eco_game 14h ago • 100%
You can absolutely re-encode h265 video, but you can't do it losslessly. In the end, it's always a balance between quality and filesize.
I decided for myself, that 1080p30 crf28 h265 is good enough for home video, which lead to a 50% to 80% storage space reduction on videos from my phone.
If you don't obsess over quality, I would highly recommend just messing around with ffmpeg a little bit and decide how much quality you're willing to lose in order to save disk space. When you're happy with your settings, you can either use ffmpeg itself or some fancy batch program like Tdarr to transcode all (or parts of) your video library.
My goto command is:
for file in *.mp4; do ffmpeg -i "$file" -movflags use_metadata_tags -map_metadata 0 -vcodec libx265 -crf 28 -vf scale=1920:-1 -r 30 "${file%.*}_transcoded.mp4"; done
eco_game 1mo ago • 100%
Magic Earth (while not FOSS, it's privacy oriented though) can do this.
There's also Transportr, but AFAIK it's been unmaintained for quite a while now, so it may not work / stop working soon.
eco_game 1mo ago • 100%
My personal gripe with mobile Firefox is searching by using the address bar.
I have had countless times where I put in my search prompt, followed by pressing the little X all the way on the right and thus clearing the address bar. My brain just really expects an enter button to be there.
I think my current record is entering a search term and then clearing it literally directly 3 times in a row, getting more and more confused each time.
eco_game 1mo ago • 100%
Adding to what others here have already said, I'd definitely download Signal and see if you can get any people to move from WhatsApp/Telegram/whatever to Signal.
I don't know much about iOS apps, but you could look into more privacy focused YouTube clients, and possibly 2FA clients too (although that's a bit of a controversial topic on iOS AFAIK).
I saw you mention in another comment that you use Amazon Alexa for smart home appliances. Depending on interest in selfhosting / time / motivation to move away from Amazon, you could look into using Home Assistant instead. It even has a Lemmy community: !homeassistant@lemmy.world.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
Yep my mistake, I confused ShadowSocks with Cloak.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
No clue how that guy is zooming with one finger, but zooming while recording a video on my Pixel 6 works just fine when pinching with 2 fingers.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
I've never used a Pro Pixel (so can't comment on telephoto), but I never noticed it if there is one. From just clicking around between ultrawide and 1x on my Pixel 6, it seems fine and if I had to guess I'd say it roughly takes 0.5s to switch.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
Nen Kumpel und ich haben mal direkt am Anfang um Australien gekämpft, wir sind beide mit 2 Truppen pro Person da raus gegangen...
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
Bei uns werden die knallhart eingehalten. Das ist dann so nen 'boa ja taktisch gesehen wäre das perfekt, aber ich darf dich erst in 8 Runden wieder angreifen'. So bilden sich dann ganz zügig die 2 Großmächte die alle anderen platt machen.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
Indeed, they all use UFS 3.1 (so does the 128 GB Galaxy S23 though). I have never looked at storage type and my Pixel 6 doesn't feel slow in any way.
I have no idea what you mean with the camera, it is one of the best Android cameras out there. This is also true when running Graphene OS, as long as you download the 'Pixel Camera' app from either the Google Play store or APK sites (must download as an APK bundle then!).
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
AFAIK you nailed the differences between NewPipe and NewPipeX.
As for FairEmail, I've used it for well over a year without paying and it's been great (I plan on buying the pro version soon). It has kind of a pay what you want model, technically you can unlock all features for literally 10 cents.
I'm not that knowledgeable on security for hosting services with external access either, I'm sure there are some great YouTube videos out there.
A Raspberry Pi should be perfectly fine for hosting something like Seafile or Nextcloud though (Nextcloud might be a pain in the butt to host).
DP altmode means being able to output HDMI over your phone's USB-C port, the Pixels are famous for missing that feature. But I believe from Pixel 8 onwards it was added again, if this is important for you you should do your own research on it though.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
Signal supports a single momentary position, but not live location.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
Here's what I use:
- YouTube:
- LibreTube has really nice UI/UX and integrates SponsorBlock and DeArrow. It relies on Piped for fetching subscriptions (since the newest version it will play just fine with a broken Piped server though).
