, including new comments posted to your videos. Better yet, you can check comments and even reply to them without leaving the page you're on (e.g. you can watch a video while checking and replying to comments at the same time).

Cons of the new comments system:

* Google+ enforcement - Of course, one of the most leading cons of the new comments system is Google's requirement of owning or creating a Google+ profile/page in order to post comments. Whether you think Google is secretly doing this to push popularity of their social networking service, you have to agree that nobody likes to be forced to use a separate service to be able to have a convenience such as posting comments. This is especially valid if one doesn't even need it.
* Top comments - By top comments, Google somehow has failed miserably in delivering what they are indicating. Instead of top comments, we get comments from Google+ circles and then the bulk of the rest hidden deemed to spam (even though the majority of them are NOT). There is also no way to automatically adjust comments to show newest only instead of top comments. This is by far the biggest issue of the bunch, making even popular YouTubers such as ashens disabling comments and directing viewers to another site to comment. Now that's just ludicrous.
* Unlimited character length and HTML links - Yes, two of the pros are also two of the cons. Unlimited character length encourages users to spam long, useless comments like the internet trolls they are, including stupid ASCII art—in which we thought we had forgotten about in the early 2000s. HTML links can cause innocent viewers to go to an obscene or offensive site. All of these are happening in abundance everywhere on the site right now. Regardless, I'm sure as time moves on, the internet trolls will become bored of this passion and we may hopefully receive more normality in comments.
* Inability to reply to old comments -  For some odd reason, Google decided that comments posted prior to the new comments system taking place can no longer be replied to, even if they are a couple hours old. It could be quite simple to update old comments to work with the new system, but being the fools they are, Google has decided old comments must be stuck in stone for eternity. Nice...

Okay, here is the biggest question people may ask if they are still on the fence about joining Google+ with their YouTube:

Will my privacy be preserved and will I be able to hide my real name to the public?

YES! Google grants you several options when you proceed to connect your YouTube account to a Google+ account. Of course, you can choose to have it be connected to your user profile account with you real name, but you have an option to keep your YouTube username or enter a new name.

When you pick "keep your YouTube username", all it does is create an additional page under your main Google+ user profile account with that name. Hence, the two are still intertwined. However, there is no way for someone to locate and find your Google+ user profile account by just looking at your YouTube Google+ page.

Perhaps the most favorable bit of connecting your YouTube account to a Google+ page is being able to edit your username as often as you like—opposed to your user profile, which you can only change the name every 3 years or so.

See the video below for more details:

Summary:

People really need to give the new comments system a try before they bash it with full on negativity. I for one am getting dreary of all the recent comments on every video bashing it, when they should be focusing on the video contents instead.

Yes, there are some major cons as aforementioned, but the way people are reacting to it now is senseless. They only cry about how bad it is, how it ruins their privacy (when it doesn't) and how they desire the old system back. When instead, they should be giving proper feedback with good etiquette in order to improve it. Even if individuals despise it solely because they're forced to use Google+, why not just leave their Google+ alone and they won't ever have to see it again? And honestly, do they really think Google will actually revert back to their old comments system? Haven't anyone ever heard about what happened to all the changes many years ago, where no matter of how many petitions and backlash, Google kept what they invented?

I'm not defending Google nor am I hating on them either. They did something that could have good potential with the comments system—they only need to iron out the bugs, since the Google+ aspect is pretty much ultimately set in stone.

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Hauppauge HD-PVR Fixed, and Early!

You know how I said two days ago that the culprit to my Hauppauge HD-PVR malfunctioning was the power supply? Well, I was absolutely right!

Earlier, I checked the shipment status of the replacement power supply I ordered October 9th on eBay. To my dismay, it still hasn't shipped—even though the seller clearly states that they always ship the same day of payment... Pfft...

Just as a shot in the dark, I additionally wrote a nice e-mail to Hauppauge themselves about the failing power supply and if they could send me a new one (keep in mind I'm nearly 3 years pass the warranty). Now, I've been very pleased with Hauppauge's customer support over the years I've own the HD-PVR. At one time (still pass the warranty), I requested a replacement driver/software CD because I lost my original one. Hauppauge asked no questions at all and immediately sent the latest CD out when they confirmed my shipping address.

Sure enough, the prompt response e-mail regarding the power supply simply said "Please give me your full name and address so we can ship out a new power supply.". Brilliant, not even a mention of a serial number to check warranty status! Either Hauppauge has outstanding customer service or they already knew something fishy was up with the NetBit power supplies shipped with the original HD-PVR.

