TheAppDotNet

Media Center PC

2009-07-01T00:59:57Z

Originally Posted September 14th 2005 *

After several years of fooling around with TV to PC and such, I have finally gotten a decent system up and running, that Stephanie and the kids can use. Some of the features I think that they actually prefer now.

I am running Homeseer 2.0 in the background. It is very rare to interact with it now, except using the web interface. I have it controlling a shitload of X-10 devices, one Z-wave lamp interface, which I cannot decide if I like or not. I originally had the Z-Wave beginners kit, or something like that. Came with a Z-Wave hand held controller, a USB interface, and two lamp modules. One of the lamp modules went belly up after about a month and has been sitting in a drawer ever since. The Hand held controller works, and I have used it to program the devices, but as a remote it blows chunks. It is nowhere even close to being intuitive, hard to use, and a general pain in the ass. As far as the USB controller and remaining lamp module, they work, but there is an issue with either Homeseer 2.0, or the interface is going bad, because I have to restart Homeseer sometimes three or four times a day because it loses communication with the controller. All in all, I will probably ditch Z-Wave in the very near future. I have heard lots of good things about it, but in my experience it sucks. If the shit doesn't work out of the box for a dumb ass, then nobody will buy it or take it seriously down the road.
I use the ADI Ocelot as my X-10 controller, as well as (less often) IR control. The Ocelot kicks ass. I have had it for a year or two, and have never had a problem with it. No software for me to bungle up (except for the rare cases when I use CMAX to program events in it) and it works great with HS. I am using a 3rd party plugin for it, rather than the stock Ocelot plugin.
I also have a Temp05 temperature interface. I have about 15 temperature sensors around the house, inside and out, as well as a humidity sensor. I have most of them disconnected pending a rewiring project that I have not gotten around to yet.
I have two RF sensors, the MR-26a, and the W800RF for my remote control. Works very well, and I can use Homeseer with a girder interface to translate commands to the rest of my programs.

For remotes, I have two. I would like to go down to only one, but have not had the time to fool with the needed configuration for that. The main one is the Snapstream Firefly. I use it to control just about EVERYTHING on the HTPC. Unfortunately it is strictly RF, so I have to use my programmable IR remote for everything else.

On the front end, I am using Meedio as my main interface. I really like the menuing system, and it is very extensible. I have a rudimentary plugin that uses Homeseer and Girder to control my lighting from Meedio, although my remote is faster and I normally use that. It uses libraries to catalog all of my music, movies and pictures, in addition to information downloaded from the web. I am able to use it as a My Pictures slideshow (with music playing if I want it). DVD rips, in addition to movies record with my PVR software are also available. I don't use the internal music software, as there is NO support for music downloaded from iTunes, and not likely to be any time in the near future. I do use a plugin the runs winamp in the background, which works great. Near seamless, I never see winamp.

As far as TV, I own Meedio Pro, which includes a PVR interface, but support for TV tuner cards sucks, and overall, it is very inferior to Snapstreams product, BeyondTV. I have three TV tuners, one is USB, the other two PCI cards. One of the PCI cards is hooked to my cable box, the other two, just to regular cable. BeyondTV also offers me the capability to use a serial cable from my cable box to the PC, so it changes the channels when I need it to. In the past I used girder and the Ocelot, and if I ever have my cable box upgraded, will probably end up doing that again, but it is much slower than the serial hookup. The PVR is great. I can record two shows simultaneously while watching a 3rd. I schedule it to record stuff that I really want to watch, very rarely do I watch live TV anymore. When I do watch it live, I am able to pause, rewind, set it to record even though I am in the middle of the show. The Beta version that I was running earlier this summer also offers FM tuner support, I am very much looking forward to that being added back in.

In comparison to alot of systems that I have seen pictures of and described, I have a pretty damn basic system, but it works great for me. I would hate to have to go back to regular TV. I have about 30 gigs of music that I recorded from my CDs, LPs and Cassettes. Much better than taking up all of that damn room. I do still get the occasional CD, but I prefer to use iTunes, as it is cheaper, and I don't even have to leave the house for it.

