Category: Home A/V

February 16, 2009

GearBits' Hot/Not List for Winter 2009

It's been about 8 months since our first Hot/Not List, so I thought I'd post an updated one:

HOT

• Logitech Squeezebox - After Logitech's acquisition of Slim Devices, a lot of fans of the smaller company's products were concerned that innovation would halt and corporate fossilization would set in, as happens in so many of these cases. Well, it couldn't be further from the truth. Slim's innovative products are benefiting from Logitech's branding and distribution muscle and the combined firm is churning out really impressive audio streaming devices. Our home audio ecosystem now consists of a Squeezebox Duet controller, two receivers, and a Boom; these three cover about 80% of the house and it's wonderful to have perfectly synced music streamed throughout without breaking the bank.
  
• Palm - The Pre smartphone was the buzz of CES and is still making strong headlines at MWC. Sprint may have a winner on its hands with this new device.
  
• Sprint - Coming off a really impressive turnaround regarding its customer service and anticipation of its 4G wireless network, Sprint could be poised for strong growth in the next few years.
  
• Aptera - So far, this innovative hypermileage boutique car-maker in California has avoided some of the pitfalls that its performance-oriented sibling Tesla Motors has made, and the 2e vehicle it should be shipping very soon looks like it could be a key evolutionary link in transforming the way we think about cars.
  
• Twitter - Easily the most addictive thing I've tried recently.
  
• Windows 7 - Sure, it's still in beta, but I am SO looking forward to its release. As much as I've panned Vista over the years, I think 7 will be a winner.
  

NOT

• Cloud-Based Contact Management - Even with Google's recent improvements to Gmail Contacts, there are no really excellent cloud-friendly contact management solutions available. The best I've found is ClearSync, and that isn't as widely compatible as most would like.
• Battery Technology - Seriously...scientists and engineers have been working on this for decades and we're still not fundamentally better than we were 20 years ago.
• Obese Netbooks - Almost by definition, a "netbook" should be incredibly lightweight. Why, then, are we seeing netbooks weighing over 3 lbs released to market??
• Winter - by definition. I am quite ready for Spring, thanks very much.
• Digital Transition Delay - We set the date for February 17th, and now Congress is pushing it back to June 12 for those stations that want extra time. Why? Delaying it doesn't solve anything and, in fact, actually increases the costs of the conversion and sows more consumer confusion. Clearly a lose-lose proposition.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Phones and Popular Media and Society / Politics and Technology
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January 27, 2009

Seeking Your Input on 2 Tech Purchases: TiVo and Camera

I am in need of two new pieces of gear and would like YOUR suggestions and insights on what to get.

First, we need to replace our dead (kaput!) Series 1 TiVo. It lasted an amazing 7 years and change, but it has made the final ascent to the great Now Showing in the sky. So, what should we get to replace it? An HD TiVo? The HD XL TiVo? We have nothing but HD TVs in our house, so the Series 2 isn't terribly desirable. Or should we nix TiVo and go with a different brand altogether? We're on Time Warner Cable (despite their awfulness), in case that affects your recommendation.

Second, I need a smallish digital camera with a reasonable resolution (5MP+), but with as much optical zoom as possible (320mm and greater would be ideal). This is for use with the GigaPan Imager I acquired for work purposes. The GigaPan mount won't support something like a dSLR, so nothing that massive can be considered. What suggestions do you have for this purchase?

Thanks in advance for your comments, here on GearBits (using the form below), to me via Twitter (CRA1G), or via my Facebook account (Craig Froehle).

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Photography and Technology
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January 6, 2009

The WD TV HD Media Player Revisited: New Firmware and Final Thoughts

The WD TV I recently reviewed got a new firmware update with several major improvements. Here's a rundown of those enhancements along with my final impressions of the device after more extensive use.

WD TV HD Media Player Firmware Release Notes - Version1.01.01

These release notes provide information on the latest posting of firmware for the WD TV HD Media Player. This particular firmware updates the user interface as well as improves your Media Player's functionality and capabilities. This firmware update will further enhance the performance, reliability and stability of the product.

New Features:
• Added .MKV chapter selection for video playback for MKV with chapter support
• Added .MTS file extension support
• Added .TP file extension support
• Added .TS file extension support
• Added 1080p 24hz support
• Added disk volume name to folder navigation in list mode
• Added EXIF orientation flag functionality for auto picture rotate
• Added file size in filename
• Added jump feature to the remote: While fast forwarding or reversing, if the "Next" or "Prev" buttons are pressed, video will jump 10 minutes in the respective direction
• Added progress indicator for the duration of the FF or REV function
• Added a blinking status LED behavior while drive is mounting; previously the light just stayed on
• Added sequential .M2TS file playback function
• Added additional subtitle support (SMI, SUB, ASS, SSA)
• Added user selectable font size for subtitle support
• Added song title scroll in music playback to prevent truncation
• Added embedded subtitle display in .MKV files
• Added additional subtitle encoding support for the following: Western Europe (ISO), Traditional Chinese (Big5), Simplified Chinese (GB18030), Japanese (Shift-JIS), Korean (EUC-KR), Cyrillic (Windows-1251), Cyrillic (KOI8-R), Greek (ISO); previously only UTF-8 was supported
• Added display sizing menu for photo playback: Fit to Screen, Full Screen, Keep as Original
• Added accelerating scroll speed based on how long the arrow is held down on the remote when navigating folders with a large number of files; previously only one, constant speed was available

A variety of bug fixes was also implemented.

Updating the firmware was pretty painless. I downloaded the new firmware on a laptop, tossed the two files onto a flash drive, and inserted the drive in the WD TV. It detected the new firmware and took me straight to the menu item to update the firmware. A reboot triggered the flashing; a second reboot then initiated a rescan of the attached drives. After that, the unit was fully functional again.

However, additional use of the WD TV, even after the firmware update, has left me less enthusiastic than before. My main criticisms have to do with the user interface, which is pretty far from ideal. Here are my observations:

All Media Formats:
• Can't see integrated collection across both attached drives (only one at a time)
• Navigation mode (list vs. thumbnail) is set for all media types; can't browse music by lists and photos by thumbnails without going into Settings and changing back and forth each time.
• Thumbnails representing >1 items are useless and make it impossible to navigate effectively; the grid never seems to move even though you're scrolling through your collection.
• Only 10 thumbnails shown on screen at a time. Could fit 28 at current size. No way to select thumbnail size.

Music:
• Can't see song info without playing it
• When browsing by artist, you can't see a list of albums an artist, just an alphabetized list of songs from all albums
• Responsiveness is not good (music library size may be an issue); takes 4-5 seconds to play a song once it's been selected. Source is a 7200 RPM 750 GB USB 2.0 drive with a 32MB cache.
• Thumbnails don't reflect album art until you get to the song level.
• When browsing by genre, song lists don't show artist, just song title alphabetically. Same for search results. And the list only takes up about 40% of available screen real estate. In order to see the artist, you have to select the song, which plays it.
• Music by Date doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose, as it's the date on the file, not the date the album was released. Again, why??!?
• When scrolling through a long list, holding down the button on the remote will scroll through 2-3 screenfuls and then stops. You then have to release the button and hold it down again to get it to go through 2-3 more screenfuls.

Photos:
• Navigation via the remote is poor; there are three "right arrow" buttons on the remote, yet only one advances to the next picture. The other two just generate a little "invalid input" icon on the screen. Why??!?
• To get info about a photo requires three button pushes (Option, Left, Select), yet half the buttons on the remote do nothing when you are viewing a photo.
• Lethargic navigation (again, large library could be the reason).
• Browsing "Recent" photos is hard to tell what's going on. It appears to be showing me photos I've viewed recently, not added recently (or have recent datestamps), making it one of the more useless navigation modes.

Video:
• Hung playing a video recorded on our Canon digital camera (a standard MPEG-4 .avi file). Video went black while audio continued to play, then the whole video just stopped. A button push took us back to the menu, but it wasn't elegant. After that, the unit behaved oddly when trying to play certain AVI files.

Beyond all that, the sneakernet approach gets tiresome. Our collection changes pretty frequently, and having to manually load new and updated files onto a USB drive to then remount onto the WD TV got old pretty quickly.

Given that the video performance is by far the most impressive aspect of the WD TV, what I expect would be the ideal use for this is if someone has a boatload of ISO files on a portable hard drive and wants to play them on big screens/projectors/TVs while traveling. The WD TV is so small as to be easily packed in a bag, and its HD capabilities means that it would be a good source for any display one might find on the road. But, for home use, I'm skeptical.

It saddens me that this sweet piece of hardware would be rendered almost useless by such an abominable user interface. Seriously, Western Digital, assemble yourselves a user panel, give them a month to live with the WD TV, and then take their private feedback to heart. All of these UI limitations should have been addressed before the WD TV was ever released for sale.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 2, 2009

GearBits' Predictions for 2009

Once again, here are GearBits' prognostications for the coming year. If you're interested, check out how our predictions for 2008 panned out, or previous years' predictions.

1) Microsoft Launches Windows 7 to Fanfare, Skepticism
Microsoft's two pillars of financial solvency -- Windows and Office -- have been standing on shaky ground recently. Office 2007 was a decent hit, despite it not offering much new and causing significant backward compatibility issues. But Windows Vista, on the other hand, has been an unmitigated disaster. Microsoft even had to resort to tricking users into liking Vista (Mojave, anyone?), it had developed such a bad reputation. Windows 7 will be launched late in 2009 to a general consensus of "it's better," but will not be the "wow" that Microsoft needs to regain the market share it has recently ceded to Apple. But maybe that's a good thing...having strong competitors is usually a good thing for consumer markets.

2) Blockbuster Declares Bankruptcy
This may be a bit "out there," but I see exceedingly tough times at Blockbuster. And this isn't vindictiveness...I've been a reasonably happy Blockbuster.com customer for several years, now. I just think that, given the state of its business (poor), the weakness in the economy (near-critical), the nature of its service (luxury), and the rapidity with which that industry is transforming, I think Blockbuster will file for bankruptcy protection to get out of some of its debt, sell off some property (store locations that aren't faring well), and reinvest that into developing newer and more attractive services. So, they aren't going away...yet.

3) Palm Launches New OS to Fanfare, Skepticism
We've all heard the rumors that Palm will be launching "Nova," its replacement for the ancient Palm OS, at CES 2009 in a few days. I'm pretty sure that's going to happen. I'm also pretty sure that Palm will have at least one new device, if not several, running the new OS available by the end of June. While launching phones can take a while, given the carriers' lengthy testing requirements, launching a PDA doesn't, so Palm could certainly come out with two (or more) non-phone PDAs running Nova pretty quickly. And it needs to...the TX is older than my grandmother (at least in technology years). Generally, I predict there will be more nice things said about Nova, and the new devices, than critical, and it will stack up fairly competitively with Android and WM 6.5. What I do not have a lot of faith in is Palm's ability to develop and deliver the ecology of services (e.g., app stores) that customers are now expecting their smartphones to be integrated into. Time will tell on that front.

4) Blu-Ray Players Hit $99
During 2009, I think we'll see a raft of Korean and Taiwanese off-brand manufacturers launch budget Blu-Ray players. Just like the 2008 holiday sales saw BD players hit $149 in some stores, 2009 holiday sales will see them hit $99...if not sooner.

5) Apple Launches a Tablet to Fanfare
This has been a persistent rumor for years, but I think 2009 will see it actually happen. Why? A few reasons. First, Apple is looking to multi-touch as a key differentiator in its product lines, and having a full-screen, large-display MT device would make total sense. Second, it fits perfectly with the needs of the "creative class," Apple's core customer base. And third, it fills out a hole in their mobile product line that netbooks and other devices not running OS X fill nicely, and that's not a good thing for Apple. So, the technology is ready, the market is willing...and now I think Apple will be able to meet the demand.

6) Consolidation in the Entertainment Industry
2009 will be a strange year on a lot of dimensions. Not only will the stock market be hard to predict, there will be a lot of odd relationships come out of the mess. One industry that is still poised to make things happen is the entertainment industry, where I expect we'll see larger firms (e.g., major movie studios) start to acquire smaller, but very successful, examples from the newer media (e.g., game producers). A good example of the type of transaction I'm imagining would be Vivendi acquiring Ubisoft. I think Time Warner would love to swallow up Electronic Arts, but that might be a bit too big a bite unless something untoward happens to EA's stock price over the next year.

7) Steve Jobs Announces Transition to New Role
I think concerns over Jobs' health have more merit than most of us want to admit. In 2009, I expect him to announce that he's transitioning into a different role than President and CEO of Apple (and CEO of Pixar). Something that keeps him out of the spotlight while he deals with his health issues will be valuable to keep Apple's stock price up and customer base intact. The move towards reducing his presence in near-term product launches is consistent with this strategy. But, he's far from gone...his influence will still be felt behind the scenes, but we'll see less of him in his traditional role as Apple poster boy.

8) Facebook Membership Growth Flattens; Twitter Surges
Signs are pointing towards Facebook's popularity beginning to peak. Just as with everything social, when moms and dads begin to frequent the coffee shop, the kids need a new place to hang out. Facebook currently has almost 40 million members in the US. While that number has been skyrocketing since it opened up membership to anyone in September 2006, I think 2009 will see a marked deceleration in its growth. The loss of perceived exclusivity and the hassle of the relatively unprotected app space will combine to make it less appealing to many long-time users and new prospects will find fewer people urging them to get on board. Twitter, however, will see continued growth as it continues to tweak and adapt its environment to meet its core users' needs.

9) App Stores Dominate Mobile Software Delivery
iPhone's app store, Android's market...these types of bazaars, managed by the sponsors/manufacturers of the mobile operating systems, are coming to be the dominant mode for software distribution to mobile users. It marks a significant break from the traditional model, where mobile developers could sell software from their own sites, through 3rd party aggregators, and through carriers. This new approach is more streamlined, making it easier for users, but also more controlled, which can make it harder to accommodate large and complex ecosystems. The fact that each of the existing app stores serves a relatively small market is why we haven't seen these problems emerge to a point where they start driving users away. 2009 will see continued movement towards these controlled markets and away from the free-form/multi-channel models that previous mobile generations (e.g., Palm OS, Windows Mobile) relied on.

10) Line Blurs between "Netbooks" and Notebooks/Laptops
Netbooks are currently a fairly homogeneous, and well-defined, niche of laptop computers. Most of them have an Intel Atom processor, a screen from 8.9" to 10" in size, no optical drive, weigh between 2.2 and 3 lbs, and cost $300-$500. There's a big gap in pricing then between these netbooks and the subnotebooks/ultraportables that often have slightly larger screens, way more RAM and processing power, and cost $1,500 or more. To paraphrase the old adage, markets abhor a vacuum, so I expect we'll start seeing all manner of new small notebooks come into the market in this $500-$1000 range sporting screens in the 9"-12" range with anything from 512MB to 2GB of RAM, a variety of operating systems (XP and Linux will continue to be most popular), and a range of processing and display capabilities. Not everyone needs to play Crysis on their notebook, but not everyone can get by with a 1024x600 screen and do everything inside their browser.

So, there you have it...GearBits' predictions for 2009. Some are probably pretty safe bets, and some are bound to be wrong. What do you think will happen?

Posted by Craig in Computing and Gaming and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Movies & Books and Phones and Popular Media and Technology
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December 31, 2008

Revisiting GearBits' Predictions for 2008: Lots Right, Some Very, Very Wrong

Each year, we at GearBits post some predictions for the coming year. And then, in the interest of honesty, fairness, and self-deprecation, we take a look back to see how we did. Each of our predictions for 2008 are listed below, along with an update on what actually happened.

1) Blu-Ray Wins the Format War
Yep, I'm going to pick a winner and it's going to be Blu-Ray. The one-two punch of Warner Brothers's move to Blu-Ray exclusivity (from its Switzerland-like neutrality of supporting both formats) later in 2008 and Apple's announcement that BD will be the only HD format available in its products will cement HD DVD's demise. And none too soon. I don't really care which wins...just make it snappy so that prices on players and media can plummet, thanks.

As of now, the end of 2008, it seems like forever since Blu-Ray trounced HD DVD in the format war. But back in early January, it was anyone's guess. But then, on February 18th, Toshiba officially threw in the towel. Interestingly, the Warner Bros. move I thought would happen eventually was actually announced the day after I posted my predictions. Of course, Apple hasn't yet released any products with any form of HD optical drive, so that bit wasn't exactly spot on. And I'm still waiting for my $99 Blu-Ray player. But, overall, this prediction looks pretty solid.

2) Google's Android Shakes Up Phone Industry
For a while now, the cellphone industry has been fairly static. A few smartphone and mobile OS makers have generally tussled for market share, but the overall industry has been pretty evolutionary. Google's entry will prove to be a watershed moment, with open source finally making a big impact in the handheld space (and no, I don't consider the Zaurus to be a big deal...sorry). Actual handsets running Android will be announced, if not available, before the end of 2008.

Depending on your threshold for "shaking up" the phone industry, I think most people would agree that Android made quite a splash in 2008 when the HTC G1 was launched on T-Mobile in the US on September 23rd. And we've already heard of around a dozen hardware makers signed on to release Android handsets. While handset sales still pale in comparison to the iPhone, 2009 looks like it just might be the year of the Android.

3) Palm Supports Android
This is more of a hope than an actual prediction, as I just don't know whether the egos at Palm will let the company do the right thing and admit that their next-generation OS (which has been under development since 2004!) will be a viable contender against Android (which has essentially the same technical details but scads more developer support). But, if cooler, more rational heads prevail at Palm, they'll announce that they're plans will be to produce at least one Android-based product (probably to come out sometime in 2012 :-/ ).

Ouch...I couldn't have been more wrong. While I still think Palm would have been smart to advance their product refurbishment by a full year (maybe more) by going with Android instead of continuing to pursue Nova, the company stuck to its original, go-it-alone plans. We'll see how well that pans out in 2009.

4) Microsoft's HD Photo Replacement for JPEG Image Standard Goes Nowhere
I'm not saying it's a bad idea technically; I'm just saying that JPEG is so entrenched now that replacing it would be about as reasonable a thing to try as would be replacing MP3 with any of the multitudes of better formats. JPEG, like MP3, isn't great, but it's adequate (at least for consumers) and ubiquitous. We'll still be saving all our photos in JPG (and maybe RAW) at the end of 2008...and likely long after that.

JPEG XR, the official name of Microsoft's HD Photo format, has generated essentially zero traction in the camera industry. Part of that is Microsoft's less-than-swift transition of JPEG XR into its quasi-open licensing portfolio, a move that will have to happen for camera makers and developers to trust that they won't be bitten by huge licensing fees in the future if they move their products away from RAW to JPEG XR.

5) Subnotes Will Explode in Availability (and Maybe Popularity)
I've always been a fan of tiny, sub-3-pound laptops, but I think 2008 will see a huge number of these clamshell devices come out of every corner of the consumer electronics space. The Asus EeePC and the OLPC XO Laptop are two examples. While Microsoft had a good idea in its UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) concept, the hardware was just never executed all that well. Frankly, I think a 7" touchscreen for Windows is just too difficult. But, going with the traditional clamshell design and using cheaper and/or smaller technologies (e.g., flash memory instead of a HDD) will bring us a raft of interesting (and some good) designs at <$500 price points. Bring 'em on! And I think we'll start to see a lot more people toting these things along that traditionally avoided laptops for whatever reason (cost, weight, etc.).

Bingo. If the shelves at Best Buy and Circuit City are any indication, these "netbooks" (the now-favored term...at least by everyone except Psion) have multiplied faster than Tribbles on Cialis. One glance at the huuuge list of netbooks over at small-notebooks.com is enough evidence to suggest that this prediction was spot on.

6) The GPS War Heats Up
TomTom, Nokia, and Garmin will exchange hostile fire over the GPS market due to convuluted agreements regarding mapping data as well as market-share for hardware. Products will continue to decline in price and improve in functionality, and >50% of cellphones will have some form of GPS functionality available on them. I guess that's two predictions in one...oh well.

I'm going to give myself this one. While we haven't heard that much more about the complex licensing agreements involving the big three, you need only walk through a Staples, Radio Shack, or Target to see a vast assortment of portable GPS units now available for under $150, most even having text-to-speech and other advanced functions. That's in direct comparison to late last year, when it was difficult to find a decent unit for under $300.

7) DRM Hits Choppy Water
2007 saw some movement away from DRM (digital rights management), especially in the music industry, but I expect we'll see similar initiatives in all areas of media. DRM has been proven again and again to be little more than an expensive technological boondoggle, and the leading innovators at the consumer media interface (e.g., Apple, Amazon, and Google) will make some headway into reversing the trend of more encumbrance for our media. The RIAA and MPAA will continue to fight it...they know how to do nothing else...but economic results will start to demonstrate that DRM actually hurts profitability.

Nope...we didn't hear much consistent with my prediction. While some markets moved towards offering DRM-free downloads, most are still heavily laden. And the RIAA actually reversed its strategy and is now no longer suing everyone and their mother for alleged downloading. So that's two different ways I was off on this one. Just goes to show that there's no telling what the content owners are thinking.

8) Major Tech Stocks End 2008 Up Significantly
These are bound to be wrong, but what the heck...nobody pays me for stock tips. I think Apple will end 2008 at 235, Google will be at 960, and Microsoft will finish the year at 50. As for other stocks, iRobot will end up at either 46 or 12 (can you tell I'm a cynical shareholder?), IBM will show tepid growth to 112, and RIM, hurt by the continued weak US dollar and facing increasing competition, will struggle to match its 1-year high of 127.

Uh, no. While I doubt many saw the massive downturn in stocks coming, tech stocks are decidedly not even slightly better off than most. Let's see how my specific price predictions held up:
  • Apple (AAPL): Predicted = 235; Actual = 86.29
  • Google (GOOG): Predicted = 960; Actual = 303.11
  • Microsoft (MSFT): Predicted = 50; Actual = 19.34
  • iRobot (IRBT): Predicted = 46 or 12; Actual = 8.95
  • IBM (IBM): Predicted = 112; Actual = 83.55
  • Research in Motion (RIMM): Predicted = 127; Actual = 38.77
In summary, do not ask me to manage your stock portfolio...you would be better served by setting your money on fire, as then you could at least stay warm for a while.

9) I Buy a New Laptop and Am Disappointed
My Panasonic CF-W2 is now three-and-a-half-years-old and I'm starting to cringe every time I turn it on (my luck with hard drives makes me skeptical of many living past their 4th birthday). I've been looking at possible replacements (e.g., Toshiba R500, Panasonic W7, maybe the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 or the rumored Apple subnote) and so far every single one has some significant trade-offs. So, I expect I'll get one and it will turn out to be not significantly better than my aging Toughbook. You'd think in nearly four years that two grand would buy something markedly superior. We'll see...

Unfortunately, I was right on this. The Fujitsu LifeBook P8010 I ended up purchasing in February is a good laptop...don't get me wrong. It's just not a heads-and-shoulders better laptop than my ToughBook was, and that's what I was expecting given the nearly 4 years newer technology and the $2500 it cost. And, given that I've already had to send it in for a repair (the power button broke off), I'm guessing the durability won't even come close to that of the Panasonic (which I still use regularly around the house).

10) Major Changes in Automotive Industry Announced
While the car business makes actual change only very slowly, we'll see some huge announcements in 2008 that will fundamentally change the future of that industry. Things like record oil prices, an increasing attention to sustainable/green technology, and significant ownership changes will substantially change the competitive landscape. Make no mistake; Toyota will continue its ascent and eclipse GM as #1 car-maker in the world. But, we will see several major announcements that will start affecting actual consumers in 2009 and beyond.

