High Speed Wireless N in the home

I was looking to setup a high speed network in my new home but I don’t want to run cables.  My office is in an upstairs room above the garage, this is where the cable modem is located.  My XP MCE computer is in the family room, ground floor and at the far end of the house.

While living in my apartment (we moved a week and a half ago) I tried using 802.11g wireless to pull files from one MCE computer to watch on another.  The transfer rate was so poor that the video would be choppy and the sound out of sync. To resolve this issue I started looking for a high speed connection solution.

I did my research through online reviews/articles as well as consumer reviews on sites like Amazon and Newegg.  I looked at Ethernet over Powerline devices, they didn’t provide the throughput I was looking for.  After several weeks of browsing I happened across the Netgear Wireless N HD/Gaming solution.

This solution provides two wireless nodes, an AP (access point) and a bridge.  The AP sits near and plugs into your Internet Router, the bridge goes whereever you want access.  In my case the AP sits in my office and the bridge goes downstairs in the family room next to the XP MCE computer.  Both the AP and the bridge have two ethernet ports, this allows me to either plug in two devices to the bridge or plug in a switch/hub off the bridge and plug in more than two devices to the switch/hub.

wnhdeb111 at Amazon.com

I’ve had this up and running for a full day now and am loving it.  The Netgear boxes (the kit has model number WNHDEB111) report that they are talking to each other at 300 mbs.  I copied a file from my XP MCE computer connected to the bridge to a laptop connected to the AP and got a throughput averaging 50 mbs.  I believe that the difference between the routers reporting communications at 300 mbs and my throughput at 50 mbs leaves plenty of room for multiple computers to be talking over the routers.

With a cost of ~$175 this is not the cheapest wireless solution available but I hope it to be fast and stable.

I’ll try some streaming video soon and report back with the results.

MCE is alive again!

We just moved, we moved from the Los Angeles area to an outlying Los Angeles area.  This move has helped my MCE box in a huge way.  We are no longer with the Los Angeles chapter of Time Warner but now with Time Warner Central or something like that.

At the old location a cable box was required to see even SD cable signals.  At our new home channels 99 and down are unencrypted and available to my HD/SD tuner card.  Wow, the MCE box is excellent when it can see and record from 65+ channels.

One issue I am finding is that at my new location I do not receive any broadcast signals OTA (over the air) so I have lost my OTA HD.  Giving up seven channels of OTA HD for 65+ SD channels seems like a fair trade.  I’m still working on getting back my OTA HD, I’ll try moving the antenna around the house a bit to see if I can get a signal.

I also need to look into a Clear QAM tuner as I expect many of the HD channels will be unencrypted.

I’m not sure why my new Time Warner is different from my previous Time Warner but it sure is making my life easier.  I prefer XP MCE over a cable box for tv watching.

more Westinghouse magic at Costco

If 47 is great then 52 must be greater.

Costco now has the 52″ Westinghouse 1080p LCD available online.

The television is $1499 plus $49.99 shipping.

Here are the details from Costco’s site

Limited to supplies on hand.

Introducing the largest LCD1080p HDTV from Westinghouse Digital-TX-52F480S. This magnificent 52” 1080p LCD TV will re-define your idea of home entertainment; developed to ensure an unforgettable HDTV experience this LCD TV will not disappoint. Offering 1080Pure™ – 1080p resolution out of all HD inputs (including component), an astounding four (4) HDMI™ inputs – accept a 1080p/24Hz signal and an integrated ATSC/NTSC/ClearQAM tuner. This display is not only an engineering marvel but designed with class and sophistication; featuring subtle curves and a thin 6.2” housing this display is encased in a black piano gloss bezel. Enjoy the latest Blu-ray™ or HD DVD™ movie, gaming on a PS3™, Xbox 360™ or Wii™, or watching your favorite HD TV show.

