How to Convert MKV to AVI Easily

By: Cecilia Lou

MKV stands for Matroska Video, which is an extensible file container format that holds innumerable numbers of audio, video, subtitle tracks or picture in a single file. MKV has enormous storing capacity as it can support multiple audio, video and subtitles in same container. But many customers who have digital players like MP4, iPod, etc. cannot use the MKV file as there gadgets do not support the format. So, there arises a need to convert MKV file to any other format like AVI so that all music and video lovers can enjoy the audios and videos to the fullest. And the same purpose can be fulfilled accurately with the help of MKV to AVI converter.

Although, it is considered as best format for DVD video, there are certain mobile devices which do not accept MKV files. So, it becomes important to convert MKV to AVI (Audio Video Interleave) files with the help of mkv to avi converter which is designed to convert various MKV videos and audio formats into other formats like MP4, 3GP, MPG, MPEG, AVI, MOV, etc. The converter also helps in converting AVI into MKV files. The software is a versatile tool which is not only used for converting file from one format to other; it also performs video editing functions and changes file into desired format within a fraction of seconds.

Below assorted are step by step guide of how to convert a MKV file into AVI, take Arcsoft MediaConverter for a example. Before that, you need to download MediaConverter, install and run it at your computer system.

Step 1 Import MKV file into MediaConverter Click on video file and select input file as MKV. Also, several MKV files can be selected at a time.

Step 2 Choose AVI as the output format Click on "Select Output". Under Type heading, there is a drop down menu. Select "Formats -Saved to Hard Drive" from there and then select output as AVI.

Step 3 Start to convert mkv to avi After making the above settings, click on "start" button.

Within a few seconds, you will observe that conversion process will begin. And when the converting shows 100%, it indicates the conversion has been completed.

There is a setting button at the right side of the converter. By clicking at this, users can make required settings. See, it’s quite easy and quickly, now you can enjoy your mkv files in avi format.

How To Connect Your PSP To Your HD TV

By: Peter Greenwood

 To connect your PSP (Playstation Portable) to your TV you can simply plug the AV cable into the headphone jack socket on your PSP (Playstation Portable) and the other end into the TV. There are different types of AV cables such as S-Video and component/YpPbPr cables. The type you need will depend on what sort of input your TV has.

The second step is to change "Connected Display Settings" on your PSP (Playstation Portable). If you have a widescreen TV select 16:9. If not, choose 4:3. If you have a HDTV the best Component/D-Terminal Output setting will be "progressive" which will use the TV's 480p resolution mode. For TVs that are not HD the best option will be "Interface" - this uses standard definition 480i.

Now simply select the appropriate input source on your TV, turn on your PSP and hold down the "display" button for 5 seconds. Voila! you can play your PSP on your TV screen.
There is one major downside to the method mentioned above; if you connect your PSP to your TV using only an AV cable, you will not achieve a full screen picture, it will only take up a small portion of the screen; obviously this is not ideal if, like me, you are a serious gamer. Luckily there is a solution - a PSP to TV Converter. This device can connect directly to the HDMI port on your HD TV and will enable you to play your PSP in full HD and in full screen.

It is also possible to connect your PSP directly to your computer monitor, PC monitor or LCD display by utilising the monitors VGA (Video Graphics Array) port. Unfortunately a direct connection between the two has the same problem as connecting your PSP directly to your TV; you will not achieve a full screen picture. Thankfully there is also a solution for this problem in the form of a PSP to PC VGA Converter. This device will enable you to play your PSP in full screen on your PC VGA monitor.

Good quality PSP to PC VGA converters should also have a VGA pass through. This will enable you to keep your PC or Mac and your PSP connected to the monitor at all times. In my opinion this is essential so you don't have to mess around with the wiring every time you want to play your PSP in full screen.

ABC of Clipping Path

By: Shuvojit Roy

 "Clipping Path" is the hottest trend in graphics outsourcing industry today. On the graphics designing and photo editing surface, clipping path is the process of creating an outline around a center object while the rest of the image is being made apparent.

The clipping path is nothing difficult to understand, just like a cookie cutter. Someone says it is a closed path or figure which is drawn with the help of a Photoshop pen tool for cutting off an image from the background. Clipping path will retain anything within the path and omit everything that is exterior the pathway during the time of applying clipping path to an image. In an image editing program, the clipping path is the functional counterpart to a mask in an illustrator program.

Clipping path may be needed to use by anyone, generally who works on photography, advertising and printing work area. Especially different organizations or companies those are working in the field of photography, advertising or printing purpose or even wants to broadcast or to advertise their own company product, clipping path may help them to a greater extent. Clipping path also assists the web developer to manipulate a large amount of images that are needed to be published in a well decorated website.