- NewPipeX is what I use when LibreTube doesn't work and for downloading YouTube content. It is a fork of NewPipe which integrates SponsorBlock.
- Mail:
- I use posteo.de as a provider, but it isn't fully liked here due to it not supporting custom domains.
- mailbox.org is another solid provider (with support for custom domains AFAIK) if you don't want to use Proton for E-Mail.
- FairEmail is my mobile client of choice (Geary or Thunderbird are good for Desktop).
- k9 Mail is an equally good choice.
- Cloud Storage:
- Gallery App:
- Aves Libre is solid if you don't want to selfhost, but it doesn't have fancy features like automatically (od manually) detecting faces.
- Immich is pretty much the selfhosted Gallery app.
- Video Player:
- Just (Video) Player is what I use, but honestly the stock player should be fine.
- VLC will play pretty much anything you throw at it, but I don't like its UI that much.
- Music Player:
- Vanilla Music is alright, but nothing special. Musicolet, while not FOSS, is a privacy respecting Music Player that has a bunch of handy features, most notable one for me is the ability to have multiple queues.
- 2FA App:
- Aegis has never let me down, although you should keep in mind it doesn't have any sort of cloud sync.
For password manager and weather I use the same apps as you.
I run a Pixel with GrapheneOS. I actually also came from Samsung, and for me there are quite a few creature comforts missing that I didn't even think about (eg. Samsung Dex, DP altmode, I really like the One UI Dialer, Miracast, Brightness Slider in notifications, switching recents and back button, headphone jack, SD card slot, ...).
As for the Pixel being worth it, I'm ok with it as I was due for an upgrade anyway (Galaxy S10 -> Pixel 6). I'd recommend, if you value your privacy and are fine with losing some Samsung features, to either go all the way and upgrade to a new Pixel when your S23 gets old / dies or buy a cheap used Pixel (Pixel 6 and 7 currently has pretty decent value) to just test it out.
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
i use miracast where I can (my TV and Samsung phone support it natively), as it pretty much just works and is a decent protocol. Sadly every phone manufacturer that isn't Samsung seems to have abandoned it right now, but it is still widely supported in TVs. On Linux, there is the app gnome-network-displays (yes it also works on KDE) to cast your screen over miracast.
Miracast is an actual local streaming protocol (closely related to WiFi Direct). For content streaming the only FOSS standard I am aware of is FCast, but sofar it only is implemented in the GrayJay Android app.
Edit: There is also Deskreen for casting a PC screen.
For casting mobile to PC there is also scrcpy.
This isn't really casting, but I often find that an HDMI cable (often paired with a USB-C to HDMI dongle) is the simplest and most reliable way to display a phone screen on another monitor (as long as the phone supports DP altmode).
eco_game 2mo ago • 100%
What worked for me at my old school was using a ShadowSocks proxy. Basically what this does, is it takes all your traffic and just makes it look like random https traffic (AFAIK). ShadowSocks is just a proxy. The description fits the Cloak module, mentioned below.
I believe multiple VPNs support this, for me with PIA VPN it's in the settings under the name "Multi-Hop" (PIA only supports this on the Desktop App, not on mobile).
This technique is pretty much impossible to block, unless you ban every single VPN ShadowSocks Proxy IP. If that is the case for you (chances are practically 0), you could also selfhost ShadowSocks in combination with the Cloak module, however this method is a lot more complicated.
eco_game 2mo ago • 86%
What's the issue with PIA? I've used it for quite a while and am quite happy with it.
The choice that surprised me was them recommending 1Password ($40/year) over Bitwarden ($10/year, solid free plan).
