A Digital Home Blog

New Site Now Up TEST

2010-10-21T10:41:00.003-04:00

Finally moved everything over, the new web address is www.adigitalhomeblog.com. If you are subscribed to the feed please make sure you update. Full details can be found here:

http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com/2010/10/21/new-site-now-up/

Some Changes To Come

2010-09-29T08:55:00.003-04:00

For the past several months I have been thinking about what direction I wanted to take this blog in. As most of you know I also write for MediaSmartServer.net, so much of my content gets split between the two sites. After discussing with Canada here is what I have in mind:

I will be coming up with my own domain name instead of the blogspot address. Haven't decided what the name will be yet.
I will most likely be moving to word press. I have just found Blogger completely unmanageable when it comes to posting with screenshots. We use Word Press for MediaSmartServer.net and I just find it to be a much better platform. I was actually able to port over all my posts from here to Word Press (you can see here).
Once I get everything up and running I will probably give some more thought to the website layout. If you haven't noticed I have been messing around with different themes/layouts. I just thought it worth mentioning in case you see some site changes (especially incomplete changes) as I am probably still tinkering around.
Do a better job at cross publishing articles here that I write on MediaSmartServer.net. Currently if I post over on MediaSmartServer I usually try to write up a quick blurb here, but I haven't been good at keeping up. I was thinking that anything I write on MSS.net I will basically copy something like the first 1/3 of the article here and at the end just have a "Click here to continue reading..." link. This will make it easier for me to cross publish while providing some additional meat to this site. I will only do this for my posts, not for posts from other contributors at MSS.net

So that is what I have so far. I hope to have everything sorted out in the next few weeks and will post again once things become more finalized.

MyMovies 3.17 and WHS Version 1.6 Released

2010-09-29T06:03:00.002-04:00

New versions of MyMovies, the popular Windows Media Center Plugin, have been released today. Downloads can be found here.

Changelog:

My Movies for Windows Media Center and My Movies Collection Management 3.17

Added: Background code for remote functionality
Added: Mede8er meta-data storage
Added: Option to install and/or update AnyDVD when copying discs in CM.
Added: Edit personal information option, with lent to function, personal titles and other things.
Added: Check to ensure Dune structure updates can't run on top of each other.

Update: iPhone Export package updated for Pro version 1.1.
Update: Dune interface improved.
Update: TViX interface improved.

Fix: HDI Dune issue if some covers were not found.
Fix: HDI Dune generate error when connected to WHS.
Fix: Issue with disc type not being imported from DVD Profiler
Fix: Vista background add-in could fail.

Change: Improvements to MediaInfo reading.
Change: Changes to some icons, fonts and dialogs in CM.
Change: Better message to what goes wrong when Dune index fails to create.

My Movies for Windows Home Server 1.60

Added: GD3 is now included for meta-data lookups of CD's.
Added: Support for Nimbie NB11 DVD/Blu-ray media center copying.
Added: Event Handler functionality
Added: Mede8er meta-data storage.

Update: Dune interface improved.
Update: TViX interface improved.

Change: MetaData files moved to user customization

Fix: AnyDVD is now set to be silent to prevent popups during disc identification.

SageTV V7.0.17 Release Candidate 1 Released

2010-09-24T07:28:00.001-04:00

Here's the download links for V7.0.17:

SageTV for Windows
http://download.sage.tv/SageTV_V7_0_17Setup.exe

SageTVClient for Windows
http://download.sage.tv/SageTVClient_V7_0_17Setup.exe

SageTVPlaceshifter for Windows
http://download.sage.tv/SageTVPlaces..._0_17Setup.exe

SageTV for Windows Home Server
http://download.sage.tv/SageTV_V7_0_17Setup-WHS.msi

SageTV Media Center for Linux
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/server_7.0.17.tar.gz

SageTV Placeshifter for Linux
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/mi..._7.0.17.tar.gz

SageTV Media Center for Linux - Debian Package Installer
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/sa....0.17_i386.deb

SageTV Placeshifter for Linux - Debian Package Installer
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/sa....0.17_i386.deb

SageTV V7.0.17 RC1 9/23/2010

Core Updates
1. Fixed bug when 'remove padding on back-to-back Favorites' was enabled and a Favorite was up against a ManualRecording, the ManualRecording could cause padding from the Favorite to be removed if there was an overlap even if the ManualRecording was not based on a Favorite.
2. Updated show redundancy check logic so that ShowIDs with the 'DT' prefix would not be considered unique by default. Without this change, certain shows would not have every episode recorded. Users that have EPG data with the 'DT' prefix will likely want to enable the advanced check for repeat airings in Detailed Setup->Customize as a result of this.
3. Disable EPG data scanning on DVB-S inputs by default. It can be re-enabled by setting the property "mmc/disable_dvbs_epg_data_scanning=false"
4. Added support for handling progressive download/playback of MPEG2-TS files (none are included in our standard set of online videos, but custom feeds may include these)
5. Fixed issue where if format detection failed we wouldn't retry it properly in some cases
6. Added property "ui/system_memory_2dimage_cache_scale" which is an integral scale factor applied to the image caches that use system memory on the PC to store decoded images. This defaults to 2. This was done to prevent blowing the image cache when 3D mode was disabled.
7. Added experimental property "fast_network_encoder_switch" which is capture-device specific. This will enable using seamless file transitions with network encoders. This is NOT officially supported and is intended mainly for 3rd party network encoders that wish to support this capability. It should however work with regular SageTV network encoders, however this has not been tested and is not supported.
8. Fixed power management code so that changes to its settings in the UI take effect immediately now
9. Fixed bug where halt detections in recordings could falsely occur if the user has modified the properties settings to use a very short detection window and also had a long post-tuning delay with the capture device.
10. Fixed bug with seamless file transitions where if multiple tuners were changing channels at the same time the transition could end up not being very seamless at all (the transition no longer requires certain synchronization locks, so it can happen without interruption now)
11. Fixed bug where we'd ignore directories during library scanning that started with a period on non-linux platforms. On Linux these are considered hidden directories, and therefore are ignored.
12. Added support for specifying the default audio language used for playback and also the default subtitle language (or no subtitles).
13. Fixed bug where the 'Signal Lost' message wouldn't always clear itself once the signal was regained.
14. Fixed bug where the setting for always starting playlist items from the beginning used a server-based configuration setting, but in the UI the setting was client-specific (the setting is now client-specific).
15. When transitioning between segments in a recorded file, re-run the file verification to ensure that the segment were moving to is valid.
16. Incremented database version (Wiz.bin from 7.0.17 is NOT backwards compatible with prior versions)
17. Fixed bug with transcoding of LATM wrapped AAC audio (listed as a bug with HE-AAC audio)
18. Fixed bug with Matroska format detection where if no 'title' metadata was specified for the whole file we would use the 'title' metadata from the first track as the title for the whole file. Fixed bug in Matroska format detection where it wouldn't properly identify DTS-HD/MA audio tracks (they would still playback as DTS-HD/MA on the media extender though).
19. Updated DVB frequencies for Belgium-telenet.

Windows Updates
1. Fixed bug where the volume in the DirectShow media player could get reset if the player loading exited early due to an error.
2. Fixed bug where using two monitors of different aspect ratios where one had a larger height than the other and then the other had a larger width, and then moving the SageTV Windows between them would cause a black bar to appear on one side of the window depending upon how the screen sizes differed.
3. On Windows Vista/7 use the platform style window by default now instead of our fake WinXP style window borders
4. Fixed bug where using the platform style window title bar would cause transitioning to full screen to not work properly.
5. Added registry setting "HKLM\Software\Frey Technologies\Common\DSFilters\MpegDeMux\EnableHDAudio" which is zero by default, and will then cause DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD/MA to be output as AC3 or DTS respectively (the core streams). There is a UI setting to enable HD audio output instead.
6. Fixed crash when playing .dts files
7. Fixed issue on Vista/Win7 where analog recordings could sometimes have a weird echo in them from recording multiple audio tracks at once.
8. Disabled synchronization of capture device teardown between different graphs unless a PVR350 TV-out is in use (that's the reason it's synced). This should fix the issue with SageTV crashing on some systems after resuming from standby and starting a recording.

