Media @ Home

 The Windows SideShow Team has announced the availability of 4 BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets that let you control Windows Media Center from a Windows Sideshow device. You can sign-up via Microsoft Connect to gain access to Beta Test these new Windows SideShow Gadgets.

Sign-up

I believe this link works 1 time per Windows Live ID (You must sign-in with your Windows Live ID to access Beta Programs on Microsoft Connect). You can submit feedback to the team working on these Gadgets on Microsoft Connect.

Here is the breakdown of the 4 Windows Media Center BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets and what they do:

• Now Playing: View what is currently playing in Windows Media Center (includes playback controls)
• Pictures + Video: Browse your Photos and Videos folders
• Music: Browse your Music folder and play any song
• TV: Look at what is on TV via the Windows Media Center Guide, Schedule Recordings, and View Recordings (in a Thumbnail view)

I downloaded and installed the Windows Media Center BETA Windows SideShow Gadgets on my Dell XPS 420 which has a built in Windows SideShow device on the top front of the system (the XPS MiniView). It’s pretty slick to be able to control Windows Media Center from a Windows SideShow device. I’m quite fond of the Now Playing Gadget myself and the TV Gadget. I utilize Windows Media Center as my primary DVR for recording TV. If you have a Windows SideShow device - definitely give these Windows SideShow Gadgets a try!

NOTE: These 4 Windows Media Center Windows SideShow Gadgets *are* currently in BETA.

Source: http://windowsvistablog.com

 SpeakerCraft was one of the first companies way back when to introduce a multiroom audio system that incorporated metadata from an iPod.

Now the company is taking its ties to Apple one step further with an iPhone interface for the MODE distributed-audio system. The interface is generated through an embedded Web server residing inside SpeakerCraft’s ERS 1.0 Ethernet-to-serial adapter. Since the interface is accessed through the iPhone’s Safari browser, there’s no software to install on the phone (or iTouch).

The ERS also dishes up an interface for standard PC/Mac Web browsers, allowing users to control the system from any iPhone/iTouch on the network.

Multiple interface devices can be used simultaneously to control different zones of the house.

“I hate to say it, but this is the beginning of the end for keypads,” says SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt. “Soon any keypad that isn’t emulated on a device like the iPhone will be obsolete.”

The ERS 1.0 with the embedded software has an MSRP of $1,000.

Source: CE Pro

Niveus is now giving away a free version of its Media Center Companion, which allows users to access certain Media Center functions from third-party devices such as Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs).The version, called Companion Basic, works with any Media Center PC. Previously, Niveus made the software available only for use with its own media servers.Companion Basic has limited functionality compared to the full-blown version. The lightweight Companion only supports three tabs: My Music, My Pictures, and My Remote. The full version, on the other hand, enables access to virtually all Media Center functions, and allows users to control remote TVs connected to Media Center Extenders.

Companion Basic does not support Extenders.

Late last year, Niveus revamped its Companion software, adding support for DVD changers and Extenders, among other new features.

Companion Basic can be downloaded free of charge by registered users at Niveusmedia.com.

Niveus is accepting user’s input on the software and new features, so go register at the forums, download the software, try it out and join the conversation with developers. 

Source: CE Pro
More Info: Niveus Media Center Companion

TigerDirect has a great deal on 750Gb Maxtor OneTouch III external hard drive for all your digital photos, mp3 and high definition videos. The drive has such nice features as Automated OneTouch Back Up, System Rollback which restores your system to a point in time just before your system crashed, while keeping your current data safe and up to date, Maxtor DriveLock™ which password protects the contents of your drive for an extra measure of security and more.

Specifications
Capacity (GB): 750
Interface: USB 2.0
Spindle Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Memory: 16MB
Average Seek (msec): <9.0
Data Transfer Rate on USB 2.0: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Temperature, Operating (°C): 5 to 35
Dimensions: 5.3″ x 2.6″ x 8.5″

Available While Supplies Last.
Hurry, Don’t Miss Out!

Pulse~LINK introduced its CWave® wireless HDMI system that enables the placement of an HDTV anywhere in the room, reducing wire clutter and simplifying connectivity between your media devices.

CWave is using an approach similar to German’s WiMAC only instead of the slower WiFi wireless using UWB (ultra wide band) chipset which enables simultaneous operation of Ethernet over Coax, 1394 over Coax and Wireless connections to your HDTV. This chipset backed with power grid support allows for several simultaneous HD streams on the network.

Devices enabled with the CWave® UWB PL3100 chipset allow HD/Multimedia content located anywhere in the home to be shared across the existing coax backbone with wireless networking connections in each room for Set-Top-Boxes (STBs), HDTVs, DVRs, DVD players, Media Center PCs, and other multimedia equipment. Unequaled data carrying capacity also enables interactive “Trick Play” capabilities (pause, fast-forward, fast-rewind) and menu navigation throughout the home.

Pulse~LINK has a nice intro video of CWave technology on their website.