It is the time of information and knowledge explosion. In this era a thousand of articles, newsletters and also tutorials are hold varieties of information about clipping path. The web developers, graphic designers and photographers who want to develop their images from a plain to multifarious, can gather knowledge about the clipping path from those huge information which are readily available online.

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular software for clipping path. There is other software that can do clipping path. A short detail including Adobe Photoshop and other editing software that can perform clipping path are discussed below:

Adobe Photoshop: A diversity of tools offers adobe Photoshop for removing the background. The pen tool is its most flexible tool which is used to create clipping path and is considered to be a precious tool for many Photoshop users. It is also used to outline around the image, consisting of Bezier curves and convert the created path to a selection. At the same time it is to place the points of the path around the image initially and then go back and edit the curves.

GIMP: It stands for "GNU Image Manipulation Program". It is an open source graphics editor and works as an alternative for Adobe Photoshop. At the same time it can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an outline batch processing system, an image format converter, a mass production image renderer, etc.

With this software the ‘pen tool’ alternates the name as ‘path tool’ and like pen tool it can make multifaceted selection by specifying certain points associated together with a curve.

Corel Photo Paint: This software application is used for image creation and also for photo editing purpose. ‘Path tool’ which is the same as pen tool is used for clipping path in this software. It also involves functioning with Bezier curves.

MAC Numbers and the Madasafish Broadband Service

By: Laura Ginn

 You will need a MAC to transfer your broadband to Madasafish, but this doesn't refer to the popular computer brand. Rather, your MAC is a migration authorisation code provided by your current broadband provider. If you don't have a current broadband Internet service plan, you naturally won't be able to get a MAC. However, any time you are terminating your current service to sign up for Madasafish broadband the company needs to you provide this code as a part of the transition process. Here are some quick tips for how to get your MAC in hand, and what to do if you don't have one yet.

Requesting the MAC

You can request that your current broadband provider supply you with a MAC over the phone. The serial number will include numbers and letters - in some cases, the provider may not be able to provide the code over the phone, but you should get it within a matter of days. While you will want to tell your provider to stop billing you once the migration is complete, you don't want to request an immediate termination of service. Once you have the MAC, you won't need to contact your current provider again. Madasafish will handle the rest of the migration as it pertains to your current broadband supplier.

Getting Madasafish Service

You can sign up for Madasafish broadband service online once you have your MAC. If you still have questions and aren't ready to sign up, you can also contact the sales team. Your MAC will be provided as a part of the sign up process - remember that your MAC must be used within 30 days of being issued. If it has been more than one month since you were issued your code, you must ask for a new one.

What if I Want to Sign Up Now?

You can start the process of signing up for Madasafish without a MAC, but your order won't be complete. Your service request will be on hold until you contact the company and supply the MAC from your old provider. This is a good option if you want to fill out most of the application on a day off when you have the time, but have yet to receive your MAC.

Time Table for the Switch

According to Madasafish, you can usually make the transition to their broadband within a week's time. Bear in mind, however, this I the time that lapses after you submit a MAC. If you submit an application for service and wait to submit the MAC, it may take longer than one week from the time that you initially showed your interest in a particular broadband plan. You should not experience more than a few hours of no service on the day that the transition happens, provided you have your router properly installed and ready to go.

What to Do if You Can't Get a MAC

Most cable providers participate in the migration service that the MAC is a part of. However, in some cases you may have a small service provider who is not a part of the program. When that is the case, you should call Madasafish and set up a plan for how to transfer your service. Madasafish can still offer you a broadband plan, but you may need to work a bit harder to make sure you don't experience a lapse in coverage. In these cases, you will also need to let your old provider know when to terminate your service, since Madasafish won't be in communication with them or have the authority to terminate service on your behalf without the MAC.

Needing a MAC to migrate from one broadband plan to another is not a program unique to Madasafish. Rather, it is a system that most major ISPs agree to participate in. While it may seem like a hassle to get the MAC, especially if getting a hold of a representative of your provider is challenging, in the long run it saves you more time. Once you have handed over your MAC to Madasafish, you can sit back and wait for the company to handle the transfer of your service while you are responsible for very little.

Setting Up Internet Access From a New ISP

By: Laura Ginn

 Setting up Internet access from a new Internet service provider is typically something that a service technician will do upon installation. If your home hasn't been wired for Internet connectivity by previous residents, a representative from the ISP in question will come to your home and install the necessary cables and hardware. If you want to save yourself a great deal of money, the process can end at that point. Instead of paying to have a repair technician install Internet access throughout your home, you can take all of the equipment provided and set up the access point yourself in just a few moments of your time.

