Re-arrange my AV Room

Proudly presents Dali Ikon Series, Proac Studio Series, Mordaunt Aviano Series, Denon AVR4810, Marantz KI Pearl, Velodyne CHT Series



Full Range of Mordaunt Short Speakers



Denon Full Range AV Receivers, Marantz Full Range Integrated Amplifier and CD Players



AV room Design



Denon AVR 4810 back view with Supra Lorad power cord + Wattage Plugs



Wanna check it out? Please visit Sound Fusion @ Crown Square (new location) Kuching or contact 0178089020 Mr. Tan

EyeTV streaming to iPhone over 3G

Following up on iCam, there are a lot of people who use EyeTV with their mac mini HTPC. If you own an iPhone, well, now you can access all that over the 3G network. It just keeps getting better :)


EyeTV now offers HTTP Live Video streaming over 3G via Safari

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Dec 16th 2009 at 12:40PM
Tired of restrictions about what you can and cannot stream over 3G connections? Elgato, the makers of EyeTV, have introduced a novel solution for their many customers to access live and recorded TV shows using an iPhone and a 3G connection. Their new Live3G web site provides a web app solution for remote video access.

The website uses HTTP live streaming to deliver high quality video to the iPhone's Mobile Safari app. Powered by the EyeTV 3.3 update (free to existing owners of EyeTV software), this technology avoids App Store hassles while providing on-demand video access to your home TV recordings and live programming.

As an added bonus, since Mobile Safari has access to the iPhone's TV Out capability (third-party apps can't use it, but Apple apps can), you can use a component or composite video-out cable to display your streamed video on any convenient TV.

If you're worried about other people gaining access to your library of "Dora The Explorer" episodes, or to personal videos you have digitized using an EyeTV box like the 250 plus, don't. You must authenticate yourself with your My EyeTV credentials before being granted access to any library.

The EyeTV update and web site are live now.

Marantz KI Pearl Integrated Amplifier and KI SA CD Player

Marantz 30th Anniversary KI Pearl by Ken Ishiwata was announced recently and it is now "discontinued" due to limited units being released. I only managed to grab my hands on several units before it all got sold out. Unless Marantz decided to release more unit (which I doubt they will), most enthusiats will need to search on the internet for it.







I still keep a pair in shop for display as collector's item (high bidder wins it...hehe). Out from the box, it doesn't look much difference from the 15S2 series. The SACD Player's weight isn't much heavier when I carried it. But the Integrated Amp is rather heavy when compared to the 15S2. Gotto becareful when handling these babies.

The Black makes the KI Pearl stands out from other Marantz premium series products. With the embedded ki pearl logo on it, you can't miss telling it's a KI Pearl even from far distance.

Performance wise, you can really tell the difference even when it's brand new without running them in. The high tone is well controlled, mid to bass tone is deeper and sounds warmer when compared to the 15S2. But we can't compare 15S2 with KI due to the huge gap in the price differences. Enough said, do drop by Sound Fusion @ Crown Square Kuching for an audition. Contact: 017-808-9020 / 082-338 020.

The iCam monitoring system for iPhone / mac

I know this isn't HTPC related, but reader Kyler just posted a comment question about iCam, and it reminded me maybe I should post this. If you have, or want, a webcam and want to monitor your home or office from the iphone, this app, for $4.99, is the best app I've bought for the iphone. It is really awesome. You get the app, and get the installer for free from their website, and run it on your mini, or macbook or whatever. It will recognize your cam.

Enter in a username and password. Start your iphone app. Enter in the same info, and that's it. The set up was literally about 1 minute and I was watching myself on the iphone.

Great features -
1. You can set up hardlined or wireless cams. I am looking into adding the wireless linksys N from Best Buy or the the G version from Amazon.
2. You get 4 screens on your iPhone to monitor up to 4 cameras.
3. Push notification of motion detection. With testing in house, the notifications are within 1 second on the phone.
4. Recording of all motion events. So when you get your push, you can watch the recording motion of the footage shot - amazing!

It really does rock, so check it out.

Oh, and while we're at it, Dragon Naturally Speaking, the famous speech to text software, has released an iPhone app called Nuance which is also totally awesome. Just talk, , review the text it generates and it auto copies, so you just select text or email, and you paste it in. It works very very well, and the best part - its free - for a limited time, so jump on and get it. This also should be worth at least $15, considering the computer version is several hundred!

HDMI v1.4

HDMI v1.4

With the consistently updating and releasing new versions of products, we thought we would take some time to discuss the new HDMI version 1.4 that was released at the end of September 09. We have come to know and love the advantages HDMI. Not only does HDMI have the ability to transfer uncompressed video and multi-channel audio through one cable, but it is now a widely utilized connector on essentially all new televisions and components. While HDMI took the industry by storm, this latest version has caused massive confusion and a moderate level of consumer frustration. HDMI has been known for future-proofing their technology, insuring that the cables and components you buy today will work on the technology of tomorrow. That being said, it may not be necessary to run out and immediately purchase the latest HDMI v1.4 technology.

However, Real Home Theaters has converted all of our stock to the newest version 1.4 HDMI, to continue to provide the latest technology to our customers. Rest assured that in using Real Home Theaters for your home theater needs you will always be receiving the latest and greatest products in the industry.

There are two facts that have been overlooked when discussing the latest HDMI version. First, many of the new features offered by v1.4 are not currently available on devices. The ability to deliver 4k x 2k resolution is exciting but there are no televisions on the market that can support that high of a resolution. Secondly, the upgrades are not so much to the physical design of the cable, but to the chip that controls your HDMI devices. While the upgrade from 1.2 to 1.3 largely focused on changes to the cable, the update to 1.4 from 1.3 focuses on changes to the chip that controls your HDMI devices. We will get into this a bit later, but first we should start by going over the new features that will be offered by HDMI v1.4 devices.

