Entertainment 2.0

Welcome back to the show folks.  We had a bit of trouble recording last night but family comes first and we were still able to get the show out today!  The one good part is that I had an opportunity to pay homage to Monty Python.

This week we take time to talk about Hack7MC yet again.  Michael Healy is really cranking out the hacks and customizations for 7MC and while we were going to talk about two of them this week, we ended up covering three!  Find links below.

We also talk about the value of high end custom Media Center systems vs. building your own/buying from companies like Dell and HP.  There are good and bad points of each and we do our best to hash them out.  As well, be sure and listen to the whole show.  I’m not going to post the link here but we’re making some changes that we think listeners/readers will be happy with.  The podcast is staying the same, just moving a bit.

Leave us your comments or contact us on Twitter (Adam, Josh) if you have any questions, comments or anything else you’d like to share!

Show Links:

13 Million Media Center Users

Hack7MC-New 7MC theme

Hack7MC-Replace Movie Strip with Media Browser

Hack7MC-Color Channel Logos

Microsoft Smooth Streaming

Click here to download the latest episode or listen below:

It’s that time of the week again.  Thanks once more to everyone who joined us for the live show last night.  I’m (and I think I can type for Josh) really enjoying the live aspect of Wednesday nights so I encourage you to join in the fun!  Just click the “Live Show” tab at the top of the page and you’ll be all set.

We took time this week to cover a little news that’s come out recently.  Notably possible MKV support in build 7077 or Windows 7 as well as the rumored ZuneHD and the possibilities it brings.  We also touched on an article written by TechRadar detailing 7 companies that MS should look to buy.  Two of them were Media Center related so Josh and I shared our opinions on those.

We hope everyone is enjoying the show.  We look forward to your feedback!  Comment below or send us a message on Twitter.  We always want to hear from you!

Don’t forget about the Entertainment 2.0 drop!  No one has left us any content yet and Josh is starting to get upset about the whole situation.  Since his hockey team most likely won’t go very far in the playoffs he needs something to look forward to so upload your system pics or leave us a voicemail!

Click here to download Episode 26 or listen below:

Another great episode this week.  Josh and I were lucky enough to speak with Jere Jones, creator of ShowAnalyzer.  We got a lot of great info from Jere about the history and the future of commercial skipping in Media Center, including a time frame on when WTV files will be supported.  Have a listen to find out!

We took some time to cover other topics such as file conversion and Zune integration.  You can find all the links in the show notes below.  Thanks again to everyone who joined us live last night.  It’s getting to be a lot of fun watching the chat while we record.  Keep coming back!

Show Notes and Links:

• Zune Job Posting
• Video Conversion and DVD Ripping
  1. Ben Drawbaugh’s DVR-MS Profiles
  2. Slysoft (DVD Ripping)
  3. Skibit.org (DVD to WMV conversion-Thanks to Richard Miller)
• ShowAnalyzer—Commercial skipping and other fun with Jere Jones.

Thanks again to Jere for joining us and for all the listeners last night.  Tons of fun!  Remember, you can follow Josh and Adam on twitter.  As well, upload your system pics and mp3s or leave us a voicemail at the Entertainment 2.0 drop.

Click here to download Episode 25 or listen below!

Just wanted to let our listeners know that the show will be one day behind this week.  We’re still looking to get it out to you for your weekend.  As well, we’ll be streaming live tonight while recording.  You can expect the stream to start around 7:15pm EST and we’ll jump in and start the show not long after.

Sorry for the delay!  I think it’ll be well worth it though as Josh and I have lined up another great guest for this week.  We look forward to seeing you in the chat.

With no one joining us this week, Josh and I take time to cover a few different issues.  These are some of my favorite shows as there’s very little in the way of show notes.  We sort of just go with it and it makes it enjoyable.

This is also the first week of streaming the show live.  For now, we’re doing this through Ustream and you can listen here on the blog by clicking the “Live Show” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.  The show may be moving at some point but for now, Ustream works so we’ll go with it.

Some of the topics we cover this week:

• Kids and equipment
• Hulu playing games again
• Software changes for us
• 7068 changes
• Content…yeah, this one snuck in on us a bit

Please send us your content!  We want to hear from our listeners.  You can leave a message, upload an MP3 or pictures at the Entertainment 2.0 drop.  We’d love to share your content with other listeners.

You can click here to download the Episode 24 or listen below.

