LIVEdigitally – Page 61 – Jeremy Toeman's Blog

NXT-powered Insignia Home Theater System: wow

Posted on August 9, 2006 by ron

I remember the first time I saw the Bose Acoustimass 2 channel system way back in the early 90s and how impressed I was by it. Until I listened to it for a long while and decided I didn’t really care for the sound quality. I’m still impressed by the design and all, but just need more oomph in my living room (otherwise my cantankery upstairs neighbour will have less to complain about). When I saw the NXT Insignia system, I assumed it too would be sorely lack in sound depth and quality. Even though their SoundVu laptop and Kensington iPod dock were both impressive, I just assumed that the scene in The Return of the King where they light the beacons (you know it totally made the movie) would leave me wanting more. I was mistaken.

The Insignia line is from Best Buy, and it is a “home theater in a box” (yes, HTIB is acceptable). This means you buy the box, and get all the pieces you need for a home surround sound experience. Typically, all the cable either use proprietary connectors or have colored ends, in an attempt to idiot-proof the setup process. Took me a good 3 minutes to get the whole system in place, plus another minute to hide some of the wires.

I tried the unit with several DVDs and even a few CDs to test the sound quality. I then did some comparisons with my Definitive tower speakers and Velodyne subwoofer. While my existing setup ‘won’ the test, it should be mentioned that I could’ve bought THREE Insignia HTIB kits for the price of JUST my subwoofer! The other key thing to mention is the Insignia kit was by no means a lightweight. The sound quality was great full of rich, vibrant sound. Dialogue was clear, and it functioned great for high-action, tense drama, and the music CDs sounded nice as well.

The Insignia system comes with 5 speakers, all about the size of a paperback book. They can easily be mounted to a wall, and would leave a very aesthetic appearance, especially if paired with a wall-mounted flat-screen TV. If you don’t want to mount them, they also come with little stands to prop the speakers up. One minor warning for the extremely clumsy: the speakers can be dented, so try not to drop them on something pointy.

All-in-all, I was very impressed with the Insignia Home Theater System. If you have a friend who is still living in a hole with only 2-channel audio (a.k.a. “stereophonic”), this might be the perfect holiday gift. In fact, if it weren’t for my ridiculous needs to have about 11 things hooked up in my living room, I’d have probably switched to it myself (it would most certainly make the wife a lot happier with the living room setup).

I can't drive.

Posted on August 7, 2006 by Guest Contributor

I spent a good three hours on a Greyhound yesterday coming back to San Francisco from Santa Cruz. I like looking down into other people’s cars when on a bus. You can see their fax machines or video games or sacks of garbage. GPS systems. I envied them their small personal environments while I was stuck in a smelly backseat. The bathroom was ripe and reeking.

I started thinking how maybe it would be better for me to get my driver’s license. For some reason, though I took DEd (Driver’s Ed. Driving freaks me out a little bit and I have weird dreams about it fairly often. My acronym didn’t help.) Even though I had my temps for a while, I never actaully completed the test and everything. I don’t think I’ve been in the driver’s seat since 2002. I can’t even imagine how I managed to get out the driveway, much less to my grandmother’s house in Milwaukee, an hours drive away on the highway.

Next thing you know I’m inventing a horde of Robo-Chaffeurs. Maybe they would drive the busses, too. And the airplanes, taxis, cruise ships. Sounds like it would put a lot of people out of a job, but just think! No more worries about drunk drivers! Maybe we could have cool pods on rails à la The Incredibles (although in that movie they seemed to be a severe security risk… Speaking of security risk, have you heard of “bump keying?” A friend sent me the link this morning with the comment “This is disturbing…”) Anyways, if I had a friendly and helpful Robo-Chauffeur, my driving problems would be solved. I wouldn’t have to worry about screwing up, and I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else screwing up. Everyone would always be going the speed limit, too! We wouldn’t need traffic cops.