Ethernet over HDMI

Maybe the most talked about and anticipated upgrade featured in HDMI v1.4 is its ability to transmit an ethernet signal at up to 100Mbs, which is the standard speed of most home network connections. More and more components today are being released with ethernet ports and the ability to connect to the internet. The Xbox 360 and Roku by Netflix are two examples of devices that utilize an internet connection to perform their most basic functions. Instead of having to run a separate ethernet line to each of your devices, an internet signal can now be sent to just one device (and shared with all of the others) through your HDMI cable, further eliminating clutter and cutting down on unnecessary cables.

While this is an exciting feature, your current devices are not designed to accept an ethernet signal through an HDMI cable. This means that if you want to utilize ethernet over HDMI, you will need to purchase equipment in the future that is HDMI v1.4 compliant and able to recognize an ethernet signal coming across your HDMI cable.

The incorporation of an HDMI ethernet channel (HEC) is also where the only cable design difference between v1.3 and v1.4 comes into play. In v1.4, two wires out of the 19 in your HDMI cable are now twisted allowing for the transmission of an ethernet signal over a measurable distance. While your current v1.3 cable will allow for the transmission of an ethernet signal over a very short distance, it will be unable to do so over greater distances. Because the two wires that will be carrying the ethernet signal are now twisted, the signal will be able to be carried over the entire distance of your HDMI cable.

4k x 2k Support

The possibility of having 4096 x 2160 resolution at 24hz, aptly called 4k by 2k, is one of the new features to be offered by v1.4 devices. While this resolution is nearly 4 times greater then the previous version supported and rivals the resolutions of digital movie theaters.

When talking about picture quality, there are three things to take into account. The pixel resolution (ie: 4096 x 2160), the refesh rate (ie: 24hz, 60hz), and the bandwidth (ie: 340Mhz). The resolution refers to the number of dots or pixels that are used to make-up an image. The higher the resolution, the more dots are used to display the image, resulting in a clearer and crisper picture. For example, if your resolution was set to 4096 x 2160 that would indicate that there are 4096 pixels horizontally across your television and 2160 pixels vertically, totaling 8,847,360 pixels used to display the image.


The refresh rate refers to the number of times each second that your television pulls data from its source (ie: Bluray player/satellite receiver) and refreshes what is displayed by each pixel on the screen. If your preferences are set at a higher refresh rate, say 60hz, opposed to a lower refresh rate, 30hz, then each pixel on the screen will be refreshed twice as often in a second. The higher the refresh rate, the more clear and life-like images in motion will appear. Have you ever seen a character run across the screen and appear slightly blurry? This is commonly called “ghosting” and is most likely a result of a decreased refresh rate. Basically the object is moving quickly enough that the image does not appear clearly because the pixels making up the picture are not being refreshed fast enough to accurately display the object in motion. The higher the refresh rate, the faster an object can move and still remain clear.

This is why the image on 120hz and 240hz refresh rate home theater projectors and HDTVs look so vibrant and smooth.

The bandwidth refers to the amount of information your television can receive in a given amount of time. If you would like to double your resolution or double your refresh rate while keeping all of your other preferences the same, then you would need to double the amount of data you receive in the same amount of time. While HDMI v1.4 is offering a resolution that is more than double the resolution offered by v1.3, the bandwidth available will remain the same. In order to offer 4k x 2k resolution without increasing the bandwidth, 4k x 2k will only be available at a maximum refresh rate of 24hz, where as the highest refresh rate offered by v1.4 is 120hz. At 120hz the highest resolution available will be 1920 x 1200, which is fine because the largest resolution supported by televisions on the market today is 1080p. Even though 4k x 2k is supported by v1.4, your television cannot display that high of a resolution. The first 4k x 2k enabled television are not expected until late 2010 and you can bet they won’t be cheap!

Audio Return Channel

Including an audio return channel is a nifty feature being offered in HDMI v1.4 devices. An audio return channel will further help eliminate the clutter of multiple cables and make the need for separate input and output ports unnecessary. Let’s say that you have a satellite radio tuner built into your television and a separate surround sound system controlled by your amplifier to which you run the audio for all of your other components (aka, receivers, dvd players, etc). Without an audio return channel, you would need a cable coming from the TV to send audio to the amplifier and a separate cable going from the amplifier to the television. With the incorporation of an audio return channel, information will be able to flow in both directions along a single cable.

3D Support

While you might think 3D support is not a necessary function, there are many people out there who believe 3D movies and television are going to be next advancement in home entertainment. Sky Television, a UK-based TV company, has already announced the launch of a new 3D-television channel scheduled to premier in 2010. In addition, many Hollywood movies have been released in 3D and people seem to be enjoying them, so it appears that 3D might be here to stay. New devices equipped with v1.4 technology will be able to support any of the available 3D formats.

More Color Spaces (Deep Color)

Color depth is a measurement of the number of bits used to represent the amount of possible colors available to display a single pixel. The greater the color depth, the more colors are available to display a given pixel. If you have more colors available then you can get closer to reproducing the actual real life color of the image displayed. Higher color depth will also help reduce banding, which is the harsh color gradient border created as shades gradually change as illustrated below.


Banding



Normal


On top of an increase in the possible colors available, v1.4 will also support the color spaces sYCC601, Adobe RGB, and Adobe YCC601. Color spaces are collections of the different possible colors that can be used to render an image. Better color spaces allow your images to be viewed with more color variations that are closer to the real life colors that represent your image. A good way to think of this is using the “box of crayons” analogy. The bigger the box of crayons you have, the more colors you are going to be able to use to draw your picture. HDMI v1.4 takes your box of crayons from millions of colors to billions.

New Connectors and Speeds

With the boom in popularity of portable devices and the emergence of video capabilities on most of them, HDMI has figured that it will only be a matter of time before people start demanding high-definition video. In anticipation of this, HDMI has rolled out a new connector specifically geared towards these portable devices. Version 1.4 cables will be available not only with the standard and mini connectors that are featured on the previous version, but also with a micro-connector. This new connector will be able to support the same features as the standard and mini-HDMI connectors and is designed with the same 19-pin configuration. Once again, there are currently no devices equipped with micro-HDMI ports but anticipate them towards the end of 2010.

