I recently picked up one of my favorite holiday movies on Blu-Ray and thought I would share an unboxing with you.  I’m am sure that my fellow Windows Home Server colleagues who are keen to a good unboxing will enjoy this one.  Without further adieu, I present to you the  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray Collectors Tin Un-Boxing.

Lets start with the packaging.  This tin was covered in a thin plastic that was easily removable.  The plastic also served as a means in which the stores can place their pricing upon so not to ruin the collectors value of the tin.

The tin was wrapped in a cardboard Blu-Ray box material that had Blu-Ray logos on the sides and an alternate rear cover for the DVD box.  It gently slipped off the tin much like the icicle launching out of the rain gutter and into the neighbors stereo.

The back of the tin  features a cast photo and the remains of the “fried pussy cat.”  I know you are anxious to see inside so let’s proceed

The Blu-Ray DVD case separates itself from the norm by it’s green hue.  The “fried pussy cat returns as the main graphic on the disc itself but I know you have your eye on all those goodies that were included in the collectors edition.  Let’s go through them one-by-one.

Here is a good look at the “Collectible Moose Mug Figurine.”  The packaging was most impressive.  The mug was encased in bubble wrap and sealed by an outer layer of plastic.  If you can recall, Clark and Eddie were enjoying some nog in the “Moose” mugs which harkens back to the original Vacation movie where the Griswold’s visit Wally World and it’s Moose mascot after a brief drive from Chicago to California.  This is a Blu-Ray exclusive item.  You cannot get this in the standard DVD version.  This is reason enough to jump aboard the Blu train don’t you think?  Did you ever receive a Miniature Mug Replica after purchasing a streamed movie?  I don’t think so.

This is a 4 piece coaster set.  The coasters were in a plastic bag that had a fold-over flap that had a stick substance in which sealed the bag.  The bag is save-able as the sticky substance allowed the bag to open easy.  The coasters have a photo front with a memorable movie quote as well as a cork bottom.  They should serve well in protecting furniture from the condensation of nog that will stream down the “Collectible Moose Mug” or any other beverage of your choosing.

Here is button that you may proudly wear to your Christmas functions and parties.  The front of the button is a good quality product but I was surprised that the back was simply a safety pin that was fastened to the back of the button.  Of all places to cut corners I am disappointed that it was done here.

When I was contemplating the purchase I was wondering how they fit a full size santa cap in the collectors tin since the tin is not much bigger than the actual Blu-Ray case.  They did this by vacuum sealing the folded cap in a plastic sealable bag.  When I tore the bag open the cap sprang to life much as we all do Christmas Eve when we hear the clatter of hooves on the roof.  The cap has the familiar moose stitched to the white rim portion and the cap is very soft to the touch.  I am guessing that the size is an 8 or larger.  It should fit nicely on any adult who chooses to don it at Christmas parties.  I suggest a bit of spiced rum in your party nog in order to make you a bit more interesting.  Stories about the Moose cap will no doubt wear off quickly.

The last collectible item is a blue box of instant snow powder.  Inside the box you will find a small packet containing a white powdery substance.   In order to preserve the value of my collectors edition I will not be using the instant snow powder but the back of the box states that it is in fact re-useable.  Add water to activate and let it dry out to re-use.

The movie presentation was good.  It auto started directly to the movie without any previews. I liked that fact.  The movie looked good but remember that this is a 1989 production so it’s not going to be perfect in it’s 1080p form.  The disc also has a commentary from cast and crew which I hope to go through soon.  Chevy Chase (Clark W.) is not listed in the commentary.

I’m sad to report the Blu-Ray version does not include any “unrated” clips so the dreamy pool scene is still cut short by a tongue fungus little girl that is looking for Santa.

If you are a fan of Christmas Vacation you will enjoy this collectors edition tin.  However, I suggest you put some thought into whether you will use the collector items or store them before purchase.  I have struggled with this during the entire unboxing.

Thank you for reading my first unboxing attempt.  I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The Home Server Show 63 – HTPC, Media Center, MyMovies, Media Browser and More.  We go over the usual, news, tweets, and what’s going on in the world and then Chris and I dive into HTPC and everything that surrounds the extender vs. HTPC battle.  We discuss our builds which are based on the Atom ION chipset and we also discuss ripping movies and using Media Center add-ins to view them.  I think this is the longest running show that I’ve published.  If you have questions or answers about this episode feel free to discuss them at http://homeservershow.com/forums/

Links and news items that were discussed on the show.

Tech Tip on a Tuesday Morning

Team Foundation Server

Add-In: D-Link ViewCam

K-Mart Black Friday Ad

Add-In: Download Manager

Lenovo Q110 Nettop as a HTPC

Wal-Mart $300 Laptop Deal

Dave’s Zotac Ion based HTPC built into a Series 1 Tivo box

Tv Tuner cards for PC’s – Do they make a good one?

http://www.mediabrowser.tv/
http://themetabrowser.com/
http://mymovies.dk

Add-In of the Week – LightsOut - http://www.home-server-blog.de

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by Christopher Lux (IndyLux)

Sometimes great things come in small packages.  This definitely applies to the Lenovo Q110 nettop.  A nettop is a small form factor PC with similar specs to a netbook but without a monitor.  It can function as a low-powered desktop PC to check e-mail and browse the internet or, if properly equipped, it can serve as a fully functional home theatre PC.  This is the avenue that I chose when my office PC recently died on me. I had been using a large HP tower PC in my living room as my HTPC with great success.  The downside was the aesthetics of a large black computer on my TV stand left something to be desired.