While I didn't get the stock predictions exactly right (OK, not even close), I think it's safe to say that the US automotive industry has been shaken up with major changes during 2008. We saw record oil prices (check!), more attention to green tech (check!), and the bottom dropping out of US consumption didn't leave them anywhere to go except to the Congress for help. And Toyota did indeed become the biggest carmaker in the world in 2008, just as predicted. Let's hope the Volt truly is something special...for all our sakes.

So, there you have it: our final score is 7 winners and 3 losers. I'll take it. :-)

In a couple of days, I'll be posting GearBits' predictions for 2009, so make sure you come back and check those out, m'kay?

Posted by Craig in Cars and Computing and Gaming and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Other and Phones and Photography and Popular Media and Science & Nature and Society / Politics and Technology and Wireless
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December 19, 2008

And They Wonder Why We Don't Watch Live TV Anymore

When you cover up a third of the screen for the first 30 seconds after every commercial break, it makes me want to chuck the remote straight into the screen and go be entertained by the Internet.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry and Popular Media
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December 16, 2008

Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player

Quick Review

Western Digital recently brought to the market a new flavor of home media player. Rather than follow well-trod footsteps by coming out with a networked media streamer, which plays back media stored on a PC somewhere on the network, Western Digital played on its strength in storage by introducing a device that plays back media solely from USB external storage devices. That device is the WD TV HD Media Player, available online in the $105-$130 range.

In a nutshell, the WD TV is a tiny box, smaller than a typical 3.5" USB drive, that decodes media content located on attached storage (or a digital camera, camcorder, or PMP) and displays it on a TV. Indeed, compared to my hand, the unit is impressively small.

The unit offers a surprising variety of connections for something so tiny. From left to right in the photo below: power jack, USB, HDMI, digital optical audio out, composite video/audio (RCA), and a second USB port on the side.

Requisite unboxing photos available after the jump...read on for the rest of our initial hands-on review.

Box contents include (clockwise from upper left in above photo): a stand (for WD My Passport drives), quick-start guide, warranty information, rubber feet for the unit, software CD-ROM, power supply, remote, batteries (for the remote), the WD TV unit itself, and composite A/V cables. No, no HDMI cable is included, which is mildly disappointing given Western Digital's emphasis on the HD-ness of the device.

The remote control (right) is very small; I can imagine losing it regularly in the couch cushions. It takes two 'AAA' cells and has fairly basic and straightforward controls. It is not backlit.

In terms of usability, the remote is not terribly intuitive. Unlike, say, a TiVo remote, where the button squarely under your thumb does most of the selection and doubles as play control, the WD TV's remote has dedicated play control keys that are smaller and harder to locate without looking.

The Home button takes you to the top of the menu system. Search enables a search function (as you'd expect) and Eject initiates the external media for removal.

Moving on to actually using the WD TV, the menu system and on-screen display are bright, attractive, easy to understand, and generally nice to look at.

Below is the inital start-up screen; note the banner at the top indicating that the unit is searching the attached drive to locate and catalog its media content. It does this every time the user inserts a drive into one of the WD TV's two USB slots. It took several minutes to wade through the drive when I had around 20,000 files on it, but it took under 3 seconds when the drive contained just a few hundred. So, unless your media collection is massive, startup seems pretty reasonable.

The WD TV promises to support a huge range of media formats. Per the WD product page:
Music - MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, AAC, FLAC, Dolby Digital, AIF/AIFF, MKA
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Video - MPEG1/2/4, WMV9, AVI (MPEG4, Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEG4, H.264)
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL

While it didn't play absolutely everything I threw at it, the items it did not play (e.g., a Sorenson/SVQ file, an old Real video file, and some odd H.264 variants), were definitely on the more obscure range of formats. I was very impressed that it played large ISO files without a hiccup. The WD TV does not support DRM content (but then you shouldn't be supporting DRM by buying encumbered downloads in the first place). The CD-ROM included in the WD TV box provides a media transcoding app (ArcSoft MediaConverter - "a fast, easy-to-use application that converts photo, video, and music files into formats optimized for use on the WD TV HD Media Player"), which is a good sign that hardware companies may not be as scared of content owners as they once were.

An interesting/fun bit of functionality is that you can view photos while listening to audio coming off the same, or a different, external drive, as the WD screen cap below shows.

So you can get a sense of how responsive the WD TV's menus are, and perhaps see the range of video quality you get out of the device, here's a 4-minute video (unedited...apologies for the pauses) going through some of the functions and showing a few bits of video playback.

If the embedded video doesn't work, try this direct link.

So, what's the verdict? It's hard to tell definitively based on only a couple of hours' usage, but here are some initial thoughts.

For positives, I'm really impressed with the usability of the menus, the ease of installation (it's incredibly simple to set up...you just hook it up to a TV, plug it in, and attach an HDD with some media on it), the size of the unit (very unobtrusive, although it doesn't look consistent with any other home theater componentry), and the price point ($100 or so is hard to argue with for what this does). Also, the fact that you can access content on two USB sources simultaneously is a really nice feature; many companies would have stopped at one and called it done.

On the downside, the unit may not be 100% stable yet. In our limited testing, it has hung twice (both after being left on for quite a while without being used), requiring a power cycle to come to. Also, I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of a super-high-speed fast-forward and rewind. At 16X, moving 100 minutes into a movie would take over 6 minutes of real time; that's not ideal. Lastly, the remote could use some usability reengineering, but it's certainly workable as is.

Two issues that I'd like to address after I've had more time with the device are fundamental to the nature of the WD TV. First, since it's not networked, it relies on sneaker-net to get more content on it. Typically, this means unplugging a USB drive, taking the drive to wherever the content is (such as a PC somewhere), filling it with new content, and then returning it to the WD TV. If you don't have to do that often, it may not be such a big deal. But if you're wanting to watch content that you're constantly acquiring (e.g., new episodes), this could get old pretty quickly.

Second, the unit seems particularly sensitive to the quality of whatever media you're feeding it. Because it decodes and displays the video in whatever form it's in (e.g., 320x240 15fps) with only simple upscaling, you're trapped in a GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) situation. Compared to the DivX Connected device, which transcodes content on a PC into a format and dimensionality more suited for the display its being sent to, the WD TV doesn't have this intermediate step. That's good for simplicity, but you lose the chance to do computationally intensive (i.e., high-quality) upscaling on the fly. But, given the constantly dropping price of external storage, creating vast libraries of high-quality ISO images that play back beautifully on the WD TV could be a very viable strategy.

One thing I think WD should consider is offering an upgrade model (WD TV+, perhaps?) that adds wired/wireless NAS functionality. If I could have a couple of 1GB drives installed in the WD TV, which then transforms them into network-accessible storage AND retains the ability to play back the media stored on them, it has solved multiple needs for me. First, I don't have to rely on sneaker-net to move new content to the drives; I can just copy it across the network. And second, NAS-capable storage is still more expensive than USB storage; being able to cheaply upgrade my network's total storage via a device that also serves other purposes (e.g., entertainment) would be ideal.

All in all, I'm impressed with WD's first effort. While a few edges could still be smoothed out, and I'm hoping to spend more time with the device to see if the two issues above really are valid concerns, anybody wanting a relatively cheap and easy way to get their media onto their TV/stereo should give the WD TV a try.

Product Link: Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player product page

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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December 9, 2008

Expand the Recording Capacity of your Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR

There's been a lot of discussion on the post I wrote a few years ago about the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD Hi-Def DVR (March 5, 2005), mostly about how to expand its rather limited recording capacity.

The good news is that doing so is both easy and cheap! All you need is an external hard drive with an eSATA connection and eSATA cable.

For this project, I used an Acomdata PureDrive PDHD750USE-72 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache USB 2.0 / eSATA External Hard Drive (~$100) and a 2m eSATA cable ($25 at my local computer supply store). For the uninitiated, eSATA stands for "External Serial ATA" and is a new, fast standard for connecting external mass storage devices to computers and similar components.

To install the drive, I followed these simple directions:
1. Turn off the DVR (hit the power button on the front of the unit)
2. Connect the eSATA cable to the drive and to the DVR (the eSATA connection is on the back)
3. Turn on the drive (if it has a power switch; otherwise just plug it in)
4. Turn on the DVR. At this point, you will be prompted by the DVR on your TV that a new drive has been attached and asked if you want to format the drive. You'll indicate "Yes" by hitting the yellow A (triangular) button on the DVR remote. A message will come up stating that the drive is being formatted.
5. After a few minutes, the message will disappear and you're all set.

Before attaching the 750GB drive I used, my DVR was 56% full. After attaching it, the DVR was 9% full. Now that's change I can believe in!

If you're looking for drives to use in this manner, try to get one that's fanless (like the Acomdata unit above); otherwise, the fan noise might degrade your TV experience.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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November 21, 2008

What's your favorite media keyboard?

In some ways, my German heritage makes me a penny pincher and a tech laggard. For example, I finally bought my first digital television to make sure the guests can watch football over the Thanksgiving holidays. (A cheap 46" Sharp AQUOS LC-46C55U 1080p 60Hz LCD from Costco.)

Step 1 Buy TV. Check!
Step 2, Order FiOS HD DVR box. (I'm too cheap to buy a HD Tivo, at least for now.) Arrived in 24 hours! Check. Hey, this FiOS "On Demand" is nice. Save that topic for another blog post.
Step 3, Hook up computer for 46" home office monitor goodness. Doh! My wired keyboard looks terrible here. Time to go cordless.

What's up with all these wireless keyboard and mouse combos? Who can mouse well on a couch? Wireless mouse at a desk, sure. But Wireless keyboard at a desk? Are cables inherently evil? If you're at a desk, use a corded keyboard and save some batteries.

I'm an unashamed ThinkPad trackpoint fanboy, but I can't find wireless keyboard with a trackpoint. Bummer. I'm stuck with either a trackpad or a trackball. The Logitech diNovo Edge looks extemely cool, but (a) it's pricey, (b) needs space to sit and charge in a cradle and (c) some people don't like its touchdisc whatzit.

DiNovo Edge touch disc?

Then I happened across this Logitech PS3 Mediaboard Pro. No "keyboard" in the product name, so it didn't show up on many of my earlier product searches. Don't be scared by the "PS3" -- it also supports PCs over Bluetooth.

While it looks only 2/3 as cool as the diNovo Edge, it's 1/3 the price of the Edge, doesn't need a charging cradle, and received good reviews. People even liked the Mediaboard's trackpad. "One click" on Amazon, and here it comes.

Did I screw up ordering this? Chime in if you have a favorite media keyboard.

Logitech PS3 Mediaboard Pro

Posted by Bob in Computing and Home A/V and Technology and Wireless
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Ethernet over power adaptors

With the election behind us, I need some gear chat to help forget about collapsing 401Ks.

My wife and I work at home a lot. When I run the microwave, it completely disconnects the wifi connection on her Dell D610. My ThinkPad doesn't have this problem, go figure. Anyway, I don't always remember to warn her that I'm going to nuke lunch.

Her office is two floors away from the hub, so a Cat5 run isn't really an easy option. I had checked out Ethernet over Power options previously, but they were a little expensive. No longer.

I found a pair of Panasonic BL-PA100A HD-PLC Ethernet adaptors on Amazon for $65. They are faster than my 802.11g, work when the microwave is on, and are very easy to setup. No software required. So far, it hasn't added any complexity to the laptop undocking process, either. I like it so much, I just ordered a extra one to connect my media PC.

One caution -- they prefer to be placed directly into an outlet. They are not happy in extension cords or power strips.

When I nuke lunch, I still gasp when I realize that I forgot to shout out a warning. I imagine that reflex will go away soon.

Posted by Bob in Computing and Home A/V and Technology
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July 1, 2008

Should I Fix My Wife's TiVo?

So, apparently, while we were on vacation a couple weeks ago, the landline modem in my wife's TiVo died...again!

Her TiVo is a Series 1...one of the original Philips models (apparently, they featured ultra-crappy modems). It has a lifetime subscription on it, so it's tough for me to just chuck it (and I doubt anybody is going to want to buy it).

If this was our only TiVo, there would be no debate...it would be fixed (actually, it would have already been fixed...my wife loves her TiVo as much as...dare I say "me?"). But, we have a second TiVo ("my" TiVo), a Series 2 model with all the Internet-based goodies, so she's now using that one.

Thus, my debate is this: do I chuck (or sell for the cost of shipping) a TiVo with a bum modem and a lifetime subscription, or do I spend $50 and get it fixed? Given that the HDD in this thing is nearing 7 years old, I can't imagine it's going to live much longer on that front, either.

So, what should I do? Repair it or no?

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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June 5, 2008

Mitch's Hot/Not List

Mitch, seeing my Hot/Not list from yesterday, compiled his own, so here it is:

HOT

• iPod Touch - I tried the Archos 605 Wi-Fi first and its mediocrity makes the Touch that much more delightful. I really love well done user interfaces and this one is first rate. My only complaint is its picky eating habits when it comes to video formats.
  
• iMac - I waited longer than any other tech purchase to finally go with Apple's all-in-one desktop PC. I opted for the top of the line 3.06 GHz 24" model and have been completely blown away by it. So far I have found no flaws. It is stunning.
  
• High Gas Prices - Innovation rocks and if it takes $5/gallon gasoline to get us out of this oil addiction then I'm more than willing to pay my dues. Fewer SUVs and pickups, electric cars, solar energy, alternative fuels, more big butts on bicycles, less traffic congestion; I'm all for it. Let's drop our consumption by half and let OPEC drink their devalued crude.
  
• Synology - A NAS will soon be as ubiquitous on a home network as the router is today. The clever, feature-filled offerings from Synology are the best of the breed. I'll have a DS508 please!
  
• Subaru - Totally agree with Craig here. I've been
  in Imprezas now going on six years and I still feel like I'm cheating when I share the road with normal cars. Scoobys are fabulous.
  
• Ken Follett's Historical Novels - "The Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End" are two of my favorite books of all time and I just took them in this Spring. I listened to both on my iPod (over 40 hours each) after downloading them from Audible and they made a month of 1000 mile weekly commutes totally enjoyable. Masterful stuff.
  
• CrossFit - I was in good shape 20 years ago and at 44 I can wipe the floor with my 24 year old self (if that was possible). I've been CrossFitting for almost a year now and some of the things I can do now would have seemed outlandish back then.

NOT

• General Motors - If you Google dinosaur, out of touch, lethargic, and unimaginative you should pull up GM's home page. I used to be a fan, but they have been disappointing me for 25 years now and don't seem to be planning any big changes. The sooner they finish themselves off, the better off we'll be.
  
• Labor Unions - Working in the industrial world I cross paths with unions
  of all sorts way more than I would like. I completely understand why our manufacturing sector is fleeing to other countries. I have never seen such a lazy, selfish, destructive, regressive bunch of people in my life. They can't all be like that, but the ones I've met surely are.
  
• Sheeple-Filled Corporate IT Departments - My 26,000 strong corporation is going to switch to Vista because they don't want to be left with no anti-virus support for their XP platform. Goodbye nice warm frying pan and hello fire.
  
• Cable/Satellite TV - I'm SO tired of paying $80 a month for a bunch of
  garbage that I would never watch even if I had the time. It won't be long until I cut that cord and start rolling my own TV. If I could just decide which way I want to do it!
  
• Global Markets - I realize that even the lowliest trader in/on most investment banks/trading floors/commodities exchanges is smarter than I am, but I would really love to see them use those brains rather than run with every emotion that riffles through the world markets. Do investors even pay attention to P/E ratios or supply and demand or is it all about what the hot analyst is saying or the sheeple are doing?

Posted by Craig in Cars and Computing and Health & Medicine and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Popular Media and Science & Nature and Society / Politics and Technology and Wireless
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June 4, 2008

GearBits' First Hot/Not List

I've been remiss on posting, so I thought I'd assemble a whole mess of opinions in one place. Over the past several weeks or so, I've come to appreciate some things/companies and have come to be disappointed in others. So, here's a quick run-down:

HOT

• Shutterfly - always gets me great-looking prints/books in a timely manner at low prices.
  
• Google - just keeps rolling out the innovative, useful, and well-designed web apps
  
• Subaru - they just make terrific cars...durable, high-performing, and affordable
  
• Amazon.com - with reasonably good, if not great, prices, excellent customer service, and a stellar website, what's not to like?
  
• Subnotes - The sudden rash of low-power, low-weight, cheap laptops coming out (which I predicted would happen back at the beginning of the year) is a joy to behold...portable computing for everyone!
  
• NPR - Always informative, enjoyable, and worth supporting.
  
• Logitech Cordless Presenter - Have had it for two years now, am still on the first set of AAA batteries, it has taken tons of abuse, and it still works perfectly. Amazing!
  
• Private Electric Car Companies - It's as if we're on the cusp of another time like the 1920's, when every town seemed to have a local car manufacturer, except now they're all electric, hybrid, or alterna-fuel vehicles (a very good thing).

NOT

• Archos - if my 605 Wi-Fi completely hangs on me one more time, I swear I'm going to chuck it off an overpass (I'll post more about this later)
  
• Palm - if my Treo 700p resets on me one more time, I swear I'm going to chuck...aw, who am I kidding? It'll probably reset before I finish this post. C'mon Android...fill this void in my gadget-hoarding soul, will you?
  
• Megalomaniacal Corporate IT Departments - I hope the day comes soon when we can definitively show that the TCO actually improves when you let corporate tech users select their own personal devices.
  
• Flash memory format proliferation - I mean, seriously, do we really need SD, MiniSD, and MicroSD? It's getting as bad as the dang Memory Stick (and that's saying something).
  
• Download-only music stores - I may be in the minority, but I just don't like the DRM associated with most online music stores. And even without the DRM, the cost seems too much if I'm not getting permanent physical media, liner notes/art, etc. Call me old school if you like...go ahead, it only hurts a little.
  
• Intel's Marketing department - Seriously, guys, could you make keeping track of your product lines any more difficult and confusing?
  
• Getting older - I am no longer the kid I still think of myself as being.
  

So what are your Hot and Not?

Posted by Craig in Cars and Computing and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Phones and Popular Media and Technology and Wireless
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March 19, 2008

Noisy Volume Knob? Try Fixing It

A lot of devices have electro-mechanical controls that can degrade over time. Take the pair of Kilpsch ProMedia 2.0 PC speakers I've had for a few years as an example.

Recently, the volume knob started introducing lots of static/noise whenever it was turned, sometimes throwing off the L/R balance or even dropping out the volume altogether. More fiddling would fix it, but it was annoying.

At this point, most people would simply replace the speakers. But I really like these; they sound utterly fantastic for a 2.0 setup. So I set about finding a fix.

It turns out that the 1-2 punch of CAIG Laboratories DeOxit cleaner followed by DeOxit ProGold contact preservative (which I got from RadioShack.com) was just the trick. After cracking open the speaker with the controls, I spritzed the cleaner into the potentiometer and worked the knob back and forth. Then, a few minutes later, I spritzed in the ProGold to help protect the contacts, and worked the knob a bit more.

A half-hour later, I reassembled the speaker, plugged everything back in and it's perfect. The volume knob is now silky smooth and there's no sign of drop-outs or static. For $15, this sure beats trying to replace some fantastic speakers.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Technology
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March 13, 2008

Logitech Squeezebox Duet Wireless Music System: The Unboxening

We just got a Logitech Squeezebox Duet, the new low(er)-cost competitor to the rather amazing Sonos wireless music streaming system, and I thought I'd post some shots of its debut at our house.

We got the Squeezebox primarily to replace the SMC Networks EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G that no longer seems to want to work properly (I constantly have to unplug it and plug it back in repeatedly when starting it up before it will recognize the network and respond to remote control signals). But then sometimes even a bargain is worth less than what you pay for it.

At $399, the Squeezebox Duet certainly isn't cheap, but it's still $200 less than a comparable Sonos setup. Plus, unlike the Sonos, the Squeezebox benefits from Slim Devices' (which Logitech acquired in late 2006) rabid developer community, so there's tons of nifty extensions and add-ons.

Click on the "continue reading" link for more pics and some initial reactions in lieu of a full review.

The black-on-black musical notes is a nice touch (I wonder if they were inspired by the "Smell the Glove" album cover). All told, the packaging is very Apple-esque, but not of the same high-quality materials; fit-and-finish is a tad lower as well. Good, not great, but better than the packaging that most of Logitech's lower-end stuff comes in. One thing that surprised me was that there was no CD included. I figured they'd at least include the PDF manual and some other stuff on a piece of media, but nope. And in retrospect, I'm glad they didn't...saves on material and weight...both good things. The box's entire contents are as follows (roughly left to right): the Squeezebox Receiver, Squeezebox Controller, power cord and North American plug adapter for Receiver, Controller recharching cradle and power cord (attached), Controller battery, stereo RCA cables, and Controller power plug adapter. The finish on the Controller is the same velvety pseudo-rubber you get on high-end SLR cameras...mmmm...smoooth.... The Receiver is very compact and very neat and tidy. If it weren't for the color, I'd have sworn it came from Cupertino. The status LED (glows red, green, blue, and white at various stages of setup) is also the only button on the Receiver. To give you a sense of scale, here's the Receiver next to a Mac Mini, a Series 2 TiVo, and a compact center channel speaker. Please ignore the hideous wiring...it's temporary...really...

After a few hours of use, I'm very, very impressed. The Duet is a really powerful way to control your music. It is amazingly flexible in its ability to handle a variety of music sources (iTunes, raw files, etc.) and to be customized per your preferences (it took me 20 minutes just to explore all the options in the Settings menu on the Controller).

Beyond the wide variety of online music services it supports (e.g., Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker, etc.), the Squeezebox also has some nifty tricks up its sleeves. You can set the Controller to download and display photos from Flickr (yours, someone else's or random pics) when it's not being handled. It also has an accelerometer inside so it comes back to life when you pick it up (a nice touch). And, if that weren't enough, you can add both Controllers and Receivers to your wireless network and operate any Receiver from any Controller, or sync up all the Receivers to play the same content. At just $150 for each added Receiver, you can outfit a large house for far less than you could using Sonos' products.

So far, I'd have to say I like what I see. If you want to check out the Squeezebox's complete specs, along with a demo movie, head over to Slim Devices' website. More as I know it...

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio and Wireless
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March 1, 2008

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Noise-Cancelling Headphones

I've always been curious about those noise-canceling headphones you see all the business guys wearing on planes. Do they really help that much? Are they worth the expense? After grabbing a set of ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint headphones from Audio-Technica, I can answer definitively "yes" and "yes."

The ANC7s are over-the-ear (or "earcup") headphones (as opposed to in-ear- or earbud-style phones) and they do a bang-up job blocking out noise. Even without the active (i.e., powered) noise-canceling circuitry enabled, the ANC7s do reduce environmental noise. But when you flip the switch to ON, man, it's like a veritable cone of silence has descended over you (Google if you don't get that reference). The specs say they reduce ambient noise up to 20db or 85% (I've no idea how the conversion works, so don't ask); I can tell you that 20db (or 85%) makes a heckuva difference. After a couple of recent 4-hour flights, I was noticeably more relaxed and less stressed than I usually am after such a flight, and I attribute that to the use of these headphones.

The ANC7 has some nice design features as well. For starters, the cord is removable, so if you only need noise canceling (i.e., you don't want them plugged into an audio source, such as when you want to sleep on a plane), then you don't have to futz with a cord. The ANC7s come with a semi-hard case, too. The case has an interior accessory pocket that stores the audio cord and included full-sized (1/4-inch) stereo and airplane (two-prong) adapters (a nice touch, Audio-Technica!). The ANC7s are powered by a single AAA battery (1 included) and I got about 15 hours of mixed use (noise-canceling only and noise-canceling + audio) from a new cell.

