Entertainment 2.0

When you’ve been using components for a long time, sometimes you forget that it might be a good idea to review them for others.  That’s the thought that crossed my mind today while talking to Josh.  The Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 has been controlling my Media Center experience for at least two years now.  The ability to control the Xbox 360 both in Media Center and the dashboard is what led my wife to get it for me as a gift and I’ve yet to look for another solution.

Like most of Logitech’s remotes, this is a full universal solution.  Able to connect, through software on your PC, to a database of over 175,000 devices means that you’re not going to have to worry about whether or not this remote will control your gear.  Not only that but it comes with an IR port on the bottom specifically for learning commands from your other remotes.  This makes it compatible with basically any IR device you throw at it.

One thing I really enjoy about the Harmony 360 is the fact that you don’t just setup your hardware.  You get to manage “Activities”.  Activities give you the ability to turn on, and set to the right input every piece of gear you need to run a certain activity.  Set up an Activity for watching Blu-Ray, and at the touch of a button, the remote will turn on your Blu-Ray player, receiver and TV, then set your receiver and TV to “Video 2” or whatever input you might be using.  This can be great if you have multiple devices connected to one display.  As an example, in our home, we have the PC connected for Media Center and a Wii for gaming.  This remote allows me to switch between the two without multiple button presses.  Simply wonderful.  The one thing to keep in mind with this is that it takes time to send all of those signals, so you have to be sure the remote has LoS to your devices until it’s done.

Setting up the Harmony 360 is a breeze.  After installing the software on your PC of choice you’ll be required to sign up for an account.  The software automatically connects to the internet to receive updates and maintain a profile for you.  Why I’m not sure but the software overall works great.  After adding your equipment you can start building activities.  This is simply a matter of selecting with pieces of gear are used and what they need to be set to.  If you have multiple sound sources, the software makes sure to ask which component you want to control the volume with, etc.  It’s all very intuitive and easy to do.  The only time I had trouble was when setting it up to control my Media Center PC.  This was more me than the software as I didn’t realize at first that there was a selection for “Vista Media Center” and I was attempting to set the remote up to control a computer.  This brings you to a motherboard selection screen.  Not something you want or need to get into in order to control Media Center.

Overall I’ve been exceedingly happy with the Harmony 360.  Whether you need a universal remote for your Xbox or are looking for a lower priced Harmony solution for your MCE PC, this remote will do both.  At only $99, it doesn’t do EVERYTHING that something like a Harmony One will, the price point is much lower.  While no universal solution is perfect, Logitech has done a great job putting together an easy to use yet very encompassing solution with the Harmony 360.

What remote solution to you use to control your home theater experience, universal or otherwise?  Leave a comment with your suggestions or recommendation!

In part one of this beginner series, I discussed the main Media Center PC and the hardware considerations that come into play.  The next thing we need to look at when setting up a Media Center system is integrating your whole home.  Having to put a PC at each TV isn’t always an option and Microsoft has made sure that you don’t have to.  Media Center can be extended around your home through the use of extenders and we’ll cover them here today.

You have several options when looking for an extender.  Prices range from $100 to close to $300 and what you choose will depend not only on your budget but what other features you might like to have.  They each offer something different and I’ll pass along my recommendations as we go.

First on our list of extenders is probably also the most popular.  The Xbox 360 comes out of the box ready to connect to any PC in your home with Windows Media Center.  The setup process is quick and intuitive.  Once connected you have the full Media Center experience at your finger tips.  Of all the extenders I’ve used, the 360 certainly has the fastest interface.  The one complaint this box has received is the amount of noise it makes.  While neither me nor my wife can hear it, others have commented that they can.  Something to consider.  The good part about the 360 is that you’re getting a great gaming machine in the process.  Even if you don’t consider yourself a gamer, per se, there are a lot of casual games available for the system that may make it worth the $200 price tag for the lowest priced model. 