Features:

• Costco extends manufacture warranty to 2 years
• Returns accepted within 90 days from date of purchase
• Screen Size: 52″ Diagonal
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Contrast Ratio: 5000:1
• Response Time: 6.5 ms
• Viewing Angles: 176° x 176°
• HDTV Compatibility: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
• Tuner: NTSC/ATSC/ClearQAM
• Progressive Scan
• 3D Noise Reduction
• De-Interlacing
• 3D Adaptive Comb Filter
• Autosource™
• SpineDesign™
• DayBright™ – High contrast LCD for both day and night
• Table Top Stand: Included
• VESA® Compatibility (8 hole pattern): 100mm x 100mm, 200mm x 200mm
• Weight: 86.8 lbs (w/ base), 79.7 (w/ out base)
• Dimensions: 50.6″ x 34.8″ x 10.3″ (with base), 50.6″ x 32.3 ” x 6.2 ” (w/out base)

Audio:

• Speakers: 2×15 watt
• 12 watt Subwoofer
• User Adjustable 5 Band Equalizer

Inputs/ Outputs:

• HDMI x4
• Component x2
• S-Video x1
• RF In x1
• D-Sub (VGA) In x1
• PC Audio In (mini) x1
• Audio In (dual RCA) x4
• Audio Out (dual RCA) x1
• SPDIF Optical Out x1

1 TB internal SATA drive for $156.71 with free shipping

For all you PVR nuts out there (like me) Circuit City has the Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB Internal SATA Hard Drive for $164.96.  Use the coupon code ZXAKLWWA68 to take off 5% and drop the price to $156.71.

Coupon is good until tomorrow, Saturday 6/7/08.

Here are the details from Circuit City’s site:

Reduced power consumption: WD has reduced power consumption by up to 40 percent compared to competitors’ drives with the combination of WD’s IntelliSeek™, IntelliPark™, and IntelliPower™ technologies.

Helps enable eco-friendly PCs: WD Caviar GP drives yield average drive power savings of 4-5 watts over competitors’ drives making it possible for our energy-conscious customers to build systems with higher capacities and the right balance of system performance, ensured reliability, and energy conservation. This power savings equates to reducing CO2 emission by up to 13.8 kilograms per drive per year – the equivalent of taking a car off the road for 3 days each year. By using environmentally-conscious PCs with our WD Caviar GP drives on board, large organizations with many desktop computers can minimize their carbon footprint and save real money on electricity costs.

Cool and quiet: GreenPower technology yields lower operating temperatures for increased reliability and low acoustics for ultra-quiet PCs and external drives.

Perfect for external drives: External drive manufacturers can eliminate the need for a fan in a high-capacity product with a WD Caviar GP drive, the coolest and quietest in its class. External drives with WD Caviar GP drives on board can save up to $14.00 per year in electricity costs. See our power savings chart for details.

IntelliPower: A fine-tuned balance of spin speed, transfer rate and caching algorithms designed to deliver both significant power savings and solid performance. Additionally, GreenPower drives consume less current during startup allowing lower peak loads on systems as they are booted.

IntelliSeek: Calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise and vibration.

IntelliPark: Delivers lower power consumption by automatically unloading the heads during idle to reduce aerodynamic drag.

Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR): Employs PMR technology to achieve even greater area density.

StableTrac™: The motor shaft is secured at both ends to reduce system-induced vibration and stabilize platters for accurate tracking, during read and write operations.

Capacity: 1TB

Need (want) a media center extender?

Amazon has a special on the Linksys Media Center extenders.

These extenders allow you to control and view media from your MCE PC on another television.

There are two models, the DMA2100 and the DMA2200. The difference between the two models seems to be that the DMA2200 has an upscaling DVD player in it and the DMA2100 does not.

The special at Amazon is $100 off with the use of coupon code MSFTDEAL. After using this coupon price drops to $150 for the DMA2100 and $200 for the DMA2200.

Here’s the link to the DMA2100:

Here’s the link to the DMA2200:

I want one of these but am going to hold off until I get an HDTV in the bedroom.  This looks like it will work with a SDTV and downconvert the media but I’m not 100% positive.

Westinghouse 37″ 1080p monitor refurb for $512

Onsale.com has the Westinghouse LVM-37W3R 37″ 1080p monitor for $512 plus $45 shipping (there is a $40 rebate on shipping, weird but nice) making shipping $5. Remember, this is not a television, this does not have a tuner in it. This works great with a Media Center PC or as a PC monitor or for video gaming. Add a tuner to make this an incredible HD TV.

a PC in the living room

People just don’t understand the utility of having a computer hooked to the tv in the living room until they actually do it. My wife was humoring me when she went along with my idea of buying a monitor to put in the front room with one of my computers attached. Now she would fight me if I wanted to remove the computer.

