The Green Button

Podcast: The Media Center Show #247 – Jose Ortiz

Iand — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:59:57 GMT

This week I am talking TDL Mobile podcaster Jose Ortiz about mobile devices and gadgets, with a new mobile platform from Microsoft and new devices from Apple plus Apple suing HTC there is a lot to talk about and Jose has boundless enthusiasm for mobile gadgets so its great fun catching up with him. I have email and a look at the weeks news including info on Microsoft’s Courier tablet, HP’s slate and updated Media Center applications

Listen Here (download mp3) - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Music by Ian Dixon

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

Intel DH57JG and Core i3-530 Review

Mike Garcen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:18:00 GMT

With more mini-ITX options than ever it’s a great time for small form factor (SFF) PCs. Enthusiasts are finding more ways to get the most out of these tiny boxes both in the A/V stack and backing it. Take a look with us at the soon to be released Intel DH57JG motherboard paired with a Core i3-530 to find out if the tiniest member of Intel’s Clarkdale offering can bring a full featured HTPC to the SFF world.

Having earned most of my “cred” building full-ATX PC (yes, even the HT kind) every time I see one of these boards it amazes me how much functionality gets crammed into such a small package. Mini-ITX motherboards are intended to be compact and it is understandable that there will be layout trade-offs made for the possibilities the form factor enables and the DH57JG is no exception. Despite this caveat I do need to question the placement of some of the headers, most notably the front panel (circled in orange below) near the back I/O panel.

Read the rest of the review at MissingRemote.com

Calling Seattle-area WMC Enthusiasts!

PeteBrownMSFT — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:49:00 GMT

We’re looking for a Seattle-area Windows 7 user who has incorporated Windows Media Center and related Microsoft entertainment products and services into their home entertainment system. We’d like to know how you are leveraging WMC to enjoy music and media in and around your home. Got a styling home theater or rockin’ a whole-home entertainment network? We’d like to know more about it.

Interested? If so, please drop an email to tgb@microsoft.com with the following information:

Your name, location and contact information
Brief description (50-100 words or so) of how you use Windows Media Center in your home. Let us know what’s cool and unique about your set-up. What other Microsoft products and services are you using (Zune? Home Server? Xbox 360? ZunePass? Xbox Live?)? What have you done to make accessing your entertainment easy and quick? How have you enhanced the entertainment experience in your home?
Optional – list of gear you use in your set-up
Optional – attach a few photographs of your set-up (Please keep total attachments under 5MB)

If selected, we’ll interview you and check out your home entertainment array in a video that will appear online.

Thanks for your time and interest.

PS: Microsoft employees - sorry, not this time.

The Media Center Show #246 – Media Streamers

Iand — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:14:44 GMT

This week blogger Chris Oldroyd joins me to talk about Media Streaming devices, boxes from Netgear and devices like the Popcorn hour are offering an easy way to get video and internet content on to the TV and could offer an alternative to Extenders. Chris will be talking about his experiences with the devices and how he got on with Home Plug networking. I also have email and a roundup of the weeks news including a new remote EPG solution for Windows Media Center

Listen Here (download mp3) - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Music by Ian Dixon

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

A look at Solid State Drives v. Hard Drives in your HTPC

Mike Garcen — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:21:00 GMT

Like rocket cars, moon vacations and watchable online video we all know that solid-state drives (SSD) are the future. Of course it will be a long time before any of us can afford to replace that 2TB drive with one, but with prices for smaller SSD finally approaching a reasonable level it makes sense to start thinking about how to fit one into the HTPC (especially a client).

Heat is the biggest concern for any PC because if we do not dissipate it correctly with active cooling (which generates noise) the stability and longevity is negatively affected. So we will be looking mainly at power usage and the external temperature of the drive, and then discuss drive noise and some performance observations.

To run the test, Windows 7 was installed on three drives into the same PC (one at a time) and an 8GB file was copied and pasted in the same folder to generate load.