Unlike the Bose models (which generally run $299 and up and don't offer any better sound quality than these), the ANC7s can be used as unpowered headphones. Sound quality without noise-canceling turned on isn't great; it sounds a bit muffled, but it'll do in a pinch. However, with the noise-canceling enabled, the sound quality of these is very good; they almost give my open-air Grados a run for their money, and that's saying a lot.

So, if you travel a fair bit, or perhaps work in a noisy environment with white noise you find distracting, plunk down the $120 or so for a set of these and prepare to be amazed.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Travel
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February 18, 2008

Blu-Ray wins Hi-Def DVD Format War

The writing was on the wall, but it's now official: Toshiba has abandoned the HD DVD format and has ceased production of all HD DVD players.

I have one word: FINALLY!

Now we can all get on to the important business of making really inexpensive Blu-Ray Disc players and dropping the prices on BD format movies. I, for one, eagerly anticipate being able to pick up a $99 Sanyo or Emerson BD player for Christmas. OK, maybe not this year...but definitely by 2009.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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February 17, 2008

Archos 605 WiFi Portable Media Player

The 605 WiFi, a fifth-generation portable media player from the French electronics firm Archos, is an impressive device. It boasts a vivid, high-res 4.3" touchscreen, 802.11g Wi-Fi (more on that later), and the ability to handle a reasonably broad array of media formats (although the larger, more expensive Cowon A3 handles far more). Plus, the 605 WiFi is available with hard drives of 30, 80, and 160 gigabytes or with 4GB of flash storage (the flash model also sports an SDHC slot for unlimited expansion). This review focuses on the 4GB flash version, which can be had for under $200 online and at a few brick-and-mortar electronics retailers.

After using the 605 WiFi for about two weeks now, I've come to appreciate it quite a bit. It's certainly not perfect, but it offers good value and some of its attributes that seem like weaknesses at first blush actually turn out to be strengths.

The Physical Unit
The 605 is 4.8'' x 3.2'' x 0.6'', about the same overall dimensions as an old PalmPilot, which is fairly compact for having such a large screen. The 4GB flash model weighs in at 5.3 ounces (the hard drive units weigh more, up to 9.2 oz. for the 160GB). The buttons to the right of the screen are two-way toggles (one function on each side, left and right), which take some getting used to. Thankfully, the touchscreen makes using the buttons unnecessary (although they're preferable in a few situations, such as changing volume). Two hardware buttons on the top of the unit include On/Off and a button to send video out via the docking station (when attached). The SDHC card slot is also on the top (nicely recessed so as to avoid any chance of accidental card eject). On the left is the headphone jack, and on the right is the pull-out kickstand (a very nice touch). The bottom of the unit has Archos' proprietary connector (which, of course, requires Archos' proprietary USB cable or dock to attach to it). The unit charges and syncs data through these connectors. The front also includes a very loud, clear mono speaker. The back is completely plain. In a departure from the 4th generation units, the 605 does not offer a user-swappable battery. But none of that really matters, for the 605's pièce de résistance is its screen. This 800x480 resolution beauty is simply stunning. It has an amazing angle of view and, at over 200 pixels per inch, gives every bit of clarity and detail you could hope for. Colors are well-saturated and there's no hint of screendoor or other effects that low-quality LCDs can have. Everyone I've showed this to has remarked almost immediately how good the display is. In the box, the 605 comes with headphones, a USB cable, a rudimentary slip-case, and some documentation.

The User Interface
You may have read somewhere (OK, everywhere) that the Archos user interface is terrible. It's not quite terrible...just very bad. But, I'm happy to say that (a) the touchscreen makes it a LOT easier to navigate, and (b) once you get used to certain conventions, it really isn't that bad (certainly no worse than Office 2007's new menu structure!). For example, the [X] button always takes you backwards (or back up a level) from wherever you are. Some have contrasted the 605 with the iPod Touch and come away saying the Touch is easier to use. I agree...for one main reason: the 605 has way, way more options, settings, and customizability than does the Touch, and all that requires a bit more complexity in the menus. For example, you can separately set the gamma, contrast, brightness, and backlight level of the 605's screen. The Touch, by comparison, doesn't even know what gamma is. So, if customizability is a desirable thing for you, the 605 will have you covered. But, if you're afraid of menus, then it may be a bit daunting until you read through the manual (a few times).

Media Performance
Overall, media playback is superb. Audio quality is high and videos look and sound awesome (even ones where the 605 has to up- or down-res to match the screen's resolution). The audio interface provides all the tag-based organization you'd expect -- Artist, Album, Genre, etc. -- with full album art support. The video interface even has nifty full-motion thumbnails, which is nice. Out of the box, the unit supports a variety of common formats (such as MP3, WMA, MPEG-4, WMV, and others; see the product webpage for complete info). Additional media formats (e.g., h.264 and MPEG-2) are supported through extra-cost plug-ins. One comment about the plug-ins: Archos takes the controversial approach of charging a fairly rock-bottom price for the hardware, but then charged non-trivial sums for plug-ins that provide additional functionality, such as the web browser ($30). If you don't need these plug-ins, then you'll likely feel like your 605 is a true bargain out of the box. However, if you do need several of the plug-ins, your sense of value will be diminished significantly. In the end, my feeling is that the 605 with all the plug-ins is competitively priced, just not the huge bargain it is bare-bones.

A couple of nifty things about media playback include the use of bookmarks (locations within individual files to go back to from the main screen) and playback at 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1X, 2X, and 4X normal speed. Plus, when playing back video, you get several options on how you want the video to be fit to the dimensions of the 650's 1.67:1 aspect screen (which is nice if you're picky about that like I am). Also, when viewing photos, you can use touchscreen actions to manipulate the images: a single swipe left-to-right (or right-to-left) advances to the next (previous) image; a swipe up (down) rotates the image counter-clockwise (clockwise); and holding your finger on a point on the image causes the 605 to zoom into the image until it reaches 100% resolution. A quick double-tap of the screen or a tap of the [X] button returns you to normal view.

Other Functions
Nobody buys a PMP mainly for web-browsing capabilities; that's always an afterthought. Thankfully, the 605's Opera-based browser is quite good. It provides Flash compatibility (for playing streaming video, such as from YouTube) and tabbed browsing (an Opera trademark). Rendering performance is so-so, but the screen's resolution means that typical pages are readable without a lot of side-scrolling. You cannot rotate the screen, so as long as you're OK with viewing webpages in landscape, you won't be disappointed.

The built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi is quite handy. The 605 not only includes a standard file management utility, it also lets you move and copy files from one location to another on your 605 and between your 605 and a computer elsewhere on the network you're on. Plus, it will stream media from locations on the network to the 605. I was able to watch an entire movie streamed wirelessly from a PC to the 605 without a single hitch...and it looked great! Fast-forward and rewind don't work when streaming, but pause does. Also, the 605 will talk to any UPnP media server active on the network, so if you're running Orb or TwonkyVision or something like that, the 605 will happily stream from it. You can also buy or rent content online through CinemaNow directly via the 605, which might be handy if you're stuck in an airport without a laptop and absolutely gotta have something to watch to pass the time.

Finally, the 605 offers a set of other functions that are nice touches. An Acrobat PDF viewer is included. Firmware updates can be done either via USB (after downloading to the PC from the Archos website) or directly to the 605 itself via Wi-Fi. If you purchase the additional DVR (digital video recording) dock and hook it up to a cable or antenna feed (via something else, though, as the dock only has S-Video and RCA inputs), you can schedule your 605 to record TV shows straight to MPEG-4. Of course, you can also record line-in audio and video as well, but that's not quite as trick as having your 605 emulate a mini-TiVo.

Conclusions
Overall, I like the 605 enough that I elected to keep it. It does what it does very well and tosses in some extra tricks in a fairly well-polished package. Sure, it has some rough spots -- the menu system and buttons are still a bit nutty and the codec support could be more extensive -- but it has met my rather modest needs 100%. Battery life is fair; I get about 4-4.5 hours of video playback on a charge (without Wi-Fi). I wish the unit had a regular USB port and that some of the codecs were included rather than handled via plug-ins, but these are all nitpicky details. The main thing that really matters, and the primary reason I'm happy with it, is the gorgeous screen. One look, and it was a done deal.

I'm sure I haven't covered everything here, so if you have questions about the 605, please ask.

Update: Mitch wrote in with a few comments and clarifications (thanks, mate!):

Very in-depth. A few things I would add:

Existence of the mini dock and battery dock. These will allow direct interface to USB disk drives and industry standard cables. They also give you the ability to keep the unit playing indefinitely as they allow more charging current from external battery packs.

The Archos file manager will also allow you to move files between two other computers on your network. Nice if you're already in bed and remember that you need to put something on your laptop for the next day.

The MPEG-2 plug-in activates the digital audio out for 5.1 AC-3 surround sound.

Also includes 2 styli (yay!)

The DVR dock turns it into an Apple TV with a screen allowing you to wirelessly play content to your big screen as well as browse the web, rent or buy videos, etc.

Update #2: A few other things that occurred to me after I finished up the review:

• SD card reading/writing via the 605 is much slower than it is via a card reader, so only use it for that in an emergency.
  
• The unit is mostly stable except when updating the firmware. Both times I've updated it, it's reset itself and/or behaved weirdly until after I did a full shutdown (complete "off" versus the "standby" mode it typically resorts to when you hit the Power button).
  
• The browser is quite good, actually. If you've used Opera on one of the Nokia Internet Tablets, you'll know what I mean (same res screen).
  
• Charging the 605 via the USB cable is sloooow; it takes 5-6 hours to go from empty to a full charge. Charging it via A/C using one of the docks Archos sells, however, takes about half that time. So, getting a dock has benefits beyond just a bigger variety of outputs and inputs.
  
• Accessing the bookmarking feature from the main screen only works on the most recently played file, so you can't easily jump between videos or songs without manually selecting each and entering into the menus to go to where you left off before.
  

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Technology and Travel and Wireless
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January 25, 2008

More Evidence that Blu-Ray Has Won the HD Format War

It's pretty safe to say, I think, that the HD format war is over. Two pieces of information reveal just how dire HD DVD's situation is.

First, this article at TWICE describes some recent NPD figures: "Blu-ray Disc player sales accounted for 90 percent of dedicated HD disc player unit sales and dollar volume during the week ending Jan. 12." 90 percent? Wow.

Second, and perhaps this is a bit more subtle, but the marketplace at AVSForum.com, home planet for the A/V obsessed, shows an interesting trend. Over the past two weeks, there have been around 25 HD DVD players offered for sale, but only two stand-alone Blu-Ray players have been put up (and one mentioned wanting to upgrade). That's a far larger margin than player sales have been, suggesting that the early adopter crowd is starting to abandon the HD DVD format rather quickly.

So, I can't say I'm sorry to see one of the formats go. From the beginning of this war, I've said I don't care who wins, just to make it snappy. I'm glad 2008 will be the year one side gives up (Toshiba, that'd be you).

Update: Apparently now, the rumor is that Circuit City is preparing to put all its HD DVD players on clearance, suggesting that it is quitting the format altogether.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry
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January 4, 2008

GearBits' Predictions for 2008

As has become customary around the changing of the calendar, here are GearBits' official predictions for 2008.

1) Blu-Ray Wins the Format War
Yep, I'm going to pick a winner and it's going to be Blu-Ray. The one-two punch of Warner Brothers's move to Blu-Ray exclusivity (from its Switzerland-like neutrality of supporting both formats) later in 2008 and Apple's announcement that BD will be the only HD format available in its products will cement HD DVD's demise. And none too soon. I don't really care which wins...just make it snappy so that prices on players and media can plummet, thanks.

2) Google's Android Shakes Up Phone Industry
For a while now, the cellphone industry has been fairly static. A few smartphone and mobile OS makers have generally tussled for market share, but the overall industry has been pretty evolutionary. Google's entry will prove to be a watershed moment, with open source finally making a big impact in the handheld space (and no, I don't consider the Zaurus to be a big deal...sorry). Actual handsets running Android will be announced, if not available, before the end of 2008.

3) Palm Supports Android
This is more of a hope than an actual prediction, as I just don't know whether the egos at Palm will let the company do the right thing and admit that their next-generation OS (which has been under development since 2004!) will be a viable contender against Android (which has essentially the same technical details but scads more developer support). But, if cooler, more rational heads prevail at Palm, they'll announce that they're plans will be to produce at least one Android-based product (probably to come out sometime in 2012 :-/ ).

4) Microsoft's HD Photo Replacement for JPEG Image Standard Goes Nowhere
I'm not saying it's a bad idea technically; I'm just saying that JPEG is so entrenched now that replacing it would be about as reasonable a thing to try as would be replacing MP3 with any of the multitudes of better formats. JPEG, like MP3, isn't great, but it's adequate (at least for consumers) and ubiquitous. We'll still be saving all our photos in JPG (and maybe RAW) at the end of 2008...and likely long after that.

5) Subnotes Will Explode in Availability (and Maybe Popularity)
I've always been a fan of tiny, sub-3-pound laptops, but I think 2008 will see a huge number of these clamshell devices come out of every corner of the consumer electronics space. The Asus EeePC and the OLPC XO Laptop are two examples. While Microsoft had a good idea in its UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) concept, the hardware was just never executed all that well. Frankly, I think a 7" touchscreen for Windows is just too difficult. But, going with the traditional clamshell design and using cheaper and/or smaller technologies (e.g., flash memory instead of a HDD) will bring us a raft of interesting (and some good) designs at <$500 price points. Bring 'em on! And I think we'll start to see a lot more people toting these things along that traditionally avoided laptops for whatever reason (cost, weight, etc.).

6) The GPS War Heats Up
TomTom, Nokia, and Garmin will exchange hostile fire over the GPS market due to convuluted agreements regarding mapping data as well as market-share for hardware. Products will continue to decline in price and improve in functionality, and >50% of cellphones will have some form of GPS functionality available on them. I guess that's two predictions in one...oh well.

7) DRM Hits Choppy Water
2007 saw some movement away from DRM (digital rights management), especially in the music industry, but I expect we'll see similar initiatives in all areas of media. DRM has been proven again and again to be little more than an expensive technological boondoggle, and the leading innovators at the consumer media interface (e.g., Apple, Amazon, and Google) will make some headway into reversing the trend of more encumbrance for our media. The RIAA and MPAA will continue to fight it...they know how to do nothing else...but economic results will start to demonstrate that DRM actually hurts profitability.

8) Major Tech Stocks End 2008 Up Significantly
These are bound to be wrong, but what the heck...nobody pays me for stock tips. I think Apple will end 2008 at 235, Google will be at 960, and Microsoft will finish the year at 50. As for other stocks, iRobot will end up at either 46 or 12 (can you tell I'm a cynical shareholder?), IBM will show tepid growth to 112, and RIM, hurt by the continued weak US dollar and facing increasing competition, will struggle to match its 1-year high of 127.

9) I Buy a New Laptop and Am Disappointed
My Panasonic CF-W2 is now three-and-a-half-years-old and I'm starting to cringe every time I turn it on (my luck with hard drives makes me skeptical of many living past their 4th birthday). I've been looking at possible replacements (e.g., Toshiba R500, Panasonic W7, maybe the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 or the rumored Apple subnote) and so far every single one has some significant trade-offs. So, I expect I'll get one and it will turn out to be not significantly better than my aging Toughbook. You'd think in nearly four years that two grand would buy something markedly superior. We'll see...

10) Major Changes in Automotive Industry Announced
While the car business makes actual change only very slowly, we'll see some huge announcements in 2008 that will fundamentally change the future of that industry. Things like record oil prices, an increasing attention to sustainable/green technology, and significant ownership changes will substantially change the competitive landscape. Make no mistake; Toyota will continue its ascent and eclipse GM as #1 car-maker in the world. But, we will see several major announcements that will start affecting actual consumers in 2009 and beyond.

So, I'll check back in about 12 months to see how I fared. In the meantime, what do you think will happen?

Posted by Craig in Computing and Gaming and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Other and Phones and Photography and Popular Media and Science & Nature and Society / Politics and Technology and Wireless
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October 9, 2007

Some Recent New Gear Additions

I've not posted about much technology recently. For that, I truly apologize. This is, after all, GearBits. So, to fill that void, here's a brief recap of some gadget and gear acquisitions over the last six months or so (and why they're my picks).

GPS: Garmin Nuvi 370
After borrowing Mitch's Garmin for a recent roadtrip to the Smoky Mountains, I was hooked. The Nuvi 370 is a terrific combination of features and portability. Text-to-speech keeps my eyes on the road and the bright screen and simple menu system makes it an easy-to-use travel aid. Plus, it's small and light enough to take with you on a walkabout, as I did recently when hiking around San Francisco.

TV: Samsung LNT-5271F 52" 1080p LCD
Yeah, this is a bit over-the-top, but I told my wife that I reserved the right to redo the basement TV setup if I got my promotion at work (I did). So far, it's a really nice TV. The first one died on me (the screen went weird a week into the relationship), but this second one is doing fine. Discovery HD Theater has never been more impressive, although crappy SD cable channels now look just as crappy, but bigger. Now I just need to start working on a way to justify getting a Blu-Ray/HD DVD combo player.

A/V Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR705
As part of the upgrade of the basement TV area, our old receiver just had to be replaced. It was ca. 1996, so its idea of "A/V" meant two composite video inputs. The Onkyo is a nice balance between performance (100W x 7 and 3 HDMI inputs + upconversion) and bulk. It definitely is more capable than the Yamaha it replaced (although the Yamaha still sounds great).

DVD Player: Oppo DV-981HD
The new TV quickly showed just how awful our previous DVD player was. I shouldn't have been surprised, really. After all, it was a Sony VHS + progressive scan DVD combo unit that I got from Woot.com for like $40 last year. Man, the video signal it put out, even over component, just made my eyes bleed. The Oppo, on the other hand, makes standard-definition DVDs look really quite excellent, even converting them to 1080p and outputting via HDMI. Its video-processing circuitry is optimized for getting the best possible picture quality off those 480p discs we all know and love. And it's way cheaper than a high-def DVD player.

Media Streamer: DivX Connected (Beta)
I was invited to be part of the public beta of the DivX Connected wireless/wired media streamer concept platform that the DivX folks are currently refining in preparation for licensed production with D-Link. Suffice to say that it's a really nice user experience; much, much better than all of the other media streamers I've used that are supposed to handle video. I hope DivX and D-Link do well with it...I'd definitely consider buying one.

Networking: TRENDnet TEG-S80TXE Gigabit 8-Port Switch
I know, wired networking is a little tame, but when you can get a reliable, all-metal, 8-port Gbit switch for $23 (after Newegg.com rebate), it's worth noting.

Oh, and I've found that MonoPrice.com has some terrific quality cables and audio parts (e.g., speaker mounts) at really excellent prices. Shipping is fast and cheap, too.

So, that about wraps it up for now. Any questions about these items, feel free to post a comment.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio and Popular Media and Technology and Travel
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July 9, 2007

Blu-Ray Winning the HD War?

Back in late 2005, I predicted that Blu-Ray would win the high-def DVD format war, eventually besting HD-DVD. Well, some folks now seem to agree...and some even have data!

Pixel Perfect Productions blog has some interesting graphs that show how soundly Blu-Ray is whupping up on HD-DVD in terms of $ sales of movies (you know, the raison d'etre for these formats).

OK, so when it comes to "new releases", things are weighted pretty heavily toward Blu-Ray. Of the top 300 films released from January 1 2005 to present, 147 of them are from studios that are exclusively supporting Blu-Ray currently, and they represent 53.60% of the total grosses. Add in the numbers from the studios that currently support both formats, and you have 248 out of the top 300 films coming out at some point on Blu-Ray, and they represent 89.07% of the total theatrical grosses.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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May 29, 2007

Managing Home Technology: Incremental vs. Wholesale Improvement

Like you, probably, I'm constantly facing "yet another technology decision" at home. This time, it's storage; my main external USB backup drive is running out of space and I need to figure out a solution. But, it just as easily could have been another episode of "there has to be a better media streamer" or the umpteenth round of "my, my, LCD monitors are getting cheap...maybe it makes sense to finally replace my CRT."

But this backup issue haunts me. It seems I am never able to get enough storage in the right place to last for very long. As if I were a gas, merrily following my Brownian ways, I tend to fill up whatever volume (pun intended) I'm given. And that line of thinking made me realize that my home technology infrastructure is the result of countless incremental changes, most being opportunistic or cost-driven and very few (if any) made with a larger, long-term strategy in mind.

So what would I do if I could scrap everything I have and start fresh? Would I go with a Drobo attached to an Apple Airport Extreme to create a massively upgradable NAS, or would I go with a Microsoft Windows Home Server? Would I change everything on my wireless network over to 802.11n? Would I even have a desktop anywhere in the house (other than a Mac Mini to use as a media center PC)?

All those are entertaining issues to mull over, but the reality is that few of us have the money or time to toss out everything and start fresh. I mean, financial implications aside, how freaking long would it take to get all that new kit functioning correctly? My head reels at the thought.

So, I'm back to my issue of a 500GB USB HDD being inadequate as my main backup unit. Should I just go get a 750GB and buy some time, or should I invest in a longer-term solution at a considerably higher price? Decisions, decisions...

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Technology and Wireless
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May 1, 2007

Ziova Clearstream CS510 HD Network Media Player

This is a review of the new Ziova Clearstream CS510 High-Definition Network Media Player. Ziova (nee Zensonic), a small Australian consumer electronics firm, announced this puppy at CES 2007, but just recently (i.e., last week) started shipping units out for review. After I submitted a review request to the company a few months ago, one landed on my doorstep on Friday and I put it through its paces over the past few days. Here are some initial thoughts.

First, what it is. The CS510 is a home A/V appliance that streams/plays content located on your home network (via Ethernet or 802.11b/g) or attached storage (USB 2.0) to your home theater (TV and/or stereo system). The CS510 differentiates itself from the unwashed masses of network media streamers by virtue of a few unique (or uncommon) features:
• It serves up HD-quality video output (720p and 1080i) and 5.1 surround sound
• It has the ability to play content directly from an attached mass storage device (i.e., no PC is needed to decode the content)
• It offers up Windows network browsing via SMB

I will not enumerate the unit's specs here because that information is available from the Ziova website: overview, features, and reasonably complete technical specs

Below are some photos of the CS510 hardware and screen shots of its on-screen interface and output (if some of the screen shots look a little off-kilter or skewed, realize that I simply took handheld snapshots of the TV...the CS510's output was always completely orthogonal ;-):

The box. Sturdy enough for a 21-lb toddler to stand on.

Inside the box. This is definitely not Apple-style packaging here.

Contents. From upper left is: power cable, CS510, composite audio/video cable (wha?), installation CD (UPnP software, manual, etc.), Ethernet cable, remote control and batteries (woot!), and very decent printed user manual. A single USB 2.0 port is located on the front of the unit (why not one on the back, too?) along with the display and power button.

Rear ports. Most everything you might need.

The unit's serial number and both MACs are pre-printed on the user manual, a nice touch.

The remote is decent: big, squishy buttons, mostly in the right place, and a grippy texture.

Startup splash screen. Re-booting takes about 1 minute.

Main menu.

Main music menu. This allows you to select the source of the content you want to play (similar screen is used in Photos and Video). You cannot pull content from multiple sources (e.g., USB drive and a network share) during a single playback session.

List of folders (in this case, artists) containing music on a network share. And before you critique my taste in music, some of that is my wife's (all the non-cool stuff...yeah...that's it).

