Don Coffey cab ride video discussion

[satisnek]

I'm glad that the 'Keyworker Express' cab ride was reinstated because it is of significant rarity value - a non-stop run along the entire original course of the Manchester & Leeds Railway of 1841 (which later became the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway). Other lines were subsequently constructed and services altered but this was the first route built, despite what today's junction signals tell you!

Shame it was shot at 30fps (as someone who dabbled in 'proper' video in the 1990s I consider any progressive scan format below 50fps to be 'digital cine', not 'video'), but you can't have everything!

 

[Railwaysceptic]

I'm glad that the 'Keyworker Express' cab ride was reinstated because it is of significant rarity value - a non-stop run along the entire original course of the Manchester & Leeds Railway of 1841 (which later became the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway). Other lines were subsequently constructed and services altered but this was the first route built, despite what today's junction signals tell you!

Shame it was shot at 30fps (as someone who dabbled in 'proper' video in the 1990s I consider any progressive scan format below 50fps to be 'digital cine', not 'video'), but you can't have everything!

Most people find the picture quality of Don Coffey's videos to be excellent. Please explain what problems arise from shooting at 30 frames per second.

 

[satisnek]

Most people find the picture quality of Don Coffey's videos to be excellent. Please explain what problems arise from shooting at 30 frames per second.

It's 'filmic', though to be fair not as 'filmic' as 24 or 25fps. Some of Don's cab rides (and some others) are shot at 60fps which as I have said in a previous post, are absolutely stunning. Higher refresh rates (or interlacing on a CRT) look more 'natural' to my eyes, however, some people may prefer the 'film look' or perhaps are unable to tell the difference.

 

[the sniper]

60fps (on You Tube, anyway) looks unnaturally sped up on anything where I know how the speed should appear, such as footage of cars or trains. Ridiculously so. 50fps is a bit better. On video game footage 60fps is fine as there is no real world mk1 eyeball experience to compare it against.

 

[Railwaysceptic]

It's 'filmic', though to be fair not as 'filmic' as 24 or 25fps. Some of Don's cab rides (and some others) are shot at 60fps which as I have said in a previous post, are absolutely stunning. Higher refresh rates (or interlacing on a CRT) look more 'natural' to my eyes, however, some people may prefer the 'film look' or perhaps are unable to tell the difference.

I imagine most rail enthusiasts are uninterested in esoterica such as "filmic" or otherwise. We are more concerned with composition, depth of focus, image stability and the least distortion possible.

The most serious failing of in-cab videos is that in nearly all of them the images either extend too far forward - so that station platforms seem half a mile long, known severe curves seem suitable for 125mph running, the "4 foot" seems only three feet wide and the train seems to be moving at twice the line speed - or do the exact opposite.

The only provider of in-cab videos who manages to avoid this problem is Hastings Diesels.

 

[satisnek]

I imagine most rail enthusiasts are uninterested in esoterica such as "filmic" or otherwise. We are more concerned with composition, depth of focus, image stability and the least distortion possible.

The most serious failing of in-cab videos is that in nearly all of them the images either extend too far forward - so that station platforms seem half a mile long, known severe curves seem suitable for 125mph running, the "4 foot" seems only three feet wide and the train seems to be moving at twice the line speed - or do the exact opposite.

The only provider of in-cab videos who manages to avoid this problem is Hastings Diesels.

Yes, we see a lot of wide-angle stuff these days, thanks to today's 'action cam' devices stuck to the windscreen. I understand that the higher-end ones, like Don uses, have a selectable longer focal length which provide a more natural field of view. Extreme wide angles are also prone to 'barrel distortion', where signal posts and OHLE supports go all bendy at the sides of the picture.

In the early days (Railscene etc.) it was often the other way round because of a bulky camera, presumably on a tripod on the cab floor, where the view forward had to be zoomed right in so as not to show the windscreen surround. Here, everything looked like a model railway, with short distances, tight curves, OHLE gantries one carriage length apart - and 75mph seemed more like 30.

Conversely, wide angles can look like twice the line speed, as you say, so they work well on 25mph heritage lines!

 

[QueensCurve]

It's 'filmic', though to be fair not as 'filmic' as 24 or 25fps. Some of Don's cab rides (and some others) are shot at 60fps which as I have said in a previous post, are absolutely stunning. Higher refresh rates (or interlacing on a CRT) look more 'natural' to my eyes, however, some people may prefer the 'film look' or perhaps are unable to tell the difference.

I don't see the point of frame rates above 30fps since the human eye only has a temporal resolution of about 1/10 of a second.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

I don't see the point of frame rates above 30fps since the human eye only has a temporal resolution of about 1/10 of a second.

There are plenty of arguments that say the human eye can see up to 60hz and many people can tell the difference between 30hz and 60hz. But that's for another thread.

 

[XAM2175]

thanks to today's 'action cam' devices stuck to the windscreen

I have come across an excellent subversion of that trope - the 'action cam' stuck on the back wall of the cab. It does rely however on having a driver with considerable self-confidence!

 

[lewisf]

There are plenty of arguments that say the human eye can see up to 60hz and many people can tell the difference between 30hz and 60hz. But that's for another thread.

As someone who has a 144hz gaming monitor there’s still gains to be had above 60hz. It’s definitely noticeable.

 

[satisnek]

Oh dear it looks like I've started something here (when my main point was about the significance of the 'Keyworker Express' cab ride)...