Anyways, I didn't want to wait a week plus to get my HD-PVR working again, so I dug around the house to see if I have a similar power supply I could use for the time being. Low and behold, I found a power supply to my old D-Link router which fits the specifications of the HD-PVR's power supply almost perfectly (5V DC 2.5 Amp Output). So I removed the nasty NetBit power supply and plugged in the D-Link power supply to my HD-PVR and presto... everything back to normal! 

But now I have sort of a minor dilemna, I have two extra power supplies being shipped to me that's going to be of no use at the moment. One cost me $13 and the other free. I will probably be keeping both for backup, as you would never know if one could fail on you.

To summarize: YouTube videos will be back online today or tomorrow. Also, expect the Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate review and 100% game save very soon! Also, if you happen to have similar problems with your HD-PVR like mine, try replacing the power supply before declaring it dead. If you can't find a replacement power supply, e-mail Hauppauge and I'm sure they'll send you a new one even if out of warranty.

Thanks for reading and always checking back for updates! :)

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Getting a large HDTV? Always Get It Inspected Before Signing!

Yesterday a bit of me inside was horrifically tarnished, so much that today I can barely concentrate.

I'm posting this so if you're captured in the same instance as I was, you won't be making the same mistake.

You see, yesterday I finally received my 50" Toshiba HDTV (50L1350U) shipped from Amazon. I wanted to upgrade from my 37" Protron set that was inexplicably experiencing hardware issues, from malfunctioning buttons, burn in and static noises.

Whenever Amazon or another retailer ships out TVs 46" or larger, or large furniture and appliances, they'll almost always transfer it over via a freight delivery company (e.g. CEVA Logistics, Pilot, Eagle, etc.). Mine was done with CEVA Logistics. Interestingly, I have never heard or dealt with this company before in my life. I later found out that it was essentially a delivery service that included "White Glove service", i.e. they'll be offering extra convenience services such as hauling the large item to a room of destination in your house. If it's a television set, they'll offer to unpack the box, set the TV up, check for damages and see if it's working.

Take note of the bold text. This was the reason for the illness of this post—don't ever accept and sign for a delivery of a TV or other large item without inspecting it for damage! As it unfortunately turns out, I didn't and the TV had large cracks on the screen when I unboxed it, rendering it basically a paper weight.

If ever there occurs damages or defects during the inspection process, refuse delivery and contact the retailer where you purchased it from. If they want to stay in business, they'll offer to refund or replace it for free.

I was so scared of not being able to return or exchange the TV, as I clearly signed the paper work that indicated it was in GOOD condition. Fortunately, since Amazon had great customer service, I called them up the day after and they had no issues setting up a refund. It would be completely disastrous if I would lose $700 for nothing!

So you're probably asking, why did he sign for delivery without prior inspection for damages and defects? It was because the box looked to be in great condition with no physical damages, so I thought nothing could be wrong (guess again!). I additionally didn't feel safe letting a sole stranger in my house, handling the new equipment and potentially damaging something. He was also alone when it clearly states there should be at least two delivery men for the service.

Anyways, consider this a lesson learned. Since Amazon no longer has the TV in stock, I have to wait at least 2 or more weeks to get a refund and buy from somewhere else like Best Buy. I was really looking forward to this TV too, as the reviews on it have been superb! D:

I also have to say CEVA failed to impress me and I would not like to deal with them again. Not only did they miss my initial delivery appointment and refused to call me prior to actual delivery, I believe they were the ones who damaged the TV. I mean, the bottom of the box was even opened for no reason.

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2012 27" iMac Impressions and Review

 Lately, I've been desiring a more powerful desktop computer to help speed up time consuming tasks such as video encoding and to use as a good computer gaming station in my room.

The last desktop computer I've owned was way back in 2009, which was another iMac but much older—with a Core 2 Duo CPU. After having numerous display issues with the computer, I ended up selling it and moving permanently for a long time to exclusively using laptops.

But now, I think it's finally time for me to get a new desktop, especially since I have more than enough Benjamins in my bank account to fund for pretty much computer I yearned. And let's face it, the small screens and lack of CPU and GPU power on laptops was getting kind of aggravating.

Oh no Wonder, why on Earth would you get a Mac for gaming, naysayers might say. Well, the fact is that I got a Mac because I love the primary operating system and its rock solid stability (OS X). More than that however, is that Macs are just aesthetically beautiful times a thousand compared to PCs, which are downright ugly or geeky looking majority of the time. I also needed a computer that has Thunderbolt ports, which are necessary for me to use the BlackMagic Intensity Shuttle that I'm purchasing later on. The iMac also had one of the best GPU of its time, which was a slimmed down version of the Nvidia GTX 680. This along with the ability to quickly switch from in and out of Windows, sealed the deal for me.

