Stop Transmission Opening Dialogue Box Window For Each New Torrent Added

Want to Stop Transmission Opening Dialogue Box Window For Each New Torrent Added?

Transmission BT Icon Logo

Transmission is a great piece of software, but in its default settings state it does have some quirks that can be a little annoying. To learn how to stop this you can watch the below video, or continue reading.

When adding a new torrent, a dialogue box ALWAYS opens, even after you have set your default download locations for both complete and incomplete files.

Transmission BT New Torrent Dialogue Box Window

Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t get that window, and downloads just added and started automatically without you having to click the “Add” button every time?

Here’s how to stop this annoying behaviour once and for all!

Open Preferences, and click on the “Transfers” tab. Make sure you are looking at “Adding” and not “Management”.

To stop it from opening that annoying window make sure ALL of these options are unchecked.

Transmission window display preferences

**NOTE** – Be sure that EVERY option is unchecked! I found in my testing that leaving one checked (as shown below), and un-checking the parent option still made the window appear, even though the check was greyed out

Transmission preferences capture

As always, make sure you are using the latest version of Transmission BT which can be downloaded HERE.

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Unboxing Features and Instructions

Telstra-Gateway-Max-2

I have just received Telstra’s Gateway Max 2 Unit, and my first impressions are overall good. It is aimed very squarely at beginners/novices, with not much for the pro’s to tweak in the back end. It is ultra light, with a somewhat flimsy feel. It has been rock solid so far, with an uninterupted uptime of four days. The unit does not come with instructions, just a simple but adequate Quick Start Card. The firmware does have some nice features such as Dynamic DNS options, Port Forwarding, Parental Controls etc…But not much for those of us that really like to dig in and do some hardcore configuring.

The unit’s very basic interface is at 10.0.0.138

Gateway Max User Interface

Gateway Max User Interface

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Advanced Options

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Advanced Options

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Box Front

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Box Front

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Box Rear

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Box Rear

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Box Side

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Box Side

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Quick Start Card Front

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Quick Start Card Front

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Quick Start Card Rear

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Quick Start Card Rear

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Unit FrontTelstra Gateway Max 2 Unit Front

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Unit Front

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Unit TopTelstra Gateway Max 2 Unit Top

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Unit Top

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Unit BackTelstra Gateway Max 2 Unit Back

Telstra Gateway Max 2 Unit Back

Laser MMC-S30 Media Player Review

mmc-s30As my WDTV Live Hub is a few years old now, and impressed greatly by what I have seen of the new H.265 video codec, I decided it was time to update to a new Media Player.

My first stop was Harvey Norman, where nothing of interest was found. Moving through the shopping centre the next port of call was Office Works, where the MMC-S30 was found. After reviewing the many logo’s on the box, and ogling it’s capabilities, the sale price of $179 was too good to pass up, and I brought it home.

MMC-S30 Media Player

The unit really does have a considerable amount of features. Quad core CPU, 8 Core GPU, Dolby Digital, DTS, HDMI, 3D, 4K, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth… the list just goes on and on.

MMC-S30 FeaturesUn-boxing and connecting was pretty straight forward. With a big smile I plugged in both my USB WD 4TB drives, and still had one port spare! Too good to be true!

MMC-S30 Interface

Now…

The unit booted up, and with a small amount of fine tuning (adjusting the scale and resolution to suit my TV, setting audio to SPDIF pass through etc) I was ready to dive in. After scrolling through the menu I settled upon the 7Plus Smart App to begin playing with. To my surprise, the supplied remote does not work with this (and many of the other) pre-installed apps. Closer inspection of the supplied instructions revealed that some apps need a mouse. There goes that spare USB port I was so happy about…now I have to go and buy a USB keyboard and mouse. In reality however, because the machine is running Googles Android operating system, most tasks require use of a keyboard and mouse. The operating system, normally used in phones and tablets is built for touch interfacing, and falls terribly short in a media player relying on a remote control. Play, Pause, and scrolling up and down through directories seems to be where the remotes usefulness runs out.

With a Keyboard and mouse plugged in to a USB hub, and the hub plugged in to that coveted 3rd USB port, I again began exploring the device. This time with a full set of capabilities. Navigation seems very simple and straight forward to me. Like a kid in a candy store, I went searching for my sample H.265 1080 videos. Upon launching them, the machine played them back effortlessly and smoothly. I was pleasantly surprised. It also coped well with my MP4 files.

