Convert MP3 Ringtones to iPhone Ringtones

by David English on September 4th, 2009

You don’t have to look far to find free MP3 ringtones on the Internet. They’re pretty much everywhere — including here on Beepzoid.

The problem for iPhone owners is, how do you convert them for your iPhone? iTunes can convert them for you, though the process is a bit confusing unless you have step-by-step instructions.

Here are 10 steps you can use to convert a standard MP3 ringtone into an AAC-based ringtone that’s compatible with your iPhone.

1. In iTunes, choose “Add File to Library” from the “File” pull-down menu.

2. Browse to the file you want to convert. Select it and open it.

3. Click on the newly created icon for the file to select it. You should find the icon in the Albums view of the Music Library, most likely labeled as “Unknown Album, Unknown Artist.” Once selected, the icon will have a blue border.

4. Choose “Create AAC Version” from the “Advanced” pull-down menu.

5. You can now delete the two new icons that were created for the Albums view — you won’t need them anymore. To delete an icon, right click it and select “Delete” from the menu options.

6. Now you’ll need to find the converted file in order to rename it. On my PC, the file is saved along this folder path: My Documents/My Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Unknown Artist/Unknown Album.

7. Change the extension of the converted file from .m4a to .m4r.

8. Back in iTunes, select the Ringtones Library. Then choose “Add File to Library” from the “File” pull-down menu.

9. Browse for the renamed .m4r file. Select it and open it.

10. Your converted MP3-format ringtone should now be available as an M4R-format ringtone for your iPhone.

That’s the method I used to convert MP3 ringtones to iPhone ringtones for Beepzoid’s Vintage Phone Ringtones page. I can’t guarantee this process will work for you, but it has yielded consistent results for me with minimal fuss.

Eyes to the Future

by David English on August 22nd, 2009

In the distant future, a mathematician discovers that civilization will undergo a 500-year collapse, followed by a 30,000-year period of great pain and suffering. He has calculated a path that could reduce the dark time to just 1,000 years. Unfortunately, the ruling regime has held his findings to be treasonous.

That’s the premise of the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. It was given a one-time Hugo award in 1965 for “Best All-Time Series,” beating out Lord of the Rings (the first Dune book wasn’t published until that same year).

Based almost entirely on a series of short stories he published in “Astounding Magazine” from 1942 to 1950, Asimov was inspired by Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. In the Foundation stories, we view the events through the eyes of the mathematician’s followers, as they attempt to navigate through the treacherous historical currents.

Why hasn’t Hollywood turned the Foundation series into a big-budget movie? The short answer is, they’re working on it. In January, the rights were sold to Columbia Pictures. Roland Emmerich is set to direct, and Robert Rodat is busy working on the script. Rodat is best known for having written the script for Saving Private Ryan.

In the meantime, you can read the books. Or you can listen to an excellent eight-part BBC radio production that captures much of the intelligence, drama, and intrigue of Asimov’s original stories. The radio programs are available free through the Internet Archive. Here’s a link to download the radio series. If you just want to sample the radio programs, you can use this link to stream the first episode.

Turning Blu

by David English on July 19th, 2009

If you’ve been waiting to buy a Blu-ray player because the technology isn’t quite there yet, take a look at Oppo’s BDP-83. With a $499 list price, it would be considered a mid-priced model. Yet it runs rings around other Blu-ray players, including units that cost a thousand dollars or more.

Remarkably, it doesn’t take forever to load a Blu-ray disc. A major annoyance with other models is the length of time it takes for the Blu-ray copy protection to verify the disc is legit. With the Oppo BDP-83, Blu-ray discs load almost as fast as DVDs.

I have only a handful of Blu-ray discs, so I’ll be using the BDP-83 mostly for DVDs. The BDP-83 provides the best image quality I’ve seen with DVDs, due in large part to the high-quality scaling and de-interlacing provided by the built-in VRS processor from Anchor Bay. My DVDs have never looked better. They have richer colors, deeper tones, and silky smooth movement.

