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Saturday 14 June 2008

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Edited Audio

Posted one week after broadcast…

Tech News

• Early Termination Fees (ETFs)

This is where you buy a new cellphone and are required to sign up for service. You don’t like it, you get socked for that ETF.

Congress and the FCC is looking into prohibiting or limiting ETFs. AT&T says ETF backed contracts are actually GOOD for the customer! They get a deal on the phone, and supposedly on monthly fees.

Is it really? What they don’t tell you is that cellphones are really cheap to make in quantity. So, to say they are “subsidizing” a cellphone may not be entirely accurate. But if you get rid of the ETF backed contract, cellphones may have their phones jacked up. Verizon is prorating their ETF, making it cheaper as time goes on. That’s at least “fair-er.”

What’s really bogus is that cellphone carriers always extend your contract if you make simple changes and that includes extending the ETF. That’s not cricket.

• eBay wants to force you to pay for your auction goods solely through PayPal! (they own it) Australia Consumer Commission says “no way, mate.” It’s anti competitive and if you get ripped off, there’s little recourse.

The downside of paying with PayPal is that if you get ripped off by someone, it’s more unlikely you’ll get your money back. Leo found this out the hard way. But there’s a lot of people getting ripped off and eBay is doing too little to stem the tide.

And PayPal insurance doesn’t help because it’s way too little. As he’s been on the unfortunate end of this, Leo has decided he can’t trust eBay anymore. Won’t be using it again.

Avoid buying high ticket items and don’t spend what you can’t afford to lose. Ratings can be faked. Reliability can be forged if it’s short term. Look over a year or more. Make sure the seller buys insurance is at least over the amount bought.

TechTrailer says that PayPal can hold your money up to 180 days. That’s not fair. Who gets the interest on that?

• The New 3G iPhone

Using HSDPA, AT&T’s high speed data network. Some things to keep in mind. Check AT&T’s coverage. Make sure they’re in the area you use or you’re stuck with EDGE. It has GPS & Google Maps, but not turn by turn directions. What is up with that? A later feature perhaps? We hope so.

The big deal - $199 for an 8GB iphone. However, the AT&T data plan is higher - $30. Must be activated IN STORE or a severe penalty if not activated w/in 30 days. New store. Free games and new utilities. Cool apps using GPS. Loopt will make it easier for people to find you using your GPS iphone. Scary.

Apple’s updated .Mac called MOBILE ME. 20GB backup. Previous .mac users upgraded free. Synch in real time over the air using mobile me. Will work with mac and some Windows. Photo synching. Very cool.

No cut and paste still?! No forward facing camera. No chat software. Just SMS. Another rip - SMS texts. .10 a message for 140 bytes? Outrageous surcharge.

But wait a few days and read the reviews. Hype and excitement can color judgment.

AT&T will subsidize the phone.

Leo is still a BLACKBERRY guy. Can’t wait for the Blackberry Bold.

• Talking in the Chatroom about games.

Metal Gear Solid 4 just came out for the PS3. Is it a breakthrough game? Well, honestly, Leo’s kinda tired of violent, war games. Wants something different. Will Right from EA will be releasing Spore in the fall. You create a creature and watch it evolve from single cell organism and operate in the real world. Kinda Sim-like, but watch the creature evolve over a lifetime or even several lifetimes. Should be challenging. But enough with the killing, already. We want games that appeal to kids but aren’t about violence.

What games do you like? LITTLE BIG PLANET? Sim-like. You create a world and rule it.

GUESTS

• SCOTT WILKINSON, Editor in Chief, ULTIMATE AV MAGAZINE

Is Skype gettin’ buggy?

From last week: KTTV 11 is digital. But digital doesn’t mean HiDef. Fox News, however, does broadcast in HiDef. Feb. 19, 2009, may be the deadline for where all stations have to go digital, but not all will have to. Very small stations or stations that can be granted hardship waiver because it will be too expensive to upgrade.

Many Cable ops are offering multiple NTSC channels of the same channel in different formats (SD, 720p, etc). TVs are getting smarter. They will tell you what the channel is broadcasting in.

Back to Don’s question … Scott is an audiophile.

Getting uncompressed (lossless) audio. Are there services out there that offer this? MUSIC GIANTS offers CD quality audio in WMA. 1.1MB per sec. 750k-1mill songs. Can buy albums or songs.

Offer “super HD audio” downloads. Albums about $20 each.
DVD Audio and SACD 5.1 channel, 11MB per sec. are still available, but never really took off. Most people just accept the convenience.

Leo’s been using Amazon’s music service lately. Really likes it because it offers better quality downloads.

HDTRACKS.COM - lossless or 320kb mp3 (which is the best you can get for mp3).