Feeling game I delved into the Google Play store, and set about downloading some apps. Although my keyboard worked flawlessly elsewhere, I had considerable trouble typing in searches. It appeared as though each key I pressed was stuck down – “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”. I ended up having to use the mouse to click each letter. After some time I managed to get my search term typed in – Tunein Radio. The app downloaded and installed, but flatly refused to play. My second choice for internet radio was 181FM’s own app, which downloaded and played, but repeatedly quit/crashed after about 15 mins.

The unit comes with an old version of XBMC installed, so I was quickly and easily able to download and install the latest “Jarvis” version of Kodi. SuperRepo also installed well, and before long I was flicking through channels and enjoying the benefits of the 10/100Mb Ethernet connection. The unit handles Kodi very well. The only issue here again was “sticky” keyboard behavior, which is odd because other than the Google Play store, the keyboard works well with every other aspect of the software

Next on my list of things to do was add some new files. This is where things turn bad for me fast. Being used to the WD TV Live Hub’s always on file server capabilities, and given the device has wifi and ethernet, I went looking for it on my home network. It was nowhere to be seen. I scoured the settings, and nothing I could do made the unit appear on my network. It seems odd to me that a machine with so many capabilities doesn’t come with a server option? I expected there to be several solutions in Googles app store, and there was, but nothing that worked as easily and efficiently as it should. Wifi File Transfer and ES File Explorer were the best of what I tried, but neither allowed me to upload new files to my USB drives from my computer.

Further research into this revealed that Google removed the ability to write to external drives in Android Version 4.4, which coincidentally happens to be the version of Android running on this device. My understanding is that writability been restored in later versions of the operating system, but until LaserCo releases a firmware update, it looks like this may not be possible.

In an effort to try and buoy my spirits, I decided to check out and admire the quality of some of the 1080P episodes of Arrow I have. This is when the MMC-S30 REALLY got on my nerves. The episodes are encoded with DTS sound, and the device played them back easily. My gripe however, is that a DTS logo is superimposed over the video in the top right hand corner. I thought this logo may disappear after a minute or so, but it didn’t. It was there the entire time the DTS file was playing.

As I used the machine more, I found myself getting frustrated with it. It always shows subtitles, and the subtitle button doesn’t seem to work with its video player app. I had to manually turn subtitles off with the mouse in each new file. There are also no fast forward or rewind buttons on the remote, only chapter skipping. Very basic and vague instructions were not helpful.

I posted on LaserCo’s sparsely utilised forum about setting the machine up as a file server, but have yet to receive a reply. I also sent a question to LaserCo’s support service about “Rooting/Unrooting” the machine. Whilst I did eventually get a reply from them, the procedures they outlined, and the firmware file the made available for download did not successfully root the device.

Snooping around on 3rd party web sites I learned that the MMC-S30 will not play Netflix in HD, and that it is also a re-branded clone of the many cheap Chinese players that can be found on Ebay for $50-$80.

And then it happened……

About a week after buying the machine, I disconnected it, put it back in the box, and pined for the many hours I lost trying to get to like this machine. I had had enough.

The bottom line, the hardware side of the MMC-S30 is great. But the Android operating system when applied to this media player is clumsy, unintuitive, buggy and frustrating. Unless a OS update is soon released to address some of these issues, I would pass on this machine. It’s not quite there yet.

Inside Laser MMC-S30 Media Player

Inside Laser MMC-S30 Media Player

Windows 10 Beta Trial “a component of the operating system has expired” error fix

a component of the operating system has expired

I hate Windows……I really really do…….

Long story short, as I am a beta tester for Micro$oft I previously installed a preview version of Windows 10. My life circumstances have changed since, so I haven’t been keeping up with its development, nor have I been updating the brand new HP PC I bought for it.

So today (Some time after the trial version has expired) I turned on the machine……BRICK…….nothing.

Couldn’t boot from disk, couldn’t boot from a USB drive, NOTHING but:

“a component of the operating system has expired”

The bottom line, if you want to reclaim your files and reinstall or upgrade, just boot into BIOS and set the date to JUNE 2015.

