eHomeUpgrade - Latest Comments

Re: Sezmi Broadband TV Service Launches Public Pilot in LA

davezatz — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:50:12 -0000

More current :)
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/wordpress/wp-conten...

Re: Sezmi Broadband TV Service Launches Public Pilot in LA

agrundner — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:48:47 -0000

You're right. I embedded the image from last year. It's not all that different from what's shown on the Sezmi website today. I'll see if I can track something more current.

Re: Sezmi Broadband TV Service Launches Public Pilot in LA

davezatz — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:39:55 -0000

That's last years product shot. The STB looks largely the same, but the antenna array (speaker looking thing) is slightly different and the remote is way different.

Re: Chumby Intros Chumby One – Now with More Bang for the Buck

andrewmclaughlin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:20:16 -0000

Hate to say it, but the iTouch mounted in a simple mount with a widget mode would be far superior.

Re: Fonera 2.0n Router / NAS / Media Server

JohnvanderLaak — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:32:54 -0000

27, 28 and 29 november John van der Laak will show Fon and the Fonera 2.0n in action at the HME/HCC event in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The Fonera 2.0n can be ordered there as well for a very special price! A fonera 2.0n for €65 in. Fon membership ex transport (€4.50 with DHL).

Re: Chumby Intros Chumby One – Now with More Bang for the Buck

agrundner — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:38:08 -0000

I don't mind the leather. It gave the "Classic" Chumby personality. I'd like to see some customization options for the new product like sticker skins or color options.

Re: Chumby Intros Chumby One – Now with More Bang for the Buck

facebook-44903148 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:34:07 -0000

Brother this isn't a lower spec model it is an upgraded model, minus the leather and 1 usb port. The Proc is faster not slower. Niche none the less.

Re: Chumby Intros Chumby One – Now with More Bang for the Buck

facebook-44903148 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:33:09 -0000

Interesting. I am glad they ditched the leather, it never really appealed to me.

Re: Chumby Intros Chumby One – Now with More Bang for the Buck

twitter-15622311 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:12:59 -0000

The number of apps is impressive for such a device (although not in the league of top name mobile phones) - and I guess reflects an initial audience with a high proportion of developers.
Any idea how many of the original Chumby devices have sold? 50k perhaps (Chumby says tens of thousands)

Presumably this lower spec, lower price model is to increase market penetration - but it remains a very niche area.

Re: Windows 7 ‘Play To’ Demonstration

andrewmclaughlin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:09:14 -0000

Sham Wow!

Re: Astak Intros the First Self-Configuring IP Camera with Twitter, YouTube Support

andrewmclaughlin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:44:20 -0000

This this is great from what i can tell. Long these have had issues with playback on browsers other than IE. This is the right feature set and price point. I like. Wish it had a higher resolution option.

Re: Apple TV 3.0 Brings a Fresh New UI and Adds Support for iTunes’ Latest Features

facebook-679121761 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:48:37 -0000

I actually prefer this new 3.0 interface than the previous. The internet radio section is v nice. Upgraded yesterday.

Re: Tuner-Free Windows Media Center Programming Options

Simon_Mackay — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:28:51 -0000

You could ise a regular digital TV tuner card and connect it to a good TV antenna (aerial) to receive local free-to-air TV services on your Windows Media Center computer. This would work well in countries that have a good public TV service or can be useful in picking up the regular networks; and can work in conjunction with the hacks and services like Netflix and Hulu.

Re: Hulu Planning on Going to a Subscription Model

dbone1026 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:14:35 -0000

I would think it would be best to have a free and premium membership. Free content should be for the basic network channels and shows (i.e. NBC, CBS, etc...) that you could just go directly to their website to watch for free anyhow. If people want more content "premium" (maybe shows from HBO, movies, etc...) then they can upgrade their membership. If the whole site goes to a paid model people will just move on to the other solutions.

Also, wonder how this will impact Play!ON since Hulu has always been the big draw...

Re: Apple Unveils the Multi-Touch Magic Mouse

RoohBear — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:10:15 -0000

I'm right-handed. With this mouse, my right hand will have even more work to do. My carpal-tunnel problem would probably get worse. My solution is to use my right hand ONLY for moving a regular mouse, and use my left hand to operate the trackpad on a laptop to do all the clicking and gesturing.

I'm surprised Apple hasn't built a computer with a Video In port yet.

Re: Sneak Peek: Roku XR Player

twitter-15391615 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:02:24 -0000

I found it via Google and noticed in the address bar the url for Soundbridge is http://soundbridge.roku.com/soundbridge/index.php

Re: Apple Unveils the Multi-Touch Magic Mouse

andrewmclaughlin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:50:03 -0000

Nice peripherals, but I'm more interested in the subtle fact that the new 27" iMac can actually take an external video input via the DisplayPort. Am I the only one that thinks Apple just unveiled their first All In One HTPC / TV in a box? Hook a CableBox or Tivo HD w/ CableCard and you are in some serious business. Sure it's only 27" but this is one hell of an upgrade. Very Exciting.

Re: Sneak Peek: Roku XR Player

cramur — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:22:31 -0000

I think one can make a reasonable assumption as to what product the company is focusing on ;)

Re: Sneak Peek: Roku XR Player

agrundner — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:28:00 -0000

Good eye. I missed the SoundBridge link in the footer. However, I did go the company's original domain, rokulabs.com, to see if the other products were available, but it redirected to roku.com.