HDMI has also announced that the newest version will be available in two different speeds, standard and high-speed. They have also announced that they will be offering an automotive connector system that is specifically designed to withstand the rigors of being installed in a car such as increased heat, vibration, and interference. Below you will find the exact descriptions of the 5 different categories that will be offered as they are listed on HDMI’s website:

• Standard HDMI Cable – supports data rates up to 1080i/60
• High Speed HDMI Cable – supports data rates beyond 1080p, including Deep Color and all 3D formats of the new 1.4 specification
• Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet – includes Ethernet connectivity
• High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet – includes Ethernet connectivity
• Automotive HDMI Cable – allows the connection of external HDMI-enabled devices to an in-vehicle HDMI device.

Hopefully we have helped clear up some of the confusion that has been swirling around about the new HDMI v1.4 release. What is important to remember is that this latest HDMI upgrade is primarily focusing on changes to the chipset that controls your HDMI devices, not to the cable. When HDMI moved from v1.2 to v1.3 the changes were primarily to the cable, now they have found a way to change the chip to maximize the current cable (with only one minor change). Needless to say, HDMI’s latest upgrade will be bringing some new and exciting features to your home entertainment center!

For in depth info visit: http://www.hdmi.org

32" TV Sale! Please Read!

If your shopping for a 32" TV READ THIS!

We get calls on a daily basis asking for a 32" flat-panel TV for under $300.00.

One Problem!

It doesn't exist!!
The cheapest name brand you will find is $400 plus tax. Do yourself a HUGE favor and spend $70 more for a good one!

Here's a little help and guidance for you while you shop.

Be VERY Cautious of the off brand TV's you find at Wal-Mart and online like Element, Dynex etc. They often only have a 90-day warranty and the repair of a TV now will cost you up to half of what a cheap 32" TV cost new. This is also true for most of the lower quality brands like Emerson, Sanyo, RCA etc. We are speaking from direct experience. The only brands in TVs we truly trust are Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba and Mitsubishi. Yes, they are a little more expensive, but in most cases you DO get what you pay for. The four brands we trust use higher quality components and come with a full 1-Year Parts and Labor warranty, even in some cases cover in-home service if you need to make use of it.

Below is in our opinion the top three 32" Flatpanel TVs to consider and the reasons why.

The Prices Listed are our price including the following services:
You won't find a better value for your money anywhere!

Prices Include:

• 32" Flat Panel TV Listed
• FREE Delivery
  
• FREE Video Calibration for Your New TV (a $200 value)
• FREE Connection of All Connected Components
• FREE Customer Education
  
• FREE LifeTime Phone Support (a Priceless value)
• Up To 50% Off Accessories
• Huge Discounts On On-Wall TV Installation and More.

Option 1 (For the budget minded shopper)
Toshiba 32AV502R 32" 720p LCD HDTV $470.00 plus tax

Looking for a great deal on an HDTV? Skip the no-name brands and check out the Toshiba 32AV502R. Toshiba TVs consistently receive high marks from reviewers for their sharp pictures and smooth motion handling, and the 32AV502R offers great performance at a budget-friendly price. You'll enjoy a vivid high-def picture, thanks to a high-quality LCD panel and advanced video processing. Toshiba's DynaLight system monitors the brightness level of each video frame and adjusts backlight intensity on the fly to maximize picture contrast.

Connect an antenna to the 32AV502R and you can enjoy all types of local over-the-air broadcasts, including those in high-definition. If you subscribe to cable TV, you can use the built-in "QAM" tuner to access unscrambled digital cable channels. And a variety of inputs makes it a snap to connect everything from your standard-definition VCR to your high-def satellite receiver or video game console.

Specs:

• 32" widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio)
• built-in digital (ATSC) and (NTSC) tuners
• built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required)
• CineSpeed LCD panel (1366 x 768 pixels)
• 8-millisecond pixel response time
• 10-bit digital video processing
• DynaLight™ dynamic backlight control for improved contrast and black level
• 6 A/V inputs, including:
  • 2 composite video (1 rear, 1 side)
  • 1 S-video
  • 2 component video (accepts signals up to 1080)
  • 2 HDMI (accepts signals up to 1080)
• optical digital audio output for
• detachable stand wall-mountable (bracket not included)
• 31-3/4"W x 21"H x 4"D (23"H x 9-1/4"D on stand)
• warranty: 1 year parts & labor — in-home service or pick-up for service

The best value in 32" TVs. You get the most for your money of any 32" TV we have found.


Option 2 (For the QUALITY and budget minded shopper)
Toshiba 32RV525R 32" 1080p LCD HDTV $580.00 plus tax

The compact, affordable Toshiba 32RV525R makes it easy to enjoy high-definition TV shows and movies in just about any room in your home. And despite its small size, it offers "Full HD" 1080p resolution. Why is 1080p becoming the standard for HDTVs? Since most high-definition programs are broadcast in 1080i, a 1080p model lets you see every bit of detail in every HD movie and TV show you watch.

Images on the 32RV525R look crisp, clean, and colorful whether you're watching at night or during the day. Toshiba's DynaLight feature constantly monitors the brightness level of the video signal and adjusts the screen's backlight level on the fly to deliver deep blacks and well-defined shadow detail.

The 32RV525U provides three HDMI inputs for connecting your Blu-ray player, high-def satellite receiver or cable box, video game console, or any other component that uses this high-quality all-digital connection. And if you have any equipment that doesn't have an HDMI output, don't worry. This flexible HDTV also gives you two HD-capable component video inputs, plus S-video and composite video inputs for plugging in your older audio/video gear, like a VCR.

