Downloading, streaming, or encoding music and movies.
Media
How do I sync my phone in Catalina?
Episode 1688
Tom fromTom got a message from his iPhone 11 Pro that his phone was almost full. So he's been moving stuff off. But how does he back up his playlists? Leo says you can do it wirelessly. Go into settings and look in "about" to see what's taking up all the room. Then, you can go into the Music app and delete the music artist by artist. But in Catalina, you can still sync in the music app as you used to with iTunes. Select Sync check songs only.
How can I start a podcast?
Episode 1680
Brian fromBrian has a couple of friends that want to start a podcast. Leo says it's a great time to start one, and you can get started with just a smartphone thanks to Anchor.FM. There's also Twisted Wave, an app. In fact, a smartphone has everything you need to do a professional-sounding podcast. But if you want to expand, Leo says an Emotiv mic will plug into your phone and give you a little better audio. Anchor.FM can then be the publisher. They will also bring it up to iTunes and other podcasting aggregators. You also get a web page. And they don't charge you either.
Why Can't I Convert to MP3?
Episode 1675
Todd fromTodd has bought a music track from iTunes and has to edit it and convert it to MP3. Leo says that he can go into Garage Band and edit it. If it has copy protection, pick it up from another source like Amazon Music. Then import into Garage Band.
What is Going to Happen to Windows iTunes?
Episode 1669
Steve fromSteve is concerned that replacing iTunes with a series of apps in macOS Catalina will cause Windows Users to not be able to sync. Leo says that while Apple will be shutting down iTunes downloads, he doesn't really see them coming out and stopping sync within iTunes for Windows users. In the mac, Sync is now done with macOS through the Finder. So there will likely be a similar solution for Windows users. But the trend now is that people are streaming now. Download & sync is being used less and less. But if it does, Leo recommends DoubleTwist.
How do I manage the media in my iPod?
Episode 1666
Carol fromCarol has an iPod that's getting too full and wants to know how to get everything off it and allow you to put other music on it. Leo suggests using iTunes and it's sync feature. Set it up to only sync checked items. Anything that isn't checked will be removed. Some items, though, won't get unchecked in her iPod. Leo says that's not where you uncheck them. You uncheck them in iTunes. Here's how - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201593
Can I make a living with a podcast?
Episode 1666
Bill fromBill wants to know if he can make a living podcasting. Leo says that it takes a long time to build an audience to make a living. It's better to pick something you're really passionate about and then just do it. Focus on building your audience, not trying to make a buck. As for how to get started, Leo recommends Anchor.fm. You can put the app on your phone and create your podcast directly from it. Or you can upload a podcast you recorded the old fashioned way; you can even monetize it. They have a deal with Spotify and will also plug it.
How Can I Listen to Free Music Online?
Episode 1665
Ed fromEd wants to know if there are any music websites that are free. Leo says that streaming music services like Spotify and Pandora have free tiers, with ads. Apple has Beats One Radio. Spotify is the best. Radio.com. IHeartRadio.com, Tunein.com. All free.
How can I recover WMA music files or strip the DRM?
Episode 1660
Hugh fromHugh wants to know how to recover music purchased online. They are WMA files and are copy protected. Leo says that most DRM copy protection has been cracked and removed. DRM Media Converter will do it.
How do I import my music into iTunes?
Episode 1655
Ed fromEd has a 13" MacBook Pro and after moving his music over using iTunes, he now has duplicate files and they won't play anything. Leo says what you want to do is import the music and not make a copy of it. That will tell iTunes where to go to access the music. So now, Ed will need to get a dedupe app to remove the duplications. Or you can search for everything that includes "copy 1" and "copy 2" and delete them. Then reimport them without "making a copy" enabled. That will reindex iTunes, pointing to where the files live on your external drive.
Is HD Audio a waste of money?
Episode 1653
David fromDavid wants to know why he can't get HD quality for listening to streaming audio. Leo says that wirelessly, there may be some bandwidth issues. The best quality would come from a wired connection. Is he wasting his money on buying high-resolution audio? Leo says that's an interesting question. You'll get better audio with better equipment, much like what recorders and mixers use to create the audio in the first place. But the music we've been listening to is over-compressed, and we usually listen to inferior headphones that don't reproduce music well.