Drives:

Intel X25-M G1 SSD
Toshiba HDD2D35 - 5200RPM 2.5”
Seagate 7200.10 - 7200RPM 3.5”

Read the rest of the blog at MissingRemote.com

Entertainment 2.0-Episode 66: Attack of the Image Constraint Token

MolsonFLMCE — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:03:00 GMT

We’re back again folks and Josh made sure that it would be a rousing episode. We of course take time to go through all the the listener email this week and we thank all of you.

Josh’s Hockey Minute returns this week and we find out that if you stopped watching hockey four years ago because of the strike, you should probably start again!

Both VMC with TV Pack and Windows 7 Media Center received updates this week and we’ve got you covered on what’s included. Not really a whole lot there though so if you haven’t updated yet you’re probably ok. You can find links to the updates below.

As well, we swim a bit outside the Media Center waters this week and talk a bit about Image Constraint Tokens and how they will affect not only Media Center but almost every older piece of HD gear still out there in peoples’ homes. (Like mine!)

Links from the show:

Click here to download Episode 66!

Tired of commercials during the Olympics and all your other shows? Get Show Analyzer from Dragon Global and never watch another one!

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Seen in HD 23 - Walmart+Vudu, Tivo-SDV, Harry Potter HBP review

MolsonFLMCE — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:01:00 GMT

Some fairly big news this week, as word broke shortly before recording the show that Walmart had bought online movie service Vudu in what's being reported as a $100 million deal. This could either be a good thing for Vudu, giving the young company more capital behind it to expand and give Netflix a run for its money, or it could go the way of the Walmart MP3 store and leave thousands of customers out in the cold in the future.

On the TiVo news front, the company that became a noun meaning "DVR" is rattling the cage about switched digital video (SDV) and why it's a bad thing for companies like, well, TiVo. Basically, SDV requires two-way communication to work, and the current TiVo boxes don't provide that which means that in areas where SDV is deployed, TiVo recorders can't change channels. Take a look at this explanation of SDV for a good high-level overview of what it is.

Our weekly look at 3D news brings word that, seemingly once and for all, HDMI 1.3 WILL work for 3D assuming you have the right cable. Lots of misinformation has come out about the new 3D HDTVs and Blu-ray spec and what consumers will need in order to enjoy those active shutter glasses. HDGuru gets to the bottom of things with an interview with "Waheed Rasheed, director of product marketing for Silicon Image, the company that created HDMI and its related standards." Sony also said last week that it's new 3D Blu-ray decks will work with HDMI 1.3. Finally, Avatar has been announced for an April 22 bow on Blu-ray, but no in 3D. James Cameron, the films director, says he expects a 3D version in November. Will the release of the 3D version just seven months after the standard Blu-ray (just I just say standard Blu-ray? What is the world coming to?) hurt sales in April? Or will consumers vote in April that 3D is not something they are really that concerned with yet?

Other news includes word that Mitsubishi has new tech to convert 1080p into 4k by 2k images, Sony has killed OLED production, and Redbox has agreed to a 28-day delay for Warner titles and will have Blu-ray mid-year.

We're starting a new section on the show, one that we hope to continue every week, looking at the best Blu-ray deals around. Thanks to @gadgetwisdom for the suggestion. This week, Best Buy has a nice deal that will allow you to pre-order Toy Story (March 23) or Toy Story 2 (May 11) on Blu-ray along with another Disney Blu-ray title and save $10. With "Up" only $16.99 right now, you can get two Blu-rays for about $16 each. Not bad. Note: Toy Story is currently sold out on Bestbuy.com. If you find any other deals, let us know at @lozenp on Twitter.

Our Blu-ray review looks at Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The sixth installment in the series follows the pattern of increasingly dark themes that its predecessors have started. This is not a movie for your 9-year old like the first few were. It is, however, a very good movie. Not the best in the series, but certainly one of the better. Some fans were upset over how the ending was handled, including me, but it didn't take away from the rest of the film.