Extender Updates
1. Fixed failure in extender DVD playback where seeking at certain times related to when a DVD menu would show would cause playback to stop.
2. Fixed bug in media extender playback where selecting a DVB subpicture track individually would not properly enable it, it would only do it properly if toggling on subpictures.
3. Fixed bug with extender DVD playback where the audio would sometimes be lost in the DVD menus

Placeshifter Updates
1. Fixed bug in placeshifter when playing back an audio-only TV file (from a radio channel) would cause the video area to not be cleared properly and latent UI rendering would occur.

Studio/API Updates
1. Added internal definition for java.lang.Class.forName when used through the SageTV API in the Studio. This is done so that it uses our internal class loader. This will resolve issues with STVI plugins that use that call to access JAR files that were just installed and are not part of the standard classpath yet (they would be after a restart of SageTV though).
2. Fixed bug where getting the airing start/stop/duration times for manual recordings in certain STV hooks would give the schedule times instead.
3. Added Configuration API calls GetSubpicAudioLanguageOptions, Set/GetDefaultAudioLanguage, Set/GetDefaultSubpicLanguage which are used for configuring the default audio language and default subpicture language.
4. Added checks in Add/UpdateFavorite API calls so that Favorites are not created that match every single Airing. This would occur if all the values passed in were false/null.
5. Add SeriesInfo API calls GetSeriesInfoProperty(SeriesInfo, Name, Value) and GetSeriesInfoProperty(SeriesInfo, Name) which allow for setting arbitrary name-value properties in SeriesInfo object for plugin cusomization.
6. Added SeriesInfo API call "AddSeriesInfo"
7. Added new API for UserRecords which allow developers to store custom data inside the SageTV database using a 'store' namespace, 'key's to index records and then name-value pairs within those records.

Plugin System Updates
1. Added support for the tag specification in plugin manifests. This can be set to true to indicate a plugin should not be allowed to be installed on SageTVClient.

STV Updates
1. Hidden: Can use numbers 1-0 to jump to % position in list for TV Show Editorials menu.
2. Created base translation file for the SageTV7 STV: SageTV7_i18n.properties
3. Hidden: Can send "ViewNumber" to a malore menu via AddStaticContext() in order to specify which view is to be shown. If not used, then the last-used view will be shown.
4. When using Pause to change the NTE mode, accept the currently entered value before changing the mode.
5. Added Detailed Setup -> Video/Audio -> HD Audio Output option for Windows systems. The option controls whether to output DolbyTrueHD or DTS-HD/MA streams when present (enabled) or to output AC3 or DTS streams (disabled/default).
6. Added Detailed Setup -> Customize -> Power Management settings option for "Idle timeout", to control how long SageTV can be idle with no user input or video playback before allowing the operating system's settings for going into standby to take over. Default: 2 minutes
7. Removed Detailed Setup -> Customize -> Power Management settings option for "Status check frequency", since it shouldn't need to be changed.
8. Don't call Fork() before opening the "Preparing to start playback" dialog, otherwise it is possible to attempt multiple playback starts.
9. While loading the STV: either save the Custom STV mode variables via properties if those global values exist, or restore the saved values if the properties exist & the global values do not.
10. Hidden: Fixed "Premieres, Finales, Specials" malore menu to perform its forced duplicate filter after other filters have been applied. Also disabled the "Remove Duplicate Airings" option for this menu since duplicates are always removed.
11. Hidden: Stopped filtering empty items from the malore Program Guide menus, other than "No Data" entries.
12. Updated info in the Setup -> Help -> View TV Indicators and Markers dialog.
13. Updated info in the Setup -> Help -> View Menu Header Information dialog.
14. Updated HD300 recommended firmware version to "20100909 0".
15. Hidden: Changed Detailed Setup -> Customize option for Custom Menus to 'Add links to malore's custom menus on the Main Menu'; controls whether any malore menu items are added to the Main Menu, not just the Custom Menus submenu.
16. Updated MR/Fav/Other filters to match how the other status filters work: Ignore the filter, filter to Include, or filter to exclude.
17. Hidden: Added malore menu option to group by past, present, and future airings. This grouping option is most useful when using the malore menus for Future & Past Airings, i.e.: when the "Custom Additional Airings" option is enabled.
18. Can use Info to jump to the editorial's details on the TV Show Editorials menu.
19. Can use Info to close photo info dialog.
20. Added Detailed Setup -> Multimedia options to set "Default Audio Language" and "Default Subtitle Language".

TV Series Support Coming To MyMovies

2010-09-14T08:08:00.003-04:00

When it comes to using Windows Media Center there are two great plugins to consider, MyMovies and Media Browser. As always the question which I get asked often is which one to use. The first question I always ask which helps narrow things down quickly is whether the user wants TV episode support. Since MyMovies does not currently support TV episodes it is a quick elimination is this is something the user wants. Well, I just got a newsletter from Brian Binnerup at MyMovies and it appears that TV show support should be coming. Here is what Brian had to say:

TV Series Support

The support for TV Series in My Movies for Windows Media Center have been a request from many over the years, and this is now something we are working actively on. It was planned that we would be able to release this late this summer, but due to different reasons, it will come later instead.

It is important to us that once we add this, we do it the right way with the right functionality, and not just focused for one country or region.

To be sure not to have a deadline we cannot hold, we will not put a date on when you will see this support available, and we are also yet to decide if we will include it fully at once, or in steps.

We can ensure you though that once we are releasing it, it will be worth the wait.

Some other interesting tidbits from the newsletter:

My Movies for iPad

The one question we have had the most after releasing My Movies for iPhone Pro is if there will be a My Movies for iPad, both because of the options the iPad gives, but also because My Movies for iPhone does not operate on the iPad due to the iOS 4 usage.

There indeed will be a My Movies for iPad, which we plan releasing during October. We have created a sneak peak part of our website, which you can see here. On this site, many questions on the iPad release is answered. We will be using our Facebook site to keep you updated on the progress towards the release.

Mobile Device Remote Controls

There have been a lot of requests to add remote control support to both My Movies for iPhone and to the upcoming My Movies for iPad.

Despite remote control functionality is not within the original scope of these programs, we have had so many requests for it that we cannot just ignore it - this means that we after the initial release of My Movies for iPad will be working on adding remote control functionality to the software.

This will be done in two steps; we will start adding the option of starting playback of a title from the iPhone or iPad software, and perhaps later from the Android software as well - this will allow you to browse through your titles and request playback for the one you choose on the mobile device - if there are multiple playback options such as multiple discs on the requested title, you will be asked to choose between the options on the device.

The second step will be a remote control page in the software, giving you the functionalities that are included with a standard Windows Media Center remote control, which means navigation and transport controls.

It is for now not planned to add browsing of music or similar functionality.

