Use VLC Player to delay radio input to sync with Live TV (update)

Are you faced with annoying Live Sports TV announcers?
Prefer to hear more experienced radio announcers?
There is a way to do this and not hear the radio play before the TV shows the play!

Tools/items needed:
1. Laptop with VLC Player
2. A pocket radio with stereo headphone output, 3.5 mm mini-DIN
3. A USB stereo audio adapter
4. An audio extension cable(s) – you may need another adapter depending on your playback device.

STEPS:
0. Mute your TV – you don’t want to hear those announcers anymore
1. Install VLC player on your laptop
2. Setup/tune your pocket radio to the station with the sports event.
3. Connect the USB stereo adapter to your laptop
4. Connect the audio extension cable from pocket radio output to the USB audio adapter MIC input.
5. Connect USB audio adapter headphone output to your playback device (this could be a stereo, a portable speaker, or other audio device), but DO NOT connect to your TV
6. Now on your laptop, open up VLC Player.
7. Select Open -> Capture Media Device (or CTRL-C in Windows)

8. Set “Capture Mode” to “Direct Show”
9. Set “Video Device Name” to “None”
10. Set “Audio Device Name” to “Microphone (2-C-Media USB Audio Device)”
11. Here is real import part, check the “Show more options” box
12. Set “Caching” to the desired time delay – 1000 ms = 1 second, so 15000 ms is 15 seconds. You’ll have to play around with this setting. Sometimes the delay is only around 11 seconds, sometimes it can be 25 seconds. Your settings should look like the image below.

13. Click the “Play” button. Now wait your delay time, as the radio input will cache (buffer up) the time, then play through the USB audio output.
14. Typically I need 4 to 5 trys to get the timing right, but after that it is set. For USA football, I like to use a stop watch to hear the anouncer call the snap until I see it on TV (for example).

Hope this works for you and happy listening!

Shazam!

Shazam! was awesome! Has some cool twists & not your typical DC Universe Movie #shazam #shazammovie #dcuniverse

SHAZAM ==
Solomon (Wisdom)
Hercules (Strength)
Atlas (Stamina)
Zeus (Thunderbolt & other god like magic abilities)
Achilles (Courage, bravery, & psychological abilities)
Mercury (Extreme Speed & flight)

Plastic Injection Molding Primer c/o the Engineer Guy

I love watching the engineering videos Bill Hammack produces and this one is no exception.  In this video, the Engineer Guy covers one of my favorite aspects of mechanical engineering design, Plastic Injection Molding.  While Bill doesn’t cover everything, this is a great primer for those wanting to learn more!  The follow on videos provide even more details and are suggested for any mechanical engineer (old and new) to watch.

Happy 4th of July! [Video]

Happy 4th of July!

To celebrate, my daughter made a cool video of a Nyan Cat – 4th of July flavor!
Check it out below…

Jim’s Date Calculator – (Updated) – v1.3 released

Just published version 1.3 of Jim’s Date Calculator.

Updates include:
– added month result / check box
– check boxes work independently now
– entering a date in the text areas now work
without a zero popping up
(this used to require a 2nd entry try to work)
– settings menu added
– user can keep settings upon exit
(can also be set to forget in settings menu)
– user can change theme from black/white to white/black
(see this in the settings menu)
– minor layout updates
– general optimization and bug fixes

Also the information video was updated too..

[Video] 1968, Bell Lab’s Thinking Machines, oldie but goodie . . . .

I remember watching this movie as it was called then, you know the kind with the projector and movie reel, (yeah I’m that old) way back in Jr. High School in the late 70’s.  Amazing how accurate it still remains today (to some degree).  Lots of innovation has been made on media storage (gigabytes on chips smaller than a postage stamp), languages (think BabbleFish & Google Translate), and recognition (both video and voice).  Let this serve as a reminder of just how far we’ve come since 1968 . . . .

Source: AT&T Tech Channel, via: Engadget