I produce this show out of my own pocket, primarily because of my love of all things anime and Japan. Unfortunately in this down economy, I need as much help as I can get. If you feel so inclined, a small donation to help offset my costs (server, bandwidth, equipment, etc.) would be much appreciated. Either make a purchase through one of our affiliates, bid on our eBay auctions, buy me something on my wish list, or use the handy donation button below.
Bitcoin Address: 14hYjheG9W7aWip7K wLPcfXxoXdALwDcma Total Donations:
0.01000000 BTC
Those of us with large digital anime collections, either ripped from DVDs that we own or acquired from, ahem, other sources (we’re not here to judge, let your own moral compass be your guide), are faced with a problem when we want to consume this content while out and about — or even just kicking back in your easy chair or in bed. Sure, you could go out and buy a dedicated video player such as the Archos 5; but why spend extra money when the odds are that you already have a device in your possession that’s perfectly capable of performing this function — your smartphone.
If that phone happens to be an iPhone (or its phone-less sibling, the iPod touch, or even an iPad), then you could either re-encode your anime (using a free tool such as HandBrake and stuff it into iTunes) or use the excellent Air Video player, which we’ve written about before. But what if you are a card-carrying member of the Android Army? Unfortunately Android is (in this author’s humble opinion) still behind the iOS in terms of video playback capability.
Fortunately, there’s an app for that — the Meridian Media Player app, to be precise. This app does a pretty good job of playing back any media format supported by your device’s version of the Android operating system. And the best part is that it supports all the standard subtitle formats that you tend to find out there (which of course is very important for us anime fans). (Pro tip: if you’re looking for subtitles, AllSubs is a pretty good source.)
Unfortunately, since Android is still kind of picky in terms of what video formats/codecs/bit rates that it supports, odds are you’ll need to re-encode any anime files that you have, ahem, acquired, in order to play them back on your device. HandBrake is an excellent, and free, tool that helps you do this. (HandBrake is also a pretty servicable DVD ripper, so you can use it to digitize your anime collection. Please, only for disks that you actually own. Don’t be a tool.) I’ve found that the “iPod” pre-set offers a reasonable compromise between small file size and decent video quality, that plays on all variants of Android (at least all the different devices/OS versions I’ve tried it on). Just fire up HandBrake, select your file, click the start button, and once your files are done re-encoding, just drag them onto your phone’s memory card, fire up Meridian Player, and you’re off to the races.
Meridian Media Player itself is free, but you’ll need the $2.99 Meridian Player Pro Verifier to unlock extra functionality, including subtitle support. (But hey, $2.99 is IMHO a reasonable price to pay for this functionality) Go download Meridian Media Player and the Meridian Player Pro Verifier from the [Android Marketplace][8] today!
The Apple TV is a decent little media center streaming box. It improves in every way over its predecessor – smaller, lighter, faster, and doesn’t give off over 9000 BTU of heat energy.
With it, you can rent and stream any of the (pretty large) anime collection that’s now available on iTunes, as well as Netflix, and you can stream any of the iTunes content that’s loaded on your PC or Mac. The problem with the latter is that you would have to transcode most of your anime collection so that it plays on iTunes — a fairly technically involved process — and you lose such niceties as subtitle support and multiple language audio tracks. Which means it isn’t really useful at all. But at only $99, it isn’t too bad price-wise.
Well, if don’t own one, you just might have a reason to buy one after reading this post. And if you already own one, you can stop tearing your hair out in frustration. Because the Apple TV is now a lot more useful to us anime fans, thanks to the wonderful piece of software I’m about to describe.
Air Video, which we’ve written about before, is an awesome video player app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It will let you stream your video files from your computer (such as that anime that you have, ahem, acquired from various sources) and play it on your iOS device. The “secret sauce” that makes this so unique is that it will automatically transcode your files in a format that your iDevice can play natively. So you don’t have to go through all that video transcoding voodoo yourself. Plus it supports all the standard subtitle formats (SRT/SSA/ASS), either as separate files or “baked in” to an MKV file. Which is really great news for us anime fans. And it’s reasonably priced as well (just $2.99).
Well, Air Video just recently added AirPlay support in its latest version. AirPlay is a new technology from Apple that will let you stream content — audio and/or video — between your devices, including iOS devices and the new Apple TV 2. So what does this mean to you? It now means that you can, using the Air Video app, stream all of your anime, including subtitles, and watch it on your Apple TV that is (presumably) hooked up to your large screen HDTV. To get this kind of functionality (streaming content from your computer) would ordinarily require a more costly and complex to set up media center box such as the Boxee Box or WD TV Live; the problem with those devices is that they tend to be kind of dodgy, and they don’t “plug in” to the iTunes ecosystem as tightly as the Apple TV does. So now you get the best of both worlds!
