Tech
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
May 2023
How to set up a transparent chat overlay over webcam for teleprompter use without any additional programs.
Using a teleprompter for reading chat isn’t new, but how about mirroring your webcam underneath it so you can see what you’re doing while looking into the souls of your audience? I don’t stream regularly these days but when I did, one of the things I liked most about my setup was my teleprompter chat. It went through many iterations; from a simple phone mounted as close to my webcam as possible, to an actual beam splitter teleprompter with a DSLR camera monitor screen replacing the phone.
3 minutes
July 2021
How to use Move Transitions OBS plugin to toggle punch-in visibility with mic activity
Video Punching or zooming in on your facecams is nice and all, but if you forget to hit that hotkey, there’s no recapturing/reframing that moment except in post. Using a couple plugins on OBS, you can make sure to capture all those pogchamp moments by just screaming into your mic. Requirements OBS Studio Version 27 and up Move Transition Plugin Stream FX Plugin (optional but helpful) In lieu of the Stream FX plugin, duplicating your facecam can be done via scene nesting.
1 minute
March 2021
Genki ShadowCast Input Latency Tests & First Impressions
Results of using a high framerate camera to perform input latency tests on the Genki ShadowCast.
The Genki ShadowCast by Human Things is a capture card that fits entirely inside the shadow of the official Nintendo Switch dock, hence the name. It works just like any other USB thumb drive sized capture card, except for one thing: Human Things have developed specialized capture software customized specifically for the Shadowcast that they say reduces latency of the captured video to undetectably low levels, while using less system resources than alternatives.
Review Streaming Tech Thoughts
4 minutes
January 2021
On any gamepad (PC, Steam only)
Originally posted on Reddit. Greetings commanders, I recently wrote up this guide for my brother and figured why not share it with the rest of the Elite Dangerous community. Personally, I find it makes playing on controllers much more manageable when you want to do certain things like target wingmen, use heatsinks/chaff/ECM/shield cells, toggle night vision, or whatever other feature the game offers that don’t fit on the default controller bindings (even with classic context or default context controller options).
5 minutes
December 2020
Headtracking With Normal Webcams
Using OpenTrack and AITrack
Originally posted on Reddit. Now that SWSquadrons supports TrackIR, this opens up the potential to play the game using various 3rd party software alternatives to the expensive TrackIR hardware. We’ve seen one solution so far that involves pairing a paid smartphone app with OpenTrack (one of these free open source headtracking solutions), but if you already have a webcam, even one built into a laptop, you can use OpenTrack with a different piece of input software: AITrack, which is free to use.
4 minutes
ASRock X570 ITX/TB3 WiFi Issue
Intermittent connectivity due to disconnected WiFi module
Originally posted on Reddit. When I first booted up my system with this board, I noticed WIFI did not work at all, and the adapter wasn’t detected in Win10 device manager. I had read handfuls of posts by users reporting faulty/intermittent connections with their WiFi on this board, but none that say it is outright nonfunctional. The WiFi adapter was not seated properly. I had to take apart the IO cover/heatsink assembly and the WiFi module housing to see this.
2 minutes
October 2020
Horizontally Scrolling Chat Overlay
How to use custom CSS to switch from a vertically-flowing chat overlay to a horizontal one
One thing I noticed while playing and streaming Star Wars Squadrons is how much of the viewspace is taken up by the player’s ship instruments and cockpit view. I like having a chat overlay on my streams and, with this UI design cramping the precious little verticle space, I wanted a way to dispaly the chat without encroaching on the viewport. Video Requirements The only thing needed to use these lines of custom CSS is the Restream.
3 minutes
Desperate times, desperate measures
New graphics card arrived before my new case.
System config: i7-7700k delidded, liquid metalled PNY RTX 3080 32GB Ripjaws V RAM Gigabyte Z270N-WiFi Corsair SF600 Platinum Geeek M100WS My system used to be in a much nicer Dr. Zaber Sentry SFF case. However, the PNY 3080 is juuuuust a few mm too thick to fit in the graphics card partition. I will be selling the Galax GTX 1070 Katana that used to be in this build. It’s a single-slot graphics card, so, perfect for mITX builds like mine used to be.
1 minute
August 2020
Why you should regularly clean your laptops
These pics should adequately explain why regular laptop fan cleaning is necessary.
Today I would just like to share with you some results from my yearly laptop cleanse. Normally I do it earlier in the year, but the last time I cleaned my Acer Predator Helios 300 was 0001 BC (BC = before COVID). Photos Here’s what it looked like immediately upon opening up the laptop: Hmm, is that all? Not too horrib– Here’s the year’s worth accumulation of gunk from one of the fans:
2 minutes
December 2017
Dr. Zaber Sentry GTX 1070 Katana + Elgato 4k60 Bifurcated PC
Lots of words just to say: a really cool PC.
So, it’s relatively easy to modify the Sentry to use a PCIe bifurcation riser. I’m using an Ameri-Rack ARC1-PELY423-C5V3 which I paid $58 for all-in. I emailed Ameri-Rack ( Ameri-Rack Sales Department ), sending them this spiel: Hi, I was referred to your company by the users at Hardforum when inquiring about PCIe bifurcation risers, and came across two that I’d be very interested in purchasing. I hope you still sell directly to individuals.
2 minutes
October 2017
C-Force CF003 Portable Dock/Dongle Review
Bought with forwarders from China.
