Question: I have successfully hooked up my laptop to my TV.. I have a new Toshiba computer and have made the connection using a VGA to TV converter box. Everything works good except for one thing, The videos and live TV broadcasts seem to be a little jerky, like they are buffering or something. I am receiving internet through a Verizon wireless DSL modem.

Is there a computer or modem setting that needs to be changed. Or do you need something else to produce seamless video similar to cable TV.

-Submitted by Fischer

Answer: Your question has me thinking from several angles, since you weren't exactly clear if the issue occurs when streaming content over the web (since you mentioned how you're connected to the web) or viewing local content (since you mentioned live TV broadcasts). I'll hit on both topics, though, since others could be facing problems with each.

Question:

I have an Acer Aspire T160 MB-70 PC with an Acer FC51GM motherboard. It has built in graphics ( Nvidia 6100 ). It has a 2.2 ghz CPU and a standard PSU. It can take a maximum of 4GB RAM.

I would like to buy a new graphics card which can be placed in a PCI Express slot. It must be the best one that my motherboard will accept as money is not an object.

In addition, I am willing to upgrade the PSU if necessary and also the CPU.

I will be using the graphics card as an all rounder as I do gaming and watch alot of videos, dvds etc on the PC. It must preferably have a hdmi output on it and have HD capabilities. I would like this to be connected to the TV.

I am having difficulty finding information regarding what graphic cards my system in its present state will accept. I want the best I can get and am willing to upgrade other components.

Question:

I'm searching in vain through my iTunes to find a way to make my favorite songs into ringtones for my iPhone.  I can't seem to find it.  How do I do this?

Answer:

Well, unfortunately for hundreds of thousands of iPhone owners who want custom ringtones, Apple doesn't make this easy for you.  Of course, you could always buy ringtones from the iTunes Music Store, but what if they don't have your favorite song available?  What if you want to use something completely different, like a video game sound effect or a recording of your kid playing the drums or something?

There are a few ways to do this - a sneaky (and lengthy) "manual" way, or you can use a third party program to make it easy.

The Manual Way

1.  Go to your Preferences Menu in iTunes and select the "General" tab.  See the "Import Settings" button in the picture above?

Question from TechLore Member snypy:

I bought a new LG HT554TH home cinema that plays Dolby Digital fine, but when I select DTS I get no sound at all, although the device display indicates that source as DTS. I asked LG technical support, but their answers were total wrong. In fact, they did not tell me anything at all, and then claimed that my home cinema does not support DTS sound at all despite their official specifications.

So, I'd like to ask, is there any way to make DTS sound work or not? The setup menu does not offer many options (in fact not a single one about Dolby Digital or DTS setup - not even in the manual) or should I send it in for service? It is still under warranty - but I'd like to know if there is a solution or anything which may help me when talking to a service staff.

Question from TechLore Member msalessi: I was hoping someone can help me out here. I recently bought a Toshiba laptop, model Satellite L305-S5919. My problem is when I put in a DVD to watch, it gave me an error and said something about a decoder. What does this mean and why won't the movie play? I can't find another application to play the movie on and I really don't want to buy more software for this computer. Am I crazy to assume the computer should've come with something that would allow me to play movies? Please help!

Answer: You're not going crazy, and in fact, you're not alone. The Toshiba Satellite L305-S5919 ships with Windows Vista Home Basic, which does not include the necessary decoder for DVD playback.

Before we get to solutions, the first question you probably want answered is, "Why doesn't Microsoft include a DVD decoder in Windows Vista?

Question:

cptdano from the forums asks:

"We have done away with land lines in our house. Do you have any ideas of another way we might accomplish something similar?"

Answer:

The country is in a recession, and your cellphone bills are high enough.  The last thing you or anyone else needs is yet another outrageous telephone bill, but your local cable and telephone companies keep on pressuring you to sign up for their included landline service.

Landline telephone service does have its advantages, including clarity of transmission and always-on service, but there are a number of solutions from various providers that offer voice telephone services over the Internet for a fraction of the price.  Are you ready to cut the cord?  Take a look at these three solutions.  (Before we begin, all of these solutions require a high-speed Internet connection.)

Skype: A Solid, Well-Known VoIP Provider

If you're not familiar with the term,

Question:

I recently decided to finally buy an MP3 player, but I've found researching it to be quite overwhelming.

This is what I want from an mp3 player:

• Lightweight and fairly compact - so that it doesn't weigh me down or become uncomfortable after walking/riding/etc. a while
• Fairly durable - I don't plan on dropping it often, but I don't want it to break the first time I do.
• Storage space - I think 4GB will be enough room for me to have enough songs with some extra room left over to make me feel good about not being close to full
• Battery life - I would like to be able to use it for a few hours without having to recharge it.
• Music selection - I need to be able to select specific songs. It would be nice to be able to make playlists too.
• Sound quality - It doesn't have to be the best, but I'd like it to sound pretty decent. I plan on getting some good headphones with it.

This is a very common question that I get nowadays, being a huge mobile gadget geek and all.

Question:  Which cellphone should I buy?

Seems like a pretty simple question - buy what you like, right?  However, this is all too common of a mistake.  Once you purchase your shiny new communicator, you feel pretty good toting it about like a proud new parent... only to discover months later that it's missing a crucial feature or has some extremely annoying habits that you can't stand.  As such, the question of which mobile to purchase is more complicated than it seems... especially with all the new (and sometimes wacky) choices out there.

Answer:  It depends.  How do you use your cellphone?

Start first with how you think you will use the cellphone, then go from there.  I've come up with some common scenarios and phones that best fit your usage profile.

Community member Goatyeah shot a message over to the TechLore Experts with a common, but frustrating problem that many apartment dwellers face. They asked:

Question: I recently moved into a great apartment, and in one bedroom they don't have a cable jack installed in the wall. The managers have told me I can't drill in the wall, but i need to have TV in that room. What can I do or buy to solve this problem? I dont mind spending a few $100 to get this solved.

Answer:

Don't worry Goatyeah... there are solutions for getting around this problem. And the good news, some aren't even that expensive. What you'll need to do depends on a few factors, like what kind of source devices you have available, and whether or not you're looking to pump HDTV into this room. 

You didn't indicate what kind of TV source you have. I'm going to go on the assumption you have a pay TV service like cable or satellite. If you have rely on broadcast, you'd only need a set of rabbit ears to get TV in that second room.

We definitely live in the days of rechargable technology.  I'm not really that old, and I remember when most gadgets took AAA or AA batteries... and getting rechargables included with the device was always an (expensive) upgrade.

Nowadays, though, pretty much every gadget or portable electronic device has rechargable batteries included... MP3 players, PDA's, phones, laptops, even toys.

With the convenience of rechargable batteries does come some problems, however.  Many devices use the Lithium Ion standard type battery, which has many advantages... but in some cases, a limited lifespan as well 

The iPod series of gadgets is particularly noteworthy for losing battery life quickly and having "bad" batteries... sometimes after just a year of use, or even less  I'm not sure if this is because iPods are so frequently used, or if they use poor quality batteries - but nonetheless, it's a common issue.  It's even happening to my 30GB iPod Video, which powers down after about 30 minutes of video playback.