New Official MPC HC Build Released

2010-09-07T14:13:00.003-04:00

After what has seemed to be quite some time (over a year to be exact), the MPC HC team has finally released the next MPC HC Official Build (1.4.2499). You can download the official build here. A full changelog can be seen below.

v1.4.2499.0 - 7 September 2010
==============================
NEW : Seamless playback support for multi files BRD
NEW : Support for Windows 7 taskbar and thumbnails features
NEW : Added Catalan, Dutch and Japanese translations
NEW : VSFilter x64 is available
NEW : Added internal VP8 Decoder
NEW : MPC-HC can be compiled with MSVC2010 and Intel C++ Compiler
NEW : Support for MCE remote control (values added in AppCommand column in
"Options/Player/Keys")
NEW : Support of Broadcom Video decoder for VC1, H.264 and MPEG-2
(hardware acceleration)
NEW : Support for DVB subtitles
NEW : Open files to Recent Documents
NEW : AUTO HDMI MODE 1080p/24 support for fullscreen mode
NEW : Ticket #46, add number to AudioDevice list
NEW : Sync Renderer dialogs
NEW : Real Video decoder in MPCVideoDecoder
NEW : Support interlaced mode in fullscreen resolution list
NEW : Auto change fullscreen resolution for different video content
NEW : Fullscreen Options page
NEW : Video decoder, options for DXVA Compatibility check
NEW : Support for MPEG-2 bitstreaming in the DXVA decoder
NEW : Full screen resolution - support for native 23.976 and 29.97 mode
(Vista and above only)
NEW : Auto resolution change for DVD
NEW : Always Exit after playback option
NEW : Support for SRM7500 remote control
NEW : New panel for switching DVB channels, audio and tuner scan
accessible through View-->Navigation menu when in Capture mode
NEW : Automatically play next files in a folder
NEW : Implemented 'Quick add favorite' shortcut (default: Shift + Q)
will use current settings from 'Add Favorite' dialog
NEW : Select D3D device for render, including DXVA if two or more video
adapters are in the system (EVR Custom & VMR9-Renderless only)
NEW : Statistics - added render device
NEW : Ability to select OSD font & size
NEW : Option "Don't use 'search in folder' on commands 'Skip back/forward'
when only one item in playlist"
NEW : H.264 L5.1 DXVA support for ATI cards with drivers > v8.14.1.6105
(Catalyst 10.4)
NEW : MPCVideoDecoder, disable DXVA (H.264) for SD video (width < 1280)
NEW : Improved DXVA compatibility check
NEW : Implemented drag and drop folders with sub-folders
NEW : Support for MPEG-1/Layer1 audio stream in the Matroska splitter
NEW : Command to switch video frame mode (key 'P')
NEW : Video frame options like in TV: Zoom 1 and Zoom 2
NEW : Auto saving position every 30 seconds
NEW : Added internal filters context menu (disable/enable)
NEW : Command to reopen file (Ctrl+E)
NEW : Support for PGS in Matroska
NEW : Open root BD movie from command line & shell context menu
NEW : OSD messages added when switching audio stream or subtitles
NEW : OSD on Jump Forward/Backward (keyframe)
NEW : OSD when open DVD/BD
NEW : OSD for jump to chapter in file
NEW : Detect system UI language and set interface language at first run
NEW : Full ICC color management (Little CMS v2.1a library added)
NEW : Full floating point processing (FP16 temporary textures)
NEW : High-quality dithering (color management, full floating point
processing, 10-bit -> 8-bit)
NEW : Option to force 10-bit EVR mixer input (probably hackish,
but in many cases it seems to work)
NEW : Added MediaInfoLib (v0.7.35) (no need for MediaInfo.dll anymore)
NEW : Added support for MPEG-2_VLD DXVA for Intel G31/33
(and maybe other Intel) chipset
CHANGED: Updated UnrarDll. It is now possible to use the 64bit UnrarDll
with the 64bit MPC-HC
CHANGED: Updated Detours to v2.1 build 216
CHANGED: Updated Bento4 to v1.2.3.0
CHANGED: Updated libpng to v1.4.3
CHANGED: Updated SoundTouch to v1.5.0
CHANGED: Updated zlib to v1.2.5
CHANGED: Updated LibOgg to v1.2.0
CHANGED: Updated LibVorbis to v1.3.1
CHANGED: Updated PNGDIB to v3.1.0
CHANGED: Updated sizecbar to v2.45
CHANGED: Better support for madVR
CHANGED: Updated Hungarian, Russian, Polish, Slovak, Portuguese, Ukrainian,
Spanish, Swedish, Czech, Traditional Chinese, German, Italian, Turkish
and Hungarian translations
CHANGED: Updated FFmpeg
CHANGED: Updated installer script
CHANGED: "DirectShow Audio" label on playback->output now says "Audio Renderer"
CHANGED: Ticket #27: Allow screensaver to activate when audio only
(sleep is still stopped)
CHANGED: Add open file to Recent Document only if "Keep history of recently
opened files" is checked
CHANGED: Select and change resolution for selected fullscreen monitor
CHANGED: Improve options for fullscreen monitor and resolution
CHANGED: Open DVD root folder (include VIDEO_TS) from explorer context menu
CHANGED: Many internal code improvements for more stability
CHANGED: Improved playlist
CHANGED: Improved subtitle handling
CHANGED: Rewritten DVXA check for better readability
CHANGED: Disabled internal H.264 (AVC) decoder for interlaced files
(bad supported by FFmpeg)
CHANGED: Show filename in OSD at open, instead "Pause/Play"
CHANGED: Add 'x64' suffix in Title and in the About dialog for the x64 build
CHANGED: OSD file name at open show delay up to 3 sec.
CHANGED: Core rendering code in the DX9AllocatorPresenter class is moved
to a new class: DX9RenderingEngine
CHANGED: "10 bit RGB" option changed to "10-bit RGB Output", does not affect
internal processing anymore
CHANGED: Removed unnecessary temporary texture allocations
CHANGED: Removed old player logos and added a new one
FIXED : Name of MPC-HC in title bar (Bug #2826963)
FIXED : Web interface status.html not showing status/media state when
Status bar is turned off (Bug #2025675)
FIXED : Ticket #12, crash/hang after standby, hibernate, UAC or CTRL+ALT+DEL
FIXED : Ticket #74, [MP4] AAC sound stops playing
FIXED : Ticket #116, issue with some MPEG (mono) audio playback
FIXED : Ticket #120, Inner PCM inside QT .mov is supported now
FIXED : Ticket #150, issue with playback AMR sound
FIXED : Ticket #161 and #414, "no audio capture device"
FIXED : Ticket #163, Crash with RealMedia
FIXED : Ticket #237, DVB channels are all saved as number 0 when tuning
FIXED : Ticket #242, No PCM sowt audio in MOV
FIXED : Ticket #258, speaker configuration in Audio Switcher isn't stored
FIXED : Ticket #281, [CAPTURE] No video decoding when capturing from DVB-T
card with internal MPEG2 DVXA Decoder enabled
FIXED : Ticket #282, Auto-zoom function problem
FIXED : Ticket #295, SSA/ASS and other save subtitle formats problem
FIXED : Ticket #300, Regression when hiding Caption and Menubar
FIXED : Ticket #333, Missing tracks when playing a TS file
FIXED : Ticket #363, #563, Can't open some mp3
FIXED : Ticket #385, no chapters with MP4Splitter
FIXED : Ticket #455, Bug with PGS subtitles
FIXED : Ticket #456, Problem with auto-loading subtitles fixed
FIXED : Ticket #465, MPEG/TS splitter can't recognize some video track
FIXED : Ticket #477, Internal audio switcher
FIXED : Ticket #489, MPC-HC API improvements
FIXED : Ticket #502, Problem with D3D9Ex
FIXED : Ticket #513, .rmvb interlaced decoding
FIXED : Ticket #511, Subtitle renderer crash fixed
FIXED : Ticket #528, Unable to scan for dvb-t
FIXED : Ticket #536, [MKV] Default values of the specification should be
strictly followed
FIXED : Ticket #576, Next AR Preset Issue
FIXED : Ticket #578, VSFilter crash fix with certain malformed drawing lines
FIXED : Ticket #599, ignores /audiorender option
FIXED : Ticket #601, BD movie length detect wrong
FIXED : Ticket #660, Pressing left arrow under Options->Logo causes right
arrow to disappear
FIXED : Ticket #661, Ctrl+C / File->Close form size discrepancy
FIXED : Ticket #672, DVB-T - image problems after changing from tv channel
to radio & back
FIXED : Ticket #677, Wrong colors using Color Management
FIXED : Ticket #679, add color management status in EVR CP graph settings
FIXED : Ticket #680, "Don't hide controls in full screen" does not work
unless you move the mouse
FIXED : Ticket #694, DLL preloading vulnerability
FIXED : Ticket #696, [GUI] use options dialog causes main window elements
to disappear
FIXED : Ticket #714, MPEG2 detected as H264
FIXED : Opening multiple files via Explorer context menu
FIXED : Memory leak in libavcodec
FIXED : Memory leak in DXVA decoder
FIXED : Playback of some broken avi files
FIXED : Fix VCD playback
FIXED : Better detection of "Used For Reference Flags" (fixes some broken
DXVA samples)
FIXED : Screensaver activating during video playback on XP
FIXED : Audio language detection for HDMV (broken by seamless playback feature)
FIXED : Bug with prevent sleep mode
FIXED : Bug in "Open File" dialog & "Add to Playlist" checked
FIXED : Default (center) window position after file close
FIXED : Issue with a switch to fullscreen mode
FIXED : FavoriteAdd dialog
FIXED : Possible buffer overflows
FIXED : Bug with launch in fullscreen
FIXED : Incorrect decoding with MPEG-2 bitstream decoder on video with
alternative scan
FIXED : Seeking problem with MPEG files
FIXED : Don't show OSD message when auto play is disabled
FIXED : Checking for duplicates in display modes
FIXED : Correct state when done playback (rewind fix)
FIXED : Incorrect minimal window height calculation when caption is on
FIXED : Search in dir function
FIXED : Play video from network share
FIXED : Incorrect position (desktop) after fullscreen when playing multiple
files on multi-monitor systems
FIXED : Playback issue for some H.264 media files captured from digital cameras
FIXED : Various DVB-T fixes
FIXED : DXVA regression: black video with some files
FIXED : Crash in Matroska splitter with unknown streams
FIXED : OSD shown wrong (previous) audio stream on change
FIXED : Improved DVD resume
FIXED : Crash with some VOB subtitles
FIXED : Undetected H.264 video streams in MPEG splitter
FIXED : Incorrect identification of the video stream in MPEG splitter
(H.264 instead of MPEG-2)
FIXED : Logical/numeric sorting in Playlist, "Play next in the folder"
FIXED : OSD on open BD
FIXED : MPEGSplitter - could not read some MPEG files
FIXED : Crashes with MSVC2010 builds
FIXED : The EVR mixer output media subtype matches the surface format
(as a consequence, it's always RGB)
FIXED : Incorrect lenght detection of MPEG, DVD (.ifo)

