Normally I avoid Best Buy. But I was sitting at a cafe flipping through the Sunday newpaper and took a glance at the weekly Best Buy circular. They're having a sale with (according to their website) 91 different movies priced between $7.99 and $9.99. Maybe I've been a little disconnected but this seemed pretty cheap to me for Blu-ray discs. There are some pretty good films in there that are probably worth picking up if they're not in your collection.

• The Terminator
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
• The Transporter
• The Usual Suspects
• Reservoir Dogs
• Napoleon Dynamite
• Under Seige
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
• Robocop
• The Graduate
• Requiem for a Dream
• Carrie

Everytime you reinstall Windows there are always lots of fun configuration tasks that need to be taken care of, and this applies just the same to upgrading to a new version of Windows. I've tried to put together a list of some of the key things you'll need to remember when migrating to Windows 7 and please add your own ideas to the discussion. Soon all our computers will be humming along with hardly any need for intervention.

Setting Up Windows

• Configure Automatic Defrags - Looks like W7 doesn't have that much flexibility, as all the drives have to run on the same schedule for defragging
• Consider a Backup Plan and Schedule - I usually do at least a back up of a nice, clean setup with drivers and core applications installed 
• Setup Auto-login - I password protect the system for the admin account, but on a hard reboot I want to make sure the machine can auto login and continue recording
• Configure file sharing - I'm sure there are a few other computers around the house that might access the media on your HTPC
• Choose a Background or Use None At All - This time around I'm going to see how a plain black desktop feels, one with no icons, taskbar, or anything.
• Set up / disable the screen saver - I don't use one, but maybe you do
• Configure Power/Sleep Settings - Don't you hate when the screen shuts off because you don't move the mouse enough
• Remote Desktop - Hit up the MissingRemote.com Guide to Concurrent Sessions, a great way to use Remote Desktop to administer your PC while the family still gets to use it

• Configure Audio & Video Drivers - Make sure these are both tweaked for great sound and picture
• Calibrate Audio Levels - Use a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) Meter to first configure your Pre/Pro or AV Receiver. Then go through your audio control panel and various applications to set everything to consistent volume. This way when you switch between apps you won't blow your eardrums.
• Install all your favorite apps & tools

• AVG Free Anti-Virus - Unobtrusive, seems to do the job
• AnyDVD HD - Archive your BD discs
• DVD Profiler 3 - My choice of DVD cataloging software
• Total Media Theatre 3 - Plays BD folders (PowerDVD does not)
• DVDShrink - Archive your DVD discs makes isolating main feature and audio tracks easy
• EventGhost - Automate whatever
• Exact Audio Copy (EAC) Archive CD; All mine are stored as both FLAC and MP3
• Hulu Desktop - Watch Hulu without a web browser
• ImgBurn - For burning the occassional disc
• Firefox - A web browser
• Total Game Control - Let's my gamepad do all sorts of cool things
• SageTV - A PVR and so much more!

On the night before Windows 7, there were screams of rage in the house, as I accidentally deleted all my lossless audio...crap that doesn't rhyme. But now the stockings were hung and a new partition was cleared. Windows 7 started to download and October 22nd wasn't even here.

The student/alumni pricing was a pretty good deal. I might even beat launch day, although I guess it's launch day already in other parts of the world. I even splurged the extra $13 to have a copy of the media mailed to me.

After getting EventGhost up and running to integrate PowerDVD 9 with SageTV, I took a look at Hulu Desktop. Integration was pretty straight forward as all of the keyboard commands were available in the software. I'm too lazy to write a plugin, so instead I pulled all the relevant XML from my save file, and you can just copy/paste it into your saved EventGhost XML file. Then all you need to do is associate the remote control buttons that you want to use with it. Here it is below, and I hope this is useful for some of you. Read on for the full XML code you'll need...

Just got back from Tahoe and saw a few tasty tidbits in my inbox. For those looking at buying SageTV extenders, Sage is running a March Madness Sale (until end of month).

