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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Thursday, 02 July 2009 |
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It's nice to see low-cost manufacturer Vizio really pushing the technology expectations of television sets these days. I'm sold on these feaures needing to be a part of the TV, but I'll hold my judgement until I see them in action. Nonetheless, I am a fan of the qwerty keyboard remote control...at least it's unique for a television remote.
The VIA Connected HDTVs have integrated 802.11n dual-band wireless and wired networking to access these Internet features. The sets will also work with the Yahoo! Widget Engine, Amazon Video On Demand, Blockbuster On Demand, Flickr, Netflix, Pandora and Rhapsody.  (0) Comments |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Thursday, 02 July 2009 |
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I'm a big fan of Sonos and have many friends that are in love with theirs. I was always a bit skeptical about their rather large remote though, so I'm pleased to see this new guy come in much sleeker. Hopefully it stays in an appropriate price range for us little people.
We're also told that Sonos will be releasing a new bundle. The BU150 now changes to the BU250 which includes the CR200. There also is a slight colour change with the zoneplayers hardware to match the new controller but there are no technical changes & will still be named the ZP120 & ZP90. |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Thursday, 02 July 2009 |
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Slow news day, but I was shocked when I saw this so had to post it. For years now, Zalman has been one of THE premier HTPC heatsink manufacturers, known for their quiet & unique flower-like designs. Looks like they are finally joining the masses with a tower design...good to know they still work.
Admittedly, the CNPS10X is relatively inefficient — whether you consider weight or price. Weighing in at 820 grams for the heatsink alone, it is the heaviest cooler we've tested in recent memory. The Prolimatech Megahalems comes closes at 790 grams but that cooler is the current top performer in our database. Like many Zalman heatsinks, CNPS10X is fairly expensive at US$80. Still, unlike many high performance coolers, it comes with an integrated fan, and the fan is quite good, as is the integrated fan speed controller. These help to justify the price for buyers seeking a complete, high performance CPU cooling package. |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Thursday, 02 July 2009 |
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It's that time again for Ian's Media Center Show Podcast. This time up, he has one of my favorite Windows bloggers, Ed Bott, to discuss all things Windows7. Lots of good information out there, so check out the show!
Show Times:
00:23 Coming up this week
00:57 Email: How many tuners in Windows 7?
02:40 Email: STB integration
05:31 Freeview HD starting in the UK December 2nd
05:34 Streaming content from Windows Media Center with an G1 Android phone
06:52 Media Browser to go commercial?
07:37 Video Library 2.0 alpha
08:08 Mobile Media Center for Windows Mobile
09:03 Welcome back to Ed Bott
09:35 How Windows 7 has progressed
11:09 XP’s life cycle
13:53 Should XP SP2 been a new OS?
16:27 XP Mode
19:13 Windows 7 SKUs
23:56 Why get Windows 7 Professional
26:33 Why not get Ultimate :)
26:54 What is Anytime Upgrade
30:08 XP will not die!
33:01 Upgrades
35:55 Pricing – SEE ED’S POST
39:22 Download options
41:20 RTM
45:33 Crapware
51:54 Are Extenders dead?
54:52 Xbox 360 as an Extender
58:12 Zune and the Xbox 360
1:00:00 The Media Center team at Microsoft
1:04:00 Where next for Windows Media Center?
1:07:00 The DTV transition
1:10:00 See you next week
Listen to the show here .
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By Alan Cooke | Published Thursday, 02 July 2009 |
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This is my last official post at the helm of MissingRemote. As it turned out my remote was in the couch cushion all this time. Seriously, I looked there at least twice. While the batteries charge, I figured I would take the chance to annoy the masses one last time.
Well lets address the obvious question of why I am leaving. Ok I am not really leaving, I am sticking around for support and posting the occasional article. I am really looking forward to actually working on my HTPC setup rather than having to spend time reviewing products and writing blogs.
What are your plans with your HTPC setup?
- Full DVD\Blu-ray Library
- Get VMCPlayit Working on both extender and HTPC
- My sub woofer died :(. I really need to replace that
- Actually take advantage of Netflix
So now that you have all of this free time what else are you going to do?
mm Camp, drink beer, maybe actually work out, yard work that sort of thing.
With that said, I want to truly thank the MissingRemote.com for being one of the best on the Internet. BAR NONE! You guys and gals are a great crowd who are always willing to help out when someone needs a hand and do not let conversations degenerate into pissing wars. Seriously, y'all made it worth while!
Mr. Mike Garcen. Mr. Fricking HTPC will be taking over! Not a huge shocker but he is the RIGHT person for the job. He will bring an energy to MissingRemote that is much needed. Plus he isn't afraid to here is own voice on a podcast. Podcasts frighten me, I think they eat your soul.
Thanks again!
P.S Happy Canada Day and Happy Independence Day
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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For as long as I can remember, I wanted a setup like this. Of course, I doubt I'll have the $15k anytime soon, but the general idea should be able to be had for much less. Gotta love that sports ticker at the top...
It’s not like you’re getting ripped off, either. You get four TVs, a 1200-watt Panasonic 5.1 home theater, DVD player with 5-disc changer, iPod docking station, a keg-o-rator, microwave oven, two cigar humidors, 32-bottle wine rack and — get this — a 7-foot long sports ticker with its own computer built into it.
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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At a price range starting at $3,000 (and going upwards of $10k), I have to believe most people will not be satisfied with this type of chassis, no matter how nicely painted, in their living room. It goes over the top with specs and water cooling which is nice, but seriously....it sticks out like a sore (huge) thumb to me?!?!
