MKV file, MLV player, Free MKV Converter and MKV Burner on Mac OS

What is MKV file?
.MKV is a container format developed by Matroska. Matroska file types are .MKV for video (with subtitles and audio), .MKA for audio-only files and .MKS for subtitles only. The most common use of .MKV files is to store HD video files.It can hold different types of video and audio. For example, there might be an .avi file contained within the .MKV file. High Definition movies in 720 or 1080 pixel width format are often encoded and packaged as a Matroska format video with a .MKV file extension.

How to play MKV file s on Mac?
I recommend trying either MPlayer OS X or VLC Media Player. They are all free.
These excellent and free multimedia players can tackle many of the video formats unknown to QuickTime. They contain a decoder to decode the .MKV files. They will also play many of the formats you will find inside the .MKV file.
How to convert MKV to DVD, MP4, AVI, etc on Mac for free?
I recommend VisualHub to convert MKV to MP4, AVI, etc on Mac. It can convert MKV to iPod Nano, convert MKV to iPod Classic, convert MKV to iPod touch , convert MKV to iPhone, convert MKV to Apple TV, convert MKV to Xbox 360, convert MKV to PSP, convert MKV to PS3, AVI, convert MKV to MP4, convert MKV to MPEG, convert MKV to Flash, convert MKV to WMV and convert MKV to DVD.
Techspanion (The developer of VisualHub) has closed shop and after an outcry from fans, VisualHub, the popular video converter on Mac OS X have now gone open source. It has got new name Film Redux. You can download its open source and built it by yourself. Here is a tutorial: How to build iSquint and VisualHub?



Step 1, Run Film Redux (VisualHub)
Step2, Load MKV videos
Insert your MKV files from your Mac .Click the Add files button to load your MKV videos.
Step3, Convert MKV to MP4, AVI, iPod, etc.
Here is the list of the formats that VisualHub can convert MKV
They are iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod touch , iPhone, Apple TV, Xbox 360, PSP, PS3, AVI, MP4, Quicktime, MPEG, Flash, WMV. Choose the format you want to convert MKV to and click Start.



That’s all. Now, we have converted MKV to iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod touch , iPhone, Apple TV, Xbox 360, PSP, PS3, AVI, MP4, Quicktime, MPEG, Flash, WMV.
How to convert DVD to MKV on Mac for free?
I recommend you use Handbrake to you to convert DVD to MKV on Mac . HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter. It can convert DVD to MKV on Mac eaisly and for free.
Step 1, Download and Install Handbake
Download the free program Handbrake. Check to see if your Mac has the system requirements; click on the apple icon in the top left corner and About this Mac. Then install HandBrake.



Step 2, Run it and insert DVD.
Select your favorite DVD disk and put it in the disk drive. Then run HandBrake and click Detected Volume to choose source. Click Open and you will be able to see many titles included in this DVD disk. Choose the longest title if this is a movie DVD, or choose your favorite chapter if this is an episode.
Step 3, Select Output setting
Select MKV files as output format and select other settings such as video quality, audio track, Audio Sample Rate, bitrate, Picture Settings, etc.

Step 4, Rip DVD to MKV on Mac
Check all settings and click Rip. A progress bar will show its ripping speed; depends on many factors like speed of Mac, filesize, etc.
That’s all. We have converted DVD to MKV for free now.
Note: Handbrake can not rip encrypted DVD movies. If you want to rip encrypted DVD movies, you can use this DVD Ripper for Mac. You can also use Mac the ripper which is free.

iPod Compatible Video

This article is divided into four parts separately introduce what is iPod Compatible Video, which video format is better for Apple iPod Video, is my video iPod compatible and how to make the video compatible with your iPod.

Part One: What is iPod Compatible Video?
Part Two: Which video format is better for Apple iPod video?
Part Three: Is My Video iPod Compatible?
Part Four: How to make the video compatible with your iPod?

Part One: What is iPod Compatible Video?
Firstly, I will introduce you what is iPod Compatible Video, iPod Nano Compatible Video such as iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264, the specifications page lists the following:
Apple iPod video specifications from their official website:
H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

That’s a little confusing, but there’s only a few numbers you’ll need to remember for each format.