Rumblings of the Week - Sep 7

2010-09-07T07:32:00.003-04:00

A somewhat uneventful week

Nothing better then having a portable Media Browser. I had to work Monday (Labor Day) but since it was quiet I loaded up my laptop with movies, connected it to my TV at work via the HDMI output, and before you knew it I had Media Browser running at work!
Unless you were in a coma the AppleTV 2 was announced. Overall I found it to be quite a snoozer, and just another media player that half asses it instead of bringing a full all-in-one solution that many of us are looking for. Now I do recognize that no one does a better job at convincing people to buy things they don't need then Apple, so I expect the ATV to sell well. The question though, is there enough there to convince people who have not bought into the whole Apple ecosystem to dive in and add another box to their household
Speaking of Apple, the one piece of news that I thought could have a bigger impact was their announcement of AirPlay. If you start to see manufacturers incorporate AirPlay into their equipment then this could mean big trouble for Logitech and Sonos. I am all for competition, the only thing I can hope is that AirPlay does not become the de facto standard.
HDI Dune has been very active of late. Aside from the Smart line and the "slightly" expensive Pro, they have also announced the Dune Lite. There is still some confusion over the features/specs, so hard to form an opinion yet
My son's 1st birthday was this weekend. We got him a Mickey Mouse cake which it turns out the frosting turned everyones poop Hulk Green!!!

HDI Dune Announced Dune Pro, Serious Buyers Only Wanted!

2010-09-02T15:27:00.004-04:00

It has been several weeks since HDI Dune announced their new lineup of media players. Not being content to rest on their laurels HDI Dune has just announced the Dune Pro, with an expected cost somewhere in the $2,000. You can guess based on the price this player is being marketed to a very select group of High End Media enthusiasts. I seriously doubt I will get my hands on one of these to review, so all opinions will just have to be based on the specs.

Hi-End Features

Hi-End power supply: high-performance
large toroidal power transformer ensures a low level of interference in the power supply section and prevents possible distortions in the analog audio output, making the sound more clear and transparent, making music images articulated, precise and focused, and making the video more vivid and intense.
Hi-End audio outputs: the highest quality balanced XLR stereo outputs as well as the analog 7.1 multichannel RCA outputs, served by a high performance stereo DAC WM8741 from Wolfson Microelectronics (supports from
16 to 32 bits and sampling rates up to 192 kHz).
Balanced AES/EBU digital output: AES/EBU supporting PCM-encoded audio at 48 kHz or CD-audio at 44.1 kHz can be used to deliver digital stereo sound of the highest quality.
High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey's Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc).
Big weight: big weight of the chassis and solid
body provides a low vibration level of the optical disc in the drive as well as the internal HDD, minimizing the level of the disc tremor, and allowing to read data with higher accuracy.
IR input: get more flexibility for player installation (connect an external IR eye) or connect the player to external control platforms.
RS-232 control port and 12V trigger input: even more flexibility for integration of the player with external control platforms
.
PURE AUDIO button on the front panel: listen to the music directly, with video output electronics disabled, that helps to get even better audio quality.
DIMMER button on the front panel: control the brightness of the built-in display or turn it off completely.
Detachable 19" rack brackets: put the
player into a standard rack mount.

Media Player Features

The newest Sigma Designs 8642 media processor: enjoy excellent playback and performance of interactive features.
Blu-ray and DVD player: play Blu-rays and DVDs (plus Audio CD and data discs with video/music/photo files).
HDD player: connect an HDD to the player and play content directly from the HDD.
Network player: connect the player to a local network and play content directly from PC or NAS (UPnP, SMB, NFS).
MKV player: play HD and SD video in a pop
ular MKV format and other modern video file formats, including top quality HD video with very high bitrate.
RealD: watch 3D video in this ultra modern format used in cinema for the latest movies.
HD audio: enjoy top-quality audio tracks (Dolby True HD, DTS HD Master Audio, LPCM, FLAC).
4 USB ports: conveniently connect HDDs, USB flash drives, USB card readers and other USB storage devices.
HDD rack with hot swap function: easily
and quickly insert and exchange internal 3.5" SATA HDD.
SD card slot: easily play media files on SD memory cards from your camera or other devices, or use an SD memory card as a local or system storage (required for BD Live function).
HDMI 1.3: ensure the best possible quality of HD video and HD audio.
A rich set of standard A/V connectors: use S/PDIF optical audio, stereo audio, component video, composite video outputs t
o easily connect any A/V equipment.
Extended support for Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio: output bitstream (up to 7.1 channels) or decode (up to 7.1 channels) for maximum flexibility when connecting audio equipment, and for extended support of advanced playback features (such as Picture-in-Picture).
High-quality music playback: play ver
y high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey’s Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc).
Playlists: build playlists from your folders, use your own playlists, use repeat and shuffle functions.
Video output flexibility: output video in any resolution and format (from SD to 1080p, 24p/PAL/NTSC).
Upscaling: high quality upscaling of DVD and any other SD video content to Full HD (1080p) or other HD resolution.
File browser: convenient file browser with
powerful file management (copy, move, delete, rename, organize, sort).