Re: Sneak Peek: Roku XR Player

cramur — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:04:09 -0000

there is still a link for Soundbridge at the bottom of the page...

Re: BumpTop Demos Advanced Multi-Touch Capabilities for Windows 7

yahoo-WZ2BEY47NVKLAS77CKKHLRW6KQ — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:51:52 -0000

Looks like M$ took Jeff's idea. He presented this at TED back in 2006:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_bre...

They've been busy too:

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

Re: Mvix Ultio 1080p UPnP Home Theater Media Player

kangaroodo — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:13:42 -0000

Received my Mvix Ultio about 10 days back and having played with it literally everyday for over 2-3hrs a days, I have to contend that it is the most comprehensive player yet.

No - this is not a replacement of a $800-1000 Home theater PC system. Neither will it wash your laundry. For the price-feature-quality bundle, you just cannot get anything better. The bottomline with these devices is that if you are realistic about your requirements, you can really leverage and enjoy all features. If you a AppleTV fan - you will not like Ultio. If you are a high bitrate audio junkie... buy a sonos or squeezebox instead. Ultio is a video media center. Has some really nice features (NAS, Bittorrent, Samba, Remote-based File editing, UPnP, wireless etc..) and it does it really well. The small window preview feature rocks. Highlight any file and it displays a small preview in a side window along with file specs/info. etc. Its a very useful feature.

In the past year, I have been fortunate to try WDTV, NMT, PCH, and some a lot of random brand media players in the market. Each one of these had its ups and downs. Some sucked outright. Some sucked after a week of usage. So far Ultio seems to be capable of most of features of a media center.

The Bittorrent works really well... the interface is blah! - but the speed is phenomenal. (You decide which is important for you).
Their implementation of Samba client and server system allows you a near-PC experience. Drag and drop files from your PC. Stream content from your PC or other Mvix Ultio on your network etc. All works fine and reliably.

Format support is by far the best I have seen in these devices. It literally plays everything that i have thrown at it. I have a 6TB server in my basement - and I have been able to stream MKV and M2TS files over CAt5 - and it doesnt even flinch. 1080p is crisp. Looks fabulous on my Samsung LN52A860 ... but sucks on my Toshiba Regza 42HL167. Not sure what is going on!? (Guess - its time to convince the wife to replace the regza). I play FLAC and MP3s on Ultio via my Onkyo - and the family has not complained so far. I am not a audioholic.

The UPnP implementation on Ultio is a step in the right direction - but there's a lot of potential in improving it. I have been successful in playing Hulu, Netflix etc. via PlayON. I just wish the GUI was better. Since I dont use Netflix (or old TV episodes) as much - I dont think thats a deal breaker for me. If you do BT - who wants Netflix anyways. Wife likes Hulu - so far it has been working well for her.

Overall, I like the device. Honestly, with the price point, there is not much not to like about it. Have placed another pre-order for the next lot - this one will be for the kids room. Not sure who does forecasting at this company - but these guys suck in demand estimation - as they keep running out of inventory every few weeks. For the basement theater, I will continue to use my HTPC running Win-7 media center (its a no brainer!!).

Re: WD TV Live HD Media Player Available Now

daskino — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:29:47 -0000

this thing is wicked

It packs the latest Sigma 8655 SoC chipset and 1 GB RAM/flash.

and also you get this

New Functions

* still has 2 usb ports, great for adding ie a wireless adapter and a hd

* Search function for all types of media, and on-screen keyboard for input

* support and cables for Component og Composite and HDMI (no HDMI cable included)

* Music can be sorted by album, genre, Artist, Number, and it can read Itunes and normal playlists

* Network DHCP or static IP adr.

* Option for adding wireless adapter by USB port, and support for wireless setup in the menu with WPA2

* a connected usb harddisk can act as a network harddive when connected to the wd tv, other clients can see and acess the harddisk and MAC support.

* flickr, youtube, 365 og Pandora web services built into the menu with login and search

* file magement for delete, copy, move on usb harddisk

* change of border and size of subtitles

* Photo scaling size, Diff transitions in slideshow and interval between pics in slideshow

Re: REVIEW: Pogoplug Network USB Storage Adapter

agrundner — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:11:41 -0000

Thanks for adding to the review.

I had to walk over and touch the Pogoplug to see how warm it was. Mine is barely breaking into the warm territory (more like tepid) after being on for two weeks straight.

As for having to do a refresh after a few days, I'll keep an eye out. So far it's been alright.

In regards to the hub, I'm most likely going to buy a powered USB hub in the future for more flexibility.

Re: REVIEW: Pogoplug Network USB Storage Adapter

RoohBear — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:30:28 -0000

I've had a PogoPlug for about a month now. It's been running solid the entire time, but I wouldn't say it runs cool... it runs silent. There's no fan inside, but it's always very warm.

A couple problems I noticed:
If you leave a computer connected to it for several days, you'll need to hit the Reload menu command or you'll see no files at all.

If you send an invite to someone to read/write a shared folder, and they forget their password, there's no way for them to get their password emailed to them so they can change it. You have to remove them then send another invite

There doesn't seem to be enough power coming out of the USB port to power my hub and a 2.5" external hard drive. I can probably hook up several powered USB external hard drives, but a portable drive that gets its power from the USB port will only work if I plug it in directly. If I use a hub, with just the portable drive, it doesn't get enough power.