Enter the coupon code MMAD09 when checking out to get the indicated discount. (Coupon expires April 1, 2009)

- $20 off SageTV HD Theater (only $179.95)
- $25 off SageTV HD Theater and SageTV Media Center for Windows software (only $224.95)

MeinMaui also just announced the latest release of SageMC. Here's a look at the new features. Things that caught my eye - Intelligent Sorting of Recorded TV Screen (that might do something for you Autoboy), Subtitle Support, Cycling through Fan Art, and Screen Capping Fan Art from Video

Click Read More for the full list of fixes and changes.

After tearing down the HTPC, I started putting things back together with my brand new parts. This is actually going to be retrospective look at building my HTPC since it's been up and running with minimum required functionality for the last couple months or so.

This build was designed to be the main HTPC in the family room. I planned to leverage my existing HTPC case, the Accent HT-400. The HTPC is used for tv recording, archiving and playing back DVDs, Blu-ray playback from disc, photos, and music playback. I've stopped gaming on the pc and instead am using the XBox 360 for that. In the future, I plan on turning this HTPC into a thick client and moving the hard drives and tuners to a PC based on WHS. This thick client HTPC will then continue to serve as the main box in the family room/home theater. To this extenders will be added in other rooms for music, tv, and video distribution. Home Automation will be added eventually to the WHS box after it is up and running next year. 

For the core of my new HTPC I selected the Asus P5Q-EM based on the Intel G45 chipset running a Intel E8500.

Let's take a closer look at how things worked out.

The discussion, here, about larger storage setups caught my attention this week. Large storage setups for many simultaneous users have considerations beyond your standard small home server. Some of the major considerations are hard drive choice, disk configuration, sufficient throughput for your application, backup, fault tolerance.

- Hard Drives: If you are planning a large 10TB+ array of discs, you may want to consider enterprise class drives from leading hard drive manufacturers. These drives are certified for 24/7 operation, and warrantied for 5 years. However, there is a price for the higher reliability drives. Western Digital Enterprise Class Green Power drives cost about 80% more than their equivalent consumer version.

- Disk Configurations (from Wikipedia):

RAID

• RAID 0 (striped disks) distributes data across several disks in a way that gives improved speed and full capacity, but all data on all disks will be lost if any one disk fails.

• RAID 1 (mirrored settings/disks) could be described as a real-time backup solution. Two (or more) disks each store exactly the same data, at the same time, and at all times. Data is not lost as long as one disk survives. Total capacity of the array is simply the capacity of one disk. At any given instant, each disk in the array is simply identical to every other disk in the array. - IS BACKUP

• RAID 5 (striped disks with parity) combines three or more disks in a way that protects data against loss of any one disk; the storage capacity of the array is reduced by one disk. - NOT BACKUP

• RAID 6 (striped disks with dual parity) (less common) can recover from the loss of two disks. - NOT BACKUP

• Multi-disk redundancy so that if any given disk fails, data is not lost - NOT BACKUP
• Folder Duplication - allowing the selective backup of any of your shared folders, keeps duplicate copies of specified folders on seperate drives, must manually enable - IS BACKUP
• Arbitrary storage expansion by supporting any type of hard disk drive (Serial ATA, USB, FireWire etc.) in any mixture and capacity — similar in concept to JBOD
• A single folder namespace (no drive letters)

- Transfer Rates

The throughput of the system may or may not be important to you. You'll want to check on the specific card you plan on purchasing. Real world transfer rates can be very different from what is advertised on the box. The hardware raid cards will be faster and are capable of supporting many users. The hardware solutions can easily handle throughput from many drives simultaneously without degradation of performance. If the files accessed are on different drives, the total throughput can be quite high. WHS Drive Extender is a software solution and much more appropriate for a small number of users/simultaneous file transfers.