Unfortunately, this computer wasn't cheap. I spent a whopping $2,400 on it; the most amount of money I ever spent a computer in my life! Fortunately, when the iMac did arrive, everything turned out to be good (despite those horrid QC stories you often hear on Apple forums).

iMac's pretty box which I stuffed away inside my empty closet.

iMac all set up on my desk. Forgive the bad lighting, the iMac's screen is so bright it caused the room to go completely dark with my camera.

The specs of the machine I purchased was the following:

• 27" display
• 3.4Ghz Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.9Ghz
• 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 SDRAM
• 1TB 7200RPM SATA HDD
• Nvidia GeForce 680MX with 2GB VRAM
• Mighty Mouse and Wireless Keyboard combo

This was a custom built order, so Apple was supposedly unable to ship it within 24 hours as they had to build it first for me. Amazingly, the build time took less than a day, and Apple was even nice enough to upgrade to 2 day FedEx shipping at no cost! I got it literally over the weekend.

The only thing I regret at the time being is not getting the optional 1TB Fusion Drive for an additional $225. With the Fusion Drive, it combines a 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD together and virtually makes it seem like one drive. Hence, you'll get the speed of an SSD (most of the time) and the benefits of a larger spaced traditional HDD.

After researching it more extensively however, I found out that it was a better idea to just buy an external SSD, hook it up to Thunderbolt and use it to boot. It's faster, has more space and cheaper than the ridiculous prices Apple are charging. I don't want my two drives to be combined into one either, which is just strange and I like to have full control of my things.

So I'm contemplating about buying this external 256GB Thunderbolt SSD for $329:
http://oyendigital.com/hard-drives/store/TNN-SSD-240-SL.html

I'll definitely be reviewing this SSD once I get it and test it out.

Anyways, enough about my own story, you probably want to know more about the machine itself. So here are my impressions with the iMac so far...

Pros: 

* Excellent screen. The IPS panel technology provides superb viewing angles (better than any other display I've seen and own before), eye-popping colors and rich contrast. The color profile is just a tad on the warm side, so a little color calibration (with something like a Spyder 4) and it would likely be flawless. And while it's not a retina quality display, it's pretty damn close to it.
* Nice sexy design. As obvious, the iMac has a great minimalistic and slim design with aluminum and glass. No plastic on the computer at all, which is awesome.
* Graphics performance is excellent. I believe Nvidia actually custom built the 680MX specifically for the iMac. All 3D games runs like a dream with maximum quality settings and in native resolution.
* Speakers and sound quality are very good, a lot better than I expected. A great balance of both bass and treble. It sounds so good that I don't even think I'll be needing to plug in external speakers with it.
* Very fast CPU performance. The 3.4Ghz quad core i7 processor with turbo boost makes almost anything CPU extensive a breeze. Video encoding is so much faster than my old Core 2 Duo machines.
* Nice variety of ports. You have USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, microphone, line in and a SD card slot. The Thunderbolt ports are notably nice as you can use it to drive the highest speed devices, such as thunderbolt SSD drives and HD capture devices.
* Windows was so easy to setup. Bootcamp now allows you to default to starting up in the Windows partition all the time, so you no longer have to continuously hold down the option key during startup. With Parallel's Desktop, running Windows on top of OS X works efficiently well too.
* OS X. Need I say more?

Cons: 