Next up is the Linksys DMA-2100 and DMA-2200.  The only difference between the two boxes is that the 2200 comes with a built in DVD player.  Since I’m the type of user that puts his content on HDD, this isn’t important to me, but you may want it.  One of the differences between this (and other) extenders and the Xbox 360 is the speed of the UI.  I currently have a DMA-2100 connected to one of my televisions.  It’s running wireless, and the UI is certainly much slower than the 360s.  While the wireless connection is contributing to this, much of it has to do with processing power.  The Linksys doesn’t have it.  Don’t take that to mean that this is a bad extender.  I’ve been very happy with it so far.  It does its job perfectly and when on sale you can get one for around $100 or less.  That makes this the cheapest extender of the bunch.  The 2200 normally goes for a bit more but again, when on sale you should be able to find one for around $100.  For that price, understand that you’re getting an extender and nothing else.  The other devices listed in this article will typically do something else.  Not so with these. 

The last extender I want to cover by itself today is the D-link DSM-750.  I have yet to use one of these so it would be unfair to review it for you.  What I can tell you is that according to the D-link website, the DSM-750 will provide a little more than just extender capabilities.  Outside of the Media Center UI you are able to access your content.  This means that technically you don’t have to have a Media Center PC to be able to get your videos, pictures and music to your TV.  Though someone like myself wouldn’t use this feature, it is again something to consider.  Also, the DSM-750 is compatible with PlayON, a software application which when run on your PC, provides access to online video content such as Hulu, Youtube, etc.  This could be nice if you enjoy watching online video.  This extender goes for $290 according to the D-Link and I rarely see them on sale.  For this price I’d expect a lot more…

I won’t go into detail on any other extenders out there.  There are several.  I’ve been told that HP has discontinued the MediaConnect extender.  Samsung has one available but this will only work with select Samsung televisions.  As well, Toshiba has several in the works including, I believe, several models of televisions which will have the extender built in allowing you to simply plug it in, connect it to your network and be ready to go. The options available are many and there isn’t one “perfect” solution.  Many times this means that a combination of extenders is what is needed.

Please comment with questions should you find yourself looking for an extender and not knowing which to use.  I’m always happy to help!

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

While my main system is custom built, I have to admit, it would be nice to have something I can just setup and run in other locations around the house such as my kitchen.  It’s also hard to justify spending a ton of money on a PC that won’t be used very much.  In walks Acer to fill a gap.

EngadgetHD has reported that the specs for the Acer Hornet line of nettops has been leaked and it looks like they’re making one just for us Media Center users.  With 2GB of ram and a 160GB hard drive, this little unit might just be perfect for a second Media Center system.  And seeing how Acer has dubbed it the Media Center, they might be thinking the same thing.  Oh, and did I mention 1080p playback over HDMI?

Have a look at the EngadgetHD article for more info and check out the spec sheet they posted below.

Mike’s Digital Home is reporting that right after knocking the DMA-2100 down to $69 for a few weeks, Dell is repeating the sale with the DMA-2200.  While it’s not dropping quite as low, $100 off isn’t bad for the same thing with a built in DVD player.  There are  times I miss having one hooked to the set where I use my DMA-2100 extender from time to time, so one of these might be worth it.

Head over to Mike’s blog at The Green Button to get to the sale!

This is coming through Richard Miller’s blog over at TDL.  Chris from the ehome team has posted to The Green Button that on the 11th of March, Windows 7 users will need to run their TV Setup again in order to make some adjustments to ID used.

From the forum post:

What this means to you is that on ~3/11/09 there will be a change to the headend which will require you to go through TV Setup. ***NOTE*** This is not through first run, and should keep you from losing any scheduled recordings etc. since it will simply map to use what headend is used to populate guide updates.

You can find TV setup at: task –> settings –> TV –> Setup TV Signal
Once you have gone through TV Setup, there should be no further steps to take. To confirm the change, before going through TV Setup, you can go to Tasks –> Settings –> Guide –> About Guide Listings and note the headend ID’s. After going through the TV Setup process, you should notice the ID for your ATSC/QAM headend has changed.

This change does not affect any other headends/data in any way.
Since this change goes live 3/11/09 I would recommend that you use this process on 3/12/09 to be sure the data has come down completely. If after this process you see no new updates to your EPG, please post here and I will do my best to help confirm any issues.

