By Ian Hollidae, 2025/12/03

I've been trying to put the recent Netflix decision to drop support for casting videos from users phones to connected TV's (CTVs) into perspective. After doing some searching, there seems to be conflicting data regarding how people watch television. Some reports claim that smartphone and tablets are the primary method for streaming content. YouTube itself says that more people than ever watch their service on CTVs. Several of Google's AI summaries says there is no official data regarding how many people cast to TV's. Right.

I'm guessing Netflix has enough coverage through pre-installed TV apps that supporting phone casting no longer makes sense. That might open the door to charging for the casting feature down the line. You have to wonder what kind of push back that might generate. But seeing how this news has only caused a moderate response, it may not be too big a deal.

For now, this is clearly a Netflix thing. If other streamers follow, we could certainly call it the latest change in the market.

Tags: Streaming

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/11/26

It appears that HP and Dell are disabling playback of videos that use the HEVC format on certain PC models because the licensing fee is set to increase in 2026. This obviously brings up a number of questions such as will other venders follow suit, how many end users will ultimately be affected, and how big of a problem will this turn out to be.

From my own perspective, I wonder if this could be the beginning of the end for proprietary formats given the rising importance of video in so many areas such as entertainment and communications. I have to imagine that every major streaming and video chat service, and anyone looking to start a new service, will be looking to cut delivery cost any way they can. And as for the end users, who care nothing about licensing agreements, how many times will they put up with disruptions to vital features.

Regardless of how this all plays out, royalty free formats such as AV1 seem like they have an increasingly bright future.

Tags: Streaming

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/11/19

This is the concrete pavement of a large covered sitting area at a nearby park. There were plenty of colored sections to choose from (green, blue, etc) but the red sections stood out. I can certainly see this texture being used for floors, walls, and maybe, vases.

Interestingly, after I shot this, I learned that the colored fragments were glass. I had always assumed they were rock. If that's true, I guess it's one of the many things you discover while researching your subject.

Select a thumbnail to see a preview.

Download the Sprinked Colors texture set under Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Tags: Textures

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/11/17

Wall Street is starting to get nervous about AI spending. Services such as Sora are raising prices and scaling back features on their free tier. I think it's safe to question whether this is a make or break moment for AI.

My particularly interest in all this is the generative media sector. I'm reminded of the old saying that if you want to make millions in Hollywood, start with billions. That used to be an exaggerated (somewhat) joke. It appears that SoftBank believes it's a possible path forward.

You have to wonder how many generative videos need to be created for everyone to recoup their money. I'm guessing not enough.

Tags: AI

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/11/09

Fresh off losing their lawsuit against Stability AI, Getting Images is finding more success on a different path. This time around, the company decided to partner with Perplexity to provide legal access to their image library. A quote from their published press release:

"We are pleased to reach this agreement with Perplexity, which acknowledges the importance of properly attributed content and its value in enhancing AI-powered products...Partnerships such as this support AI platforms to increase the quality and accuracy of information delivered to consumers, ultimately building a more engaging and reliable experience. This agreement paves the way for a productive and collaborative partnership between our companies, where we will work together to improve attribution of our contributors' work and Getty Images' high-quality creative and editorial content will enhance Perplexity's platform." -- Nick Unsworth, VP Strategic Development, Getty Images

Despite the usual corporate-speak, you still have to wonder about how AI and copyright can co-exist long term. Will this arrangement be the norm? How does the partnership evolve when the AI-side of things is far from mature?

I get that everyone, especially content providers such as Getty, want a certain level of stability going forward but this move seems rather low effort. Maybe that's good enough for now.

Tags: AI, Photography

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/10/31

I've been running across a lot of articles related to RSS lately. It makes me wonder about which way the tides of blogging are shifting. Is a return to organic posting really under way? I get the feeling a lot of the noise resides in the more tech-oriented communities.

Personally, I'd like to see a larger segment of the web get back to independent blogging, but as some have pointed out, the issue of discovery, outside the social media format, still hasn't been solved. Simply putting an RSS feed on your site has never been the answer. Feed aggregators were a step forward, but clearly, they couldn't keep up with web indexing. I don't blame people for sticking with social media. A ready made gathering place is hard to ignore. I think if there is a solution, it'll have to be something no one has thought about.

For now, here's some of what I've come across:

• A deep dive into the rss feed reader landscape (Lighthouse)
• Have we passed peak social media? (Financial Times)
• In Praise of RSS and Controlled Feeds of Information (Tom Burkert)

Tags: blogging

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/10/16

One goal of my photography project is to take pictures of mundane or average things and try to make them look good, or at least, presentable. I would say a common street sign is as mundane or average as it gets.

I was hoping to focus on some of the weathered patterns along the wall but finding a good one proved challenging. Focusing on the sign instead and letting the wall add contrast seems to have been a better move. As a bonus, I got some reflected sunlight from one of the top floor windows behind me to go along with the ambient light of the alleyway.

Photo Only

This post is a continuation of the Beginners Photography Project.

Tags: Feature Photos

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/10/07

This is one of the better responses to the latest over-the-top, sensational story about AI generated something I've seen to date:

AI actors are a long con... a grift... another bull**** tech fantasy Silicon Valley is using to drum up another round of sweet, sweet V.C. cash. It's just another iteration of the same insanity which convinced Hollywood to toss out the theatrical film and ad-supported network TV models in favor of streaming-based subscription fees... a decision which almost everyone in the industry now regrets.

-- George MF Washington, regarding the Tilly Norwood buzz

Personally, I see Tilly as nothing more than a logical next step: a fancy, non-cartoonish animation.

As for the larger implications for Hollywood, maybe this is the twenty-first century equivalent of talkies replacing the silent film. Or maybe we're now getting the first full view of a completely democratized media landscape. Regardless of what has been tossed aside, or where things are going, profit motives will always decide everything. Unfortunately, no one knows where the money trail is right now.

Tags: AI

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/10/01

So OpenAI has decided that mixing social media and AI (generative video) is somehow a good thing. Yesterday's announcement highlights all the things you can possibly do with their new Sora 2 model and iOS app:

* From words to worlds: Start with a prompt or upload an image to create videos with unprecedented realism in any style: cinematic, animated, photorealistic, or surreal.

* Cast yourself and your friends: Create together. With cameos, you and your friends can be characters in your videos. You control how or when your cameo is used.

* Remix everything: Take someone else's creation and put your spin on it. Swap characters, change the vibe, add new scenes, or extend the story.

* Cue the sound: Music, sound effects, and dialogue are automatically included in videos to make every scene complete.

The most obvious question is how is this better than shooting a real video and utilizing all the same features The next most obvious question is does anyone really need this. The third most obvious question is will this be the "killer app" for generative media (or at least enough of a success for VC's to recoup their investments).

I'm sure people will come up with all sorts of responses. I'm guessing a lot of them will not be overly favorable to OpenAI. This all still feels like scrounging around for questions that no one has asked to fit answers only AI companies are shouting about from rooftops.

Tags: AI, Social Media

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/09/23

This is a flat concrete wall captured in low light. There are plenty of interesting patterns and imperfections scattered throughout the original shot. One subtle detail I left in the crop is there seems to be a slight brushed area near the center of the image. Not sure if that was intentional or if the builders even cared. I’m thinking this texture will be used as a standard wall or a floor for future 3D presentations. I don’t see a wider use but you never know.

Select a thumbnail to see a preview.

Download the A Splash Of Concrete texture set under Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Tags: Texture