The audio comes wrapped in a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix that is very good. Balanced, well-mixed and powerful when it needs to be. The score is very well-placed and sounds great, and there's a little bit of everything, from LFE effects to subtle, quite and dramatic scenes. While it doesn't have the jaw-dropping power that Hurt Locker or Inglorious Basterds had, this disc does have it's very good moments, 4.5 out of 5.

On the video side, there's been a lot of controversy over this title. Reviews have varied wildly. Friend of the show Matt from Doblu.com has a very in-depth review pointing to several shortcomings on the video transfer. The fine folks at HighDefDigest have a different feel for some of the issues. Over at the AVS Forums, this disc has drawn lots of conversation. For me, much like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on HD DVD, I wasn't blown away by the visuals, and at times, a was a little let down. I wasn't able to recreate all the issues that DoBlu.com saw, but certainly some of them. Black levels were inconsistent at time, deep and inky sometimes, washed out at others, and banding was an issue for me as well. I've definitely seen worse (Ghostbusters anyone?) but for a movie of this caliber, I expected more depth and dimension to the picture, 4 out of 5.

If nothing else, this is a chance for those of you who wanted to know more about what people look for in Blu-ray reviews to do so. A lot of the reviews have timecodes that will lead you to the scenes in question, so use this as a learning opportunity.

Most shows are taking time off during the Olympics, and there's hardly anything to speak of in Geek Tonic's guide to the 2010 Winter TV schedule this week. The HD Sportsman is headlined again by Olympic coverage, with the gold medal hockey game leading the charge Sunday on NBC at 3 p.m.

The lack of Blu-ray releases continues this week. Only nine new titles coming out on March 2, lead by the disaster film 2012, the 1984 fantasy The Never Ending Story and last year's Where the Wild Things Are.

Click here to download Episode 23!

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Podcast: The Media Center Show #245 – Networked Tuners

Iand — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:36:21 GMT

This week Garry Whittiker and Jason Coombs join me to discuss networked tuners using DVBLink, Jason has all his tuners pooled in a Windows Home Server and then is using DVBLink to distribute the tuners around the network. Its an interesting solution and takes us closer to having a centralised TV tuner system. Jason is also streaming TV via DLNA to devices like PS3 and over the internet.

I have a round up of the weeks news including Extender speculation and updates for Windows 7 Media Center

Listen Here (download mp3) - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Music by Ian Dixon

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

ASUS O!Play HDP-R1 Media Player Review

Mike Garcen — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:21:00 GMT

Again we have a healthy list of features and filetypes supported from this box, all of which are shared by the Patriot Box Office. And seeing as the ASUS unit's retail price is under $100 (where the Patriot only dips below that mark after a $30 mail in rebate) we have a pretty interesting competition between the similarly spec'd players.

Read the rest of the review at MissingRemote.com

Blog: Upgrading to the Harmony 890 for RF Users

Mike Garcen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:39:00 GMT

As my wife and I planned the new layout of our TV room (which I know I still need to post about), I quickly realized that I would need to replace my Harmony 880 with an RF remote. Due to cost constraints, I couldn't go with my Christmas wish of the Universal Remote MX-880 and settled for the Harmony 890, which is simply an RF version of the 880. This upgrade was fairly painless, except for the screwups I brought upon myself. What I can tell you right away is that the 890 is just as good as the 880 and the RF aspect works fantastic! The rest of this update is posted with my HTPC Client Blog, so head on over to read and see the rest of this upgrade.

The only real difference between the 880 and 890 (other than the color) is the RF capability. In order for you to be able to control your equipment when it's inside a cabinet or closet, or simply on opposite sides of the room--thereby making IR impossible, without the speed and timing of Jet Li--is via an RF remote. In order to control your equipment, you need--as Logitech calls it--an RF wireless extender and an IR transmitter:

RF wireless extender Dual IR transmitter

These need to be physically placed over the IR receiver on each piece of equipment. Thankfully, Logitech doesn't simply rely on some adhesive on the front of the IR transmitter and additionally provides a type of cocoon to completely cover both the receiver and transmitter.

