 El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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| reply to jazzlady
Re: Glad I switched to Avast said by jazzlady:On the one lone XP machine we have, the one my husband uses, I also switched to Avast after I finally gave up on AVG...
Avira was a stop-gap between AVG and Avast... Avast is definitely the best of the three.
Still use Windows for gaming... so I have to keep some sort of Anti-Virus going
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Everything in moderation... Including Moderation --Oscar Wilde |
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| said by El Quintron:said by jazzlady:On the one lone XP machine we have, the one my husband uses, I also switched to Avast after I finally gave up on AVG...
Avira was a stop-gap between AVG and Avast... Avast is definitely the best of the three. Still use Windows for gaming... so I have to keep some sort of Anti-Virus going I still use XP because my husband is not ready to make the switch to Linux. And there is one program I still need Windows for- a video converter called ConvertXtoDVD.
I used AVG happily for years until it literally crashed and burned. I had to stop using it because it caused so many problems.
I tried Avira and I didn't much care for it. I found it very intrusive, and it also caused stability problems with the version of Zone Alarm I was using.
Finally switched to Avast and it works great. It's not intrusive, updates itself, plays nice with Zone Alarm, and works pretty well in general.
As for Linux, I don't run either an AV or a firewall. Do you? Do you think it's necessary?
Just curious...
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El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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| said by jazzlady:As for Linux, I don't run either an AV or a firewall. Do you? Do you think it's necessary?
Just curious...
ClamAV is an AV you can use from Linux to scan a Windows disk for viruses, but I don't usually have to do so. The only time I've ever used it, was for a friends machine that was so infected it wouldn't even let me search for anti-viruses.
I don't usually use software firewalls either on Linux or Windows.
I'd say (with Linux) using caution whenever something asks you for your root password would be the best thing moreso than a specific AV program.
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Everything in moderation... Including Moderation --Oscar Wilde |
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| said by El Quintron:said by jazzlady:As for Linux, I don't run either an AV or a firewall. Do you? Do you think it's necessary?
Just curious...
ClamAV is an AV you can use from Linux to scan a Windows disk for viruses, but I don't usually have to do so. The only time I've ever used it, was for a friends machine that was so infected it wouldn't even let me search for anti-viruses. I don't usually use software firewalls either on Linux or Windows. I'd say (with Linux) using caution whenever something asks you for your root password would be the best thing moreso than a specific AV program. Yes, I try to be cautious. I don't worry as much in Linux, but there are Linux viruses out there. Any OS can get a virus...
The thing I like about Zone Alarm is it alerts you when a program is trying to "phone home". I always found that to be handy.
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“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
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Rekrul
join:2007-04-21
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| reply to jazzlady
said by jazzlady:I still use XP because my husband is not ready to make the switch to Linux. And there is one program I still need Windows for- a video converter called ConvertXtoDVD. Why would you use an all-in-one Windows program to convert video files to DVD, when there's probably some perfectly good Linux process for doing the same thing that probably uses 3-4 different programs, 5-6 support libraries and probably only takes 6-7 steps?  |
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El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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| said by Rekrul:Why would you use an all-in-one Windows program to convert video files to DVD, when there's probably some perfectly good Linux process for doing the same thing that probably uses 3-4 different programs, 5-6 support libraries and probably only takes 6-7 steps?
I think APT has pretty much resolved most depency hell issues, but you are you correct that the things Linux does well are great, and the stuff Devs chose to ignore is a huge PITA.
Brasero now does random videofile to playable DVD pretty good now though.
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Everything in moderation... Including Moderation --Oscar Wilde |
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| reply to Rekrul
said by Rekrul:said by jazzlady:I still use XP because my husband is not ready to make the switch to Linux. And there is one program I still need Windows for- a video converter called ConvertXtoDVD. Why would you use an all-in-one Windows program to convert video files to DVD, when there's probably some perfectly good Linux process for doing the same thing that probably uses 3-4 different programs, 5-6 support libraries and probably only takes 6-7 steps? The closest thing I've found in Linux is DeVeDe.
But DeVeDe can't touch ConvertX as far as quality. It does ok if the source is NTSC, but when doing PAL to NTSC it fails miserably. The resulting video is not fluid, but is jerky. ConvertX converts the same video perfectly.
ConvertX can actually run under WINE, but the newer and better versions won't do menu's, which is a problem for me.
