Video Blog

Taking a step back – PI Vs. Thin Client.

July 20, 2024April 9, 2023 by S-Config

We've blogged about single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi in the past. We got our power issues resolved. And in general, we loved them!

Originally these single-board machines were designed to teach children how computers worked by giving them access direct to processors via GPIO. Something that allowed perfect timing and was easy enough for children to program was also something the industrial world wanted as well. Eventually, the "PI" became the Swiss army knife of computing. From RL applications to running them as a low-power server. These were great.

But as time marches on along with world events. Something has me reconsidering my decision as the "PI" being the end-all solution to everything.

Read on to continue this diatribe.

Intel Arc A380 – Does it encode?!?

October 30, 2024March 8, 2023 by S-Config

Yes, the Intel Arc A380 encodes video! Wow! Easy Peasy!

Phew! That was an easy article! Pack it up boys, girls and synths! It's time to move on to the next article! :D - S

Okay, obviously that would be a cop-out and a sad excuse to get clicks. But unlike shitty AI bloggers. We have video to back up our proof!

As Covid, chip shortage, cryptocurrency, and video card prices got crazy stupid in 2022. We witnessed businesses spend $450 on a Geforce 1050ti (normally $125 at the time) because they needed SOMETHING to work with Adobe products. Getting a 30xx series Nvidia card was just about $2,000 which given it was supposed to come at an initial price point of $600 the world of 3-D graphics cards was undoubtedly a stupid time! Now, these companies claim that they learned from their mistakes and will start building chip companies in different countries around the world instead of coming from a single location which sounds great and all. But that unfortunately will not be tested until we get another incident that shits out the entire world economy or shipping industry.

But then, out from the shadows of onboard laptop graphics chipsets. Intel announced the "ARC" series. An affordable graphics card that is good for gaming and applications. This article is going to focus a lot more on the video editing side of the ARC as it seems to shine better than the gaming side of things.

Would you like to know more? Read on!

Original Xbox DVD Remote to – EVERYTHING.

September 27, 2024June 13, 2021 by S-Config

Yes, in 2021, we're staying topical as fuck with the Original Xbox DVD remote.

A long time ago, we received a commenter asking if I could provide instructions for the DVD remote control that was optional with the Xbox Original. RedCloud DID actually have drivers for this as well as the XBCD driver that we published in the past for getting our Xbox Duke controllers running in Windows 10. I, however, did NOT want to use the RedCloud drivers. In part, because they are actually OLDER than XBCD and harder to get working in a Windows 10 environment. Instead of fighting with Windows security. Fighting with aging drivers. It was easier to just make a new receiver with an Arduino.

Read on if you want to know more.

Video web crawlers and the Google Monopoly over them.

December 18, 2023January 24, 2021 by S-Config

Happy 2021 - Web crawling only gives you YouTube first, last, and always.

Back in 2016, we made an article about asking YouTube "Where is the fair use?" which was a slogan that the Nostalgia Critic was behind as parodies and criticism of film and literature is a form of free speech. Despite all of the Drama-Lama action that his agent "Channel Awesome" happened which is beyond the scope of this article. The statement was a valid question to ask YouTube. To the point where we even got hit with a copyright strike over the song "William Tell" which is a classical music song that falls under the category of public domain.

Read on if you want to know more.

Windows 10 build 2004 vs. The China Xbox 360 receiver.

December 18, 2023June 6, 2020 by S-Config

Windows 10 build 2004 vs. china xbox receiver.

Or should it be "Windows 10 vs. the world?!?" build 2004 edition?

Back in April 2014, we published a little blog about this cheap Chinese receiver and how we managed to get it back online. Now, back then we were completely aware there were videos on YouTube, Forums, and other sources so such an article was nothing new even back then. As end-user, we found ourselves downloading from garbage share sites that only lead to either misleading links or infected files. It was at this time we used our blogging capabilities and power to make an official tutorial along with all software sources in one place. 190k downloads later, Yeah, we call it a success.