Hey everyone, I'm looking for a driving journal app, to track _when_, _to/from where_ and which _distance_ I drive. Ideally I'd like for it to be FOSS, but if there are decent Closed Source apps I'm ok with it too (I'd just block Network Access in Graphene OS then). This post (not mine) has pretty much my ideal criteria, but sadly didn't get any answers: https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/88349/drivers-logbook-app-for-android-foss Unlike the above post, I don't want this for tax purposes etc., but rather just to understand where all my distance driven comes from. Edit: I've done some more research and haven't found anything, for now I'll just use an OnlyOffice spreadsheet. If I find the time, I might try developing an app for this at some point. Edit 2: After developing my app for a week and then showing it to a friend, he instantly found exactly what I was working on... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.liefers.driverslogpro
cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/13702771 > Beware of used Pixels with a replaced screen > > I very recently bought a used Pixel 6 with a replacement screen, not thinking too much of it. I even made sure that the screen looked good during pickup. > > One thing I missed though, was that apparently my Pixel doesn't have a fingerprint sensor anymore. > I did some research, apparently it's quite easy to break the fingerprint sensor (or some places simply just don't include a sensor in the repair?) when replacing the screen. > > Today I also noticed (through `Show refresh rate` in developer options) that my screen will only do 60 Hz as well. > > Also I have stupidly high battery drain, I'm not 100% if that's related though. > > Long story short, learn from my mistakes and either don't buy a used phone with a replacement screen or carefully test all functionalities associated with the screen, mainly high refresh rate and the fingerprint sensor.
I very recently bought a used Pixel 6 with a replacement screen, not thinking too much of it. I even made sure that the screen looked good during pickup. One thing I missed though, was that apparently my Pixel doesn't have a fingerprint sensor anymore. I did some research, apparently it's quite easy to break the fingerprint sensor (or some places simply just don't include a sensor in the repair?) when replacing the screen. Today I also noticed (through `Show refresh rate` in developer options) that my screen will only do 60 Hz as well. Also I have stupidly high battery drain, I'm not 100% if that's related though. Long story short, learn from my mistakes and either don't buy a used phone with a replacement screen or carefully test all functionalities associated with the screen, mainly high refresh rate and the fingerprint sensor.
gearvr.net
As the Oculus store is officially dead, it may be a bit harder to come by Gear VR apps and games. This website (the [gearvr.net](https://gearvr.net/) vault) aims to provide an archive of many Gear VR apps.
If you have a Galaxy S10 (or S10e / S10+) with Android 12, it won't work with Gear VR. There is a small chance that you're still able to downgrade to Android 11, but sadly it's very unlikely. To check if your device can be downgraded, find its [BIT / BINARY value](https://samfw.com/blog/what-is-bit-binary-value). From my research looking at the ROMs on [samfw.com](https://samfw.com/), it seems that your BIT has to be E or lower. In other words, if your S10 has been updated in any way since May 2022, it will have a too high BIT value to downgrade to Android 11.
Even though the Oculus Login doesn't work anymore, you can still use and "initialiize" Gear VR in 2024. **Prerequisites:** - a phone capable of Gear VR and a matching Gear VR HMD ([Compatibility Guide](https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/which-galaxy-smartphones-are-compatible-with-which-gear-vrs/)) - your phone has to running Android 11 or below - (a working internet connection) **Guide:** Start by inserting your phone into your Gear VR. It should launch first time setup and prompt you to take it out again. Go through the first time setup and let it download all the necessary Oculus services. After downloading, you should get prompted to login. From my attempts there isn't really a way to login, unless you have certain legacy accounts linked to a Meta account properly. But don't worry - there's another way. Go into your phone settings -> apps -> Gear VR Service -> Storage -> Manage Storage. Now tap "VR Service Version" multiple times, until you get a message telling you that Developer mode is now enabled. You should now see the following settings: 1. Developer mode 2. Add icon to app list 3. Allow VR API without OSIG 4. Mirroring mode If they aren't enabled already, enable the second and third settings. You should now see "Gear VR Service" in your app drawer. You can use this to launch any installed Gear VR app. Simply install APKs and the apps will show up here. To launch an app, select it in the Gear VR Service app, and you should be prompted to insert your phone into your Gear VR. As you aren't logged into Oculus, Oculus Home won't work properly. This means you will have to take your phone out of your Gear VR to switch apps.