Begin the process by removing all of the network equipment that you received from its original packaging and laying it all out on a flat surface. Depending on your Internet service provider and the age of the equipment they rented to you, you may see two main pieces of hardware or only a single one. Some Internet service providers use a broadband modem to provide Internet access to your home and a separate wired or wireless router to allow you to connect more than one device to the network. Internet service providers with newer equipment, however, will combine both of the aforementioned hardware components into one device. If you've received a separate modem and router from your ISP, you will need to purchase an Ethernet cable to connect the two devices together (if one was not provided for you).

If you plan on setting up a wired network in your home, you will also need one Ethernet cable for each device you want to access the Internet with. Keep in mind that mobile devices like Apple's iPad and similar tablets will not be able to get online using a wired connection. Only wireless connections will provide Internet access to most portable devices. Walk through your home and measure the distance between each device and the location where the wired router will be installed. When purchasing Ethernet cables, make sure to buy cables that are long enough to cover the necessary distance.

If you're setting up a wired network in your home, connect the back of the included broadband modem to the rear panel of the wired router using an Ethernet cable. The cable will transfer information from the Internet to the router, at which point the information will be passed along to computers and other devices that are connected. Connect one Ethernet cable to the networking jack on the back of a device you want to be able to use online. Run the cable across the room and connect it to the rear panel on the router. Repeat the process to connect the remaining electronic devices in your home to the Internet. Depending on the router, you may only be able to connect a maximum four devices to the Internet. You can purchase routers with ports for up to eight connections if you so choose.

If setting up a wireless network, connect the router to the modem with an Ethernet cable (if necessary). Turn on your computer, open the Control Panel and select the option labeled ‘Connect to a Wireless Network’. Select the name of the wireless network you're trying to connect to and type in the provided password. Many Internet service providers no longer allow homeowners to use their own SSID and passwords for networks. The necessary connection information will likely be provided to you in the documentation that came with your network equipment. Repeat these steps to connect the remaining wireless devices to your home network. Unlike wired networks, there is no limit to the number of devices that can connect to a wireless network.

Once your network is up and running, perform a speed test to make sure you're getting the speeds you agreed to pay for with your ISP.

Visit an online speed test website like SpeedTest.net and click the button labeled ‘Begin Test’. The test will only take around thirty seconds to complete. Once it is finished, view the upload and download speeds in the graph on your Web browser. Compare the information on screen with the information in the packet you received from the ISP technician to make sure the speeds are similar.

Don’t Pay to Rewrite or Optimize Your Landing Page Until You Read This

By: Neil Rimmer

 When a website has decent traffic quality and quantity but is not converting, most rightfully assume there to be a problem with the primary sales or landing page(s). Therefore, they set about to either split test different sales tools on the current landing page or pay to have someone rewrite and possibly redesign it. But what if the problem was never the sales or landing page and no matter how many times you ran another split test or revised the copy, it simply didn’t convert? Conversion rate optimization (CRO) experts are hired to solve this very problem and ultimately deliver more online sales and profits. And in most cases, the problem in this case would be the sales funnel itself. Specifically, the website is not funneling enough visitors to the sales or landing page. So while the website itself may have a low conversion rate, the sales or landing page itself may actually convert quite well. But how do you know if the problem is the landing page or the sales funnel?

Conversion rate optimization experts rely on website traffic analysis tools like Google Analytics, Optimizely, Clicktale, and other advanced tracking platforms to isolate conversion problems. In this particular case, a conversion rate expert would look at the percentage of visitors reaching your primary sales or landing page(s). If you have Google Analytics set-up to track visitors on your website, here is how to do this:

1. Click on Behavior Link in Left Hand Navigation 2. Click on Site Content 3. Click on Content Drilldown

Following these steps should pull up a default screen that shows the top 10 most viewed pages on your website. If your primary sales or landing page isn’t in the top 10, you’ve probably have a big problem. But, it should certainly appear on this page and if so, just look at the number of unique page views for your primary sales or landing page. Now don’t pay attention to the percentage that Google Analytics displays next to the Unique Page views. What you need to do is to take the number shown for Unique Page Views for your landing page and divide it by the number of unique visitors to your website. To get that number, click on the Audience tab in the left column and then Overview. If less than 50% of total visitors are reaching your primary sales or landing page, you have a funneling problem. Obviously, the higher this number the better but below 50% signals a pretty clear funneling problem. To fix this issue, conversion rate optimization experts might employ one or more of the following strategies:

1. Add Slide Show and Link Directly to the Primary Landing Page(s) Conversion rate experts add slide shows to both get USP’s above the fold and link them directly to primary landing pages. This direct link and prominent display of USP’s helps funnel significantly more visitors to your primary landing pages.