Extra Functions

NAS function: access files on storage device
s (HDD, optical drive, etc) attached to the player from the local network (using SMB or FTP).
BitTorrent: use built-in BitTorrent client to download files from P2P networks.
Customizable user interface: work with media collections using cover art and icon browsing (with Full HD graphics).
Flash applications: extend the player functionality with FlashLite applications.
Internet radio: playback and record various
Internet radio stations (HTTP/MP3).
IPTV: playback and record IPTV streams (multicast UDP/RTP) from your Internet provider (check availability of multicast UDP/RTP streams with your Internet provider).
Digital TV option: playback and record Digital TV channels using an optional Digital TV USB dongle (Digital TV USB dongle is not

included; this option can be purchased separately).
Internet browsing: view Internet Web sites on your TV using the built-in Web browser (built-in Web browser has limitations and may not allow to view some Internet Web sites).

Specification

Processor: Sigma Designs 8642
RAM: 512 MB
Flash memory: 512 MB, expandable with a HDD partition, USB flash drive, or SD card (2GB recommended)
Media sources: internal HDD (SATA 3.5")
, built-in Blu-ray drive, external HDD (USB), external optical drive (USB), USB devices (USB flash drive, USB card reader, etc), built-in SD card reader (SD/SDHC), PC and NAS in local network (SMB, NFS, UPnP, HTTP), other Internet and local network media sources (HTTP, multicast UDP/RTP)
Video codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, WMV9, VC1, H.264; support for very high bitrate video (up to 50 MBit/s and higher)
Video file formats: MKV, MPEG-TS, MPE
G-PS, M2TS, VOB, AVI, MOV, MP4, QT, ASF, WMV, Blu-ray-ISO, BDMV, DVD-ISO, VIDEO_TS
Optical disc formats: data discs (CD/DVD/BD) (MP3, JPEG, etc), Audio CD (PCM/DTS), DVD-Video (retail and user-authored discs), Blu-ray (retail and user-authored discs)
Blu-ray playback: Blu-ray menu, BD-J, BonusView, BD-Live – for both Blu-ray discs (retail and user-authored) and full Blu-ray str
uctures (Blu-ray-ISO, BDMV) played from HDD and network
Video output modes: wide range of supported output resolutions (up to 1080p) and framerates (including 23.976p, 24p, PAL, NTSC)
Video output framerate: automatic (according to the played content) and manual
Audio codecs: AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS, MPEG, AAC, LPCM, WMA, WMAPro, EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), Dolby True HD, DTS HD High Resolution Audio, DTS HD Master Audio, FLAC, multichannel FLAC, Ogg/Vorbis
; support for very high quality audio (up to 192 kHz / 24-bit)
Audio file formats: MP3, MPA, M4A, WMA, FLAC, APE (Monkey’s Audio), Ogg/Vorbis, WAV, DTS-WAV, DTS, AC3, AAC
HD audio support: pass-through (up to 7.1 channels) and decoding (up to 7.1 channels) of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA audiotracks (Blu-ray, TS, MKV), pass-through (up to 7.1 channels) of multichannel LPCM audio
tracks (Blu-ray, TS, MKV), decoding (up to 7.1 channels) of FLAC audiotracks (MKV, external)
Subtitle formats: SRT (external), SUB (MicroDVD) (external), text (MKV), SSA/ASS (MKV, external), VobSub (MP4, MKV, external SUB/IDX), PGS (Blu-ray, TS, MKV)
Picture file formats: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
Playlist file formats: M3U, PLS
Photo viewer functions: slideshow, transition effects, picture rotation, zoom, browse playlist, repeat, shuffle
Audio playback functions: browse playlist, repeat, shuffle, ID3 tags, plasma TV burn-in prevention
Filesystems: FAT16/FAT32 (read-write), EXT2/EXT3 (read-write), NTFS (read-write)
Ethernet: 10/100 Mbit (with 1000 Mbit/s experimental support) ^*
WiFi: optional 802.11n WiFi (via an external USB WiFi stick, not included, D-Link DWA-140 recommended)
Dune Network Playback Accelerator: special optimizations ensuring best-in-class network playback performance for the Sigma Designs 864x platform and enabling smooth playback of any supported kind of media content via any network protocol (including NFS and SMB) even in 100 Mbit/s Ethernet
networks.

HDI Dune Home

HDI Dune Home technology taps into the value of the home network to allow users to control and manage all connected devices over a unified interface. In the case of HDI Dune Pro, this interface is presented on the television and accessed using the supplied remote control and a simple setup wizard. The following service capabilities are standard:

Monitoring
The HDI Dune Home Monitoring service lets users monitor and manage IP cameras with the capability to stream live video, record it to local and remote storage, manage camera streaming options, share IP cameras and recordings, in addition to basic functionality such as playback, fast forward, tagging, and archiving to a hard drive. This service provides users with home security when they are on vacation, at work, or away.
Control
The HDI Dune Home Control service lets users control lights, appliances, HVAC systems & thermostats, motion detectors, door locks, and a variety of other home devices compatible with supported standards.
Mobile
The HDI Dune Home Mobile user interfaces let users enjoy the full spectrum of Connected Home Services from their smart phone. Alerts and notifications promptly alert users to events in their home and are available on any mobile phone with SMS capability.

XBMC - Dharma Beta 1 Released To The Public

2010-08-31T06:08:00.002-04:00

The next release of XBMC, codename Dharma, has finally been released to the public. This is a beta/pre release, so keep in mind there may be bugs and/or instabilities. You can read more details here and download the pre release here.

GUI:

Improved XBMC GUI Skinning Framework / Engine making it even more flexible and powerful
Improved mouse support, added better exclusive control support for dragging of sliders/scroll bars
Improved mouse click handling and added the possibility of long verses short clicks detection

Addons Manager

Unified addon framework.
Addon Browser GUI that will allow for an easy way to find, install, and manage third-party addons

Playback:

Added Broadcom Crystal HD PCIe/Mini-PCIe hardware accelerated video decoders support
Added support for unencrypted Blu-ray Disc playback (via libbluray and libbdnav) without menus
Added Blu-ray Disc detection for external players (map external player in playercorefactory.xml)
Added raw bitstream pass-through support for MP1, MP2, MP3, and AAC encoded audio tracks
Added a real-time ATSC A/52 encoder for on-the-fly Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC-3) transcoded output
Added support for 5.1 Multi-Channel Analog Output (discrete 6-channel PCM output)
Added High-Quality Lanczos Upscalers (Video Resamplers) as OpenGL GLSL Shaders
Added support for embedded Blu-ray/AVCHD PGS subtitles in MKV (Matroska) video containers
Added support to use MKV (Matroska) embedded descriptions for audio and subtitle tracks
Added support for unsorted subtitles (ass/ssa, srt, smi)
Added support for multiple language sami subtitle
Added "Wide Zoom" video mode option, a combination zoom, cropping, and non-linear stretching
Added "Stretch 14x9" video mode option, a combination of zoom, cropping, and linear stretching
Added "Stretch 16x9" video mode option, a combination of zoom, cropping, and linear stretching
Upgraded FFmpeg (libavformat and libavcodec) audio/video codec and demux library
Improved Dream Multimedia Dreambox Enigma2 bouquets support in the TuxBox Client
Improved audio channel matrix mapping, audio channels downmixing, and upmixing support

Library:

Added FanArt image cache height-value size option to advancedsettings.xml (defaults to 480)
Added initial support for MySQL as abstracted database backend for video and music libraries
Added improved portability of SQL statements used in the video and music libraries
Improved performance for SQL database queries ( help is always wanted here!)