Due to some issues I encountered, I even removed the cocoon, which left the adhesive residue on the receiver itself, and was able to stick the same cocoon back on without any issue. Time will tell if it continues to hold, but it definitely seems secure.

Read the full blog writeup at MissingRemote.com

Logitech's Touch Mouse for iPhone/Touch Review

Mike Garcen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:34:00 GMT

Guess we ran out of actual keyboards/mice to review (hey Pete Brown!) :-)

At this point you have seen a number of different apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch designed to let you control your PC. Logitech has recently released their Touch Mouse app designed to do the same but at an impressive price--free. So what is the catch? Logitech already has established themselves with some wonderful hardware touch devices, so how will their first software app doing so match up to other similar yet more expensive items? The answer may surprise you.

When I heard that Logitech had released a new app for the iPhone/iPod Touch designed to let you control your PC via the device I immediately thought, why do we need another iPod controlling software?! But my friend Greg S. gave a glowing review of the app and insisted I give it a try. I was skeptical but having reviewed the DiNovo Mini also from Logitech, and the GlideTV Navigator , I was very curious to see how it would match up to those dedicated controlling devices. The idea is simple--use the touch screen on your iPhone/iPod Touch as a wireless control device for your computer. So how would this software offering on a totally different platform handle the challenge?

Read the full review at MissingRemote.com

The Media Center Show #244 - 40TB Home Server

Iand — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:20:37 GMT

This week joining me is Dale Kirkwood a Windows Media Center and Windows Home Server enthusiast, we will be talking about his massive 40TB Windows Home Server and how he is integrating it with his Media Center setup. Dale talks about the hardware he used to build his home server and the software and services he uses to connect it all up

I also have a roundup of the weeks news which includes my thoughts on the Windows Phone 7 announcements and new addins for Windows Media Center that enable you to get TV content in to Media Center without a needing a TV tuner

Listen Here (download mp3) - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Links from Dale:

Server Case Info

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1001.html

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3863.html

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1411.html

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1409.html

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3005

http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA/rr2340.htm - 16 Port Sata

http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA/rr2640x1.htm -4 Port Sata

Replacement For Extender

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1461.html

Music by Ian Dixon

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

A Basic Overview of GPU HD Video Processing

Mike Garcen — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:48:00 GMT

With all kinds of questions about what GPU can accelerate what codec? and how much acceleration does it offer? I've been working on helping to answer these questions in various revisions of this guide off and on since 2008... Updated with Flash 10.1 support information!

Check out the full table at MissingRemote.com

Podcast: The Media Center Show #243 - TDL Awards

Iand — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:14:19 GMT

Welcome to the the TDL Awards show. At the end of last year you voted for your favourite Media Center apps and answered questions on your digital lifestyle so this week Missing Remote's Mike Garcen joins me to reveal the winners and to talk about some of the statistics from the votes.

The categories where:

Best free Windows Media Center application
Best commercial Windows Media Center application
Best media management application
Best integration tool

Mike and I discuss the results and find out stats like what percentage of voters use Windows Home Server, how many are running Extenders and how many of you have switched to Windows 7.Thanks to everybody that voted and that sent in the nominations.

I also have a roundup of the weeks news, I will post the details of the winners on my blog later.

[mp3]http://media.libsyn.com/media/iandixon/TDL_MediaCenter_20100211_243.mp3[/mp3]

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Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Links from the show:

Music by Ian Dixon

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

EFO RF Wireless Keyboard/Touchpad Review

Mike Garcen — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:33:00 GMT

Everyone comes to a point sooner or later where having a remote control in front of you just doesn't meet all of your needs. For those times it is handy to have a keyboard nearby. But who wants to lug out a big keyboard that tethers you to the HTPC? It's much more convenient to use something wireless and easy to hide. Let's have a look at an offering from EFO to see if it fits your needs.

Read the rest of the review at MissingRemote.com

Entertainment 2.0-Episode 63: HD or Nothin’…maybe.