The machine, packed standard with luxuries like dual video cards and SSD boot drives—is actually not meant to be opened by the user. Instead, BFG includes a full professional installation and 6-month on-site tune-up in their pricing for the system. They'll also send pros out to install new components like video cards—upgrades they fairly offer for the difference between the price of your old card and the price of the new card.
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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Friends of MissingRemote are sure to know our take on SageTV--it's super powerful, and super customizable...basically a whole lotta fun. Toss in their Extenders and you can really have a whole-home system finally. The addition of this plugin looks really promising, and just another example of the SageTV community stepping up. Check out the link for some slick looking screenshots.
Sage MovieWall has been in development for several months and is still in beta, but in my opinion has made some significant strides and looks absolutely fantastic. This is just one example of how much can be done with SageTV Studio (A tool that allows for development & customization of the SageTV User Interface). Skye (known as PluckyHD on the SageTV and Greenbutton forums) has been working on an alternative interface for the movie application with plans to expand to other portions of SageTV at some point.
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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This is dissapointing, as I always found some unique and interesting content available on Joost via Boxee. Just supports the saying that Content is King, and unfortunately for Joost, Hulu owns the content for now.
Joost, the P2P online video service once hailed as the new way to watch TV, has announced that it's ditching its consumer video offerings. Instead, the company plans to offer services to other media companies—such as cable and satellite providers—as a "white label video platform." The company will be doing quite a bit of restructuring in order to accommodate its new role by shedding employees and replacing its CEO. |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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If you're going to go down this path, I'm not sure why you wouldn't include support for music as well. But, if you're in the market for a DVD-only ripping system, it looks like this could be it. Not sure how the legal ramifications of this pan out, so proceed with caution. Unfortunately no blu-ray as of yet...but they do have a nice movie interface.
The Genny server includes many of the features and has the same interface as Fusion's Genesis Server. However, Genny doesn't support music or photos. The Genny server, which is currently available, includes a licensed DVD (CSS) decoder, which means the servers don't require third party decryption software. The system makes a bit-for-bit copy of the DVD right on the server. |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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What's the number one complaint of HTPC's in the living room? Well, besides aesthetics, it's noise!! The CPU heatsink-fan can be one of the worst offenders in this space, and especially the smaller your chassis, the more difficult it is to cool it quietly. This Shuriken, while horribly named, seems like it can do the job and quietly. Scythe is known for their huge tower heatsinks, so nice to see them give some HTPC loving as well.
Its 120mm Slip Stream fan runs from 650 to 1600RPM, and generates 15.7 to 38CFM of airflow. Depending on the RPM, the noise level varies from just 12.91dBA to 28.89dBA. You can also use 120mm fans from other vendors, as long as you find a slim one, to keep the height down. |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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If there's one thing you have to hand it to Sony, is they are REALLY good at making unique devices that make you drool. This bad boy is no different, and of course, it comes with a $1000 price range to calm down how badly you want it. At that price, then you start thinking...hey...maybe this isn't as cool as it looks :-)
The Z200iR is DLNA-certified so it works with any DLNA device in your home including NAS boxes and of course, your PC or Mac. The re-chargeable remote features a 3.5-inch LCD display that gives you full control over sourced media including Internet radio, integrated AM/FM tuner, or devices connected via the Z200iR's USB or audio-in ports. The sound comes courtesy of a pair of independent, 20-watt speaker enclosures with double neodymium magnets used to drive the bass. A simpler, WiFi-less CMT-Z100iR system will launch first in July with the Z200iR headed to Europe in mid September. |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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I don't care if this is $7400...I want it!! Of course, I can't actually afford it, so I'm slightly less disheartened that this isn't available in the US, and might never be. But one can dream, can't we?!?
The Philips 56PFL9954H Cinema 21:9 uses the same aspect ratio of most movies out there, which means that it eliminates the black bars while watching a Blu-ray title. And while every single consumers electronics expert in the UK is raving about the amazing quality of this 8.3-million-pixel TV set, the Philips Cinema 21:9 still has to do zooming to make the movie to fill its 1080-pixel vertical resolution. In other words: It looks great, but it's still not perfect.
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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With every passing announcement making the Xbox360 more powerful, I can't help but be reminded that it's also crushing the Media Center Extender platform in the process. Don't misunderstand, I think the introduction of new features like Netflix and Last.fm are wonderful--as shown by the community's development of the apps for Media Center--I just can't help but look at the slow dissapearing act of the MCX platform.
Silver users will be able access what we’re considering a trial period of three hours a month, which comes with video advertising. Gold users will have unlimited ad-supported access, so they can use it 24 hours a day. There will also be a premium offering on a subscription basis from Last.fm, that will be commercial free and will also have more sophisticated personalization features, like Loved Tracks. |
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By Mike Garcen (ShadyMG) | Published Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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Ah, the HTPC chassis...something that is beautiful to one person's living room that can be equally disgusting to another. Well, ExtremeTech tries to help with the buying process by doing a mini roundup review of 4 new HTPC cases. While I have the opportunity to, I'd like to thank the former staff of ExtremeTech who have recently been let go, for all their years of writing and service. Now check out the cases!
They're all pizza-box shaped, designed to integrate smoothly with your home theater setup, they're all made of brushed aluminum, and they all require you to use a microATX motherboard. Years ago, that was a limitation, both in terms of selection and capability; today, I've found that manufacturers are building mATX boards that are just as powerful and fully featured as full ATX designs—they're just smaller. Read on to see which one is best for your system. |
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