Specs:

• 32" widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio)
• built-in digital (ATSC) and (NTSC) tuners
  
• built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required)
• 1080p Resolution
  
• 7 A/V inputs, including:
  • 2 composite video (1 rear, 1 side)
  • 1 S-video
  • 2 component video (accepts signals up to 1080i)
  • 3 HDMI v1.3 — accepts signals up to 1080p (60Hz, 24Hz)
• optical digital audio output
  
• detachable stand wall-mountable (bracket not included)
• 31-5/8"W x 21-1/8"H x 3-3/8"D (22-3/4"H x 9-1/4"D on stand)
• warranty: 1 year parts & labor — in-home service or pick-up for service

The best value in 1080p 32" TVs. You get the most for your money of any 1080p 32" TV we have found.


Option 3 (For the QUALITY minded shopper)
Samsung UN32B6000 32" 1080p LED HDTV $1060.00 plus tax

120Hz refresh rate for Smooth Motion and Incredible Picture!

While most HDTVs still use a 60Hz refresh rate, the UN32B6000 doubles it to 120Hz. Together with Samsung's Auto Motion Plus technology, this creates a smoother picture with less motion blur — something you'll definitely appreciate if you watch a lot of action movies or fast-paced sports. You'll also notice that images have a more solid, three-dimensional look.

Specs:

• 32" widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio
• Touch of Color™ high-gloss finish — black with red accents
• built-in digital (ATSC) and (NTSC) tuners
  
• built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required)
• Ultra Clear LCD panel (1920 x 1080 pixels)
• LED edge backlight for high contrast and natural colors
• Auto Motion Plus 120Hz™ anti-blur technology for clearer motion
• 4-millisecond pixel response time
• 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
• x.v.Color™ support
• 1-tuner picture-in-picture
• Internet-capable with built-in InfoLink RSS feeds (requires broadband service)
• 5 A/V inputs, including:
  • 1 component video (selectable component/composite)
  • 4 HDMI v1.3 — accepts signals up to 1080p (60Hz, 24Hz)
• PC input: analog RGB (D-Sub 15-pin)
• optical digital audio output for Dolby® Digital
• 2 USB ports (1 for digital video/photo/MP3 playback, 1 for Samsung's wireless USB adapter)
• detachable swivel stand (stand "footprint" is 17-5/8" x 9-1/2"D)
• wall-mountable (bracket not included)
• 31-1/2"W x 20-5/8"H x 1-1/2"D (22-3/4"H x 9-1/2"D on stand)
• warranty: 1 year parts & labor

The Highest Preforming 32" TV on the market! Period! The image on this TV when using a high quality Blu-Ray Player literally looks like you can reach in the TV and touch stuff. If your looking for quality you found it!

Keep in mind the Prices Include:

• 32" TV Listed
  
• FREE Delivery
  
• FREE Video Calibration for Your New TV (a $200 value)
• FREE Connection of All Connected Components
• FREE Customer Education
  
• FREE LifeTime Phone Support (a Priceless value)
• Up To 50% Off Accessories
• Huge Discounts On On-Wall TV Installation and All Home Theater Services

See Our Work @ http://www.RealHomeTheaters.com
Questions Call: 615-469-7736 or
Email: Sales@RealHomeTheaters.com

Comcast, NBC & Hulu

Repost from Engadget

As expected, Comcast announced its buyout of NBC this morning, and we have a few details of interest to Engadget readers and fans of rom-coms alike. Essentially, Comcast now owns 51 percent of NBC-Universal to GE's 49 percent and will manage the entity -- leveraging the newly acquired content with their infrastructure. On an investor call (reported by All Things Digital) a short time ago, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts emphasized that the company bought "a bunch of profitable cable channels" and "some theme parks, too" (we think that last part was a joke). Not so funny, of course, is the film studio that's seen better years and the broadcast network that's been described elsewhere as "faltering." When asked about TV Everywhere and Hulu, Comcast COO Steve Burke notes that "NBC has been careful not to put too much cable content on the Internet. We think that's a smart strategy... We think that going forward, you're going to continue to have free broadcast stuff on Hulu, and cable stuff on TV Everywhere." As for rumors of Hulu Premium? "That's certainly not in the cards." Web-based TV fanatics will be pleased to note that Roberts appears to be in your court: "We love Hulu and have no intent to crush it like a bug." That's all well and good, but as we know nothing's final until the government has its say: the FCC, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Justice Department are all sure to have strongly held opinions on the matter. PR after the break.

Handbrake 0.9.4

For those who use Handbrake, or have thought about it, ver 0.9.4 has recently been released and it is really nice. Check out the review here or head over to the website here.

HUGE Samsung TV Sale!!

Prices SO LOW we can't advertise them online! Call for pricing!

An Average Savings of $167.00 Over Big Box Stores!
Plus additional FREE Services and Savings!

• FREE Delivery
  
• FREE Video Calibration for Your New TV (a $200 value)
• FREE Connection of All Connected Components
• FREE Customer Education
  
• FREE LifeTime Phone Support (a Priceless value)
• Up To 50% Off Accessories
• Huge Discounts On On-Wall TV Installation
  

See Our Work @ http://www.RealHomeTheaters.com
Questions Call: 615-469-7736 or
Email: Sales@RealHomeTheaters.com

SUPER DEAL!! 50" FlatPanel TV w/ Mount, Cables and Installation $1135.00

SUPER DEAL!! 50" FlatPanel TV w/ Mount, Cables and Installation $1135.00

No fine print, No red tape, No Rebate you have to mail.

For $1135.00 you can have a 50" Flat Panel Plasma / LED / LCD TV custom installed in your home.

Here's What You Get:

• 50" Samsung or Panasonic Flat Panel HDTV
• Free Delivery
• Custom On-Wall TV Installation
• In-Wall Wire Routing
• AC Power Run
• Tilting TV Mount Bracket
• Up to (3) 15" HDMI / Component Video Cables
• Video Calibration for Your New TV
• Connection of All Connected Components
• Customer Education
• A LIFETIME Installation Warranty

ONLY $1135.00 plus tax

(Over Fire Place Installation Requires an Additional Charge)

Spotify comes to Plex - for our European friends :)

For those in Europe, Spotify now has a an app in Plex ...