Video setup. Extensive options available for playback and output depending on what is hooked up to the unit's A/V ports.

Screen-shot of 720p output (this is shown on a 43" Samsung 720p DLP set) of an upconverted near-VGA-resolution (624x352, 132 kbps) Xvid file. I know it's impossible to get much information from this because it's a 600-pixel image down-rezzed from a 5MP digital camera image of a 720p TV's output of an upconverted stream of a compressed, resized video file transcoded from a recording of an OTA HDTV source. Suffice to say that the on-screen image quality was very, very good given the limitations of the file it was playing.

Another shot of different source material (640x352, 215kbps Xvid).

Yet another source material (640x288, 192kbps Xvid). The reason I didn't bother testing HD content as an input is that (a) I didn't have anything on hand better than 480p that was DRM-free (this unit doesn't handle DRM-laden HD video content), and (b) I assumed it would look better anyway (less upconversion going on). For me, the true test was how well it displayed the same content I play on my Treo and laptop when out and about.

Fast-forward 8X (see upper left of screen). FFWD goes up to 32X (way better than 11).

The dreaded hourglass...get used to this as you'll be seeing it a lot (more on that below).

Wha?! But...you were playing it perfectly well just a moment ago...

Yes, a weather channel (just in case you can't get the weather on your TV, your phone, your game console, your PDA, your laptop, or your AM/FM radio).

THE GOOD:
The unit has many desirable qualities, including:

• Upconverted video quality is excellent. Even VGA-resolution MPEG-4 looks quite good at 720p (what I tested). Sound quality seems good, although I will be the first to admit that I do not have an audiophile's ear (all our MP3 music is encoded at 160kbps or 192kbps anyway).

• Hardware offers good connectivity and lots of flexibility. Network connection can be wired (although not Gigabit Ethernet) or wireless (802.11g/b). The A/V outputs provided represent what most people would need/want. There are multiple ways of getting content into the unit, including UPnP media server, direct network share browsing, connected mass storage, and (in the case of music) Internet streams. Lots of options should satisfy nearly everyone.

• Massively compatible with DRM-free content. The device decodes and/or streams nearly every common audio and video format. I know of no device short of a full PC that can handle such a wide variety of formats.

• Menu system easy to navigate and understand.

• Direct network content navigation via Windows SMB means that you can play content on the network without running TwonkyVision or any other media server software. That's a very handy feature and sets the standard for other network media players in terms of accessibility.

• The remote feels good. It has a rubbery coating very similar to that on good D-SLR cameras.

• Future promise. The unit seems capable of doing a lot of interesting and useful things. The weather channel seems like a preview of that. Plus, firmware upgrades could resolve a lot of the things that weren't so appealing about this unit...

THE BAD:
In my opinion, there are several ways the unit fails to live up to my expectations or could stand improvement, such as:

• For all but the most basic use, you need to use the TV to interact with your music collection. There are no navigation buttons on the CS510 itself and the unit's front display, which only shows a single line of 12 characters, is quite irritating to use as the only means of navigation. Scrolling through options is much slower when you can't see a few items ahead. This makes it a relatively poor audio player (at least compared to the reasonable 4-line display on the SMC EZ-Stream) since there's really little reason to have the TV on when you're just listening to music (and many reasons to want it off). Some may find a 1-line display adequate; I did not.

• Sloooooow, especially when managing large media collections like ours. Our music collection includes some 16,000+ tracks, and bringing up a menu of all artist folders via the network took roughly 5 minutes. Doing the same task via USB took almost 3 minutes. That's unusable in my opinion. Plus, there are lots of little delays, like the 5-6 seconds between pushing the remote's "Menu" button and the main menu actually appearing on screen, which further impair the user experience.

• Can be flaky when interacting with UPnP servers other than TwonkyVision (e.g., likes to lock up when trying to get content via Orb). To be fair, Ziova doesn't claim that the CS510 will work with Orb, so that's probably an unfair and inappropriate complaint. I only mention it because many people have their favorite UPnP server software and don't want to have to switch to something else if they don't have to.

• Fast-foward and Rewind on streaming video takes FOREVER to actually engage. Hitting FFWD twice on the remote to go to 4X forward resulted in the video pausing for 57 seconds before it actually started fast-fowarding. I asked the Ziova rep about this and he basically pointed to the limitations of the Sigma EM8620L chipset that handles most heavy lifting done by the CS510. That chipset contains a rather meager 166MHz processor (!), only 64MB of RAM, and is neither upgradeable nor can it address any additional external memory. So, the unit is less responsive than ideal and you get situations like this. Ziova did engineer in both a "seek" feature and a "skip ahead X seconds" feature to help overcome this FFWD/RWD malaise, but they aren't exact substitutes.

• Exiting from 16X and 32X FFWD (by hitting Play) often results in the player locking up. The only recourse I found in that situation is to cycle the power.

• Inconsistent 802.11 connectivity. The CS510 often lost connection to our router despite the router sitting just 3 feet away from the unit (it was the only device in network to exhibit that issue). The Ziova rep said this was an issue they were currently working on and should be resolved in a future firmware update.

• No detailed media information shown in lists. For example, no ID3 tag info (e.g., year, artist, genre, album, etc.) is displayed for MP3 tracks when scanning through lists of songs.

• Currently no way to concoct a playlist of music on the device itself. Moreover, content can't be streamed from multiple sources in the same session (e.g., you cannot tell the CS510 to intersperse music from a USB directory and a network share during the same continuous play session; instead, you must play content from one source, switch sources, and then play content from the other source). This seems like a very silly limitation.

• Interface is utilitarian and generally not very inspired. Compared to more innovative interfaces like Apple's Front Row, the CS510's interface is very me-too in the same vein as Windows Media Center and Myth TV (functional but unexciting). A minor quibble for someone who favors function over form most of the time.

• Lots of setting changes require rebooting the unit. Want to enable UPnP support? OK...reboot. Want to change your LAN connection mode? OK...reboot. That gets old pretty quickly, especially when the unit I tested seemed to occasionally lose its ability to find UPnP servers on network and the only way to re-enable that was to go into Settings, turn UPnP support off, reboot, turn it back on, reboot, and then scan for UPnP servers. Not the most fun way to spend 5-6 minutes.

SUMMARY
I was pretty excited about this device when I heard about it. Now that I've had some hands-on time, I'm optimistic that the next version of the CS510 may be something I would be willing to purchase for home use. At a $249 MSRP, I can't say I heartily recommend this unit -- it just has too many niggling deficiencies for me to say it's a good choice. But, it's close. If you're desperate to play back digitized content on your home theater, want lots of flexibility, willing to put up with some strange behavior and waiting time, and don't already have an HTPC set up, the CS510 might be just what you're looking for.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Technology and Wireless
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April 16, 2007

The High(ly Variable) Price of Digital A/V Cables

I decided a few days ago to chuck the component video cable connecting our HD DVR to our Samsung DLP TV and replace it with a digital cable. Turns out that we needed an adapter cable: DVI on one end and HDMI on the other, since the TV only has DVI and the DVR only has HDMI.

So, I went hunting for such a beast. First stop, Radio Shack -- it's really close and usually has something that will work. Price for a "gold series" (it's digital...how much difference can that make?) DVI-HDMI cable: $49.99. Yeesh.

I kept looking. Next stop, Circuit City. The two DVI-HDMI cables they carried were $124.95 (4m) and $149.95 (8m). Man, that's insane!

So, I got desperate and wandered into, yes, Wal-Mart. I loathe shopping at Wal-Mart. I can honestly say that it's a rare year when I even enter one. But desperate times require desperate measures. There, on the wall in the electronics section, was a Philips DVI-HDMI cable for $27.95. Wow...a brand name and nearly half the price of the RatShack option.

I want to know who actually pays $125 for these. :-\

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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March 11, 2007

Virtual Reality Sound Labs VRFM9 Quite the Multi-Talented FM Transmitter

While at Target earlier today looking for something else entirely, I stumbled upon the VRFM3 FM Transmitter by Virtual Reality Sound Labs. What caught my eye about this FM transmitter is the fact that it will play MP3 and WMA files directly from either a flash drive inserted into its USB port or an Secure Digital (SD) card inserted into its SD slot (see below). Of course, there's also a line-in jack for transmitting audio from another source (e.g., an iPod or Treo), but this is the first unit I've seen to offer both USB and SD interfaces. So, excited by the prospect of easy, cheap, portable, and completely wire-free tunage for any car I happen to be in, I plunked down my $49.99 and headed home to put the VRFM9 through its paces.

After an initial test, I'm very impressed by how well this device works. It does exactly what you would expect, if not hope, it to do, which, unfortunately, seems to be a rarity in consumer electronics. Plus, even more a rarity are the extensive written instructions (including color diagrams) that came with the device.

First, I tried the typical external input mode with my Treo 700p as source. The VRFM9 automatically detects which source is hooked up (if music is available by more than one source, priority goes first to the external line-in, then to the USB port, then last to the SD card slot; the unit will only play music from one source) and transmits that via one of its 15 preset FM channels (8 in the low range and 7 in the high range...enough to satisfy nearly everyone nearly all the time). The two-line LCD (at right) offers some information about the FM channel being used, play mode (normal v. shuffle), source, etc. If the unit is playing an MP3 or WMA file straight off USB or SD card, it will display the artist and song title as well (assuming these tags are present in the audio file). It's a bit cryptic and not a lot of characters appear at once, but given that you likely won't be interacting a lot with this device, it's certainly adequate, if not surprisingly nice. One nice UI touch is that when you switch tracks or change the volume, the display changes to show extra-large characters (e.g., "011/045" to let you know you're on track 11 of 45 total tracks on that source) for enhanced readability.

Second, I tried a couple different SD cards. Both my 2GB and 4GB SD (not SDHC) cards worked fine. The VRFM9 will scan the card when inserted and start playing the first one it comes across. It appears to play in this order: (1) anything in the root directory, in alphabetical order by file name, (2) anything in sub-directories in alphabetical order by sub-directory, then by file name within each sub-directory. Of course, putting the unit in Shuffle mode randomizes play across all files in all directories. One odd thing I noticed was that the unit would attempt to play the two WMV files I had in one sub-directory, but it was unsuccessful as no sound was transmitted.

I then attempted to use the VRFM9 with a USB flash drive (specifically, the 4GB Patriot Xporter XT that I reviewed previously), but no joy. The unit displayed "No Source" with that USB drive. I'll hunt around for another one and give it a go when I get a chance. Another note regarding use with flash drives; not all will fit. Particularly fat flash drives may be too girthy to fit into the VRFM9's port. If there's an SD card inserted, this further reduces the space around the USB port. Most normal extension cables will work fine.

One interesting tidbit is that a USB flash card reader that mounts like an external drive will let the user effectively play music through the VRFM9 via any of the flash media formats the reader supports. But as above, music will be played from only one card at a time. I tried plugging in an external USB hard drive (full 120VAC 3.5" drive), but no dice...the unit didn't recognize that anything was plugged in to the USB port.

Controls on the unit are spartan but adequate. They all click nicely and the dual-function (click vs. hold) is reasonably intuitive.

Now, two minor complaints. First, even though the unit ratchets through about a 120-degree sweep, the LCD isn't particularly readable except at very direct angles. So, if your car's cigarette lighter/power socket is way off to the side of the center console, you may not have much luck reading the display while driving. Second, as with all FM transmitters, sound quality is not particularly good. After all, you're limited to the sound quality of FM radio, which isn't going to impress anyone. Audiophiles will want to look to other (and likely much more expensive) hardwired solutions for getting their portable audio broadcast through their cars' stereos.

Overall, I am quite impressed by this device. Not only does it do exactly what you think it should, it seems reasonably well made and is not terribly expensive. And, given that many people have at least one lower-capacity SD card or USB flash drive sitting in a drawer not doing anything, this makes for a very easy way to put it to work as a music sherpa for your car.

There are also some nice reviews of the VRFM9 over at Audioholics and Gizmos for Geeks if you're still on the fence or want more opinions.

Posted by Craig in Cars and Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio and Travel and Wireless
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February 21, 2007

Wanted: Audio Player with External USB Hard Drive Support

When our home theater PC died recently, it got me thinking: what exactly do we need in the way of "advanced" media support in our entertainment center cabinet?

It turns out that our needs are fairly simple: playing MP3s through our main home stereo is what we do 98% of the time. So far, life has been pretty good with our SMC EZ-Stream networked audio streamer; no complaints there. But I keep asking myself the same question when I think about this whole class of networked media players: Why do they all seem to require that the media be served to them from a PC or NAS somewhere else on the network?

When it comes to video, I can understand the need for a PC to do the heavy lifting -- video decompression can be a computationally challenging task and sticking a necessarily decent processor and memory in one of these devices wouldn't make sense.

But for audio devices, such as the SMC (and others), I don't have a good answer for that question. Decompressing a plain old MP3 file, for example, takes minimal computing horsepower, probably no more than what it takes to handle audio streaming across a wireless network.

If that's true, why don't any of these audio streaming devices support plugging in an external USB hard drive loaded up with audio files for local playback? Wouldn't that be a great feature? Instead of having to have a PC somewhere on the network run special UPnP audio serving software, chewing up LAN bandwidth and electricity, why not just have the streamer suck the MP3 data straight off an attached drive?

Imagine this: you get a little box with a little display (much like the SMC pictured) that has three ports on the back: power, audio out (preferably digital), and USB 2.0. You plug in the power, connect the audio to your stereo receiver, and then plug in an external drive loaded with tunes. Once the drive spools up, the little box searches through it for audio files and builds up a database of important details (e.g., artist, album, genre, etc.). Then, you use a remote control to select and play music via the box directly from the hard drive through your stereo -- no PC or network required! And with the on-unit display, you don't even have to have a TV near your stereo to listen to music (what a concept).

External drives are incredibly cheap these days -- a 120GB drive, which would hold most people's entire audio collections, can be easily had for under $60. Plus, there are other advantages to local playback: reliability would go up since you're no longer relying on a wired or wireless network to transmit the data; sound quality should go up since data drop-outs would be effectively reduced to zero; and searching/browsing through your media library would be nearly instantaneous since the streamer itself would contain the database of your audio files' details rather than having to get info from the database stored on the server PC elsewhere on the network.

To me, this seems like a really desirable, easy, and cheap feature to add to one of these streaming devices, yet nobody does it on devices less than several hundred dollars (and usually are more video-centric, requiring you to hook it up to a TV to interact with it). Why isn't this feature commonplace? Am I overlooking an inexpensive device that does do this? Am I not understanding some complexity that keeps it from being done easily? What's the deal? If you can clue me in, let me know.

Update (2/24): I came across the D-Link DSM-120 Wireless Music Player which does let you plug in a USB drive or install a 2.5" drive internally (nifty!). Unfortunately, according to reviews at Newegg.com, that's about all this device has going for it.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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Surprising News: CRT TVs Still Selling Well

Maybe I'm just too inundated with news and advertising about HDTV to even think about CRT displays any more. Whatever the reason, I was surprised to read that "direct-view CRT sales paced all other display technologies in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl" (per TWICE).

According to the story, CRTs under 32" had the largest sales increase, both in terms of units and dollars, during the week of the Super Bowl. Coming in a rather close second was large LCD TVs, but I expect those two markets are made up of relatively different consumers.

Plasma, it seems, is on its way out (as I've discussed and predicted before).

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 29, 2007

Our HTPC Died...Should I Even Replace It?

Our home theater PC -- the one labeled "HTPC" in this diagram -- died today. The boot drive, an old 40GB PATA drive, emitted the spiraling whine of death and failed to restart. R.I.P. old friend.

So, what should I replace it with? Or should I even bother at all? We basically used it for serving up MP3s to our SMC EZ-Stream audio streamer. But since I run Orb on another PC in the house that has a copy of all our media, and Orb acts as a pretty capable UPnP server, we no longer need a local PC to serve up music to the SMC.

We also sometimes occasionally used it to play back XviD and DivX movies to the TV. I suppose I could just hook up the laptop to the TV's VGA input in those rare instances instead.

Since our two TiVos and one Time Warner DVR handle all our time-shifting needs, I'm struggling to figure out just why I need an HTPC after all. Sure, there's the extremely infrequent case where pulling up a browser is handy. But my laptop is rarely more than a few feet away, and that's usually a more convenient alternative than dragging out the Gyration mouse and keyboard.

So, should I even bother with an HTPC? Would something like Apple's forthcoming Apple TV offer me functionality that I just couldn't live without?

Or, should I just fill the empty space in our entertainment cabinet with a Wii?

Decisions, decisions. If you have suggestions, email me at craig DOT froehle AT gmail DOT com. Thanks.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V
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January 15, 2007

Network Storage Needs to Get Cheaper Faster

If you're like me, you are constantly nagged by worries of how much hard drive space you have left on your network. A few years ago, I didn't worry so much...a hard drive wore out before I filled it up.

Now, however, as audio and video files proliferate like Tribbles, they chew through even massive drives in what seems like record time.

To combat this, I keep investing in large internal drives and even larger external drives for the PCs on my home network, as you can see in the diagram below:

As you can also see, those drives that house our media are much, much more full and closer to needing to be upgraded to something bigger. All told, our network has roughly half a terabyte of storage available for media and we're currently using over two-thirds of that. By the end of 2007, I project that we'll be out of space, either on the media storage drives themselves or the backup drives that, er, back them up.

So, what should I do? Continue to invest in local USB2.0 external drives, one (or more) per computer? That's certainly an option, although the complexity of maintaining such a multitude of drives is a concern.

Another option is network attached storage (NAS) -- basically a hard drive with an Ethernet interface that is accessible from any PC on the network. The main problem with that approach is that it's significantly more expensive than local USB storage. For example, a 500GB USB2.0 drive can be had for $180 pretty easily (or $0.36 per GB), whereas the same capacity network device would run roughly double that or more (many popular large-size NAS units run about $1.00 per GB).

However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. As NAS units become more popular and sell in larger numbers, they also become cheaper and with bigger capacities. The day that NAS functionality adds just a 20% or so premium over non-NAS external storage (versus the nearly 100% it is today) will be a good day...I just wish that day was yesterday.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V
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January 11, 2007

Want to Buy My JVC GR-DVM80U Digital Camcorder?

In an effort to clean out our technology closet, I'm selling a MiniDV camcorder that we just never use: a JVC GR-DVM80U with several extra accessories (2 extra batteries, 2 blank tapes, and a nice camcorder bag).

Check out the eBay auction now.

UPDATE #1 (1/13/07)
Well, I had to re-list this auction as the original auction ended with a fraudulent Buy-It-Now. Here's the email I got from the buyer:

Hello, Compliment of the season to you.I am Mr.Steve Joe., I'm contacting you concerning your item on Ebay which i eventually became the winning bidder for your item.Morever i'm presently serving our beloved nation here in Iraq with the United Nation and i intend sending this item to my son as suprise gift who works with the American Embassy in Lagos,Nigeria as a consular.I will be making my payment to you via PayPal and also i want you to send me the total cost including the cost of shipping to Lagos,Nigeria,So get the package ready for immediate shipment or next day shipment okay?and don't forget to send me your PayPal Email Address so i can immediately make out my payment.Plz i want the item to be shipped via Usps Global Experss Mail(EMS).Mail me back it's urgent. Regards Mr.Steve Joe

Needless to say, that's not legit. To eBay's credit, they refunded me 100% of the fees associated with the original auction and de-registered "Steve Joe" as a user.

What eBay really needs is a way for me to stipulate that I won't accept bids from users with less than a positive feedback rating (currently, ebay only lets you say you won't accept bids from users with negative feedback ratings) or users that have registered within the past month. That would make it tougher on new buyers, but for an item with a likely final value exceeding $100, that seems like a reasonable trade-off to me.

Anyway, the new auction is up...go check it out.

UPDATE #2 (1/18/07)

Well, I've been scammed again. After m_irwin.1, a bidder with +2 feedback and ebay member since 1999, made the high bid on my camcorder, I figured it would be fine.

But then I get his payment notification email:

Micky Irwin wrote: I have made the payment for your item via my paypal account m_irwin01@yahoo.com, get the item ship to my son address as soon as you receive confirmation of payment from paypal. Here is my son address below for verification.

Mr Adewale George Francis
Sw9/241 Araromi Apata Odo Ona
Ibadan
Oyo state
Nigeria
23402
+2348063014998

hope to hear from you soon

Needless to say, this is AGAIN not a legitimate bidder, as m_irwin.1's recent feedback shows.

And this time, even PayPal is being used in the scam (or it's one of the more complex phishing attempts I've seen):

This PayPal payment has been deducted from the buyer's account and has been "APPROVED/DEPOSITED into escrow account" but this is international shipment,your account will not be a credited until the shipment tracking number is sent to us for shipment verification so as to secure both the seller and the buyer. Below are the necessary information requested before your account will be credited. You are to send the shipment tracking number through our customer service helpline (info.paypalcustomeraccount@emailaccount.com), and our customer service care will attend to you. As soon as you send us the shipment's tracking number to us for security purposes and the safety of the buyer and the seller,the money will be credited to your account.Do not send to the buyer the reference/tracking number for the safety of your money. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shipping Information
Address:
Mr Adewale George Francis
Sw9/241 Araromi Apata Odo Ona
Ibadan
Oyo state
Nigeria
23402.
Address Status: Confirmed

**PLEASE NOTE**
Once shipment has been verified and the tracking number sent,we will verify and credit your account.You will receive a " CONFIRMATION EMAIL " from PayPal informing you that the Money has been credited.The payment has been made under your name

It seems to me that navigating the eBay auction system and then sending a coordinated fake PayPal email would be more work than it's worth for a $175 camcorder. Whatever the case, it's darn irritating.

UPDATE #3 (1/21/07)
I just logged in to my eBay account and noticed something odd. Within a day of my fiasco above (1/18/07), the feedback rating for the scammer m_irwin.1 had sunk to -10 as nearly a dozen victims left negative feedback. Today, however, the seller listed as having won my auction is labeebmile, who only has one negative feedback entry and mine has been removed from his account, leaving him with a feedback rating of +2. What is going on? To make matters even more confusing, my account shows that I left feedback for the winner of the auction (previously, m_irwin.1, but now labeebmile), yet nothing for him shows up when you list my feedback left for others. Obviously, eBay is having some serious issues here. I will hopefully get a full credit for all fees associated with my last auction and will look elsewhere to sell my camcorder. The death of eBay indeed seems imminent.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Photography
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Tired of the HDTV Wars? Get a 12" Black & White Set for $850

Is reading all about the 108" Aquos LCD TV from Sharp at CES 2007 getting you down? Just don't have room for a TV that big? Does color hurt your eyes? Do you have money you just don't know how to spend?

Well, Sundance Catalog has you covered. For a mere $850, you can snag yourself a fully restored vintage B&W television (updated to cable-ready, even). Wood cabinets and bulging tube displays from 12" to 21" satisfy your most indulgent retro sensibilities.

If this is on your must-have list, let me know...I have a few vintage cameras in good working order I can let you have for just $400 apiece. ;-)

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 2, 2007

GearBits' Predictions for 2007

As per tradition (OK, for at least the third time), here are my predictions for the upcoming year, 2007:

1) Apple's iPod continues PMP domination
Thought I'd start off with a safe one. Yep, I don't think too many would argue that the iPod is poised to remain the de facto standard in portable media players. Given that the #1 seller in Amazon's electronics category during the 2006 holiday season was the iPod by a significant margin, and given that accessories for all other PMPs combined amount to about 1/100th of what's available for the iPod, there's really no doubt that newcomers will have a hard time challenging the king, despite any technical advantages.

