Downloading, streaming, or encoding music and movies.
Media
What software do I need to record podcasts?
Episode 1248
Brian picked up the Heil PR40 Microphone to do some podcasting. He also uses a PreSonus AudioBox iTwo. Leo says the Heil PR40 is a mic that Leo uses all the time. The PreSonus makes it possible to use a professional analog broadcast mic with a computer. Brian is wondering what he should use to record podcasts when he interviews people who call in. Leo says that Skype is the way to go, especially when he's having guests all over the world. The quality is amazing, too. The reason why, is because the telephone network is intentionally inferior with extremely low bit rates of 4-6 bits.
Why can't I stream music from my Google tablet?
Episode 1247
Ron tries to stream music from his NetGear App on his Nexus Tablet but when the tablet goes to sleep, the music stops. Leo suspects that the app doesn't support background streaming. There are plenty of other options out there, like Plex. Leo also uses Google Music from the cloud and streams his music. That works even when the tablet goes to sleep.
Microsoft Giving Away 10 of 2015's Top Albums
Episode 1245
Microsoft is giving away 10 of the top albums of 2015. If you are on a Windows 10 machine and have the Groove music app, you'll be able to download them. Microsoft did a similar thing last year as well.
Read more at blog.windows.com.
RDIO to Shut Down, Transition to Ad Supported Music
Episode 1239
The subscription music streaming service RDIO has run out of money is shutting down, effective November 23rd. Pandora will buy RDIOs intellectual property. Leo says this is a harbinger of what's to come, and he expects that free services aren't really going to last and that it's only a matter of time before Spotify and Pandora will follow and close down. Eventually, we'll end up with just four music services, all run by Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft, which really don't need to make money through the service.
What Blu-ray burner should I get for my Mac?
Episode 1238
Jonathan from
Jonathan's external Blu-ray burner for his laptop has just died. Are there any good external Blu-ray burners for Mac? Leo says that just about any Blu-ray burner would work, if he could find software to drive it. Apple doesn't sell one because they don't want to support Blu-Ray burners due to privacy issues.
Why did my Quicktime file play sideways on Windows 7?
Episode 1238
Joe's Quicktime movie files were playing sideways on Windows 7. He upgraded to Windows 10 and now it plays properly. Leo says it's likely that the video was shot on a mobile phone in portait mode and the previous version of windows couldn't read the metadata for the accelerometer in the phone. Now, with Windows 10, it can read that data and adjust the image properly. If it happens again, Leo suggests using VLC Media Player to rotate it.
What format should I rip my CDs to?
Episode 1237
Charlie wants to rip his CDs to a memory stick. Should he partition it since it's 128GB? Leo says why not just get a smaller one? Or, better yet, rip the CDs into higher quality. If he's going to do it, do it once. Charlie should rip the CDs into FLAC, which is a lossless format, and preserves 100% of the CD quality. MP3 doesn't do that, neither does AAC. FLAC is identical to CD quality. Use that for archival storage and then he can convert down from there to a USB drive.
What's a good solution for Windows Media Center?
Episode 1236
Mitch from
Mitch is mad that after updating to Windows 10, Windows Media Center is no longer there. Leo says that he's furious with Microsoft about that, killing off the XBMC without giving anyone a choice. But Leo says there's more to it -- likely copy protection issues.
New York Times Puts Out 'Virtual Reality' Edition
Episode 1236
Partnering with Google, the NY Times has put out a virtual reality edition with a custom Google Cardboard viewer and app. Leo says that while this may be the future of news, he's not sure he wants to be immersed in a news report, especially one that's coming from war torn areas of the world.
Beatles Videos on Blu-Ray Selling Out Everywhere
Episode 1236
45 years after they broke up, the Beatles continue to outsell just about everyone. Lately, they released a Blu-ray of videos of all their hit songs and it's selling out everywhere. 31 million copies sold!