* The Mighty Mouse is borderline bad. It is too flat and therefore not incredibly ergonomic. Multi-gestures are difficult to use and the amount of gestures you can do are minimal. In fact, most of the gestures requires you to use Safari as your internet browser (sorry, I will always use Firefox). The mouse doesn't work well gliding on my leather mouse pad and for some reason trying to use it to adjust sliders is virtually impossible, possibly due to the sensitivity. I end up selling it and get a much cheaper, but better functioning Logitech M510 wireless mouse.
* The wireless keyboard, while not quite as bad as the Mighty Mouse, is still not the very best. It's more difficult to type on than a regular keyboard as the keys are so thin and leaves almost zero feedback response. The worst however are the side keys such as delete, which are so small I often find myself pressing them or the wrong key next to them by accident. It's still a decent, usable keyboard nevertheless. I just wish Apple would make the wireless keyboard the same version as the wired keyboard.
* Screen size and resolution. This might just be me, but I think the screen size and resolution is a bit too big! Since the Apple menu bar is always affixed to the top, I often find myself completely shifting my eyes and try to move the tiny cursor a long distance to the top corners. Perhaps I just need to get used to it? I do like the large 2560 x 1440 screen estate, but I find myself not even use 30% of it.
* No CD/DVD drive. This isn't a killer for me, as I rarely ever use CD/DVDs. Who still does anyways? Even when installing Windows through Bootcamp, you can do it all over USB now.
* The noise of the computer is not entirely silent. Even when idle and nothing running, you can still hear a tiny bit of white noise coming from the fans constantly.
* Hardware upgrade of the computer is quite limited. You only have user access to the RAM, which can upgraded to 32GB the max. Regardless, I believe the computer already has more than enough hardware to satisfy the current heavy user from now to at least 5 more years (until it gets somewhat outdated). Fortunately, Apple electronics are well known to hold their value incredibly well. When the times comes to upgrade, you can simply sell the current iMac for roughly the same amount of money you purchased it, then use the funds for a new computer. I actually sold my old iMac for $400 more than I bought it for, and I bought it brand new!

Overall Impressions:

So far, I'm loving it! I don't regret paying the premium price for such a nice machine, especially considering how gorgeous the display looks. As for custom PC vs this iMac, I would personally go with iMac all the way.

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Google Face Detection Fail

Just the other day, I was playing around with Google+ profile photo (I don't use it BTW), and this occured:

My sister said: "That's because she's a doll, not a real human.". XD

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6 Ways to Promote Your YouTube Videos

Today's post is another tips and tricks post—specifically, I'll show you 6 good ways to promote your YouTube videos, so you can end up with more views, likes and subscribers!

1.) Submit your videos to GameFAQs

If your videos are gaming related, this method works quite well in boosting your video's viewership and popularity. GameFAQs is a huge user content generated gaming site that draws in a ton of traffic from all across the world. The best part about GameFAQs is the availability for anyone to share their own gaming reviews, screenshots and videos for any game.

Here's how you submit your gaming videos to GameFAQs:

1. Go to GameFAQs and register for a free user account.
2. Use the search tool to find the game of your videos.
3. Click on the "Videos" link and scroll all the way down until you see "Video Submission Form".
4. Fill out the form with your video details and then click "Submit".
5. Repeat the process to submit more videos.
6. Once your videos are approved (almost all of them do), they will appear in the videos section of the game.

2.) Post your video as a video response to popular, similar videos

If you discover a video that is similar in content to your own video, and that video additionally has a good amount of views, try posting your own video as a video response to it. You don't know how well this works for me sometimes. For instance, my Monster Hunter Tri - Deviljho Switchaxe Heroics Solo video was not heavily seen until I posted it as a video response to a similar Monster Hunter Tri Deviljho Switchaxe solo video. From then on, my video exploded and it now has more than 30x the views as that video I posted a response to!

Want to be more daring? You can even post a comment on that video, requesting people to check out your own video and why they need to. Ask your YouTube friends to help you out by thumbing up the comment so it can appear as one of the video's Top Comments.

3.) Use Facebook and Twitter

Facebook and Twitter are kings of social networking. Millions of people are on everyday—sometimes every minute—checking for the latest tweets and posts from the people they are following. So take this amazing fact for your own personal benefit. Post all the videos you upload to both Facebook and Twitter. Ask all your followers and friends to help you out by posting your videos on their page. By doing so, you'll earn a lot more viewership for your videos.

4.) Link and intertwine all your videos to one another if possible

Whenever your videos are in a series or constitute similar subjects, try grouping them together so viewers can easily transfer from one video to another. You can do so by using annotation links, using video descriptions or even posting a comment on the videos.

For example, I often do a series of videos on a game's cutscenes. Whenever that occurs, I always link cutscene videos to each other with annotation links and links in the videos' descriptions. You can't assume all your viewers will know to check out your channel for other similar videos. This makes it a heft easier for them, and that's good!

5.) Post your videos in forums

This trick is similar to number 1, as you'll be sharing your videos to a large public community, only now you're directly sharing with them via forums.

First, find the largest forums that is in the same subject as your videos. For instance, if I was doing gaming videos, I would search for a forums that dealt with gaming and preferably that game alone (e.g. GameSpot Forums).

Next, post a topic with the link to your video(s). Try to not make your post seem like spam material by providing the forums members reasons why they should check out your video. Additionally, ask for suggestions and feedback on the videos so your topic can have some actual replies.

6.) Ask your viewers and friends to like, comment and favorite your videos

I know you might think this will make you seem desperate or even beggar quality—but the fact of the matter is, it helps improve your views significantly.