Movies

2009-07-01T00:56:45Z

Originally posted on September 23, 2005 (See previous entry)

I quit using Blockbuster quite awhile back after they treated me like they didn't give a shit if I was their customer or not (don't have the link, but I posted a couple times about them on the blog). I used a local place up the street from me just to check them out, but the prices are too high, and they don't have a whole lot of movies to choose from.

Broke down this week and decided to check out Netflix, as they are having a free two week trial. I figured I would be able to watch a movie or two, then decide if I want to pay the 19.99 a month for the service (or 9.99 if I go the route of one movie at a time). I signed up Wednesday night, and put a few movies in my queue. Received them today. So far I am pretty impressed. Very fast. We will either watch them tonight, or rip them to a temporary drive to watch at my leisure later before I get rid of them, and I will mail the DVDs back tomorrow. I received A Series of Unfortunate Events, Million Dollar Baby, and National Treasure. Since I only go to the theaters about once a year, I haven't seen any of them yet. Time to sit back, have a beer and watch some TV tonight. I have someone else doing drawer change for me, so I will not be going back in until tomorrow morning.

Since I am on the subject of the boob tube, I was happy to see that Lost is back on. Also caught this show on called Invasion. It seemed pretty entertaining, I will watch it again once or twice and see if I like it or not. Some kind of alien invasion thing.

Old entries

2009-07-01T00:53:52Z

Since I upgraded my system awhile back I lost all of my archives but fortunately the html pages are still there. I will be reposting them as I get the chance.

HTPC Back Online

2009-06-03T21:32:32Z

So after 18 months or so of being without a running HTPC I finally got around to building a new one. The wife and girls are ecstatic and I must say I am pleased myself. The biggest thing for me was the time to just sit down and put it together. That and the fact that I am such a cheap bastard.

I will post some pictures later but the setup is as follow. The hardware is an EVGA nForce 730a, Athlon X26000, 4GB memory, around a terabyte of HD space, all Serial ATA, and EVGA Geforce 9500 and an HP DVD burner I had laying around from my last desktop. I have a USB-Serial converter for my connection to my cable box, a Firefly receiver and remote. My three TV tuners are all Hauppauge. A PVR USB 2 and a PVR150MCE both receiving from coax and a PVR250BTV receving component video from my Motorola DCT2000 cable box.

My sound is an SPDIF cable from the built-in motherboard audio into my Sony receiver and surround sound speakers. I've also got an XBox in there somewhere as well.

The software I am using is BeyondTV for recording and watching TV, Meedio for music and some movies as well as weather and news and TheaterTek for DVDs.

I'll post again later with pictures and more detailed specs.

Heaven & Hell: The Devil You Know

2009-04-28T13:35:08Z

A couple of years ago Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Vinnie Appice reformed the group that was once known as Black Sabbath and started releasing stuff under the name Heaven and Hell. It's only appropriate since while Dio was the lead singer for Sabbath during the early eighties and then again for a brief time in the nineties, classic Black Sabbath isn't Sabbath without Ozzy.

That doesn't mean I don't like this lineup. On the contrary, I love it and they have released a new album. TODAY! It's entitled The Devil You Know and you can click on the album cover to purchase it at Amazon.

Up until recently I've been purchasing all of my music via iTunes but the biggest problem with that has been that 90% of the stuff I would buy from them is completely unusable for me on my Blackberry Storm. That has been changing recently since they are ditching DRM but in the meantime Amazon MP3 has been making quite a few improvements. One is that the Amazon MP3 downloader automatically adds my purchases to my iTunes playlists (or WMP if that's your flavor of choice) AND it's cheaper to shop at Amazon. For instance, The Devil You Know is 9.99 from iTunes but only 9.90 from Amazon. 9 cents may not seem like a lot of money but I can tell you as a small business manager that the way you make (and save) money is by watching the pennies you spend. Pretty soon it adds up and considering bewteen my wife and I we buy probably five albums a month that adds up over the course of the year.

So on to the album. I bought the single, Bible Black, a couple of weeks ago and it's OK. Nothing great but it's pretty rocking. I am about halfway through listening to the album and just finished syncing it to my Blackberry so I can go work in the yard. So far it's somewhat reminiscent of Dehumanizer but maybe a little harder. Once I've listened to it a couple more times I'll be able to post a full review here.

