Database Develop

[Tip] Make Your Android Device Icons Look More 3D

One of the things that allow human beings to perceive things in three dimensions (3D) is the depth of field. When you focus on something that is close, the objects in the background become out of focus. This lets our mind know which object is close and which is farther away, and hence capture the right dimensions for the object. It is not possible that out mind focuses both near and far objects at the same time.
With this tip, we will guide you how to make the icons on your Android phone appear more 3D by moving the background wallpaper to a more unfocused and blurred state, with the result that icons appear to float above the wallpaper.
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The tools needed for this process are very basic: the desired wallpaper, and Adobe Photoshop Express for your Android device (we will use Photoshop Express in this guide as it is available free on Android Market, but you can use any image editor of your liking).
To begin, launch Photoshop Express and open your desired wallpaper in it. (You’ll need to uncheck ‘Show camera photos only in Phone view’ to be able to see all photos)
Next, you need to soften the image’s focus. Go to Menu > Edit Photo and select the third icon from top bar. You can soften the image by just sliding your finger across screen. The maximum it goes is till 20, which we find to be working best. However, you can set it to any value of your liking, Once you have attained the desired softness, save the image. (It will not overwrite the original but instead save as a new file)
That’s it. Set this new image as your wallpaper, and the icons will appear more 3D due to the difference in focus. The screenshot above does not do justice to it, but we tried it on Samsung Galaxy S, and the brilliant SuperAMOLED display works wonders with this technique. Give it a try on your own device and let us know how it worked for you.
Credits goes to Aatif Khan

Uh, this only works when you use the Tilt-Shift effect. Blurring the background only makes it look like you have a blurry background. What you did does not give the 3d effect sorry.

vertical display

Is there a way to force the chromecast to display what is on the screen as rotated. I have a tv that is turned vertically and I want my vertical devices display to take up the whole screen.

If you stretched the image everyone would look like aliens...what I'm saying is it would massively distort the image.

Well thats good to know?!? So bavk to the question at hand... can the mirroring be forced to be displayed in a rotated state? Heres an example of my tvs orientation...
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n1gh7mar3 said:
Well thats good to know?!? So bavk to the question at hand... can the mirroring be forced to be displayed in a rotated state? Heres an example of my tvs orientation...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No because the TV would have to do the rotating....
No matter how you turn the TV the TV still considers the TOP to be the TOP!
CCast has no ability to change that or re rotate its output on it's own....
The only way I can think of to do what you propose would be the use of an expensive device that can take any input and rotate it before it gets into the TV.
And those would cost in the thousands.

Do you have an example or a link to such a device?

n1gh7mar3 said:
Do you have an example or a link to such a device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.flexiblepicturesystems.com/images/FPS_OS-200_datasheet.pdf

I work in digital signage and we have 1,000s of screens which work like this. And software and hardware which deals with it. Its all commercial grade though, which the Chromecast isn't.
I'm sure technically the CC *could* do it, but I don't think google would spend time enabling it to be honest. So without rewriting a large chunk of the firmware, then no you can't.

generationgav said:
I work in digital signage and we have 1,000s of screens which work like this. And software and hardware which deals with it. Its all commercial grade though, which the Chromecast isn't.
I'm sure technically the CC *could* do it, but I don't think google would spend time enabling it to be honest. So without rewriting a large chunk of the firmware, then no you can't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could perhaps code a custom app and CCast Receiver that could allow you to rotate video to the proper orientation.
The Difficulty would be in how you would go about doing that...
Two Methods I can think of are:
1 - rotate the video during transcode before sending it to the receiver app. (key issue will be power of a mobile unit to Transcode the Video)
2 - Create a receiver app that can rotate it's input on the fly. (probably difficult to pull off due to sandbox and memory limitations of the CCast)
The device I linked to above might very well work with a CCast since it has an HDMI input. But you may have to trick the device into multi Monitor upscaling mode to get the right effect.
I don't have any experience with the quicks or cheats on that device so be sure to give it a test run to ensure it meets your needs before you buy!