Fast forward to May of 2020, suddenly we were getting rained upon by users who were a part of the Microsoft partner program saying that the build 2004 version of Windows 10 disables their China Receiver. Common sense would be to direct those energies towards Microsoft and maybe they would fix the issue.

It appears that's simply not the case. Read on if you wish to listen to my diatribe of corporate hate.

Drifting analogs – The return of the shield controller.

July 20, 2024May 29, 2020 by S-Config

It has landed back on my bench once again.

It pains me whenever something we fixed lands back on our bench once again. Perhaps we should've seen the warning signs the first time around. Perhaps we did not test this controller thoroughly enough. Regardless of the error in our ways, the Nvidia controller is back on my bench and this time around it's finally un-fucked while learning some things around the way.

Care to listen to my multi-thousand-word diatribe? Buckle up and keep on reading!

Nvidia Sheild TV – Controller teardown.

September 28, 2024November 28, 2019 by S-Config

One of these controllers is now on my bench.

It was bound to happen!

Considering that we have three of these Nvidia Shield TV systems that were given friends it's a no-brainer that a few of these controllers were to end up on my repair bench. This time around dealing with a very common issue. Sticky buttons. Maybe it's just coffee?!?? Maybe too much PornHub! You never know as a repair tech! We should probably wear gloves for this one!

As always everything on s-config.com is on an AS-IS basis and is designed for educational purposes. Read our FAQ for more details.. We are not responsible for any damages that occur if you carry out such a repair on your hardware.

Would you like to know more? Continue to read onward!

YouTube – FTC – Think of the Children – Censorship – Round 3!

October 16, 2024November 24, 2019 by S-Config

Aww geez! Not another YouTube rant!

It's a time that as a blogger we address the proverbial elephant in the room. The last few things YouTube has done I've remained quiet about. Mostly in the respect that I've already said my piece about them and have suggested to people to try other outlets. From their de-monetization policy, a word that if you uttered 10 years ago people would scratch their heads and ask you "What the hell are you talking about?" To "Adpocalypse" and "AI mass deletion" to now with this whole "COPPA/FTA" ordeal. I feel it's time to address these issues in an environment that YouTube nor Google cannot control.

This very blog. I should throw a small disclaimer that these are the opinions of S-Config.com. In such, you should do your investigative research to form your own opinions on the subject matter. Don't be a lemming!

Read on if you want to know more!

Linux, ADB, Raspberry Pi, Ouya? Lineage? Really?

August 2, 2024August 30, 2019 by S-Config

Linux ADB into your Ouya via the Raspberry Pi? With SSH even?!?! It's more likely than you think!

Razer finally pulled the plug on Ouya's servers on June 25 of 2019. June 25, 2013, marks the birth date of the Ouya's initial release (not bad for a console that was only designed to last for a few years). Users and preservationists have been scattering the net to find a way to keep these silver boxes running into 2019 and beyond. Of course, a lot of them have found our original Cyanogen blog entry. This article is helping people to this very day in getting rid of the Stock Ouya firmware and loading it with something that no longer requires Ouyas Authentication servers. For all of those who have come to our blog for help. Allow us to thank you for visiting this independent blog and hope that you found the answers you were looking for.

But as time progresses so does the way we think, and the way we hack our Android boxes.

Read on if you want to know more.

ArdunioDECK – a DIY OBS streaming solution on the cheap.

June 11, 2024June 23, 2019 by S-Config

OMG ArduinoDECK!

Marketing is an interesting thing; We could say that we've developed a new open-source product called "ArduinoDECK" which is a cheaper solution to the Elgato StreamDeck. Or! Better idea! We could just be honest and tell you that this is a basic boy Ardunio Pro-Micro / Leonardo / Due with a keyboard digital input program that we can learn early on in our micro-controller programming hobby.

Yeah, let us go with the second explanation.

We should throw a disclaimer because we love you. This is our first time playing with the world of Arduino. So if our code sucks or if our terminology is wrong. Drop a comment below. We'll appreciate you telling us and will correct it as best as we can. Read on if you want to know more.