shoppingcartfaq

A: The audio has been encoded to mp3s at 128kps. The 20 videos and 13 DVDs have been encoded in mp4 (video) format. The original 20 videos will play well on your video iPod or personal computer. The DVDs will also work well on a TV via your personal computer or "video out" on your video iPod. The video files will play on any personal computer with either iTunes or the QuickTime Player (available for free from the Apple website).

Click here to download QuickTime. Click here to download the latester version of iTunes.

Here's a free sample video clip in this new format (mp4) you can download and enjoy. Click here to download.
(try it on one of your video iPods or iPhone)

Q: Why are you offering the audio & video in this new format? (back to top)

A: So you can play the audio files on your iPod and most any other digital audio device. In addition, the mp3 format allows us to include the cover art, a description of the contents, date of production, and other information related to that title without you having to enter all this information manually (after burning a CD from that title, etc). This new format is not encypted so you can enjoy these files on virtually any Mac or PC and most portable digital media players.

Q: Can I now use these digital files on my iPod? (back to top)

A: Yes, both the audio and video files will play great on any iPod. (To play video you will, of course, need one of the video iPods.)

Q: Can I use these files on my other portable digital audio devices? (back to top)

A: Yes, these files will play on most other portable digital media players. Most of our testing has been with the various models of the iPod since that is the most used portable digital media player. But, overall we have found that most other digital media players will play all the audio files, many will also play the video files (those that play mp4 files such as ITunes or Quicktime).

Q: I use a Mac. Will these new type of audio and video files work on my Mac? (back to top)

A: Yes. We have numerous Macs of various ages in our offices and these files play great on all of them. On the Mac you'll be using iTunes or QuickTime to play these files. Both of these programs come pre-loaded on every Mac.

Q: Will I be charged tax when I purchase these digital titles? (back to top)

A: No. At this time Internet purchases of digital goods are non-taxable.

Q: How long do I have to download my digital purchases? (back to top)

A: 30 days. We recommend you download the titles when you purchase them, but you can make purchases and then come back later to download them. For instance, you can purchase some titles while at the office and come home later that night, log onto your account, and download your new titles to your personal computer. You might also want to download the video or DVD titles you purchase overnight as these files are much larger than audio files and will take quite a bit longer to download.

Q: If my iPod gets damaged with a bunch of the new Lazaris digital downloads on there, what do I do? (back to top)

A: Hopefully, you've backed up your iPod and the digital downloads on your computer. But in case you didn't and disaster strikes, you do have the option for 30 days after your purchase to log into your account at our shopping cart to re-download the titles you've purchased. After that period of time you would have to look to the backups you've (hopefully) made.

Q: I've downloaded a few titles, but can't find them on my computer. Where did they go? (back to top)

A: Usually Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari (the 3 most popular browsers) have a "default" download folder where they put your downloads. You can check the "options" or "preferences" of each browser to see where they send them. You can change where those downloads go within the particular browser you're using (maybe to another location that's easy for you to find). Each browser has a simple procedure for doing this. You can also pay close attention when you download a title (or if you download it again) and usually the browser will ask you where you want to save the file - and thus gives you the chance to note the location.

Q: Do I need a broadband connection to download these titles? (back to top)

A: We do recommend using a broadband Internet connection for downloading both the audio and video files. You could download the audio with a dial-up connection, but expect fairly long download times depending on the quality of dial-up service. We wouldn't recommend trying to download the video files with a dial-up connection. The download times would be too long to make this a good option.

Q: What media players will play these files? (back to top)

A: With the audio files you can pretty much name a media player - they should all be able to play these files (as they are in the universal mp3 format). In the office we've used Itunes, Windows Media Player, Quicktime, Real Music, Music Match, etc. After using all of them for many years we recommend Itunes on both Windows and Macs, since Itunes will best display all the information that is packaged with the title. (More technically stated: "the metadata will show up best in Itunes.") Most of our testing with these downloads is with Itunes. It is a free program available to everyone in the world on a PC or Mac. If you don't have Itunes loaded onto your computer, you can go to the Apple site and download it for free. Here's a link that will take you to the Apple site where you can download it: Download Itunes

With the video files (mp4), from the DVDs and from the older videos you can play these with iTunes or with the QuickTime Player on your computer (both Mac & PC). These will also play on every version of the iPod and with the new Apple TVs. These "mp4s" will play on many portable digital players (we haven't tested all of them). You'll have to check with the manufacturer to see if that player can handle the video format (mp4) we are using.