[HOWTO] Accessing (entire) Jaunt VR Library with Oculus 360 Videos [ROOT

Okay so this topic was started when Jaunt began to frameskip furiously on my Exynos device making the McCartney video useless to watch. I figured it's just a video so it should play normally in a normal player. Here is my progress so far - keep in mind that the process requires rooting and some technical knowledge. Anyways:
1.) All Jaunt VR content is saved in /data/data/ which means you need to root your device to access the video files. It also means that you're not just stuck with one video, but can access their entire library that's available for Cardboard users, but not us. You can access Elle, R5, Black Mass, Hobbit, a Jack White concert, Kaiju Fury and The Mission.
Basically what you do is run the cardboard app, wait for the video to download, then extract the mp4 file from /data/data/
2.) Jaunt VR content is slightly different from other VR videos - they pack their Zenith and Nadir to the right of the 360 video, meaning the normal player sticks them inside the space making it very wonky. Example:
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This means that the first step needed to be done is to remove zenith and nadir from the video file. In this example I'm using Handbrake, which is free.
3.) The resolution is 2560*1440 pixels with TB SBS 3D. Out of this resolution 360 pixels is zenith&nadir so this can be cropped out. If you want to separate the 3D feed this is also the place to do so.
4.) Since zenith and nadir are missing the video is too tall so additional scaling is needed. About 80% height seems right to me. However since the video is TB SBS there is no simple way to add padding to normalize size. Here is my process so far...
- split left and right eye in previous step
- open new photoshop/premiere/after effects project with same settings (2200*1440 @ 59.94 fps)
- put top on top half, bottom on bottom half
- scale each to 80% height around the center point of the layer
- export and go bake a cake since it will take a while
- enjoy some jaunt VR content inside a normal player
I'm sure someone can find an easier way to add padding to a TB SBS video, but that process logic works for me.

Concept: Android system with multiple inputs and outputs

I'm well behind the curve on Android in the car and I'm not sure this is even the right place for it but I have a concept for a system and I'm not sure whether the current state of the art permits it. But here goes anyway.
The car is exotic and rare: a Renault Avantime. Here's the cockpit:
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You'll note that it's a work of art (may not be to your taste but it's one of those rare beasts; a concept show car that actually went into production). So I don't want to mess with it too much. You'll also note that there's a bump with a Satnav screen (factory system: old VDO/Dayton thing) on top of the dash. There's also a large flap cover forward of the gearshift; that covers a double-DIN hole which was used for the factory CD and satnav controls panel. The factory radio is a headless unit under the seat which runs a dashboard display and steering wheel controls - with a remote for more complex functions.
What I want to install is an Android system with multiple inputs and outputs. The primary display would take the place of the flap forward of the gearshift. The brains of the thing may or may not be integrated into that display.
Inputs would consist of:
- a cabin webcam used for Skype etc.
- a backup camera (no factory fit)
- a forward-looking thermal camera for night vision
The primary touchscreen display would be in front of the gearshift as described. The existing Satnav display would be adapted for a secondary screen (probably not a touchscreen; just a display): normally it would show Google Maps - or some other app for nav data. But it would be selectable via software to display the backup camera view, the thermal camera view, or the Skype display when in a Skype video call.
Obviously the unit would need to be capable of controlling and driving an external AM/FM receiver/amp for that side of the entertainment functionality.
Is any Android system capable of handling these multiple inputs and outputs? The ability to display specific apps on the secondary display is kinda crucial to what I want to do here; are there any general solutions to getting multiple video streams into and out of an Android device? Or would I be better considering a bespoke car PC based on Linux or something? Any suggestions gratefully received.

e-Cigarette Mod with a touch screen and music capabilities - firmware upgradeable

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Hey there guys, I'm writing in the off topic section about this e-cigarette I've just got, it's called Joyetech Ocular C and it comes with a color touch screen , music player and photo viewer capabilities , bluetooth conectivity, a pedometer to count your steps and from what I understand, it has around 2Gb of memory , it is firmware upgradeable and I'm wondering if there is more that can be done to it in therms of functionality.
It's true that vapers, the people who smoke e-cigarettes as their called, dont really need any of this functionality in their devices since they mainly use them purely for smoking, it's nice however to have something a little extra to go with it.
I've looked online for custom firmwares or methods to customise your firmware for these type of devices, but i've only found info on old devices that come with small monochrome screens and the most you can do is upload logos on to the device.
My interests are on how you can access the root of the system built into these devices since it must have a processor and a file sistem inside, how to edit some of these files , per example, you have the option to upload around 100 pictures and some songs ( the memory on it is 2GB ) but there's no way of deleting them once uploaded, in case your storage gets full.
Also it would be nice if users could implement or extent more functionality in the device, par example it only suports .jpeg files in the photo viewer , .png &/or .gif to use as a screen saver would be nice, more so even video playback capability .
And before I get laffed at for asking so much out of an electronic cigarette, I think that since it does come from the factory with all these functionalities and hardware, it's a shame they dont use it to it's fullest.
So is there anyone having any clues on how to "get inside" these devices and tuning them up ?
I've included the latest firmware I could find for the device as well as the program they offer for you to upload it onto the device. If anybody could crack it opn and take a look inside and see at least what's in there, that would be a start.