Be sure to make a note if you’re currently running Windows 7 and have an ATSC/QAM tuner installed.

Several months ago my dual analog tuner started acting really flaky.  I tolerated this for awhile, not really know what was going on.  Once I narrowed it down to the tuner it was time to find a new one.  At the time, Windows 7 was a rumor and no one really knew when we might see it so it wasn’t a consideration.  Lucky for me, it’s not an issue.

The My Cinema PE-9400 is a hybrid NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner.  On the exterior of the card you’ll find two coax connections.  One of these is an analog NTSC tuner which I currently have hooked to standard cable.  The other is an ATSC/QAM tuner which I currently have hooked to my standard cable to receive ClearQAM (unencrypted) cable channels.  Since it also handles ATSC, this is also the tuner you would hook your OTA antenna to.

Card Specs:

• Powered by PCI-Express port for faster data transmission

• MPEG2 hardware encoder built-in for unprecedented multitasking efficiency boost

• Hardware noise reduction technology built-in to enhance best video quality

• Watch analog TV and digital TV over the air (or digital TV through a standard coaxial cable) simultaneously.

• Watch analog TV or digital TV and record another, or record two different channels at the same time.

• Edit and burn video into DVD or VCD

• Remote control kit for easy channel surfing

• Listen to FM radio and music

• Capture external video-in source

• Play DVD & VCD

• Sort video and photographs

• "ASUS VideoSecurity Online Technology" for making your private security system on PC

• Microsoft Vista Home Premium / Vista Home Basic / Vista Ultimate / Windows XP certified

When you open the box you’ll find the card itself, a Media Center remote, IR receiver, software CD, and instruction manual.  It’s your standard PCIx1 card so to install you just open your case and throw it in.  Once you’ve secured it in your system, you’d think the next thing you could do is use the included CD to install your drivers and you’d be all set.  Yeah, you’d be wrong.  This is my first complaint about this card.  While I’m sure the drivers are there, both Windows Vista and Windows 7 can’t find them.  Asus’s own DVR and tuning software is there and if you install it then the drivers will follow.  The problem here is that under Windows Vista, this was giving me remote control errors.  The remote would open the Asus software as well as Media Center.  Not fun.  I ended up un-installing the software, going to the Asus site and downloading and installing stand alone drivers.  Once I did, everything worked like a charm.

Depending on the signal you receive, you’ll use one or both of the coax connections now sticking out of the back of your PC.  While this may be a single hybrid tuner, it can record from both inputs at the same time.  This allows, if you have OTA digital and standard cable for instance, to record one of your OTA networks in HD and a standard cable channel at the same time.  While this isn’t terribly useful, if your setup is like mine, it’ll be perfect.

Once you’ve gotten this far, most things should be familiar to you.  You’re going to walk through the standard Media Center setup.  If you’re running the Vista TV-Pack or Windows 7, this may be more involved depending on what signals you have or which connection you’re using. 

Overall, I can’t complain about the MyCinema PE-9400.  While setup could be a bit easier with standalone drivers being on the disk, once you’re installed and setup, you should be happy.  Both standard and HD recordings and live TV look great.  While there are issues with streaming recorded HD TV to my Xbox 360, these have nothing to do with the PE-9400 and everything to do with Windows 7.  Others have had these issues and I hope they’re cleared up by the time RC1 comes out.

If you’re looking for a single tuner or one that can handle the signal you need in the U.S., then the MyCinema PE-9400 will fit the bill.  While it won’t give you anything to sing about, it’ll get your TV into your PC and beyond with Media Center.

S3 Graphics announced this past week that it has released a new video card specifically for use in playing HD content, the Chrome 540GTX.  While it doesn’t look like this would be much good for gaming, if you’re building an HTPC rig, it might be a card to consider.  Sporting HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort, the card should allow you to hook your HTPC up to your monitor of choice and get the best HD picture possible.

Product Highlights:

Advanced Display Connectivity:  Display interfaces include the newly introduced DisplayPort, HDMI, dual-link DVI. Integrated digital display support with HDCP content protection allows users to connect to a multitude of monitors and displays for HD content viewing across a secure display path. Built-in HDMI transmitters with Dolby 7.1 digital surround sound and HD Audio controllers allow seamless audio/video HDMI connectivity.

Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1 Support:  An S3 proprietary unified shader architecture supports the latest additions to DirectX® 10.1 allowing realistic 3D rendering and increased visual acuity through improved Anti-aliasing, Image/Texture improvements, higher precision formats, and programmable lighting effects. These improvements allow Chrome 540 GTX users to experience life-like rendering and image quality in supported DirectX® 10.1 applications.

ChromotionHD™ Video Technology:  Featuring a fully programmable video architecture with true HD quality 1080p playback for Blu-ray™ and HD-DVD™ content, the ChromotionHD™ engine supports the latest HD standards including H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC-1, WMV-HD, and AVS, for a stunning movie experience. The video engine is also highly optimized with the decoding and post processing display pipeline that allows simultaneous acceleration of single and multiple video streams in HD format with vibrant colors and picture clarity.

S3 Graphics PowerWise™ Technology:  Sophisticated algorithms and power control mechanisms allow the Chrome 540 GTX to deliver the optimal balance between performance and power on-the-fly, to meet performance and application requirements for power efficient graphics computing on desktop and small form factor (SFF) PCs.

PCI Express®2.0:  The Chrome 540 GTX supports the latest advances to the PC component interconnect by offering users the ability to boost the graphics performance of their current systems with the high throughput PCI Express® 2.0 bus technology. The faster connection speed also allows users to take advantage of additional S3 Graphics technologies such as AcceleRAM™ which leverages system memory for image data storage.

The card is available to US customers for $69.95 directly from the S3 Graphics store.

Cross posted from HTPCentric.

It’s one of the most basic parts of a PC.  The thing that holds it all together.  Without it a PC is just a stack of parts on a motherboard.  We’re talking about the case.  In my home, my main MCE machine sits in a standard ATX case.  My goal was to build something that would be hidden away.  Now that I’m about to move things around and the box will be in my living room, I’m starting to reconsider how I want it to look.  As such, I’ve started searching around for an HTPC case.  these are a bit different than your standard PC case in that they look like they belong in a home theater setup.

I certainly can’t list every case on the market, but I want to touch on a few of the options that are available to you if you’re looking to put together your first custom project.  I’m going to look at this from my prospective since I’m looking for one as well.  I only have a few requirements:

• Needs to accept ATX motherboards-Different people like different boards and I don’t want to be forced into a choice on down the road.  If it can handle ATX than a small board should fit too.
• Lots of space-If I want to expand later, I don’t want to have to squeeze everything in.  We’re talking HTPC here so room for lots of hard drives is a must as well as multiple add-on cards.  i.e.:  tuners, video cards, expansion slots, etc.
• Good ventilation-These parts need to breathe and I don’t want to run 20 fans to keep everything cool.  This box is going in the living room so it needs to be quiet.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re using the Windows 7 beta for Media Center, there’s a good bet that you have a TV Tuner installed.  If not, and you’re looking for one it sure would be nice to know whether or not the one you want will work.

Leave it to the guys at The Green Button to get together and build a list.  What you see below is incomplete as more have been added to the forum post, but this will get you started.  My card is listed right at the top and I can say for sure that it works.  If you have or want to pick up one of the others, take a look below.

Again, if you’re looking at a different card, head over to the thread to see if someone has tested it and what drivers you’ll need to get it working.

The article doesn’t say which media software is running in the box, but does it really matter when it looks like this? 

I’m not much into 50s style but you have to admit, to pack a media PC into a box like this is pretty cool.  There are a lot of nice HTPC cases out there but you won’t get the same double takes that you will with this one!

From the article:

While it’s a one-of-a-kind prototype, we’d sure like to have one of these babies adorning the shelves of our home theater. About the size of that Dell Studio Hybrid we favorably reviewed, if it were fitted with the quietest of PC components, it would be the perfect eye-catching home theater PC. Quick, somebody with deep pockets help this guy bring the thing to market!

I’d love to see more designs like this come to market.  There might be a business for custom HTPC cases.  What would you have made for your ultimate HTPC case?