I have an older Gateway PC acting as my media center/file server. I have it hooked up to a 42" 720p Samsung Plasma TV via VGA from the on-board connection on the PC. As such, the resolution is not very good: 1024x768 and the picture doesn't really fit on the screen. Can you recommend a cheap video card (under $50) that will let me connect via HDMI and show things at a decent resolution without stretching or cropping the picture? No gaming, just playing video files.
posted by nitsuj
on Aug 24, 2012 -
37 answers
I'm looking for a Brazilian piece of (folk?) music to use with a short video I'm making on football/soccer.
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posted by brynnwood
on Aug 10, 2012 -
12 answers
You generate a lot of video/audio/etc. You're a professional, but not a network or tv station, so you don't have millions of dollars to spend on media archiving and backup. What are your digital media backup and storage strategies?
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posted by hapticactionnetwork
on Apr 27, 2012 -
5 answers
Currently live coverage of my city's council meeting is only available on the local access channel of a cable provider, to which I am not subscribed. This got me curious about the whats and hows and costs of livestreaming video coverage of city council and committee meetings.
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posted by Alvy Ampersand
on Apr 26, 2012 -
13 answers
I have some questions on what a first-generation Apple TV can or can't do.
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posted by zardoz
on Apr 26, 2012 -
7 answers
My Blu-Ray player will play AVI, MKV & other video files but it is a little too finicky about which ones it will accept. Is there a more liberal, tolerant, and accepting player on the market?
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posted by anazgnos
on Dec 23, 2011 -
8 answers
I want watch on my TV the videos that are on my computer. HD (720p) format. Video streaming of content not necessary. What is the easiest and cheapest way to go about this?
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posted by zardoz
on Dec 21, 2011 -
25 answers
I'm a young geologist considering long-term career options and life directions. Please tell me about your experiences (as a geologist) in grad school, industry, or government/regulation. Or your experiences working in video/photography, as that is an alternative career path I'm considering.
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posted by Strudel
on Sep 11, 2011 -
9 answers
Okay, so I'm slow with the internet meme things, but only a few weeks ago did I come across the
Piano Improv Guy from Chat Roulette. Despite my inability to play piano or sing or rock the hoodie, my immediate thought was, "Wow, I wish I thought of that!" What other clever, creative ways of exploiting various media (that it probably wasn't intended for) provoked the same reaction for you?
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posted by TheSecretDecoderRing
on Mar 4, 2011 -
6 answers
Unexpected Holiday Gift: Someone got me a Zune HD! Problem. I already own an ipod Nano and know next to nothing about Zune. What can the Zune do that my nano can't? How do you use yours? What does the Zune do well? Any tips or trips or strange things/ 3rd party applications I can use?
posted by The Whelk
on Dec 9, 2010 -
3 answers
Basic Video & Audio equipment needed for an office! What other accessories would an office need along with a Canon 7D and a Zoom H2 portable audio recorder?
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posted by bostonhill
on May 25, 2010 -
5 answers
I have a Mac Mini that I'm using as a media center running Plex. I want to be able to watch the media stored there (a couple terabytes of AVIs, MP4s, etc...) from anywhere I am, on a laptop or hopefully even on my iPhone. Is there any hardware/software solution that will help with this?
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posted by raygan
on Feb 5, 2010 -
10 answers
this is kind of a redo about a former question. I have a SAN at work that we use for storage of all of our media for video editing. We would like to figure out the best way to tag all of our media for searching from now on.
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posted by shmegegge
on Jan 14, 2010 -
3 answers
Multimedia-filter: Looking for help from HDTV, NAS, Media Servers and Network Gurus' in making my first house totaly awesome. Movies, Televsion, Music, Wifi, Streaming Content and 50mgbt broadband within.
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posted by Cogentesque
on Nov 13, 2009 -
4 answers
I'm consolidating and trying to save some money in the coming years.
To that end I've acquired an older Mac Mini and pulled out an old monitor. I've set it as a working media center, but I think I could do more and do it more efficiently.
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posted by Gideon
on Mar 16, 2009 -
7 answers
What are your favorite places to find archived news footage and imagery online for free? Looking to put together a list of sites for communications studies students to help them approximate the functionality of the
Vanderbilt Television News Archive without spending hours hunting on YouTube for media to critique.
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posted by activitystory
on Mar 13, 2009 -
1 answer
How can I store DVDs for use in a media library and get the benefits of compression without losing the menu structure and special features?
