Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with conversion

Is it possible to convert my Hi8's this way?

Sakura3210 — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:23:42 -0800

So, I have a bunch of old Hi8 tapes that I want to get on my MacBook pro. I have a camcorder that plays Hi8's (but is only analog) and a DVD recorder. Can you help me? What I had been doing was connecting the camcorder to the DVD recorder, burning DVDs, then ripping those DVD's onto my computer. This has proven time-intensive, and I am looking for a way to condense the process. My idea: connect the camcorder to the recorder, then the recorder to the computer (using it as a analog to digital converter). Is this possible? I should note than the recorder doesn't seem to have a digital visual output (no FireWire/USB, just composite cables, etc.) though it does have a digital audio output (PCM, bitstream).

I'd really like to use the recorder as other options (avdv+FireWire, digital camcorder that plays Hi8's, video capture card, etc.) would be rough on my budget.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Where to look for unconverted industrial space in London?

Spanner Nic — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:56:31 -0800

I would like to buy unconverted industrial/office/non-residential space in London, like a warehouse or a school hall, to transform it into live-and-work artist studios over a few years. The state of dereliction does not matter too much, nor does the location, but how can I actually find some for sale? I doubt most of these things make it to mainstream websites, as Zoopla/Rightmove hardly have two handfuls of commercial properties for sale at a given time. Any clue?

You put the what in the where now?

mcbeth — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:59:33 -0800

Have had and have used Lightroom 3. Now have and will soon use Lightroom 4. Not exactly clear on the pixie magic involved in converting a LR3 catalog to LR4, though. What can you tell me? I edit my photography using Lightroom 3 and have an extensive LR3 catalog kept on a portable external drive. I also, today, have LR4 installed on my computer. I'm looking for advice on workflow efficiency to 1.) be sure my LR3 catalog is as cleaned up/organized as I can make it be before I 2.) convert the LR3 catalog to LR4.

Also, I understand LR4 is not backwards compatible with LR3. What exactly does that mean and what steps can I take to avoid potential trouble?

will it sound warm or cold?

windykites — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 07:03:29 -0800

I think it's possible to put digital music onto vinyl albums at home with some device I saw advertised somewhere. But will doing this produce an anologue sound or a digital sound? Will it sound as rich as if the album had originally been on vinyl or will it sound emptier the way digital music does? I guess I'm basically asking if it's worth doing. I don't know technical stuff about stuff, so I hope my question makes sense!

Looking for a free video conversion software program

dbirchum — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:11:12 -0800

Looking for a recommendation for any free video conversion software programs... Greetings, lately I have been trying to convert a variety of videos into different formats. For example .mkv files to avi or mp4 files to avi, etc, or flv files to mp4 files etc. The program that I was using wasn't giving me the results that I was hoping for.

I will admit, I know nothing about video formats and quality, but I am trying to (and willing to) learn. I am figuring out that trying to convert a certain format to another (.mpg to .avi, for example) doesn't always work in terms of video quality. My main reason for for wanting to do this is that I have a dvd player that plays a wide range of formats, so instead of watching them on my computer, I am trying to convert a lot of these videos to avi files to watch on my tv. It doesn't always work out.

I am just looking for advice/suggestions, etc. I am certainly willing to pay for software, but I am curious if there is anything out there that is comparable and free.

Thanks in advance!

Can an intermediary bank in a transaction apply currency conversion?

fifigyuri — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:11:18 -0800

I have a USD account in the UK and received an incoming amount in GBP. However, it was supposed to be sent in USD from the US (so that's a cross-border transfer). The sender also claims that the amount was sent in USD. My bank claims and also the statement tells that the money came in GBP. Because of the double conversion (usd->gbp->usd) I received significantly less than if it happened without any conversion. My only idea at the moment is that an intermediary bank applied a conversion.. Can this happen? How can I clearly find out what happened? How to avoid this from happening again? Thanks for your suggestions!

Help my notebook speak to my shiny new TV

Helga-woo — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:01:20 -0800

What's the best way to connect my Samsung series 5 TV with my Acer Ferrari One notebook so I can use the TV as a monitor? The laptop doesn't have a HDMI port... This is the Samsung TV. This is the Acer notebook.

The TV has HDMI, composite, component, scart and USB ports.

The notebook has a vga port and a hole (sorry, I mean an ATI XGP port).

I've done some amateur googling and, short of tracking down a rare as hen's teeth XGP box, there's seems to be a couple of options. They all seem like a bit of a bodge, I've no idea which one would be best, and I don't know if there's another option I'm missing. They seem to be:

1) Take a pitch that the VGA port will support TV and buy a VGA to composite/component cable and cross my fingers. I've found one discussion that indicated that this will work with my Acer and a lot of others who doubted this would be possible on a laptop, but none of those were talking about this Acer specifically.