2) 802.11n gets ratified and gear floods to market
802.11n, the next generation of that family of wireless networking standards, has been forever in getting off the ground. 2007 should see its final certification, opening the gates to loads of networking hardware compliant to the new standard.

3) Film cameras all but disappear from electronics stores
While you'll still be able to find cheap disposables, it will become nearly impossible to find any mainstream electronics retailer selling more than one or two token models. $99 digital cameras from recognizable brands will become commonplace.

4) Nintendo tops Sony and Microsoft as gaming overlord
Not a big leap here, but Nintendo, through its Wii and DS lines, will lead all brands in game unit sales in 2007. Sony will retain the crown of technological leader (and work though its Blu-Ray production issues), and Microsoft will continue to play the spoiler in the industry.

5) TiVo is acquired
If this prediction was good enough to be wrong in 2006, then it's good enough for 2007 as well.

6) Google launches the GooglePhone
Google, in partnership with some handheld maker and/or carrier, will launch a branded QWERTY smartphone that natively runs its main offerings (e.g., Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Talk, etc.). Maybe I'm predicting this purely out of desire -- I so want such a device -- but I do think it will happen eventually.

7) eBay sells Skype
You heard it here first. Or maybe you didn't. Either way, this is a long-shot prediction, but I think Meg Whitman is smart enough to realize that Skype is worth more to eBay when it's owned by somebody else.

8) Palm brings Jeff Hawkins back to reinvent Treo line
The current Treo line is getting a bit long in the tooth (not to mention the now-ancient Palm OS, which Palm just repurchased the permanent rights to) and its sales are likely getting pinched by slimmer, more aesthetically appealing (while not as functional, but a lot of people by phones based on looks...kind of like how they pick boy/girlfriends in college) offerings from Motorola and others. So, since Palm doesn't seem capable of designing anything anyone wants to buy on its own, the company will announce that Jeff Hawkins is coming back to help lead the development of the next-generation Treo. And many will ask, "What took you so long?"

9) HD-DVD and Blu-Ray persist; nobody cares
More devices will be available at cheaper prices, but sales of both players and media will continue to be tepid. Not only is renting becoming the dominant mode of DVD acquisition, but the current quality of standard dual-layer DVDs is perfectly adequate for 99% of the population. Maybe in a few years, the proliferating 1080p sets will drive people to want high-def movies, but it won't be as rapid an adoption rate as the original DVD was.

10) Robots become sentient, destroy all of humanity
On a related note, iRobot's stock price will double in 2007 as a result of strong sales and the announcement that a first-gen AI will take over as President and CEO.

Have a good year, everyone!

Posted by Craig in Computing and Gaming and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Phones and Photography and Society / Politics and Technology
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November 27, 2006

LCD Grows, Plasma Falls in Television Sales

CNN details the growing trend of LCD replacing plasma as the flat-panel display technology of choice for most TVs.

I figured it had to happen eventually.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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October 4, 2006

Rip Old Tapes and Vinyl to MP3 with Spin It Again

My wife and I, as children of the 70's and 80's, still have loads of cassette tapes of bands like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Too Much Joy, Rainbow, Men Without Hats...the list goes on and on.

Realizing that these tapes were only degrading over time and that they'd eventually become completely unplayable (or we'd no longer have any equipment on which to play them...if not both), I started looking around for an easy way to get good-quality digital rips of these tapes.

After ripping about a dozen complete cassettes using Acoustica Spin It Again software, I give it a thumbs up. In a nutshell, Spin It Again records your tape (or vinyl or reel-to-reel...whatever you have) via the audio input on your PC to lossless WAV. It then automagically processes the WAV file into songs (this it does VERY well...I rarely have to tweak song splits). After that, you can apply any of a number of noise removal, EQ, and other audio quality enhancement filters. The final step is the most arduous: entering in all the track data manually (these aren't CDs, so using a FreeDB-like service wouldn't help much). It will then output to whatever format you like; it offers MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, and WMA as defaults.

While I'd like to say the interface is perfect, it's not. A few little tweaks and extra options here and there would alleviate some minor irritations, but these are nothing that I can't live with (and it does seem to be fairly actively developed by Acoustica) (and Acoustica seems to be paying more attention to other apps right now, so I don't expect these to be fixed any time soon).

Audio quality of the output is pretty good. I'd say great, but these are old cassette tapes we're talking about as the source material, so I'd be lying if I said they sounded anything better than reasonable.

So, if you're looking for a decent (and, at $35, a relatively inexpensive) software solution for ripping old analog audio media, give Spin It Again a look. With 4 free rips in the unregistered app, and a 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee, you really don't have any reason not to give it a try.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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September 12, 2006

TiVo Series 3 Offers Dual HD Tuners

TiVo launched its new Series 3 box today, which offers dual HD tuners, THX-certified sound, a nifty front-panel display that shows what's being recorded, and a total capacity of 32 hours of HD content or (get this) 300 hours of standard-def content. To record HD content, you can either tune over-the-air broadcasts or get a CableCARD (or two) from your local cable monopoly.

Now...the part that makes me physically ill: they're asking $799.99 for these beasts. But, as an upside, you can transfer your existing TiVo Lifetime Service from an old TiVo to your new Series 3 for just $199. Hmm...let me get back to you on that, TiVo.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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August 6, 2006

Update on the Memorex iWake: Not a Keeper

Previously, I wrote about my first impression of the Mi4004 iWake Clock Radio for iPod and had some consternation over a little audible hard drive noise.

Well, two other shortcomings in the iWake make that concern seem like small potatoes. First, as my wife pointed out almost immediately, the iWake offers no radio presets. Sure, it has a digital tuner, and you can have each of the two alarms wake up to a different radio station, but it doesn't have any station memory presets. So, if you want to change stations, you have to scroll through the digital dial. Not horrible, but a bit pointless.

Second, and perhaps most incredible, is that you cannot set the volume level for the alarm. It starts out at volume level "6" and increments up to "12" over a span of about 20 seconds. By my standards, "6" is way, way too loud for an alarm clock. This is my wife's alarm...she gets up about 90 minutes before I do. It takes something on the order of an atomic blast to wake me up, usually, but this thing had me leaping out of bed as soon as it turned on. It's pretty ridiculous that you can't have it start out at zero and gradually increase into the audible range.

So, back to the store it goes...and for good, this time. :-(

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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July 26, 2006

Electronics Ads from 1975 and 1981

I've been cleaning out some old stuff of mine and my parents and have come across an interesting collection of stuff from my childhood. Two things I had saved for future reference included a 1975 World Series (baseball) program and a 1981 newspaper about the Space Shuttle. Looking through these, I discovered a veritable time capsule of consumer electronics -- advertisements from brands like Tandy, Zenith, Polaroid, and Magnavox are pretty amusing compared to today's offerings.

Take a look at some full-page ads for TVs, computers, cameras, and more after the jump...

1975

From the 1975 World Series program (pictured above) come three great ads. Click on the small images for high-res images in case you want to read the fine print (highly recommended!).

Magnavox's Stunning 19" Color TV
At that size, thank goodness it comes with a remote!

Three Cutting-Edge Cameras from Polaroid
Yes, there was a time when a 24-ounce camera was considered "lightweight."

Zenith Shows Off Its "Genuine Wood Veneer" TV
Back when people liked their televisions to also serve as furniture.

1981

In an April, 1981 edition of Today's Shuttle Logbook (above), a specialty newspaper published around Cape Canaveral, Florida, we find a couple more highly entertaining advertisements.

The Tandy TRS-80 Model II and III
And to think that we once luxuriated in a blissful 64K of RAM.

RCA Introduces the SelectaVision VideoDisc
Almost stupid enough to make you appreciate Blu-Ray.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Photography and Technology
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July 25, 2006

Memorex Mi4004 iWake Clock Radio for iPod

The Mi4004 iWake Clock Radio for iPod (shown) is a new accessory from Memorex for use with all dockable iPods. It comes in black and white.

I bought one of these ($70) and tested it quickly this morning to see how it sounded. The radio function worked well; reception was pretty decent and sound quality was acceptable. Not great (little bass), but acceptable.

However, once I docked my wife's iPod Mini, I noticed that the speakers gave off a weird hum that seemed to correspond to the Mini's hard drive seeking (during start-up and menu functions). It was easily audible even with the unit's volume all the way down, leading me to think it's some sort of shielding problem. When music was playing from the iPod, I didn't hear the hum/noise, but the sound quality was still nothing exceptional.

And that's too bad. The unit is aesthetically pleasing with plenty of options/functions and a nifty white LCD time display. If only it sounded as good as it looked, and didn't have that pesky shielding problem, it'd be a keeper. As is, however, it'll most likely get returned.

So...any suggestions for an iPod-friendly clock radio?

Update: I just got off the phone with Memorex and they suggested that it's likely a defective unit and that I return it and test another in the store. Will post here when I get a chance to do that, so stay tuned.

Update #2: I tested another unit at the store and it exhibited the same noise associated with hard drive activity, although it seemed a bit less (hard to tell as the store was considerably noisier than our bedroom at home). To be fair, I'm not sure if this is an issue with our Mini's connector or an issue with the Memorex unit -- if anybody tries one of these iWakes with something other than an iPod mini, let me know. Thanks.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio
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May 18, 2006

GSpot AVI Codec Information Appliance

If you're like me, there's no telling the number of different formats of audio and video files you find making their way to your PC's desktop. Captured or produced by new gadgets, sent by friends, or grabbed from websites, these media files usually play in some app I have installed, but not always.

When you just can't figure out exactly what that odd AVI file is, grab the GSpot Codec Information Appliance. GSpot, a free app, first analyzes the codecs installed on your machine. Then, you point it to an AVI file and it tells you the 4CC video codec info, audio codec (if any), bitrates, and various other interesting and/or useful tidbits. If there's no codec on your system to play the file, GSpot will even point you in the right direction to get one.

Very nifty...thanks, Steve G!

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V
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May 6, 2006

SMC Networks EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G Wireless Audio Adapter

Ever on the lookout for a more reliable replacement for our Omnifi DMS1, I nearly jumped out of my seat when I saw an ad for the SMCWAA-G Wireless Audio Adapter from SMC Networks (pictured to the right).

At first blush, the specs looked just about perfect based on the requirements I laid out nearly two years ago:

• Has a display -- CHECK!
  
• Has 802.11g wireless networking -- CHECK!
  
• Serves up Internet MP3 streams -- CHECK!
  

And all that for under $100 (after rebate)? I just had to try it.

So, here's a brief review after using this thing for about a day now (Googling turned up no actual reviews of this unit, so I felt it was my technerd duty to post one). Granted, I did not try out every feature yet, and I didn't even install the MusicMatch UPnP audio server software that came with it (I already had the TwonkyVision UPnP app running on our HTPC for use with the Omnifi). So, consider this a "first blush" review only.

Hardware

Inside the box is what you'd pretty much expect.

In the photo below, from upper left, going clockwise is: the SMCWAA-G itself, a CD-ROM and some sparse paper documentation, the wall-wart power adapter, a 6' CAT-5 cable, the remote control (with 2 'AAA' batteries), and some bargain audio cables.

Looking at the back of the unit (below), you see the following (left to right): antenna, Left and Right analog audio jacks, RJ-45 jack, reset button, and power jack.

The size of the unit is surprising -- it is MUCH smaller than I expected. It's roughly half the size of an external 3.5" HDD, in case that helps. Here's a photo comparing the SMC (top right) with the Omnifi (top left) and our Series 2 TiVo (bottom).

Notice that the front of the unit has no buttons or any means at all of interacting with the SMCWAA-G (that round thing on the left of the front panel is the infrared sensor). All control is done with the remote (shown to the right). The remote is rather generic-looking (nearly identical to the Omnifi remote), but seems to have all the necessary buttons and is fairly easy to read (although it's not lighted, so managing the SMCWAA-G in the dark might be a PITA).

Setup

Plugging in the unit asks the user to select a language (Note: all screen shots are actual photographs of the screen, and my camera wasn't 100% focused every single time...my apologies for any fuzziness).

Notice that the display fits six lines of information -- four lines of menu choices and a top and bottom line of labels and button prompts. Not too terrible a user interface for such a small screen.

Once the language is chosen, the SMCWAA-G launches into a "Configuration Wizard", which actually does a decent job.

The wizard takes you through the few steps of selecting and setting up the unit's wireless connection. Once I had added the unit's MAC address to my router's authentication list, it worked like a charm. The unit reportedly supports 128-bit WEP and WPA, but I didn't test that.

Menus

Once setup is complete, the unit offers a "home" menu. This menu lists all available UPnP servers on your network (I have just one) as well as "Favorites" (tracks that have been tagged as such) and "Internet Radio" (SMC provides a proprietary Internet radio service via Radio678.com, which I have not yet tried).

The menus within a particular UPnP audio source depend on how that UPnP server structures its menus, so the following screen shots show how TwonkyVision shows up on the SMCWAA-G (as mentioned, I did not attempt to use the unit with the MusicMatch software it came with).

All in all, you get quite a bit of information on the screen when a track is playing: Artist, Title, Album, and play time are shown inside the center box, and the date, time, signal strength (left), volume (right), and playback options (e.g., shuffle, repeat, etc.) around the periphery.

The SMCWAA-G works just fine with streaming MP3 sources from the Internet. I added links to an .m3u playlist and TwonkyVision served them up via the EZ-Stream just perfectly. So no complaints there.

Surprising Features

The EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G has some really nifty features that you won't find well-documented online or on SMC's website. For one, the audio out is variable (volume on the remote is controlled by the + and - buttons), so you don't need to grab a second remote (or walk up to your stereo) to change the volume or mute the sound.

Another cool feature will be appreciated by anyone who has a sizable music collection. Scrolling through hundreds of artists can get pretty tedious. The SMCWAA-G has a "Jump To" button on the remote to solve this problem. Hitting "Jump To" lets you enter in letters and numbers using the remote's phone-like number pad (i.e., for a "U", hit the "8" button three times). Spelling out the first one or more letters of a track name, artist, or album will jump you right to it without scrolling. This is similar to the "Power Scroll" function on the Sonos wireless audio system (but the SMCWAA-G is about 1/10th the price ;-). Note that the , . - and "space" marks are available by hitting the "1" key multiple times.

A third thing that's interesting is that the SMCWAA-G actually offers some audio-based help items in its menu. Selecting one of these help topics causes the unit to broadcast (I assume from some internal memory) a pleasant-sounding woman's voice describing various features and options the unit has. As I've never seen this done before, this innovation surprised me.

There are some other functions and features listed in the manual, but I've not tried them out, so I won't list them here.

Final Thoughts

So far, we've had no complaints about sound quality, but most of our stuff isn't encoded at any fidelity likely to satisfy a true audiophile. The unit claims to play MP3, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV, but I've only so far tried it on MP3. The networking setup was truly painless -- that was especially impressive. The display is as clear and bright as I could hope. The text is too small to be easily read from more than, say, 12 feet away (give or take), but that should be adequate for most uses. Given that the screen pivots, most users should be able to position it for maximum readability, which helps some.

Some nice-to-haves on the unit would have been some form of digital audio out (everything's digital until it gets to this unit, so why not just pass it on?) and some font options (maybe to cram more lines in on the display or make the text bigger to be read from across a larger room). But those are really quite minor detractions (to me, at least) from what's a fairly solid piece of kit.

All in all, I'm happily surprised. I have a hunch that if Lori also gives this a thumbs-up (and I see no reason she wouldn't), the EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G will become the new king of the family room and our twitchy Omnifi will be relegated to some lesser-used part of the house. Well done, SMC!

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Wireless
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February 28, 2006

New Mac Mini Sounds Tempting

I'm really tempted to grab a new Intel-based Mac Mini for replacing our noisy, outdated home theater PC. All I need it to do is hook up to my network, support an external HDD, play media, and browse the web. Sounds perfect, right?

My only concern are the specs, and Mac specs aren't something I'm familiar with enough to judge. Would a 1.5GHz Intel Core Solo and 512MB of RAM be enough to handle high-res video, let alone HD content? I'm just not sure.

One cool new feature on the mini is the addition of Front Row, which tosses in a remote for controlling media from anywhere in the room. Now that's nifty. Check out complete specs at the Apple website.

Update: Ben over at HDBeat loves the new Mac mini as an HTPC, but also isn't sure whether an Intel Core Solo mini would have the horsepower to handle HD content. [Read]

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V
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December 23, 2005

Revisiting Some Past Predictions

Two years ago, on December 31, 2003, I made a series of predictions for what would happen in 2004. Well, OK, so I'm a year late reviewing how I did...sue me.

Anyway, I had some hits and some misses:

Prediction: PalmSource will release Palm OS 6 to much fanfare. It will be a marked improvment for the operating system, and devices running on OS6 will be available before July. They will rock.

LOL! Man, can I blow a prediction or what? In case you've been under a rock, Palm OS 6 never made it into any consumer devices (the closest I saw was some prototype phones from Asia) and PalmSource has switched to a Linux-kernel future for Palm OS and has since been acquired by Access, an Asian phone software firm.

Prediction: Samsung will continue to encroach on Sony's market share in nearly every consumer electronics product area except for gaming.

I think this was a pretty much dead on. As a direct competitor for Sony in nearly every product segment, Samsung's sales are way, way up -- 44% higher in 2004 than in 2003 -- with a lot of that momentum coming at Sony's expense (revenue down 7.2% compared to 2004). Sony's forthcoming PS3 will definitely grab some market share and Samsung so far has no competitor for it (and I can't imagine it doing so any time soon).

Prediction: LCD televisions will continue to expand as prices drop, brands multiply, and sizes increase. Plasma TV sales in 2004 will plateau, leading to a year-on-year decline (the first ever) in 2005.

Pretty close, but my prediction was a bit early. While plasma sales have continued to rise, they're increasing much more slowly than before. LCD TV sales, however, are skyrocketing and are set to pass plasma sales in 2006.

Prediction: Wi-Fi mania will continue to build and someone will announce a low-power, low-range Wi-Fi variant that effectively obviates the need for Bluetooth. The "death of Bluetooth" will be once again announced by the press...and this time they may be right.

Not quite. Bluetooth is that technology that really hasn't achieved its full potential. Even now in late 2005, it's hard to configure and finicky with most hardware combinations. Rumors of wireless USB and some other interesting technologies are still poised to replace Bluetooth, but it may take a few more years. In the meantime, we'll continue to mutter "you couldda been a contender!"

Prediction: Bad news will continue to pour forth from the US Congress and White House in terms of poorly conceived, technology-ignorant legislation and cow-towing to powerful media lobbyists (e.g., RIAA and MPAA). Environmental devastation and deregulation will increase at the hands of the Bush administration.

Well, this wasn't really a fair prediction since it was almost assured to happen. From the FCC's crackdown on "smut" on TV to MPAA/RIAA-friendly bills requiring digital flag handling in hardware to total refusal to participate in the Kyoto protocol to reduce greenhous emissions (justified, as usual, with selectively edited "scientific" studies), the US government has had a banner couple of years regarding technology abuse.

Prediction: Convergence in home entertainment (audio/video) electronics will be hampered by an industry that is unable and/or unwilling to agree on and follow technical standards.

Again, not hard to predict. The fact that we are STILL wrangling over Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD is just sad. Moreover, there has been little progress towards unification on either of the HDTV specs (720p vs. 1080i), but people are starting to gravitate towards accommodating both and getting 1080p sets.

Prediction: Despite technical and legislative solutions, spam will continue to increase as a percentage of total email, but more slowly (due to the convergence towards 100%).

Pretty much hit this one. Back in mid-2003, spam represented about half of all email. By late 2004, it had stabilized at around 67%, and hasn't climbed much more since then. Spammers have been using more sophisticated methods, such as phishing, to get higher returns out of the the spam they do send out. So, while the volume hasn't gone up dramatically, the danger level continues to rise faster than filtering technologies can adapt.

Prediction: There will be peace on Earth (hey, I can dream, can't I?)

Worst...prediction...evar.

Stay tuned for some end-of-the-year predictions for 2006 and beyond, to be posted next week.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Society / Politics and Technology
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September 8, 2005

NYTimes on Wireless Network Cameras

The New York Times has a decent, if not short, piece on wireless network cameras. They review the Linksys WVC54G, Panasonic BB-HCM371A, and D-Link DCS-6620G. They did not mention the Hawking Technology HNC230G I reviewed last month.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Photography and Wireless
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August 9, 2005

Hawking Technologies HNC230G Wireless-G Network Camera

Ever in search of the better baby cam, I snagged an HNC230G Wireless-G Network Camera from Hawking Technologies. There are many wireless network cameras out there, but I chose this one due to the combination of it having 802.11g with a very reasonable price (under $90).

What's a wireless network camera, and how does it differ from a webcam? Good questions. Webcams have to be connected to a computer, usually via a USB cable, and merely send image (and sometimes sound) data to the PC. Network cameras have their own embedded web server built right into them so they can broadcast their signal to the local network (and out to the Internet) without a PC. They have their own IP address, so you can access them independently of anything else on your network.

In the box was the camera (which was surprisingly small...maybe the size of two decks of cards), a short CAT-5 cable (needed for initial setup only), A/C adapter & power cord (the only wire needed when the HNC230G is in wireless mode), ball-joint mounting kit (a very nice bonus!), and the requisite software CD.

On the camera itself are several features of note: a power plug, an RJ-45 plug, an antenna mount, two screw sockets for mounting on the included ball-joint (one on the top and one on the side), and 4 status LEDs (thankfully the config software lets you turn these completely off).

Setup was pretty easy. First, you plug the camera into power and wire it directly into your network router (initial setup requires a wired connection...can't be done wirelessly). Then, install the setup software onto a PC on the network and run through the camera's wireless setup wizard. After that, once the camera is happily talking to your network, you can complete the configuration wirelessly.

As you can see in the photo, I mounted ours underneath a cabinet in the corner of the kitchen. It's fairly unobtrusive...visible, but it doesn't draw your attention. The power cord is tied up in a little bundle behind the camera...you can just see the 802.11g antenna peeking out from behind (ignore the coax cable there...that's unrelated).

So how well does it work? Pretty well, overall. When using the camera's wireless connection to view the camera's video in a web browser (it requires a Java applet), I get 6 frames per second (fps) at 160x120 and 320x240 resolutions and 2-3 fps at 640x480 (note that my wireless network is 100% 802.11g). When using a wired connection, I get somewhat faster video, although not at the camera's advertised rate of 30 fps. Image quality is quite decent...very acceptable, as can be seen in the screen cap below (that's our dog in the foreground). The camera also comes with viewer software that will let you watch 4 network cameras simultaneously (for security applications or, I guess, if you have lots of kids).

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase. I had always wanted an 802.11 network camera, but balked at the price. Prices have really started to drop recently, and this budget offering from Hawking Technologies doesn't disappoint.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Photography and Wireless
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July 19, 2005

Watching TiVo Recordings Without TiVo Desktop

TiVo's (relatively) new TiVo To Go feature is really nifty -- I use it a lot more than I expected I would. In a nutshell, TiVo To Go allows you to download TiVo'd content onto computers on your home's network (assuming your TiVo is networked) and watch them on those devices (handy on a laptop if you want to take your shows with you on a trip or commute). You can also burn DVDs of the shows (for backup) if you purchase a 3rd party app for $50 or so.

The central software component that allows all this is TiVo Desktop, which interfaces with your TiVo. Besides allowing downloads, TiVo Desktop also shares photos and music with your TiVo so you can use it like a networked media device.