 Cable clutter and interface problems will soon be a thing of the past. In the living room of the future, all devices are connected wirelessly and can be easily operated via the television set. Fraunhofer researchers and their industrial partners will be presenting the first solutions at CeBIT in Hanover on March 4 through 9.Thick instruction manuals, a confusing tangle of cables and endless different standards – trying to connect your flat screen, DVD recorder, MP3 player, surround system and computer to one another and get them to work is rather a complicated task. Help is on its way in the form of a project called WiMAC(at)home (Wireless Media and Control at Home).

In this project, which is being financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), researchers are working on the wireless connection of electronic devices for broadcasting and entertainment in home networks. Among the partners in this consortium are Loewe Opta GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Germany’s Broadcast Technology Institute (IRT), Nagravision GmbH and Weinzierl Engineering GmbH.

At the heart of the system is a novel TV set which unites several functions in one device. It serves as a digital media archive that can store music, videos and photos, and make them available together with live TV programs in the home network. Pay TV contents, too, can be distributed in a protected environment and in compliance with copyright regulations. The TV can even be connected to automated home systems, enabling heating appliances, alarm systems and air conditioners to be controlled via the screen. All devices in the wireless WiMAC(at)home network configure themselves automatically. New components are incorporated independently by means of Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology. The system is based on the specifications of the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), a global collaboration between computer and consumer electronics manufactures who have set fixed standards for home networking. Thanks to these standards, it is possible to connect notebooks, surround systems, digital video recorders and TVs of different brands. (more…)

It’s been a tough couple of years for both camps HD DVD (HD) and Blu-ray (BD). The consumers were hesitant to invest in either technology, the retail shops suffered from low sales. But now the battle is over. Here’s how it all happened…

• Jun 17th, ‘07: Blockbuster announced its plans to keep only Blu-ray movies in its stores, still offering HD DVD discs online.
• Jul 13th, ‘07: Tartan Video goes exclusively BD.
• Jul 25th, ‘07: Target choses to sell only BD players, but continue to sell discs for both formats.
• Jan 4th, ‘08: Warner Bros Entertainment announced to go exclusively Blu-ray. To be fair Warner was considering going BD since October ‘07.
• Feb 11th, ‘08: Netflix decides to stock only Blu-ray discs.
• Feb 12th, ‘08: Best Buy announced its plans to promote Blu-ray as an HD format of the future.
• Feb 15th, ‘08: Walmart announced to stop stocking HD DVD players in March.
• Feb 18th, ‘08: Samsung has revealed that they will start focusing on Blu-ray format.
• Feb 18th, ‘08: Niveus, producer of home media servers, has announced that effective immediately they will offer Blu-ray drives on all of their server products and will begin phasing out their HD DVD supplies.
• Feb 19th, ‘08: Toshiba (one of the major backers of HD DVD) after selling over a million HD DVD players, recorders and drives worlwide has finally decided to stop production of HD players in March, stating that “we carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called ‘next-generation format war’ and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” (Atsutoshi Nishida, Toshiba president and CEO).
• Feb 19th ‘08: Paramaunt and Universal the last two major studios supporting HD DVD commit to Blu.

Our condolences to all early adopters of HD technology.

HD DVD rest in peace!

Tomb’s picture courtesy of EyeCraveDVD.com

We all remember elementary school’s math lessons.. The train left Point A at 1 pm traveling 60 mph. How long would take the train to arrive to point B…

I recently ordered some hardware for my media center rack from a store called Etech4sale. The store has a warehouse in San Jose (point A) which is about a 40 minute drive from my home (point B). The objective: How long will it take FedEx to deliver the package from point A to point B? If your answer is “about 40 minutes” — you are wrong. The correct answer is 3 days.

It is hard for me to understand the logics behind GPS software that FedEx uses. Especially knowing that other delivery services are going a great distance trying to optimize their routes. Take for instance the “big brown”. Not that long ago UPS decided to limit left-hand turns that their tracks make - to minimize idling time on intersections waiting for oncoming traffic to clear. This little trick in their “package flow” software saved them “28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, which has resulted in savings of roughly three million gallons of gas and has reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons“.

Apparently this is not a problem for FedEx. Here’s how they solved my hardware delivery problem (click image to enlarge). Could someone explain this solution to me, please?

Another mystery for me is why my package was sent by FedEx when I clearly selected “UPS Ground” during check-out.

More on UPS routes optimization: The green way to keep on trucking at Financial Times
Maps courtesy of Google.

CEPro breaks down seven of the most frequently-encountered digital video formats available today -MPG (MPEG), AVI, MOV, ASF, WMV, RM, FLV.

Check it out here.

MCEDev.com has recently announced a new Beta 4 release of TV Toolbox for Windows Vista. This beta includes bug fixes and functional changes that address issues reported by customers who used the first 3 beta versions. 

TV Toolbox allows you to edit recordings (as in remove commercials), convert recordings and define rules to automatically convert just recorded TV shows to a specific format (WMV) to save some HDD space.

Check out the screenshots and application itself at MCEDev.com