But the best thing about lossless … it’s DRM free! Friends don’t let friends buy copy protected music.

But in the end, nothing will ever sound as good as live music. But SACD is pretty darn close when it’s mixed well. For instance, DARK SIDE OF THE MOON by Pink Floyd. Sadly, SACD is nearly dead. Few players. Very niche. It’s the reel to reel of the digital world.

BMG MUSIC CLUB. No DRM. Members get specially made albums once a month. Nice feature.

• Dick Debartolo, The GizWiz and editor for Mad Magazine

. A Steampunk thing that simulates an optical tunnel running under the ocean from New York (shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge) to London (at London Tower Bridge). It’s in Brooklyn. Closing tomorrow. Based on a Victorian device. It was originally a fantasy device, but with digital technology, we can actually do it! 40′ long, 6′ lens. Fun to see.

The fun thing is to devise unique ways to confirm this is in real time. You can even go to the site and reserve a minute of time to meet up with others.
Built using transatlantic fiberoptic cable. It’s basically closed circuit TV, but so what? It’s fun.

• Steve Gibson, GRC.Com & Security Now

USB Thumbdrives. Great for storing files you use a lot. Great for storing passwords you generate for security but you can’t remember them.

Service technicians will take your data when you leave something in your car! They rip your CDs. Suck data off your thumbdrives. Even take stuff off your iPod. They will check for anything “interesting.” What you need to do is be aware that it can happen and take that stuff with you when you turn your car over to an auto mechanic or even a car valet. Encrypt your data, sure. But the safest way is to TAKE IT WITH YOU and be aware.

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Hour 1

Q DON, Cranston, RI - Hooking up your camcorder to a computer.

A camcorder is a much better camera than a cheap webcam. But you may need a driver for it to run on firewire. ORANGE MICRO makes a driver for this. It’s called OrangeLink.

(NOTE - Orange Micro seems to have gone out of business. But here’s where you can get the driver).

From NiteinJail - The Orange Driver is also at http://www.soft32.com/download_178581.html

Also wants the best sounding MP3 player to archive his music in high fidelity and patch it into his stereo. The two best are the iPod, but it’s unpredictable from model to model (the shuffle had the bass response).

It’s best to read reviews. Don bought a Zune 80. Leo says that contrary to popular opinion, the Zune is a great choice. Solid audio quality. The ZUNE 2 is much better than vs. 1.0.

Another option is the iRiver H10. I-Grados.

Always go 192/160. But frankly, the older you get, the more difficult it is to listen to the high range.

See Scott Wilkinson’s notes on audio services and hifidelity recordings.

Q JONES, Louisberg, TN - Digitizing old VHS tapes.

What do you think of the Neuros OSD? Leo loves the OSD. Great product. But you have to determine what to store it to. But the Neuros is more about TIVO capability.

The Canopus ADVC 110 or 200.

Making thumbnails. Quicktime has a “poster frame,” which does provides it. The Neuros has a storyboard frame. What codec should he set the Neuros for? Leo thinks that MPEG4 - H.264 is the best. The negs are that it doesn’t play back in everything. But the iPhone works great in it. It’s the best quality for the lowest file size and it can handle multiple speeds.

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Hour 2

Q STEVE, Deepriver, CN - what’s the best bitrate for ripping/encoding CDs?

Ripping CDs and wants to put them on his four iPods. Is iTunes best? He also wants to use them on his stereo. Apple’s AAC is better than MP3. Designed by same company Fauhoffer, with help for Dolby. It was designed to succeed mp3. Also WMA, but the iPod can’t use it.

Start at 128kbps. But go at least 160kbps, even with AAC. Makes a significant difference, but only takes up 25% more space. Norton says that 320kbps is the max you can encode and hear a difference. Leo says you can’t really hear any difference above 192. But Leo is older than Patrick.

Use Variable Bit Rate encoding (VBR) will waste less space and is an option in iTunes.

Q DEAN, Anaheim, CA - best camera for the Olympics in China.

His wife is concert manager for Yorba Linda orchestra and they get to be a part of the China Olympics. Buy the camcorder in China? Leo says you may get a better deal. Leo recommends a tape based camcorder. The Canon Vixia HV30. $800. Beautiful HiDef. Tape based.

Careful though, you may end up with a great deal, but the camera menus are in Chinese and they’ll probably sock you in price for the English version.

She’ll also need 8GB DHC cards to offload the video.

Panasonic HDC-SD5. H.264. Pinnacle will read it if you upgrade to the new version.

Here’s more info on the Yorba Linda Symphony Orchestra. They will be doing a concert on Saturday the 21st. Click on the link for more information.

Q MORMON, on Twitter - is there a good cellphone for GPS with turn by turn instructions?