2) If 1) doesn't work, get a transcoder box that will convert VGA to composite.

3) Use a VGA to HDMI convertor box.

4) Something else?

What is my best option? I will use the TV occasionally as a straight monitor, but I mainly want it so I can watch on demand TV like 4OD which isn't available as a Samsung app.

I want to avoid buying cables that won't work full stop (there seems to be a lot of people selling these), I want to keep it as simple as possible, so I'd rather not get a transcoder/converter unless I absolutely have to, and I want the best picture possible.

Conversion program for .pptm PowerPoint file into flash made for Macs?

reenka — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:11:39 -0800

I have a PowerPoint presentation with macros for sound, in a .pptm file with audio and animations for a class. My professor can't play it as is, so she wants me to convert it to a flash file format, which I thought I could do, but all the converter programs I've found need a PC, and I only have a Mac and so does my family. Naturally, my school's PCs don't allow installs, and I need to figure this out today. I have Adobe Flash, but it doesn't recognize the format, and I need to keep my audio/etc. any ideas for conversion or online viewing, etc? I have considered asking her to download a viewer, but it seems a bit much. Even if I could find a PC to use, I'm not sure which one of the programs work well enough, but I don't know where to find a PC that allows installs. Could just start over again, but that seems a bit much....

How to connect RCA surround sound to HDMI TV?

magnoliasouth — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:53:31 -0800

How to best connect a surround sound with RCA plugs to everything HDMI, or in reverse? Full explanation inside. Okay, we have the following items hooked up to an RCA switch, then just switch to the one we wish. I am a visual learner and so this is the present diagram on how we hook things up.

Diagram is here.

For my birthday, I am getting a HDTV. Everything is HDMI friendly except for the surround sound. There is no HDMI input (nor output for that matter). The TV has 3 HDMI connections which works, except for the sound.

So all of this is to ask, how can I make the sound work with this TV? Obviously there is something I need to get, but I'm not sure what it would be called. This perhaps? The TV doesn't have the best sound, but we want to use our speakers in some way though, hopefully.

If I manage to get something, will it still have surround sound, or will it turn mono? You have to talk to me like I'm a two-year-old because I've no idea about any of this stuff.

Unusual objects and their measurements

safetyfork — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:33:46 -0800

Please list your best, favorite, most interesting object that could be used as a unit of measure for one of the following: area, volume, or temperature. For your answer to be useful I require the object and its measure. The ideal object is unusual but relatable at the human scale. I'm thinking of doing a project that will use standard household items as well as more wacky objects as measures of things. Objects that are mass produced or that provide a repeatable experience are best to confirm the measurements but finding things that are also interesting is the challenge.

I have done some basic research that has turned up some wikipedia lists e.g. list of humorous units of measurement and list of unusual units of measurement. But the items are not as unusual or interesting as I had hoped. I've also done some brainstorming on my own but the results are tending toward filling out the more mundane end of the spectrum e.g. Giants stadium, olympic sized swimming pool, baseball, basketball for volume. Ignition point for safety matches, average human body, water boiling and freezing for temperatures. Etc.

Thanks and hopefully the results will find their way into a projects post at some point!

Convert Mac OS 9 font suitcase to OS X

tommasz — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 06:46:46 -0800

I've got an old Mac font suitcase (OS 9) containing fonts I'd like to use on my OS X (10.7) Mac. I'm not sure what format they're in but copying the file over to my new Mac results in a 0-byte file. I think I have to convert them to TTF on my OS 9 iMac, but not sure what to do it with. Any suggestions? Free would be great, since I don't plan on doing this again, but cheap would be okay.

buyer behaviors

pmaxwell — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:13:58 -0800

I'm looking for any data that supports that conversion rates for trial offers are higher when there is a nominal cost for the product or service versus a FREE offer.

.mkv to .mp3 conversion

Egg Shen — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:54:57 -0800

How can I keep these .mkv to .mp3 conversions from getting screwed up? So I have all 3 seasons of In Treatment in nice 720p .mkv files and I've been using Gizmo's Freeware-recommended iWisoft Free Video Converter to turn them into .mp3 files (128 kbps, if that matters) I can listen to while driving to work.

The Gina and Adele episodes all converted fine. Most of the Frances ones did as well. But some of them - and all of the Mia ones - would start out all right, sounding normal during the "Previously on In Treatment..." part, but then everything from the HBO Original "television picking up static" logo and after would come out croaky and sepulchral like a vinyl record played at 8 RPM.

I assume something in the original ripper's audio encoding is poorly structured or something. But I can't figure out why it only affects some of that ripper's episodes and - even more bafflingly - why the problem only starts partway through the episode. Maddening!