So, still looking for the perfect, open source conversion software, that has a GUI and can do simple menus... 
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“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
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El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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kudos:2 | Totally forgot about DeeVeeDee good catch. |
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| reply to El Quintron
said by El Quintron:said by Rekrul:Why would you use an all-in-one Windows program to convert video files to DVD, when there's probably some perfectly good Linux process for doing the same thing that probably uses 3-4 different programs, 5-6 support libraries and probably only takes 6-7 steps?
I think APT has pretty much resolved most depency hell issues, but you are you correct that the things Linux does well are great, and the stuff Devs chose to ignore is a huge PITA. Brasero now does random videofile to playable DVD pretty good now though. Dependencies... oh yeah, those things.... LOL
I usually use Synaptic to install anything, and don't worry about dependencies. Never went through dependency hell.
Brasero actually works now? I use Nero Linux. I used Nero for years in Windows, and Nero Linux is one of the few commercial programs I use on Linux. Hey, it's only $20, so I can't complain. But it doesn't burn to 2 drives simultaneously like the Windows version... :-(
But you're right- the stuff the dev's ignore causes problems for a lot of us.
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“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
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El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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| said by jazzlady:Brasero actually works now?
It did on 10.10 which is the last time I had to burn a "video" DVD. I basically have everything going from my NASes to my Boxee boxes at home, so my need for playable DVDs is pretty small.
Ubuntutweak, I believe has a Brasero Repo you can add, which would provide extra functionality from the Ubuntu version if needed.
For what it's worth I kept a super old Mac around with a copy of Roxio Toast on it forever just to burn DVDs before I got into videosharing over my network.
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Everything in moderation... Including Moderation --Oscar Wilde |
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| said by El Quintron:said by jazzlady:Brasero actually works now?
It did on 10.10 which is the last time I had to burn a "video" DVD. I basically have everything going from my NASes to my Boxee boxes at home, so my need for playable DVDs is pretty small. I don't need to burn DVD's for myself either. I do them only for my 82 year old Mom.
I never had much luck with Brasero, but K3B always worked well for me, even in the Gnome environment. Not as good as Nero though...
I usually watch avi's on an SD card in my DVD player, but I'm finding the need for more formats lately. I'm looking into some kind of solution like a blu-ray player or media streamer, but I only need to play files from a local attached device like a thumb drive... so I'm doing some research trying to figure out what to get.
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“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
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Rekrul
join:2007-04-21
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| reply to jazzlady
said by jazzlady:The closest thing I've found in Linux is DeVeDe.
But DeVeDe can't touch ConvertX as far as quality. It does ok if the source is NTSC, but when doing PAL to NTSC it fails miserably. The resulting video is not fluid, but is jerky. ConvertX converts the same video perfectly.
ConvertX can actually run under WINE, but the newer and better versions won't do menu's, which is a problem for me.
So, still looking for the perfect, open source conversion software, that has a GUI and can do simple menus... No, no, no! You're doing it wrong! All-in-one programs aren't the Linux way!
First you need to use ffmpeg to convert the video file to mpeg2 format. Then you need to use a graphics program to create the menu screens. Then you need to use DVD Author to convert the mpeg2 files into the proper DVD structure and program the menus. Then you use a burning program to burn the files to disc. Of course ffmpeg and DVD Author are command line programs, so you'll need to hunt down suitable front end programs for them.
See, couldn't be easier!
Remember the unofficial *nix motto; Never do in one step what you can make the user do in several steps! |
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| said by Rekrul:said by jazzlady:The closest thing I've found in Linux is DeVeDe.
So, still looking for the perfect, open source conversion software, that has a GUI and can do simple menus... No, no, no! You're doing it wrong! All-in-one programs aren't the Linux way! First you need to use ffmpeg to convert the video file to mpeg2 format. Then you need to use a graphics program to create the menu screens. Then you need to use DVD Author to convert the mpeg2 files into the proper DVD structure and program the menus. Then you use a burning program to burn the files to disc. Of course ffmpeg and DVD Author are command line programs, so you'll need to hunt down suitable front end programs for them. See, couldn't be easier! Remember the unofficial *nix motto; Never do in one step what you can make the user do in several steps! My dear, if that were the case I would not be a Linux user.
