Hello friends!
I’ve been working on some new things, and now I’m going to share with you an update:
stream
I’m making some more changes to the stream! The Fatty Bear stream was a ton of fun and I loved getting to play with my new hardware, but there were some pretty clear setbacks that needed to be addressed before I got to our next series: Sonic Adventure 2.
Most important of all is the visual fidelity of the stream. While I do love how my entire stream looks like it’s coming through a VCR, it also looked a little… bad. I’m not streaming in HD, sure, but for some reason the footage I was getting looked extremely low resolution, and as hard as I tried I was unable to accurately balance the colors. It turned out to be 2 separate problems, both of which I’m happy to report that I’ve solved.
Firstly I retired the upscaler that was converting my footage from S-Video to HDMI. It’s been a really trusty converter for me, but I had a hunch that it was part of why the video looked so bad. Sure enough I got a couple new upscalers and I found one that looks much much better, from a brand that I’ve had success with before called StarTech. I’m sure it’s not as good as a Framemesiter, but it also wasn’t nearly as expensive, and the colors are way better than my older converter.
The other important change that improved the quality of my video was removing my Time Base Corrector from the equation. I was basically running all of my footage through a little box that’s supposed to make the video signal really strong and consistent, but what I didn’t realize was that the video it outputs looks like straight-up doo doo. I’ve captured a lot of VHSes this way throughout the years, so I bet a lot of Mystery Tapes episodes could have been a lot cleaner captures… Anyway, the video looks WAY better. Still looks like it’s coming through the VCR, but you can actually read the text on screen and the colors look solid. So I’m really pumped about that.
Unfortunately it took me a while to solve that problem, and I’ve eaten up the 3 days I was going to stream SA2 on. I think it was worth the sacrifice, though, because the streams are going to look 100% better than they would have otherwise.
I’m also working on the theming a bit! I stripped away a lot of the old theming for the last stream and now I’m working on the new shit. Initially I thought I was going to completely get rid of the snack bar as well as donation alerts, but I’ve since changed my tune. I want to keep some of the Drive-In essence alive in this new era, and I also want to keep the old Secret Menu alerts alive for people that happen to come across them while watching VODs. And, honestly, as much as the silence was nice during the Fatty stream, I really felt left in the dark in regards to donations and subscribers. So the drive-in isn’t coming back exactly, but I am keeping some of it alive and repurposing it a bit.
I am bringing back the popcorn kernel badges, though. That might be the most clever idea I’ve ever had, and I’ve accepted that I’ll never come up with a better badge idea. Buttercup Popcorn lives on.
So I’m almost ready for SA2! I need to finish up a few more assets for it, but other than that I really think I’ve solved all the problems from my Fatty Bear stream. I don’t think I’ll be dropping out and having that weird mic issue any more either, I think I’ve got that taken care of. The only question is when the streams will be, and I don’t have an answer to that because of the next topic…
brutalfoods
There will be a new brutalfoods this month! I have a brand deal for really rad new brand, and I’ve got a food video idea that I think is really stupid and funny and I am very excited for it. The chip video was a little cut-and-dry, but this one… won’t be. It is going to be a bit of a time crunch though, because I’m waiting for a prop to come in before I can film, but I’m hoping that it’ll all come together to be really silly, funny, and slightly informative. The true brutalfoods way.
So I’m shifting my focus to brutalfoods right now, but the stream is right there behind it in my brain. I am very stoked for some SA2.
I’ve also been doing some other miscellaneous stuff! Still working on game dev ideas, and I’m also taking some time to get outside and enjoy this nice weather a bit more. It’s been good! I’ve actually got an idea for an outdoors-y video for moose2 that I want to film once I get over the brand deal hump.
Also I finished all of Ozark on Netflix and I have not stopped thinking/talking about it. Very excited for the final season.
How are you guys doing? Watch anything good?
In the first episode of Mystery Tapes you introduced a giant case of VHS Tapes featured three of them in the first two episodes and then immediately moved on to a new case, were like all the rest of the tapes boring Westerns?
Yeah, I don’t remember what they were exactly but it was something like that. Most likely it was taped movies without any commercials, that’s what makes up the majority of the tapes that I come across. Unfortunately it’s not uncommon to buy a huge case of tapes and find only one or two worth talking about.
OK I just wanted to know why you didn’t continue using tapes from that case
So excited for the new projects, Ian. I just watched your latest stream on VOD recently – congrats on making it to thirty! You seem so happy and like you’re living your best life atm. Looking forward to seeing what you do next 🙂
What I’m waiting for is BrutalFoods: Tuna Noodle
After the Sonic Adventure 2 streams will you do a stream on the Busytown games and that Wheel of Fortune game? Also are you going to do another thrifting video?