Other standout features include the ability to play most video and audio files directly from a USB thumb drive (also handy for firmware upgrades). There’s support for BD-Live content with 1GB of internal storage. The player is compatible with SACD (Super Audio CD) and DVD-Audio discs, as well as the latest high-end audio formats — Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. You say your receiver doesn’t know how to decode those audio formats? No problem. The Oppo BDP-83 can handle the decoding and route the audio through its 7.1-channel analog outputs.

The only downside I’ve encountered is the lack of multi-region support. Oppo’s DVD players could handle DVDs from other countries, once you’ve input a special code. As a condition for being granted the Blu-ray license, the company has agreed to not allow that loophole with its Blu-ray players. The region-code restriction is for both DVD and Blu-ray discs.

Oppo is one of the most customer-oriented companies around. They provide excellent support and are responsive to users’ needs. I had previously purchased two Oppo DVD players and wouldn’t hesitate to buy another. If you’re shopping for a feature-rich player (as opposed to the least expensive player available), you’ll find the Oppo models often represent the best overall value.

Sonic Scrapbook

by David English on July 17th, 2009

Today, Olympus announced its latest portable high-quality audio recorder, the LS-11. I’m a fan of the LS-10, the predecessor of the LS-11. I use the LS-10 for all the interviews I conduct — either over the phone or in person. Both devices can record uncompressed 24 bit/96 kHz linear PCM format audio for high-quality digital stereo. I sometimes use the uncompressed 24-bit mode to record ambient sounds when traveling.

One of my favorite features is the programmable function key. I have mine set to toggle the LCD backlight on or off. The backlight can turn itself off automatically, but I like to turn it off manually to optimize battery life and eliminate a potential distraction.

Many of the main functions are handled externally with analog controls. That’s a real plus in my book. When you’re fumbling to start or stop a recording, or adjust the volume, you’re better served with proportionally large and clearly marked dials and buttons.

The LS-11 expands the LS-10′s onboard memory from 2GB to 8GB. Both models have an SD card slot that can handle the higher-capacity SDHC cards, as well as standard SD cards. The LS-11 adds the ability to place index marks within a file during recording or playback. It also allows for rudimentary file edits. Olympus claims the LS-11 can record up to 23 hours on two AA batteries.

My only complaints with the LS-10: It takes too long for the device to go from being off to being ready to record, and changing the volume level while recording can sometimes be noisy.

These aren’t cheap products. The LS-11 will be available in September with an estimated street price of $399.99. If you look around, you can find the LS-10 for less than $250. Here’s a link for more information on both models.

Be a Slacker

by David English on January 21st, 2009

You may have tried some Internet radio services and decided they aren’t worth the trouble. That’s what I thought until I encountered Slacker.

At CES, I spoke with a Slacker representative at the RIM (Research in Motion) booth. I learned the streaming service now supports the BlackBerry, iPhone, and iPod Touch, as well as the company’s own Slacker G2 handheld device. You can also stream the radio stations directly from slacker.com.

These aren’t traditional broadcast radio stations. You can choose from more than 100 pre-programmed genre stations or create your own stations by building playlists based on your favorite artists. Slacker has the legal rights to millions of songs, and the audio quality is very good.

You can use Slacker for free, though you’ll be limited in how many times you can skip past a song you don’t like, and you won’t be able to customize a station down to one artist. You’ll also have to listen to the occasional commercial (every five songs when I tried it). Alternatively, you can pay $3.99 a month and have unlimited skips, unlimited song requests, and no ads.

Slacker’s BlackBerry application has a significant advantage over the iPhone/iPod application. The company worked with RIM to allow the BlackBerry to cache stations to the SD memory card. You can store songs on the card and listen to them later when you don’t have a cellular signal. That could be handy when you’re flying on a commercial airline.

Versatile Wireless

by David English on January 18th, 2009

The i2i Stream was one of the more interesting products I saw this year at CES. Many competing products use Bluetooth’s A2DP profile for their wireless audio, including the Kyocera Wireless Music Gateway, RIM BlackBerry Bluetooth Music Gateway, and Nokia A2DP Bluetooth Gateway. Most of them work quite well.

Aerielle takes a different approach with its i2i Stream product. When you open the two-module pack, you may wonder which is the transmitter and which is the receiver. It doesn’t matter. They’re identical, and you can add additional modules to receive the same signal.

