Downloading, streaming, or encoding music and movies.
Media
Can I get recorded TV programs off my TIVO?
Episode 1470
Michael from
Michael wants to know if he can get the programs off his TIVO. Leo says it was possible with the Series 1 TIVO. But now the data is encrypted, so it's almost impossible to decrypt it and copy it off. TiVo does have a feature called TIVO to Go, but the only way he could really do it is to exploit the analog hole. That will lower the quality a bit, but he can use the analog connections that would go to his TV and connect them to a recorder. Then he could play the content back and record it in real time. It can be complicated though, because of HDCP.
New Social Media Study Shows Shift in Social Media Usage
Episode 1467
Pew Research Center on Internet and Technology did a study on social media and the stats for early 2018 were surprising. 78% of 18-24 year olds use Snapchat, and most of them visit the platform many times a day. 71% of 18-24 year olds also use Instagram, and only 45% Twitter. Roughly 2/3rds of US adults say they use Facebook, and 3/4 of that number on a daily basis. Facebook is easily used by the majority of Americans every single day. YouTube's numbers were even higher. 73% of adults say they use YouTube.
How can I edit my home movies?
Episode 1467
Richard from
Richard has some old 8mm home movies that were transferred to DVD. They were transferred out of order and he wants to redo them, re-edit the video files, etc. Leo says that those DVDs are a treasure chest but he'll need to make sure he gets those videos off them and onto a hard drive, because sooner or later that DVD may not be playable. Is there something online that he can use? Leo says that video files are too big to upload to the cloud.
How can I rip a DVD?
Episode 1462
Dan from
Dan wants to rip some old DVDs so he can stream them on the Apple TV using Plex, but he's having trouble with Handbrake. Leo says that he can rip it and then keep it on his computer, or use a network attached storage device running the Plex server. Leo says that Handbrake should have an Apple TV profile. He also needs to be sure he's using VLC to break the DRM.
How can I transfer music off of an old iPod?
Episode 1451
Chris from
Chris has an old iPod Classic. But since his PC died, he needs to find a safe way to get his music off his iPod and back onto his new computer. Leo says that Apple doesn't let you do that because they're afraid of piracy. But there are third party options on both Apple and PC.
How can I get data off a dead iPod?
Episode 1447
Paul from
Paul has an iPod with some unreplaceable media on it. It won't let him charge anymore and he's afraid he's lost his media. Leo says it depends on how old it is. He should look on the back and see what the model number is. Chances are, the battery just doesn't hold a charge anymore. He may be able to replace the battery. Before he does that, though, he should try and get it powered up by connecting it to his computer. If it powers up, then he can get the data off with iTunes. If not, that model iPod has a spinning hard drive in it, so he could remove it.
Is 4K Blu-ray worth investing in?
Episode 1444
Isaac from
Isaac has a nice Sony home theater system. But with 4K, he wants to know if the difference in quality is worth rebuilding it in 4K. Leo says that Blu-ray is not only 4 times the resolution as 1080p, it also has the high dynamic range and that's more important. If his home theater supports HDR, then there's no problem. If not, he may want to think about it. Moving forward, he can start picking up UHD HDR Blu-rays for his collection. Billy Lynn, Master and Commander, the BBC Earth series — all are excellent.
Why can't I listen to the Tech Guy using the Amazon Echo?
Episode 1443
Brian from
Brian is trying to play Leo's Tech Guy podcast using the Amazon Echo, but it keeps playing an old episode from TuneIn. Leo tried it, and it does indeed pull up an old episode. Leo suspects it's the fault of TWiT that may not have uploaded the most recent episodes. Or there's an issue on TuneIn. Another option could be to ask Echo to play it via YouTube or straight from TWIT.tv.
Does Apple CarPlay support Google Play Music?
Episode 1443
Jonathan from
Jonathan wants to know if CarPlay will support Android and Google Play Music. Leo says that Google Play Music will be coming to CarPlay soon. Although it's unclear when it will get seeded down to older models. Siri probably won't interact with it or control it, though. This seems counter to the very idea of CarPlay to begin with — that it's a handsfree experience when driving.
What's a good audiobook reader?
Episode 1443
Karen from
Karen tries to play audiobook files on her phone but they don't play in the proper order. Leo says that's likely because the player isn't very smart, and can't read the metadata. It's only looking at a file name. So she may need to number those media files in order so it will read them back properly. A better player will do.