The highest video bitrate with the H.264 codec is 768 kilobits per second. The biggest picture size for your H.264 movie is 320 pixels wide by 240 pixels high, the exact dimensions of your iPod’s screen. Your iPod can play H.264 video at framerates up to 30 frames per second. Every one of the applications that we’ll be using encodes with the Baseline Profile. Your audio needs to be encoded as AAC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, and it can be in either stereo or mono. As long as you follow all the guidelines, your movie can be a QuickTime movie or an MPEG-4 movie file.

Your other option, MPEG-4 video, supports a much higher bitrate than H.264 video - 2,500 kilobits per second. Using higher bitrates will also create larger files. The result: you’ll have less space for additional songs and movies. The biggest picture size for your MPEG-4 video is 480 pixels wide by 480 pixels high - three times as many pixels as your iPod’s screen is capable of displaying. Your iPod will shrink the picture proportionally so that everything fits on the screen. Again, the iPod can play videos up to 30 frames per second and our audio and file format options are the same as H.264 video.

Part Two: Which video format is better for Apple iPod video?
That’s a tough question. H.264 is arguably better because it offers high quality and a much smaller file size when compared to MPEG-4. However, both formats look quite good when you encode your video at the higher supported video settings. One thing that most people will agree on is that H.264 video takes longer to encode than standard MPEG-4. This means that converting a two hour movie to iPod video can take considerably longer using the H.264 codec (especially with QuickTime Pro’s pokey Export: Movie to iPod video option). Still, I prefer the H.264 codec in most instances.

Part Three: Is My Video iPod Compatible?
Some of the video files that you download from the web or from file sharing networks like BitTorrent may be iPod compatible - even if they’re not marked as such.

The easiest way to determine whether a video can be played on your iPod is to open the file in QuickTime and select Window: Show Movie Info. In most cases your video should be iPod-ready if the format is H.264 or MPEG-4, the audio is AAC, and the size of your video is 320 x 240 (or smaller) for H.264 or 480 x 480 (or smaller) for MPEG-4. Also, look at the data rate and make sure it’s not over 900 kbits/sec for H.264 or 2600 kbits/sec for MPEG-4.

Part Four: How to make the video compatible with your iPod?
If you have QuickTime Pro ($30 and worth every penny) or the latest version of iTunes (free!), this is, by far, the easiest conversion that we’ll talk about.

In iTunes, after you’ve added your video to the library, right click it. Select Convert Selection for iPod. iTunes will let you know if your video is already in the correct format. If it’s not, your video will slowly be converted to an H.264 video.

UPDATE: I’ve heard several complaints of iTunes creating iPod videos without sound. You should probably avoid using iTunes to convert your videos.

In QuickTime Pro, open your movie and, in the file menu, select Export… and in the export drop-down, select Movie to iPod (320 x 240) and click Save. QuickTime will create an optimized H.264 video with AAC audio.

You may want to go pour yourself a cup of tea or take a nap. If your file is large, QuickTime’s slow conversion process can take several hours.

If you’re an inexperienced user, I recommend using QuickTime Pro or iTunes because they’re absolutely foolproof. However there are other much faster, more powerful applications for converting your videos. Read on!

Don’t have QuickTime Pro? Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter!
Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter supports so comprehensive video formats including converting MPG, MPEG, MPEG2, VOB, MP4, M4V, RM, RMVB, WMV, ASF, MKV, TS, MPV, AVI, 3GP,3G2, FLV, MPV, MOD, TOD to iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264. You can customize your own output video by the settings function. For example, if you want a high quality video you can raise the values of Video Biterate, Audio Biterate and Audio Sample Rate, if you want a smaller file you can reduce the value.



If you want to make your DVD compatible with your iPod and even transfer your iPod video to Computer, you can choose Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite which is an all-in-one solution to convert DVD to iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264 and convert video to iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264. Moreover, it can transfer video from iPod to computer. You don’t need to worry about losing anything.
For Mac user, you can choose Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter for Mac and Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite for Mac.

