Techmoan 08/20 Patreon Exclusive Video Oddcast

Sorry to be a bit late on this, new subscriber, but congratulations on the 1m! I know the number counting isn't important to you, but really in these times, it's nice to celebrate things worth celebrating. Also part of the reason your channel is so enjoyable to watch.

That was quite a video. I do think these things would be better live. Techmoan Happy Hour. The idea of having a beer and hearing about the projects seems fun. In any case, internet is a strange place. Beware if the people trying to take advantage. I got my Teac 7030 working. Maybe I will make a video. I am really interested in these old reel to reel machines. I fix them up and stuff. They really are expensive to buy already working. Good seeing you, don't worry about getting older it's inevitable. Cheers!

Hello, long time watcher, first time commenter - By default, the ATEM Mini will set it's internal processing to the same as the first source thing you plug in. So if you plug in your computer first, it'll probably set itself to 60fps. If you plug in your camera first and it's outputting 30fps (or 25fps if you want, UK being PAL) it'll run at that rate, converting all the other inputs to match. You can also override this auto detection with the ATEM Software Control program. Also, if you're finding ProRes eating up your hard drive space, try ProRes LT, it's a bit lighter on the bits, but the quality should still be good enough. Lav mic issues probably something to do with plug-in power, I bet that Lav mic needs it - your camera supplies it but either it's not enabled on the ATEM Mini (again, ATEM Software Control is the key to unlocking all the features) or there's a pinout issue with your adapter cables. Could try a Rode SC3 but running it through your camera sounds fine and there doesn't seem to be an obvious sync issue.

Hello Mat, I am one of your million + subscribers. In my opinion you are a true professional. Thanks for your time and efforts, I haven't been disappointed with any of your videos.

3 hours untangling tape? Your wife sounds a keeper, you are a fortunate man..

Hi, Mat, for what it's worth, I just ran "Tapes on a Plane" part 2 and got a really glitzy ad for Startrek Feet Command. A good step up from earwax. :) S

cheers mat! yeah i don’t get it. i’m hardly ever mad and not for long. can’t imagine.

I love your creativity Mat! It's been a great ride since I found you via the Teffifon video. I know you wouldn't want to the million mark video, but maybe it'd help you in the youtube algorithm... also viewers might see you as more "legit." I've been reading about search engine optimization so I got that on my mind... it's all a game to play. No need to reply, this is unwanted advice anyway. paucity of ambition and all. It's not about the views, as you say

Nice update. We are about the same age - I appreciated your comments on dealing with people and their expectations!

Was just reminded of this old classic with regard to Americans and English accents: https://youtu.be/pPY-sCiRCeA 😁

I like the beard :-). But it's your choice to leave it or remove it again. The dust problem, I also have, you're definitely not alone there! And I really liked the effects in the plane movie, thanks for showing us the making of! And yes, untangling a good dish of tape salad/tagliatelle... It's horrible, in my case always: if the tape has nothing worth listening on, then throw it away. I'm impressed that you managed to get it back together. And even working in the 8-track cartridge, I was wondering: don't you need some kind of lubrication there to make it work actually?!? I though 8-track tape was coated with some graphite powder...

Not that my opinion is important but the beard is great and it is important to shave the neck as you did. I hate neck beards. Only for people who cannnot grow a real one. Most importantly: Again a very entertaining video Oddcast. The name is perfect. Isn't it odd that we all enjoy just hearing you talk about stuff? On the other hand. It's more like a behing the scenes video. That may explain the interest.

Regarding your accent - I wonder if some USAnians are put off because the number of movie villains with British accents makes them view you as a bit slippery or untrustworthy :-) If they have trouble understanding you I can’t imagine how they’d cope with a Geordie or a Scouse.

