Tag: video app

What do I mean by a native client for an online service?

Facebook Messenger Windows 10 native client

Facebook Messenger – now native on Windows 10

With the increasing number of online services including cloud and “as-a-service” computing arrangements, there has to be a way for users to gain access to these services.

Previously, the common way was to use a Web-based user interface where the user has to run a Web browser to gain access to the online service. The user will see the Web browser’s interface elements, also known as “chrome” as part of the user experience. This used to be very limiting when it came to functionality but various revisions have allowed for a similar kind of functionality to regular apps.

Dropbox native client view for Windows 8 Desktop

Dropbox native client view for Windows 8 Desktop- taking advantage of what Windows Explorer offers

A variant on this theme is a “Web app” which provides a user interface without the Web browser’s interface elements. But the Web browser works as an interpreter between the online service and the user interface although the user doesn’t see it as that. It is appealing as an approach to writing online service clients due to the idea of “write once run anywhere”.

Another common approach is to write an app that is native to a particular computing platform and operating system. These apps, which I describe as “native clients” are totally optimised in performance and functionality for that computing platform. This is because there isn’t the need for overhead associated with a Web browser needing to interpret code associated with a Web page. As well, the software developer can take advantage of what the computing platform and operating system offers even before the Web browser developers build support for the function in to their products.

There are some good examples of online-service native clients having an advantage over Web apps or Web pages. One of these is messaging and communications software. Here, a user may want to use an instant-messaging program to communicate with their friends or colleagues while using graphics software or games which place demands on the computer. Here, a native instant-messaging client can run alongside the high-demand program without the overhead associated with a Web browser.

The same situation can apply to online games where players can see a perceived improvement in their performance. As well, it is easier for the software developer to write them to take advantage of higher-performance processing silicon. It includes designing an online game for a portable computing platform that optimises itself for either external power or battery power.

This brings me to native-client apps that are designed for a particular computing platform from the outset. One key application is to provide a user interface that is optimised for “lean-hack” operation, something that is demanded of anything that is about TV and video content. The goal often is to support a large screen viewed at a distance along with the user navigating the interface using a remote control that has a D-pad and, perhaps a numeric keypad. The remote control describes the primary kind of user interface that most smart TVs and set-top boxes offer.

Another example is software that is written to work with online file-storage services. Here, a native client for these services can be written to expose your files at the online file-storage service as if it is another file collection similar to your computer’s hard disk or removeable medium.

Let’s not forget that native-client apps can be designed to make best use of application-specific peripherals due to them directly working with the operating system. This can work well with setups that demand the use of application-specific peripherals, including the so-called “app-cessory” setups for various devices.

When an online platform is being developed, the client software developers shouldn’t forget the idea of creating native client software that works tightly with the host computer platform.

Rotating videos shot with smartphones

When you shoot video using a smartphone or tablet held in the vertical (portrait) position, it will come out vertical and you may have to rotate your head to watch it comfortably on most display situations. Even if you use a camcorder or high-end digital camera to shoot your video footage, you may find that you have shot some footage at an awkward angle and may want to correct that.

But you can rotate the video footage so it appears right-way-up when you play it. Here, the video will come out in a “pillar-box” form when played full-screen with black borders on each side of the vision.

You can do this with both the main regular-computer operating systems using either an application that comes with the operating system or available as a free download from the vendor.

Apple Macintosh

Current versions of QuickTime Player for OS X have the ability to rotate the video and save a rotated copy.

To do this, open the video in QuickTime Player, then select “Rotate Video” under QuickTime Player’s Edit Menu to get it the “right way up”. Once you are satisfied, press Command-S on the keyboard to save a rotated copy of the clip.

Windows

If you download Windows Movie Maker, which is part of the free Windows Live Essentials package available from Microsoft, you can use this elementary video editor tool to rotate your video clips.

Here, you import your video clip to Windows Movie Maker, then you rotate your video clip using the Rotate buttons on the toolbar. Once you are satisfied, save a copy of the clip in any of the formats that Windows Movie Maker supports.

Conclusion

At least Apple and Windows offer inclusive solutions to correct your video footage that you take with your smartphone so you can make it comfortably watchable.

The latest Apple TV becomes the first video peripheral to offer 360-degree videos

Article

You can now view interactive, 360-degree videos on the new Apple TV | Mashable

Video

From the horse’s mouth

Littlstar

Press Release

My Comments

Increasingly the 360-degree “virtual-tour” video is being seen as part of exhibiting a location or marketing a product. Even real-estate agents are using them as a tool to show off properties for sale, while TV serials are using them to give their fans a look-see in to the environments that the shows are set in.

But they are typically offered on Web pages that are best viewed in a browser with you moving your mouse up and down or dragging your finger up and down around a touchscreen or trackpad to pan around.  You may find that you zoom using your mouse’s thumbwheel or pinch in and out on a touchscreen or trackpad. Similarly navigating may require you to simply click or tap on where you want to go.

In some cases, they may also play properly with virtual-reality headsets of the Oculus Rift kind if you use an app for the device.

But what about viewing these 360-degree videos on that large-screeo TV or video projector. This may work if you throw that Web page on the large TV screen but you may not be lucky with some virtual-reality or 360-degree plugins working properly on the large screen.

Litlstar have tackled this issue through developing an app for the 4th-generation Apple TV set-top device that shows the 360-degree videos on the big screen. This exploits the Apple TV’s new remote control which has a trackpad by you using that trackpad to pan around.

This can be exploited on other smart-TV and video-peripheral platforms especially where some of these platforms are implementing gyroscopic remote controls or remote controls that implement multiple D-pads. Similarly, a games console of the XBox or PlayStation variety could be used as a tool to show the virtual-reality videos on a large screen.

It could also allow for one to watch some video content yet have an opportunity to “break off” in to a personal “walk-through” of that scene or building, yet be able to return to where they left off in the video content.

Who knows when Android TV or a subsequent Freebox décodeur will end up exploiting these abilities to enhance video content.