Downloading, streaming, or encoding music and movies.
Media
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.
Can I still buy an MP3 player?
Episode 1443
Martin from
Martin wants to know if he can still buy MP3 players. He wants to bring his music with him and doesn't want to stream it. He also doesn't have a lot of storage on his phone. Leo says that there are still some available, though the category is shrinking. SanDisk has the Clip, which has 16GB of space. It's around $30 and is very simple. Search Amazon and he'll find a lot of them, mostly Chinese made.
What's the future of DVD and USB drives?
Episode 1439
Carey from
Carey wants to know what the future holds for DVDs and thumb drives. Leo says that DVDs are going away as people are preferring to stream more than playing them on optical drives. But Leo says that USB is going to be around for quite awhile.
How can I create a subscription audio service?
Episode 1436
Daniel from
Daniel wants to make an audio only subscription feed for his subscribers. Leo says that Spreaker is one option. They have a subscription plan that will lock out people if they don't pay. He can also roll in ads.
How can I control my mp3s in the car?
Episode 1432
John from
John has a new car and it doesn't have a CD player. It has a USB plug instead, but the music just jumps all around. Leo says that most car makers expect you to keep your music organized and play it from the phone. John's Corvette uses Apple CarPlay so his iPhone will interface with it really easily and he can play all his music via the iOS Music app. He can just tell it to play an album and it will play it. Or he can even tell it to play with no pauses between tracks, shuffle, create playlists, genre, and more. It's wide open in terms of options.
How can I use my tablet as a switcher for live streaming?
Episode 1431
Chris from
Chris needs an app to create a live stream on a budget. Leo just saw a great tool on both Android and iOS that uses camera phones and Wi-Fi to connect and then uses one device to act as a switcher. He should check out Switcher Studio. It does just that, but it's currently iOS only. Cinemaker is another one. It also is just for iOS, but the Android version is coming soon. Chris could also look into Manycam.
Why are commercials so loud?
Episode 1425
Dave from
Dave wants to listen to podcasts but he gets frustrated by how different the volume is from show to commercial and back. Rich says that's a common problem and he can get an app that equalizes the podcasts he listens to.