Recent Comments:
Popcorn Hour puts A-110 HD media streamer, B-110 mobo up for pre-order {Engadget}
Aug 4th 2008 3:26PM Wrong. The disks are DVDs that I own personally and ripped myself..as standard *raw* TS_VIDEO rips...so there is no level adjustment in play. It is a raw rip...not reconverted to some other format.
As stated in the original post, the issue that I have noted is an ACKNOWLEDGED issue by PCH. They know it is there for 5.1 content and they have traced it to the libraries provided by Sigma - the vendor of the SMP8635 media processor chipset in the A-100...but don't let information get in your way. Flame on.
Am I asking for the box to do everything a $1000 PC could do? Hardly. That statement is just hubris. What I am asking the A-100 to do is do what it advertises - play back DVDs ripped raw as either ISO or TS_VIDEO...and do so in a manner that someone can actually hear the audio track. They advertise the capability and it doesn't do it. Some folks get around it by converting the raw DVD to some other format and remastering the 5.1 soundtrack to 2.0, but that is both onerous and yields a DVD library that is not 5.1 capable. There are multiple long threads on this topic on the community support forum and I would link to one, but that forum has been down all day...which reinforces my other issue about support.
http://www.networkedmediatank.com/index.php
There are many major issues with this unit. Dozens (or more) of us have had to return our boxes due to faulty power circuits that require the user to plug and unplug the box six or seven times before the board gets power and lights the LEDs. After I got mine back, it still requires this "work around" at times...yet you think my expectations are the issue? Do you even own one of these things?
Seriously, read the post before you decide to flame.
Popcorn Hour puts A-110 HD media streamer, B-110 mobo up for pre-order {Engadget}
Aug 4th 2008 11:25AM It's a minor h/w upgrade according to their own people...not a rearchitecture...and the original model is still plagued with defects and warts.
Example, I bought the thing to stream ripped DVDs...but the 5.1 audio on the disks is artificially low due to a defect in the Sigma chip libraries they are using. I'm not talking about a small nit here..and not just issues associated with the audio because the 5.1 track has broader range. It is a known defect that drops the volume of 5.1 tracks SIGNIFICANTLY...and the issue prevents us from using the PCH on any TV in our house for watching ripped DVDs (our primary purpose for the streamer). Given that most DVDs no longer ship with a separate English 2.0 soundtrack, the issue is fairly large.
They are adding a temporary workaround with a +6dB distortion-inducing volume boost in the next firmware release, but that probably won't help much since the audio track for such disks played on 5.1 on the A100 is already plagued by background hiss. The real solution is to integrate updated sigma libraries into their firmware...and they have no estimate for that fix.
Add to that the myriad of other annoyances (e.g., board power issues, horrible remote, poorly placed remote buttons, no ability to resume any video that you stop...and you will inadvertently stop them because of the horrific remote) and you get the sense that the reviewers who glow over this thing just tried it out briefly and didn't actually try to use it at home for a month.
Also, their support is fairly bad. Syabas (they DBA as PCH) is based out of Malysia and they rely on (and link to) a Community Forum that is run primarily by volunteers...although they did just hire the board admin. That said, he still acts like a volunteer...not an employee...and that is the tone of most of the responses to issues posted on that forum. Let's just say that you better search for an answer to your question before you post a new thread. Yeah, hardly the support you expect from a consumer products vendor.
I suggest waiting until this market matures.
OpenMoko says "screw it," starts taking FreeRunner orders a day early {Engadget}
Jul 3rd 2008 5:20PM It's not a contract price. Compare the price of this wifi-enabled phone...with a 640 x 480 touchscreen...to the *non-contract* price of other phones with similar capabilities. That's 640x480 folks, so duct tape two iPhones next to each other to get the same size and get back to me on price.
We had quite a few apologists for the iPhone 1.0 here when it hit the streets with only Edge. "It has Wifi! That's all I need 99% of the time!"
Where did those folks go? Off massaging Steve Jobs' feet perhaps...waiting for him to offer them more gruel.
OpenMoko says "screw it," starts taking FreeRunner orders a day early {Engadget}
Jul 3rd 2008 5:01PM Most criticisms offered here are not of OpenMoko, which is the OS. Instead, they are criticisms of FreeRunner, which is the handset.
Yes, the handset is missing some critical features. No argument. IMHO, there is no excuse for a lack of a camera and lack of at least 3G for data...but this is not a big company and their development pipeline is long.