I reckon that was your best-ever fireside chat, Mat. For someone "socially inept" you do a very good job of chatting with us in a friendly and totally natural manner. There are so many comments I could make following that. (I could to do a fireside chat back and send you a link but I reckon you probably have enough to do!) As someone who previously made a living out of making educational TV programmes, I totally understand how a simple demonstration can take an age to create. I would also add, I don't think your video skills are in the Uncanny Valley at all. One of the reasons I can watch every second of what you do is that I'm not continually screaming at the screen, "Well give us a bl**dy close-up so we can see it!" Anyhow . . . to precis the rest of it: I like Albert the Beard. I like the Tapes on a Plane being split into two. I instantly realised the plane was hanging upside down but laughed. And finally, ignore the negative commenters; check how many videos they have made, the total is very often zero. Everyone's a critic until they try to do it themeslves.

It's ironic about the whole US/UK voice thing, because I was figuring out my go-to Youtube channels, and it's a bunch of Canadians (Glen and Friends, Curiosity Inc.) and British (TA Outdoors, What Culture and a bunch of Simon Whistler channels) along with some Australians like Primitive Technology and Minty. Of course, there are some US channels as well, like Metal Jesus Rocks and 8 Bit Guy, but long story long, it's the content for me, not the voice. Then again, I've burned a CD of that mp3 you did of the voice actors, and listen to it in the car quite often. Why bother listening to new commercials when you can listen to epic old commercials?!?

how do you feel about people(like me) that use ad blocker? i do feel guilty about it but i can't stand the ads

Been thinking a bit about viewership and audience attention span. I currently subscribe to 572 channels on YouTube, which might seem excessive - but it really isn't. I gave up watching broadcast television years ago, and instead find informative and worthwhile "content" (nasty word, that) on-line. Of the 572 channels, there's only a select few where I'll watch each and every new release from beginning to end. Techmoan is obviously one of them. But for the vast majority of my subscriptions, I'll pick and choose. Also, I will sometimes even fast-forward through a chosen video if it's only mildly interesting or if I don't think I have the time to watch it all. So, I believe it's just the nature of the medium. Some might pick and fast-forward, but others will stay for a 30 minute tear-down and restoration of an old cassette deck. It's obviously impossible to please both camps. Don't go New Coke. 😁

What does the missus think about the beard? When I got married 20 years ago at age 40, my bride told me she hated beards so asked me never to grow one. COVID 19 came along, with working from home, and I didn’t shave for a few days, telling my wife that it was in protest. That was 5 months ago now, and she says she likes it. As far as the accent goes, I’d swear I saw an interview of some American TV executive say that Americans preferred British accents, because they assume Brits are smarter. Maybe times have changed. I will admit that those who say “wif” and “frew” instead of “with” and “through” are very annoying to me.

I've had a beard since May 2014. Wouldn't go clean shaven at all now. It's a terrific disguise, I've found. No-one from my working days recognises me! I'll keep this short as my last message (on the plane tapes video) vanished for some reason.

I had been teasing you about your “state of the art” special effects for the plane video, but that was actually really clever how you did it! I thought it was green screen as well, wouldn’t have guessed it was just in front of a monitor. I’m with you on the awkwardness/rambling thing. You strike me as someone who can be quite well-spoken and eloquent when you need to be, but oftentimes there’s so many things in your head you want to say that it can come out as a jumble. Or after you do say it, you end up being really self-critical about what you said and how you said it. At least that’s how I operate sometimes, so perhaps I’m projecting my own oddities onto you, who knows. Maybe that’s why I’ve done fairly well during quarantine; sure, I miss being close to what friends I have, but as a whole, not having to interact with large numbers of people is par for the course for me (and pretty nice, most days, anyway). With regards to the region bit, I (as a Yank) really dig your accent, and I think I'd like the channel less if you weren't a Brit, frankly. Is it Liverpudlian? You kind of sound like the members of The Beatles to me, so that's where that came from, apologies if I'm miles off. Thanks for the video!

Thanks for the interesting behind-the-scenes ramble, mate. Interesting to note that the British audience had the highest average viewing duration figure, too.

It was interesting to hear that the SV-P100 came from Russia. There seems to be a real love for vintage HiFi there with sites like http://www.shizaudio.ru/ I wonder if it was because it was so difficult to get the equipment when it came out. By coincidence someone on Stereo2Go posted a link to a 1982 magazine article and the same magazine had a review of the SV-P100 https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Audio/80s/Audio-1982-04.pdf As for the British accent you are doing far better than VWestlife (whose videos I also enjoy) although I suspect he does them as a hobby rather than as his main job. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for a nice video. Really enjoy these! Hope you keep it going for eternity!