Windows 7 RC Leak?

2009-04-25T08:51:21Z

Image via CrunchBase

According to Download Squad the latest Windows candidate has been leaked. This times it the release candidate build 7100. There are apparently a couple of pretty strong seeds out there and a couple of torrents each for the x86 and x64 versions.

I'm currently running the 7000 beta and seriously considering giving this one a go as it is apparently the real thing. If you are nervous about downloading things in the wild, Microsoft is supposed to be releasing it on Technet on May 5th.

Apple Takes Down Baby Shaking App

2009-04-24T20:57:00Z

Apple's policy with every iPhone app that's sold through it's store is that they have to approve every single one of them, which can mean quite a delay for some developers. That's what makes me wonder exactly what moron approved the "Baby Shaker" application which Apple has now nixed due to the loud outcry nationwide.

The object of the game was to see how long you could listen to the cry of a baby before you shook your iPhone to make it stop. WTF? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense that this one would have passed through considering how many more less offensive applications have been removed from the App Store.

Worms Coming to the iPhone...

2009-04-24T20:38:05Z

One of my favorite games of all time is Team17's Worms. I haven't played it in years but remember it with fondness, as do quite a few other people it seems.

According to PocketGamer Team17 has an iPhone version that should be dropping into the App Store pretty soon. The Pocket Gamer article also has some photos your going to want to check out.

Now I just have to hold my breath and hope that they will release a version for the Blackberry Storm since that's my phone of choice.

Asus Eee 1000HE Review

2009-04-23T08:54:33Z

When I purchased my laptop a couple of months ago I toyed with the idea of getting a netbook. The biggest issue for me at the time was that it was going to have to be a complete replacement for my desktop so in the end a Netbook was just not going to work for me. That doesn't mean I've quit looking for one though. While my Blackberry Storm is great, the online experience isn't quite what I would like it to be, particularly when I'm having to fill out forms and whatnot. I am in no rush though so will continue reading reviews and playing with the netbooks in retail stores until I find one I am really happy with.

The Techzone has a hands-on review of the Asus Eee 1000HE for anyone interested, just head on over and check it out. Here's a preview:

The first few netbooks to reach the market were remarkably basic and underpowered, so they weren't nearly as popular as they could have been. These days, netbooks are almost as good as cheaper, smaller laptops in their own right and easily one of the best that I have encountered to date is the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. While it may sound like just another addition to the expanding Eee PC line from Asus, the 1000HE is a huge step forward for the segment. Better still, it doesn't really cost any more than some of its lesser compatriots.

Blackberry Email Outage

2009-04-13T20:54:41Z

I've read in several places that there is currently a Blackberry email outage that has hit several providers including Verizon. I am on Verizon myself and just got several emails, so apparently it is a bit more sporadic than I initially heard.

Will post more information as I get it.

iTunes Prices Set To Rise

2009-04-10T09:06:09Z

Apple is raising some of the prices on it's music service soon, staggering prices up to $1.29, which is a little under a 30% increase. That's a pretty big chunk of change when you think about it.

Up until recently iTunes was the only music service I had used (aside from buying tracks at individual artist sites) but recently I tried Amazon's MP3 site and I was pleasantly surprised.. Amazon sells their songs for .99 and there is no DRM on the music that they sell AND their web interface let me download a small program that would add any music I purchase from their site straight into my iTunes library with ease.

HSTouch Released

2009-04-10T00:51:19Z

This news is actually a few days old now but I wanted to go ahead and share the press release. I haven't used HSTouch and don't currently have anything to use it with but may soon remedy that. Here's the press release from Homeseer:

HomeSeer Releases HSTouch™ Interface Design System

Bedford, NH - HomeSeer Technologies announces the release of its new HSTouch interface design system. The new system provides an easy to use, fully customizable, family-friendly graphical interface for all HomeSeer home automation systems and will run on in-wall, stand-alone, portable, handheld and wireless touchscreen devices. HSTouch integrates tightly with all HomeSeer-based automation systems and the screens are fully customizable to work with virtually all backgrounds, buttons and graphics. An integrated RSS browser is also included for easy access popular data feeds for weather, news, sports and stock information.