MolsonFLMCE — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:27:00 GMT

The big show returns this week with discussions on whether or not SD content is even worth it! I personally can’t imagine it but some people out there will skip content just because it’s not HD. Josh and I take time to clear out our opinions on the subject.

We also go right through the news of the week. It was a bigger news week than we’ve had lately. S1 Digital has released a 100 disk Blu-ray changer that integrates with either Windows Media Center PCs or Windows Home Servers. While the ability to rip disks isn’t there yet, they’re promising you’ll be able to pull content from non-copy protected disks soon.

As well, I dig up a post from November over on TGB which will give you another option when it comes to ripping and converting DVDs and Blu-rays. While we’ve talked a lot about ripping lately, having options is always good and if you’ve had a chance to try Auto Rip and Compress let us know your impressions!

We encourage you to help us make the best show possible. We love comments, emails and voicemails. You can always use the contact page to reach us, email us, or call 1-877-856-4933.

Click here to download Episode 63!

Don’t forget to check out HTBananas for all of your HTPC and Home Theater questions. Crowd sourcing rocks!

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Technorati Tags: Entertainment 2.0,Media Center,S1 Digital,Auto Rip and Convert

Seen in HD 21 - OLED dreams, iPad-HD or not? and Inglorious Basterds review

MolsonFLMCE — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:24:00 GMT

Back after a week of silence, we're primed and ready to go. We start off with a look at Mitsubishi's 149" OLED display. But before you get excited, this is more an example of how far off general market OLED is than it is anything else. The screen is made up of smaller 10cm panels stitched together and only reaches 1088x640 resolution (so not HD).

We go back to High Def Digest for our next story, too. Amazon accidentally outed pricing on three of Samsung's four new BD players for 2010. Most notable is the BD-C6500, which promises 15-second boot and disc load times, for $299 and the BD-C6900, likely to be one of the first 3D players available, for $399. Does the pricing on the C6900 indicate where the 3D market will start for BD decks?

Elsewhere, Netflix is crowing about its Blu-ray subscriber rates, which the company says hit 10% in the final quarter of 2009. That more than 1.2 million people opting for the surcharge that comes along with sweet HD goodness. Panasonic is first out of the gates with a full 3D authoring facility in Hollywood. Also in the 3D realm is Acer's new 23-inch 3D monitor, out now for $399. Don't forget to get all the accessories you need with it.

Finally, we wrap up our news segment looking at the iPad. Is it HD or isn't it? At 1024x768, it certainly doesn't reach 720p. And according to these sources, the CEA doesn't consider it HD either. So while you may be able to download HD videos from iTunes (let's not worry about if that's true HD or not for now) you won't be watching them at HD resolutions on your iPad.

Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds is our Blu-ray review for the week. A fabulous film, just today named a Best Picture nominee, Inglorious is WWII Tarantino BLOCKED EXPRESSION. Tension, wonderful dialogue, and brilliant direction make this truly one of 2009's best films. The 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack is stunning. Well balanced and evenly spaced, the film makes use of every bit of the soundfield. The closing chapter is something you have to hear to believe, starting with a powerful musical selection of David Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire) that is one of the best musical pieces I've heard on Blu-ray. The bass is overwhelming in a good way, and the music fills every nook and cranny of the room.

The AVC-encode is strong as well, with great detail and color. The reds really pop, be it in lipstick or the Nazi flag. An otherwise drab pallet sparkles when given the chance. Some minor inconsistencies aside, this is a beautiful presentation. Extras include a roundtable discussion with Tarantino and star Brad Pitt.

Lost is back. That's pretty much all the needs to be said of Geek Tonic's guide to the 2010 Winter TV schedule this week. The HD Sportsman is headlined by Sunday's Super Bowl.

We look at two weeks worth of Blu-ray releases, and it's the busiest release slate in some time as47s discs debut between Feb. 2 and 9. Highlights for Feb. 9 include Couples Retreat and The Running Man (we looked at Feb. 2 last week).