Nice beard, quality old man beard. Rly fits ya more than I would have thought

I thought the flight shots were done with green screen. Your solution was much easier!

If you were blessed with a greater quantity of ego you would have to accept your effects were of high quality. Gerry Anderson himself would be impressed, and even if not the case, I certainly was. Thanks.

Hi Mat, thanks for another great ramble - I love these and really look forward to them. I think you will always get people moaning, whatever you do but I think you know that already. Personally, I hate the way things have got faster and more time compressed - I like someone to take their time to tell a story but I totally get why you need to experiment with different lengths and times of videos. You need to do whatever gets you the most views - I know you say that it's not about the money but without the ad revenue you would not be able to continue and none of us want that! Loving the beard by the way.

Also I wonder about your theory regarding your accent and whether or not Americans will watch. To me it would seem like the kind of people that are interested in vintage electronics would also not be funny about an accent. Really, for years, the go-to accent to sound intelligent and knowledgeable was the English accent. It seems like that's the kind of thing Americans would want to hear in someone explaining technology. Not saying you're wrong, I just think it's surprising.

I can't imagine how difficult it is to figure out what is going to get people to watch and what wont. I think so much of it has to do with the title and thumbnail but I'll be damned if I can tell you why or what works. I will tell you this though from a patreon and YouTube premium subscriber I thought your video about the SVP was fantastic and extremely interesting

I loved the puppetry and special effects behind the scenes explanations. I think you could be Derek Meddings and Frank Oz rolled into one.

Not sure this will help but here is a link to a UTube video of a guy that repairs Pinball and arcade machines. In the video he discusses the statistics of his viewers by country. He resides in the United States. https://youtu.be/rAURDIW2llY

Don't forget the silent majority that like what you are doing and the way you do it. You could cure cancer and there would be people that criticize how you did it.

Fascinating as always, thank you, Mat. The beard is fine, now all you need to do is shave your head and you'll be able to show Simon Whistler what he'll look like in 20 years time ;-) I love seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff - it is such a shame that appreciation of a video is not proportionate to the effort that goes into making it. Have a good week - I'm hoping you can demo some domestic a/c units available in the UK as I think we're going to need them for at least the coming few days...

So, if you want to do an experiment, I'm an american voice guy, and I'd love to narrate one of your videos with my very American accent, and see if your views from the USA go up.

As usual, an interesting and entertaining video, thanks Mat

weird! that beard makes you look younger :)

The Gadget Show segment is on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FW0BMayt6no

Great stuff Mat - I'll avoid repeating what others have rightly said. RE: Patreon; I have now changed to £ from $. It wasn't promoted so thanks for the notice and easy to do once on the manage membership page.

Brilliant. I can concur with many of your comments as to why this channel is important to you and the distractions and challenges which 'corporate life' can pose. My personal view is that all your videos are 'from the heart' and totally authentic, which is one of the reasons why they're so watchable - even if the subject matter of a few really don't interest me. As someone who worked for two o the largest brown good manufacturers in the 80's and 90's who went on to work at ONdigital, I can appreciate what was good (and peculiar) from that era and how important it is to chronicle the period of innovation and miniaturisation that few will remember in a few decades. Well done, Mat. Keep up the bostin' work.

Opps, my Tea break started a bit early and was a little bit longer than it should be. But I do feel much better for it. This is just my way of saying thank you for all the great work and that I really enjoy your channel (more than anything on television).

Hey Mat, first the beard looks great. Keep it. Secondly, in regards to the adverts, I always keep them on and I don't use adblock because I like to support the people putting out FREE content for me to watch. But its very clear to me that Youtube is not doing well financially, as it got hit in the last 5 years for those terrorism claims, the pewdipie levis scandal etc and in the last 20 days they are obviously trying their best to recoup some costs. They are putting ADs EVERY 30 seconds on some videos, it's crazy. The channel Ross's Game Dungeon has no mid roll ads whatsoever and thats kind of his thing, so he was horrified when he received 100s of messages/emails of people telling him, his videos now have 5 or more midroll ads. I still refuse to use adblock, but this kind of meddling from YT is only going to force people to start using adblock more which will just make things worse. A horrible cycle.