I had heard of the nettop idea awhile back and had been very happy with my atom powered netbook.  The price and performance were really all I needed to get the job done.  The netbook, however, was never quite up to handing media particularly high def video.  Thanks to the Ion chipset from Nvidia, this limitation seems to have been lifted.  In conjunction with the Intel Atom processor, Ion provides full 1080p graphics and high def audio (in theory, more later) from a lower powered device.  Lenovo recently announced the Q100/Q110 line which was a full Atom/Ion PC in an extremely small footprint case at a decent price so I snapped one up.  It arrived last week.

What I needed to use this as my HTPC
1) Wireless Network Card – this device only has ethernet so I needed a USB wireless card to reach my server.
2) Wireless Keyboard/Mouse – most HTPC users have these setup for when we’re using the machine in PC mode.
3) USB ATSC TV Tuner Card – I used a Pinnacle HDTV Pro Stick and an HDTV antenna I already had to get live HDTV on my setup.
4) IR Receiver and Media Center Remote – The computer that died on me had a nice HP remote control that I reused and I happened to have an old IR receiver that worked just fine.

Pros:
Power Use: At idle, it draws as little as 14 watts of power and at max usage around 40 watts which is less than most light bulbs!
Size: about 6×6x0.7 inches
Design: Comes with a sturdy stand for upright display and a metal VESA mount to attach the device right to the TV/Monitor.  Mine is hidden on the back of my TV and is completely hidden from view.
Silent: The fanless design (there might be one tiny fan) means this thing is virtually silent (I do hear something when it’s processing HD video on mute)
Windows 7 Compatible: Lenovo will be sending me a copy of Windows 7 for free (I pay Shipping/Handling), but I put a copy on already and it’s rock solid.
HDMI: Big plus for video and audio over the same cable (just need to figure out digital audio)

Cons:
Power: Not quite as powerful as my Quad Core HTPC, and I notice a slight lag when navigating Media Center, but it’s certainly up to the task.
LED Light: Like many electronics, it has an EXTREMELY bright LED power light.  Fine in the day, but at night my whole living room wall is blue!
HDMI Audio: Now this may be a driver issue, but I can’t get digital 5.1 audio from the HDMI to reach my audio receiver.  Only glitch so far.

Overall, I am extremely happy with my purchase so far and will continue to update you as I determine if this solution is working as a HTPC.

Acer Aspire AS5732Z-4510 Intel Pentium 15.6″ Intel GMA 4500M NoteBook

Here is the Aspire line from Acer.  It doesn’t have tremendous stats but it does have Win7 Home Premium 64 bit, 2 Gigs of RAM, and wireless N.  Best part about this lappy?  $379 shipped.  That is unbelievable.  Use CODE SOCNET2 to get it for $379.

If you step up one model you get more impressive stats.  Athlon X2, ATI graphics, 4Gigs of RAM, and more hard drive space.  $449 shipped.  Did I mention it has HDMI out?

Acer Aspire AS5732Z-4510 Intel Pentium 15.6″ Intel GMA 4500M NoteBook

Click on each lappy and check them out at newegg.com

Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$159.99 with coupon code: SNCSEAGATE at checkout.

The Home Server Show 62.

I’m back this week for a fun topic.  This week we talk about how to make a Home Server out of an old PC.  I also have a listener roundtable that I recorded at my Windows 7 Launch Party.

If you are a blogger and you would like some more exposure to your articles visit GeekGazette.net.

MyMovies 3

MissingRemote.com review of MyMovies

The Before you Build Checklist – This is also available on the main page under popular posts.

Podcast List has been cleaned up. – This is also available on the main page under popular posts.

Thank you goes out to usingwindowshomeserver.com and Perfect Disk.  I am a winner!

We have been using twitter a lot lately.  @schooltechtv had a hard drive issue and looks like it is solved!

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Don’t forget the Promo Codes!

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

HP MediaSmart EX485, Intel Celeron 2.0 Ghz 2GB DDR2 750GB HDD, Mac Compatible, Powered by Windows Home Server

The Home Server Show #61.  Renegades on the loose!  There wasn’t supposed to be a show this week but while I was setting up a launch party the guys, John, Jim, and Chris, got together at our normal time and put together a good show for you.

Leave me a voicemail with Skype! Click me to call HomeServerShow.com

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Enter these coupon codes at checkout to get the discount

EMCMLNN23              EMCMLNN24               EMCMLNN22

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

The launch of Windows 7 is bringing some great free deals to buyers.  You can’t beat FREE right?

Lets start with the Free stuff.

Panda Security One Year Free of anti-virus protection.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 Free for 1 Year

ioBit Security 360 Pro

Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine

Stay tuned for more deals to be listed.  If you know of any leave a comment!