The Next Window

Subscriber Bill DePierri wrote recently to ask about using a PC to record television. I’m already doing that with my home theater pc, which Bill has seen:

Terry:

We recently got a Cox DVR. It is pretty clunky with little flexibility. This got me to thinking about your comments about your PC-based DVR’s, especially since I have an old Dell machine that is about to go out to pasture.

This machine is a Dell Pentium 4 with a 2 GHz Intel processor. The computer has 8K of primary cache and 512 K of secondary cache. It has a 100 MHz bus, 1GB of RAM and two 80GB Disc Drives (EIDE).

If I made the conversion to a TV recorder, I would purchase at least one large (500GB?) drive and install it in the computer.

Questions:

1. Does this machine have enough power to handle one channel of video recording?
…

Continue reading Digital Video Recorder or Home Theater PC?

Rather than focus on the standard features of SageTV, which have been covered in many reviews and on the SageTV site, I’ll show some of the modifications I like.

One features I really like about SageTV is the ability to use different menu layouts and even additional functions. Don’t get me wrong, the SageTV program is a fantastic program. The original menu layout is very intuitive and not cluttered. But, we all have a few things we’d like to see…. Some of these changes are implemented in the the recent version 2.1 of SageTV.

Frey Technologies has a program called SageTV Studio, which is currently still in limited beta status. Several of the folks who are using Studio have released some fantastic additions to the great base product. One of the more prominent ones today is that of Nielm, a SageTV enthusiast in Belgium.

The modified main menu screens that are part of Cayars’ “STV” package are good examples. In addition to his own improvements in his STV layout, Cayars has included many of the modifications of other gurus. (If you’re still running version 2.0, Nielm has a similar STV, on which Cayars’ is based). Cayars’ and Nielm’s setups actually have additional menus that are not part of the base SageTV product. This is how they get enough visible selections to allow the new features. Even better, the menu files that control these menus and functions is editable by the user — so we can change the labels, delete items, add more, or change them.

As you can see from these screens, some of the functions are moved from the original positions or screens. More importantly, there are new features. The “Information” link takes you to a page where you can see the local weather and weather forecast. “Stop Playback” is a function that lets you close a file that is playing — this is important because SageTV can show the current program in a window on the SageTV screen or as a background behind the window, in addition to showing it in the normal viewing window.

At the bottom of the screen, this screen shows the program currently being recorded. That display also scrolls to show those programs scheduled to be recorded in the near future. At the bottom right corner is a view of available hard disk space, showing available space and space to be taken in the next 48 hours schedule. Cayars’ STV allows this disk space display to be at the very top of the screen, allowing additional space and information.

Simply, it’s standard PC, including an AMD Athlon XP 2500+, an Abit AN-7 motherboard, a cheap video card with S-Video Out, hard drives, DVD drive and three Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250 TV encoding cards and one PVR-150..

My HTPC case case is a standard Antec tower case. This is not designed for the HTPC service.

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For extra air flow (I have 4 TV tuner cards plus a heat-sinked video card), I added an Antec Cyclone slot fan, but that’s a pretty noisy solution — not motor or bearing noise, but the noise of moving the air. Also, the Antec Cyclone fan only lasted about 4 months before the bearing went out. Not satisfactory. I replaced it with a brand-X similar slot fan which has performed quietly and well. Imagine that…

The motherboard decision was made in concert with the processor decision. I’m a fan of the AMD Athlon XP processor because of its price compared to comparable Intel processors. The processor decision alone saved me a couple hundred dollars. I’ve used Abit motherboards for both AMD and Intel processors. Abit has a history of releasing new BIOS flashes for their motherboards, so I would be able to do some upgrading later.

Read more in Home Theater PC, part 2

After running multiple video cassette recorders for years, drooling over the TiVo® advertisements, and hearing the praise heaped on TiVo by relatives, I decided to build my own version — a Home Theater PC (HTPC). Why, you might ask?

Well, it goes like this: The Fun of building an HTPC. The Challenge. Flexibility. Storage space. No monthly service fee. Video streaming across my network. Higher (and lower) video quality options. My hard drives. System maintenance. Easy software upgrades. Let’s just say, I build my own PCs and it fit my needs.

So, I started reading. First, the biggest question was “what type of HTPC software do I need?” After that, came the issues of the HTPC case and the other HTPC hardware, such as the TV-encoding cards. The TV card comes third because, while there are few manufacturers of TV cards suitable for Home Theater PC’s and personal video recorders, the selection of software may (and does) narrow the choices dramatically.

The two big alternatives were Sage Technologies’ SageTV® and Snapstream’s BeyondTV®. Snapstream’s product was the older of the two and had gone through several generations (they recently released version 3.5). SageTV was a relative newcomer with some significant unique capabilities. Both had large followings, but I liked the SageTV forums and the support and camaraderie exhibited there. Both products had free, time-limited trial versions available.

For my Home Theater PC, I chose SageTV for my HTPC softare because SageTV would support multiple video capture cards. That was the deciding factor for me. (Beyond TV v3.5 added this ability for cards with hardware-encoders). Although I would start with only one card, I expected to expand my system. My HTPC now has three!

After watching the first episode of NBC’s new “Heroes” show, I wasn’t too impressed.

The second episode was a lot better. This show seems to be pulling itself together quickly, with major plot steps quickly.