Well, all that's cool, but I really didn't want to have to install all the communications stuff that comes with TiVo Desktop just to watch content on my networked PCs. TiVo Desktop installs several TSRs that, if I'm not using TiVo Desktop's media functions, do nothing except chew up PC resources and generate network traffic.

Well, lo and behold, Jamie Attilah came up with a really cool hack (not really a hack, just some clever programming) that lets you watch your TiVo content on a PC without installing TiVo Desktop. Check out his TiVoToGo DirectShow Filter hack.

You still have to have a key DLL (TiVoDirectShow.dll) and you still have to have all the media access keys and everything, so this isn't circumventing the DRM. But Jamie's app will automatically register the DLL and let you set up your media access key and media passwords in the registry (necessary to unlock the .tivo files to play within WMP). Works like a charm and I'm appreciative...thanks, Jamie!

p.s. Yeah, it's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that...been busy.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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June 6, 2005

Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 Compact Speakers

I've been listening to a lot more music on my main PC lately and I was thinking that I could probably do a lot better soundwise than my well-aged Altec Lansing ACS33 setup (two micro-satellites + subwoofer). Reading reviews, I saw a lot of good things said about Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 speakers. I've had them now a couple of days and they sound pretty darn great.

There's no subwoofer, but they crank out surprising levels of bass. The bass isn't ultra-deep, but more than adequate for casual listening and regular computer work (serious gaming requires surround sound or headphones). All other frequencies are quite nice and tight -- overall, you get a pretty rich sound from these very reasonably priced speakers (under $100). A couple of nice features seal the deal, including front-mounted headphone and line-in jacks as well as a separate bass control knob.

Available in black or silver, they also have removable front panels (for that serious "damage me, I'm naked" look). And at just over 10" high, they're big enough to let everyone know that you're serious about your sound quality, but not so big as to make people wonder if you're compensating for something.

Everything seems to be of the high quality one would expect of the Klipsch name. As long as these are for casual listening, and you aren't expecting $500 bookshelf speaker sound quality, you will be hard pressed to do better than these Klipsches. Highly recommended!

Update (3/1/2008): The volume knob is failing electronically, creating static and decreasing the sound quality of what comes out of these speakers. I'm not very happy about that, as there's no way to fix it myself. Less than three years isn't a very reasonable lifespan for something of this supposed quality. :-/

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Music & Audio
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March 28, 2005

Selective TV Filtering: The FOX Blocker

Tired of right-wing rhetoric and biased reporting filling your eyes and ears as your TV wanderings happen upon the FOX News channel? Sam Kimery was, so he invented the "FOX Blocker," a small device that filters out FOX News from cable signals. Kimery has sold about a hundred of the devices so far, according to The Seattle Times.

Apparently, Kimery's invention has resulted in him receiving multiple death threats. Some right-wing conservative extremists apparently believe that anyone who would help people avoid watching FOX News should is morally flawed and should be killed. This despite Kimery being a former Republican party precinct captain and the fact that Kimery himself doesn't even use the device.

This kind of reminds me of the old TV show "The Max Headroom Show," which took place in a future where it was illegal to turn off your television or tune it to something other than the state-provided broadcasts.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Society / Politics
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March 15, 2005

TiVo Lives to Fight Another Day

A very nice deal with Comcast should relieve some of the speculation that TiVo would be going away soon. See...Karma works. :-)

Read more at Gizmodo or Slashdot or CNET.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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March 13, 2005

Omnifi DMS1 Networked Music Streamer

When Woot! offered up the Rockford Fosgate Omnifi package, consisting of a DMS1 (shown), a DMP1, and two wireless adapters, for $199 a second time last week, I couldn't resist. The DMP1 (the wireless hard-drive-based MP3 car audio system) alone used to retail for North of $400, so $199 was just too good to pass up. Plus, I'd been looking at the wireless home media streamers for a while, and the DMS1 seemed decent.

As of today, I've only had a chance to set up the DMS1 (installing the DMP1 will require me getting a new head unit to replace the factory stereo since I really don't want to go the FM modulator route). Once I get the DMS1 installed (or maybe I can get Mitch to write up his experience with it, since he has his 50% in right now), I'll post about that unit.

The DMS1 is a wired/wireless music streamer. In a nutshell, it grabs music off of PCs elsewhere in your network -- MP3 and Internet radio, for example -- and feeds them into your stereo. Given that we have our entire CD collection ripped to MP3, and given that we listen to WOXY.com a lot, a media streamer makes a lot of sense.

Installation of the hardware was a breeze. Plug in the audio patch cables into our stereo, plug in the USB Wi-Fi adapter, and plug in the power cord. All done.

Getting the included media server software (that runs on a PC somewhere on your network) to work was a bit more of a chore. An app called SimpleCenter is included with the hardware and it works fine...with one bizarre restriction: it will only accept 10,000 music files into its database. Now, not to brag, but Lori and I have 13,000+ files in our collection (yes, we have a lot of CDs), so this just wasn't going to be acceptable. So I started looking around for alternative solutions.

Since the DMS1 simply talks to any UPnP (Universal Plug-n-Play) music server application, there are several to choose from. Ones I've tried so far include SimpleCenter, TwonkyVision MusicServer, and Musicmatch Jukebox 10.

Of the three, TwonkyVision's solution is the best fit for my needs. It not only has no limit on files (none that I've seen yet), but it also feeds up Internet radio streams like a champ. It's not terribly robust -- I've had it crash a few times (althought I think that is just because I had multiple UPnP media apps running at the same time...since having it run by itself, it's been pretty stable) -- but it's free and seems to work OK.

It's pretty nice being able to browse our MP3 collection and favorite net radio streams from the family room without having to turn on the TV or use the HTPC. While the DMS1 isn't as full-featured as a PC-based solution is, it's easier to use and makes accessing our music much, much faster. Below is a pic of the DMS1 (sitting on top of a TiVo Series 2 for size comparison).

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio and Wireless
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March 8, 2005

A Comparison of DVR Approaches

Mitch sent me a link to a nice blog article over at edbott.com: "TiVo versus MCE versus my cable company"

...since I am in the enviable position of owning a Series 1 TiVo, two PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, and a high-definition Explorer 8300HD digital video recorder from Scientific Atlanta, I thought it might be instructive to compare all three.

I won't spoil the surprise conclusion, but if you're at all interested in these competing technologies, Ed's article is a good place to start. Thanks, Mitch!

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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March 6, 2005

Explorer 8300HD DVR: Some More Observations

This post is a follow-up to this post.

First, the picture quality, while noticeably worse than the Pioneer, isn't bad. While I don't have an audiophile's hearing, I do have pretty good eyes when it comes to picking out flaws in images, so I'm fairly picky about my picture quality. Is it reasonable on the 8300HD? Yes, just not perfect.

Also, the interface, while clunky, gets the basic job of watching, pausing, and recording done. As I try more advanced operations, I'll get a better feel for how well it stacks up against the TiVo. Watching and pausing an HD basketball game yesterday, it worked as advertised without any serious hitches. One thing that is better than TiVo is the availability of 3 different FFWD speeds, with the highest blipping along at around 30X -- very good for skipping through halftime or the first part of a show you've already seen.

More as I know it...

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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March 5, 2005

Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD Hi-Def DVR

Today I picked up an HD DVR, the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD (shown), from my local Time Warner Cable office. Here are my thoughts after setting it up and using it for 2 hours or so.

First, setup was easy since it basically replaced my previous HD set-top box -- same cables and everything. For outputs, I use component video (direct to TV) and digital coax audio (to the stereo). While I could have used the DVR's HDMI output to feed into the TV's DVI port, given the so-so picture quality, component video is about all it merits (but more on that later). As far as ports, the DVR also offers optical digital audio out, s-video out (?), and standard stereo audio out (via RCA jacks).

During the first couple of hours, the DVR reset/rebooted itself once, after which some really bizarre gobblety-gook appeared on the screen on some channels (see photo below). I hope this clears up soon. At least it's not on the channels I watch the most.

While the picture quality is better than standard, or even enhanced TV (you'd expect it to be since it's a hi-def box), it's noticeably worse than the Pioneer 3510HD STB (cable tuner) it replaced. Using the same cables and settings, compression artifacts are much more prevalent on most channels, especially those with marginal HD feeds. Watching ABC news tonight in HD, the border of the reporter's face against the dark background would literally shimmer as the compression algorithm tried to adjust to the moving, angled line. Not great, for sure.

Now, before I discuss the interface, I have to confess that I am a diehard TiVo junkie. TiVo is my gold standard that any other DVR will be compared against when it comes to the UI. With that said, the SA box is mediocre. It's not horrible, but some anthropological engineering of the user interface could offer some dramatic usability improvements. Plus, there are several features that I miss already (e.g., recording quality setting per show, auto-record by keyword, and the "boing"....where's the "boing?"). They may be in there, but I didn't find them in my brief usage tonight. And why is the remote (center) so darn big?

However, on the plus side, the 8300HD is chock-a-block full of good specs. It has dual tuners, meaning that you can record two programs at the same time while watching a different pre-recorded one. It sports a 160GB hard drive (20 hours of HD content or 90 hours of SD content), and, most surprisingly, an external SATA connector so you can hook up an external hard drive to expand your storage capacity without monkeying around in the DVR's guts...nice!

Anyway, I'm sure my opinion will evolve with time. Perhaps I'll even forgive the lack of a cute little mascot and forget about that big, friendly, yellow Pause button. Not likely, but maybe...

Update (2008-12-9): I've posted a step-by-step HOWTO: Expand the Recording Capacity of your Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR (it's easy...give it a try)

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 5, 2005

ADS Tech DVD Xpress

I was sitting in our family room staring at our collection of aging VHS tapes, which consists of commercial copies of major movies as well as the inescapable home movies and other personal memories-on-tape. As I sat there, I realized that a VCR will likely not be in our house a decade from now, yet we will still want to be able to watch many, if not most, of these movies and other videos. So, I started evaluating our options.

First, I could go out and buy AGAIN all this stuff on DVD. While we most likely WILL go out and buy AGAIN many of the commercial movies that we (read "Lori") watch frequently, the problem that remains is that many of these videos aren't available on DVD (e.g., much of our Disney collection), aren't available in any format anymore (e.g., my collection of Ren & Stimpy cartoons), or were never available for purchase (e.g., our wedding video). So, even if I suck it up and re-buy many of these movies on DVD, I still had a problem with a large percentage of our collection.

I could also pay to have a professional service convert our stuff to DVD. However, most services won't touch copyrighted stuff even when you are creating that one "archival" copy that US copyright law fully permits under the doctrine of fair use. Plus, professional services are expensive and they're really only doing something I could probably do myself.

So, I started looking into options for capturing the output of our VHS VCR to DVD. While many USB capture devices will let you convert non-copyrighted stuff (e.g., home movies), most balk at anything with Macrovision copy protection (that's what causes those wavy lines and overall yuckiness you see when trying to copy from one VCR to another).

However, I did find a device, the ADS Tech DVD Xpress, that pretty much ignores Macrovision -- it basically just sends whatever the TV would display directly to your hard drive (via USB2.0) in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 format. Alternately, you can go direct-to-disc and skip storing the image files on your hard drive, but that option didn't work at all the one time I tried it.

So far, the results have been pretty good. After a short learning curve, I've been able to capture the entire Star Wars trilogy (the first three movies as originally shown in the theaters) at 4mbps. It's not great quality, and on a wide-screen HDTV, the MPEG artifacting is noticeable a lot of the time. I was even able to add some nifty chapter menus, complete with short video clips for each chapter (makes for a very entertaining menu!).

While the quality is about as good as a mediocre tape played on a mediocre VCR, it definitely beats waiting for the magnetic media to whither and die or our VCR to go belly up and not get replaced. I think it will be quite adequate to archive the unreplaceable stuff while we start replacing most of the commercial movies with DVD versions. After all, when you consider the added value of better image quality plus all the out-takes, deleted scenes, and director commentary that DVDs usually offer, $15 doesn't sound like such a bad deal. Sure beats ripping a videocassette to 4mbps MPEG-2!

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Technology
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May 2, 2004

Personal Video Recorder Delivers Over WiFi

Sharp Electronics and Instant802 Networks have announced a partnership, bringing video distribution into the wireless age.

The partnership has resulted in the Sharp Galileo Personal Video Recorder (PVR), one of the first devices to leverage 802.11-based wireless systems for video distribution.

Instant802's wireless software platform is used for range of data networking devices. The Sharp Galileo PVR is one of the first consumer electronics devices using the platform. Instant802 also provides residential gateway solutions integrated with security solutions.

The Galileo PVR is available immediately in Japan, and is expected to hit North America later this year.

Posted by Sam in Home A/V and Popular Media and Wireless
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April 21, 2004

Wireless Media Hubs All Come Up Short

I've spent some time reviewing the wireless media hub options available, and they all come up short. What I want is simple, really: I want something I can plug into my stereo and, without using the TV, enable me to stream both MP3's (from a computer on our network) and Internet radio (from our broadband connection) to our home stereo using an 802.11g wireless connection.

There are several requirements in that description (i.e., integrated screen, MP3 and Internet radio streaming, and 802.11g), yet every wireless media hub out there (at least that I've seen) fails on one or more accounts. Here's a review of how they stack up (or fail to, actually):

• Netgear MP101
-- OK: Integrated 4-line LCD and streaming MP3
-- Failures: No streaming Internet radio (other than a subscription-based service...ugh!) and no 802.11g (low-speed 802.11b only). However, this discussion gives me hope that the MP101 might someday at least accommodate streaming Internet radio.

---

• Creative Sound Blaster Wireless Music
-- OK: Integrated LCD (on RF remote!) and streaming MP3
-- Failures: No streaming Internet radio and no 802.11g (again, 'b' only)

---

• Roku Soundbridge M1000 & M2000
-- OK: Integrated LCD and streaming MP3
-- Failures: No streaming Internet radio and no 802.11g (the Soundbridge relies on an optional CompactFlash Wi-Fi adapter, and those only exist right now in the 802.11b flavor)

---

• Turtle Beach AudioTron-100
-- OK: 2-line integrated LCD and streams both MP3 and Internet radio
-- Failures: No wireless of any sort (Ethernet only)

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• Slim Devices' Squeezebox
-- OK: 2-line LCD and streams both MP3 and Internet radio
-- Failures: No 802.11g (802.11b only)

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• SMC SMCWAA-B EZ-Stream
-- OK: Large LCD and streams both MP3 and Internet radio
-- Failures: No 802.11g (802.11b only)

---

There are quite a few other wireless media hubs that require you to use your TV as the interface, including the HP ew5000, the Play@TV NMP-4000, and the Linksys WMA11B. However, since I don't want to have to hook the unit up to the TV to use it (our television takes 24 seconds to warm up when you turn it on before an image appears, which is seriously annoying when all you want to do is listen to music), I'm not even considering these.

So, I'm still waiting for something that will let me listen to MP3s and my favorite Internet MP3 streams over our 802.11g network that won't require me using the TV. A couple of nice-to-haves would include (a) not requiring me to use clunky proprietary music management software and (b) a bitchin' RF remote. Any suggestions?

Update: I've added the Squeezebox to the list at the suggestion of the folks at eHomeUpgrade. The rationale for wanting 802.11g rather than 'b' is that I'd rather have a homogeneous wireless network to ensure the fastest possible connections for all attached devices. Utopian? Possibly, but IMO there's no compelling reason why we should be forced to use old technology when there's something better available now.

Update #2: I've added the SMC offering as well (thanks, KC).

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio and Wireless
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March 31, 2004

Phone Your Television

NTT DoCoMo has announced that phones from its 3G FOMA videophone series can now be used in Japan to control home appliances from almost anywhere the phone can be used.

The heart of the system is an in-home control box that is contacted by the phone, and which in turn processes commands to appliances via infrared (IrDA) or via cable connection.

The controller can be connected to a PC via a USB port, or to external sensors (such as light or motion sensors) via an independent I/O port. It is connected to the mobile FOMA network via a special data card.

The system lets users control lights and air conditioners, for example, turning them on or off as appropriate.

More amazingly, it enables users to remotely program recording a television program, and then transmit the playback on the phone, streamed through the FOMA network.

A FOMA videophone can also transmit pictures to the controller, for viewing on a connected screen.

Posted by Sam in Home A/V and Music & Audio and Phones and Wireless
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March 30, 2004

TiVo Statistics

I got my 'News You Can Use' TiVo newsletter today. In it were some usage statistics that I thought were pretty interesting:

• Number of WishList™ searches currently active: 11 Million
• Number of Season Pass™ recordings currently active: 21 Million
• Total number of programs recorded: 5.5 Billion
• Number of times a button to control live TV has been pressed (PAUSE, RWD, FWD, instant replay, etc.): 80 Billion

I suspect at least 20 billion of those were during the most recent Super Bowl half-time show.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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March 26, 2004

Information on Latest Samsung DLP TV's

Those of you who have written in with comments and questions about the HLN-series Samsung DLP televisions should read this article at DigiUpdate.com. It provides some very interesting and useful information on (a) discrete IR codes, (b) internal reflections, and (c) lip sync issues.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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February 25, 2004

Netgear MP101 Wireless Media Hub

We have a junky PC hooked up to our stereo and TV at home so we can access our MP3 collection. Well, it's badly in need of replacing, so I started looking at my options.

One compelling idea is to scrap the whole PC, move the hard drive with all the MP3 content on it to our main PC upstairs, and go with a wireless media hub like the Netgear MP101 (shown). The MP101's job is to stream audio content from your networked PCs to your home stereo.

One main thing differentiates the MP101 from many of the new media hubs coming out: it doesn't do video. No photo showing or video playing. It doesn't require, or even allow, a connection to your TV -- it is audio only. To counter this limitation, the MP101 actually has its own 4-line LCD. This makes it convenient since you needn't turn on your TV just to listen to music. That's a big plus if your TV has a long warm-up period like ours does.

The MP101 isn't available yet, but I'm thinking this might be a good, inexpensive (<$150) replacement for the dying PC that is our media hub right now. Of course, we lose the ability to do PC stuff on our TV, but frankly, we haven't done that as often as I expected us to. Oh, well...I'm sure that will change eventually.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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February 24, 2004

Tell TiVo if You Want Your TV Content to Be Portable

TiVo is doing a research survey about a proposed "TiVoToGo" idea. Fill out the survey and let them know what you think about their idea.

One idea: Consider suggesting that they let you convert your TiVo content into portable formats (e.g. MPEG-4) so you can take it with you on your handheld device.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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Leap Year Possible Cause of Scientific Atlanta DVR Mass Outage

All those (ahem) "happy" users of the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000, which has been heavily criticized by many users here at GearBits, have been left temporarily (we assume) stranded due to a Leap Year problem with the unit's software.

Time Warner Cable customers who use the Scientific Atlanta dual-tuner digital video recorder (DVR) have been unable to record any programming since yesterday. Reports that either a software update or a problem with programming coming with the February 29 date (or a combination thereof) have locked up the units with no user fix yet available. So, all these users are stuck waiting for Scientific Atlanta and TWC to roll out a correction.

I have to wonder if it really is just a software issue or if TWC is going to have to visit each house and/or require each owner to bring in his/her unit to a service center. If so, my guess would be that the folks at TiVo will be getting a lot of calls from TWC customers if not TWC itself looking for a new DVR supplier.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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How to build a home theater projector screen

Being a rabid DIY person, I always jump at the chance to try building or fixing things myself. Many times I spend more in tools and time than I would have by calling in a pro, but I always learn something and I've never regretted a tool purchase. My personal motto is: "There's only two ways to do things - right or over." This time I decided to tackle the projector screen in my new home theater and I am most pleased with the results. I wrote up a little how-to and posted it over at the AVS Forums.

Posted by Mitch in Home A/V
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February 20, 2004

Guest Blog Entry: Bob's New DVDiVo

My pal Bob got a new DVD+TiVo unit and I asked him what he thought about it. He managed to craft up a nice post for GearBits, so here it is:

After listening to Craig's TiVo enthusiasm for weeks now, I decided to finally take the plunge and to treat myself to TiVo.

Not being an audio or videophile, I'll admit it did take some personal effort to cave in. I've had roommate who bought speakers and components at $5K a piece. While it's great stuff, that's just not me. Still, I still like sitting down in front of the tube to watch some dumb analog (I refuse to pay Comcast's ridiculous fees for digital box rental) cable TV. After listening to Craig, I feel I have a inalienable right to watch something good WHEN I want to watch it. Add a Wiggles-happy toddler to the mix and I have a compelling case.

My TV cabinet didn't have much room for extra components, so a new TiVo unit was going to be a tight squeeze. That's where the Toshiba SD-H400 DVD/TiVo (shown) combination unit (or, as Craig coined, 'DVDiVo') comes in. The DVDiVo solves this problem by being rather small and by replacing my existing DVD player.

Not counting the mandatory rewiring of the video and audio cables, the install was mostly a piece of cake. You first setup and configure the box with the phone line (a handy 25' phone cable is included!) That took about 30 minutes. After that, the Tivo was supposed to recognize my Linksys network adapter. It didn't. I had to reconnect with the phone line and spend another 90 minutes downloading (are we there yet?) the 5.1b TiVo software update. (Thanks to the Wireless Weblog for the tip.) After that, the wireless worked A-OK.

Remember, it's not fun unless you've had at least one technical snag to challenge your skills.

I've only had TiVo working for a day. I'm only using the TiVo basic service. But this TiVo noob loves his TiVo.

TiVo Basic, you say? TiVo Basic requires no monthly fee and comes with the Toshiba. You get three days of TV Guide information, but none of the fancy search or Season Pass features. Coming from analog cable, TiVo Basic gives me the feel that I've got some fancy digital cable or satellite service. I've used the TV Guide GUI to manually locate and program the TiVo to record several hours of shows (kiddie shows and my spouse's HGTV favorites) for the next few days. Not being someone who follows any particular show (yet?), TiVo Basic might suffice. I look forward to testing my will by signing up for the TiVo Plus service trial.

The DVD player seems to work really well. The GUI is certainly much better than my year-old Pioneer DVD player.

On the downside, I'll admit that the unit is a little noisy. If I'm cruising the TiVo menus without the TV audio on, I do notice the sound of the hard drive actuators softly clicking away. I'm not sure if that noise is specific to the Toshiba design. (Craig?) If so, then I figure it's just a trade-off for having such a small footprint. It's not a major problem for me. Besides any audiophile will already have this issue "covered" with glass component doors.

The other item to consider is the remote. TiVo spent a long time pruning down the buttons to make a good remote. Toshiba, on the other hand, had to stack extra buttons on their remote to support the DVD player. The remote works well, except for when you want to use the number buttons the change channels. The thoughtless placement of these teeny-tiny number buttons (0-9 + Enter) at the bottom of the remote makes me occasionally use two hands to change channels. (Hello, Toshiba? Does a majority of the population of the planet have double-jointed thumbs?) My thumb may get used to it. Better yet, I hope that TiVo is so good that I'll never have to manually enter channel numbers again.

Despite those two items, I'm very pleased with my DVDiVo purchase.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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February 18, 2004

Painting Over A Masterpiece: Part 2

In my previous post I waxed philosophic on the grand plans I had for my new house. Two and a half months later, the rubber has met the road...to a point.

Being a true masochist, I decided to bite off a huge chunk by building a home theater and adopting HDTV at the same time. I did a lot of reading on the AVS Forums and on Projector Central and decided on a Sanyo PLV-Z2 for my projecting duties. This is an LCD-based 16:9 model with 1280x720 native resolution that has a militant following and is on Projector Central's list of highly recommended projectors. I had originally targeted a 61" Sammy DLP, but the cost difference was just too great (and my wife and I are susceptible to DLP rainbows). With my homemade 98" screen, I get 2.5 times more screen area and the projector cost 2.5 times less than the Sammy. There's also nothing on the floor for my little one to crash into.