- Backup / Fault Tolerance

All of the above mentioned solutions for creating large storage arrays are really not good backup solution for critical data (except RAID 1). Many of them do have fault tolerance, allowing them to rebuild the array by replacing a broken drive. In the case of hardware RAID, the RAID card is also a fault point and would likely need to be replaced with the same model card to get the array back up and running. For critical backup you will need a separate solution. I have been considering this for my family photos. Movies and music are replaceable, while family photos aren't.

I find myself spending much too much time on airplanes. This past year I earned status on one airline, and almost on a second. My fiancee is travelling so much that she is going platinum on multiple airlines. With all this time spent in the air and on the road we've gone through quite a few of the many options for taking media in the air. Technology continues to evolve and provide a never ending supply of ways to entertain yourself on the plane. I find myself carrying far too many of them, with a laptop (or 2), an iPod Video, a Nintendo DS, and my phone. Today, I thought I'd just try and capture a few of the many options out there for consumption while flying the friendly skies.

Laptop - Something almost every business traveler drags along, as do many others. Good screen size. Plenty of storage space for media. Plays DVDs/Blu-ray. Heavy option, if media playback on the plane is the only point in bringing it. Crappy battery life for long trips. I feel like if I get to watch the whole movie than it's a good day.

Portable DVD Player - Take your DVD collection with you...literally. This option offers a nice screen size depending on model you choose, and potentially decent battery life. Smaller than a laptop. But you have to actually bring physical discs with you, so decide what you want to watch before you leave the house. There are a few ways to work around bringing your own.

Buy DVDs / CDs at the airport - Seems every airport now has a stand or store where you can select from a horrible selection of overpriced DVDs and CDs. Personally, I'm not a big fan of this option.

Rent DVD & return at destination - Never actually participated in this. I am always slightly concerned there won't be an easy place to drop the disc off on the other end, and/or I won't have time to go hunt it down.

The new disposable rental - I've noticed this popping up all over the last few months. The disposable DVD rental. For something like $5.99 you can rent the movie, and watch it as much as you want inside a 24-hour period. Then throw the disc out. The green side of me thinks this is wasteful. However, for busy travellers definitely more convienent than the rent and return option.

Watch whatever Netflix just showed up - Often times this is the route I go. It just doesn't require any thinking, planning, or cash.

 

The Portable MP3 Player - Pretty good choice for music consumption. Battery life should be plenty for any day of travel. Most players today have enough storage for huge music collections, so you never have to worry about leaving your ABBA Gold behind. 

The iPhone/iTouch - Music, Movies & Games all in one. There is certainly something to be said for that. Most people can handle adding movies/music via iTunes. You can add your own with just a little bit of effort. I've heard that by reducing brightness and disabling the phone portion 6+ hours of video can be enjoyed. That's not too shabby. Should do for most flights, especially since you can't watch during takeoff and landing. Gaming leaves a little to be desired. iGames tend to be OK, but lack in depth what you might get for a real portable gaming system.

The Blackberry - I have one. I put a couple songs on it. For some reason I haven't really done any more than that. I love my phone, but I've never really had the urge to load it full of stuff. Maybe I'll try that for my next flight. The phone's battery life is exceptional, so I guess I'll give this a go next time and load up my microSD card. There's an issue...limited by microSD for storage.

The Nintendo DS - Great selection of games. Can buy game cartridges that allow microSD cards for video/audio playback extending the capabilities of console. Smaller screen than most phones for video viewing. Battery life is amazing. I can charge the DS, game a little every day and not have battery issues for a week. Not sure about battery life during video, have not personally tried it.

The Sony PSP - Bigger screen than the DS. Easier to load media on than the DS. UMD is stupid. IMO, gaming not as good as DS. (Worldwide sales numbers would probably support that conclusion)

DirectTV - This is nice, a full lineup of 40 or 50 stations that you can tune in anytime during your flight. The only thing is, when you're on those mid-day flights you are reminded of how bad daytime television is and find yourself praying you'll stumble upon a rerun of any of the crime dramas. Or maybe just indulge that guilty pleasure reality show you can't even set to record on your DVR, but hey, if it's the only thing on... Free on JetBlue, $5 on Frontier.