How to get songs, pictures and videos from iTunes, iPod, iPhone to computer and then to Zune

This is a step by step guide to tell you how to get all songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to computer (including windows PC and Mac OS X) for free. In the event that you accidentally delete your music from your computer, it is possible to recover your songs from your iPod as long as you follow this tutorial. And then you can put these songs, pictures and videos to Zune, PSP, Sandisk, Pocket PC, PowerPoint, Cell phone, Creative Zen, PDA, Archos, iRiver, Apple TV, Xbox 360, PS3 and other MP4 player. If you want to put the iTunes videos to Zune and other mp4 players, You can transfer iTunes videos to iPod touch, iPod classic, the latest iPod nano and iPhone(iPhone 3G) firstly.
This guide includes two parts:
Part 1, How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to computer for free
Part 2, How to put iTunes videos, iPod and iPhone videos to Zune, PSP and other MP4 player.

Part 1, How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone(3G) to computer for free
1. How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to Windows PC for free
ml_iPod is a Winamp plugin that enables music to be loaded onto and off of an Apple iPod without using iTunes via Winamp's Media Library. One of the main attractions of the plugin is being able to transfer files from the iPod to your computer which is not possible with Apple's iTunes software. Winamp's newest iPod plug-in can indeed copy files from iPhone in Windows without jailbreaking. It also supports Creative Zen and PlaysForSure certified devices.
Download and install Winamp if you haven't yet. And then use it to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to Windows PC.
2. How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to Mac OS X for free
Step 1,Download Senuti.
The latest version only works on Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. For OS X 10.3.9 users download Senuti 0.33 from the link at the bottom of the page. It always copy music from regular iPods to your Mac, and a new version now supports the iPhone and iPod touch.
Step 2, Install Senuti. Drag the Seunti application to your Applications Folder. Drag Senuti into your dock or save a copy on your desktop if you wish. Eject the Senuti disk image and clear your download folder.
Step 3, Make sure you have iTunes. Open iTunes.
Step 4, Plug your iPod into your computer. Set your iPod to "Manually manage music and videos" in iTunes.
Step 5, Open Senuti. Songs with a note next to them are already in iTunes. However if you changed song information separately in your iTunes library or your iPod, it will think the same song is two different ones.
Step 6, Go to "Preferences" and then "Copying" in Senuti. Choose the iTunes Music Folder as the "Save Location" for copied music. Otherwise two copies will be created of each song and will fill up hard drive space.
Step 7, Highlight and drag songs from "Library" into "iTunes". You can also drag and drop playlists from your iPod into iTunes. Make sure all the songs look normal and that there are no double copies.

Part 2, How to put iTunes videos, iPod and iPhone videos to Zune
If you want to put iTunes videos to Zune, you can transfer the iTunes videos to iPod or iPhone at first and then get the videos from iPod and iPhone to Computer. Now we can put the videos that have got from iPod touch, iPod Classic, iPod Nano and iPhone to Zune.

Zune only supports the follow video formats:
Windows Media Video (.wmv)
MPEG4 video (m4v, .mp4, or .mov)
H.264 video (.m4v, .mp4, or .mov)

If the videos are the zune format files, you can transfer the videos to Zune using zune software.
Here is the steps:
1. install zune software, you can download it from here for free
2. plug in your zune player to computer
3. drag the wmv video to zune library
4. click "start sync" to sync your zune. OK.
If the videos are not the zune format, You need use Total video converter to convert the videos to Zune format so that you can put the iTunes videos to zune. And then you need to use zune software to transfer the videos to zune.
The total video converter can also convert videos for Apple TV, PSP, Pocket PC, Creative Zen, Archos, and a lot of MP3 players and audio players. So you can also put the iPod videos, iPhone videos and iTune videos to Apple TV, PSP, Pocket PC, Creative Zen, Archos, and a lot of MP3 players.
If you are a Mac user, use this video converter for Mac to put iTunes videos to Zune and other MP4 players.

