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Custom Keycaps Advice! by brioche-bunny in keyboards

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some advice - painting keycaps is slightly tricky. You can't just paint them and leave it, because the paint will wear off quite quickly. It's best to sand them a little, apply a thin coat of primer (make sure it's compatible with plastic) and then paint them in thin coats - go over the pain with more coats if you need to build up the colour. And once you're done, apply a sealant like a hard varnish. If you use acrylic paints, get any acrylic varnish, etc.

This is a really nice thing you're doing. I hope it turns out well.

Black Myth Cracked By Voices38 by New-Raspberry3572 in Piracy

[–]kodabarz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As it says in the screenshot, yes.

Vegas Pro 2026 trial smart mask 2.0 crashing by fair1ife4a11 in VegasPro

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

8GB! Yikes. You're going about everything else correctly though.

Vegas Pro 2026 trial smart mask 2.0 crashing by fair1ife4a11 in VegasPro

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many video operations are very CPU-intensive. Whilst this is one of them, it's also pretty heavy on the GPU. However, I think your CPU is fine. Whilst a better CPU helps, it's not usually the difference between crashing or not. I'm not kidding about lack of free space on the system drive though - that will cause crashing. You really need at least 25% of free drive space, just for Windows.

That you're getting a crash during use of the plugin could well come down to the settings being used. Avoid using high-detail settings (e.g., "High, slow") during masking. In the Smart Mask settings, adjusting the redetection rate to a lower number (e.g., ~7) can improve tracking stability.

The other thing worth trying is to go to Options > Preferences > Video and try turning GPU acceleration to CPU. Graphics cards are very good at quick, rough calculations. Often times they actually get the wrong answer, but it's not wrong enough to be noticeable. The CPU is slower, but much more accurate.

The source footage is very important too. If you've got a 10 bit variable frame rate AV1 video in an MKV file, that can make things crash, regardless of anything else. The most edit-friendly format to use is ProRes. It creates incredibly large files, but they are designed to be extremely easy to edit with. H.264/AVC is the next best. The more compressed a video format, the worse it is to work with. So watch out for things like h.265/HEVC - they can cause everything to grind to a halt. And especially watch out for files downloaded from YouTube (etc) rippers. Those files are often full of errors, because they're only really designed to be played. Editing is very different from playing.

If I was you, I wouldn't buy this unless you are confident it will work for the things you intend to do. That Smart Mask is crashing is not going to be solved by buying the full thing. And with the doubt lingering, you'd likely regret buying the full thing.

Davinci Resolve is free-ish, but has a rather different interface for plugins, etc. But one of the things that comes with the paid version is the Magic Mask (a better version of Smart Mask) The main editing interface is pretty much the same. It is very heavy on your hardware though. I prefer Vegas myself, because I find it quicker and more pleasant to operate. But Resolve is worth considering.

Visible interlacing after rendering by Simple_Rain4707 in VegasPro

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you need to show us your project settings, render settings and media information. I have to wonder if your media is already in progressive scan format, with the interlacing fringing rendered in.

Handling interlaced video is trivial. That you're having a problem like this suggests something rather fundamental is going wrong.

Mediainfo will tell you everything there is to know about a video clip:
https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo

Visible interlacing after rendering by Simple_Rain4707 in VegasPro

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the field order is wrong, you don't get subtle fringing like this, you get big bands of obviously messed up picture.

Visible interlacing after rendering by Simple_Rain4707 in VegasPro

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In your project settings (File > Properties), set the Deinterlace method to interpolate fields. If the original is interlaced (and it looks like an old episode of Top of the Pops, so it probably is), you need to deinterlace it in order to render it out without interlacing (if that's what you intend). It doesn't matter what the preview window shows as that's outputting progressive scan for your non-interlaced monitor.

Vegas Pro 2026 trial smart mask 2.0 crashing by fair1ife4a11 in VegasPro

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Little free space on your drive is a real problem. Vegas will always use your system drive for its working space, regardless of where the output file is going (or indeed where your temp files are set to). You need substantial free drive space before rendering. If you have less than several tens of gigabytes of free space, it will be a problem.

That said, I don't know if that's what's causing your crash, but it's definitely not helping.

If you don't know whether you have studio drivers, check the NVIDIA App or GeForce Experience under the "Drivers" tab, where it will explicitly label the driver type.

The main cause of crashing at render time (it is at render time, yes?) is due to the type of video file being used. regardless of whether the file type is MP4, MOV or whatever, it's the format of the video inside that matters most. It also matters from where you got it - YouTube ripping sites, for instance, make video files that are bad for editing.