OK, so we always try to make sure a plug-in is robust and fully stable before publishing it to the App Store, but we’re going to make an exception in this one case. Why? Because this new plug-in is so cool, we can’t keep it to ourselves any longer! We’ve been testing it internally for a few weeks now, and thanks to some of the bug-fixes and enhancements in Plex 0.8.5 we’re finally able to share it with you.

Do you like music? If so, riddle me this: What’s the premier subscription music service on the planet that everyone’s talking about? That’s right, Spotify. Of course, if you live in the US, you haven’t been able to enjoy it yet, but if you (or your IP address) resides in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France or Spain, you’ve probably checked out this amazing service.

So here’s the good news: If you have a premium subscription to Spotify, you can now enjoy this incredible service from the convenience of your couch for the first time ever, inside Plex. Head to the Plex App Store, install it, open up a nice bottle of wine, and enjoy the millions of tracks that are just a click of an Apple Remote away.

(Many thanks to Don McAllister and Oscar R for their initial testing of the plug-in and great suggestions!)

NOTE: Don’t forget, you need the latest Plex to use this plug-in, as well as a premium Spotify subscription.

Plex 0.8.5 Released

Plex 0.8.5: Fixes, fixes, fixes

from Plex by elan

5 people liked this

The Plex/Eight series is supposed to be about stability, and with all the changes we introduced in the 0.8.3 there were a few regressions that slipped in as well. We’re very sorry about that, and we’ve worked extremely hard since it was released to fix the issues introduced as well as new ones that came to light. So what happened to 0.8.4? We were on the verge of releasing it and then found a few more bugs, so we “nuked” the release. Those of you who sniffed it out on the server, you may want to upgrade now to the real thing.

Without further ado, the fixes:

• FIX: A bug where Plex and the Plex Media Server could get out of sync and display the wrong contents for a directory.
• FIX: An issue when stopping music playback, where the GUI “clicks” don’t restore and the playing track is still selected.
• FIX: Photo thumbnails were broken for plug-ins (thanks to orr721 for the report!)
• FIX: Hitting the menu button during a blank slideshow causes a crash. (thank to Majkel and other for the report!)
• FIX: When a track fails to play, Plex jumps into (blank) Now Playing screen anyway.
• FIX: Sometimes the photo screensaver started going “crazy fast”.
• FIX: The new remote code logged too much.
• FIX: The duration didn’t show up in plug-ins.
• FIX: You weren’t returned to the main menu correctly from items added to your Favorites, or direct links to plug-ins in the Music section. Existing favorites will need to be removed and re-added. (James)
• FIX: The iTunes plug-in now sorts artists by the “sort artist” field in iTunes. This one is for Scott!
• FIX: Crashes with WebKit plug-ins that appear in the Music section.
• FIX: PlexHelper occasionally stopped responding (or responded incorrectly) to button presses.
• FIX: Sometimes Plex didn’t start after the first run. Believe it or not, this was an OS X bug, now worked around.
• FIX: Plex hung when using the mouse wheel to scroll through text (thanks to hqrs for the report!)
• FIX: Changed the servers in the TVDB scraper to use the load balanced ones. (many thanks to kruisje for the fix!)
• FIX: Fixed a crash loading some RAW files.
• FIX: DTS-to-AC3 was broken in the last release. Thanks to our audio doctor Ryan who fixed it and improved the AC3 trancoding in the process.
• FIX: When you select “previous track” it now does the right thing with streamed content: moving to the start of the track or the previous track depending on how far along the track is (awesome, James!)

OK, so I said there were just fixes, right? I lied! James, as usual, pulled out a great new feature or two out of his hat, and we hope you enjoy them.

• NEW: Plug-in preferences show up on the context menu for the plug-in itself.
• NEW: Auto-sourcing of remote Plex Media Server iLife plug-ins. Let’s say you have a laptop with iTunes music, or your wife’s iMac has iPhoto on it. No longer do you have to manually add the sources, or wonder if they’ll work when you click on them. With the new version, sources add and remove themselves auto-magically thanks to Bonjour. Make sure you install the new Plex Media Server on the remote machines.

Real Home Theaters - Nashville Tennessee 376 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37201 (615) 469-7736‎

Real Home Theaters - Nashville Tennessee
376 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37201
(615) 469-7736‎

More on Hulu going - or not going? - to paid service and iTunes & TV Networks

I know this strays a little bit from the mac mini as a HTPC, but it seems that these kind of topics fall in the context of what we're playing with. Hopefully, most readers will find this of interest.

So Hulu may not be going to paid service? Make up your minds!
Click here to read the official link, or look below.

And, Apple is talking with the major networks? Apple TV ver. 3.0 just came out and the ever mounting rumors of the tablet/slate/hand-held-thingy makes this of interest too...
Click here for the official post, or read below.

Report: Hulu will not go pay-only

by Dan Moren, Macworld.com

Sometimes, it seems like you just can’t take anything corporate executives say at face value these days. One day, it’s “we’re thinking about charging for Hulu!” and the next it’s “What? We would never do that! … Probably.”

Entertainment Weekly, of all places, quotes a source who insists that turning the online video-streaming service into a pay site is not in the cards. Well, mostly.

A source close to Hulu, however, tells EW that the site remains steadfastly committed to free content, explaining that any possible subscription or pay-per-view service has no set timeline and would only build upon what Hulu offers, not replace it.

The earlier remarks on Hulu's pay plans came from News Corp.’s Deputy Chairman, the alliteratively named Chase Carey, who said at a conference last month that Hulu might have to turn to a subscription model to start pulling in the dough.