One of my first hurdles with Gear VR was trying to cast my (Pop! OS) laptop screen to my Gear. There are some low latency solutions using a proprietary Nvidia app or Moonlight, but as the S7 in my Gear VR isn't capable of running non-VR apps in VR, that was a no go. The solution is very simple. As long as your computer and Gear VR phone are on the same network (also works if your laptop is on your phone's hotspot or vice versa), you can use the FOSS software [Deskreen](https://deskreen.com/) on your computer (Mac, Windows, Linux) to stream your screen to other network devices. After installing Deskreen, simply open the Oculus Browser on your phone (for me on my S7 it doesn't work with Samsung Internet) and navigate to the URL given to you by Deskreen. After then accepting the connection on your PC, you can fullscreen the stream on your Gear VR. Done! Now you have a reasonably low-latency stream of your computer in your Gear VR.
I recently got a [Samsung Gear VR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Gear_VR) and noticed that even though there is a moderately sized subreddit for it, it doesn't have a lemmy presence, so I decided to fix that: [Gear VR](/c/gearvr@discuss.tchncs.de) !gearvr@discuss.tchncs.de https://discuss.tchncs.de/c/gearvr The community is for anything regarding Gear VR, be it asking questions, guides for making stuff work, maybe showing off a good deal you got, ...
Hello fellow Gear VR enthusiasts, I recently found a very cheap used Gear VR (SM-R322), and as I had an S7 sitting in a drawer collecting dust, I thought I'd try it out. Even though it's been discontinued for over 3 years, the platform is still surprisingly usable. The only major drawback is that you can't login to the Oculus app anymore, which means (at least according to my current research) you need to take the phone out of the Gear VR whenever you want to switch apps. (As Oculus Home doesn't work without being logged in). During my search for stuff to do with Gear VR, I noticed that it has a decently sized subreddit, but no lemmy presence, so I decided to fix that! If you have questions about the platform, want to show off a cheap find, or anything else, feel free to post here!
I'm trying to find a way to stream my monitor to Apple TVs in my school via AirPlay. I've already done some research and it seems like there are currently no software solutions, with the closest one being [openairplay](https://github.com/openairplay/openairplay), however it seems to be pretty dead. I "need" AirPlay, as my school only uses Apple TVs, and it's quite inconvenient to always bring my HDMI cable and have to hook up to projectors that way. I'm also open to more scuffed solutions, as I won't be going to that school for much longer. Some things I have thought of so far are: 1. Using my old iPhone 6 (maybe jailbreak it, I don't think that matters here though) and something like [deskreen](https://github.com/pavlobu/deskreen) to first cast my laptop screen to the iPhone and then AirPlay from there. I'd expect this to work, but it wouldn't be much less cumbersome than just using HDMI directly, and it would also mean having to carry that iPhone and a charging cable for it with me all the time. 2. Using a Mac OS virtual machine with something like [OSX-KVM](https://github.com/kholia/OSX-KVM), then possibly buying a WiFi card with AirPlay support and passing it through to the VM in combination with a similar deskreen solution as in 1. This also seems pretty complicated, and I'm not even sure if it would work at all. Does anyone here have any experience with this, know of any better solutions (I'm also open to more scuffed solutions), or maybe even tried one of my scuffed methods already?
This isn't a question but rather a solution to a problem I couldn't find anywhere online, apologies if this is the wrong community. --- If you have a Lenovo laptop (in my case a T14 thinkpad) and your display dims after about 30 seconds, no matter what you specify in Windows settings, you might have to disable the "Zero-Touch-Lock". You can do this in the Lenovo Vantage Software (in my case called "Lenovo Commercial Vantage") in the menu "Smart Assist".