I very rarely use the CLI. I can't remember the commands, and I can't type worth a damn anyhow. I almost always find a GUI way to do something in Linux. LOL
Linux really *has* gotten more user friendly... well, until Ubuntu went with Unity anyway... :-\
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El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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| reply to jazzlady
said by jazzlady:I'm looking into some kind of solution like a blu-ray player or media streamer, but I only need to play files from a local attached device like a thumb drive... so I'm doing some research trying to figure out what to get.
I use Boxee Box, which I moved to after WDTV... it works great for Netflix and a host of other services. It can be termpermental, put it's very powerful.
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Everything in moderation... Including Moderation --Oscar Wilde |
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| said by El Quintron:said by jazzlady:I'm looking into some kind of solution like a blu-ray player or media streamer, but I only need to play files from a local attached device like a thumb drive... so I'm doing some research trying to figure out what to get.
I use Boxee Box, which I moved to after WDTV... it works great for Netflix and a host of other services. It can be termpermental, put it's very powerful. I was about to get the WDTV, but it doesn't support Vobsubs. I need a box that supports the idx/sub subtitle format.
I'm looking at a Micca player at the moment, but there are some issues with the Realtek 1186 chip. It has a 23.976 fps bug. It plays those videos at 24 fps, and causes a judder in the video. The previous 1185 chip had this issue as well.
I'm also looking at blu-ray players that can handle AAC audio, mkv and mp4 also. I don't need an internet connected box, just something that plays a lot of formats from a thumb drive.
I thought about an HTPC, but this is for a bedroom so that isn't practical.
I looked at Roku- dismissed that one immediately. They want a credit card # just to set the thing up whether you intend to use it online of not. They can bite me.
Also looked at a few others- Popcorn Hour, Popbox, Incredisonic, Micca, Xstreamer, and a few others. I'm still researching...
This stuff is hard. It makes my brain hurt... LOL
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“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
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 rchandraStargate Universe fanPremium
join:2000-11-09
14225-2105 | reply to Rekrul
eh...wish it were that easy sometimes. But I like to hack at that sometimes. There are, unfortunately, some things which are likely to be easier, for some time to come, in M$OS. |
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rchandraStargate Universe fanPremium
join:2000-11-09
14225-2105 | reply to jazzlady
Real People(tm) use mkisofs and dvdrecord or cdrecord Actually, all kidding aside, I have been using K3B, plus sometimes those two. |
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rchandraStargate Universe fanPremium
join:2000-11-09
14225-2105 | reply to Rekrul
Actually, it's more like, do one thing and do it well. It's just that there may not be anything (yet) to do the one thing of bringing that all together well. |
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| reply to rchandra
said by rchandra:Real People(tm) use mkisofs and dvdrecord or cdrecord Actually, all kidding aside, I have been using K3B, plus sometimes those two.
K3B always worked well for me. But I wound up getting Nero because it was inexpensive, and I'm just used to it. It works well. I just wish they'd implement that multiple burner feature like the Win version.
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“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
Sinclair Lewis |
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| reply to jazzlady
said by jazzlady:said by El Quintron:said by jazzlady:I'm looking into some kind of solution like a blu-ray player or media streamer, but I only need to play files from a local attached device like a thumb drive... so I'm doing some research trying to figure out what to get.
I use Boxee Box, which I moved to after WDTV... it works great for Netflix and a host of other services. It can be termpermental, put it's very powerful. I was about to get the WDTV, but it doesn't support Vobsubs. I need a box that supports the idx/sub subtitle format. I'm looking at a Micca player at the moment, but there are some issues with the Realtek 1186 chip. It has a 23.976 fps bug. It plays those videos at 24 fps, and causes a judder in the video. The previous 1185 chip had this issue as well. I'm also looking at blu-ray players that can handle AAC audio, mkv and mp4 also. I don't need an internet connected box, just something that plays a lot of formats from a thumb drive. I thought about an HTPC, but this is for a bedroom so that isn't practical. I looked at Roku- dismissed that one immediately. They want a credit card # just to set the thing up whether you intend to use it online of not. They can bite me. Also looked at a few others- Popcorn Hour, Popbox, Incredisonic, Micca, Xstreamer, and a few others. I'm still researching... This stuff is hard. It makes my brain hurt... LOL Just a heads up on the WDTV, I got a WDTV live a while back and the wireless is terrible but if you are connecting a drive to it it was great. From everything I read lately theres better solutions elsewhere. |
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