Scrapers:

Added dtrailer.com movie trailers scraping to TheMovieDB.org and IMDb scrapers
Added new 1ting (Chinese) music scraper
Added new 7176 (Chinese) movie scraper
Added new getlib (Chinese) movie scraper
Added new m1905 (Chinese) movie scraper
Added new daum (Korean) TV Shows scraper
Added new daum (Korean) music scraper
Added new filmbasen (Norwegian) movie scraper
Added new moviemeter (Dutch) movie scraper
Added new videobuster (German) movie scraper
Added new kino (German) movie scraper
Added new TLAraw.com (English) adult movies scraper
Improved ofdb (German) movie scraper by adding themoviedb.org posters scraping
Improved TheTVDB (Multi-Lingual) TV Shows and Episode scraper
Removed Discogs (English) music scraper due to them blocking XBMC
Removed imdb-cn (Chinese) movie scraper due to website closed

Skins:

Confluence: Addon Browser specific window and icon to get to it in the settings GUI
Confluence: Added button for Subtitle Downloads to Video OSD (add script path in settings)
Confluence: Added browsing for subtitles in full screen video overlay

Other:

Added JSON-RPC and JSON API over HTTP and Sockets for bidirectional communication
Added microhttpd Web Server (and removed the old GoAhead and Spyce code) for HTTP API
*
Added HTTP authentication methods any, anysafe, digest, and ntlm (via cURL libcurl)
Added SSH file transfer protocol (sftp) via libssh
Added support for MD5 passwords in GUIEditControl
Added doxygen resources for generating source code documentation
Added the ability to turn off LCD/VFD backlight while screensaving to advancedsettings.xml
Improved XBMC's integrated DLNA / UPnP MediaServer and Client compatibility
Improved last.fm and libre.fm passwords storage with MD5, requires user to input password again

Live Specific:

Base XBMC Live on a stripped Ubuntu Desktop 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) Linux Distribution
Added support for GRUB 2 based images
Updated NVIDIA and ATI binary graphics device drivers

Linux Specific:

Added out-of-the-box support for Antec's VERIS family RM200 / Antec Fusion Remote Control
Improved VDPAU (NVIDIA) Hardware Video Acceleration and its upscaling/deinterlacing capabilities
Improved AMD/Intel x86-64 64-bit (AMD64 / IA-64t CPU architectures) support

Windows Specific:

Added initial native DXVA2 (DirectX Video Acceleration) support for H.264, VC-1, and WMV9
Added support for WASAPI (Windows Audio Session API) for raw bitstream output
Added High-Quality Bicubic and Lanczos Upscalers (Video Resamplers) as Direct3D HLSL
Added Direct3D port of the OpenGL Spectrum 3D Audio Visualization for DirectX
Improved support for Microsoft's DirectX, Direct3D, and DirectSound APIs for Windows

Mac OS X Specific:

Added OSX H.264 Acceleration
Improved the PowerPC (PPC CPU architecture) support
Removed PortAudio now that we use Core Audio

Apple TV Specific:

Added support for Apple TV OS 3.0.2

Rumblings of the Week - Aug 30

2010-08-30T08:36:00.003-04:00

- I own an HP Networked Printer (Officejet J6480). For some mysterious reason this weekend the printer no longer shows up on any of my PCs. This printer has been hit or miss for me, I will not be a happy camper if I find out is it broken in less then a year with minimal use...

- Just received the Xtreamer Pro to replace my troubled Xtreamer Sidewinder. It is much smaller then I expected. Look for my review in the coming weeks.

- I actually got up before work and went for a walk to get some morning cardio in. I then proceeded to eat a slice of chocolate cake for breakfast!

- Took the wife to see Avatar in IMAX this weekend. She had seen it already, but only on BluRay. Her exact words once the movie was over, "That was awesome."

- I was able to catch two movies this week. Clash Of The Titans was entertaining. It is just one of those movies where you have to keep your expectations in check. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I have mixed feelings. When it first started I thought it had promise, but as the storyline progressed I found it just became cheesy and too "teenie". I have never read the books but from reading reviews the movie was a far departure from the books. My wife's family is visiting until next weekend so I am going to try and squeeze in as many movies as possible until them while I have more hands on board to watch the kids.

- At some point I want to get a new TV for my bedroom. There are a lot of deals for the 3D TV / 3D BluRay player / 3D glasses. I am not sure if it is worth it?

Using BluRip To Rip To MKVs

2010-08-25T09:13:00.003-04:00

As usual I also enjoy testing out various software application, always looking for the latest and greatest. I just recently came across a tool called BluRip, which takes your Blu Rays (must be unencrypted) and throws into an mkv. What is different about this program versus MakeMKV, Ripbot264, or other is that with BluRip you can encode, rip as lossless, or do a combination. One feature in particular that I like is that you can keep the native PGS subtitles as well as create a secondary AC3 audio track. This is the only program I have come across that can do both of these with having to involve multiple programs (MakeMKV can do this to an extent if the HD Audio track is TrueHD). Another benefit, you can set to disable header compression (read more about it here) once and not have to worry about it again. BluRip is definitely a little intimidating at first, but I think it is designed for both the novice and power user. I spent some time documenting how to use BluRip, so if interested you can see my guide here:

BluRip Guide

On a side note, you may be asking how I determine what I post here versus MediaSmartServer. Basically I have found blogspot (which this Blog runs on) to be absolutely horrible when it comes to managing guides, especially inserting pictures and formatting. With MediaSmartServer we use WordPress which I find much more flexible and powerful, so I save all the "beefy" guides/writeups for that site.

NFL Sunday Ticket, Without Being a DirecTV Customer!

2010-08-24T08:39:00.002-04:00

Dave Zatz at ZatzNotFunny just reported that DirecTV is now offering the Sunday NFL Ticket to everyone (including non DirecTV customers). This is great news as I am a Denver Broncos fan living in New York. Since I am not a DirecTV customer the only time I get a chance to watch Denver games is when they are nationally televised. The NFL Sunday Ticket may be the answer (You can get every game, every Sunday — LIVE on your computer, iPad or phone), but unfortunately it comes at a steep price of $350. You can read up on full details of the DirecTV offering here. Now I just need to have a talk with myself and decide if it is worth spending the money...

Xtreamer 2.4.0 Out Of Beta

2010-08-23T14:45:00.002-04:00

I have been running the 2.4 RC3 beta firmware for the Xtreamer and unfortunately have not had much success with it (unable to bitstream HD Audio, PQ issues, etc...). Looks like the firmware has just moved from beta status to official, so I am hoping this will fix the issues I encountered. I should hopefully know for sure later tonight when I get home from work.

Ver 2.4 New Features

(1) Subtitle Browser - You will be able to find this new option on the subtitle popup screen. It will allow you to select an external subtitle file on any location on your HDD. It will absolve you from the need to rename the subtitle to the same name as the movie file name and will free you from the need to place the subtitles on the same folder of the movie

(2) HD Audio Passthrough - (For Xtreamer Pro and Sidewinder models only ) This version introduces the long anticipated 7.1 Audio Passthrough to DTS-Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus.

(3) Off Timer - The requested function which will allow you to set a time in which the device will be turned off was added. Search for it on the Settings -> System menu. You will have a choice now to set the time between 30-120 minutes

(4) NTP Client - The device was supplemented to adjust itself to a network time server. This will become handy once we will introduce you in the near future the "Recently added files" which will use the device time as reference point

(5) Recently Watched Movies - This Function was added to the media library. you will see this option once you will go into the media library initial screen. press [1] on the remote control will display a popup screen with the list of the last 10 movies played on the device. You will have an option to remove items from the list as well.

(6) Online Download & update mechanisms for Xtreamer live + Jukebox - This release introduced the ability to download the Xtreamer Live and the Community Jukebox directly from our server provided that you agree to the terms outlined on the opening screen.
This function will also allow users to perform online updates as they are made available by the community

(7) Restricted Adult Content Section - The XXX Adult Content section on the Xteramer live will be automatically protected by the system default password . (0000) . The password is based on the 'Folder Lock' password and can be updated on the Settings page

(8) Hebrew TV GUI - was retranslated entirely so as to introduce a more localized experience to the various sections

(9) Auto creation of swap file - A default (64MB) swap file will be created while entering the Movie Jukebox to improve performance

(10) File Manager Improvements - We added enhanced functionality to the File manager function (New folder, Rename, Copy/Move, Delete) for network shares

(11) Password Protected Shares - We introduced in this firmware the ability to use a Username/Password option to log into protected network shares

(12) Improved Audio Streaming - We dramatically improved / enhanced the .mms support so as to allow you greater compatibility and stability with mms audio streams. This opens the way for you to add the majority of mms audio streams of your favorite radio stations. We also added the ability to use both “mms://” and “mmsh://” protocols

(13) Video Format Support - We can now stream AVI & WMV3 video streams which allows the addition of many thousands of active streams and supports more services for developers and users to use to enhance the online streaming experience

(14) RTSP Streaming Format - We added “rtsp” protocol support for Internet section.