I figure this topic has probably been taken up in science fiction a zillion times, although I couldn’t think of any specific examples. They had nifty transportation in Minority Report… I wonder if anyone has ever written a story where society has a Robo-chauffeur system and they all go rampant and decide to kidnap the entire human race and take us…to their leader? To another planet? Maybe the rampancy is triggered by particles of alien subconciousness floating through space!!!
Anyhow, I least I wasn’t bored.

PS – This is what came up when I googled “robo-chauffeur.” The team continues their projects here.

And the hits just keep on coming: 5 GB online storage space from AOL

Posted on August 3, 2006 by Guest Contributor

This is a step in the right direction, for those who think that AOL has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do. Forget the days of useless CDs sent in the mail; if AOL plays their cards right, this is what people will remember. AOL has announced that, starting September, www.xdrive.com will offer 5 GB of free online storage space to all users with an AOL or AIM screenname!

Additionally, there is mention of a drag-and-drop interface between online storage and your desktop. More details to come in September!

Gotta Get a Gefen (HDMI switch)

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

My gear Funny how easy it can be to accidentally create need in our lives. About a year ago this time I had a simple big-screen TV (used to do the projector thing, but the wife didn’t much care for it), a DVD player, surround sound, and an Xbox. Then around Thanksgiving I see this great sale on a 32″ LCD set from Syntax Olevia, and I buy one. A week or so later and I get a Comcast HD DVR, hook it up with component video cables, and am happy in HD-land.

But then I discover HDMI and learn a few more things about HDTV. And I get a Moviebeam and a Samsung upconverting DVD player. And everything became a problem, as I literally had to leave HDMI cables dangling behind my mess of a ‘rack’ and picked up a DVI-HDMI adapter from the ‘Shack. Everything looked good on-screen, but was a major pain to manage.

Until I discovered Gefen. Gefen sells a variety of products all designed to help clean up the variety of messes caused by, funny enough, upgrading to HDTV. Simply put, most LCD and plasma displays only have one or two HDMI/DVI inputs. I have 3 HDMI sources. Compounding the matter my Syntax has a DVI input. Boys and girls, we are in luck, because they make a video switch with four (yes 4) HDMI inputs and a DVI output. They call it, simply enough, their 4×1 HDMI switch.

The unit comes in very simple packaging (somewhat like Sonos – I guess the more expensive the equipment, the less refinement that goes into the box), and includes a few cables which might come in handy depending on your particular configuration. Also in the packaging is a simple setup/installation guide (plug A into socket A, etc) and a 4-button remote control.

The Gefen 4×1 switch is fairly small, about the size of a tissue box, and is finished in a metallic silver and light blue combination. I personally think it has a bit of a ‘refined elegance’ to its appearance. The back of the unit has power and the four HDMI inputs, while the front has a couple of LEDs, the DVI output, and a discrete remote control input.

Hooking up the Gefen was beyond simple, nobody (and I mean nobody) should have any problems with it. I have a grand total of two complaints about the product, and here’s the first one: the DVI output is on the front of the unit, which made placing the device a lot more complex than needed. The problem for me is I need the ability to control the Gefen via infrared (using my handy-dandy Harmony 880 remote), so it needs to be ‘in view’ in my rack of devices (which is really just a shelf, but I can dream). This creates a very awkward setup where the switch is underneath my LCD, and the DVI cable effectively snakes back around behind it, then up to the LCD. In the grand scheme of things, its only a nuisance, and the company assures me the next version of the product has all the ports on the back.

The two LEDs on the unit show power (the red light – on or off), and input (the blue light – one through four). The remote control has 4 buttons, which are labelled one through four, and switch inputs accordingly. I guess that’s probably pretty obvious, but I like the simplicity so much I wanted to make sure that came through! Complaint number two is the LEDs – I’d like an option to turn them off, or just lower the brightness significantly. Definitely being nitpicky, but otherwise this would just be an overly glowing review, and we can’t have that, can we?