I’ve tested this extensively and it works wonderfully.
So what are you waiting for? Go get Air Video on the App Store today! Note that for the new AirPlay functionality, you will also need to install the latest beta version of the [Air Video server][11] – versions are available for both Windows and Mac.
[11]: http://www.inmethod.com/forum/posts/list/3039.page “Air Video Server 2.4.5-beta5”
Do you own an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Then go check out the shiny new [Otaku no Podcast app][1] on the iTunes app store! With our fine new app you can listen to and watch our latest audio and video episodes; read our latest blog posts; see what we’ve been up to on Twitter; and contact us by phone or email.
The app is compatible with any device (iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad) running iOS 3.1 or later. Unfortunately it isn’t yet optimized for the iPad (though it does work just fine in iPhone emulation mode); I’m working on adding iPad optimizations for the next version, as well as some other miscellaneous fixes and additional features.
So go check it out! [It’s free in the App Store][1].
[1]: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/otaku-no-podcast/id425068705?mt=8 “Otaku no Podcast app”
If you live in the Los Angeles area, you’ll want to get yourself over to Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046. We Heart Japan, organized by voice actress Stephanie Sheh and comic artist Pinguino Kolb, is holding an event TOMORROW (that’s Thursday, March 17) at Meltdown Comics to benefit the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund, a fund set up by the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) in partnership with the Center for Public Resources Development (CPRD) to benefit relief organizations providing disaster relief in Japan.
Events include a silent auction featuring art from Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe, Sweet Streets LA, Cathy Clark, Zane DeGaine, Kevissimo, Dekker Dreyer, Aaron Bjork, Shibuya Girls Pop, Sam Randazzo, Sawdust Bear, Sasha Palacio, Sara Tea, Patrick Smith, Eron Rauch, Pinguino, Jason Leung, Geoffrey Golden, David Mertl, Jane Dope, and more. In addition, prizes will be raffled off over the course of the night. There will be a variety of special guests in attendance including Stephanie Sheh herself, Richard Epcar, Wendee Lee, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Michelle Ruff, Crispin Freeman, and more. There will be autograph sessions. Music will be provided by Count Ninjula. There will be several food trucks on site, including Papas Tapas, Jogasaki Burrito, and The Boba Truck. And free drinks will be provided by Arta Tequila, Comikaze Expo and H2om Water.
Sponsors include Harmony Gold, Geneon Entertainment, Pacific Media Expo, Cosplay in America, Bandai Entertainment, Am22m, Crunchyroll, Nan Desu Kan, Sweet Streets LA, Love the Truth Clothing, and more. All proceeds will go to the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund which provides support to organizations in Japan that are taking part in the relief effort, as well as to ensure longer-term support for local organizations working hard to rebuild their communities.
For more information check out the We Heart Japan website. A [printable flyer][3] is also available, which you are encouraged to print out and distribute to friends, co-workers, anime clubs, etc.
DATE: Thursday, March 17, 2011
TIME: 8:00pm  11:00pm
LOCATION: Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046
The world is increasingly moving toward mobile devices to consume content with. Whether it be an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android based smartphone or tablet, Palm webOS device, BlackBerry, or what have you, we are increasingly turning to these mobile companions to get our fix of news and entertainment while out and about.
Now, we’re not the type to shy away from a trend; and so we here at Otaku no Podcast are taking steps to make ourselves available on these mobile devices. Right now, if you browse to otakunopodcast.com on most mobile devices, you should be presented with a mobile-optimized version of our website, perfect for smaller-screened devices such as your smartphone.
Unfortunately that leaves the problem of actually playing back our media content (i.e. the podcasts themselves). Many devices out there do not support Adobe Flash, which is what we (as well as pretty much every other website out there) use for our web-based audio/video player widgets. The good news is that there is a new standard gaining widespread adoption to fix this. HTML 5 adds built-in support for audio and video playback, doing away with the need for Flash or Silverlight or any other such plugin. Most of the latest web browsers, including the latest versions of Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer for both Mac and Windows support this standard. Most mobile phone and tablets support this as well. And now so does Otaku no Podcast. When you browse to any audio or video podcast episode, you will now be able to play said episode on any HTML 5 compliant browser or device. (If your browser isn’t fully HTML 5 compliant, the site will automatically fall back to the traditional Flash-based audio/video player.)