(15) We Modified the parser code for SMI file.

(16) RSS Local Movie Playback Improved - You can use all functions of “Media library” playback via the Internet section - allowing you to customise the way you display and play your movie collection

(17) SQLite version 3.5.4 and PHP-5.3.2 - Were added to the device system core

(18) Network Shares support via Xtreamer Web Server

o Listing all network shares
o Auto mount while click
o Play network media files using web media player
o Play network media files/folder directly on TV by clicking “Play” icon
o Download network shared files from Xtreamer web server
o Upload file to network shares
o File functions (New folder, Rename, Copy/Move, Delete) for network shares
o Zip/Archive option for network shares
o Direct file link for network share files

(19) Play files and folders remotely via WEB UI - Screen shot in web rc,rc2

(20) HDMI Compatibility Improved - New settings available

(21) Subtitle Lock - We added the ability to display lock folder password on subtitle browser.

(22) Firmware Download system from internet - We added the ability to allow you to check for available updates from the internet and perform download and updates once your device is connected to the internet.

(23) HD audio support in MKV container - We added the ability to play DTS-HD up to 7.1 CH on mkv container. This function is applicable to XT pro and XT sidewinder only.

(24) Disk Spindown - Your device will become more quite, cooler and HDD life expectancy will increase. You will be able to set the HDD to turn off if idle after 10 min.

(25) Youtube HD Support. The new VP6 On2Media coded allow users now to enjoy their youtube and Flash FLV content on HD .

(26) YouTube user account login in support - now you can login to your Youtune account and browse and play your "Uploaded", "Favorites" and your Youtube "Plyalists"

(27) Music playback during slideshows - we added Music Control box that allows you to choose background music from any folder as well as an ability to play music while watching slideshows from the Internet.

Full information can be found here.

Rumbling of the Week

2010-08-23T07:20:00.004-04:00

I have been thinking about doing a weekly post about some random stuff that come up but aren't worthy of turning into full fledged posts. Don't know if I will actually stick with this, but might as well give it a try:

- iPad: I don't own one but my Mom does. I really want to like it and it is a cool device, but I always come across something that sours me a little. I had a chance to use it this weekend and two annoying issues came up. The first was the weight. I have Sonos at home so I decided to install the Sonos app on the iPad (right now I control with my iTouch). The weight made it cumbersome to navigate my music library for more then a few minutes. The iTouch/iPhone makes a much better controller. Second is the whole Flash thing. I was traveling with my boys yesterday and my Son insisted on viewing the Thomas The Tank website on the iPad. Try explaining to a 3 year old why none of the videos work because the iPad does not support Flash...

- Speaking of tablets all I read about is how this is the next big craze. So where are all these tablets, are we going to get with them all around the holidays???

- My Harmony 900 remote has been buggy of late. Either the touch screen does not turn on or the RF signal does not go though

- I am still trying to make sense of the whole 3D thing. I saw a Receiver advertised as 3D ready, what exactly does that mean???

- I actually watched a few movies this weekend (it has become increasingly rare for me to find time to watch movies). Angels & Demons was ok, nothing great. Hot Tub Time Machine was pretty funny, with the usual few gross out scenes.

Creating a VPN with LogMeIn Hamachi

2010-08-19T11:41:00.004-04:00

Over a year ago I detailed how I used LogMeIn to help resolve some issues I ran in to with my PCs/WHS at home. Since then I have been using LogMeIn with great success. It not only allows me to log in to any of my PCs remotely, but it also allows me to help troubleshoot PC issues for family members without having to be physically present (maybe this is a bad thing!). I have had setting up a VPN on my list for quite some time now, and since LogMeIn offers a VPN product called Hamachi I decided it was time to test out. I had 3 goals in mind with setting up a VPN:

The ability to easily back up files from my Windows Home Server to my Dad’s EX495, providing me additional data protection
When traveling I can access my home network from my Laptop just as if I was at home. This particularly makes things easier for me as I do some of my writing and/or software testing on my laptop, and having direct access to all my files on my WHS facilitates the process. Prior to setting up the VPN I was either remoting in to my desktop PC at home or constantly downloading files via my remote website.
The ability to access the WHS console on my laptop while traveling, as well as allowing for the daily backup

I am happy to report that I was success in achieving each goal with Hamachi. I just put together a full writeup on setting up Hamachi and my test results, which you can read more about here.

Will You See The Rerelease of Avatar in Theaters?

2010-08-18T11:10:00.002-04:00

With the rerelease of Avatar happening on August 27th, I was wondering how many people will be going to the theaters to watch? I caught Avatar in IMAX with my Dad when it first came out, and most likely will be taking my wife to see it in IMAX once it is rereleased. To date it is the only 3D movie that I have seen that I didn't feel was a gimmick. So drop a comment if you will be seeing it or if you have no interest.

HDI Dune Announces New Media Players

2010-08-17T20:49:00.003-04:00

I must say I am impressed. Several weeks after reviewing the Dune BD Prime HDI Dune drops some exciting news, announcing 4 new models to the already impressive lineup. You can get more details here.

Guide - Setting Up Zappiti for Dune

2010-08-13T17:28:00.003-04:00

I received a Dune BD Prime several weeks ago (which I reviewed here) and have been really impressed so far on what it has to offer, so much so that it has kicked one of my HTPCs to the side! Of course all of these media players have a very basic stock UI, so one of the first things to do is to find a suitable 3rd party jukebox. So far the jukebox of choice for me has been Zappiti. Like most other jukeboxes there are a few quirks and things I would like added/fixed, but overall I was impressed at how easy it was to set up and get running. I just finished documenting the process which you can read about here:

Zappiti Guide

SageTV V7.0.15 Beta is Now Available

2010-08-11T15:27:00.000-04:00

Below are the detailed release notes for V7.0.15:

SageTV V7.0.15 Beta 8/11/2010

Core Updates
1. Fixed bug where we did not preserve the current title # when storing watched information for DVDs and BluRays. (it was broken when watched tracking for DVDs/BDs was updated recently)
2. Fixed bug where transcoding files with subtitle streams would fail sometimes (subtitles are now disabled by the transcoder)
3. Fixed issues with embedded audio streams inside of HD audio streams being detected by the transcoder
4. Added server based property "seeker/num_recent_watches_to_keep" which defaults to 2 and controls how many recently watched shows are protected from deletion. This has always been there; but now the setting is configurable in the properties file.
5. Fixed bug related to new watched tracking for DVDs/BluRays where resuming playback of a DVD would cause exceptions to occur and loss of playback control.
6. Fixed regression bug where disallowing adding a channel with a zero station ID would prevent creation of the internal zero-station ID channel used for all imported content.
7. Fixed bug where transcoding from AVIs did not work properly
8. Added Italy-Genova DVB-T frequency
9. Fixed bug where live TV from network encoders was missing the video stream in format detection

