How CEO Reed Hastings and Netflix Are Winning the New Media Battle

netflix-doggone

Be sure to check out fellow LockerGnome writer Candice Shane’s 2012 article on what to watch on Netflix — but be sure to add House of Cards and other Netflix originals to that list!

If Reed Hastings seems to always be photographed with …continue reading

How to Connect a Wireless Microphone Headset to a Mixer

wireless-microphone-headset-no-need

A wireless microphone headset is convenient for a variety of purposes — especially if you’re as animated as I can be when I get really wound up. Rather than getting tangled and mangled in the cords and wires and alloys and compositions …continue reading

How to Set Up Your Home Theater with a Wireless Audio Transmitter

How to Set Up Your Wireless Speakers (Home Theater) with Your Wireless Audio Transmitter

A home theater that’s as free as possible from the clutter of cables sticking out from behind every table, chair, entertainment center, and random piece of furniture is a happy home theater. No wires, no mess, and no fuss. Seems like a noble goal, no?

…continue reading

GOgroove Will Change How You Think About Wireless Transmitters

wireless-transmitters-gogroove

It’s possible that you’ve avoided using wireless transmitters because you’ve had bad luck with them in the past, but have you checked out wireless transmitters, lately? It’s the 21st century and wireless transmitter technology has come a long way since its infancy — nay! Since …continue reading

YouTube to MP3 Converter Reviews and Ratings

youtube-dot-com

Though YouTube’s moniker and logo were obviously inspired by an ages-old technology — television — most users seem to recognize YouTube for what it really is: a vehicle for music. Music is the most dominant category on the video service, …continue reading

Headphones with Microphone Not Working in Windows 7

Headphones with Microphone

It sure seems like having a set of headphones with microphone is a necessary part of communication online, especially if you play video games. Sadly, smack talk seems to have become the primary component of this so-called communication; we’ve all encountered some misguided individual at …continue reading

Five Best Over Ear Headphones for an Audio Technica Microphone System

best over ear headphones

If you’ve got an Audio Technica microphone system — like the ATR288W, for instance — you probably have a set of over ear headphones that you favor. But if you’re still trying to wrap your brain around the options …continue reading

The Day Spotify Changed My Life

http://press.spotify.com/us/2013/01/22/logotype/vertical-primary-green-white-black-fill-rgb/#main

What the heck is a Spotify, and how could it change my life? I always feel like, when I title something in the way I’ve titled this post, I should write “Candice: grade four” beneath it and etch the name of my teacher …continue reading

LucasArts Goes Under: Who is Next?

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/1313/

Every morning, before I crack my neck and get into some work, I have my rituals on the Internet. I’m sure most of you do, right? Where you pop open a Google Chrome page and everything you check out is laid before you, like a …continue reading

Audio Technica AT2020 Review

Audio Technica AT2020

Have you ever bought a cheap USB microphone thinking that you’d suddenly get better quality audio from it? Yeah, I did that for three years. I went from cheap USB microphones to quite expensive wireless USB headphones with microphone. I’m no audiophile, but I can …continue reading

10 of the Best Photo Editing Sites of 2013

best-photo-editing-sites-photoshop-express

“Best photo editing sites?” you say. “You can do that on the Internet these days?”

Indeed! But that shouldn’t be surprising these days, should it?

Just carrying around a smart phone makes it easier than ever before to take digital photos anywhere and anywhen — …continue reading

The Best Way, Other Than iTunes, to Rip CDs to the AAC File Format

ffmpeg-is-best-for-converting-cds-to-aac

Breeze_23 asks:

What is a great program that rips your Compact Discs (CDs) into Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) files instead of the MP3 files? I know iTunes can do this, but I’d rather not use iTunes if that’s possible.

Have you ever heard the saying …continue reading

Make Beautiful Art from Instagram

instagram-art

Remember when you’d have to drive a roll of film down to the pharmacy for developing, crossing your fingers that the 20 or so photos you took on that amazing vacation to Hollywood — including the one of you meeting David Hasselhoff …continue reading

Is Miracast the Universal Solution for Television Consumption?

is-miracast-the-universal-solution-for-tv

Nathan Shively writes:

I would love to know your opinion on the future of Miracast. For a very long time now, I have been interested in the ability to mirror devices to a television. I’m aware of AirPlay for the Apple ecosystem, but …continue reading

How to Avoid Getting Headaches While Watching TV with Your Dad

use-the-hopper-to-avoid-headaches

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DISH for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

A friend told me the following story:

The last time I visited my dad's house for the holidays, I was …continue reading

What’s the Best Camera for Video and Still Photography?