Of course if you have any questions or (we hope not!) problems with this player, please do [let us know about it][7].
In our continuing effort to (A) make ourselves available to you, the fans, so that you can send us your thoughts, comments and whatnot, while at the same time (B) reducing costs, we now have a new voicemail call-in line!
The new number is: 949-OTAKU-09 (949-682-5809).
You can either call from your home or cell phone, which unfortunately is a long-distance call for most people; or if you use the handy dandy widget on our [Contact Us page][1], then we’ll pick up the tab by calling you ourselves. (or rather, Google will pick up the tab, since we are using their free Google Voice service for this). Either way, you’ll be given the opportunity to leave a voice message. Try and keep it short (no more than 2-3 minutes) and clean, and we may just use it on our next episode!
This line is also capable of receiving live calls, which we may explore somewhere down the line when I start exploring livestreaming our episodes.
Anyway, give us a ring, why don’tcha?
[1]: http://otakunopodcast.com/contact/#widget “Otaku no Podcast Contact Us page”
At 9:46 PM PST on March 10, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit approximately 125km off the eastern coast of Japan (Honshu) at a depth fo 10km, causing a 4 meter high tsunami to hit the coastal areas of Japan. Huge areas of the coast are literally being washed away. Sendai airport is literally flooded (pic). In Tokyo the quake appears to have caused minimal damage (mostly shaking buildings, frayed nerves and things falling off shelves, that sort of thing, although there are a few fires). But train and subway service is stopped. The government has called an emergency meeting.
Twitter is once again proving to be a great source of coverage, and once again shows the power of social networking during times of crisis. Some online streaming coverage (in English) is coming courtesy of Anime Expo Live and Yokoso News. Additional sources of coverage include the English Al Jazeera (note this is NOT the same as the Muslim Al Jazeera propaganda machine), and these two [Ustream streams][5].
I’ll update this post with more information when I can. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Japan and elsewhere that are affected by this terrible disaster.
What more needs to be said? (insert standard ranty rant about how Haters Gonna Hate, etc.)
Well, OK, I do actually have one comment. I must admit that I’m rather disappointed that Bandai is choosing to dole out K-ON! in segments. This first disk only contains 4 episodes, meaning that it will be split into a 3-disk run. I thought that kind of release schedule was a remnant of the early days of anime distribution; these days we’re used to seeing entire series come out in one box set (cf. Eden of the East, FLCL), or (for 12/13 episode series such as K-ON!) in at most two half-sets. I’m just hoping that Bandai will release these in fairly quick succession, instead of the 2-3+ months between disks that used to be common.
Still, it is K-ON!, and if past history is any guide, this release should be pretty awesome, especially the Blu-rays. So what are you waiting for, go click “buy” already! 😉
![[Play Now!]](http://media.otakunopodcast.com/images/PlayNow.jpg)
![[View our eBay Auctions]](http://bayfeeds.com/images/Right_Now_108x45.gif)
Those of us with large digital anime collections, either ripped from DVDs that we own or acquired from, ahem, other sources (we’re not here to judge, let your own moral compass be your guide), are faced with a problem when we want to consume this content while out and about — or even just kicking back in your easy chair or in bed. Sure, you could go out and buy a dedicated video player such as the Archos 5; but why spend extra money when the odds are that you already have a device in your possession that’s perfectly capable of performing this function — your smartphone.
The 
Do you own an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Then go check out the shiny new [Otaku no Podcast app][1] on the iTunes app store! With our fine new app you can listen to and watch our latest audio and video episodes; read our latest blog posts; see what we’ve been up to on Twitter; and contact us by phone or email.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, you’ll want to get yourself over to Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046. 
The world is increasingly moving toward mobile devices to consume content with. Whether it be an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android based smartphone or tablet, Palm webOS device, BlackBerry, or what have you, we are increasingly turning to these mobile companions to get our fix of news and entertainment while out and about.
At 9:46 PM PST on March 10, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit approximately 125km off the eastern coast of Japan (Honshu) at a depth fo 10km, causing a 4 meter high tsunami to hit the coastal areas of Japan. Huge areas of the coast are literally being washed away. Sendai airport is literally flooded (pic). In Tokyo the quake appears to have caused minimal damage (mostly shaking buildings, frayed nerves and things falling off shelves, that sort of thing, although there are a few fires). But train and subway service is stopped. The government has called an emergency meeting.