I tried converting to .mp4 instead to see if it made any difference. It didn't. I could try playing the video files, which sound perfectly fine, and capture the output with the Freecorder toolbar. But I'm hoping the hive mind can spare me the hassle.

Can my smartphone simultaneously (i) accept input from my mouse and (ii) send output to my monitor?

foursentences — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:28:55 -0800

Can my smartphone simultaneously (i) accept input from my mouse and (ii) send output to my monitor? I have an Android smartphone (Samsung Galaxy SII), which has one microUSB port.

I'd like to hook it up to some computer peripherals: ideally, a mouse, keyboard, and monitor, all at once.

I have this microUSB/USB converter. When I plug a USB mouse into it, I can control a cursor on the screen of the phone.

I am aware of this microUSB/HDMI converter. When you plug a monitor into it, the phone's display is mirrored on the monitor.

Basically, if I could get both of those active at once, I'd be able to interact with my phone using the same user interface I use to interact with my computer.

But there's only one microUSB port on the phone. So what's my next step --
- a microUSB hub, if that exists?
- a regular USB hub, hooked up to all these devices by converter cables?
- this product, a USB hub that also transmits a monitor feed?
- something else?

Has anyone gotten this working? Does anyone know how to do so, or know a reason that one of my plans wouldn't work, or have ideas for a different plan that might?

Thanks in advance for all advice!

Assemble JPGs into a PDF?

Egg Shen — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:10:09 -0800

I have a folder of JPG files. I want to create a PDF with one of those JPGs on each page. I don't want to spend any money. I am using a Windows computer. I know could insert each JPG into a Word document, followed by a page break, and then save the document as a PDF. But I'm hoping there is free software that will make it easier.

Converting a 10 year old Christian to atheism through books.

facehugger — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 15:15:25 -0800

Converting a 10 year old Christian to atheism through books. My aunt's family is deeply religious to the point that my atheism seriously offends them. They also live in a place where English books are hard to come by for their young sons (my cousins), so they've relied on book donations from the rest of the family.

Which is why I think it'll be fun to try to convert their 10 year old son to atheism through books, or at least try to expose him to different perspectives on religion.

The 10 year old is a voracious reader. As long as the title of the book isn't explicitly anti-religious, or if it doesn't look like it's aimed for girls (don't ask) his parents won't care. He really likes books with adventure (e.g Tintin) and science, but he'll read anything.

So, Mefites, what are some atheistic-leaning children's books? Were there any books you read as a child that changed your perspectives on religion?

Some ideas:
* His Dark Materials
* Cosmos, by Carl Sagan

Can I convert these light fixtures from 220-240v to 110-120v?

arcticseal — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:15:20 -0800

Can I convert these light fixtures from 220-240v to 110-120v? We've brought some light fixtures back to Canada with us from China, however they are marked as 220v-240v only (60w, 50-60 Hz).

Is it simply a case of fitting a 110v bulb or do we have to change the entire fitting/wiring? If so, how difficult a task is it? I'm a relative amateur at electrical work, so please explain to my 5 year old self if it's possible or if I need to hire an electrician to avoid burning the house down.

We have some IKEA desk lamps we bought in China that are labelled 110v-240v, so all we'd have to do is change the bulbs to the appropriate voltage, so I'm wondering if that is the case for these lamps.

Items are 2 x table lamps and 1 x pendant lamp. Links are to the Chinese manufacturer's website, however Google translate does a reasonable job.

My MKV stops conversion halfway through

Rory Marinich — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:47:25 -0800

I'm trying to convert an MKV file to mp4 using Handbrake, but for some reason it tells me it's finished converting 40 minutes through. The completed 40 minutes are excellent quality, but I'm at a complete loss as to why it's stopping so early. The file isn't DRMed to the best of my knowledge. What might be going wrong? How can I get Handbrake to finish converting my video? And if Handbrake can't, what other app for Mac handles MKV conversion without horrible quality loss (like VisualHub or QuickTime do)?

Religious conversion stories in literature?

Hobbacocka — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:22:32 -0800

Looking for: Religious conversion stories in literature, from Paul onward. Specifically: from non-belief to belief. William James covers this nicely. And I seem to recall Dostoyevsky addresses the issue at least once in his novels (which?). Also C.S. Lewis, I think, somewhere. Other thoughts?

How to automatically degrade jpg quality to fit in a given space

Infernarl — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:44:37 -0800

How can I compress/resize thousands of jpgs to fit exactly into the space of a DVD automatically? I have about 10,000 scanned notebook pages saved as jpgs. The average size per file is 1.5mb and the average resolution in 2000px x 3000px. Is there some way to automatically compress the images so that they will all fit exactly on a DVD? The images are largely handwritten notebook pages. I am on a mac and I have Photoshop and Toast but would be willing to buy software to do exactly this thing. This is an ongoing project and the number of files will increase at some point (Think dvd version 1, version 1.1 etc). Ideally I would be able to compress/resize the images from the masters and produce a disk image that I could then burn on to multiple DVDs. These DVDs will then be given to people for viewing on regular home computers. The files are organized in to folders based on notebook volume with an average of 100 files per folder. What is the best way to do this?