As I speculated at the time, this seemed like another attempt by one of Hulu’s chief stake holders to hoist a flag and see which way the wind was blowing—given the amount of negative press generated by the suggestion, it was easy enough to reel it in again. Plus, Hulu gets to look like the good guy for shaking off its greedy corporate backers in favor of its users, and that kind of thing builds loyalty—loyalty that you can eventually turn into money when you do introduce some sort of pay model.

Look, I think there’s little question that there will be some pay-content on Hulu in the next year or two: were the service to acquire content produced by pay cable networks like HBO, for example, or start offering new release movies that would compete with the likes of the iTunes Store. But as along as the core experience of ad-supported streaming of new television sticks around, users will likely stay put—and some of them might even be willing to hand over money for additional features (that rumored iPhone app, perhaps?) and content.

Apple Pitching iTunes Subscriptions to TV Networks?

Monday November 02, 2009 12:15 PM EST
Written by Eric Slivka

MediaMemo reports that Apple has approached a number of TV networks in recent weeks to pitch its vision of a monthly subscription service that would allow the networks to deliver their content to consumers via iTunes with the idea of replacing consumers' cable packages.

Apple isn't tying the proposed service to a specific piece of hardware, like its underwhelming Apple TV box, or its long-rumored tablet/slate device. Instead, it is presenting the offer as an extension of its iTunes software, which already has a huge installed base: A year ago, Apple said it had 65 million iTunes customer accounts.

A so-called "over the top" service could theoretically rival the ones most consumers already buy from cable TV operators -- if Apple is able to get enough buy-in from broadcast and cable TV programmers.

Apple is reportedly looking to launch the service early next year but faces a number of hurdles, the most significant being that no networks have yet to sign on to the plan. Disney, which holds close ties with Apple CEO Steve Jobs and has been an early-adopter of iTunes distribution offerings, is viewed as the likely leader should the movement hope to gain momentum.

According to the report's sources, TV networks are intrigued by the potential for increased revenue streams that could be afforded by Apple's proposal, but are also leery of harming their existing relationships with the cable companies that carry their programming and advertisers who look to viewership numbers on those systems when targeting their campaigns.

The report notes that other companies, including Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and Google's YouTube have also been moving into the digital delivery arena, indicating that the time may be right for Apple to make its move.

So Apple's proposed subscription service, which the company has floated in the past, is no longer a huge stretch. Says one executive briefed on the company's plans: "I think they might get it right this time."

Wow, fill out the Plex Survey for a chance at a new mac mini!

http://elan.plexapp.com/2009/10/26/the-survey-prizes/

Already filled out the survey? We sure appreciate it, and here’s how much: We’re going to be giving away some seriously cool prizes to three respondents! Those who have already taken the survey get an special thank you, as entries taken before the time of this post will get entered into the drawing twice.

Haven’t taken the survey yet? You still have time.

The prizes are:

1. One brand new Mac Mini (specs to be announced).
2. One Harmony One Advanced universal remote.
3. One Harmony 700 Advanced universal remote.

Not a bad deal for a few minutes of your time, so please, if you haven’t already, head to the survey and give us a piece of your mind!

Let is Snow...Leopard - Plex 0.8.3 for Snow Leopard released

I'll let the boys speak for themselves - click here for the official post or read below. I'm off to install and test out :)...

Plex 0.8.3: Let it Snow (Leopard)!

October 26th, 2009 | Category: Release | Author: elan

We realize it’s been a little while since the last release, but hopefully the wait will have been worth it. We’re thrilled to serve you up a fresh new version of Plex (download here) with lots of bug-fixes and a few little enhancements. First up, the fixes:

[French users, be sure to read through oncleben31's blog post on the new scraper included in this release here.]

• FIX: On Snow Leopard, 5.1 audio had issues. We’ve cleaned up the code, fixed the problems, and it now runs great on 10.6. Many thanks to Ryan for all his work on this one.
• FIX: We fixed an issue with the new caching system that could cause some MKVs and other files to stutter when played over the network.
• FIX: Video playlists work again.
• FIX: Multi-part videos display thumbnails again.
• FIX: Crash reading GPS EXIF data from photos.
• FIX: Fix for crash when displaying subtitles (Thanks, Billy J!)
• FIX: A few crashes in the Media Server (custom iTunes genre artwork, and playing Netflix movies).
• FIX: First WebKit play on a fresh install didn’t work.
• FIX: App Store would sometimes not show up on a fresh install.
• FIX: GForce visualizer for iTunes causes Plex to crash.
• FIX: TVDB image issue (thanks to Poldi!)
• FIX: Posters issue in IMDB scraper (thanks, Jay!) and issue with cast lists (thanks to Todd G!)
• FIX: DTS downmixing method reverted to use libdts. People who listen on headphone *may* be happier.
• FIX: Make keyboard backlight feature optional (James). You can access this setting in the advanced Cocoa preferences area under the Videos tab.

To summarize, Plex should now work pretty well on Snow Leopard, and hopefully most of the annoyances and issues in the last release have been fixed. Moving right along, what other tasty nuggets await in this new release?

• NEW: James revamped the Plex shutdown options, adding a beautiful UI that allows quitting, sleeping, or powering off after a specified time. Check out the screencast below to see it in action. Press ’s’ anywhere in Plex to go directly to the Quit menu. On the Quit menu, press ‘c’ on the keyboard or hold the Play button on the Apple Remote to bring up the quit timer. There are also options to Sleep and Shutdown in the Quit submenu. Press ‘c’ or hold Play on the apple remote with Sleep or Shutdown selected brings up the timers for both of those as well.
• NEW: One of the longest-running complaints about Plex has been the low volume when listening to downmixed 5.1 audio. We’ve added three levels of dynamic range compression (in Preferences > System > Audio): Normal, Large, and Huge. These settings apply only to AC3 and DTS downmixed audio, and the Large and Huge settings can introduce (usually subliminal) clipping. This one is for you, Aayush!
  