This is because every time someone likes, comments or favorites a video, that video gets posted to their public feed. Hence, all that person's subscribers will see what they liked, commented and/or favorited. They will then be inclined to check your video out.

You can ask for this anywhere: directly in your videos, in your video description or in annotations.

Just remember not to do this too much or spam your videos everywhere with "please like, comment and favorite!", as you'll then be likely viewed as a desperate ebeggar, which no one likes.


That's all of the bunch! These methods are working methods I personally use to help me boost my views, likes and subscribers on YouTube. Do you have any other methods you can think of? Feel free to give it a share!

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Upgrading My HD Capture Device Next Month

Okay, so I finally decided it's time to upgrade my HD capture device starting next month—that is, the one device that I've been using for all my YouTube videos since 2008!

Perhaps I didn't shed any light upon what I actually have been using. It's no other than the Hauppauge HD-PVR. I have the very first model of it, and I was one of the initial buyers to purchase it right when it came out.

Having gone through 5 years of model revisions and improved HD capturing technology, it was starting to feel as if my HD-PVR was falling behind the times. Although the quality was still there, I felt the ease of use was not prominent as it should be, and there were features on newer capture devices that I very much yearned for.

I especially desired a HD capture device that allowed me to capture in an uncompressed or lossless format, as opposed to forcing me to use its H.264 encoder. I always edit and re-encode my videos (never uploading the raw captured file), so once you start encoding a H.264 video with the same codec more than once, you're going to be losing a lot of quality. On the contrary, by having an uncompressed/lossless video file, I would have no worries of losing avertible quality when I edit and encode the video for YouTube.

Also, let's face it—HDMI is the way forward. Component limits your max capturing resolution to 1080i only, and you are additionally plagued to deal with analog interference, which can potentially ruin your footage.

So I decided my next HD capture device was going to be a BlackMagic Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt.

It's perfect for my needs. It has HDMI in and out, 1080p capturing, uncompressed capturing and high bandwidth thunderbolt connection. From just looking at the technical specs and features alone, this device far outclasses any other existing consumer HD capture device on the market today. It's also priced very aggressively, at $230 new and around $260 with a thunderbolt cable.

What about more popular HD capture devices such as the HD-PVR 2 and Elgato HD Game Capture? While those are a nice upgrade to my existing HD-PVR due to them being HDMI equipped, they are more or less the same box of yesterday—forced H.264 encoding with last generation USB 2.0 connection. I don't want more of the same; I want something with unlimited potential, something the Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt can offer.

I did briefly use an Intensity Shuttle a few months back, but it was the USB 3.0 version. My laptop unfortunately was not able to fully utilize the USB 3.0 speed, so the capture device was not fully operable. I now own a desktop that has thunderbolt connections, which is quite a lot faster than USB 3.0.

In conclusion, what does this all mean? For you as my viewers, it simply means much better video quality for my videos on YouTube. And I'm even hoping to be able to start uploading 1080p videos (although none of the games I've been recording are 1080p native). You can also expect a review here on this blog once I get it as well.

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Fix for Slowdown Issue with DW8 on Xbox 360?

Earlier this morning, I received a message from one of my YouTube viewers Xenith Eyes. He alerted me of a possible fix for the atrocious slowdown issue apparent exclusively in the Xbox 360 version of Dynasty Warriors 8. My eyes lit up but were abrupt to die down again, after he quickly followed up with a response basically stating it doesn't work after all (he attempted it himself).

Yet, I still have found posts of other players online claiming this method does actually work, but you need to select the correct resolution (1280 x 1024) and turn widescreen off. More specifically, this post from GameFAQs.

So, being the curious self I am, I decided to attempt this method myself. What's there to lose?

What I found unfortunately was what Xenith Eyes has last declared—no difference whatsoever. Or if there was a difference, it was way too minor to be noticeable. I actually found at often times the default 720p settings (1280 x 720 with widescreen on) on my HDMI was smoother.

One thing I forgot to mention in that video I posted on YouTube about this issue was that the slowdown was much more prominent in certain stages. A few stages suffers no slowdown at all until you get in a semi-large group of enemies—which given this is a Warriors game, can happen a significant amount of time in all stages.

Chibi is the worst case of slowdowns. The frame rate of the game dwindles to non-existent nearly the entire time on the stage, even if you're fighting a single officer with no enemies around.

If you don't believe me that this method did not make a difference with my tests, check out these videos I recorded: the top with default 720p widescreen on and the bottom 1280 x 1024 resolution with widescreen off.