Click here to download Episode 21!

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S1DIGITAL INTRODUCES FIRST BLU-RAY DISC CHANGER FULLY INTEGRATED WITH MEDIA CENTER

mabrown — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:59:54 GMT

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Caster Communications, Inc. at 401.792.7080

S1DIGITAL INTRODUCES FIRST BLU-RAY DISC CHANGER FULLY INTEGRATED WITH MEDIA CENTER

S1Digital continues to grow its digital entertainment ecosystem with the introduction of a Blu-ray Disc Changer.

New Rochelle, NJ – February 3, 2010 – S1Digital, the leader in digital entertainment solutions, today announced the launch of the S1Digital Blu-ray Disc Changer. The changer can hold 100 discs and seamlessly integrates with any S1Digiral Entertainment Server or Media Center.

When connected to an S1Digital Media Center or any third party Microsoft Windows 7 or Vista PC that includes media center, customers are able to load up to 100 Blu-ray and/or DVD movies into the S1Digital Bly-ray Disc Changer. Using the included playback software, each disc will be scanned and metadata and cover-art automatically downloaded to the server. Once catalogued, users can view more information about the movie, or watch the movie by selecting the appropriate cover-art, which is all available on the familiar and easy-to-use media center interface. The changer is simple to use and enables almost instant access to movies without having to physically find and load each movie. (This feature is coming soon).

“No other solution currently on the market integrates a Blu-ray changer with media center,” said Paul Heitlinger, President of S1Digital. “For customers that want instant and direct access to their movie discs, this is the only solution.”

When connected to an S1Digital Entertainment Server or any third party Windows Home Server, customers can automatically archive their Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs to the server*. With the included software, every movie and audio disc will automatically be stored on the hard drive, catalogued and metadata and cover-art will be downloaded. As each movie or album is stored, it is immediately available on the customer’s home network from any S1Digital Media Center (or other PCs and certain media streaming devices) for playback.

“A typical Blu-ray disc can take an hour or more to archive,” continues Paul Heitlinger. “With our solution, you simply load up the changer and hit go. You don’t have to load each disc one by one. The changer will automatically move from disc to disc so customers don’t have to worry about spending days manually storing movies and music.”

The S1Digital Blu-ray Disc Changer is currently shipping and available for an MSRP of $1499 from http://www.s1digital.com/S1Digital_Blu_ray_disc_changer_p/bdc.htm. Dealer and reseller enquiries are welcome by contacting sales@s1digital.com or by calling (201) 402-1920.

For more information on S1Digital, visit www.S1Digital.com.

* Non copy protected discs only - copy protected discs cannot be legally copied

About S1Digital

Based in Rochelle Park, NJ, S1Digital manufactures and develops digital media servers and solutions for the home entertainment market. S1Digital provides a complete digital entertainment ecosystem with centralized archiving, storage and distribution of HD movies, live and recorded TV, videos, music, photos and more. As households increase the assortment of digital media they consume from many disparate sources, S1Digital’s Digital Entertainment Platform offers the best way to fully enjoy the home entertainment experience anywhere in the house.

Press Contact: Caster Communications, Inc. at 401.792.7080

Lauren Simmen lsimmen@castercomm.com

Amanda Nickerson amanda@castercomm.com

For digital images log on to www.castercomm.com

Podcast: The Media Center Show #242 - OABSoftware apps

Iand — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:43:49 GMT

Joining me this week is Oebele Beetstra from OABSoftware talking about his great range of apps for Windows Media Center. Oebele has been developer for Media Center since the XP days and has a great collection of apps including email, Twitter and stock apps.