That said, the handset is not complete ass. For example:
Unlike Palm Treos:
- it has GPS
- it has a 3 axis motion sensor
- it has 802.11 b/g
- it is not carrier-specific
Unlike the iPhone:
- it has a user-replacable battery
- it has a micro SD slot for future memory expansion
- it is not locked in to AT&T
- software does not need to be blessed by God (aka, the apple store)
...AND...it has a 480x640 touchscreen. That is full VGA folks...and a touchscreen...unlike BBerrys.
Regardless, OpenMoke is the OS, not the handset...and an open OS for mobile handsets is just as exciting to me as the emergence of Linux...and before you start saying that Linux sucks ass, get back to me on what OS your TiVo runs...and your PopcornHour...and your Chumby...and any number of other devices that are affordable because it exists.
Android is also exciting, but it is not very open. Both of them are a hell of a lot more exciting to me than the iPhone and its OS. Don't like the current FreeRunner handset? Don't worry about it, because with open(-ish) OS-es like OpenMoko and Android, you will have handset vendors tripping over each other to compete by offering handsets with a dizzying array of cutting-edge features. You just need to give these OS-es time to hit the ground and get their start,.
Or you can sit by and wait for your annual "this is what you get" edict from Steve Jobs each year. Whatever.
OpenMoko Neo FreeRunner available for order July 4, shipping July 7 {Engadget}
Jul 2nd 2008 9:24AM Never thought I would see the day.
That said, it's going to be a tough sell for them...with the 3G Jesus phone imminent and Android on the horizon. Specs are nice, but the data rate will make them look bad in this market. Of course, geeks are their only market since this announcement is essentially a tree falling in a forest everywhere else...and as a geek, I'm happy to see them ship, but not happy with a step backward in speed vs. my current Treo.
Of course, open is nice.
AT&T announces iPhone 3G pricing plans {Engadget}
Jul 1st 2008 12:38PM 20 cents for a text message...and the receiver gets charged as well...for under 256 bytes of data. That is crazy. How may text messages go back and forth in a conversation.
SMS is the best thing to happen to the carriers since deregulation. Consumers need to revolt. I pretty much refuse to use text messaging for this reason. What an incredible scam.
Netgear's WGR614L Wireless-G router openly plays nice with Tomato / DD-WRT {Engadget}
Jun 30th 2008 8:21PM I have three WRT54GL routers running Tomato. AWESOME firmware...and ROCK solid. I just wish that I had a draft N spec option. Pushing video to my Popcorn Hour A-100 NMT (via NFS) is really pushing the bounds of G. When I have that option, I'll buy three new routers. Until then, the WRT54GLs will do just fine thanks.
Ask Engadget: What's the best home media server? {Engadget}
Jun 27th 2008 4:11PM Also BTW, it's odd that they are focusing on a low cost solution yet include an OS that contributes $150 toward the overall $400 expense. A Linux-based solution would really get you the lowest cost solution...but they do have "Windows" in the article title, so I'll concede that point. ;-)
Ask Engadget: What's the best home media server? {Engadget}
Jun 27th 2008 3:49PM Ahh...the KPC. Nice. I am a huge Shuttle fan...and have two in my house now, including one that is my server.
That said, the KPC does not currently come with Shuttle's ICE heatpipe system. I think they may make it available as a kit in the future...and potentially include it in KPCs at a later date. That would make cooling more efficient..and power and heat are my two top concerns for such a server.
It is also frustrating that the KPC does not support an internal DVD...unless you break out your dremmel, but otherwise, it's a great choice...once you smoke the Linux distro they include.
One caution - Shuttle makes innovative SFF systems, but good luck trying to get a new motherboard or PSU if you need one quickly. Fortunately, the KPC is cheap enough that you could just buy a new one if you were up against the wall. Not so for my SP35P2 Pro.
Ask Engadget: What's the best home media server? {Engadget}
Jun 27th 2008 3:43PM I also have a PCH A-100. I do not have a hard disk in it because I want 100% silent operation...and because all of the content is on my home's main server regardless, which I access via an NFS share...wirelessly via an ethernet bridge...and that works fine for SD content with two wireless hops via G WPA TKIP.
That said, I wouldn't use a PCH as a server. You can put an HD in it, but the case has no fans...and just doesn't seem like the most reliable spot in my architecture for storage.
Me? I have over a TB on the main desktop PC. Since that bad boy is on 24/7, it is my home server. Backups occur nightly to an external disk...and I also have a SATA hard drive dock connected that I use for longer term backups - drop in a drive, back up important files, pull the drive and store elsewhere.
It serves the PCH, another desktop, four laptops, and my TiVo. If I wanted a dedicated solution, I would most likely just build a Linux-based server with an eye toward minimizing power, heat, and noise.