And I apologize for the low quality of the videos. I used my Canon EOS Rebel T3i (which is a mighty fine camera) to record the footage, as I'm too lazy to take out my HD capture device.

If you're wondering about lower resolutions such as 480p, that doesn't make a difference either.

Just so I don't end up calling a lot of people liars attempting to justify their purchases, I have to also throw out that I'm using an older non-slim Xbox 360 with the Jasper chipset. Newer slim Xbox 360s have better performance, so the slowdown may be less noticeable, and this method may work better. That I won't know for sure as I don't have a slim Xbox 360 to test.

To finalize: lowering the resolution and turning off widescreen doesn't seem to work. If you are finding the game unplayable due to the slowdown, there isn't going to be a good fix until KOEI releases one themselves.

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Remembering the YouTube Times

In celebration, or dis-celebration of almost nearly 2 months of YouTube's "One Channel", I decided to look back in the past and see how much YouTube has completely dis-evolved in 7 years.

2006-2009

YouTube's first channel layout. The design is plain and simple, yet it worked. Navigation was super easy and effective. Everything including full profile, featured video, activity feed, uploads (which was entirely customizable), playlists (also customizable), friends, subscriptions, subscribers and comments are all in one single page. You didn't have to click multiple times to get to see the content you wanted to see. Bulletins and special videos section are also great.

Background and all the colors of the channel can be altered, and full transparency of all sections were available so your background could pop out.

This is highly regarded as YouTube's best channel layout by the majority of YouTubers.

 

2009-2011 "Version 2.0"

 

YouTube's first channel layout change. This is probably the most highly criticized action YouTube made by the public, and rightfully so. Thousands upon thousands of comments were posted on YouTube's forums and videos, and 99% of them were against it.

What's wrong with it?

First off, the organization and placements of sections are completely clumsy. User profile has been pushed down the page into semi-obscurity, and the featured video and its player is now always on top. The new channel video player has the ability to play all videos without having to leave the channel. I find this feature actually useful and nice, but a heft of options are disintegrated when playing videos using this method: viewing full sized, leaving and viewing comments and exploring related/recommended videos. To be able to access and do any of these, you would have to click to view the video in its original video page (which a lot of people will be too lazy to do). In the end, this punishes the channel owner the most, and would make views and comments diminish greatly. Somewhat good for the viewer, bad for the uploader.

The video sidebar, is the only place where you can store your playlists, favorites and uploads. You can no longer see all of them at once, requiring multiple clicks. Also, there's finger numbing scrolling you have to do to go through the videos since the sidebar is tiny. Bugs even makes it worse—sometimes it forgets where you were at during scrolling and you have to start scrolling over again from the beginning. Arrghh...

The design was also ugly.

I did appreciate the ability to watch videos on the channel without leaving the page, but there's simply too many bad implementations and design choices. It's still better than the next one though, which is even worse...

2011-2013 "Cosmic Panda"

Here is where customization and personalization really took a dive into non-existence. In cosmic panda, the default and only theme you could choose from was a plain looking gray/white appearance. Coupled with the removed ability to set transparency on anything, everyone's channels look exactly the same, besides the background. Speaking of the background, since the main gray/white content took over 90% of the display estate, the background can hardly be seen by most users. So why even bother?

Content is now even more separated into different pages, and some don't even make a lick of sense. To be able to view a person's channel comments, one would to click on "Browse Video" and then click on "Comments". Say, what does channel comments have to anything to do with browsing videos again, Einstein?

Mentioning channel comments, YouTube now cuts off comments after a certain period of time. So you can no longer view older comments at all, not even if you are channel owner. BS.

The ability to watch any videos without leaving the channel is now gone. That's funny, I thought they believed that was one of the greatest features and advertised so much out of it. Now they removed it entirely? But that's how the upgrade downgrade process on YouTube works, incorporate a feature that's remotely useful and then remove it for no reason on the next iteration.

The only thing I like about the new channel layout is that video thumbnails are very large. So it's easier for viewers to see them. Other than that, the previous two layouts were much superior.

2013-???? "One Channel"

 

A few months ago, YouTube decided it was going to change its homepage layout for the 63 gazillion time, going from a fairly graphical multi-grayscale layout to one so white it would give snow a run for its money. The most noteworthy bit of this change was the new sidebar, which YouTube claims allows a user to instantly see all of their subscribers activity and uploads on any page with a single click. I honestly could care less about it, especially since the new layout made my eyes bled with it having so much empty white space everywhere.