On to the technical side for a moment. The Gefen switch properly passes through an HDCP signal, which is very important for copyrighted content. Moviebeam, for example, only outputs HD content if it detects an HDCP-enabled output, and my Comcast HD DVR is also aware of HDCP (although I don’t believe it makes a difference at present). Actually, I’ve discovered (and dutifully reported) a slight flaw with the Moviebeam device as a result of moving to HDMI. It turns out if the Moviebeam unit is powered up without detecting HDCP it boots into standard-definition mode, and it also turns out the unit reboots itself every now and then with software updates. What this adds up to is a problem whereby I have to physically remove the power from the back of Moviebeam, and then plug it back in and let it reboot if I want it back into HD mode. Hopefully the Moviebeam guys will take my suggestion of adding a ‘redetect HD’ option somewhere in the advanced options menus. Sorry for the long digression, back to Gefen!

Another feature for the technically sophisticated folks is the Gefen switch has an RJ-45 connector to allow for discrete IR control. If those words don’t mean anything to you, well, you can probably scroll down a little bit. For consumers who have built a home-control system, you can easily integrate the switch into your setup, and allow other devices and control systems to ‘talk’ to the Gefen unit. As I stated above, I use a Harmony 880, which does include Gefen products in their amazing database, so didn’t try out this feature of the switch.

In summary, I really like the Gefen 4×1 HDMI switch. If you have more than one digital HDTV source, you might need a switch. If you currently use component cables because you don’t have another solution, you might need a switch. If you have every episode of Hee-Haw on tape, you might be a redneck.

As I said earlier, my needs were multiple HDMI inputs, single DVI output. You may need a different combination for your particular setup, and lucky for you, Gefen offers a few different switches to choose from! The one I tried here retails for about $300. Chalk down the next version of the switch (with all inputs/outputs on the back) as “LD Approved” and this one as “really really good, but needs one fix to be perfect”.

Now if only I can clean up my cable mess, I’d be one happy guy!

It's magic, right?

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Guest Contributor

How computers work, ha. There are little elves that jam the printers! It’s like the Matrix, 1s and 0s all lined up, and they squiggle around all green-like! The internet, a series of tubes, right? That’s what the man said! I got this stuff DOWN.

Sometimes I feel horribly ignorant (but NO I don’t believe any of the above, now stop it!) and when I do, I feel the need to ingest far too much information at one time, so much so that I am almost guaranteed to forget every little snippet. It still feels pretty academic in the moment, though.
My latest wave of inadequacy is over computers. Born in 1985, I kinda missed the early bits (heh, bits) of computery goodness, and it’s sort of like a little hole in my soul. The history intrigues me. Also, one of my excuses for not driving a car is that that I feel like I would have to learn about how they work at least a little so I could do things like change the oil, switch out a flat tire, etc. How then, do I justify knowing exactly diddly-squat about the inner workings of computers? (Don’t ask me to justify my cell phone, my DS, the metro, my shoes, please. I realize it’s a silly roundabout way of getting to the point, but I thirst for knowledge!)

Luckily, this handy book comes along in it’s shiny 8th Edition: How Computers Work. Very ingenious title, I must say, but it gets the point across. Published this past November, the new edition is “Fully updated with coverage of multi-core processors from Intel and AMD; the North Bridge and South Bridge chip sets; digital cameras and photo editing; the iPod; TiVo; spyware and anti-spyware; PCI Express; SLI dual video cards; overclocking and overcooling; plasma displays; Internet security, spam, and chat rooms; plus a complete, new section on PC gaming.” In other words, it covers a LOT of stuff, and that’s only the recent additions.

Unfortunately, this bugger is in hot demand at the library, so I’ve got to take it back before finishing the entire thing. I will put it back on hold, myself, though, because I actually am enjoying it enough to finish it. Plus, I haven’t gotten to the good parts (“Games and Multimedia” and “How the Internet Works”) yet! Each part of the book starts with a timeline of relevant history (which often overlaps between sections) and then launches into a myriad of explanations ranging from “How PCI-Express Breaks the Bus Barrier” to “How eBay Sells Everything,” all with colorful and thorough visual aids. Note that this really only covers the Windows PC, but the author does recommend How the Mac Works for the Apple crowd. Oftentimes I still felt like things were going over my head (i.e. “How Memory Cards and Smart Cards Work,”) but hey, at least I know what a bit is now.