Hey Ian! Very excited for the SA2 streams. I watched Invincible on Amazon Prime recently. It’s an animated super hero show that has no affiliation with Marvel/DC, which is a very nice change of pace. Story was pretty good, but boy howdy is it violent. I also played the Wii version of Fortune Street with some friends, and that has been a blast too. The gameplay of monopoly but with stocks/investing/promotions is really neat. Other than that, just plugging away at my Unity project, which feels eons away from ever being done. Hope all is well with you and I… Read more »
Glad you were able to fix all the bumps from the last stream. The popcorn badges were great, so glad they’re coming back. I’m excited for the new brutalfoods video and SA2 stream. All good things to look forward to 🙂 I’ve been busy myself. I’m juggling learning how to draw clothes, drawing cats for a potential printing idea and I just got the newest iPad Pro and learning how to use Procreate better. Lots of fun stuff! Sadly I haven’t been watching anything of merit lately. I have been binging A LOT of movie reactions on YouTube. They’re like… Read more »
Hyped to catch the next Brutalfood and stream series~
I’d popped in for a hot second last stream but had some technical difficulties with twitch, so I caught the VOD instead. I’d completely forgotten I’d sent Popstar XD Thought I’d either kept it or forgot to send it all together, so I’m glad it got to you safe and sound lol
Dude, Waffles, your copy of Popstar was essential to the symmetry of my set. Very much appreciated!
I hope Twitch is nicer to us both next stream! It might have been my fault that you were having problems, honestly, I was having a lot of issues on my end haha
Lol could have been a little of column A and a bit of column B. I know twitch mobile is finicky as hell sometimes. I’ve only recently been able to use my laptop instead of my phone to watch streams and it’s taking some time for me to remember I don’t have to watch it on a tiny, little cracked screen anymore, let alone deal with twitch mobile XD
Sounds like you got the stream setup figured out but MyLifeInGaming have excellent videos/guides and often happy to help fellow YouTubers. They are awesome!
I saved the Popstar review for a special night and it delievered. One of your best reviews. I laughed so hard throughout. As a fan, it can be a long wait for new videos but it seems you always put a lot of effort and heart into it.
I loved those chill streams last year where you’d organize your DVD or game collection. Something like that again would be nice.
So nice to have these updates. I’ve been excited for the next stream so I’ve been checking this site obsessively recently. I’m also glad we’ll be getting the drive-in theming back. I really admire the cohesive look your streams have and I’d hate to see it all gone. I also want to still be able to send Goro your way…
Please give us some notice ahead of time before your SA2 stream! I don’t know about other folks, but Twitch’s stream alerts NEVER work for me, so I’d hate to miss it.
I don’t like change so I thought I would hate the shake up on the stream theming, but I’m actually pretty excited to see what you’re coming up with!
also I just finished season 2 of I Think You Should Leave – very excellent even though I have trouble putting my finger on why some of the jokes are so funny haha
My fiancé and I went to a huge arcade earlier today and we were both super excited to see the SpongeBob and Wizard of Oz coin pushers bc we love your arcade videos! I played the Oz one for a bit, honestly I’d love to go back and just camp on it for a while and dissociate into the coins lol
Really looking forward to SA2; I watched the SA1 VODs while recovering from getting my wisdom teeth out a few months ago, so I’m all caught up for 2 🙂
I haven’t really watched any new shows lately, but I did watch this obscure so bad it’s good movie from 1989 called “Rosalie Goes Shopping” about a lady who steals credit cards and goes into wild debt because she’s addicted to shopping. It’s one of the most bizarre/absurd things I’ve ever seen. I actually haven’t even finished it yet, but it’s already an instant classic. Definitely recommend.
Any update on the big video? Been dying to see what’s been teased for sooo long. You’re my wife and It’s favorite content creator! It’s always a treat to see your uploads!
Excited to see new streams! Loving the news videos so far.
Glad to hear everything is going well! I never manage to catch your streams but I do try and watch VODS that appear on Moose2.
Surprised to not see a little mention of “the big video” in this update! I just got watching your cosmic apples video again and you mentioned filming downtown Seattle for an “upcoming video.” Is this the same as the “big” video?! HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON IT THIS LONG?!
Anyways, love the update, loved the video that you released! keep up the solid work moosy.