A: We don't at this time offer "a custom iPod loading service." It is easy enough to download and transfer the contents to your iPod. That said, we do offer a fully loaded iPod with the complete Lazaris digital library. It is for folks that don't want to spend the weeks (or months) to download the entire digital library and transfer them to their iPod. Here is the link to find out more information about that: Lazaris Material iPod

Q: I want to download the DVD titles. On what devices can I play these titles? (back to top)

A: On your computer you can use Itunes (always our first recommendation), or the QuickTime Player* - or one of your other favorite other media players (any that can play mp4s, however, Windows Media Player does not). You can also put the DVDs (or other video titles) on your video capable iPod. We have also tested the files with the new Apple TV and they work quite well allowing you to display the videos on your tv or via your home theater setup.

Click here to download QuickTime. Click here to download the latester version of iTunes.

Here's a free sample video clip in this new format you can download and enjoy. Click here to download.
(try it on one of your video iPods or iPhone)

* Note: The free version of QuickTime works just fine. You don't need the $29.95 Pro Version that Apple offers for sale.

Q: Will these titles play on the very latest Ipods? The "Ipod Touch Screen", the "iPhone", the new "iPod Classic". (back to top)

A: Yes, these titles (both audio & video) will play on all current iPods. We have the latest iPods in our offices and have tested these downloads on those iPods.

Q: I have downloaded quite a few titles already in the Windows Media format. Can I convert those titles to this new format? (back to top)

A: Yes, there are many programs out there that can help you do this type of conversion. You can do a quick search on Google and come up with quite a selection. If you need more help with this, you can email the office and we can send you some links to programs we've worked with.

Q: I've downloaded quite a few titles in the Windows Media format. Can I trade those in and get credit toward this new digital format? (back to top)

A: No, you can't trade in titles you have downloaded in Windows Media format. There are many programs out there that will allow you to convert them to a format that will work on the iPod. These types of conversion programs are abundantly available with a few quick searches on Google.

Q: Can I burn these audio files to a CD so I can play them in my car? (back to top)

A: Yes, Itunes and Windows Media Player and other digital media players allow you to convert your mp3's into a format which you can burn to an "audio CD" that will play in any standard CD player. Many cars now can play CDs that contain mp3 directly. You would just have to check to see which type of CD player is in your car (or home). Most of us just copy the mp3s to our iPods and use one of the many adapters to play the iPod's audio & video content in our cars.


Q: Can I burn the video files onto a DVD so I can play these files in my DVD player?    (back to top)

A:   Yes, you can and there are a few steps involved with doing this. It is for those who enjoy more technical projects.<g>   You'll have to have some conversion software which can easily be found via a quick Google search. More technically: You'll need to first convert the files to an MP2 file format. From there you can drop them onto a DVD - there are many software packages that are out there that allow you to burn DVDs. If you have a Mac, IDVD will do a great job of this for you. If you have Vista, there is an integrated DVD creator software that would do the job.

Q: The download started, but did not complete. What do I do now? (back to top)

A: Try again. If that doesn't work, try again at a different time of day (when there is less Internet traffic). If you're on a wireless connection, you might want to connect your computer to a cable for a faster and more stable Internet connection.

Q: Will I be charged again if my first download is incomplete? (back to top)

A: If you can download a title, you've been charged for it. If the download doesn't complete, try it again later in the day or week. Keep in mind that you have up to 30 days to download your purchases from our updated shopping cart. You can download a track up to 5x, so if your first download stalls or fails, you can try downloading it again up to 5x. For larger files such as the DVDs and videos you might want to kick off your downloads overnight - so they are there for you in the morning.

Q: Where can I get more technical help with these downloads? (back to top)

A: You can email or call the Concept: Synergy offices. The folks in the office can answer most of your questions, or they'll refer you to some of our other techs, if they don't have an answer for you.

Q: I'm going to get a new computer so that I can download titles from the Lazaris site. What are the system requirements I should look for in a new computer? (back to top)

A: Well, virtually any new computer you buy whether Mac or PC will be able to download and play any of these titles. Just make sure you have Itunes, QuickTime or Windows Media Player installed on your new computer (media playing software). For the most part, these come pre-loaded on all new computers. For the video files you can use either iTunes or the QuickTime Player to play the video files on your computer.

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