I'm a massive fan of practical special effects in TV and movies. I'd much rather watch a bloke in a dinosaur costume stamping on balsa wood buildings than a CGI rendering. So the aeroplane model work was absolutely my cup of tea.

Although in seriousness, I really enjoyed that little behind the scenes of your "special effects". Recording on front of a monitor was brilliant. There is a documentary on Disney+ on the making of Star Wars Mandalorian and they effectively did just that, instead of building sets with green screen they built a giant 360 degree tv screen, and filmed everything inside it. So you are basically Jon Favreau.

A few weeks ago you mentioned jokingly that to satisfy the target demographic you needed to review beard trimmers, then suddenly facial hair appears. Hmmm, I think I can predict next months video.

On a different note, I believe I heard the PCM version of Dark Side of the Moon, in the fall of 1982. A friend took me to a high end audio store and the sales person said that they had digital music on VHS. He played "Time" (which I embarrassed to say I had never heard) through Infinity tower that seemed to be only a few inches thick. When the clocks stop ringing at the beginning of the song, one continues on a little longer. My untrained ears were completely fooled and I looked around for the "real" clock that was chiming. An amazing experience at the time. I did not mention this on the video about the device because I did not not realize that some things had been released in that format. I just figured it was a demo tape.

Haters gonna hate. Know that I like what you do. I look forward to your videos.

More than the per-country view counts, I found the average viewing time interesting. UK viewers have the longest attention span, followed by the Swedes?

The beard looks great!

Mat, I think it’s amazing that you have built 1.000,000 followers, a successful Patreon about your specific interests and you’ve done it on your terms. I’m a writer/producer for TV in Los Angeles. I’ve been nominated for Emmys and stuff. It’s EXHAUSTING. I’ve been in the business for 25+ years since I was 15. I’m 41 now. I guess I am a bit of an extrovert, but not as much as others would think. What you are though without a doubt, is a broadcaster. You really are. You’re so natural on camera, you’re naturally gifted as a broadcaster. I recently made a Patreon (six days ago) and I’ve been amazed at my success so far. I’m very much NOT a YouTube person. I think it’s incredible you found your audience on YouTube and are able to pay the bills and be your own boss. Enjoy your life and congrats on hitting a million subscribers!

As a wise man (or possibly a smart arse) once said... "if your dad doesn't have a beard, you've got two mums!". I'm a fan of both the beard and the oddcasts BTW. 😁

Enjoyed that. Thanks. Agree with the other positive comments on the beard. Looks good on you.

And actually, had you shown a few clips of the tape getting all tangled up, I think people would have been interested in that. I have started showing stuff like that when it goes wrong and as long as you don't dwell on it for a real long time, people find it interesting and relatable.

To answer your question, my audience shows like this: 32.9% - United States 7.0% - United Kingdom 5.1% - Germany 4.4% - Canada

Props to Mrs. Techmoan for helping out with that tape!

I can't speak to YouTube statistics, but if it is not what I would call a "Southern California English accent", many Americans do seem to struggle with comprehension (despite understanding the tremendous length and breadth of American accents). My own speech has a slight English influence, and I've had complete strangers feel the need to confront me of this with concern as if I had food crumbs on my face. Manchester-area accents seem particularly foreign; an ex-brother-in-law found them completely unintelligible. I remember a US cable TV channel (Bravo) tried airing "Cold Feet" a couple of decades ago; they felt the need to put pop-up bubbles with captions to explain what was being said.

I recently got rid of a 20 week quarantine beard. Moustache kept getting in the way. Eating an ice cream cone was a disaster so obv it had to go especially as I realised that it would take more effort to maintain it than it does just to shave. I too was impressed with the ingenuity of threading the airline tape into an 8 track cart. I would have been more impressed with learning about the upside down filming except I think I read it in a patreon comment that someone had figured that out :P It's quite a talent to be able to see separate pieces and stitch them together to make something - like shooting the puppet/airplane model in front of a TV with an image up. It's hard to convey that to people just as you mentioned an 11 second clip took two people two days to make :P I like getting to see how the sausage gets made :P

Thanks for the video Mat.