2. Create CTA’s On All Traffic Generating Content Conversion rate optimization experts know that some content is created to directly generate sales, and some content is created to generate traffic. However, even traffic generating content (like blogs and articles) still must funnel visitors towards the primary landing page(s).
 To do so, CRO experts will create specific CTA’s (calls-to-action) at the bottom of all traffic-generating content to redirect prospects to the primary landing page. In addition, conversion experts will create secondary CTA’s on all traffic generating content to encourage name/email capture and build the marketing list. This secondary CTA will typically offer some lead generating product or service in exchange for contact information and CRO experts will typically place it in the right-hand column content. Ultimately, this will help boost primary conversions and add value to the business as the marketing list grows.

Concluding Thoughts

Make no mistake, most conversion rate optimization experts end up making revisions to the copywriting and design on the landing pages on the vast majority of projects. However, it is equally true to say that conversion experts also tend to find sales funnel problems on most projects that are suppressing sales by as much or more than the landing page issues. If you are tracking traffic with Google Analytics, you can quickly determine the percentage of visitors making it to your primary landing page and if it’s less than 50%, then you have a serious sales funnel problem.

Conversion Rate Optimisation Expert Reveals How to Increase Online Sales by Modifying Sales Funnel

By: Neil Rimmer

 A conversion rate optimisation expert (CRO) specialises in increasing online sales by eliminating the problems that are suppressing conversions. Using sophisticated website traffic analysis and even heat mapping software, CRO experts pinpoint the issues in your copywriting, web design, web programming and sales funnels. Once the conversion problems have been fixed, the conversion rate optimisation expert will then use website split testing to verify results. And on most websites, the two biggest conversion problems are consistently:

1. Weak Direct Response Copywriting on Primary Conversion Pages

2. Not Directing Enough Site Traffic to Primary Conversion Pages

For weak copywriting, the issue can be isolated with heat mapping analysis that show which sales tools are alienating visitors and causing them to leave the site. But for sales funnel issues, conversion rate experts typically rely on programs like Google Analytics. If you already have Google Analytics in place and tracking traffic, just click on the Behavior tab in the left hand column. Next, click on the Site Content and then Content Drilldown. On this page, you should see the percentage of website visitors making it to each page of your website. If your primary sales or landing page isn’t getting at least 40% or more of total web visitors to the page, then you have a sales funnel problem.

A conversion rate optimisation expert knows that most sales funnel problems begin on the Home Page because they are designed to direct visitors towards your primary landing pages. But poorly designed Home Pages will potentially scatter visitors all throughout the site due to a variety of causes, including:

1. Too Many Navigation Links

2. Poor Layout of Content and Features

3. Failure to Leverage Slide Show Properly

4. Weak Direct Response Copywriting

A conversion rate optimisation expert knows that one of the quickest and most effective ways to fix a weak sales funnel is add a slide show to the Home Page. Specifically, CRO experts will create "smart slides" that have two very important features that help boost conversions:

1. Slide Incorporates USP’s so They Display Above the Fold

2. Slide "Funnels" Prospects to Primary Sales or Landing Pages

One of the biggest challenges of any Home Page is to capture the attention and interest of the visitor long enough to actually engage with the rest of the site. USP’s, or unique selling points, are direct response copywriting tools created to help accomplish these tasks and differentiate your site from the competition.

By incorporating these powerful sales tools into your slide show, your visitors don’t have to go hunting for them and they are now just one step away from entering your sales funnel.
To help visitors then enter the sales funnel and reach your primary sales page, a conversion rate optimisation expert will make the entire slide one big link. In other words, if they click the mouse or tap on their tablet when hovering over the slide, it will take them to your primary landing page. Of course, you will probably have more than one slide so for larger sites, you may wish to create separate slides (and separate usp’s) that will also link to other main pages in your site, such as:

1. About Us Page

2. Testimonials/Endorsements Page

3. Primary Services or Products Page

For smaller sites, a conversion rate optimisation expert will simply have all slides link to the primary sales or landing page. But for larger sites, it does make sense to funnel them to your other primary web pages as well. However, to make sure the biggest percentage of web visitors make it to your landing pages, CRO experts will make sure the first 1-2 slides link to the landing pages.

Concluding Thoughts

A website can have a great sales page(s) and yet still convert poorly if not enough visitors can actually get to and see the page. To fix weak sales funnels and make sure a higher percentage of visitors reach the primary landing pages, a conversion rate optimisation expert will use slide shows to get USP’s above the fold and redirect prospects to the sales funnel. Although incredibly simple, this conversion rate optimisation strategy can potentially double your online sales if your site is currently doing a poor job of funneling visitors to the main sales or landing pages.