Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

Update: Slysoft is currently offering AnyDVD HD at a 20% discount through April 20. Now is a great time to get a copy.

Slysoft has updated AnyDVD HD, with apparently some type of “artifical intelligence.” From the press release that has been sitting in my inbox for a couple of days:

With today’s release of AnyDVD 6.1.8.4, SlySoft has once again delighted its customers with the delivery of another masterpiece in the never-ending battle with manufacturers of DVD copy protection systems. The new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scanner analyzes the entire DVD within just a few seconds and through the utilization of voluminous rules and exceptions “decides” dynamically exactly how to circumvent the copy protection on this particular DVD.

AnyDVD is one of two tools I know of to rip the latest generation of high definition DVDs. I tend not to like when a computer program attempts to do things in a black box but I have yet to test the new version of this software.

Being able to rip movies to a hard drive is, in my opinion, a necessity for any home theater, especially with cool plugins like My Movies. AnyDVD is a tool that can help you do just that.

Starting October 16, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno is making its way online. This is becoming a recurring trend of networks offering shows online. I like it.

From MediaWeek:

The Tonight Show will become the second late night talker that NBC offers online on a regular basis. Back in August, the network began posting full-length episodes of Late Night with Conan O’Brien on NBC.com, the first of the major late night talk shows to be available on the Web in its entirety.

There currently is a lot of Tonight Show related content at NBC’s website, stuff like Jay Leno’s Garage and The John & Ross Show. I am always glad to see networks release more online content. Hopefully the trend will continue and this content will get integrated into Windows Media Center though a plugin.

With every new generation of consoles, many pundits declare that PC gaming is dead. I have been hearing it for years. I must admit I have been pretty jealous of Xbox 360 games like Gears of War for some time with little competition from the PC world, which has been pretty stagnant outside of World of Warcraft. Nothing really new or interesting has appeared in some time.

That is about to change though, with PC hardware finally surpassing the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The line-up of games just released or to be released over the next month is impressive. Release after release of high profile titles for the PC is slated that exceed anything on the Xbox 360. Here is a list of what is coming out or what is already out:

• Bio-Shock
• Half-Life Orange Box
• Gears of War PC
• Crysis
• Call of Duty 4
• Quake Wars
• Unreal Tournament 2007

That is a strong line-up of games, though without the hype of Halo 3. To be fair, most of those games will also be available for the Xbox as well though they will look better on the PC. Gears of War is a great example of the resurgence of PC gaming. This title, a superstar on the Xbox 360, will look even better on the PC and has additional content. Not to mention the game is $10 cheaper for the PC than the Xbox 360.

There are downsides to PC gaming, mainly the cost of high-end video cards that rival the Xbox 360 in price. PC gaming has always been an expensive proposition for the hard-core gamer wanting to play games with the graphics maxed out. But if you are in the market for a new computer, upgrading your video card is well worth it.

Now only if these games could somehow be integrated into Windows Media Center…..

The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD will include versions of the movie for portable devices and PCs, according to Warner Home video. From the Ars Technica article:

Although it’s not clear how exactly the technology will work—and Warner has not yet responded to our requests for comment—the easiest way for Warner to make it happen would be by including the two extra files on the disc. When inserted into a PC, users would then be able to download the files from the DVD.

For most computer users, this is not a big deal, since even low end computers can handle watching a DVD. Also, finding out how to rip DVDs is pretty easy on the Internet. What this anouncement makes possible is development by Microsoft for inclusion into Windows Media Center. Right now, Microsoft has its hands tied in terms of developing a movie “jukebox” with Media Center. No significant mention was made of HD-DVD or Blu-ray.

While details are scace, these PC and portable versions seem very similar to Managed Copy. Hopefully. the DRM will not be too cumbersome to make the whole exercise pointless.

Sonos is releasing their Soundbridge wireless extender this month (October 24th). It seems like Sonos is always adding nice features like Pandora integration. The Soundbridge 100 will keep you from having to tether a ZP80 or ZP100 to your router. From Automatedhome.com:

So for example you may want to use a new ZoneBridge to plug into your Router, rather than using a ZP100 or ZP80 which may not be required in that room. Of course it could also be used in between two zones that are too far apart to link currently.

I have seen unofficial prices for the Soundbridge around $99 to $150. At that price, you can buy a one ZP80, a controller, and a Soundbridge for under $900. Cheaper than the bundle Sonos offers but still expensive in my eyes. Sonos really needs to offer their bundle for a lower price, somewhere between $600-$700.