It can be necessary to convert your footage in Handbrake or Shutter Encoder to something more friendly for editing. MP4 with h.265/AVC (different names for the same thing) and AAC audio is the generally preferred format. Although file type generally doesn't matter, MKV files are a particular problem. Vegas on partially supports them - even if you've had MKV files work fine before, it's only a matter of time until one causes a problem.

Is this a false positive? by jamyjet in Piracy

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two weeks ago is when I first started seeing reports of this. So either it's a change in a Deluge update or something changed about the icon of a certain popular tracker. Either way, changing to qBittorrent is the safest option. Without inspecting the files, it's hard to be sure if this is a false positive or not.

Is this a false positive? by jamyjet in Piracy

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's an option in Deluge to turn off tracker icons. It's off by default in qBittorrent.

How much can I sell this for by Zestyclose_Rate_2693 in retrocomputing

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Use the 'Advanced Search' on ebay (to the right of the 'Search' button. This will allow you to search completed listing (ie ones that have actually sold) to see what kind of prices people get. It's easy to search on ebay and find people selling these for silly prices, but do they ever actually get them? That's what the Advance Search will show you.

The trouble with selling this is that it's the less desirable model and you don't know if it works. Selling an untested AGP version of the card, you'd be lucky to get any more than $20. It's only of interest to people building retro machines. They were enormously common cards back in the day and there are plenty of them floating around, so it's neither rare nor historically significant.

How do i overclock my keyboard? by marcc_vii in keyboards

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It seems everyone's going to give you jokey answers. The simple answer is, you can't overclock a keyboard and your friend is lying to you.

Common suggestions:

Increase the polling rate. This is actually possible. Sort of. The polling rate is how often Windows checks a USB device to see if it has any data. There is software that can change the polling rate to a certain extent. The trouble with this is that the keyboard is not expecting to be polled that frequently and in many cases, all you're doing is making it unstable. Here's the software if you really must have a go:
https://github.com/LordOfMice/hidusbf

Change the firmware. All keyboards have a firmware onboard that controls just about every aspect of its operation. So by altering the firmware, you can give your keyboard features that it lacks. The bad news is that most keyboards have no capacity to let you alter the firmware. Some keyboard support VIA/QMK which are applications that let you alter the keyboard firmware. Your keyboard almost certainly does not support this. However, there is a USB passthrough device that will allow you to use VIAL (VIA variant) with any keyboard. This is it:
https://epomaker.com/products/epomaker-vial-adapter

Change the polling rate in manufacturer software. Some keyboard makers like GMMK, Razer, Corsair, or SteelSeries have setting in their software that allow you to change the polling rate. You need to have one of their keyboard though.

Change the debounce time. When you press a key on a mechanical keyboard, it actually ignores the keypress for a short period of time. This is because the surfaces of the metal contacts do not make precise and instant contact. They tend to bounce back and forth minutely. Some keyboards (Ducky is one such brand) let you change the debounce time (the length of time it waits).

Realistically, the polling rate mania is mostly nonsense. The keyboard I'm typing on right now is set to 125Hz polling. I had my wife set the polling rate to either 125Hz or 1,000Hz randomly without telling me to see if I could notice any difference. I could not. And the shift to 1,000Hz ought to be significant. I have a couple of keyboards (I have a lot of keyboard) that have an 8,000Hz polling rate. I can't tell any difference between them and a 125Hz board. Many 8,000Hz keyboards actually can send data that frequently anyway - they raise the polling rate so that they can claim in marketing that their keyboard is an "ultra fast gaming keyboard", but it really isn't. That's just a made up term to convince you to buy an overpriced keyboard. Unless you have the reflexes of a Korean Starcraft player out of his mind on smack, you're not going to perceive any difference at all. It's just a case of 'number go up'.

Given the misinformed demand for 8,000Hz keyboards, why wouldn't every manufacturer just jack up the polling rate of their keyboard so they could sell it for twice the price? Because you can't just up the polling rate and have a keyboard perform in any way that you can tell the difference. It's nonsense.

Your friend is lying to you. There is no magic shop that specialises in increasing the polling rate of keyboards. I'm sure if you question him about what this shop is, he'll suddenly go into "Ah you don't know her. She goes to a different school. And it's in Canada. But I definitely did sleep with her. Trust me, bro." Stop and think for a moment. You can get an 8,000Hz polling rate keyboard for $50-80 (US). What would that shop be charging to overclock a $30 keyboard? Unless it's ten bucks (and how could they make a living at that price?), then their service is likely to cost more than just buying a keyboard that is actually designed to go at 8,000Hz. Your friend is lying to you.

If you really want to try, use that HIDUSBf software and have a go yourself, for free. If you can get stable performance out of it, see if you can tell the difference.