Cameras

At LockerGnome.net, Mleates writes:

I do some HD videos that I upload to YouTube, plus I have kids. I want a camera that can do HD video and capture great stills. I’m more interested in still quality than anything else. I’m looking for …continue reading

How Much Bandwidth Do You Need to Live Stream?

How much bandwidth do you need to stream at 720p

At LockerGnome.net, Lestat611 writes:

How much bandwidth would I need to live stream 720p/1080p video and audio?

Bandwidth depends on the software you’re using to live stream. Different software providers use different codecs and those codecs can, and do, change the quality of the stream …continue reading

How Do I Get My iTunes Songs Into My Google Play Music Library?

how-to-get-itunes-into-google-play-music

Omar Ibrahim writes:

I’ve been using iTunes for a while, and I have a huge library of songs. I really would like to get an Android device, but because of all the songs I’ve bought, I’ve been trapped in the iOS world. Is there a …continue reading

Are Ultrabooks Good for Video Editing?

Ultrabook

At LockerGnome.net, Smarron writes:

I’m looking into getting a new Ultrabook with:

Third-generation Core i5 processor (3 MB L3 cache and 1.7 GHz with boost up to 2.6 GHz) 6 GB DDR3 memory 500 GB HDD with 32 GB SSD

I mainly use iTunes, CyberLink …continue reading

What Tablet is Best for Watching Movies?

Nexus 10

At LockerGnome.net, NightviperMT writes:

Hey, Chris!

This is Chris. I’m from Malta and a big fan. In two weeks’ time I’ll be traveling to London for some shopping, and I was thinking of buying a new tablet while I’m there. My main use for the …continue reading

Vlogging Tips

Chris Pirillo

At LockerGnome.net, iFreakshow writes:

I do videos and I want to make better vlogs. I have a hard time “being myself” without feeling awkward. Do you have any tips on making better vlogs?

Vlogging is all about personality. Once you get past thinking …continue reading

Why Aren’t More Photos Taken in 16:9?

Picture

Matthew Lago asks:

Why do we still use pictures with 4:3 ratio and not 16:9, even though all the screens of modern PCs are in 16:9?

This is an interesting question. Modern monitors are mostly in the 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios, but …continue reading

How to Stream One Computer to Another Wirelessly for Free

Pirillo

At LockerGnome.net, Rhall95 asks:

Is there a way that I can wirelessly stream the screen from my desktop computer to my laptop, which is connected by HDMI to my TV? Can I do it for free?

Thanks in advance!

Great question! There are …continue reading

Why Are Digital Download Rentals So Expensive?

DVD

Christodoulos Foufoulides writes:

Hi, Chris!

First, thank you for your YouTube channel. I have been following your TLDRs and vlogs for about a year now and they have been both educational and entertaining; your work and effort is much appreciated.

I have a …continue reading

Seven TV Shows for Geeks and Nerds

big-bang-theory

Television series aren’t only limited to the usual genres of drama, comedy, and action. From time to time, TV networks churn out shows that also cater to a very specific niche market usually composed of smartypants who wear glasses and ugly sweaters. So without further …continue reading

HandBrake Video Encoding Tips

DVDs

Nate Thibodeau (Simba) writes:

I use HandBrake for most of my video encoding needs, but I am confused by the two quality options that can be used: Constant Quality (RF:#) or Avg. Bitrate (kbps) (single or two pass).

I see these options (or …continue reading

No Sound Coming from PC HDMI to TV

HDMI

Gary asks:

“I have an HDMI cable running from my computer to my LG TV. I do not hear any audio. What can I do?”

This is a very common problem, and the solution is actually rather simple. HDMI is an audio device much like …continue reading

How to Take Photos of Stars

how-to-take-photos-of-stars

Astrophotography is a beautiful way to showcase the vastness of our universe, although this particular form of photography is not necessarily the easiest. Taking photos in the darkness of night can be challenging. One might be curious as to what settings they should use on …continue reading

Plantronics BackBeat 216 Earbuds Review

plantronics-backbeat-216-earbuds

These earbuds were sent to me as review units from MobileFun. All opinions, though, are 100% mine.

If I’m at the computer, there is music playing. Period. Considering I work at least 10 hours each day during the week and five …continue reading

Mac mini Plus HDTV Vs. iMac

Mac mini plus HDTV

Sagi Alagem writes:

I was wondering what would be a better solution for my wife and me: buying a 29″-26″ flatscreen for our bedroom and match it with a Mac mini, or just buying an iMac? We need a stationary computer for basic usage that …continue reading