For the already techie folks of the world, this may not be the most useful book on the market, but for the curious mind craving an introduction to a broad range of PC technology, it’s certainly recommended.

LD's Gone Mobile

Posted on July 30, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Quickie post here. I’ve been a wee bit swamped recently to do much blogging (although I am reviewing new products from Gefen, the iRiver Clix, and MusicGremlin), but I did manage to incorporate a Mobile version of LIVEdigitally! That’s right, check it out with any smartphone and you should be automatically redirected here (click on it for a preview).

The fun part was taking Alex King’s awesome Mobile plugin for WordPress then tweaking it myself. Yup, I dusted off the ol’ PHP typewriter and did some work. I’m still playing, but when I’m done I’ll make the source available for anyone who wants to try it out. Edits so far:

Category-based browsing (the original only supports by archival date)
Related stories (thanks to this plugin)

I’d like to hear any feedback y’all have to give about how it works. I primarily use a Treo 700w and PPC 6700 to view the site, so haven’t seen it in a crackberry yet… Other features I’d like to add:

Search (I hear search is big…)
Pages
Links to my Flickr photos
Blogroll

Am I missing anything? Write your suggestions as comments.

Who'da Think it? – 5

Posted on July 27, 2006 by Guest Contributor

Well after a long hiatus travelling the world searching for more stupid products, I have returned with a plethora of goods ready to knock your socks off. Some are electronic, some are not. I treked the globe from one pole to the other, trying to gain knowledge of various cultures and lifestyles unfamiliar to those that I have already been introduced to. However of everything that I learned during my voyage, the one most important piece of knowledge has nothing to do with any specific culture but about who I am. And that one piece of knowledge is this – it can be pretty damn lonely not knowing a soul in a strange place. But thankfully, this little ingenious piece of useless crap gave me some company (so I guess it wasn’t so useless afterall). Yes, this beautiful invention not only gave me a friend to grow with, but also prevented me from losing my keys. So without further ado, let me introduce…..pet trees!

yes these are geniune trees that actually grow inside their little capsule and eventually can be transferred to a regular pot where it will continue to grow into a regular size tree. All they need is a little water every couple of weeks and there ya go.

These things are cooler than Bansai trees because they can go with you wherever you go. I even think it’s safe to say that these nifty trees are the best damned invention since sea monkeys!! There are two options of trees for fulfilling your horticulture desires; Victo and Rance, or in layman’s terms the prickly one and the non-prickly one. I spent thousands of dollars on my journey yet it was a 10 dollar keychain that helped me maintain my sanity. Now if someone asks me if that is a cactus in my pants or am I just happy to see them, I can finally say it’s a cactus (or i could jut use that as a coverup).

Coming to you with another wacky and useless product, this is Merv.

Dentistry + MTV?

Posted on July 26, 2006 by Guest Contributor

Dental Goggles Get this – Ismo Karttunen, a Finnish inventor, came up with the idea to distract you with music videos from Christina Aguilera and Ashley Simpson (or anybody) while you’re getting your root canal. You just slip on the high-tech goggles and hopefully your mind wonders elsewhere.

From New Scientist:

Dentists testing the glasses in Finland asked patients to raise their hand if they wanted a local anaesthetic injection. Patients wearing the goggles went longer without pain relief than those with no specs, says Karttunen.

This reminds me of the 3DVisor though not nearly as cool I’m sure. According to the tests I guess this works – though I’m still going to opt for the N2O, thanks.

Anyone else think that dentist looks a little too excited?