I also have email and a look at the weeks news

[mp3]http://media.libsyn.com/media/iandixon/TDL_MediaCenter_20100204_242.mp3[/mp3]

Listen Here (download mp3) - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Links from this weeks show

Music by Ian Dixon

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

Review: Thinkflood's Redeye: A True iPhone Infrared Remote

Mike Garcen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:14:00 GMT

The idea of an app for the iPhone that allows you to control your A/V equipment is not new, but Thinkflood is unique in that it adds hardware into the mix. RedEye by Thinkflood attempts to convert the iPhone into an activity based learning infrared remote that is completive with the biggest players in the industry. The infrared extender is similar in form factor as the OEM Apple charging cradle but packs some specialized hardware. Inside the base station are multiple infrared LEDs that when connected to the iPhone via Wi-Fi allow you to control your anything with IR. At an MSRP of $188 this device is priced in the middle of high end activity based radio frequency remote controls. Will it be the "ultimate evolution of the remote control?"

Read the rest of the review at MissingRemote.com

Entertainment 2.0-Episode 62: Appletainment 2.0. Wait…what?

MolsonFLMCE — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:14:00 GMT

Even though I promised not to bring it up, Josh forced the issue and we end up spending part of this week’s show talking about Apple’s latest device, the iPad. While neither Josh nor I can personally see a lot of use for the device when compared to your standard netbook, some people seem to think it’s a great thing. We at least try to relate it to Media Center as with the right apps, it could make an interesting addition to your digital life.

iPad announcements aside, we talk this week about MKV to WTV conversion as well as Remote Potato, the new remote scheduling app from Fat Attitude. While it doesn’t pack all the functionality of the now pretty much gone Webguide, it does allow you to remotely schedule recordings as well as view what’s coming up in your scheduled stuff. A good replacement for those who have been holding on to Vista to keep Webguide.

Click here to download Episode 62!

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Thanks to Jere Jones for this week’s show title. Live chat is fun!

Technorati Tags: Apple iPad,Entertainment 2.0,media center,MKV,Podcast,remote potato,WTV

Seen in HD - The "No Audio" Episode, The Hurt Locker review

MolsonFLMCE — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:09:00 GMT

Where last week it sounded like Adam was in a tin can, this week you won't have to hear either of us ramble on. As happens every once in a while, real life gets in the way of fun things like podcasts, so this week we're taking a break from the podcast and instead present to you the first-ever Seen in HD lettercast (is that a word?)

On the news front, Oppo has revealed plans for an even less expensive entry-level Blu-ray player, the BDP-80. It shares many of the same features of the superb BDP-83, but does strip out some of the higher end niceties such as the ABT2010 video processor from Anchor Bay. Audioholics has a nice look at the BDP-80 with a handy comparison.

HDTV adoption continues to grow, according to a research released by Leichtman Research Group, Inc. According to their HDTV 2009 study, nearly 50 percent of U.S. households now have HD sets, double what that number was two years ago, while the media purchase price has gone down 22 percent.

Meanwhile, In-Stat today said they expect Blu-ray revenue to be four times that of DVD by 2013 while still slightly lagging being in units shipped. Highlights of their release: Blu-ray units delivery by 2013 - 80 million, 18% of survey respondents cited price as the limiting factor for Blu-ray adoption, and Europe is the largest Blu-ray player market.

On Blu-ray this week, we'll look at The Hurt Locker. This movie was so good, that we'll still talk about it next week briefly because it deserves to be mentioned on the show itself. Here's a quick review.

The Hurt Locker, a 2010 Best Picture nominee shoe-in, follows a demolitions team in Iraq as it goes about it's duty of locating and dismantling IEDs. The opening scene is brilliant, and in a very close race with the opening to Inglorious Basterds for the title of best opening scene of a movie in 2009. This movie is intense, and rarely takes its foot off your throat. The tension is palpable throughout, rarely do you have a chance to catch your breath before something else happens. It's not so much an action movie, though there is action, but it's hard to call it just a drama either. Brilliantly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this is easily one of the best films I've seen in recent years.