Perhaps it's best if we put it to bed before the thread gets closed down

 

[Mcq]

Just carry on with your good points and ignore the detritus - this is not the place for debates about resolutions etc.
Where is the best place to access these videos please

 

[Audioguy]

Just carry on with your good points and ignore the detritus - this is not the place for debates about resolutions etc.
Where is the best place to access these videos please

His Youtube channel is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LH7xMAyCSqpClAvTHwJRw/videos

 

[Mcq]

His Youtube channel is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LH7xMAyCSqpClAvTHwJRw/videos

Thanks audioguy

 

[Tim_UK]

Yes, we see a lot of wide-angle stuff these days, thanks to today's 'action cam' devices stuck to the windscreen. I understand that the higher-end ones, like Don uses, have a selectable longer focal length which provide a more natural field of view. Extreme wide angles are also prone to 'barrel distortion', where signal posts and OHLE supports go all bendy at the sides of the picture.

You actually just take the wide angle footage bendy footage and run in through a conversion program that takes the distortion out and gives you the normal angle `middle`. You tell your video processing software what kind of camera you have when you import the footage.

 

[terryc]

Good to see Don's excellent videos back, and I believe there's a new one premiering tonight.
However, contrary to that, all the Freight Rambler and associated videos appear to have disappeared over the past couple of days
Can anyone shed any light?

 

[Railwaysceptic]

Good to see Don's excellent videos back, and I believe there's a new one premiering tonight.
However, contrary to that, all the Freight Rambler and associated videos appear to have disappeared over the past couple of days
Can anyone shed any light?

I've noticed that on his other new video Don Coffey is now, like RailMart, including a disclaimer that the video should not be used for route learning.

I didn't know Freight Rambler had removed his videos. I'm very pleased that, thanks to advice provided on this forum, I've been able to record the ones I want.

 

[Eskimo]

I'm very pleased that, thanks to advice provided on this forum, I've been able to record the ones I want.

Wouldn't happen to have the Meridian, St. Pancras to Derby, would you?

 

[Railwaysceptic]

Wouldn't happen to have the Meridian, St. Pancras to Derby, would you?

No, I'm afraid not. It was the sudden disappearance of those Don Coffey videos that made me realise it was necessary to record them. There had been a previous loss when some really good videos of the Chiltern Main Line were taken down - I still miss them - but I just shrugged that one off. When the same thing happened again, I knew it was time to make my own copies.

 

[malc-c]

I've noticed that on his other new video Don Coffey is now, like RailMart, including a disclaimer that the video should not be used for route learning.

I didn't know Freight Rambler had removed his videos. I'm very pleased that, thanks to advice provided on this forum, I've been able to record the ones I want.

No!!! - I only recently subbed to Rambler66's channel... Just looked and all have been taken down... What a shame

Good to see Don's videos are back and new one being added.

 

[Serathor]

No, I'm afraid not. It was the sudden disappearance of those Don Coffey videos that made me realise it was necessary to record them. There had been a previous loss when some really good videos of the Chiltern Main Line were taken down - I still miss them - but I just shrugged that one off. When the same thing happened again, I knew it was time make my own copies.

Can you tell me what software/plugin you use to record please. I've tried a few with mixed results.

Regards

 

[Ian Cunningham]

Can you tell me what software/plugin you use to record please. I've tried a few with mixed results.

Regards

I use iTubeGo ( https://itubego.com ) - it's a paid application but I've found it ideal for downloading videos and well worth the money
It works fine on YouTube and Facebook and I've found it to work fine on some non-geoblocked TV station websites such as SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), LRT (Lithuania)

Pastylink is also useful ( https://www.pasty.info )-it burrows through a website and can often find the direct link to the video file (works well on RAI (Italy) which has a custom front end that iTubeGo can't see past) -

 

[Railwaysceptic]

Can you tell me what software/plugin you use to record please. I've tried a few with mixed results.

Regards

I use iTubeGo ( https://itubego.com ) - it's a paid application but I've found it ideal for downloading videos and well worth the money
It works fine on YouTube and Facebook and I've found it to work fine on some non-geoblocked TV station websites such as SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), LRT (Lithuania)

Pastylink is also useful ( https://www.pasty.info )-it burrows through a website and can often find the direct link to the video file (works well on RAI (Italy) which has a custom front end that iTubeGo can't see past) -

I use this: Download, collect and watch videos on your computer — Televzr. Ostensibly it's subscription based facility with the right not to re-subscribe after one month. I chose not to re-subscribe . . . . . . . . . but the app is still on my computer! So I can still use it as and when I want to.

 

[Serathor]

Thank you all, that's a few to go on

 

[BluePenguin]

I find keepvid.com to be good enough. Sometimes the Windows Game bar is better which you can use to record your screen. You can open it by holding down the windows logo key and pressing G.

 

[Serathor]

Cheers, thank you

 

[Steddenm]

I use y2mate.com. Gives options for SD, HD, UHD 4K and MP3.

 

[Flying Snail]

4K Video Downloader | Free Download from YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, SoundCloud

The simplest video downloader, ever! Download video and audio from YouTube and similar services on macOS, PC and Linux absolutely for free!

www.4kdownload.com

This standalone program is by far the best I've tried, the free version is fully functional except that it limits you to 30 downloads per day which is more than reasonable.

 

[bassmike]

Interesting! I watched some of his videos these past few days. There are still a few available.

Don Coffey

www.youtube.com

There is another channel that I've been watching that has a mixture of different routes...

Ben Elias

www.youtube.com

Also a channel called I think 'freightlinedriver'or something similar where he uses a camera fixed to his hat! Very interesting, although a bit disconcerting when he suddenly swivels round to look out of the side window! Mostly of south/south east plus Acton and cricklewood etc:

 

[Chris NS]

- I'd like a rail cab ride video please.

- Certainly sir. We have just in stock the official Plymouth-London video from GWR.

- Have you ... got anything stronger?

- [Lowers voice, reaches under the counter.] Shrewbury-Chester Line footage, full HD, informative captions, you can have it for-

- No way! You've got a Don Coffey video?

- Shh, not so loud. They may be listening.