I’d like to take a minute to talk about audio quality with the show as well.  While we do our best to make sure it’s as good as possible but unfortunately this isn’t always possible.  Last week there was noise in the background.  This week there is, from time to time a slight popping sound that can be heard.  I believe that I’ve been able to take care of this but it’s a learning process.  These issues aren’t anything on Josh’s side so I’ll take responsibility for them.  I hope you’ll stick with us through the issues.  We’re not in a professional studio but each episode will only get better!

This week on the Entertainment 2.0 podcast, Josh and I are joined by Michael Healy of Hack7MC.  I frequently repost and link to Michael’s site because he really shows you how to tweak and get your 7MC installation working.  Even if you’re not running the beta and are going to wait for a retail release, this is a site you need to bookmark.

This week we also take time to talk about Ian Dixon’s Media Center Health Monitor and how you can make use of this great tool not only for yourself but for other Media Center installations.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.  You can reach Josh through Cheap Geek and you can find me here!  Also, leave your pictures, comments and voicemail on the Entertainment 2.0 drop. 

Click here to download Episode 22

Or listen here:

If you follow Josh or me on Twitter, you know we, along with a few others, have been pushing this out for a few days now.  Today comes the episode I’ve been waiting to record, and I hope you’ve been waiting to hear for awhile now.

This week’s show brings together 5 HTPC users to debate the finer points of Media Center and SageTV.  Joining Josh and I are Brent Evans of Geektonic, Tim Campbell, HTPCentric co-host and Josh Shenkle of mnmaven.com.  With Josh Pollard moderating, we go through some of the features of each system.

Not much for show notes this week but I wanted to post two of the links we discussed during the show.  These are related to plugins related to each software:

• Media Center plugin list
• SageTV plugin list

Thank you to Brent, Josh and Tim for joining us this week.  It was a lot of fun and I hope this is something we can do again in the future!

Click here to download Episode 21.

Or listen live here:

Have you ever used another HTPC solution?  If so, which one and what did you think?  Comment and let us know!

This week, Entertainment 2.0 listeners are in for a special treat.  For those who don’t know, I also write and co-host a podcast called HTPCentric.  This is a broader topic blog focusing mainly on HTPC software in general.  For awhile now, myself and a few others have been talking about having a showdown between Windows Media Center and SageTV. 

After speaking with Josh, we’ve decided to carry this special podcast here on Entertainment 2.0 as well.  So, on Friday March 13th, you’ll get to hear me, Josh Pollard, Tim Campbell (HTPCentric co-host), Brent Evans of GeekTonic and The Minnesota Maven, Josh (guest on Episode17) debate the finer points of the two systems.

With Tim and Brent taking up the cause for SageTV and Josh and I taking up for Media Center, your Entertainment 2.0 co-host, Josh Pollard, will be stuck in the middle trying to moderate.  While I don’t think anyone will change their mind about which software they use, You’ll get a chance to hear people with a lot of knowledge on the subject help you make a decision.

Again, the show will be posted on Friday, March 13th.  We look forward to hearing your questions and comments.

Another week and another episode!  We cover several topics this week, several of which are actually helpful.  Josh also introduces a new feature to the show and we need your help to make it work!  Each week we’ll now have a listener question of the week and we want to hear from you!  This week:

 How do you, or would you use home automation in your home?

We look forward to hearing from the community on this!  You can comment here or use the links below to contact us!

You’ll have to excuse the audio this week.  It’s all there but the levels are a bit off due to having to do some amplification.  This is all my fault as I, for some reason, decided not to set my software up properly when I reinstalled it.  This will only be for this week as I’ve already made the adjustments for the next show.

Thanks for listening!

Click here to download the latest episode!

Show notes:

• Commercial Skip in 7MC:
  1. Lifextender
  2. ToDVR-MS and DVR-MS Toolbox
• A Bit More Media Browser
• Zune Coming to TV and Mobile?  (Via The Digital Lifestyle)
• Update your Windows 7!
• Linksys DMA-2100 Review

Again, thanks for listening.  I’m listening to the show while writing this and again, I apologize for the audio this week.  It’ll be all fixed for the next episode.

You can reach us using the following links:

Email Cheapgeek

Josh on Twitter

Email Entertainment 2.0

Adam on Twitter

I wanted to take time today and let any listeners know that there will not be a podcast released today or tomorrow.  I’ve decided to make a change to the format of the show and as such, will not be recording until Wednesday evening.  This means that after editing and upload, you should see new episodes from here on out start to show up on Thursdays. 

I apologize for the delay this week as there’s a lot of great news to talk about.  However, after getting some feedback from listeners, I think it’s going to be for the best.  Talk at ya Thursday!