There as also many other applications and methods for copying music from an iPod to your computer as there are iPod models themselves, which makes finding a sure-fire, free solution a matter of tedious trial and error. Whether you're a Windows user looking to yank tunes from an iPhone, a Mac fan backing up an iPod classic, or a Linux enthusiast trying to get into your new nano, we've got you covered. Follow along for a detailed look at the best ways to transfer songs from your iPod to your computer, no matter what hardware or operating system you're rocking.
1. Floola (Win, Mac, Linux) - portable iPod manager.
Features: (1) move audio and video to/from iPod, (2) manage and import/export playlists, (3) last.fm support, (4) multi-lingual, (5) lyrics and podcasts support, (6) search files, (7) iPod troubleshooting, (8) manage notes, (9) sync files between PC and iPod
2. YamiPod (Win, Mac, Linux) - yet another portable iPod manager.
Features: (1) playlists import/export (PLS,M3U), (2) PC to iPod autosync, (3) built-in music player, (4) last.fm support, (5) search, (6) song list export and more
3. Sharepod (Win) -
Features: (1) move files to/from iPod, (2) built-in music player, (3) search, (4) create winamp-style playlists, (5) network file sharing (office, college, etc.), (6) built-in music player and more
4. Ephpod (Win) - not as flexible as the ones above but has couple of cool
features: ultra-fast song transfer, powerful playlist creation features, one click sync, winamp support, bunch of extras (news, weather, movie listings, etc.)
5. Rockbox - open source replacement firmware for mp3 players.
Features: (1) dynamic playlist creation, (2) multiple themes, (3) gapless playback, (4) in-built clock, (5) tagging, (6) plugins and more
6. Amarok (Linux) - iTunes alternative.
Features: (1) manage, create playlists , (2) podcasts support, (3) last.fm support more
7. Rhythmbox (Linux) - integrated music management application (inspired by iTunes)

On the Web’s Cutting Edge, Anonymity in Name Only

You may not know a company called [x+1] Inc., but it may well know a lot about you.

From a single click on a web site, [x+1] correctly identified Carrie Isaac as a young Colorado Springs parent who lives on about $50,000 a year, shops at Wal-Mart (WMT) and rents kids’ videos. The company deduced that Paul Boulifard, a Nashville architect, is childless, likes to travel and buys used cars. And [x+1] determined that Thomas Burney, a Colorado building contractor, is a skier with a college degree and looks like he has good credit.

The company didn’t get every detail correct. But its ability to make snap assessments of individuals is accurate enough that Capital One Financial Corp. uses [x+1]’s calculations to instantly decide which credit cards to show first-time visitors to its website.

In short: Websites are gaining the ability to decide whether or not you’d be a good customer, before you tell them a single thing about yourself.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Gulf States Worried About Offshore BlackBerry Leaks

If you can’t scan them, ban them.

The United Arab Emirates late Sunday said it will suspend BlackBerry mobile services like email, instant-messaging and Web-browsing unless Research in Motion (RIMM) agrees to make them easier to surveil. “BlackBerry data is immediately exported offshore, where it’s managed by a foreign, commercial organization,” the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement. “Blackberry data services are currently the only data services operating in the UAE where this is the case. Today’s decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national-security concerns.”

Ironic that RIM’s encryption system, one of the chief reasons for its success in the enterprise world, is working against it in countries whose governments view it as a potential threat to national security

Saudi Arabia appears to be following the UAE’s lead. Sources in the kingdom’s Communications and Information Technology Commission tell Reuters it is ordering a suspension of BlackBerry messenger services as well.

Analysts estimate that together the two gulf states have between 500,000 and 1 million Blackberry subscribers. That’s not a huge number–about two percent of RIM’s subscriber base– but it’s large enough that the company will almost certainly work out an agreement before the bans go into effect.

Microsoft Quashed Effort to Boost Online Privacy

The online habits of most people who use the world’s dominant Web browser are an open book to advertisers. That wasn’t the plan at first.

In early 2008, Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) product planners for the Internet Explorer 8.0 browser intended to give users a simple, effective way to avoid being tracked online. They wanted to design the software to automatically thwart common tracking tools, unless a user deliberately switched to settings affording less privacy.

That triggered heated debate inside Microsoft. As the leading maker of Web browsers, the gateway software to the Internet, Microsoft must balance conflicting interests: helping people surf the Web with its browser to keep their mouse clicks private, and helping advertisers who want to see those clicks.

