To POP or not to pop, that is the question [46/2009]
Posted: 19 Nov 2009, 22:44TX: 16th November 2009
If your family is like mine, that is you have young children who just love watching the same movie over and over and over again, but don’t yet know about the care and maintenance of DVD media, then maybe it’s time to invest in a device which serves movies off a computer at the push of a button.
One thing that’s blatantly obvious is when it comes to technology, nothing is ever as simple as it first appears, and connecting a computer to a TV is no different. But things have become a little easier in recent times, and the investment in setup time and cash has also diminished. So if you’re looking to streamline the viewing of electronic media in the living room, then this could be a good holiday project over the next few months.
Last week I picked up a Western Digital TV Live box from the local white goods retailer. This sub $200 purchase caught my eye because at first glance it had everything thing I needed – HDMI, High Definition, fie serving and network connectivity both wireless and Ethernet. "How good’s this?" I thought to myself, and for the price, I was prepared to take on the risk that it just may not perform as I had hoped. It even supports external USB devices and has two ports.
Taking electricity for granted, the two most important connections you need close by to your home entertainment system is a coax point for the TV antenna, and Ethernet. Some of today’s modern TVs and Bluray players need internet access to extend the range of content on offer. In fact, my home entertainment system has its own gigabit switch. Decadent? Not really. Overkill? Definitely not.
I successfully connected my WDTV live box onto the network using a spare port on the hub, and the HDMI cable straight into the TV, and guess what, it worked straight out of the box. Within moments of turning the device on, it had connected into the home domain and internet, and I was successfully watching an Avatar trailer in full HD, which I’d downloaded off the Apple site earlier. How easy was that! The WDTV live box also has a built in YouTube and Flickr viewer, so after frustratingly keying the words “Monty Python” into the on- keyboard, the family was whistling along to “Always look at the bright side of life” within seconds of clicking search.
In the next few weeks I’ll assess the WAF (Wife Acceptability Factor), as well as how well the kids take to it. It’s relatively simple to navigate your way around the device, but that’s for someone like me, and first impressions are very good. It was easy to set up and easy to operate. Now to find a good DVD ripping package and find out what bugs lie hidden in version 1.0 software. Maybe finally I’ve seen the last of the scratched DVDs that are all too-readily found buried in the strangest places around the house.
Also in this episode
Gadget of the Week
JD's new Open Office Mouse
featuring 18 buttons, a scroll wheel and a joystick!
Has 512 KB RAM inside, works on Windows, Linux & Mac. Around US $75.00.
Website of the Week
http://www.buddyway.com/
A fledgling community for owners of GPS receivers, who want to plot travel information and share trip details with friends.
Odd Spot
Facebook provides alibi for N.Y. robbery suspect
NEW YORK - A 19-year-old New York man who was arrested for armed robbery has been exonerated thanks to a status update he posted on social networking site Facebook.
Rodney Bradford was arrested and held for 12 days in connection with an Oct. 17 armed robbery of two people in the Brooklyn housing project where he lives, prosecutors said.
But he insisted he was in Manhattan at the time of the crime — a claim he backed up by an update he made to his Facebook page from a computer in his father's Manhattan building.
(Source.)
How to Listen to Tech Talk Radio
If your family is like mine, that is you have young children who just love watching the same movie over and over and over again, but don’t yet know about the care and maintenance of DVD media, then maybe it’s time to invest in a device which serves movies off a computer at the push of a button.
One thing that’s blatantly obvious is when it comes to technology, nothing is ever as simple as it first appears, and connecting a computer to a TV is no different. But things have become a little easier in recent times, and the investment in setup time and cash has also diminished. So if you’re looking to streamline the viewing of electronic media in the living room, then this could be a good holiday project over the next few months.
Last week I picked up a Western Digital TV Live box from the local white goods retailer. This sub $200 purchase caught my eye because at first glance it had everything thing I needed – HDMI, High Definition, fie serving and network connectivity both wireless and Ethernet. "How good’s this?" I thought to myself, and for the price, I was prepared to take on the risk that it just may not perform as I had hoped. It even supports external USB devices and has two ports.
Taking electricity for granted, the two most important connections you need close by to your home entertainment system is a coax point for the TV antenna, and Ethernet. Some of today’s modern TVs and Bluray players need internet access to extend the range of content on offer. In fact, my home entertainment system has its own gigabit switch. Decadent? Not really. Overkill? Definitely not.
I successfully connected my WDTV live box onto the network using a spare port on the hub, and the HDMI cable straight into the TV, and guess what, it worked straight out of the box. Within moments of turning the device on, it had connected into the home domain and internet, and I was successfully watching an Avatar trailer in full HD, which I’d downloaded off the Apple site earlier. How easy was that! The WDTV live box also has a built in YouTube and Flickr viewer, so after frustratingly keying the words “Monty Python” into the on- keyboard, the family was whistling along to “Always look at the bright side of life” within seconds of clicking search.
In the next few weeks I’ll assess the WAF (Wife Acceptability Factor), as well as how well the kids take to it. It’s relatively simple to navigate your way around the device, but that’s for someone like me, and first impressions are very good. It was easy to set up and easy to operate. Now to find a good DVD ripping package and find out what bugs lie hidden in version 1.0 software. Maybe finally I’ve seen the last of the scratched DVDs that are all too-readily found buried in the strangest places around the house.
Also in this episode
- It’s time to re-visit email again – to POP or not to pop, that’s the question;
- Microsoft denies Windows 7 was modeled on Mac OS;
- Twitter suspends its retweet service; and
- We look at syncing devices, such as Apple's iPhone, for free!
Gadget of the Week
JD's new Open Office Mouse
featuring 18 buttons, a scroll wheel and a joystick!
Has 512 KB RAM inside, works on Windows, Linux & Mac. Around US $75.00.
Website of the Week
http://www.buddyway.com/
A fledgling community for owners of GPS receivers, who want to plot travel information and share trip details with friends.
Odd Spot
Facebook provides alibi for N.Y. robbery suspect
NEW YORK - A 19-year-old New York man who was arrested for armed robbery has been exonerated thanks to a status update he posted on social networking site Facebook.
Rodney Bradford was arrested and held for 12 days in connection with an Oct. 17 armed robbery of two people in the Brooklyn housing project where he lives, prosecutors said.
But he insisted he was in Manhattan at the time of the crime — a claim he backed up by an update he made to his Facebook page from a computer in his father's Manhattan building.
(Source.)
How to Listen to Tech Talk Radio
- Free-to-air radio - click here for a list of stations and broadcast times.
- This episode On the pod.
- This episode Full 2-hour show.
- This episode can be viewed on Ustream.TV.