How do I convert audio from 3ga to mp3 on a Mac?

treepour — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:27:18 -0800

Mac question: how can I convert a 3ga audio file to mp3 or other friendly format? For an online radio show I'm working on, I need to edit audio that's sent to me. Usually it comes in relatively reasonable/familiar formats. This time, however, I got files with an extension of 3ga. After doing a little research, it seems this may be a proprietary mobile format that encapsulates the audio portion of a multimedia file that would normally have an extension of 3gp.

Googling "3ga to mp3" or simliar only brings up suspicious malware-looking sites, unresolved forum posts, and ads for video conversion software. Similarly, a search for "3ga" in the App Store only brings up video conversion software. I tried the highest-rated one, and it couldn't process the file because it there was no video component. Finally, some forums suggested just changing the 3ga extension to mp3. Probably needless to say, this didn't work either.

Worst case, I can at least play the file with VLC Player and then capture the audio with another piece of software -- but I'd really rather not go there unless I have to.

Any help/clues would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Why does a tape recorder plugged into my computer's Mic input record so quietly?

JoeGoblin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:33:51 -0800

Why does a tape recorder plugged into my computer's Mic input record so quietly? I have recordings of my grandfather talking about WWII on a tape recorder, and want to digitize them to MP3 and eventually transcribe them. The tapes are those small voice recorder sized tapes, with a 2.5 inch jack ear piece out. I have a 2.5 inch to 3.5 in converter cable, and have plugged this into both my computer's mic in and line in inputs.

The result, when trying to record the audio in both audacity and adobe audition, is way to quiet to be usable. It's picking up a signal, but it's around -45 db, and when you try to increase the volume, the hiss pretty much drowns it out.

I thought it may have been an issue with my computer, but just plugged it into the mic in on my wife's computer and audacity had the same issue.

Any ideas how to fix this? The next thing I was going to try is just mic-ing the tape recorder while it is playing out loud, but obviously this would degrade the quality as well.

Copying old DVD of home movies onto my Mac hard drive?

The Pantless Wonder — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:01:51 -0800

I want to copy a DVD of home movies to my hard drive (mac) and be able to watch them (and possibly upload them onto the internet). Copied the DVD files, but none of them will open with any of my current applications. Please help. I recently found an old DVD of home movies that I made. When I made the DVD, I took a VHS compilation of the home movies and had an AV store transfer the VHS to a DVD. Now I'd like to have the movies on my mac hard drive.

I copied the DVD to the hard drive and I get this list:
VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.IFO
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_1.VOB
VTS_01_2.VOB
VTS_01_3.VOB

I understand (?) that the .VOB files are the actual video files. Is that correct? How can I watch these on my hard drive? And possibly upload them to YouTube? Do I need a special conversion software or a special player?

The DVD shouldn't have any protections on it, since it's all videos of my childhood, unless the store that converted the DVD put them on there unbeknownst to me.

I apologize that I probably sound like a bit of a Luddite. I'm really unfamiliar with film/video technology (clearly).

Thank you everyone in advance.

How to use Markdown and Pages on OSX without losing document structures?

davemee — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:06:08 -0800

Markdown and (Apple) Pages. I'm trying to work out a sensible workflow that will allow me to export Markdown text into an existing Pages document, without this process eliminating the structure of the text. Here's an example of the wall I've run into.

1. Markdown document created in - for example - Byword or WriteRoom.

2. Document is previewed in Byword or another application - such as Marked or MarkdownNote. This lets me drop rich text or HTML into the clipboard.

3. Clipboard is pasted into a Pages document, which has an existing template and set of style definitions for different headers, lists, footers, etc.

4. Cringe when the styles are jettisoned by Pages because it's decided that Rich Text is what's needed, and those styles are baked into the Rich Text format.

Effectively, I want to be able to paste structured text into Pages, and have those elements take their appearance from the document's styles, rather than what it's currently doing, which is to paste text with appearances taken from the Markdown interpreter, but none of the structure preserved (headers, paragraphs, lists are all just classed as 'free form' in the Styles drawer, rather than matching what they were in Markdown.)

Apple TV + converter?

tommasz — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:42:32 -0800

I love Netflix and we have it on the Xbox. But my kid's moving to college and taking the Xbox with her. Can I replace it with an Apple TV plus an HDMI->Composite/S-Video converter or should I bite the bullet and get another Xbox? It seems a waste to buy one just for Netflix.