The rain leads to the pour…

Posted on July 24, 2006 by Guest Contributor

After some industry comments that Intel is killing PC gaming, it looks like AMD is stepping up to save it. Epic’s Mark Rein fingered Intel’s integrated graphics chips for being their standard for low-end systems. Any PC gamer can attest: those things stink on fire. Try to run a game on them and they crash and burn; try to upgrade with a decent — or even a low-end — video card and it will almost always have issues with the integrated chip. They could pack a low-end video card instead and give people a chance to enjoy PC gaming.

Of course, Mark Rein (as Joystiq points out) works at a company devoted to the graphics gods; every system that isn’t a Quad-Quad-Quad-Quadtronic slab o’power is a system that won’t look as good on an Epic game.

Now, yahoo tells us that AMD is deep in to buy ATI, which blows the whole thing into low-earth orbit where it can heckle Intel safely. Intel won’t be able to negotiate a position with either graphics company at the best price now. If AMD decides to put a cheap, upgrade friendly card in every system Intel will have to go to Nvidia or go home. AMD has been the choice for gamers for quite some time, but this could be the point where they become the choice for casual shoppers and then turn them into gamers.

Add in Microsoft’s PC gaming push, which is a blog for a day when I own a digital camera to take pictures of their eerie shrine-building in local stores and marts, and it’s an interesting week for nerds coming up.

No HDTV for Miss Universe??

Posted on July 23, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Miss Universe Logo (standard definition version) I think I read about 1080 articles (or was it 720) on how impactful HDTV World Cup broadcasting was. Missed em? Here are a few good ones to get you started: What’s on HDTV, Engadget, CIO, HDBeat, and Daily Wireless.

So I was flipping through my 18-odd HD channels I receive here in Comcast San Francisco land, and noticed the Miss Universe pageant, and I figured it was at least worth a few minutes of my time. I was amazed to see that it was actually a standard definition broadcast of the event!

In good old fashioned TV Guide fashion, JEERS to NBC for this!

NBC logo (standard definition version)

I took a few fun minutes in Photoshop to replicate my impression of the quality of the video. All the images you are seeing are intentionally lousy looking. Just like the footage of the event.

A Miss Universe model (standard definition version)

Of course, I’m not changing the channel just yet…

2nd strike?

Posted on July 23, 2006 by Guest Contributor

Like I mentioned previously, it seems like World of Warcraft is setting up a great situation for some new games to come and swoop up its market share. With six million subscribers paying about 12 dollars a month to play this massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (whoo!), the best guess estimate is that World controls half of the MMORPG market. A huge part of that appeal has been the simplicity and ease of entry, but another part has been the huge amount of story and setting that the easy-entry gameplay let old Warcraft fans explore and new WoW fans discover. With the latest mind-numbing bit of stupidity from WoW, we’ve got a good picture of what future content will look like for fans of the game’s setting: rubbish.

Without getting into the technical details of the changes to backstory and classes — WoW fans should already know, and everyone else shouldn’t care — the big concern is how this will change the numerous MMORPGs currently being developed. Games are being pushed out under the approachable “WoW model” instead of the previous godhead of the design environment, the punishing “Everquest/Final Fantasy XI model.” Will games that are borrowing from Warcraft’s model forgo well-thought settings with asymetrically balanced sides, or will they take this as a chance to outshine Blizzard at its own genre (if not game)?

Hopefully other developers will take this chance to show that ease of gameplay doesn’t have to reflect easy design, the route Blizzard seems to have chosen. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the video game industry, the PC game industry in particular, reacts to the route that Blizzard has chosen.

Unless you're an elephant

Posted on July 23, 2006 by Guest Contributor

To avoid those moments of sheer panic that occur whenever you discover you’ve left something important behind, consider attaching one of theseto your bag/PDA/dog/toddler and put this in your pocket. The Mini Reminder transmitter will alert the receiver to start making a vibrating, beeping racket if you move more than your specified distance away from it. I need this thing. How many times have I raced back to a restaurant to admit sheepishly that I’ve forgotten my bag on the back of that chair? Yes…the one you’re sitting on…thanks.

via SCI FI Tech

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