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posted by odinsdream
on Feb 21, 2009 -
12 answers
What are the best programs (paid/shareware/freeware/open source) that can convert almost ALL kinds of video files and vice-versa?
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posted by omaralarifi
on Jan 21, 2009 -
10 answers
My Neighbor Totoro...........I want to buy the DVD, but on Amazon a lot of people are saying certain versions are not good. There is a 2006 Walt Disney widescreen version; and then there is a 2002 full screen version that is not Disney.
What do you think the best version would be for me to get?
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posted by lynnie-the-pooh
on Dec 7, 2008 -
16 answers
I'm moving and starting over just about from scratch. I'd like people's input on what I should do about setting up nifty integrated audio/visual/computing stuff in my new place.
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posted by Echidna882003
on Oct 19, 2008 -
3 answers
Donating a veterinary disease symptom video - would any library / video collection want this? Is any university veterinary school collecting things like this?
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posted by amtho
on Jul 18, 2008 -
5 answers
Naming Filter: Hive mind, please help us name our open source OS X media center application!
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posted by ill3
on Jun 3, 2008 -
15 answers
My little brother will in a few months embark in a year-long trip around Asia (India, Vietnam, Thailand...), towards Australia as final destination. He asks me to set up a blog for him - easy does it, I'm a WordPress translator.
But what about media? And in general, what should I not forgot to make sure we get the best from his experience while not making it hard for him to communicate?
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posted by XiBe
on May 21, 2008 -
10 answers
What video/media player do you use in OS X? Can you recommend one that has some specific features (listed inside)?
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posted by chudmonkey
on May 20, 2008 -
6 answers
Is there a good program to monitor progress in various TV shows? I.e. what episode I'm on in shows if watching multiple shows in different seasons irregularly.
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posted by lrodman
on May 6, 2008 -
11 answers
How do I set up a server to stream media ? A client has contacted us about developing a website with a streaming TV station and a streaming radio station.
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posted by asnowballschance
on May 3, 2008 -
5 answers
I'm interested in buying a TV Tuner Card for my PC, but I don't know where to find good reviews. Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap, decent-quality card that preferably comes with a remote?
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posted by Aanidaani
on Dec 27, 2007 -
9 answers
Is there such a thing as a future-proof DVD player? My roommate just moved out and took his DVD player with him. So I need to visit the local big box electronics store to pick up a new one. I'd like something that's built to last, can upsample standard DVDs and that can handle one or both of the new HD formats. What should I purchase?
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posted by aladfar
on Nov 15, 2007 -
20 answers
How can repair my video codecs? Out of nowhere, I cannot see any video in my AVI files but I can hear the audio just fine. Windows Media Player 11 simply does not load when I click to open an AVI. It is fully installed and everything but when I try to click on an AVI to open it -- nothing happens.
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posted by cheero
on Jul 16, 2007 -
12 answers
Is there work in NYC for someone who is excellent at programming Dataton Watchout? If so, where?
posted by idledebonair
on Nov 29, 2006 -
2 answers
How easy would it be to set up some PCs to record the local news on several channels for purposes of offering a media clipping service?
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posted by pzarquon
on Oct 7, 2006 -
9 answers
Portable DVD player, or video player, or custom-built Frankendevice, with VERY high-quality audio output?? Video quality doesn't matter (could even be b/w), but screen should be 8"+ and unit should be as lightweight as possible. For live concerts where I need to see video, just for my own reference, that's exactly in sync with my pre-recorded audio (so I would make DVDs or video files with my audio + the visuals I need). Laptop = expensive/heavy/overkill.
posted by allterrainbrain
on Sep 27, 2006 -
5 answers
Help me figure out how to fairly develop quotes for jobs in the photo/video/film industry?
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posted by Alterscape
on Aug 10, 2006 -
1 answer
I watch episodes of TV shows on my pc laptop in bed before I sleep most nights. They are usually divx AVIs, but sometimes DVDs. Is there a piece of software that would work well with a touch-screen monitor that would make watching things easier? I'm thinking of something like Apple's Front Row but for windows.
posted by cmicali
on Mar 18, 2006 -
6 answers
Is there any way in OS X Tiger to create a Smart Folder of movies (mostly .avi) with the condition "Play Count Is...", as in iTunes? I'd like to make an "unseen movies" folder. This is very easy to do in iTunes, but I don't seem to see such an option in the Finder.
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posted by rossination
on Jan 3, 2006 -
5 answers