With this one feature in mind, they thought it was so radical and so crucial that channels must have it too! And being the brilliant minded folks they are, instead of just simply attaching the sidebar to the current channel layout, they went with yet again an all out entirely new layout. Remember, a new layout from YouTube means a POS layout that's another step worse than the previous.

Thus, the ugly duckling "One Channel" was born.

I don't think I even need to do much explanation on this layout as it's been forced down everybody's throat now for months.

Devolution is right.

So, what is your favorite and worst YouTube channel layout?

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Wii and Xbox 360 Case Mods

I just finally got around to finishing modding the cases of my Nintendo Wii and non-slim Xbox 360. As you can see, the finalized design sort of compliments the consoles well. The Wii is seen as a friendly, cute console with the anime case. The Xbox 360 is seen as a more hardcore geek machine with its dark case and illuminating red lights.

Nintendo Wii

Xbox 360 - Regular Flavor

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Pristine Quality Screenshots with Hauppauge HD-PVR

The Hauppauge HD-PVR is perhaps one of the most well known HD capture devices on the market, and is actually the first HD capture device to include H.264 hardware encoding. This hardware allows the unit to seamlessly encode to H.264 on the fly without any impact on the CPU performance of the  computer.

While this is great for videos, it's an absolute nightmare for taking screenshots. This is mainly due to the automatic H.264 compression which cannot be cancelled into uncompressed, and lower maximum 13.5Mbps bitrate limit. Most of the time, attempting to capture a scene featuring heavy motion, then pulling a certain frame out of that clip to use as a screenshot will result in an image that is full of compressed artifacts. It doesn't help either that the HD-PVR—or at least the original model—didn't have any way to directly capture screenshots.

Here is an example of exactly what I'm talking about: capturing a video, then opening it in an viewer/editor and taking a frame from somewhere and making that frame into a screenshot. Note the compressing artifacts.

Wrong way to create a screenshot with HD-PVR.

There is a secret to being able to capture pristine, excellent quality screenshots on any certain part of any scene with any motion, however. And while this tactic works as intended, it does require some extra work, particularly good timing and a little luck.

The secret is really simple actually, just recall this—the first frame (frame 1) of any video the HD-PVR captures will always be in clean, pristine quality with no compression artifacts, no matter where it is taken. Although it's not as perfect as an uncompressed frame, it still comes very close.

So instead of trying to pull a frame out from the midst of a video, capture the frame you want as soon as it appears on the screen, quickly stop the capture, open up the mp4 or ts file—with something like DGAVCIndex—and just copy the first frame to be the screenshot. If you fail to get the right frame as frame 1, just simply keep trying until you get the frame you want, or closely to the frame you want.

Tip: If the time the device takes to start capturing a video takes too long, try capturing a scrap video first. Doing so will cause the HD-PVR to capture nearly instantly on the next and subsequent captures. To avoid lags and stuttering from high CPU usage, you can in conjunction toss the entire Total Media software altogether and resort to command prompt capturing using rcTVCap.

The right but more difficult way.

 Walla! All compression artifacts are gone and we have a very lovely screenshot to share!

This method may also work for other capture devices that can only capture in a compressed format. This may additionally be invaluable to those who own the HD-PVR 2, as it now has a built-in take screenshot tool. Nevertheless, I'm not sure how that function works on that model, so if your screenshots are looking too pixelated and nasty, it doesn't hurt to try this out.

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My Nuisances with RPM Networks

I joined RPM Networks via ProLax (recruiter) in late December. I have owned my YouTube channel for 5 years now and never really thought about becoming a partner and monetizing my videos. That's purely because becoming a partner was much stricter back then, and there were no such things as YouTube Networks as there are now. You had to develop 100% original content, or if your videos are solely gameplay footage, you had to had commentary on all of them. Even if all the above applies, YouTube are notorious for rejecting channels with limited reasons as to why, regardless if they have a heavy amount of subscribers and views or not.

Being the uninformed fool I am, I continue to maintain a regular old YouTube channel until finally last December. That's when I ultimately heard about YouTube Networks, and how they are pretty much accepting virtually anybody without bearing YouTube's strict requirements. Partnering with a network instead of directly with YouTube isn't different at all, depending on who you partner with. With most, you'll obtain all the partner features YouTube offers, the ability to monetize all your videos and more importantly being able to have complete creative control over your channel and its contents.

