Sound Advice: Technology Q&A

July 11, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Don Lindich

McClatchy Newspapers

Q. My mother and father take long trips in the car and she is very sensitive to sound due to a medical condition that is still being diagnosed. My dad would like to be able to listen to talk radio on these trips but can’t without causing my mom discomfort, even though she keeps her ears covered. Would there be any way to modify the car radio so it has a headphone jack so he can listen while he drives?

— D.F., Canton, Ohio

A. I imagine it is possible to somehow go into the car radio and add a headphone jack, but it would be expensive, require a lot of customization and ultimately, not be advisable. Driving while shutting out external sounds would be unsafe for someone who otherwise hears normally and driving with headphones or earphones cutting out external sounds is illegal in most states. From a practical standpoint it would be a lot easier to just buy a portable radio with a headphone jack and use it when you drive rather than modify your car’s electrical system.

There is one possible solution I can recommend, but you will have to check with your local police department or department of motor vehicles to see if it is permitted or not. Bone conduction headphones are worn like eyeglasses over your ears and conduct sound through the bones in your head. They do not cover or plug your ears, so you can hear external sounds as well as the sound from the headphones themselves. The sound quality usually lags well behind good quality conventional headphones, but you can listen vs. not be able to listen at all, and for talk radio they should be fine. Just find a good portable radio to go with them.

I have not reviewed any bone conduction headphones so I can’t recommend any models personally, but can report that the Audio Bone headphones are getting good press. You can learn more at www.audioboneheadphones.com. There are some interesting facts on the website, e.g. Beethoven, who was partially deaf, used bone conduction to hear his music.

I hope the doctors find what is affecting your mom and are able to make her well. Though few readers are likely to be in a similar situation they will benefit from your question as there are certainly people out there who would like to use headphones without shutting out the world around them.

recommendations

Updated video conversion and editing recommendations: The original question was from a reader who wanted to use his computer to edit home movie footage contained on a burned DVD. A helpful reader submitted a free solution that would suffice.

First, download DVD Shrink for free at http://www.softpedia.com/get/CD-DVD-Tools/CD-DVD-Rip-Other-Tools/DVD-Shrink.shtml. Install DVD Shrink and use it to convert the footage from the DVD into an editable digital format, then import it into Windows Movie Maker for editing and DVD authoring, You can get lots of Windows Movie Maker tips at www.windowsmoviemakers.net.

If you are looking for a packaged editing software solution with a bit more pizzazz, Cyberlink Power Director 8 and Corel VideoStudio Pro X2 have received positive reviews from end users and are priced well under $100.

Read past columns and product reviews by Don Lindich at www.soundadviceblog.com, and contact him using the “submit question” link on that site.

2010, McClatchy-Tribune News Service