We use the computer for the usual computer stuff like email, web browsing, gaming etc but we also use it as are primary video recorder. The computer has 2 HD tuners installed. The tuners are attached to a small in door antenna and do a great job of receiving free, over the air, broadcasts. I get about 20 channels and use Windows Media Center to schedule and record my shows.

The computer in the front room is now our only computer other than my wife’s laptop. We are redecorating and took down the other computers we had setup. We don’t miss them, we hadn’t used them for some time. The computer in the front room is the only “desktop” we tend to use.

Back in August I ordered an actual HTPC case for our front room pc, it looks great. I’ll do a write up with pictures soon.

Two weeks ago I hooked one of my spare computers up to my sister’s television. She’s using it just for the computer functionality, the system does not have any tuners in it. So far she’s used email, web browsing and used it to watch videos and shows online. My sister is a new convert to the HTPC crowd. When I do put an HD tuner it it I’m sure she’ll love it that much more.

My sister’s TV is a 32″ 1080i minor brand tv. The computer looks great on this. It’s not as nice and sharp as my 47″ 1080p Westinghouse but it’s nice and does a great job. Seeing this reaffirmed my belief that 1080p is not always necessary in a TV/monitor. If cost is important then 1080i looks great. The advantage of 1080p is the higher resolution and, to be honest, lower resolution is actually easier to read. The little tiny fonts on a high resolution screen are hard to read from the easy chair.

1080p HDTVs are still coming down in price

 has the Sceptre 42″ 1080p model X42GV-NAGA for $899

after $100 rebate and promo code EMC809HOAV02. 

This monitor was one of the ones I was watching prior to buying my Westinghouse.  If I had seen this price I would have jumped on it.  Unique to this monitor is that it has a connections box where you plug in all of your sources.  This box is seperate from the monitor and connects to the monitor via a cable.  This is kind of cool because you can have just the one (or is it 2?) cable running to the monitor for a clean looking install.

Click on the Newegg logo or the picture of the monitor to be taken to the site.

Senator Dodd is at it again

He wants to bail out the hedge funds and investors who made bad loans to house buyers and speculators.  I don’t support a bailout of any sort for the housing market.  I do support changing regulations on loans to protect the public.  I believe that most people who took out loans that they cannot afford new what they were doing and were speculating that the house would go up in value and they could resell it for a profit.

I just wrote to Senator Dodd again, here is my letter to him:

Senator Dodd,

You are pushing for higher conforming loan limits and I disagree with this action.  I don’t believe that the limits are the problem.  The problem, in my view, is that home prices are too high.  Reckless investment and speculation in housing has caused the problems.
Raising the conforming limits would only continue the problems.  Reforming loan origination so that people do not buy beyond their means to pay would be helpful.  Changing lending standards to create a better informed consumer is always good.
I feel for the people who are losing their homes, everything that can be done for them should be, everything up to but not including the government taking responsibility for their loans.  I do not believe that the government should step in and guarantee loans that were made under false pretenses.  Working with the banks to alter the loans to save as many households as possible I do support.
I hope I was my writing is clear and understandable, if you have any questions please feel free to call me.

Sincerely,

Tivo HD, wow, incredible

Tivo has just announced its new Tivo HD box. This is the little brother to the Tivo Series 3.

The Series 3:

• World’s only Digital Media Recorder with THX®-certification
• Control live HDTV and record 2 digital cable shows at once*
• 300 hours of standard recording time or up to 32 in HD
• NEW backlit, programmable TiVo® remote, easy to configure to your TV
• cost $799

Tivo HD

• Control live HDTV and record 2 digital cable shows at once*
• 180 hours of standard recording time or up to 20 in HD
• ordinary old style Tivo remote
• cost $299

Both units support up to 2 cablecards to allow for the recording of two shows at once. The units also support over the air (OTA) HDTV via an antenna.

I love the price point of the Tivo HD and would jump on it except that a subscription is still required. I hate the idea of paying an additional $100 a year to subscribe to Tivo.

For now I’m going to continue playing with my Microsoft Media Center Edition box.