As a matter of fact, I already had a slew of networks offering me partnership in my YouTube message inbox. I read all of them, read up on their offerings and terms of service. There were a lot of good ones and ones with deceptive messages that makes you think you'll be earning huge money with them. In the end, I went with ProLax. Their message to me was simple to understand and it offered everything I wanted. Thus, I applied to them on around December 20th. I had to sign a contract that would require me to be a part of this Network for at least a year and we agreed on a 60/40 revenue split. Within a week later, I had all my partnership features and was then seeing my earnings on YouTube itself.

As it turns out, I was signed to RPM Networks and not ProLax. ProLax was just one of RPM's many recruiters such as SocialBlade. I actually should've applied through SocialBlade instead, because I would have had the bonus addition of being advertised on their website. With ProLax, I did not get anything extra besides one mention of me in their YouTube channel. Oh well…

I have to say that after being with RPM Networks for 7 months now, there has been some ups and downs. I'm earning very good consistent money with them and they pay on time, but I have to highly stress on how TERRIBLE their customer support is. One of the worst of all companies I had the displeasure of dealing with.

They don't respond to customers in a timely fashion at all. I had an issue with YouTube estimated earnings in my analytics disappearing abruptly for a few days. I sent them a message about it on the day it occurred, but they did not answer me back until a week later, when the problem was already fixed by itself. This is quite deceiving as they clearly stated all messages would be responded to in 24-48 hours. Another time I could not log into my dashboard at their website—actually, I was never able to log into it since the beginning of my partnership. I sent them a message about it on Twitter, yet they fail to ever respond to it. I had to send them another e-mail about why I couldn't log into my dashboard and a week later, I finally got an answer saying they will forward my account to get it dashboard access. It's been a few days following that and I still have no access to my dashboard. Grrr…

So in summary, if you want a good Network to join that grants you the full grid of YouTube partner features with high and unrestricted CPM, RPM Networks is great. If you want good, fast and responsive customer support, just simply stay away. And it's not just me either that are having dilemmas with their customer support, just read all the reviews of RPM Networks around on the internet.

I'm contemplating on switching to TGN (The Gamer Nation) when my contract with RPM Networks expires. However, RPM Networks may be moving me up to their supposedly much better TGS Network.  Only time well tell...

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Where to Buy Japanese Games

"Where do I buy Japanese games if I live outside of Japan?" is one question I stumble across during my daily endeavor on YouTube. There are a plethora of online shops that specializes in not only the sale of Japanese games, but also games from other countries. While the majority of these shops are legit and safe, some just simply excel in terms of experience, price, speed and extras.

If you ask me what my recommendations are on where to buy Japanese games, I can help you weed out all the hundreds of shops and narrow it down to what I think are the three best ones in my experience.

Play-Asia
One of the most well known and largest supplier of Asian import games with heavy emphasis on Japanese titles. If the game exists in Japan, PlayAsia probably carries it in their inventory (disregarding adult titles). I've purchase nearly 99% of my Japanese games on PlayAsia and the experience has been satisfactory every time. Best yet, they tend to often ship games out earlier or on the release date, especially when you pre-order. They also give you $5 coupons every time you order. Like most import shops, they are located in Hong Kong, so expect up to 20 days for delivery. If you use their express EMS service however, you can get your games in as little as 3 days after shipment!

YESASIA
YesAsia is very similar to PlayAsia. In fact, even their names often times are mixed up. They are particularly favorable as they offer cheaper prices for new games compared to PlayAsia. Moreover, they offer free shipping. On the downside, they usually take a little longer to process and ship out orders and the prices on older games tends to be more expensive. You also don't get any free coupons with them.

eBay
While one may not think to look on eBay for Japanese games, the actual fact is that hundreds and thousands of international sellers are on there every day looking to sell Japanese toys and games. One of the biggest pros of using eBay instead of another outlet is the huge price flexibility. You can usually score a better deal on eBay than stores such as PlayAsia and YesAsia, and still get your games in an adequate amount of time. Regardless, because eBay is an anyone's marketplace, you need to carefully select the right seller with good feedback to transact with.

eBay Tip: When searching for Japanese version of games, try using the Japanese name instead (e.g. Shin Sangoku Musou instead of Dynasty Warriors).

After you have purchased your Japanese games, you may be wanting to get some yen to spend on DLC content from the Japanese Playstation store. PlayAsia and eBay both offer prepaid Japanese PSN cards that you can easily redeem for yen to spend on your PSN account. eBay usually have less inexpensive cards compared to PlayAsia.

I also recommend checking out Japan Codes. They have excellent prices for Japanese PSN cards and will always deliver your code within 24 hours after payment.

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Why I'm Getting PS4 Over Xbox One

This little commercial from Sony sums it up for me:

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