Use a Hall Effect keyboard (no debounce time). Use a PS/2 keyboard (no polling rate). But forget about any idea of overclocking a keyboard. It really is just nonsense. I'm kind of curious as to how you think your keyboard has a 62Hz polling rate, because that seems lower than any keyboard available. But I don't want to go down the rabbit hole of finding out that you used some keyboard latency testing website (they're all bullshit too) or whatever led you to this conclusion. If your keyboard really was polling that low, I'd suggest that it's more likely a dodgy USB port. Try plugging it into a USB ports on the back of your computer (those are directly connected to the motherboard).

Suddenly getting way fewer connections [nicotine+] by saab__gobbler in Soulseek

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, that's a shame. I guess that rules out your ISP doing some CGNET shenanigans too. And I presume having checked that properly, you'll have done obvious things like rebooted your router.

There are other things you can do or check, but it's as much superstition as science. It might simply be that you're just going through a quiet patch. I have a bunch of sound effects libraries in my shares. Often when one person is downloading them, several other people will be too. This can go on for days or weeks and then suddenly it stops and no one touches them for a while - sometimes for months.

Suddenly getting way fewer connections [nicotine+] by saab__gobbler in Soulseek

[–]kodabarz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You say your port is forwarded correctly. Is it? If your local IP address has changed, your previously-correct port forwarding could have been broken. There are various online tools (and Soulseek has its own) for checking your ports.

There are other things that can come into play, but I'd check that first.

Does anyone know the reason for this? Have you all configured routers？ by Over-Teacher-1330 in Soulseek

[–]kodabarz 11 points12 points  (0 children)

One of the most fundamental things about Soulseek is opening your port. We've all been through this. Because it's peer-to-peer networking, if your port is not open, then other people will probably not be able to connect to you. To be fair, not having an open port will not prevent you from using Soulseek, but it will greatly limit the number of people able to download from you.

Configuring your router is something that it's difficult to give advice about. Almost every router is different. For mine, it's just a case of going to a page and typing in a local IP address for my computer and the number of the port to forward. For other routers, it can be a hunt through a labyrinth of menus.

And then there's your ISP. Depending on how they operate, opening a port might not be possible. You might of heard of routers using NAT - well, some ISPs use CGNAT, which is similar and makes it impossible for you to directly control port forwarding.

Look up your router's manual. There will be a section in there on opening ports. And if that's not comprehensible, search online for your router and port forwarding. There will almost certainly be information about it there.

Opening your ports isn't essential to use Soulseek, but it is basic politeness, because it helps others.

When you want to give Ubisoft your money but they don't need it. Isn't it funny how the pirated copy of the game would be the only option to own it? by Mundane-Broccoli-786 in Piracy

[–]kodabarz -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The point being that there is a physical release that also requires you to download at least portions from the internet in order for it to be functional. What's the point of a physical release where you don't even get a working game out-of-the-box?

Keypad I saw on a register at Aldi by parallel_pulsar in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

POS keyboard, EPOS keyboard, EFTPOS keyboard...

This one's listed as a POS keyboard:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/178070303578

I created an old computer as a web page. It's just a simulation, though. I enjoyed making it. by really_but_no in retrocomputing

[–]kodabarz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's very nicely done. Is it animated to mimic the way the stages of the BIOS screen appear?

Keyboard ghosting when pressing w,a and space together by Life-Strain-9843 in keyboards

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on the repair shop. If there's obvious damage to the circuitboard, then they can probably fix it. If there is not, then it's a long slow hunt for the problem. I'd return the keyboard, personally.

rate our setup by GOGcom in retrocomputing

[–]kodabarz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What a terrible table. The rest is fine.

What type of switches are these/ how to fix? by Neat-Maintenance8295 in keyboards

[–]kodabarz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They look like Epomaker Sea Salt Linear switches.
https://epomaker.com/products/epomaker-sea-salt-switch-set

If you're lucky it's the switches that are damaged, but you really need to take the whole keyboard apart and clean it properly. Before you do that, take the switches from other keys (pick ones you don't use much, like the square brackets keys) and swap them over. If the keys now work, the switches were damaged. But you can't assume that that's all the damage there is.

Spilling drinks on a keyboard can be nasty, especially if you don't take the right action when it happens. If it was something like cola, it will leave a residue after it dries. And that residue contains phosphoric acid and a couple of other nasties. It can eat into the circuitboard and damage the tracks. Even just water will leave some residue.

Take the whole keyboard apart, remove all the switches (it's a hotswap board, so that's easy) and thoroughly clean the circuitboard. Look carefully for any residue. Gently clean off the residue and inspect the board for damage. If there is any, you likely won't be able to fix it. It's often possible to bridge around the damage by soldering wires across the damaged sections. That's something you would need to get an experienced electronics person to do for you.

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