Computing

Audio / Computing

Just How Good Are Multimedia Speakers?

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

I had to temporarily disassemble my primary multimedia PC system last week (it sits in front of a window that was being replaced) and decided it was finally time to provide some thoughts on multimedia surround sound systems. This is long overdue. How long overdue? One of the systems I intended to review, Klipsch’s ProMedia 5.1, was discontinued a few years ago and replaced with the ProMedia Ultra 5.1. The other, a Logitech Z-5500 system the company was kind enough to send over last year, is no longer a new model either. Logitech added the Z-5450 to the line, which …

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Computing / Industry

2005 In Review / CES 2006 Review, Pt. 5: Convergence

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Part V, the final installment of my post-CES chronicles; each of these posts includes a quick look back on 2005 trends and a quick discussion of products introduced at CES 2006. This installment: Convergence In 2005… Windows XP Media Center Edition PC sales finally took off – but as replacements for home PCs (wherever in the home they may reside, not necessarily the living room), and using traditional vertical box form factors, not the electronics-rack-style Home Theater PC. With Microsoft dropping the requirement for TV tuners, many of the XPMCE PCs were just that – regular PCs with a nifty …

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Audio / Computing / Industry

2005 In Review / CES 2006 Review, Pt. 3: Audio

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Part III of my post-CES rantings; each of the next few posts includes a quick look back on 2005 trends and a quick discussion of products introduced at CES 2006. This installment: Audio In 2005… Apple’s iPod ate up whatever audio interest there was left after the purchase of that HDTV. The audiophile approach (ignore it and it will go away) didn’t work, the competitive approach (building servers or portable products that compete with the iPod head on) dramatically didn’t work – though there were a handful of exceptions, and the conciliatory approach (if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em) …

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Accessories / Computing

Media Center PC, Part 2: Logitech Harmony 680

- by Avi Greengart - 2 Comments.

This is the second in a series on experiences using and enhancing Windows XP Media Center for home theater. To control my Media Center, I have two remote controls: one for the audio system, and one for the Media Center itself. (As mentioned last time, I also use the media control buttons from the Logitech DiNovo media pad as a remote of sorts).  While this is an extremely basic setup – no plasma TV, no audio receiver, no light control – it still seemed like two remote controls for one desk was overkill, and I had a Logitech Harmony 680 …

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Computing / HDTV

The XP Media Center PC Experience

- by Avi Greengart - 3 Comments.

This is the first in a series on experiences using and enhancing Windows XP Media Center for home theater. When I needed to upgrade my home office PC earlier this year, I chose to buy a Media Center PC because of the endless testing possibilities it offers.  At the time, the Orb service, which lets you stream content from your PC to any Internet connected device, only worked on Media Center PCs (it still requires a PC with a TV tuner card to be compelling).  Media Center extenders require a Media Center PC as a hub (though I currently use …

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Computing / Industry

When the walls are open, Microsoft’s moving in

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

I was at Microsoft’s Preview Day today in New York, which for me was largely about mobile devices (see my bio). One thing that came across clearly, however, was the centrality of Windows XP Media Center (XP MCE) to Microsoft’s overall consumer plans.  This reminded me of an interesting case study in Digital Connect about a custom installer, Silicon East, which has a somewhat unique specialty putting systems into new construction. That’s nothing new – when the walls are open, it’s the best time to put in home networking gear, and the walls are never more open than during new …

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Computing / HDTV / Industry

Yes, it was a live demo… also a misleading one

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Back in February I wrote about Microsoft’s Lightspeed IPTV demo at CES and linked to BusinessWeek’s skeptical coverage.  Well, the magazine was just biding its time and this week they completely skewer the initiative (subscription required), highlighting the endless delays in commercializing it.  It seems the impressive demo I saw at CES was real.  The problem is that the technology doesn’t work for millions of users at once, which is kind of important for the operators who want to broadly deploy it.  Live and learn. Still, TV over IP seems somewhat inevitable. Japan and Korea have DSL service 10x faster …

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Audio / Computing

Of non-iPods

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

I’ve been testing several digital music players and third party headphones – none of them from Apple. It’s not that I don’t like the iPod, I just haven’t gotten one in recently from Apple. My past experiences with iPod suggest that Apple leads the industry with good reason. I prefer SanDisk’s Digital Audio Player to the iPod Shuffle, though I understand the Shuffle’s appeal – particularly the tight integration with iTunes for moving music on and off the device.  Still, I prefer seeing the title of what I’m listening to, and the SanDisk has both a screen and a remarkably …

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Computing / HDTV

I Want My IP TV

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

The current issue of BusinessWeek has a nice overview of Microsoft’s efforts in IP TV (sending television feeds to a set top box over a broadband connection).  It’s a bit skeptical, and focuses on how Microsoft has bent over backwards to address the needs of partners.  For example, Microsoft’s brand does not appear on the set top box, and the boxes don’t even need to run a Microsoft operating system. I saw a demo of the system at CES, and BusinessWeek leaves out an important element of the story: it’s really, really cool.  I suppose cable operators adopting this system …

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Audio / Computing

Mobile PC-based Theater Speakers

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

This is such a good idea I wonder why nobody’s done it well before.  Altec Lansing sent over their XT1 Portable Audio System for notebooks. A DVD-ROM equipped notebook is essentially a giant portable DVD player combined with an iPod with a larger color screen, but most notebooks have terrible internal speakers.  Adding external speakers solves the problem at the cost of portability — even if you did shlep them with you, you’d be dragging along another power brick, too. The XT1 siphons power off your notebook’s USB port which greatly simplifies setup and enables easy portability. Both Windows and …

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