The Hurt Locker comes with a fantastic AVC encode that's listed at 1.78:1 but must be incorrect, because it was definitely letter-boxed on my 50-inch Samsung DLP. It was filmed on both digital and 16MM, but there's no jarring change of tone when the action switches between the two formats. Rather the team has found a perfect way to weave the two formats together to present a gritty, dirty, harsh print that is stunning in both depth and detail. Some minor artifacting appears in a few of the long-range scenes, but that's nitpicking. Combined some very cool camera angles, this is a simply stunning video presentation.

Things get even better on the audio side. As you can imagine, a movie about demolitions experts means things go boom at some point in the film. The DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1 track is more than up to the task. Bass is commanding when needed, but the sound designers did a good job of keeping it on a leash so it doesn't get muddy or out of control. Sound placement is masterful, throughout the film jets and helicopters come into and out of the sound field with the normalcy of honking horns in New York City, and they sound great, passing effortlessly from back to front and left to right. Similarly gunfire is very well placed in the sound field. Despite the amount of action-oriented sound effects, dialogue is never lost or muddled, but clear and crisp throughout. The Hurt Locker enters my top 10 for audio on Blu-ray with a bullet. Get it now for $22.99 at Amazon.

Geek Tonic's guide to the 2010 Winter TV schedule continues to be pretty quiet. The Dollhouse series finale is Friday at 8 p.m. on FOX, and FOX's animation Sunday returns as well. The HD Sportsman is headlined by some good college basketball and a Stanley Cup Finals rematch in Pittsburgh.

There's a large slate of Blu-ray releases for Feb. 2, highlighted by some nice catalog titles such as The Last King of Scotland, Walk the Line, and the wonderful musical The Music Man, along with new releases like Zombieland. If you're looking for a great bargain this week, both Amazon and Best Buy have the complete WWII in HD series from History Channel for just $19.99 on Blu-ray, cheaper than the DVD in both cases. We'll see you next week back on the air.

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[tags] Blu-ray, Seen in HD, The Hurt Locker, WWII in HD, HDTV, sports [/tags]

Podcast: The Media Center Show #241 - Remote Potato

Iand — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:41:06 GMT

Great interview this week with Carl Partridge the developer of Remote Potato, a remote scheduling app for Windows Media Center. With this app you can browse the EPG and schedule recordings via a web browser (including mobile phone browsers), this is a feature missing in Media Center since the changes to Windows 7 broke the fabulous Webguide addin. Carl talk about why he developed the app and how it works, I also have email and a roundup of the weeks news

Listen Here (download mp3) - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Links from this weeks show

Music by Ian Dixon

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

Patriot Box Office HD Media Player

Mike Garcen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:10:00 GMT

Patriot has been around for years, mainly known for memory type products. Recently however, Patriot has branched out quite a bit in their product lineup and have now introduced a viable high definition media player to compete in the somewhat crowded world. This particular unit takes a similar media player concept and hardware platform and expands upon it, allowing hard drive expandability and a few other neat extras to go along with its already solid file support.

Read the full review at MissingRemote.com

Entertainment 2.0-Episode 61: Handy Manny!

MolsonFLMCE — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:05:00 GMT

Back once again and trust me folks, the audio quality is much, much better this week. Skype decided to play along and you won’t have to listen to us sounding like we’re in a tunnel. Hopefully we won’t have any issues for awhile.

As for the content of the show, well, it was a slow week! Josh and I take time to discuss using DVBLink to create network tuners and how this my come into play within the Media Center/Extender ecosystem. Some of our UK listeners have been working hard to get this going and we’ll continue to keep you up-to-date on their progress.

We once again touch on the topic that won’t die, DVD ripping. We also touch a bit on ripping Blu-rays and you can expect more information on that in the coming weeks.

We also talk about streaming content from your Media Center as well as using other devices as remote controls. There are a lot of different options available and while we don’t hit them all, again, you can expect more news soon.

Not a lot of listener mail this week. Remember, we want to hear from you folks! You help us make the show better. You can contact us by email, our contact page, or by calling 1-877-856-4933.

Click here to download Episode 61!

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Technorati Tags: Entertainment 2.0,Media Center,DVBLink,Podcast,DVD Ripping