• NEW: Captions for iPhoto photos, and EXIF comment tag also used for captions.
• NEW: We’re using Felix’s new Apple Remote code (thanks to Evan for integrating it!). This provides, as Apple would say “improved compatibility”. One note: we recommend using the Candelair driver even on Leopard, because it can help resolve cases in which the Apple Remote loses exclusive access with the Apple driver.
• NEW: Toggle full screen option on dock menu (thanks to Billy Joe).

Along this release comes a new improved version of the Plex Media Framework used to write plug-ins, and enhancements to the Plex Media Server itself.

• NEW: Support for one-click install of plug-ins. You can now easily install plug-ins off the web without having to copy files all over the place.
  
• NEW: Support for auto-refresh in directories.
• NEW: Context menus in plug-ins.
• NEW: The ability for the HTTP cache to auto-update itself.
• NEW: Rating support for plug-ins, with support for community/system ratings as well as user ratings. This feature was used to great effect by David B in the upcoming update of our Netflix plug-in. Here’s an unrated movie and us rating it via the context menu item.
  

  And here’s the movie with our rating.

  
• NEW: Upgrade Plex WebKit libraries to 4.0.3.
• NEW: Allow passing back User Agent (makes Apple Movie Trailers work again).

As has become custom in these parts, Barkley sends his greetings.

Hulu to start charging...its coming in 2010

Well, we knew it was going to happen based on rumors, but it seems its getting more official based on this report. Click here for original post, or read below...

Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010

October 21, 2009

News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey opened the B&C OnScreen summit to discuss where he sees the business going. “It’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online,” he said. Carey said that while everyone cites the infamous Jeff Zucker quip that “We’re exchanging analogue dollars for digital dimes,” the industry continues to do exactly that. The strategy needs to be more than just fighting piracy and Google, he says.

“I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value,” Carey said. “Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.”

AdVerse had a quick chat with Carey too and posed the question, when exactly does Hulu start charging then? Carey, who says he’s only been to one Hulu board meeting since arriving at News Corp., suggests there is still no timeline but supposes it’s at least in 2010. Carey says that while throwing up a pay-wall around all content is not the answer, it doesn’t mean there wont be fees for some specially-created content and TV previews. Windows are just around the corner. American Idol audition previews anyone? Mobile Hulu is another potential way of making money.

So what changes if and when Comcast takes the NBCU seat at the Hulu table alongside News Corp. and Disney? Comcast has very different thoughts about how to charge for online content. Carey sees the authentication strategy as a good first move, but describes it as defensive, and told me he doesn’t see how it creates additional revenue.

And then there are the regulatory hurdles facing a Comcast deal for NBCU which could result in a delay of at least a year before Comcast gets to really run the show.

Posted by Claire Atkinson on October 21, 2009 | Comments (101)

Problems with Plex & Snow Leopard? This could help

I was having a recent issue with my video TS folders (DVD rips) freezing or locking on my after about 5 seconds of playing. I had tried removing the source folder and reinstalling it, but that didn't work. Increasing the cache size didn't work either.

A user on the plex forum did post a solution which, for me, and many others, does work.

If you're having Plex issues, I would definitely try this. Click here to read the whole post (which is now a sticky on the site) or just read here for the simple, but effective, solution. I have no idea how he figured this out, but hey, works for me!

BY DannyV45

Posted 01 September 2009 - 04:25 PM

I was having audio output problems (No audio) with 5.1 AC-3 audio HD media as well as video freezing soon after starting the movie with snow leopard. I believe this to be a buffering problem because I have buffering set for 3 seconds and thats about the time it takes to freeze.

I found a work around that works perfectly. I've now sampled about 40 HD movies and have not had another audio or video lockup problem.

From OSX's application menu go into "utilities/audio midi setup" and in the left pane set the default output to "aggregate device" (If Aggregate device does not exist click the "+" sign to create it) open the drop down menu under aggregate device and highlight "built in output" then set the "Built in output" source located to the right to "digital output" and set "Format" to 48,000 2ch-24bit then exit audio midi setup.

Note: I know your thinking why set it to "48000 2ch-24bit" and not "encoded digital audio". This is because setting it to "encoded digital audio" crashes plex. This setting will still pass the 5.1 digital audio and will also pass films that are 2 channel stereo.

then

Go into plex and in system/audio setup set output device to "aggregate device" then set "Digital output support" To "force digital" then Shut off "normilize film volume". Thats it your done.


Now what happens is the movie will start and there will be no sound for about 3 seconds (could be longer if you are buffering at a higher rate). after the movie buffers then the audio will start to play in 5.1 digital (or 2 channel stereo if encoded that way).

Here are some of my own observations that helped me resolved the problem:

I have a yamaha 7.1 receiver that has status lights for audio mode that show either stereo (2 speaker lamps that light up) or 5.1 (5 speaker lamps that light up). When you have this problem theres no audio and no speaker lamps light up when the movie starts to play and the video plays slowly and studders (Because its buffering) then about 3-5 seconds later the movie will freeze.

When you apply the work around you will then notice when playing a 5.1 audio movie that the receiver status lights will first light up stereo (2 speaker lights lit) then after 3 -5 seconds (of buffering) it will light 5.1 (5 speaker lights lit) and you will here the audio.

I'm pretty sure this problem has something to do with a buffering issue within plex.

Hope this helps.

From the boys over at Plex - Snow Leopard & the Remote

Snow Leopard thaws to the Apple Remote, thanks to Remote Buddy Author

from Plex by elan

One of our biggest disappointments with Snow Leopard was the fact that third party support for the Apple Remote was changed (or broken), and applications like Plex, EyeTV and VLC were on the receiving end. Apart from one person who posted “Plex works perfectly on Snow Leopard for me!” (who either used the keyboard exclusively, or suffered from extreme overoptimism) our forums and twittersphere filled with complaints about the new behavior, which rendered the Apple Remote practically unusable for Plex.