For video input, I will be using a home theater PC. I built my last PC with this goal in mind and by switching cases to a Kanam HT-200 it even looks like a real HTPC. I have also added a MYHD MDP-120 HDTV PCI Tuner for over-the-air HD reception, HD recording and upconverting the DVD output from my ATI Radeon to 1080i. All the digital audio will be passed through on an S/PDIF link to my existing mishmash of Sony amps and Definitive Technology speakers.

The room itself was nicely sized for THX-recommended viewing angles. I have the seating position right at a 36 degree horizontal and a maximum of 15 degree vertical. Though it cannot be totally blacked out, I have enough light control to really make things look great.

The theater is not quite finished. I have a component rack to build, speaker wire to run, AC power outlets to install and still need to get my TV antenna mounted and aimed in the attic. Another week and I should be ready to pop the corn.

Posted by Mitch in Home A/V
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February 16, 2004

MPEG Camcorders Don't (Yet) Make Sense

I've been intrigued by the notion of a camcorder that bypasses tape and records in MPEG format direct to a flash memory medium like Secure Digital cards. After doing a bit of research, I'm skeptical they are ready for prime time.

Panasonic and Sanyo/Fisher currently offer tapeless camcorders. The Panasonic D-Snap line offers both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 recording. The Panasonic SV-AV100 is the only one that offers TV-quality (640x480 or better) quality recording, as the others max out at a meager 320x240. The SV-AV100 captures really nice looking 704x480 MPEG-2 direct onto an SD card.

The Sanyo Xacti C1 (shown above), which will also be sold by Fisher, foregoes MPEG-2 and relies exclusively on MPEG-4. It offers full 30fps VGA resolution (640x480) recording in two different quality settings as well as some lower resolution video capture modes.

Both units are impressively small and packed with features. For example, both the Panasonic and the Sanyo weigh less than 6 oz. and feature optical zooms. The Panasonic has a large 2.5" LCD viewer while the Sanyo even sports a flash/fill light.

However, one needn't look very hard to figure out that there is currently a major flaw with both these units (and all similar devices): cost-effective removable storage capacity needed is simply not available at this point in time.

In its best resolution (704x480) recording in MPEG-2, the Panasonic SV-AV100 can record only 10 minutes of video on a 512 MB SD card. If you drop down to 480x352, you get double that, but you're now below what most would consider a reasonable resolution for TV-quality video. The largest SD cards available today are 1 GB at a cost of over $350. So, to have a capacity of just one hour of TV-quality video on the Panasonic SV-AV100, you'll have to shell out around $700 for the camera plus an additional $2,100 just for memory cards.

A similar situation exists for the Sanyo device. At its best quality VGA 30fps recording mode, the unit chews through 3mpbs. Using this video setting, you can fit 40 minutes on a 1 GB card. So, a 1 GB card and a 512 MB card would get you an hour of recording time. Total cost for this setup would be roughly $750 for the recorder (estimated as US pricing hasn't been announced yet) plus $500 for memory cards.

Either way, this is an awfully expensive way to capture video, not to mention the hassle of potentially having to swap out media every 10-20 minutes. If you want to record to MPEG-2 (the best quality option), we'll essentially have to wait until 4 GB SD cards are available to make it a reasonable endeavor. That's not going to happen for a couple of years at least (unless someone comes out with a unit that uses CompactFlash). 1 GB SD cards provide adequate capacity for 30fps VGA MPEG-4 video recording, but the high cost and slight quality hit make this a questionable compromise.

While recording straight to MPEG is something I look forward to doing in the future, I don't see it being a viable option for any large number of users for at least another year or so. In the meantime, a decent mini-DV camcorder can be yours for around $400. Not ideal, but if you gotta have a camcorder soon, don't wait around on direct-to-MPEG.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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February 2, 2004

Janet Gets 'Most TiVo'ed Moment' During Super Bowl

Who'd have guessed we'd get free pr0n during the game yesterday? Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" (Justin Timberlake's words, not mine) definitely gets nods for the most TiVo-worthy moment of Super Bowl XXXVIII. Makes me yearn for a HD DVR just that much more.

Thanks to LostRemote for the link.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Popular Media
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January 28, 2004

Top Desires for HDTV Content

The Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group, recently published the results of a survey on consumers and HDTV (high-definition television). Here are a few interesting results, which can be found as a supplement in a recent issue of TWICE Magazine:

What Viewers Want
When asked what they most wanted to watch in high definition, consumers responded as follows:
• 38% Movies
• 21% Sports
• 14% Education
• 7% Drama
• 6% News
All other categories were 3% or less. What intrigues me about this is the fact that 14% said educational content was their top desire. I don't have stats for regular TV, but my hunch is that this is quite a bit higher than for regular old programming. Has anybody seen this stat for TV overall?

What Viewers Notice
What do prospective buyers recognize about the HDTV format?
• 85% Crystal clear picture
• 60% Wide screen
• 46% Dolby Digital 5.1
• 21% 16:9 display format
I'm not sure why "16:9 display format" isn't the same as "wide screen," but I didn't write the questions.

Would Pay Extra
This percentage of viewers would pay extra charges to see the following types of content:
• 34% Movies
• 25% Sports
• 23% Educational content
• 19% News
• 17% Dramas
• 15% Comedy
• 13% Music TV
• 12% Sit-Coms
Now I ask you...do we really need to see Ray Romano in high-definition?

Interesting stuff. Now if we can just get the signal providers to start carrying more HD content, we can start truly enjoying the wonder that is high definition TV.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 25, 2004

TV Viewing Distance Calculator

I posted this in a comment just now, but I'll add it here in case anyone doesn't read the comments.

MyHomeTheater.com has a cool TV viewing distance calculator embedded in the webpage. Makes it easy to determine what size TV you'll need for your viewing distance or, alternately, how far away you should sit from your current TV. Works for both 4:3 and 16:9 displays. Check it out.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 23, 2004

Doubts about HD TiVo

Being able to record shows on a digital video recorder (DVR) like our TiVo is just bliss. I don't think I need to tell you we're big fans. However, there are some limitations to the current TiVo product, including no tuning of digital cable signals and no recording of HDTV content.

The announcement of DirecTV's HD tuner/DVR with TiVo at CES was a big break-through. Finally, folks will be able to record HD signals onto a TiVo-type device. However, this only helps DirecTV (satellite) users, not those of us who are cable subscribers.

Scientific Atlanta rolled out its 8000HD, an HD-capable cable DVR, to Time Warner cable users in Green Bay, Wisconsin in December. That basic box is what I want to see TiVo produce, but it isn't likely to happen any time soon for a couple of reasons.

First, tuning ATSC (over-the-air digital programming) and over-the-air HD would fairly easy for a TiVo unit to do, but the number of people who rely on OTA signals for their HD content is pretty small. And as cable and satellite providers add more HD content, those folks will continue to diminish as a percentage of all HD consumers. Instead, TiVo would have to produce a box that can either tune/record satellite broadcasted content or tune/record QAM (cable) content. Neither of those is trivial because of proprietariness and/or controls enforced by the carriers (TWC, Comcast, DiSH, etc.). Plus, with new initiatives like OpenCable on the way, introducing an expensive new product based on today's cable standards might be a strategic mistake.

Partnering, such as what TiVo has done with DirecTV, will be necessary. But, it does not appear that TiVo has had much success so far partnering with any cable TV companies (e.g., Time Warner Cable and Comcast). Why these cable companies insist on using these schlocky DVRs is beyond me, but I suspect it gets down to minimizing their costs. Scientific Atlanta makes tons of low-priced set-top boxes and makes their software barely work. TiVo, in comparison, puts loads of work into enhancing the user interface and the whole user experience...and it shows. But this also makes their products more expensive. This might be a good example of "you get what you pay for."

So the upshot is that I doubt that we'll see a cable-compatible or "general-purpose" HD TiVo outside of DirecTV's unit any time in the next few years. In the meantime, I hope that Scientific Atlanta will license TiVo's interface so we can have the best of both worlds.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 22, 2004

Free TiVo?!

The UPS man brought me a strange parcel the other day -- a TiVo I didn't know I should be expecting. Yet, there in my living room was a brand new 80-hour Series 2 TiVo, shipped directly from the company's Tennessee facility.

As an existing TiVo customer, I can log into tivo.com and check my account status and do various other things. Examining that revealed that, yes, a new 80-hour DVR had been added to my account. What was curious was that the Account Status for that unit was listed as "TiVo Evaluation Unit," whereas my current unit is shown as "Lifetime Service."

Confused, since I didn't order this unit, I called the friendly folks at TiVo's sales support. They didn't know what "TiVo Evaluation Unit" meant either, so they said they'd call me back. I hung up fearing that I had just looked the proverbial gift horse in the mouth. But then, keeping the unit and being charged later for the purchase price and/or setup fee wasn't what I hoped for either, so it was a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation.

A couple hours later, the lady from TiVo sales support called back and told me that yes, this was apparently a free TiVo and that I should keep it and hook it up. I hung up the phone and did a little dance. I guess clean living pays off once in a while.

Now I need to go buy a new S-video cable and a 4-way powered cable splitter so I can cram the new unit into our A/V setup at home. While I'm still not entirely satisfied with our DVR setup -- TiVo's can't tune any kind of QAM cable signal, HD or otherwise, so we're limited to recording only analog cable channels (ch. 2-78) -- this will certainly do for a while. Hey, you can't argue with free.

The other thing that intrigues me about this is if I'm not the only one who was "gifted" with a Series 2 recently. If TiVo is dumping inventory, that either means they're trying to get out of the hardware biz entirely (a risky proposition) or they are gearing up with a new model (an exciting possibility). Hopefully, we'll figure out what's going on one way or another with our favorite DVR company.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 5, 2004

TiVo Sues EchoStar

TiVo has just filed a patent infringement suit against satellite TV company EchoStar Communications.

Some set-top boxes from EchoStar's satellite service come with digital video recorder (DVR) capabilities, which TiVo says violates its US patent for a "multimedia time warping system."

TiVo's patents are considered critical to its licensing business - which includes Pioneer, Sony and Toshiba as licensees - as well as for set-top boxes used by partner DirecTV, a rival to EchoStar. TiVo's patent portfolio includes 40 awarded patents and over 100 applications pending.

Posted by Sam in Home A/V
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Why TiVo Ignores its Fans

Interesting article over at MarketingProfs.com, which examines why TiVo seems to pay little attention to the throngs of fans and "influencers" over at the TiVo Community website.

The main point in this part-1-of-2 article is that TiVo is more of a sales-oriented company, concerned with making the numbers, than it is a company rooted in evangelism, where the customer is the focal point.

"Our hypothesis is that the TiVo culture is rooted in sales, not evangelism. Evangelism is what’s good for a customer; sales is what’s good for a company. Managing a balance between the two is the challenge for any organization."

The second part of the article offers TiVo six pieces of advice in the form of mandates. They are:
1. Create a Cause
2. Create Community
3. Customer Plus-Delta
4. Napsterize Your Knowledge
5. Create Bite-Size Chunks
6. Build the Buzz

Some of it is patent marketing-ese, the fluffy stuff that fills management books, but there are some nuggets. They say about #3, Customer Plus-Delta, the following:

"TiVo should systematize online community feedback and make it a highly visible system. eBay’s executives convene customer advisory boards of Power Sellers several times per year. Meg Whitman, eBay’s CEO, often leads those sessions. She is a feedback machine who solicits customer input and uses it to make company decisions. ..."

Interesting read...I know of several companies who would be well-served by taking these lessons to heart regarding their own fanatical customer bases. [Thanks to Jeff for the lead.]

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 4, 2004

2K DLP Comes to North America

North America's first 2K DLP Projection system, a Christie CP2000, has been installed at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Millimeter.com has the complete story. The movie first shown on the new projector was The Last Samurai.

While this is the first US deployment of this technology, multiple international orders for 2K DLP Cinema projectors for early 2004 include 20 in Singapore, 20 in China, and 10 in Belgium. The 2K DLP technology from Texas Instruments allows 2048 x 1080p resolution and employs 3 DMD (digital micro-mirror device) chips, one each for red, blue, and green. The Christie CP2000 system installed at Grauman's also provides a contrast ratio over 500:1 and screen size up to 75 feet wide, and uses either a 4,500 or 6,000 Watt lamp. More information on DLP can be found at DLP.com.

Granted, this isn't really "Home A/V" news, since this technology won't be coming to home users any time soon, but it's interesting nonetheless. As home systems get more and more sophisticated, theater owners will be under increasing pressure to convince movie fans that it's worth the extra admission price and hassle to come to the theater instead of just watching movies at home. Once on-demand first-run movies come to cable, which I expect they eventually will, theaters could go the way of the community well.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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January 2, 2004

Time Warner Cable -- Just Trying to Tick Me Off

There's one thing for certain...Time Warner Cable has cojones.

So I get a letter from Time Warner Cable a week or two ago outlining its rate increases for the coming year. Our cable service will be increasing by around 8% in 2004. But, hey, that's just inflation, right? Oh, wait a minute...inflation has been like 2% the past few years. So why the hell is TWC raising its prices so much?

I figure that I must be getting more. You know, they raise the price and introduce another 10 or 15 channels to make it seem fair. So I look into it and it seems that the only noteworthy additions that I'll see are the introduction of HDNet and HDNet Movies. Cool...two new sources of good HD content. OK, I cool down a bit.

Then, a couple days ago, I find out that it's not the case. TWC is moving four HD channels (InHD1, InHD2, HDNet, and HDNet Movies) into an "HD Package" that COSTS EXTRA. For the past 4 months or so, InHD1 and 2 have been part of my Standard Digital Tier. Now, I'm losing them unless I pay extra for this HD package. So, I'll be paying significantly more in 2004 for fewer channels, or I'll be paying WAY more for two additional channels.

Wow, it definitely seems that Time Warner really, really wants me to check out DirecTV and DISH...maybe I just will.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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SASEM OnAir USB HDTV

SASEM is coming out with an external USB-based HDTV tuner for PCs and laptops (shown).

It supposedly supports both ATSC (digital cable) HD signals and NTSC (analog TV) with time-shifting (a la TiVo). It will sport both S-Video and composite inputs and both Dolby and SPDIF digital sound.

USB2.0 connections will permit the full range of HD formats (both 720p and 1080i), while USB1.1 connections will allow the OnAir USB HDTV module to deliver content in EDTV (480p/i).

Looks like an interesting product and might just fit into many a home theater setup. The USBHDTV.com website has more additional info.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V
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December 16, 2003

Networked DVR Has No Local Storage

Wi-Fi Planet has a story about the Media Player/Recorder (MP/R), a forthcoming device from PRISMIQ (huh?). In a nutshell, think of it as a "distributed TiVo" -- a DVR that relies on using space on hard drives of PC's scattered throughout a wired/wireless LAN for recording TV or watching stored media. Read the full article if the concept isn't clear.

While reading this, I thought, "no way will that ever be successful." Why do I think that? Well, if the DVR is reliant on both the network and one or more PCs in the home, then everything has to work correctly for the DVR to function. If a PC needs to be rebooted or locks up (gee, that never happens) or a router needs to be reset or the WLAN gets bogged down by a microwave oven or other interference, then the DVR is disrupted.

Since TV streams in real time, if even a 5-minute interruption happens, the recording is, for the most part, shot. I can't imagine most geeks' spouses being willing to live with that risk, especially when self-contained DVRs are relatively inexpensive (no more so than this MP/R) and very reliable (at least my TiVo is). Then why does PRISMIQ think this a better solution? Being able to stream/store content in distributed fashion would be a cool additional functionality for a DVR, but IMO it's certainly not a substitute for local, dedicated storage.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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December 15, 2003

Tight TAZ I Supposedly to Come with Removable Hard Drive

Tight Audio Systems has updated their specs for the forthcoming "TAZ I" portable multimedia system (see GearBits overview of the TAZ I here), shown above.

The big surprise is that it now appears to be specified as incorporating a removable/swappable cartridge-based hard drive. Tight's hard drive module is shown below. With claims that the audio cassette-sized HD will be available in sizes from 20 GB to 80 GB, this could be one very yummy multimedia player.

Plus, Tight's specs now also include a modular MP3 player: "About the size of a domino, mini-taz is a fully functional, stand-alone mp3 player that docks (and disappears) into the left hand side of TAZ I." Mini-taz also serves as the TAZ I's SD/MMC reader slot, so it itself is expandable.

Tight's website claims availability in early 2004. Let's hope they're on schedule.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs
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December 12, 2003

Home Entertainment Industry News Tidbits

I was perusing this week's copy of TWICE (This Week In Consumer Electronics) and I noticed a few stories that seemed interesting in that they contained info I hadn't heard before. So, I'll summarize.

First, there's a large story about how sales of home audio (components, speakers, etc.) are in a major slump right now -- electronics retailers and custom installers just aren't selling much right now. Why is this? They suspect that the huge emphasis on innovative and large displays (DLP, plasma, LCD, etc.) is partly to blame (after all, consumers don't have endless checkbooks), but they also believe that the lack of innovation regarding compressed/digital audio (to attract younger buyers) and networking (part of integrated solutions) are also to blame. Sounds right to me -- there's just not much innovation going on in home audio right now...it's all in displays.

Second, there's an interesting pair of bar charts. While I can't reproduce them here, they provide the sales of LCD flat-panel TV's and plasma televisions from 1Q02 through 3Q03. I've long thought plasma was a neat, but interim and short-lived, technology -- something that was here for only a brief period until something significantly better came along (e.g., 8-track and DAT). Well, the numbers finally seem to be bearing this prediction out. Quarter-on-quarter growth of LCD sales during 2003 was 30% to 57% -- impressive numbers! On the other hand, during the same period, plasma saw only 2% to 7% growth. Granted, plasma sales last quarter were $438 million, versus $274 million for LCD, but the trend clearly shows LCD trumping plasma in 2004 and beyond. Unless something happens to either displace LCD or greatly improve plasma's performace or value, LCD will be the new king of the flat-panel display. For how long is anyone's guess -- maybe SED will rise up strong.

Finally, there seems to be a huge shortage of DLP- and LCD-powered rear-projection TV's. A Tweeter (retail chain) manager says that Samsung's DLP line is "turning very quickly." The root causes of the shortage appear to be overly conservative ordering by the retail chains as well as higher-than-expected demand by consumers. Could it also be the fact that there's finally enough HD programming on to interest a significant number of folks (e.g., the Super Bowl)?

Interesting stuff.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry and Music & Audio
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December 10, 2003

Motley Fool Thinks TiVo Inc. is OK...For Now

The folks over at Motley Fool often have some sage advice for investors. Alyce Lomax of MF believes that TiVo, the company, is still quite viable and not in as bad a shape as some pundits would have you believe:

"Competing DVR products from a company like Comcast, easily accessible with service fees bundled onto a bill that already comes every month, could stunt TiVo's growth. However, right now it seems there's no need to panic; TiVo's got a whole lot of people evangelizing it, and the DirecTV deal provides a great deal of comfort. It still brings millions of potential subscribers to the table, who may very well all talk up the power of TiVo."

I really wish the cable operators would adopt TiVo-powered DVRs instead of the clunky devices like the Scientific Atlanta 8000 that some currently offer. While tech junkies are usually pretty fickle since they want the latest and greatest, I've yet to come across someone who had TiVo and then got rid of it for something else. I'm sure it's happened, but it's definitely not very common (yes, TiVo is that good).

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry
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One Remote to Rule Them All

If you're like me, you've got a remote control for your TV, DVD, PVR, video, stereo, satellite, and other sundry electronic boxes....12 at the last count. Universal remotes? Cumbersome IR programming, new remotes which turn out to be incompatible, the need to switch modes from TV to DVD to stereo....I'd just about given up.

Until now. The Harmony Remote by Intrigue Technologies is a universal remote with a difference - well, three to be exact - and promises to herald in a new era of clickophile nirvana.

Advantage one: A scroll wheel aids navigation through different modes, and aids in accessing stored preferences, viewable via a small LCD screen at the base of the unit. This makes the Harmony ergonomically a joy to use.

Advantage two: Instead of having to switch control modes by electronic box (TV, DVD, stereo), the Harmony uses macros to organize functions by activity: "Watch TV", for example, turns on and controls your TV, cable/satellite and speakers. "Listen to CD" turns on and controls your amplifier, speakers, and CD player. "Play a DVD"....well, you get the picture.

Advantage three: The Harmony Remote is the first Internet-programmable universal remote. Connect the Harmony to your computer via USB, and you can tap into a growing online database of tens of thousands of remotes. Everyday new remotes are being added, thanks to Harmony's online user community. You simply select the remotes you want mimicked, and download to your Harmony....no more IR mating rituals to teach your universal remote new tricks. Oh, and you can download TV listings as well.

The reviews have been ecstatic. One user enthused: "My mother-in-law, a 77-year-old woman raised on an island mountain farm without electricity, got it working within seconds. And her techno-hostile daughter, my wife, declares the Harmony the first gadget I've brought home that actually does something useful."

All this adds up to the Harmony being possibly the one remote worth fighting over.

Posted by Sam in Home A/V and Internet and Music & Audio
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December 6, 2003

More HDTV DVRs on the Way

ExtremeTech has a nice round-up of high-def DVRs that they expect to see at the CES in January. The models include a couple from Scientific Atlanta, including the 8000HD (which I discussed in this blog entry) and 8300HD, as well as two DVRs from Motorola. Interesting stuff...and none too soon!

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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December 5, 2003

Painting Over A Masterpiece

My long journey is nearly at an end. For the past four years my wife and I have been looking for a new home. This started off as a list generated on my old HP 200LX capturing all the things we wanted our new place to have. Keeping that list always at hand, we concentrated mostly on pre-owned homes since I think it's silly for developers to continue swallowing up the beautiful farmland to build subdivisions when the MLS sites are full of great places that are already built. We went through lots of realtors, spent our Sundays going to open houses and did plenty of driving around checking out neighborhoods.

Oddly enough our searches kept leading us back to a very private street only a mile or so from our current abode. We looked at every house that became available there, but there was one house we loved that never went for sale. One fateful day last January our realtor marched up and knocked on the door of that house and got an impromptu tour of the place. She was giddy on her return and said "YOU JUST HAVE TO SEE THIS PLACE!!!" Since the owner (a home builder) was planning to move in the coming months, we did just that a few weeks later. We were smitten. But the house never went for sale due to delays in the construction of his new place.

Finally on October 15th, the house was listed. We went through it again the next day, made our offer and in just a few days we had a signed contract. A whirlwind of activity ensued which is why you have not heard much from me. I've done more painting, plumbing, and repairing in the last month than I want to do in the rest of my lifetime. Our current house is on the market and is in nice shape for a hopefully quick sale. And this leads me to the title of this little treatise...

The new house is perfect in every way except for one. It was built in 1995 when running lots of RG-59 and POTS cable was the norm. There isn't a Cat 5 or RG-6U drop in the whole place and to make matters worse, almost every space is finished with drywall. There is not much access for snaking wires though I do have a plan after studying blueprints until my eyes are sore.

I am going to attack this with the future in mind. I know that gigabit ethernet will be the norm rather than the exception in a year so my Cat 5e runs will have all four pairs pushed down. I cannot imagine life without my DirecTiVo so most of my cable runs will be pairs of RG-6U quad shield. I will probably upgrade my wireless access point from 802.11b to g. I have my eyes on a shiny new Apple Powerbook. I'm sizing up the built-in TV cabinets for DLP rear projectors. This place will be high and tight when I'm done with it.