Best is BLACKBERRY CURVE 8320 with Wifi, but the 8310 has GPS. But Leo doesn’t know of any that actually do turn by turn instructions.

Any phone that supports Google Maps can be a sort of GPS. You can even get a GPS keychain which will connect to your phone via Bluetooth to do the same thing.

Q From Twitter - Whats a Good Scanner?

Epson does a great scanners. Need a light in the lid to scan negatives and slides. The Perfection series. Very affordable.

Q ERIC, Chevy Chase, MD - Wants to make his podcast go video.

His podcast - The Forcecast. Podcast for Star Wars. Theforce.net. Streaming live using Ustream and webcams. If you have a camcorder, it’s always going to be better than a USB webcam. BUT - Leo likes the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000. Inexpensive ($100), good lenses, pretty good quality. You can also do high quality video via SKYPE. Does well in low light.

Stickam. Live.Yahoo.com. Justin.TV. Ustream.

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Hour 3

Q JOE, Trebucco Canyon, CA - Just got stung by eBay.

Sold item. Paid by PayPal. PayPal reversed money next day after he shipped the item. Sent unconfirmed address. Lost the cash and the item. This is a traditional scam. The bottom line is that PayPal places the onus on you to collect it and suddenly, in exchange for your money, eBay accepts no liability.

Wants to know about the Samsung Instinct M800. Leo’s heard alot of great things about it. Has an on-screen keyboard. Not Windows mobile. But the Instinct software isn’t too bad. However, it looks a tad too much like the iPhone. It’s a serious response on the iPhone. But doesn’t have Wi-Fi, but does have direction based GPS. 2MP camera. But does it sync? Unknown.

Compare the Instinct to the iPhone on Sprint’s website. Sprint has a very high speed data network. Read David Pogue’s review in the NYT. But take note that it ends up being an iPhone review as well. LOL.

Leo stays with the Blackberry because of over the air synching with Outlook and email. Blackberry does it better than anyone.

Blackberry has 45% of the market.

Q David, Quincy, MD - MP3Pro?

Successor to MP3. Done by Thompson RCA. Same idea. But the problem is it isn’t universal. So you have to be sure your player can handle it. The Zen can play it. Higher quality at better bitrate. It may work with you, but Leo suggests to use a format that “has legs.” Or you may end up encoding again.

Stick with MP3 and encode it at 160KB VBR. That’s the format which will be here years from now. Even better, dedicate a hard drive to your CD collection and store it. Then record it FLAK or lossless format. Oh, and store your CDs.

Q CHRISTINA, San Diego - iPod doesn’t hold a charge.

LiOn batteries will wear out over about 2 years. You can have Apple replace the battery. And out of warranty replacement will cost you about $63 through their out of warranty battery replacement program. The problem is that they assume the ipod is a disposable device and they assume that you’ll want a sexier new one.

Or, you can buy a replacement and install it yourself - ipodjuice.com also has instructions on how to do it. Frys sells them, but at your own risk. Seriously though, at only $30 more, let Apple do it.

Q MICHELE, Riverside, CA - looking to buy first camcorder.

Wants one to add an external microphone to hook to a mixer. You want to look for an “XLR” plug if you’re planning to hook directly to a mixer. But you’ll also need a preamp and even “phantom” power if it’s a condenser mic.

If you’re recording a concert or something, you can jack into the mixer with the audio line in. The Canon HV20 does that. But you’ll probably need a mini adapter. Also you’ll want headphones to monitor the audio into your camcorder.

She also wants to know if a flash based camcorder is a good idea. They do to 8GB in the SDHC realm, which is what you want. An 8GB card varies depending on compression and quality. Even 16gb or 32GB. But they’re pricey. But you can get about an hour or an hour twenty. The problem with relying on a single card, is you lost the card, you lose the whole thing. Use smaller cards and swap them out so you don’t lose everything if it goes south.

Needs to also upgrade her computer. The new flash camcorders record in AVCHD but you probably need to bump up your RAM to handle it. It takes a lot. Why not stick with tape based camcorders like the HV30?

The Panasonic SD8 has audio in, maybe. Her issue is the “old slow” computer she has. HiDef video files are bandwidth HOGS. You’ gotta have at least 2–4GBs minimum to power it. And chances are you’ll need to boost that chip and upgrade your video editor.

here’s a trick - import the data at half resolution. HD shoots in 1080i. Import at 540p and you’ll get 90% of the quality at half the definition. Sweet, huh?

Q JEFF, Sejus County, GA - Wants to help seniors with computers.

Leo recommends the Absolute Beginners Guides by QUE. Lots of pictures and step by step instructions on how to do computer stuff. Teach them email. Learn one program and one operating system. Master that, it makes others easier.

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