Our friend Evan Schoenberg looked into the issue, and ended up filing a bug with Apple, who replied “this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering“. We had high hopes for 10.6.1, but unfortunately it didn’t help. There are rumors that 10.6.2 may contain a fix, but also rumors that the change in behavior was intentional.

Over the months, we’ve also gotten to know Felix Schwarz, the author of Remote Buddy, the popular and powerful remote control solution for the Mac. He has been extremely helpful to us, reviewing our remote code, suggesting improvements, and sending us sample code. He is, without a doubt, the foremost expert on the Apple Remote outside of Apple.

After investigating the problem, he decided a few weeks ago to provide a solution himself, in the form of a free alternative driver for the IR receiver which would provide reliable exclusive access to the Apple Remote across Leopard and Snow Leopard. In addition, he’s made available an Objective-C class which makes adding Apple Remote support to an application trivially simple.

The driver itself comes in the form of a preference pane, easy to install from the web site. Once installed, you’ll be able to use Plex perfectly in Snow Leopard with the Apple Remote, with no annoying loss of exclusive access that you may have observed under Leopard.

I can’t emphasis how great this development is, and how grateful we should all be to Felix. Please consider purchasing Remote Buddy, at around $30 it’s a great deal and an extremely powerful solution for those who like to customize the way the Apple Remote works with their Mac.

We are currently testing the integration of Felix’s code into Plex (many thanks to Evan for working on this!), and this is one of the reasons why 0.8.3 is taking a bit longer than expected.

Apple releases new great products - and the mac mini server?

With today's announcements of the new iMac lineup (official Apple site here), the really, really cool looking magic mouse and other smaller items, they also announced new mac minis, including the new "mightier" mac mini server which comes bundled with OS X Server software for $999.

I think probably the regular mini is just fine for the HTPC, but, since this blog does focus on the mini, I figured it is good to put up the news related to it.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog has put up a good article as to why you might be interested in this new mini server which you can read here.

FREE TV Installation!

Click On Pic to Enlarge!!

Within 50 Miles of Nashville.
Limited Time Only!!

The Plex Survey

The Plex team has put a survey to get to know the users. It is pretty quick and painless and will definitely help make Plex an even better system. If you have a minute, click here to take the survey.

We are now listed on www.usaelectronicsstores.com

A new display port to HDMI

Several sources reported this new connector, and this is a repost from TUAW -

Kanex brings digital audio into a Display Port to HDMI adapter

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Oct 3rd 2009 at 12:30PM

When we published our "Ultimate Mac mini Home Theater" guide in August, I drooled along with everyone else at the idea of supercharging my HDTV with a mini for movie and music playback. Something nagged at me, though, as I looked over the options for going from the mini's video-out ports (the current model sports both DVI and Display Port) to the HDMI standard connector that most TVs expect nowadays... how to get that digital audio signal onto the HDMI link, and avoid a second set of cables to handle sound? It seemed less than graceful.

If you want to skip over a clunky external converter box like this one, current minis and other Macs featuring the Mini Display Port connector now have a new option for HDMI; Kanex's two audio-included connectors can put the sound onto the HDMI link where it belongs.

Kanex is selling two models of the connector (both are on extremely limited availability right now, the company says). The $60 Digital Audio version includes a TOSLINK optical connector for premium quality sound, and the USB Audio version delivers analog audio for $50. Both let you put all your eggs in the HDMI basket and clear your cable clutter, while simplifying your TV remote input dance as you try to get the audio and video sorted.

We're hoping to get our hands on one of these units soon and we'll let you know how it performs.

Sound Fusion Kuching New Showroom Completed

Completed and Ready to serve you. Kuching Home Theater & Hifi.

Denon AVC-A1HDA AV Receiver

Arriving In Store is the Denon AVC-A1HDA High End AV Receiver.






Come check it out at Sound Fusion New Showroom @ Crown Square





































For product enquiry & audition, please contact :082-338 020 or 017-808 9020

New Plex Plug in and Snow Leopard version on the way...

Looks like we can expect a new version of Plex soon. Read below-

September 27th, 2009 | Category: Plug-ins | Author: iordonez

We’re hard at work on both Plex/Nine and the next Plex/Eight release, which contains (among other things) a few fixes for Snow Leopard issues (no solution for the Apple Remote issue yet, unfortunately).

In the meantime, our brilliant group of plug-in developers continues to make available more and more content. Here are the latest four (and many thanks to Jay for the artwork, and to Isaac for being the release manager!).

Written by David Bartle, Funny or Die features funny videos with celebrities (including Will Ferrell), comedians, and you. Be sure to watch “The Landlord”, “Prop 8 the Musical” and “Protect Insurance Companies PSA”.

Next up, and written by Billy Joe is The Live Music Archive plug-in. This site is committed to providing the highest quality live concerts in the highest quality format. The Internet Archive has teamed up with etree.org to preserve and archive as many live concerts as possible for current and future generations to enjoy.

For you Ruby on Rails fans, Railscasts is an very informative plugin written by lethekd. Every week Ryan Bates hosts a new Railscasts episode featuring tips and tricks with Ruby on Rails. These screencasts are short and focus on one technique so you can quickly move on to applying it to your own project. The topics target the intermediate Rails developer, but beginners and experts will get something out of it as well.

Lastly is Tête à Claques.TV by oncleben31. This plugin allows to watch videos from TAC.TV (also known as Tête à Claques.TV in French). You can watch videos in French or in English, grouped by vote or by date. For French videos you can browse them by character family too. This plugin is localized in French and English.

Ce plugin permet de lire les vidéos du site Tête à Claques.TV (connus aussi sous le nom de TAC.TV). Vous pourrez ainsi regarder les vidéos en français ou en anglais, classées par vote ou par date. Pour les vidéos en français il est possible de parcourir les vidéos regroupées par famille de personnage.
Le plugin est actuellement localisé en français et en anglais.

Almost Ready

80% Ready