How to run a USB Mic through an External Audio Mixer

USB Mic through an External Audio Mixer – How To

USB Mic through an External Audio MixerI have been reading on forums lately how some people would like to be able to run their USB Mic through their external hardware mixing desks, and it is relatively easy to do.

httpvh://youtu.be/K9vqNj0_CuU

Below is a diagram on how to run your wiring between the devices.

sound-flow-direction-diagram

Plug your USB Mic into a USB Slot, run an appropriate lead from the Line Out/Headphone Out of your computer into a stereo input channel on your mixer. If your mixer has only mono channels, use channel one for your left, and channel 2 for your right. Next, run wires from the Main Output of the mixer to your Line in/Mic In on your computer, and the physical part is done.

Next, open up Voicemeeter (If you don’t have Voicemeeter you can download it free at VB-Audio.com) and select your USB Mic as the device for channel 1. Make sure “A” is selected/highlighted and “B” is not selected.

step 1Then, select your Line Out/Headphone Out jack as the device for Voicemeeters Main Output, “A1”.

Step 2Now it is time to select your Line In/Mic in as the device for Channel 2. Make sure that “A” is not selected, and “B” is selected.

Step 3All that is left is to open up the app you want to use (eg – Skype, Vidblaster, or some other Web Cam program) and select Voicemeeter’s Virtual Device (Output “B” in Voicemeeter) as the input source audio device.

Skype InVoicemeeter can be downloaded FREE HERE at vb-audio.com. Don’t forget to make a donation – the programmer deserves a little something for a program this good!
vb_audio_logo_blue_175

How to use a USB Mic AND Mixer together in Skype or Vidblaster

How to use a USB Mic AND Mixer together in Skype or Vidblaster

USB Mic AND MixerWeb cam software like Skype and Vidblaster only allow for one audio source, so if your mixer is coming into the computer via the line input, and your mic is coming in through USB, you are generally out of luck….until now.

httpvh://youtu.be/rtWqR_AWV4M

I recently stumbled upon a free piece of software called Voicemeeter which makes it incredibly easy to solve this problem. It is basically a software mixer that will allow you to take various inputs as well as your system sound and mix them with a great deal of control into one “Virtual” sound device, which you can then select as your audio input device in your web cam program.

Voicemeeter Connection DiagramTo get started, Download your free copy of Voicemeeter HERE.During installation, you will get some dialogue boxes telling you it wants to install some drivers, this is completely normal.

voicemeeter-driver-installOnce you have installed it, you will need to restart your computer so the virtual drivers can register in your system. Once you have rebooted, open up Voicemeeter and you will see the mixing console.

voicemeeter Mixing ConsoleLooks cool doesn’t it! In short, you have two hardware inputs and one virtual input. The virtual input seems to be your system sound, so anything that tries to output through your computers speakers, like Winamp or Windows Media Player, can be fed into your mix here if you want it, if not, just mute this track by pressing the “M” button at the bottom next to its slider. To mix your Mic and Line In (Mixer) click where it says “1 Hardware Input” and select your USB Mic from the drop down list.

Select USB MicThe next step is to select your line in/mixer device in “2 Hardware Input”

Select Line InNow its time to tell Voicemeeter where your speakers are. Select them from the drop down menu that says “Hardware OUT”

select-speakersThe last step to making this all work is to open your Windows menu and select control panel. When this opens select the sound icon to open your computers sound preferences window. In the “Playback” section select “Voicemeeter Input” and then set it as the default device.

select-voicemeeter-in-soundNow you are all configured, you just need to do a small adjustment in Voicemeeter to stop feedback loops. The output of Voicemeeter has two channels, “Main Out” which will go to your speakers, and “Virtual Out” which is what will go into web cam software (Skype, Vidblaster etc….)

main out  virtual out
 In the “1 Hardware Input” channel, it is wise to de-select “A” as this will stop your mic from being played out aloud through your speakers. This will prevent feedback, but still allows your USB Mic to feed into your web cam program through the Virtual Out.

Channel SelectNow, all that’s left is to open your web cam program, Skype or Vidblaster etc, and select Voicemeeters output as your input device, and you can now use your USB Mic AND your external hardware mixer.

Skype In
Voicemeeter can be downloaded FREE HERE at vb-audio.com. Don’t forget to make a donation – the programmer deserves a little something for a program this good!

vb_audio_logo_blue_175