audio

Windows Media Player is a free software media player used for playing audio and video on personal computers running Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has also made available versions for other operating systems including Pocket PC, Mac OS, and Solaris. ... These tend to lag behind the Windows versions in features, software update frequency, and the number of file formats supported. The basic file formats are WMV (Windows Media Video & Audio), WMA (Windows Media Audio), and ASF (Advanced Streaming Format). Windows Media Player replaced an earlier piece of software simply called Media Player, adding ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dion E. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to convert a tape to CD by transferring the audio to my computer, and then recording it to CD using my CD burner. To convert the tape to CD, I am using an audio cable to go from my ... earphone jack of my tape player to the sound card of my computer. The problem is that my computer is recording the tape audio in 1-channel mono sound (and not stereo!). I am reasonably sure that the original recording is in 2-channel stereo. What should I do? Thanks in anticipation for any help you can offer. " My response: I have a few ... (view more)

Synopsis: Turn your PC into into a smart Video Security and Surveillance System! Using Webcam Monitor's intelligent motion detection system, you can effortlessly monitor your home, office, parking area, or any other premises 24-hours a day! Simply ... connect a USB or FireWire Camera to your PC, install WebCam Monitor, and you're ready to begin surveillance! Webcam Monitor is highly customizable and lets you activate video via motion and noise so that you can capture events precisely when they happen. Remote monitoring lets you view / listen to video / audio over the Internet, plus FTP uploads ... (view more)

Synopsis: Looking for a powerful, all-in-one utility to convert all your media files with a simple right-click of the mouse? Look no further! ContextConvert Pro is a convenient and highly configurable Windows application for converting nearly all ... conceivable multimedia formats. Tightly integrated with the Windows interface, ContextConvert Pro provides immediate conversion capability from any Windows context ("right-click") menu. Simply right-click on any audio, image, or video file, and you can immediately convert it to any other supported format. It's an audio converter (e.g. convert WMA to ... (view more)

The Moving Picture Experts Group ( MPEG ) is a working group of ISO/IEC charged with the development of video and audio encoding standards. Since its first meeting in 1988, MPEG has grown to include approximately 350 members from various industries ... and universities. MPEG's official designation is ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 WG11. MPEG (pronounced EM-peg) has standardized the following compression formats and ancillary standards: MPEG-1: Initial video and audio compression standard. Later used as the standard for Video CD, and includes the popular Layer 3 (MP3) audio compression format. MPEG-2: ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'theMick37' writes: " Dear Dennis, There is so much great info on your web site! Thanks for that. I was wondering if there is any programs (freeware preferred) that can record Internet radio [audio]? I have WinAmp and there are ... some great radio stations. I'd like to record the audio to my hard drive so I can listen to that same music later or in WinAmp later on. Thanks for any information you can provide. " My response: According to zdNet.com, "recording Internet radio still remains in legal limbo, and there's some precedent for it being legal, since you can ... (view more)

Synopsis: Confused about burning music CDs? Worry no more! Designed to be super-easy-to-use, Acoustica MP3 CD / DVD Burner is an intuitive music burning program jam packed full of user-friendly features! Not only will Acoustica MP3 Burner burn your ... music in the order you want it, but it will let you edit each song to get rid of silence, extra long applauses or even fade in and out incomplete songs! And because Acoustica MP3 Burner can also boost, equalize, or normalize each song individually, you won't have to constantly adjust the volume dial on your stereo! With Acoustica MP3 CD Burner, you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Chris B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I read with great interest your latest article, ' Watch downloaded movies on DVD player? '. I have one more suggestion for your Readers -- actually, it's more of a twist on a suggestion you already ... provided. For those who already own a video card with the 'TV out' feature: instead of running cables over a long distance (which may end up costing a fortune), I believe it would be equally feasible (or even cheaper) to purchase a wireless video transmitter and receiver combo package, and hook it up to the 'TV out' port of the video card. The ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Barbo214' writes: " Dear Dennis, I don't know how to explain the noise that comes from my computer speakers -- but it almost like wires are trying to connect. I've heard the same sound sometimes from my car radio speakers. Do you ... know what could be causing this and how I can resolve the issue? " My response: I'm not quite sure what sound you are referring to, but if it's a constant buzz (like feedback in a microphone), it's probably because your computer speakers aren't plugged in all the way in the back of your computer. If this is the case, make sure it's ... (view more)

With so many different audio and video formats circulating the Internet, keeping track of which media player plays which format is almost a next-to-impossible task. For example: .MOV files are made with Apple QuickTime, and won't play in Windows ... Media Player; QuickTime player (which plays .MOV files) won't play DivX movies, and RealAudio and RealVideo files won't play in either QuickTime or Windows Media Player. To top it all off, none of the above mentioned formats will play on a portable .WMA (Windows Media Audio) device. Confused yet? Audio and video files generally contain content meant ... (view more)