Via EngadgetHD

I got an e-mail this morning with a press release for Belkin’s n52te SpeedPad.  I have never used one of these hybrid keyboards designed for first person shooters. I have always been intrigued, but I have just never made the jump.  Maybe I will have to look into getting one with the release of Unreal Tournament 3 and Crysis this November. Belkin should think about doing a joint advertising campaign with those games.
From the press release:

Belkin International, Inc., announces its new n52te, a hybrid gaming keyboard built to dominate in FPS (first-person shooter), MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing games), and RTS (real-time strategy) computer games. An improvement over its predecessor, the critically acclaimed n52, the n52te is enhanced by Razer’s killer performance software, which boasts a competitive advantage with portable player profiles, robust customization tools, and cool blue backlighting.

The n52te SpeedPad offers the following features:

• Backlit keypad and scroll wheel for total control in dark conditions
• Enhanced tactile feedback and button responsiveness for rapid key presses
• 15 fully programmable keys built for speed
• Adjustable soft-touch wrist pad for maximum comfort and endurance
• Programmable 8-way thumb pad with removable joystick
• Nonslip rubber pads grip in place for aggressive fragging
• Easily toggle between 3 keymap states

It retails for just under $70.

I have used Acronis True Image back-up software a lot of the last couple of years, both at work and at home. True Image basically takes a snapshot of your computer which can be re-installed in the event of data loss. From Acronis’ website:

Acronis True Image includes our patented disk imaging backup technology. You can copy your entire PC, including the operating system, applications, user settings, and all data. In the event of a system or disk crash, virus attack or other fatal failures you can restore the entire disk contents in minutes — no reinstallations required!

Here are 4 ways I use True Image to back-up my computer and my jukebox.

1. Use a second computer to store your disk images. Boot from the True Image CD and save the image of one computer on a shared drive of a second computer.
2. The best thing about True Image is that you can boot directly to the program from the CD so you do not need a functional operating system. In the event of an operating system error, boot from the True Image CD, make a new image, and then “browse” that image to recover any important files.
3. If you are migrating to a new computer, “save” you old computer as a drive image that can be browsed on the new system.
4. Once a media center computer is set-up exactly as you want it, make an image using True Image. If you ever accidentally kill the media center, you can be up and running in under a half-hour. This is great if you have a wife and using a media center on your main pc. Keep your digital media files on a separate drive. This is especially useful for computers with Digital Cable Tuners.

Acronis True Image can be purchased for $49.99 from Acronis. A trial version is available if you want to take it for a test drive.

TBS, which will be broadcasting the Major League Baseball Playoffs (hopefully in HD), will tap into the Internet to provide more in depth coverage of October baseball.
From the press release:

TBS, which will begin televising Major League Baseball’s National League Divisional Series beginning Oct. 3, will complement its television game coverage with an online channel that will offer behind-the-scenes coverage, including pre-game batting practice, features, commentary and unique camera angles during the game.

You know what I would like to see? How about Microsoft making an agreement with a sports league like MLB to add more detail as an overlay in Media Center. That would be interesting. The tue power of media centers is the ability to leverage the Internet with television. The Sports Lounge is a good start in concept but it is just scratching the surface.

I started this blog a year ago on October 2, 2006, not knowing if anyone would actually visit this site. Last month I had 15,000 visitors and 29,000 page impressions according to Awstats. Not too bad but I hope to grow things even more in the next 12 months.

I just wanted to thank everyone for stopping by and feel free to send me an e-mail at admin at floppyhead.com.

Here are the top 10 posts in terms of traffic from the last year:

1. Barenaked Ladies successfully stick it to the recording industry
2. 6 alternatives to help you ditch cable television
3. NBC’s ‘Office’ prank call: Have Dwight call a friend
4. Two websites for over-the-air high definition television broadcasts in your zipcode
5. 6 Tips to receive HDTV over-the-air on a PC
6. Review: Rocketfish’s Universal Wireless Rear Speaker Kit
7. Home theater computer (HTPC) cases for the living room that don’t break the budget
8. Two ways to rip HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs to a hard drive
9. Sony VAIO Digital Living System VGX-XL3: Great design but needs more than one tuner
10. Is Microsoft’s Vista gambling too much on CableCARD?

Not surprisingly, Sony has discontinued the sale of the Vaio VGX-XL3, which was a flawed but great looking media center with CableCard support. Presumably this is because of poor sales but I also think that the VGX-XL3 was already obsolete. Priced at almost $2,700, it only had one digital cable tuner and a video card not yet ready for high definition video.

I saw a VGX-XL3 at the Sony store in Tyson’s Corner. It was hidden from view and was not even connected. To me, it should have been hooked up to a Bravia to both show off the TV and to sell the media centers.

Basically, the system was too expensive and under-powered. For a cheaper price, you could get a better performing media center with 2 tuners from VelocityMicro PCs or even from Dell. The only thing going for the VGX-XL3 was the case, which was really nice and would fit into any living room.

Hopefully, Sony will release an improved version in the future.

Via Chris Lanier and TvSquad.