We learned in episode 2 that there’s a world-changing event happening in a month (we also learned exactly what it is, but I’m not going to post a spoiler). We saw the heroes in their ordinary lives trying to adjust to their strange new powers — each person with apparently a single, unique power.

And, we saw “the bad guy…” but we don’t know why he’s bad, except that the narrator told us.

This one stays as a “Favorite” on my SageTV home theater PC, which means it will continue to be recorded whenever it shows up, as long as I haven’t watched the particular episode.

Love that SageTV in a home theater PC! Think of it as TiVo® on super steriods. Plus, none of the nasty DRM and proprietary storage format that you get with Windows Media Center!

I watched NBC’s new drama Heroes tonight (thank goodness for my home theater pc. I have mixed emotions about the show.

Think “Remake of The 4400″ and you’ve got the idea.

The series may survive if they can pull the threads together quickly enough to capture interest. As it is, although each character introduced had uniqueness (in a dark sort of way, seldomly seen on television), the show was way, way too disjointed.

Fortunately, they also took a lead from some of the other shows today that have good teasers at the end. I’m thinking particularly about the Sci-Fi Channel’s Eureka as a good example. Eureka shows, and apparently the teaser at the end of Heroes’ pilot episode showed, bits and pieces of a lot of future episodes — to try to communicate some quick continuity and sense of purpose to the viewers.

It worked well with Eureka. I’ll give Heroes another chance.

It can’t be worse than The 4400, I hope…

Watching movies is a neat escape from the stressful lifestyle we live in. Watching movies in a wide screen and surround sound take you far away and into the movie scene you are watching. You watch it as if you were there in the movie scene.

Of late, we can only experience this escape in a cinema. However, modern technology may be able to provide this same sight and sound experience right in your own living room. We will discuss the basic components of a home theater system in this article. Read on to understand how these basic components can deliver the best cinematic experience to a home theater system.

Home theater experts state that the most important consideration in setting up a home theater system is the size of the room where you will set up the home theater system. The most important component of the home theater system, which is the television, is dependent on the size of the room. Generally, a 27 inch television set at a minimum is necessary for your home theater set up. A flat screen television (plasma television or LCD TV) is good for a home theater system because it exhibits fewer glares and produces a crisper image.

Another major component of a home theater system that depends on the size of the room is the speaker. The number of speakers for your home theater system is dependent on the size of the room. You may add up to six speakers from the basic three speakers if you want a more lifelike sound. Adding a subwoofer may also be good to achieve a complete surround sound like in the movie theaters. Three speakers should be the minimum; you may go up to six if the room is big.

Another major for your home theater system is the DVD player. DVD players with progressive scan will be the best choice. This is because progressive scan produces sharp and flicker-free pictures. This however points back to the choice of television unit; you may need to check if the flat television set supports progressive scan signals. You may also want to acquire a five-disk carousel DVD player.

A more minor consideration is the power rating that will determine how loud your speaker can be. Of course, almost all these depend on the size of the room to where the home theater system is going to be set up. Small rooms require little from your equipment, while bigger rooms may require more power and size.

You may also want to add home theater seating to your home theater center. A bigger room thus requires more investments. A smaller room might require fewer pieces of equipment, but you should still make sure you get good quality equipment to avoid a “too basic feel” of your home theater system.

Finally, you may acquire a beautifully designed home theater system if you consider hiring a home theater expert. If you can afford this, it will be best for you because the home theater expert will be able to effectively design and set up your home theater system. Your home theater designer may also add some features like home theater seating and other home theater furniture to be able to give the complete home theater package that closely resembles a real movie theater.

Having the finest and high-quality home theater system will give you the most sought after set up that you could flaunt and enjoy to the max.

Read much more about home theaters and Home Theater PCs (a.k.a. Media Center PC’s) at my Terry’s Home Theater web site.

Technorati Tags: home theater, home theater+pc, media center+pc, plasma tv, projection tv

Back in the early 1990’s, I was driving to work one day and heard an NPR announcement of the upcoming radio drama series “Star Wars.”

My excitement at the announcement was overwhelmed by the impression of the actual radio drama!

Instead of the visual candy of the screen version, the radio drama enabled me to visualize the events and people. Definitely a good thing! Several of the roles were reprised by the original actors.

Star Wars (“Episode 4″) was filled in the holes in the movie. The 2.5 hour movie became 13 episodes at about 45 minutes each — lots of time for characters to develop and to address the background, too.

This set includes not only the original Episode 4, but also Episode 5 (The Empire Strikes Back) and Episode 6 (Return of the Jedi).

I highly recommend this CD set. You’ll enjoy it for a long time.
The Complete Star Wars Trilogy, Episodes IV, V, & VI Radio Drama (Audio CDs)

Technorati Tags: Star Wars, Radio Drama, audio book, Star Wars Radio, Star Wars audio book

Just finished watching the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, which my Home Theater PC recorded for me over Valentine’s weekend.

While this was definitely a “chick flick” (that is, full of emotion and low on action), I recommend it for rental, viewing on television or purchase.

Why? The photography in the movie — whether the filming of people or landscapes — was excellent. Sometimes, directors go for a soft look. Other times, they want the focus sharply on the person, but slightly blurred on the background.

Here, it seemed that everything was in focus, but I never had the feeling that I was looking at a soap opera — well, the content maybe gave me that feel, but the photography didn’t.