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by Twisell 944 days ago
So you end up learning even less from that process than by using a CLI.

As long as you have this behavior for non-critical code it's just a little sad because you are delegating something you could easily have learnt. For hype sake I guess.

But if you do use this technique in a work related context you are just going to produce average code that you won't be able to debug when something break...
3 comments
sgarland 944 days ago
Not defending intellectual incuriosity here, but in fairness ffmpeg is the antithesis of "easy to learn." I capture Laserdiscs (i.e. sampling the laser's RF output and decoding in software [0]) for fun, and use ffmpeg as part of that chain – I still barely scratch the surface of what it can do.

[0]: https://github.com/happycube/ld-decode

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k12sosse 944 days ago
do you use a domesday duplicator? seems like fascinating stuff, hilarious (and impressive [0]) to see it used with VHS via VHS decode [1] .

[0] https://youtu.be/ZMI5ma6IqZw?t=25

[1] https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode

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sgarland 942 days ago
No, I’m using an ADC modified for use with LD captures [0]. I did this because it’s cheaper in theory, although with the amount of time I’ve dumped into getting it working and keeping it working, the $500 or so for the Domesday Duplicator may well have been a better choice.

[0]: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode/wiki/CX-Cards#what-is...

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Tijdreiziger 944 days ago
ffmpeg’s documentation and wiki are pretty comprehensive, though. I’d characterize it as ‘easy to learn, but hard to master’
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fwn 944 days ago
> you are delegating something you could easily have learnt

This is the only case I would ever use a text generator. If you cannot understand it, you cannot trust the output and you cannot learn it in case of doubt.

This is why it is so great for grammar and protocol, but very problematic for actual research questions.

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bongodongobob 944 days ago
You don't have to take the first output you get. It's as if you can play with it before you make it production. No one is suggesting putting "make the thing in a way" in a pipeline. Stop fighting strawmen.
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