Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How Can I Digitize My Old Albums?

Watch John from Palos Verde, CA Comments

John wants to digitize a record album of his mother's appearance on the old game show Queen for a Day. Is there a turntable that he can get, which can convert it to an mp3? Leo says that Crossley makes a turntable with a USB connection. There is also Victrola and ION. They make them as well. And you can get them as little as $100, and it also includes a CD burner. Just do a search on Amazon for a USB Turntable.

How Can I Get My External Hard Drive to Be Read?

Watch Brett from Lakewood, WA Comments

Brett has an external hard drive that has his Plex Media Library on it. It has over 500 movies on it. But he's been having issues with it now. His PC can read only random movie files. Leo says the hard drive is starting to fail, and Brett needs to back it up asap and replace it. Leo thinks the hard drive is experiencing a soft failure, meaning that the drive has some corruption of the hard drive catalog, and it could be fixed. Leo recommends SpinRite, which can read bad sectors and move the data to a healthier drive sector. It'll then mark the bad sector so the hard drive can't write to it again. Once done, you can move the data to a new drive. It's not cheap, at $90, but it's definitely worth it to get all those movies and TV Shows back.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

How Can I Prevent My Audio Receiver From Turning on and Off?

Watch David from Venice Beach, CA Comments

David's Denon AV receiver turns on/off randomly. What's going on? Leo says that all home theater gear are computers now, and as such, they are all solid-state. As such, they're not very fixable. But it could be an intermittent power spike that is causing the AVR to turn on/off. A power conditioner could fix it by providing a steady supply of power without interruption. That's the one solution that David can try. Absent that, it's probably cheaper to buy a new AVR rather than try and repair it. Power conditioners include Trip Lite, APCC.

Note, power conditioners aren't surge protectors. 

What Are My Alternatives to Google Photos?

Watch Diane from Chicago, IL Comments

Diane hears that Google Photos is going to end on January 5th. Leo says that's not accurate. Google Photos will be ending their free unlimited photo storage on June 1st. However, until then, you can store unlimited photos that will remain free forever. After that, the 15GB limit will apply to any new photos, music, all your docs, and email.  But Google's pay tier is pretty affordable if you need more space.

There are other options like Shutterfly and Amazon Prime. 

What you can also do to free up space is to move your documents to other options like Microsoft One Drive, DropBox, Box. Leo uses P-Cloud. You get 10GB for free. They also have a lifetime 2TB storage for $350.

Chris Marquardt uses Wasabi and ARQ.

How Can I Catalog and Organize My Library of Music and Movies?

Watch Nolan from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Nolan wants to know if storing passwords on your iPhone is safe. Leo says if you only use Apple devices, it's about as secure as it can get. iOS has it's own built-in password generator and wallet. But your passwords won't be available if you use a Windows Machine or other cross-platform device. That's where a third-party app like LastPass comes in handy. 

Nolan also wants a program that he can use to catalog all his CDs and DVDs. Leo says that any Database program can work, like MS Access. You can roll your own using MS Access. You could also use a spreadsheet app like Excel, Apple Numbers, or even Google Docs to do it. 

On the Mac side: Claris Filemaker Pro is the best option.

There's also a purpose-built option like Delicious Library, which is designed specifically for movies and music libraries.

What's a Good, Affordable Laser Printer?

Watch Richard from Grand Rapids, MI Comments

Richard is looking for a good Laser printer that doesn't look like it's been put together like an erector set. Leo recommends Brother's laser printers. They're excellent and inexpensive. Other good laser printer brands to look at are Samsung, Epson, and HP.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Hour 1 Hour 2 Hour 3

Why Don't I Have Data Access on My Mobile Phone?

Watch Mark from Los Angeles, CA Comments

Mark has a Samsung Note X. Sometimes, he doesn't get any internet access, even though he has full bars. He's tried going into airplane mode and back, but he still doesn't get data. Is it a dead zone? Leo says that the bars aren't for data; they are for voice. So your full bars doesn't really have anything to do with data access. But since Mark lives in LA, you should get data anywhere.

There is a diagnostic mode in your phone that you can use to see.  A secret code - *#0*# will launch on your Samsung that will show what your radios are getting, as well as other results. There may also be a carrier diagnostic that can provide you with more data on getting signal wise. Go to your local carrier store (his is Sprint) and ask. 

Mark is also looking for a local IT guy. Leo says you want a locally managed service provider (MSP), which you can pay by the hour to do small business IT work. 

Can I Do a Zoom Call With My TV?

Watch Matthew from Murrieta, CA Comments

Matthew bought a Facebook Portal for his in-laws. He keeps hearing that they're going to add Zoom, but that hasn't happened yet. What he wants to know is, can he do a zoom call on his TV? Leo says one way to do it is with an Apple TV and airplay it, with your camera being your iPhone or iPad. But everyone would have to have an Apple Device to do it. 

Another option is you're not an Apple fan, is to get a Chromecast and use your Android device to cast in the same fashion. The Google Nest Hub Max can also do it. Here's how.

Logitech also makes a device to do it, but it's kind of an expensive way to do it. Here's an article on it.

Why Isn't My 4k Roku Streaming in 4k?

Watch Jose from Modesto, CA Comments

Jose got a new 4K TV and a Roku Ultra. But the Roku Ultra is getting an error for resolution. Leo says Jose needs an HDMI 2.1 cable to support the 4K stream.  You don't need a monster cable or anything like that. Just one that's HDMI 2.1 compatible. Leo recommends MonoPrice.com. It's around $12.

But shouldn't the cable that came with the Roku be compatible? Leo says it should be. Try resetting the Ultra and see if it has the latest firmware. If the problem persists, then it's likely a bad Roku unit, and you should take it back and exchange it for another one. 

It could also be an HDCP copy protection issue. Check out this support article from Roku.

Playlist