In the end, the product planners lost a key part of the debate. The winners: executives who argued that giving automatic privacy to consumers would make it tougher for Microsoft to profit from selling online ads. Microsoft built its browser so that users must deliberately turn on privacy settings every time they start up the software.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Downgrade PSP to version1.5 using PSP battery

Lots of users downgrade their PSP to version 1.5 because they can upgrade their PSP to any version from 1.5. And if you upgrade your PSP to version 3.51, you can play any downloaded games and run any applications. Do you know that you can downgrade your PSP system to version 1.5 all by yourself by turning your PSP battery into a pandora's battery? All you need are an original PSP battery (with more than 50% charge) and a Memory Stick Pro Duo with 1GB memory or above.

I. Get ready (Reformat PSP memory stick)
Before you get started with the downgrade, you need to reformat your PSP memory stick. If you don't know how to reformat it, you can refer to the steps below:
1. Press the HOME button on the bottom left of your PSP.
2. Use the arrow keys to move to the Settings area, then move the up and down keys to go to System Settings.
3. Push the "X" button (or the "O" button, depending on which button is the "Enter" button of your PSP) and scroll to find the "Format Memory Stick" option. Push the "X" button again to select this option.
4. Your PSP will now confirm that you want to reformat the memory stick, choose yes and your PSP will be physically formatted in a few seconds.
To do the downgrade, you also need to download an application pack. After the downloading is finished, what you get will be a compressed application pack named "pandora", decompress it to the root directory of a hard disc, say Disc H. In this "pandora" folder, you can see four folders including mspformat, msinst, battery and installer, and a file named UPDATE.PBP.
Now you are ALL ready to turn your PSP battery to a Pandora's battery and use it to downgrade any PSP!
II.Turn your PSP battery into a padora's battery
Step 1: Logically reformat your PSP Connect your PSP to your computer. And your PSP will be recognized as a new hard disc, say K. Then click Start -> Run, input cmd in the popped up dialog box, and click OK to enter DOS system. Use the below commands one by one to run the mspformat file: Input "H:", and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here H is the disc where the "panndora" folder is located) Input "cd pandora" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. Input "cd mspformat" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. Then input "mspformat.exe K" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here K is the name of the disc that your PSP is recognized on your computer.) After these commands, your PSP will be logically reformatted in a minute.



Step 2: Open the recognized PSP hard disc on your computer, create a new folder and name it "PSP", open this "PSP" folder, create a new folder and name it "game". Copy and paste the "installer" folder and the "battery" folder into the "game" folder. Then copy and paste the UPDATE.PBP file to the root directory of the PSP hard disc on your computer.
Step 3: On your PSP, switch to the Game option, press X or O (depending on which is the "Enter" key of your PSP). Go to "installer" and press X or O to run it.



In a few seconds, a file named "msipl.bin" will be created on the root directory of your PSP memory disc. And now, you should take out your memory disc and then put it back in, which seems to be useless but is a very necessary step.
Step 4: Connect to your PSP back to your computer. Then enter DOS system as mentioned in Step 1. Use the below commands one by one to run the mspformat file:
Input "H:", and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard
Input "cd pandora" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard.
Input "cd minst" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard.
Then input "msinst.exe K K:\msipl.bin " and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here K is the name of the disc that your PSP is recognized on your computer.)
When you see a popped up message asking if you are sure, click "Yes".
Step 5: Go back to your PSP, switch to the Game option, press X or O (depending on which is the "Enter" key of your PSP). Go to "battery" and press X or O to run it, press X or O to OK every popped up message to finish running the battery application.



Now, your pandora's battery has been created!

III. Use the created pandora's battery to downgrade your PSP
After you turn your batter to a PSP downgrade battery (pandora's battery), you can use it to downgrade your PSP by following the instructions below:
Take out your PSP Memory Stick and battery, then put back in your PSP Memory Stick first, and put your battery back in.Turn your PSP power on, when you see three options; select the Downgrade option, your PSP will be downgraded in a very short time and it will be automatically shut down afterwards.Turn your PSP on again, and you will see a blue screen. But no worries, you can just press the O key, and your PSP system is already version 1.5!
Note: The above process will turn your PSP battery to a pandora's battery that can be used for PSP downgrade. But the pandora's battery cannot be used to play PSP games, videos or music. And the process is not reversible. You will need to get an additional PSP battery for regular uses. However, you can use your pandora's battery to downgrade any PSP to version 1.5 or even repair you PSP.

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DVD to PSP Converter for Windows
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PSP Movie Converter for Windows
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