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Meritline is where I've been buying my blank DVD disks. Prices are very competitive.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Cheap DVD blanks, QuickTime conversion, other questions


Nov. 3, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   Catch-up time. Here are brief answers to some of the questions I've been asked recently.
   
   I have a computer with a DVD burner. Blank DVDs are terribly expensive where I shop. Do you know of a source of cheaper blank disks?
   Try www.meritline.com, which specializes in blank CD and DVD disks. I've been buying my DVD blanks from Meritline for many months. The ones that seem to work best on my Mac G4's DVD burner are labeled "DVDPro" or "ML-DVDR" and cost $35.50 for 25. The price has come down since my last order, according to a quick check of the company's Web site.
   
   I am looking for a way to convert Windows-format AVI files to QuickTime movies.
   Buy QuickTime Pro from Apple (www.apple.com) for $30. (Note that if you already have the latest version of QuickTime, you simply type a registration number to convert your free QuickTime to QuickTime Pro.) QT Pro has many features, including conversion from one video format to another.
   
   Is it possible to record from an analog source such as a turntable or tape player to a computer hard drive?
   Yes. Don't change any of your hi-fi system hookups. Just run a stereo cable from the TAPE OUT of your receiver to your LINE IN connection on your computer. Use good recording software on the computer (Sound Forge or Sound Forge Studio for Windows, from www.sonicfoundry.com; for current Macs, try Peak 3, Deck or Deck LE from www.bias-inc.com.)
    Do CDs deteriorate over time? This is an important issue for my company, which archives data on CDs.
   Yes, but CDs made now are likely to last much longer than ones made in the infancy of compact disk recording. Use a program such as CD Check (for Windows, from www.elpros.si/CDCheck/) or Data Rescue (for modern Macs) from www.prosofteng.com. Test your data CDs every three or four years. Rescue data that's bad and copy everything to a new CD if necessary at that time.
   
   Sometimes my home page changes to something I never agreed to. How do I get it back?
    For Windows users, go to www.pjwalczak.com/spguard/ and get StartPage Guard. It's free. Mac home pages usually don't get hijacked, so I don't have a Mac fix.
   
   I got a notice from Road Runner about a change in its servers. That part I could understand. But it said I should select my own e-mail software from a list, and had only ONE program on the list, Outlook Express! (It had one for Windows and two for Macs.) Does this mean Road Runner won't let me use another e-mail program?
   Why Road Runner does not know that there are hundreds of other e-mail programs is a mystery, especially considering the abysmal security of Outlook Express for Windows. Use any e-mail program that you want.
   
   You've written about audio now and then, so do you know which audio format (MP3, Ogg, MPEG4, WAV and so on) sounds best?
   Go to www.airwindows.com/encoders/ for an interesting analysis. And try out various methods yourself. MP3 encoders are easy to find, but for Ogg Vorbis, the newest contender, go to www.vorbis.com; for MPEG4 audio, go to www.tnt.uni-hannover.de/project/mpeg/audio.