Windows Updates
1. Fixed bug where we didn't always select the right audio decoder to use in DirectShow if all the audio tracks didn't have the same audio format.
2. Fixed bug on Windows with 3D rendering where if SageTV was started on one monitor and then moved to another monitor with a larger display size, then part of the user interface would be cutoff at full screen.
3. Changed the default setting for the autodial property to be false since this sometimes causes issues on Win7/Vista.
4. Fix: if a channel is missing a tune entry in frq on windows 7, there is trouble tuning an ATSC channel, ERROR (-4,0x8007001f).
5. Fixed bug with DirectShow DVD Player where selecting a subtitle language didn't automatically turn on subtitles as well
6. Fixed bug where the audio tracks listed in the UI didn't always match the actual ordering used
7. Regression fix for exiting FSE and trying forever to reset the D3D device

Linux Updates
1. Fix: linux crash when EPG scanning. after fflush fifo empty, the push data thread tries to use empty buffer in fifo (thread racing issue)
2. Fixed bug where seamless file switching would wait forever until it found the transition point, which is bad if there's no signal

Extender Updates
1. Disable DVB subpicture selection for the HD100 since it doesn't support display of them.
2. Send a command to disable subpicture display for MPEG2-PS files to avoid hangs on media extenders that cannot display DVB subpictures properly
3. Fixed bug where bd-xxx subpicture PIDs were not properly parsed (these were used for DVB subs inside MPEG2-PS files)

Studio/API Updates
1. Added new Widget API call "ExecuteWidgetChainInCurrentMenuContext(Widget)" which is similar to ExecuteWidgetChain but instead of using an empty variable context it will execute within the currently loaded menu's variable context.

STV Updates
1. After selecting an audio language or subtitle in dialog during playback, wait up to 500 ms while checking to see if the change occurred before refreshing the list & marking the currently active language or subtitle.
2. Allowed use of Watched command to set/clear Watched status for DVDs & BDs.
3. Updated Standard theme preview image.
4. Updated preview images for playing video as menu background or in preview window.
5. Hidden Extras: Fixed display of alternate view names in malore menu slide out options.
6. Hidden Extras: Added malore menu options to 1) draw separator lines between items, 2) draw outlines around Manual Recordings & Favorites, 3) draw airing category background colors always, not the default category color, or never.
7. Hidden Extras: Updated malore menu focus highlight image - MaloreHighlight.png
8. Hidden Extras: Updated malore menu font styles for right-side episode lists & upper info area. Bold titles for Fav/MR; Italic for Watched; Plain text for all else.
9. Hidden Extras: Solved excessive refresh issue when using a malore menu for the first time.

The beta can be found here.

Some Random Thoughts

2010-08-11T06:08:00.003-04:00

I have been up since around 2:50am and at work since 4am with a long day ahead of me (I have to make it until at least 11pm tonight since I am going to the NY Mets game), so thought I would just do a quick post on some things going through my head (aside from Midgets running around wtf!!!)

- Finally set up my Xbox360 (the new "slim" version) after having unpacked over a month ago. I forgot how much better the UI is over the PS3. If only MS took the Xbox to the next level and made it a full fledged media extender

- When I plugged in the Xbox I got an error message that I had no system storage, so I thought maybe the 250GB hdd was damaged. I emailed MS explaining the issue, that this was a brand new Xbox, and the error I was getting occurred the moment I plugged in. Their response "Your drive must be full, please transfer data off or delete!!!". Um...it is a brand new Xbox, how the hell would the hdd be full unless NewEgg was nice enough to load it with games before I bought it!!! Anyway, turns out the drive was not seated properly, so I pulled out, put back and, and voila in business!

- Testing out LogMeIn Hamachi. I set up a mesh network between my laptop, my WHS, and my Dad's WHS, and all three can see each other as if they were on the same network! Pretty neat, look out for my writeup soon as I am doing a little more testing

- I am convinced there is no worse injury then hurting your back. I have been working out for a long time (my goal has been to bench press 315lbs, I have fallen 10lbs short so far!!!), and am usually pretty smart about not overdoing it. I went to the gym with my bro in law a few weekends ago and decided to flip truck tires with him to finish the workout. During one of the flips I lost my grip on the tire which put too much stress on my lower back. Needless to say 2 weeks later I am still waiting for my back to heal 100%...

- In the summertime I still play baseball. It has gotten increasingly difficult to really commit to though between family life and work. However, there is just something still too gratifying about hitting one out against some hotshot 20 something yr old!!! Looks like next year I will have to pull another Brett Farve and decide last minute whether to retire or continue on my comeback trail! Is anyone else out there still playing sports? If so leave a comment, would be very interested in hearing

- My 4am breakfast - 1 buttered roll, 1 Nesquick Chocolate Milk (yum), and 1 5-Hour Energy!!!

MKV Header Compression

2010-08-09T16:47:00.002-04:00

One hotly debated item on Doom9 has been header compression with mkvs. Essentially this allows a muxer to keep a certain number of bytes that are identical for each frame in the track headers removing them from the individual frames. This reduces the size of the tracks significantly without altering the content as a demuxer can add the bytes found in the track headers to each frame during demuxing. Starting with mkvmerge v4.1.0 header compression is enabled by default. Unfortunately not all hardware/software players support this, which means you are left with an mkv that will not play. Since header compression is enabled by default the user has to manually disable this each and every time they use mkvmerge. To make matters worse, the amount of space savings is extremely minimal (I saved a total of 2,000 kb on a 20GB file!). You can read a little more detailed explanation of the issue here:

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/08/09/mkv-mania-header-compression-and-the-side-effects/

24 Hours Just Wasted...

2010-08-09T09:26:00.002-04:00

Well that sucked. I have a Blu Ray TV show box set that I am ripping into individual episodes. I decided to encode the episodes with Ripbot instead of keeping as is. I have a Quad Core Q6600 desktop PC which is fast, but nowhere near as fast as a Core i7. On average if I do encode (which I rarely do anymore) it takes me about 6-8 hours to encode a a full movie Blu Ray (use CQ=20, L4.0). So for a tv show Blu Ray it takes about half of that (3-4 hours). The disc I was encoding had 6 episodes, so I set Ripbot in batch mode for all 6 episodes. The process started Sunday morning and just completed a few minutes ago, so probably around 20-22 hours. I just remoted in to check out the results to see that only one mkv was created, wtf??? It appears that even though I had selected individual playlists (per episode) which Ripbot processed it either just kept defaulting to the same playlist or kept using the same file name to output. So the end result, with 22 hours of encoding I am left with 1 mkv as with each encode Ripbot would just overwrite the previously encoded file. Oh well, back to the drawing board, time to pull out my handy MakeMKV

YANFOE 2 Announed

2010-08-08T10:49:00.002-04:00

YANFOE is a very popular metadata program used for YAMJ as well as other jukeboxes. A public build (version 0.8) has been out for a while, and it is what I use to manage my YAMJ jukebox for my PCHs. For a while there has been discussion of version 2.0, which would include tv show support, but to date nothing has materialized. Well, it looks like Russell, the developer of YANFOE, has decided to tackle version 2.0 head basically starting from scratch. Some key featrues will be:

Core V2 Features

• Full TV support is now part of the same application!
• Completely redesigned UI.
• New code base including new custom framework.
• Full support for localization in the UI
• Settings can now be saved, loaded and backed up.
• Internal download manager
• Built in Trailer downloads

You can see Russell's full announcement here

metabrowser 2.0.60 released with TV Show Support

2010-08-06T10:37:00.002-04:00

In March I had done a writeup on the new metabrowser 2.0. One feature that was missing was TV show support, so to get around this I have been using the old metabrowser (documented here). I have only had a few minutes to spend with the new metabrowser, but I hope to document the new tv show features soon. You can read about the release here.

SageTV V7.0.14 Beta is Now Available

2010-08-06T09:50:00.001-04:00

SageTV V7.0.14 beta just released. This is only to fix a few small issues:

Windows Updates
1. Fixed regression issue on Windows where QAM tuning didn't work right on Windows 7/Vista

Linux Updates
1. Fixed regression issue where SageTV would crash doing an ATSC EPG data scan

You can download the new beta here.