Unlike other programs of this type, HSTouch is IP-enabled and may be used to monitor and control remote HomeSeer installations, including secondary residences. HSTouch is also designed to run on Windows®, Windows CE and Windows Mobile devices, ensuring compatibility with the widest range of touchscreens currently available. A version for the iPod Touch® and iPhone® is planned for release later this year.

Integrators will appreciate the remote deployment functions in HSTouch. Projects may be created or edited remotely and then deployed to customer sites without the need for a site visit or service call.

All HomeSeer automation systems are designed to work seamlessly with industry standards and products from leading manufactures such as Lutron®, Intermatic®, Leviton®, Russound®, Cooper®, Monster Cable®, Microsoft®, Centralite®, DSC®, Aprilaire®, ACT, RCS and others. Support for the latest automation technologies such as Z-Wave®, UPB and Insteon® is also included.

HSTouch is shipping now.

For the past ten years, HomeSeer Technologies has been creating some of the most popular and robust automation systems available. HomeSeer Technologies' software and hardware controllers have been installed in thousands of residential and commercial sites. HomeSeer has won numerous awards including TechTV's Best of CES, HomeAutomation top 50, TechLiving's HOT LIST, and was recently selected as a central integration component in all episodes of the hit FOX TV show "Renovate My Family". HomeSeer Technologies web site is HomeSeer.com.
About HomeSeer Technologies

HomeSeer Technologies is a leading provider of home control software based in Bedford New Hampshire. Our software and hardware controllers give users the ability to integrate and automate everything in their home, including lights, appliances, thermostats, audio/video, and media content. Our software is IP enabled, giving users remote access from anywhere in the world. Visit www.homeseer.com for more information.

Blackberry Storm 2 Rumors

2009-04-07T17:41:19Z

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I've read rumors on several different sites the last couple of days about the Blackberry Storm 2 that is supposed to be coming out this fall....on Verizon. Both Slashgear and BoyGenius have posts up about it and I for one am excited.

I seem to be one of the few people that really like their Storm and the rumored changes sound great to me.

According to Slashgear we'll be getting Wi-Fi, which although it was never a deal-breaker for me, will be nice to have. Being able to browse my home network without resorting to VPN tricks will be sweet. Can you say Homeseer-BeyondTV-Storm combination? The Storm would be a valuable addition to my HA setup.

In addition to WiFi BoyGenius is also reporting that the Storm 2 will also be launching with new touch screen technology and they will be renaming it from SurePress to TruePress. They are also speculating that it will have a better camera as well, which makes sense.

More Site Updates

2009-04-06T22:10:12Z

I have moved TheAppDotNet to a new Movabletype installation running Motion, the latest incarnation of MT 4.25

That means a few changes and some fixes, as well as most likely a few bugs. I have allowed commenting again, using some different methods to catch spam, hopefully that will take care of it. You have a few options if you want to comment. You can either sign up here for an account as I will be putting in several community options over the next few weeks, and you can also sign in using Facebook Connect, Vox or Livejournal. Any of the above will do. I may also be implementing OpenID shortly.

In addition to those changes we will also have more contributors on the site. It's obvious that I can't keep up with running this site full time, my crime blog full time AND work 50-80 hours a week at my real job, so the help is very welcome. The folks over at Devicepedia will be contributing here and I think with the added help we should start to see regular updates. I will continue to post music and entertainment posts as well as those related to Blackberrys, Windows Customization and Home Automation.

If you have any problems with the site OR suggestions to improve it, please feel free to shoot me an email at blogger@shadowscope.com

Internet Explorer 8

2009-03-24T22:09:36Z

So Microsoft has released IE8. I ran it for a while during it's beta phase, prior to my computer biting the dust but just have not cared enough to reinstall it on my new laptop. I just don't really care. It doesn't seem to offer me anything that would get me to switch from using Flock.

I'm sure I will eventually install it, if only to test my crime site when I finish rebuilding it, but for now I'll stick with what I have. Anyone else running it yet? Pros or cons?