Hey! Bearded Mat looks great! I had a small beard for the last 7-8 years, and as you had done, I grew mine partly as a way to distract from a double chin. Lately however, I just thought it was time for a change, so i shaved it off last January. Didn't know that they were just about to come into "fashion" as a side effect of a global pandemic.

I think you might find with US viewers that they actually prefer the English accent. Americans are suckers for British accents. I am guessing your's is a Manchester accent.

Well the problem with US watchers is trying to understand the language :)

I enjoy your 'long rambles', so feel free to keep doing them. I suspect they may be therapeutic for both of us :)

Got the thumbnail. Beard does have a nautical look to it. 😃 Got my own COVID-beard going, as well. 😳 Keep it! Video on beard trimmers coming? 😁 I recommend the Panasonic ER-GB96, by the way. (Not sponsored) Edit: Enjoyed the Odd-cast! But please don't change too much. A TikTok Techmoan with an American accent, filmed vertically - as the kids are wont to do - would be a nightmare. 😱

+1 for the beard. Excellent.

Matt, your beard is a keeper. Welcome to the world of geezers with snow on the roof and salt-n-pepper beards! But what is wrong with the supply reel on your tape deck at about the 19:23 mark? It's not turning smoothly.

Guessing it was for the Ars Technica videoseries; kinda sad that you won't be appearing, totally understand your reasoning though. Looking sharp with the beard.

I really enjoy hearing about and seeing the work behind the videos, the plane B-roll worked very well in my opinion and I was really surprised that the puppet was recorded in front of the TV.

As for region stats, my top five sorted by viewcounts for the last year are as follows: USA 40.4%, UK 8.4%, Canada 5.4%, Germany 4.6%, Australia 3.1%

Absolutely no discernible lip-sync issues here! 👍

I was quite impressed that you managed to play that tape on an 8-Track-Recorder.

Just to say there was no lip sync issues on my Samsung tv our iPad. Love these videos, make Patreon a bargain.

Suggestion for the BA B757 ... hang it from the shelf, upside down, near the YouTube and Kenwood signs. Yeah, we do know what we're in for with these ... and that's why we watch! Your edit decisions are always spot on. Keep doing what makes you happy!

Thanks Mat. Nice to see behind the scenes. Been trying get hold of your jap back future laserdisc cover keeping eye on eBay. Btf is due for 4k release in Oct in USA.

That beard is perfect. Never shave again!

Hey Mat! I loved what you said about the weirdness of a pre-interview and the need for a bit of an ego for self-promotion. That said, I used to work on a big talk show, and pre-interviews are standard for pretty much every guest that comes on. They do it to figure out what to talk about, and probably in your case, to find questions that you have interesting answers to. Just wanted to mention that for any future opportunities that come up. I do hope you do one some time, it would be so cool! I'd be like, "that's my guy I know!!!"

There is a lot to be said for being happy with what one has! Being generally content is very underrated in my opinion!

I love this video, particularly your explanation of the filming process for the 737 model: "I hardly used any of that, as it would look too fake". Well, thank goodness - it would have spoiled your chances of the effects Oscar. Actually, I was sure you'd invested in some green screen tech. Using the monitor as a background works really well.

One thing I have noticed with this camera setup, is a weird pixellation stair step thing on the rim of your glasses.

Beard looks great. Pulling it off well.

I too like the new look. Gives you a more distinguished look. Add a jacket with patches on the elbows and you can pass as a professor!

I like the look. Suits you well, imho👍 Edit: I love all that behind the scenes things. Thank you again for all your hard work and props to Mrs. Techmoan for keeping you sane. 👍😉 Regarding the tapes on a plane video, I (and everybody here, i think ) really appreciate that you took all this troubles for making especially that video. Interesting that Germany is in the Top 5 of all three of you (you, David and Clint)😊

Its facts that a beard makes you a wiser person.

THE BEARD. YES. Okay onto watching the rest now 👍