On Demand Movies - I had this once, flying first class. A large selection of recent releases, hot food, silverware and free cocktails. I strongly recommend this avenue.

Don't forget the headphones!!!

Noise Cancelling Headphones - These can make flying much more pleasant by filtering/drowning out ambient sounds. There are tradeoffs in size and quality of noise cancelling between the two pairs we own.

Sennheiser PXC250 - Smaller, foldable, easy to travel with. Smaller ear pieces and less effective noise cancelling. Enabling it does seem to bump audio volume a couple db. $100ish.

Bose QuietComfort 3 On Ear - Good noise cancelling, I prefer over ear but my fiancee likes the on ear fit of these. Larger, and when packed in travel case occupy a bit of space in the bag. $300ish.

I'd really love to find a great pair of tiny buds with noise cancelling. Or maybe try the custom fit buds.

So what do you bring on the road when you travel?

I know everyone here probably already knows I'm a SageTV user, and I have been for the past many years. But today I had one of those moments that reminds me why I love SageTV, and in particular it's developers. The development team's dedication to providing timely, friendly responses to inquiries is probably one of my favorite things about this company.

Now that I actually have modern tuners, extenders, and other equipment (instead of the stuff from circa 2003), I have been updating my version of SageTV frequently throughout the current 6.5 Beta. At some point, a bug was introduced that broke the way the system read the tags from my flac files. Yesterday after trying a suggestion from tech support first, and then doing a complete rebuild on my own which I had been planning (new apt = new build :) ), I followed up to tech support by sending them a sample file to try and debug from. This was probably about 10pm EST last night.

Here's the email I received early this afternoon:

OK, this is fixed for the next build now. :)  (the one we're putting out today)

Cheers,
SageTV Support Team

Does it really get any better than that? File bug report, wake up around 11, eat breakfast, get email that devs have already figured out problem, and included it in latest build which happens to be going out today. I don't really think it does. So thanks to the Sage dev team for being absolutely great!!!

P.S. If you're a Sage user and paying attention, this probably means a 6.5 RC2 or 6.5 Final to be out today

I'm annoyed right now. Intel apparently can't deliver a motherboard that has working hardware acceleration of their new X4500HD graphics chip. It works on all the third party motherboards just fine. They updated the bios and broke hardware acceleration of all the blu-ray formats. Classic case of hardware company that can't write software. They need to fix whatever it is that is wrong with the bios and let people know that it is fixed. Articles are popping around the internet now comparing HW acceleration of the X4500HD to discrete graphics cards. Conclusion, while integrated graphics isn't bad, the CPU usage is absolutely horrible and discrete 4830 is a much better investment for Blu-ray playback. The article notes that HW acceleration could not be enabled, and they link to a video that discusses the issue if you watch a lengthy movie about the issue, but they don't state the problem up front in the article. HW acceleration is broken in BIOS's numbered higher than 0075 on the Intel DG45ID. Intel is aware of this and trying to fix it. So let's take this time to rake an integrated chip over the coals and laud the value of high end discrete cards.

Two things about this piss me off:

1) Reviewers not putting all the information in their article (even though they are aware of it as shown by their link to the video Kyle at HardOCP made.) Summarize the information from the video in the article, that gives readers all the information in an easy to digest manner. 

2) Hardware companies that write such buggy driver/bios/software code that their hardware with all of it's careful thought and design fails to work.

Out of this:

Thumbs Up: Kyle at HardOCP for running this issue to ground with Intel. If you have the DG45ID, use BIOS 0075 (not 0079 or 0081).

Thumbs Down: Legit Reviews - Despite the website name, the review is less than legit. Apples to Oranges comparison -> Conclusion go buy this other hardware we just reviewed.

/End Rant

PS - I'll go back to writing my build log now.