You can also configure the modules for multiple streams, and that’s where this product becomes more versatile than the current products that use A2DP. Any i2i Stream transmitting module can stream to any i2i Stream receiving module. Simply press the lit channel-button in the center until the color matches between the transmitting and receiving units. It’s that simple.

The i2i Stream does have an annoying feature that I hope is fixed in the future. The linked modules continue to display the linked color, even after you’ve paired them. That isn’t so bad. The problem is the transmitting unit flashes continuously. If you’re in a darkened room, you’ll probably want to cover it with something.

The modules also automatically turn off after a few minutes of silence, which means if you mute the sound during a commercial break, you’ll have to turn on the units again when the program resumes (best to avoid using the mute).

Otherwise, the modules worked fine. You can expect about 5 to 7 hours from a USB-power charge. I had no problem transmitting well over 30 feet. The audio quality was very good with no static or dropouts, even though the i2i Stream communicates on the sometimes congested 2.4 GHz band.

Clear Sound

by David English on January 11th, 2009

When Sennheiser launches a new flagship set of headphones, they’re well worth a listen. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the company had a sound booth where you could compare their former top headphones, the HD 650, with their new top headphones, the HD 800.

The HD 650 is well known as having a clear, uncolored sound that comes very close to accurately representing the original sound. Sennheiser provided a selection of CDs that you could test with the headphones. I settled on a Diana Krall album.

The HD 650 sounded fine, but then I tried the HD 800. Holy cow, what a difference. The music was much clearer. The stereo separation was the best I’ve heard from a set of headphones. And the overall sense of presence was amazing. It was obvious when returning to the HD 650 that they sounded dull in comparison.

How does the HD 800 achieve such an incredible sound? It features two 56mm sound transducers, which are currently the largest available in a set of dynamic headphones. Also unusual, the vibrating part of the diaphragm is a ring rather than a circular surface area.

There are many of innovations, but the end result is a total harmonic distortion of less than 0.02 percent and a frequency response from 6 to 51,000 Hz. And as the Sennheiser representatives pointed out to me several times (they seemed particularly proud of this), the HD 800 is handmade.

You know the HD 800 headphones won’t come cheap, though the $1,399.95 list price was actually less than I expected. They won’t be available until February, so there’s still time to figure out how in the world you could possibly justify such an expenditure.

Honey, I Shrunk the Hi-Fi

by David English on September 20th, 2008

You can’t get a big bass sound from a little speaker. No way, no how.

Well, there’s another truism out the window. I took a chance and ordered a foxL from the soundmatters website last week — without having heard it. I had read the glowing reviews and figured it would be worth a try, especially at $20 off (it’s on sale through October 1).

I can confirm the foxl is truly remarkable. I had real doubts that a small (5.6 inches by 2.2 inches by 1.4 inches) and lightweight (9.5 ounces) speaker system could outperform speakers ten times its size.

It operates up to five hours with the rechargeable battery. An AC-power adapter/charger is included, though you can also recharge it via a USB connection. When AC powered, the audio output doubles from 2 watts to 4 watts. Unfortunately, the internal battery isn’t user replaceable. You’ll have to send in the entire unit to have the battery replaced.

In addition to having foot-stomping bass, the audio sounded clear across a full range of frequencies with very little distortion. On the downside, there’s no stereo separation because the two internal speakers are only a few inches apart. If your MP3 player supports a lossless audio format, you’ll be amazed how well it performs alongside a foxL. It could be an ideal companion for a small laptop or projector (movie night, anyone?).

A more expensive model — the foxL mb — adds a microphone and Bluetooth radio. If your cell phone or laptop supports the Bluetooth A2DP profile, you’ll be able to use the foxL mb as a handsfree speaker phone or to stream your music wirelessly.

Why didn’t anyone do this before? After all, it isn’t rocket science. Scratch that. Maybe it is rocket science. It turns out that the soundmatters founder and audio designer, Dr. Godehard Guenther, is a former NASA engineer.

