66
Problems Solved
Buy it from
http://www.snipca.com/38164Q: Do third-party inks really
damage printers?A: Issue 581, page 67 – find it on
our 2020 Back Issue CDIn Audacity’s Effect menu, select
'Change Pitch'Old devices that
require a Scart
connection –
such as DVD
and video
players – will
work via a
Scart-to-HDMI
converter boxCan I convert Scart to HDMI?
Q
Partly inspired by Issue 627’s
excellent-if-horrifying ‘Stop
Your TV Spying On You’ article,
I’d like a new ‘dumb’ TV. All I need is
Freeview, and no internet stuff. My
current 32in Sony is fine, with Scart
connectors for my equally excellent
Panasonic video recorder and DVD
player. However, at 88, and with
deteriorating eyesight, I’d like a bigger
screen. If newer TVs don't have Scart
sockets, would they work with my Scart-
connected recorder and DVD via an
Scart-to-HDMI converter? Any advice
would be much appreciated.
William LyonsA
Almost all new TVs sold in the
UK will have a Freeview receiver
built in. Similarly, almost all will
have at least some features that could be
described as ‘smart’, given how
ambiguous the term is. Connecting to the
internet isn’t usually necessary, even if a
TV has the option.
However, you should be aware that fewif any modern TVs will have Scart sockets.
Fortunately, we can confirm that Scart-
to-HDMI converter boxes will indeed do
what you need. There’s nothing more
complicated to most of them than
plugging a Scart device in at one end, and
HDMI cable out the other side to your
modern TV. As you’ve got two Scart
devices, you’d need two such converters
(and a TV with at least two HDMI inputs- but more is always better).
The pictured Kirolle model below costs
around £15 (www.snipca.com/41513).
Can I alter audio
frequencies?
Q
My wife is seriously deaf
and heavily dependent on
hearing aids. Downloaded
recordings that we want to listen to
are of varying quality. There are
times when she needs to have the
lower frequencies reduced and the
higher ones increased to give greater
clarity. Is there a way to get the
computer to do this?
Maurice WheatleyA
Yes – Audacity. This free
program has an abundance
of tools for adjusting audio
files. Download it from http://www.
audacityteam.org/download.
There are so many options that it’s
impossible to provide detailed
instructions here, but to get you
started, first simply drag and drop an
audio file into the main body of the
window. Now, you can click and drag
across the waveform to select a
particular part, or press Ctrl+A to
select the whole lot. Now open the
Effect menu and choose Change
Pitch (see screenshot below).
Even this one box offers many
options, but dragging the Frequency
slider, for example, will allow you to
set a lower or higher frequency for
the selected audio. Now just click OK
to apply.
However, all these options can
make Audacity confusing. If you find
it too complicated, give Ocenaudio a
go (www.ocenaudio.com). It lacks
many of Audacity's tools, but it's
much easier to use.27 April – 10 May 2022 • Issue 630