First posted on Reddit. CForce CF003 and Xiaomi Mi USB-C 45W 100-240v means it can be used anywhere in the world, 15v-3A means it delivers more than enough wattage to power the Switch through the dock I just got my Xiaomi Mi USB-C 45W charger, and it works extremely well to power the Switch Dock. It supports the 15v 2.6a USB-PD profile required by the official dock, is more portable than the official AC adapter, and is more versatile, supporting a removable USB-C cable.
1 minute
September 2017
3D-printed joycon + smartphone grip
A 3D-printed solution to the first world problem of holding your Joycon and phone at the same time
Switching I’m a pretty big fan of 3d-printing stuff for my Switch, and when I saw yesterday’s mockup of a joycon and smartphone grip combo done by /u/CubeGuy365, I immediately wanted to try my hand at it. This wasn’t a single printed model; in fact, it’s just a quick cannibalization of some existing prints I already had: Parts Nintendo Switch Con U v2 by artobot Nintendo Switch attachable grip by Brandon Mott Moto Z Style Mod (not a 3D print, just a spare shell I had lying around) As an added bonus, those joycon grips can be slid into the Switch console itself for added versatility.
1 minute
My YouTube video showcasing how to replace the Nintendo Switch Joycon locking tab.
Video I put this video together not only because I managed to fix my joycon on my own thanks to Thingiverse, but because a couple people have experienced a similar issue with the Joycon as I have so I figured if it could help them, it could potentially help others as well. Many thanks to Shapecloud.ph for providing 3D-printing services!
1 minute
August 2017
C-Force CF003 Portable Dock/Dongle Review
Bought with forwarders from China.
First posted on Reddit. Click for original size. The CF003 is a recent revision of the infamous C-Force CF001, which many of you might remember as the dock which the SFANS crowdfunding project copied. I don’t care about any of that, I only care about whether the thing works. I’m happy to say that it does, and in possibly the smallest, most portable form factor so far. I bought my CF003 from this Taobao listing.
4 minutes
July 2017
More 3D-Printed Nintendo Switch Accessories
Next up: Joycon grip and D-pad mod.
First posted on Reddit.. Click for original size. Item list: Folding stand Joycon+straps grip D-pad mod Everything works very well, but the Joycon tend to slide out of the grip pretty easily. Not sure if there’s a way for me to lock them in more securely. The d-pad mod works so much better than I expected; there’s actually a half-sphere at the center of the bottom that simulates a ball pivot.
1 minute
Printing Nintendo Switch accessories with Shapecloud.ph
First up: a folding stand.
First posted on Reddit. Click for original size. This folding stand allows for charging while playing the Switch in tabletop mode. I downloaded the .stl file from Thingiverse and had it printed by Shapecloud.ph while they were exhibiting their services at their booth during the Rappler event in SMX yesterday. It cost me ₱1000, which by itself is cheaper than the cost of just shipping from Shapeways. The print itself is very sturdy and fine.
1 minute
January 2017
Anne Pro custom lighting with sanded keycap tops
What a set of manually-sandpapered keycaps look like with per-key RGB lighting
Sanding off the top of keyboard keycaps can result in a pretty beautiful diffused RGB glow. I got the idea from Taekeyboards. One thing to note before committing to this is that the process of sanding the top coats down is very time consuming. If I knew about these at the time, I would’ve just bought them. Video Basic technique There’s not much to say about my technique; I just wrapped some sandpaper around my finger, and kind of brushed the keycap over it along the length of my finger.
2 minutes
September 2016
Thanks, JuanDip Hydroprints!
Originally posted on Reddit. Click for original size. I got this done by JuanDip Hydroprints, probably one of the best (and only) hydrodipping services here in the Philippines. It cost me PHP 1,000 and took just a little under 1 week to process (there’s multiple steps of painting including primer, dip, and clear coat, and I had to line up in their job queue). So for anyone looking to customize the look of their keyboard case on the cheap in the Philippines, I highly recommend this vendor.
1 minute
July 2016
Converted a membrane numpad to use mechanical switches
FOR SCIENCE
Originally posted on Reddit. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Click for original size. Membrane keypresses work when a conductive membrane bridges two contacts on the PCB. To make it work with mechanical switches, all you need to do in theory is replace the conductive membrane with the switch pins. In practice, it’s quite tricky to hand-solder switch pins to a PCB surface contact that wasn’t specifically designed for soldering mechanical switches onto - or anything, for that matter.
2 minutes
Also, can we make “shartisans” a thing now?
Originally posted on Reddit. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 9. Click for original size. The logical follow-up to the monstrosity r/mk loved to hate. Made for r/mtgawesome, this 100% Primo! Sculpey, hand-sculpted piece of shartisan was the result of taking a dare much too far. When working with Sculpey modelling clay, you quickly realize that this thing attracts more fingerprints than an iPad after a buffalo wing dinner.
2 minutes
If you ordered an Anne Pro, check the battery
Could’ve ended badly.
Originally posted on Reddit. With help from /u/duynguyenle, I found out why my Anne Pro won’t work wirelessly: the battery had been punctured by the switch solder joints underneath the PCB. Aside from his and my units, I haven’t seen this problem reported anywhere else. Still, it might be worth checking; this is a huge fire hazard and should be dealt with immediately Edit: I replaced the battery with one from my KC71 and now it works wirelessly.
1 minute
June 2011
Hide your kids and hide your waifu…
Lulsec is climbing your Windows and snatching your data up. Following the much-publicized Sony PlayStation Network debacle in April, hackers attacked Codemasters last week and Epic Games was breach yesterday. In a non-gaming-related incident, Citibank announced last week that the credit card information of 210,000 customers has been compromised since early May. Bethesda is the latest victim of cyber security intrusions, and from the looks of it, they won’t be the last.
2 minutes