Ear Full

by David English on January 20th, 2007

I’m a big fan of Shure’s E500 earphones. They’re the best in-ear audio solution I’ve experienced so far. To be fair, they won’t sound as good as a similar priced set of traditional headphones (such as the Sennheiser HD 600), but who wants to lug a bulky set of headphones around the airport when you can have roughly 70 to 80 percent of the same audio quality using a one-ounce set of earphones?

Some people don’t like having ear pieces inside their ears, so you should try a set of earphones before you purchase them. Earphones also require careful positioning in order to hear the lower frequencies.

I stopped by the Shure booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and learned the company is expanding its consumer earphone line based on the success of the E500. The E500 will be relaunched as the SE530 ($449.99). The “3″ in the model number indicates that each ear piece has three distinct audio drivers that function much like a three-way speaker system (Shure refers to them as Triple TruAcoustic MicroSpeakers).

One notch down is the SE420 ($349.99), where the “2″ indicates that each ear piece has two distinct audio drivers. Being familiar with the E500′s exceptionally clear and smooth audio, I was impressed by how close the SE420 sounded to the E500.

Rounding out the product line, the SE310 ($249.99) and SE210 ($149.99) have just a single audio driver, with the SE310 featuring a Tuned BassPort for improved bass response. Sampling all four, I found each offers excellent sound for its particular price point.

Keep in mind that it may be worth spending some extra money for whatever kind of earphones, ear buds, or headphones you buy. The less expensive ones can tire you more quickly, especially when you’re traveling. There’s no point bringing your favorite music or movies along for a flight, only to have the audio become irritating after just a half hour.

Flash-Forward

by David English on November 27th, 2006

If you want your MP3 player to be small and lightweight, you’ll need to go with a player that uses flash memory for storage. Hard drives — even the smallest ones — take up more space and add more weight. Hard drives also draw additional power, which in turn may require a larger battery, adding even more bulk to the player.

The Sansa brand from SanDisk has evolved into a highly competitive line of media players. The top-of-the-line Sansa e280 features 8 gigabytes of onboard flash, as well as a microSD slot that can accommodate another 2 gigabytes. With a total of 10 gigabytes, the e280 lets you carry an impressive amount of music and video. Best of all, the sound quality is top notch when combined with premium earphones or headphones.

My favorite feature is the ability to make uncompressed audio recordings from the built-in FM radio. The 16-bit stereo WAV files take up a whopping 220 megabytes per hour. Even so, it’s a great way to time-shift radio programs, such as A Prairie Home Companion, that broadcast at inconvenient hours.

On the downside, the e280′s video playback could be better. You have to convert any video files to a screen resolution, frame rate, and file format that will match the device. SanDisk makes the process relatively easy with the supplied conversion utility, however the resulting 208×160-pixel MOV video files are a bit jerky at a sub-par 15 frames per second. The bright 1.8-inch LCD screen is very good for a flash-based media player. Just don’t expect seamless video playback with this or similar-sized players.

Keychain Video

by David English on October 13th, 2006

Portable video players are becoming smaller and smaller, but this is one is downright tiny. It’s 3.7 inches by 1.8 inches by 0.57 inches. At a DigitalLife press event in New York last night, I had a chance to see a demo of Kingston’s new K-PEX media player.

The two-inch screen has a resolution of just 220 x 176 pixels, and the 15 frames-per-second video had a slight stutter. On the other hand, the video was surprisingly sharp with excellent color. You can’t beat the weight (2.2 ounces) or price ($129.99 for the 1 GB version or $179.99 for the 2 GB version). Expect the 1 GB version to be available online for as low as $75.

It can handle MP3 music files, JPG photographs, and TXT documents, in addition to MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, WMV, and ASF video files. You’ll have to convert any video files to the .MPX format. Fortunately, Kingston includes conversion software. As if that weren’t enough, they throw in a miniSD card slot, two games, and integrated FM radio.

In case you’re wondering, you can’t record the FM radio, as you can with some other media players. You can record voice, however, using the built-in microphone. Along the top, you’ll find an audio line-in jack, which is unusual for a low-end player. There’s also a built-in speaker that sounds reasonably good (and loud) given its small size and back-of-device location.

The K-PEX isn’t really designed to be placed on a keychain. Even if it were small enough, you wouldn’t want your keys scratching up the screen.