My one grey area right now is with wiring architecture. I think the overly finished aspect of this place will preclude the use of the massive wire bundles that make up most structured wiring systems. I do want to have a central "wiring closet" where I can house my router, switches, amplifiers, wire terminations, video and audio distribution, etc, etc. If you have any experience in "old work" retrofit using the lastest wiring technologies, I would love to hear about it.

I'll try to keep this blog informed of my progress in what will be a labor of love. And please help Craig out with his HTPC as I will be doing another one of those pretty soon.

Posted by Mitch in Home A/V
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Building a New Home-Theater PC - Part I

About two years ago, I decided to build a proof-of-concept MP3 server (I've documented that project in this blog entry, so I won't repeat the details here). However, the current machine, a lowly AMD Duron 750 MHz w/ 128 MB of RAM, is well beyond its useful life in that capacity. For example, starting up Real One Player with our 10,000+ song MP3 database takes nearly two minutes. So, it's time to start thinking about what will, and should, replace that starter system.

I'd like the new machine to be more of a home-theater PC -- something that can perform as an MP3 server (at the very least) as well as possibly handle TV recording and other multimedia functions. Ideally, it could record HDTV signals, but I'll admit that I haven't looked hard enough yet to see if any home media software permits that functionality. I'd also like the new machine to come up out of the basement and live in the family room nearer the rest of the home a/v setup.

Now, it seems I have two primary form factors to consider. The first is the attractive option of the small-form-factor (SFF) case, like the AMS eCube bare-bones system I discussed last month. The second option would be the full-sized HTPC case that looks like a stereo component, such as is pictured above.

The SFF has basically just one advantage -- its size. I could fit it into our entertainment armoire fairly easily. Because it's small, it can also be easily schlepped from one place to another. I'm not sure how often I'd want to do that with an HTPC, but you never know. The disadvantages of the SFF are several: they have limited expandability (usually one PCI slot and one AGP slot), they often run hot, and they're often loud (because they don't have much, if any, sound baffling). Plus, most don't blend well with an all-black home A/V setup.

The component case has a few advantages. It looks good, it's heavily baffled (so it's really quiet), and it has plenty of space for expansion since it's a full-sized horizontal case. The main disadvantage is size -- I'm just not sure I can fit another full component into our entertainment center without displacing something we already have (I'm thinking the cassette deck could go -- I don't remember the last time we used it -- but the wife would not easily see the wisdom in that).

Cost is pretty much a wash. A new SFF would run close to $300, which is about the same for a good component case plus motherboard. All the rest of the innards would be the same for both systems.

So, right now, I'm not sure what I'm going to do -- do you have any advice or recommendations? I'm all ears at this point. Oh, and of course, I'll be posting my progress as time goes on here on GearBits.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V
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December 3, 2003

Time Warner Launches HD DVR

In a press release today, Scientific Atlanta and Time Warner Cable-Green Bay (Wisconsin) announced availability of the Scientific Atlanta 8000HD to TWC-GB cable customers.

"Scientific-Atlanta announced today the availability of its integrated dual tuner high-definition digital video recorder set-top solution. The new Explorer® 8000HD™ High Definition Digital Video Recorder (DVR) will deliver two highly compelling video services – the control and convenience of a Digital Video Recorder and stunning High Definition Television (HDTV) video with digital surround sound. The industry leader in the deployment of DVRs and high-definition television service, Time Warner Cable is now initiating the deployment of HD/DVR set tops in its Green Bay Division, which serves over 150,000 customers in northeast Wisconsin." [read more]

I sincerely hope that the 8000HD is a more robust and better engineered product than its Explorer 8000 (shown), which has ticked off as many users as it has pleased. Personally, I'm hoping the HD TiVo is a dual-tuner box...otherwise, the 8000HD, despite its potential headaches, will seem a somewhat compelling and competitive alternative.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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November 28, 2003

Home A/V Quickies: TiVo, HD DVD, and Giant LCDs

ExtremeTech has a nice article about the joy of truly discovering TiVo for the first time. If you're a TiVo doubter or are on the fence, give this a read.

Gizmodo links to an AP story announcing the adoption of HD DVD as the approved format for high-definition DVDs. While Sony, Panasonic and Philips won't be too happy (they backed the competing Blu-ray format), NEC and Toshiba are likely celebrating today. I'm just happy we can now move forward towards getting HD movies on rentable media.

Finally, DVDRecordable.org provides some details on Samsung's latest salvo in the size war in LCD panels. Samsung's 57-inch LCD panel is the largest in the world...for now. LG/Philips had the record at 55 inches last month. Now if you guys would just start actually making TV's out of the these things...sheesh.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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October 17, 2003

Tight's TAZ I Personal Multimedia Device

I just came across something that totally blew me away -- the TAZ I concept device from Tight (pictured). I say "concept" because it's not out yet, but the Tight website says that they expect to start taking orders next month and ship product in December. God, I hope they do, as this sounds like one helluva device.

Check out these specs:

• Storage Capacity - at least 60 gigabytes; 2.5 inch hard drive; SD/MMC card slot
  
• Screen - 4 inch diagonal transflective TFT LCD with 640x480 resolution; 4:3 aspect ratio
  
• Audio Formats Supported - MP3, Monkey's Ape (lossless), OGG Vorbis
  
• Audio Inputs - On-board microphone; line in (stereo)
  
• Audio Outputs - 2 headphone jacks; digital optical out; line out
  
• Video Formats Supported - MPEG1, 2, 4, AVI, DivX; NTSC, PAL (video frame rates supported: 24fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, all)
  
• Video Inputs - composite video
  
• Video Outputs - composite, S video, component (Y Pr Pb)
  
• Video Output Formats - SDTV (480i); HDTV (480p, 720p, 1080i)
  
• Photo Formats Supported - JPG, GIF, TiFF, BMP
  
• Network/Connectivity - USB 2.0; on-board 10/100 ethernet
  
• Power - Internal XV DC battery; approximately 9 hours video playback, 20 hours audio
  
• Host PC Software - customized version of leading multimedia software suite
  
• Accessories: Sennheiser PX-200 headphones; hand-made leather carrying case; connecting cables; battery charger
  
• System Requirements - Windows 98, 2000, XP (future compatibility planned for Apple and Linux)
  
• Dimensions (approx.) - 6.3" x 4.2" x 1.5"

Good grief...is there anything this device can't do? I mean, store 60 GB of multimedia files in nearly any format and then play back on its own VGA screen or through both standard TV and HDTV! Come on...that's incredible!

If you want updates on their shipping and availability, there is an email notification service available.

Update: I just now found out that Tight has had a discussion board up and there's some 2000 or so posts on it. Check it out.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs
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October 10, 2003

HDTV Programming Guide

After perusing a handful of TV listings that claimed to have decent coverage of HD programming, I settled on HDTV Galaxy.

It's easy to use, well-formatted, always up to date, and as complete a broadcasting schedule as I've found.

While it is laden with lots and lots of banner ads, the information quality is quite high and I've yet to see any outages or errors in the past couple months of using it.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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October 1, 2003

The Ugly Secret of Windows Media Center

Some Q&A from the Frequently Asked Questions About Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 page:

Q. What file format does Media Center record in?

A. Media Center uses a new file format called DVR-MS. DVR-MS is an MPEG-2 file that includes metadata about the recorded program to be stored.

Q. Can the file format used by Media Center be changed? Can I edit recorded TV files?

A. No, Media Center supports only the DVR-MS file format for recording TV. It's not currently possible to edit DVR-MS files (the format used for recorded TV files). However, some third-party software manufacturers have applications that support the conversion of DVR-MS files into other formats.

Q. Can the files generated by Media Center be converted to another video format?

A. At this time, there is no way to convert DVR-MS files to another format. Microsoft is currently working with third-party software manufacturers to add support for DVR-MS files to their products.

Q. Can I edit recorded TV files?

A. It isn't possible at this time to edit DVR-MS files (the format used for recorded TV files). Microsoft is currently working with third-party software manufacturers to add support for DVR-MS files to their products.

Q. Does Windows Movie Maker support the Media Center file format?

A. Windows Movie Maker does not support DVR-MS files at this time.

So, not only can you not pick the recording format, you are stuck using a proprietary format that nobody's products, including Microsoft, even handles for editing purposes. I got one word for Media Center 2004: fuhgettaboutit.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V
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September 9, 2003

Self-destruct DVD

According to CNN, Disney is supposed to unveil disposable DVDs today. Unlike rental DVDs, you don't have to return the disposable DVDs, and that is sure to expand the retail distribution channel. Yes, now you can stop by a corner drug store and buy a disposable DVD for $5.

I don't know about others, but I'm not sure I'd like the idea of having the disposable DVDs yet. First of all, I'm not sure it's enviromentally friendly. Second, what happens if the DVD is defective (i.e., ages prematurely)? So instead of 48 hours, you only get 24 hours. I can't see myself standing in line arguing with a drugstore clerk that the DVD really expired prematurely.

Besides, what'll be next? Disposable CDs, rental cars, TV's, or how about a disposable book--after 48 hours, it mysteriously vanishes (talk about recycling). Although my head say it's Mission Impossible Cool, my heart says I'm not ready yet.

Posted by Ken in Home A/V
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September 4, 2003

Another Wi-Fi Webcam

Along the same lines as Mitch's Axis 2100, Gizmodo is reporting that Linksys has begun offering a new wireless (802.11b) webcam, the WVC11B , that permits streaming of 320x240 video using its own internal web server.

One of the nifty features is that it can be wall mounted or it can stand in its cradle, which provides both power and a LAN jack for wired connectivity.

When Linksys gets into a market, you know things are about to become domain of the everyman. For under $200 (the Axis 2100 cost upwards of $500 when it first came out, and it wasn't wireless), the WVC11B may bring a whole new range of customers, and applications, to life.

Perhaps my recent thoughts on privacy, especially those related to webcams, aren't so far-fetched.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Wireless
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September 3, 2003

My First Baby Purchase

Craig's blog on pointing a webcam out the window got me thinking about one of my best technology purchases ever. As soon as we knew our new baby was a reality, we began to plan how best to prepare her room. Being a techie, I bypassed the traditional wallpaper and cribsets and went straight for an Axis 2100 Network Camera. Since it has its own web server, all you do is give it power and an ethernet line. This little marvel has let me keep an eye on our little marvel throughout her first two years from anywhere in the world I happen to be (providing I have web access). It's also a wonderful babysitting tool as we can put her image up on any of the house computers including the HTPC attached to the bigscreen TV in the living room.

Posted by Mitch in Home A/V
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September 1, 2003

HDTV: Too Little for Joe Consumer to Justify

I hope the situation changes quickly, but I hate to admit that there is *still* far too little high-definition programming for your average consumer to care about getting an HDTV setup.

Of course, it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation: without HD viewers, there's not as much incentive for stations to make the investment, and without stations broadcasting HD content, there's not much incentive for consumers to buy expensive HDTV equipment.

Thankfully, the US government mandated that the change will happen. Of course, we're now fairly well behind the planned roll-out schedule, and I don't see that gap being made up any time soon.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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August 27, 2003

Scientific Atlanta DVR Not So Hot

A friend of mine just got the relatively new Explorer 8000 from Scientific Atlanta. The 8000 is a DVR (digital video recorder), much like TiVo or ReplayTV. It has some neat features, including an 80 GB hard drive, dual tuners, and a cheap, cheap price -- it's less than $10 per month from your local cable company (if it's like Time Warner is in our area). There's one big difference between the 8000 and your run-of-the-mill TiVo, however -- it appears to suck big time.

In the roughly 72 hours he's had the 8000, it has reset itself on him about half a dozen times, refused to quit recording, recorded the wrong show, and recorded several copies of the same show (even though it was set to ignore repeats). What's more is that he got no instruction manual or anything when he picked up the 8000. If it were so intuitive that you didn't need a manual, that would be one thing, but this unit's interface is far, far from intuitive.

The 8000 seems to be such an ornery piece of kit that a Yahoo! Group is dedicated to wrangling it into submission.

When I first heard that my buddy had this new unit, I was both curious and a bit envious. Two tuners?! 80 GB HDD?!? But, after hearing his ongoing tale of woe, I'm thankful we're a TiVo household. While we have had to fix the modem a couple times, our TiVo has never been so flaky as this Explorer 8000. Plus, the interface is pure joy to use. For these things, I am always grateful (thank you, TiVo).

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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Samsung Enters the TiVo Biz

TWICE is reporting that Samsung has officially launched its 120 GB (100-hour) DirecTV TiVo DVR (digital video recorder) unit. What's possibly even more exciting is Samsung's stated intention to release a HD version of the DVR early next year.

OK, Samsung, if you're listening to me, I have a few requests: First, make it a stand-alone TiVo so it will work with my cable. Two, put a functional DVI port on it. Three, you gotta have two HD tuners on the thing. Four, make it easy to connect it to a Wi-Fi network. If you do these things, I'll be first in line. Thanks.

Hats off to Gizmodo for the tip on this story.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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August 4, 2003

myHTPC

myHTPC looks like a nice front-end for Windows-based home theater PCs. It appears to offer a lot of functionality (handles TV tuning and serving up music, photo, and video files) and seems to have an active user and developer community excited about it. They've just added a hardware forum for those considering building their own HTPC to work with myHTPC. I haven't tried it out yet, but post a comment if you have to let us know what you think.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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Turn Your Pocket PC into a Universal Remote

For you home theater fanatics who might be in search of a universal remote control, I have an interesting alternative to suggest -- use your Pocket PC and the TV Remote Controller app (TVRC) by PDAWin.com.

TVRC basically turns your Pocket PC 2002 or 2003 into a full-color Pronto-compatible universal remote (note: if you don't know what a Pronto is, check out Philips' website). In short, just about anything that can be controlled via infrared can be controlled through TVRC.

It is insanely flexible. Using the free ProntoEdit software (from Philips), you design your templates and remote control layouts. Then, you upload the resulting .CCF file to your Pocket PC and open it up in TVRC. In "CCF mode," TVRC then emulates the Pronto (including hardware buttons!). If you don't have some infrared codes already in hexadecimal, no sweat -- just teach your Pocket PC using the "learn" mode and voila! TVRC also has a standard (non-CCF) mode that is far less exciting in my opinion.

Oh, and did I mention that TVRC can even accept voice commands!?! For less than $15, this is a really nice piece of software. Finally, I can put this Jornada 565 to use around my house! Check out TV Remote Controller 5.4 at PDAWin.com.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs
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August 1, 2003

Newer, Better Services Coming from Cable and Satellite Providers

The New York Times Technology section has a really nice article summarizing the state of the cable-versus-satellite wars over our television watching. And it's just not about television -- everyone is trying to get in on broadband Internet access, cellular phone service, and a host of enhanced services like video-on-demand and digital video recording. The sector is awash in new technologies and better choices for the consumer. Hey, deregulation may actually be working! Nah...

So, will cable and satellite digital video recording services kill TiVo? Read the whole story at the New York Times website (free account required).

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Popular Media
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July 16, 2003

Time Warner Cable Box -- 'No DVI Out' Mystery Solved

In two previous posts (1st and 2nd), I described the problem I was having trying to get my new Pioneer Voyager 3510HD set-top box working with my TV. Specifically, I was getting a weird error message when hooking up the two using the DVI ports.

Well, it turns out that the DVI ports on this set-top box aren't enabled. Why not? Nobody seems to know. The hardware, in terms of the physical connector, is there, but the firmware in the box seems to be such that it doesn't permit the DVI hardware to actually function.

This seems kinda dumb to me. Why would you purposefully hamstring the functionality of a piece of hardware that you're giving to your customers when they aren't paying you anything extra in the first place? Makes no sense. At least the mystery is solved.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry
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July 12, 2003

Time Warner Cable Rant -- Part 2

Time Warner came through yesterday evening and delivered a nice new Pioneer 3510HD set-top box. There's just one problem -- I can't seem to get the DVI connection to work. Whenever I hook up my TV to the DVI port, I get this weird black-and-white error screen saying something like "Please connect a high-definition televison to the set-top box."

Well, my TV is a high-definition display, so why won't this work? Component feeds work fine, but not DVI (one of the main reasons I wanted this box). Being able to set the box's output to 720p to match my TV works great -- overall, the picture quality is superb. DiscoveryHD looks like a window...it's that crystal clear.

Anyway, if you have any ideas or know where I can find a user's manual for the Pioneer Voyager 3510HD cable box, please let me know! Thanks.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry
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July 11, 2003

Time Warner Cable Rant -- Part 1?

If you want high-definition television (HDTV) in your house, and you are a Time Warner Cable user, you may or may not be very happy. Why? Well, it comes down to two things: the newness of a small connector and the bureaucracy of a very big company.

If you have a high-definition TV in your house and you want HD programming, you basically have three options. First, you can receive over-the-air (OTA) programming from your local broadcasters. This requires an antenna and a HD tuner box (unless your set has an HD tuner in it already, which few do). Second, you can receive HD signals over cable, such as Time Warner or Comcast here in the US. This also requires some form of set-top box, since HDTV sets rarely have tuners capable of handling digital cable signals. Third, you can subscribe to one of the satellite TV providers, like DirecTV and Dish Network. These require a set-top box and some form of satellite dish (always a nice addition to the aesthetics of the family dwelling).

Given that Time Warner Cable is highly integrated into my home (RoadRunner cable Internet + cable runs throughout the house), my first attempt at receiving HD is, of course, through TWC. Last week, I went and picked up an HD set-top box at my local office and set it up, eagerly awaiting the delivery of my new TV. It shows up and I hook up the component outputs to the TV. Looks OK on the HD channels, but not great. It turns out that the best quality picture is obtained when using the DVI connector, which makes sense.

The problem is that the Scientific Atlanta 3100HD set-top box that TWC gave me doesn't have a DVI port -- just component. The TV delivery guy informed me that he's seen a Pioneer TWC box here in Cincinnati in someone else's home, and it does have DVI, so I should request one. Doing a little searching, it turns out that the Pioneer Voyager 3510HD started being delivered to Time Warner Cable a few months ago. Some TWC regions have these already, including some parts of North Carolina. Why don't all regions have them? You got me. Nobody I spoke to at TWC here in Cincinnati had any clue whatsoever. One rep I spoke to actually told me that the HD box that TWC offers here in Cincinnati is a Scientific Atlanta 2000HD (Scientific Atlanta hasn't made that box in over 2 years and TWC's own offices are providing the 3100HD).

So, I returned the SA 3100HD box (which SA doesn't even make or sell any longer) and requested that a Pioneer be delivered today. We'll see if that happens, and I'll post here either way.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry
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July 7, 2003

Nanotubes...the Next "Big" Thing?

Motorola recently announced that carbon nanotubes might soon provide an inexpensive technology basis for large displays, potentially replacing plasma and LCD even before they hit the mainstream market. Motorola Labs' July 1 press release briefly discusses the potential of these forthcoming "nano emissive display" (NED) flat-panel displays. Other articles can be found in Silicon Strategies and Cnet News.com. Or, if you want to read up on the science of carbon nanotubes, check out this page or this page.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Industry
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July 5, 2003

Samsung DLP TV

In a previous post, I declared that my next TV would be some form of flat-panel set, most likely either plasma or LCD. Well, I lied.

A couple days ago, Circuit City delivered a shiny new Samsung HLN437W to my house. The HLN437W is a rear-projection set, but it's based on Texas Instruments' amazing DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology.

There are three main aspects that convinced me that this was the set to buy. First, it fits into the entertainment armoir that the wife insists we need to keep using. The interior dimension of the armoir is 40.9 inches wide by 21 inches deep. The external width and depth of the TV are 40.5 and 15.7 inches, respectively. It almost looks like the armoir was built specifically for this TV.

Second, because the set is based on DLP, it isn't subject to any screen aging or burn-in issues. Because a lot of what we watch is still 4:3 content, this was a concern for me. I'd hate to have to explain in a couple of years why the sides of movies we watch are brighter than the middle.

Third, the set sports a DVI connection with HDCP. If you're not familiar with this, it is the (near) future of digital imaging connectivity. All other connections (e.g., component, S-video, etc.) are analog, which makes no sense if both the signal and your TV are digital -- the digital signal from your content provider ends up being converted from D to A in the set-top box and then back from A to D inside the TV. This is all wasted conversion and introduces needless artifacting and other sources of image degradation.

I've discovered that Samsung's line of DLP sets have a large following over at AVS Forum, so check that out if you want to read more about this type of TV.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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June 14, 2003

It's ALIIIVE -- TiVo Returns As Good As New

On May 1st, I wrote about the modem in my TiVo dying. This was the second time for this particular malady, which is quite common on Series 1 units. I didn't feel like giving another $99 to Philips, so after looking around a bit at alternatives, I found ElectricLegs, a gent in Corpus Christi, Texas, who repairs and upgrades TiVos at very reasonable rates.

So, after emailing the guy to make sure he could fix my TiVo, I disassembled my unit and mailed him the motherboard. About a week later, I got an email from him telling me the total price was $50 + $15 for postage and insurance -- quite a bargain. I PayPal'ed him the funds, and 2 days later, my neatly repaired TiVo motherboard showed up at my house.

After installation and some quick diagnostics, our house is now once again happily living in DVR-land. Thanks, ElectricLegs...my hat's off to ya!

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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May 1, 2003

Taps for TiVo

The modem in my freaking TiVo died...AGAIN! This is the second time in the 18 months I've owned it that the modem has gone out. The first time required a $95 fix and this time it will likely be something similar. Man, what a joke. I can't believe some hungry class-action lawyer hasn't seen all the Usenet postings and filed suit against TiVo, Philips, Sony and anybody else involved. I know there are a ton of hacks and mods that you can do to the TiVo, but most of these are fairly expensive and, after all, since it's my wife's TiVo, I think she'd object to it undergoing any major surgery. :-)

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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March 11, 2003

My Next TV

My next television is going to be either LCD or OLED, it's going to be HD (of course), 16:9 format, and it's going to be at least 40 inches diagonal. Today, you can actually consider buying that, as the largest consumer LCD TV is now a newly announced 40 inch model from Samsung. As the major LCD makers (Samsung, LG Philips, Sharp, et al.) keep upping the maximum size of working prototypes (currently at a massive 54"), my hopes are buoyed that I may not have to wait all that long for my dream display to become both a technical and a fiscal reality.

So, why don't I just go grab a plasma TV? I mean, heck, you can pick them up at Sam's Club now for not much more than a crummy RPTV. Well, it has to do with two issues. First, there's burn-in. Plasmas have a tendency to burn in if you watch a lot of 4:3 format programming (like most network and cable television), which we do. I'd consider just stretching the 4:3 content to fit the 16:9 format, thus alleviating the black bands, but I don't want to have to explain to my wife why the kids on Felicity look much wider and bloated than usual.

Second, there's the issue of copy protection. Right now, in the US Congress, there is still debate over what kind of digital protection scheme is going to be used to make sure that Joe Consumer can't record his digital perfect HD broadcasts onto DVD and sell bootleg copies. Is it going to be DHCP? Could be. Is it going to be something else? Hmm...maybe. Don't know yet, and until that's decided, anything you purchase today could have an effective usage life of about 5 years or less.

So, I think I'll hold off. Of course, if plasma gets down around $1000, that might change the whole value proposition. But, for the time being, I'm waiting on my bright, vivid, no-risk-of-burn-in, sub-15 millisecond response time LCD/OLED television with a full bore of standards-compliant inputs. I don't think it will be that long before we have these replacing tube sets, but then, CRTs have shown to be an amazingly stubborn technology to get rid of.

Posted by Craig in Home A/V
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