PC Convergence – Page 3

Sonos 2.0

August 5, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Sonos_bundle_150 Sonos announced several upgrades today to its whole-house audio system (my review of the original system is here).

The receiver modules have shrunk in size, have been upgraded with an upgraded version of Sonos’ proprietary wireless mesh networking technology, and the one with an internal amplifier (the ZonePlayer 120) has gotten more power. The software has been upgraded, and it now supports ridiculously large music collections (65,000 songs), OS X Leopard, and NAS devices (networked hard drives, which means you can listen to your own songs without turning on your PC).

What hasn’t changed:

The Controller 100 ($399) gets no upgrades. It was well designed to begin with, though it is a bit bulky. It also no longer has quite the same wow factor, as it mimics Apple’s last generation of music devices (the clickwheel iPods), rather than the current touchscreen models.
A separate charging cradle ($39.99) for the Controller is an essential add-on that Sonos released a while back, but there are still no in-wall versions of the cradle.
There is still no boombox option; the ZonePlayer 90 assumes you’re hooking it up to a stereo system, iPod dock, or powered speakers, while the ZonePlayer 120 assumes you have a spare pair of speakers lying around. Sonos sells a pair of inexpensive, very high quality speakers for use with the ZonePlayer 120, but I’ve always thought that Sonos ought to build self-contained units for use in kitchens, home offices, and bathrooms.
There is still no weatherproof outdoors option.

A complete Sonos system is incredibly cost effective when compared to custom installed wired multi-room alternatives. But it is still pricey overkill for filling just one or two rooms with sound; two iPods and two iPod docks runs less than half the cost of a Sonos. The direct competition is starting to catch up; Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet (pictured here on the right) undercuts Sonos on price and has a similar scroll wheel controller (the Duet costs $399 and includes a receiver; the equivalent Sonos Controller + ZP90 combo costs $748). One major difference is in ease of setup – Sonos wins hands down, in part because Sonos doesn’t require a PC or a wireless network. I have tested Logitech’s predecessor, the Squeezebox, and found its basic remote and user interface nearly unusable; I plan to test the Duet and future products in Logitech’s line shortly.

-avi

Audio / PC Convergence

Product Review: Axiom Audio Audiobytes and EPZero Subwoofer

May 29, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - 7 Comments.

Axiom has been trying to get me to review a set of speakers from their home theater surround lineup, but I asked to start with something smaller, so they suggested their Audiobytes PC speaker system. I’ve been using what counts as “high end” speaker systems in the PC world on my media center PC for nearly a decade. My primary PC speaker system is a Klipsch THX Pro Media 5.1, which I have pitted against a 5.1 THX setup from Logitech, 2.1 systems from Altec Lansing, and others over the years. Axiom’s Audiobyte system consists of up to four pieces: modest sized left and right speakers and an enormous desktop amplifier/volume control that I struggled to find room for on my desk ($349 for all three); and a subwoofer roughly the same size as a full sized PC desktop case that will almost certainly be placed right next to it ($179). The speakers can be ordered in some fairly exotic enclosure materials (from various types of wood to bold designer colors), which is fairly common in high end audio and home theater, but quite unusual for PC speakers. For review purposes I asked for a set in basic black (pictured to the left; the subwoofer is pictured separately, below).

The system arrived in two large, heavy boxes (large enough that visitors to my office could not believe that they contained a PC speaker system). All the cables required to hook up the system are included. The cables don’t offer the most flexibility in placement, but since most users will just be flanking their computer monitor with the speakers, super-long cables aren’t required. There are small rubber “feet” you can add to the speakers, but no stands. This is a shame, because the speakers will obviously be used on a desk, and in most situations, that will be below ear level; angled stands would be a big help.

The amplifier unit serves all the speakers; the subwoofer does not have its own power supply and amplifier. The amp glows blue around the volume control and never got more than warm after hours of continuous use. The large amp does seem to have an effect on the system’s capabilities, imbuing the Audiobytes with tremendous dynamic range – they can play ridiculously loud without distortion. For example, John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter goes from quiet to over-the-top brassy; the quiet sections were clear and full, and then – boom, it’s loud! – but without any sibilance on the horns. Some of this power is wasted on a near-field product like a PC system where you have a defined listening position – most listeners will be no more than three feet or so from the speakers at any time. Still, it’s nice to have gobs of power on reserve, even if there’s no way anyone will ever push the amplifier beyond mid-point before going deaf.

The main speakers and amplifier combination is more neutral and analytical than warm. Pianos were rendered realistically, which is quite hard to do and rarely achieved on PC systems. Female vocals were also good, but not great, mostly because the sound is overly localized to the little speaker. Similarly, drum kits were loud and crisp but were still sounded like they emanated from a little box three feet away rather than from a real drum set farther back. In short, they sound better than most PC speakers, but you can’t expect audiophile nirvana for $350.

Still, the system’s clarity is excellent. The mark of a good PC or iPod speaker system – you can easily tell which songs have been recorded at higher bit levels – is achieved here. Better sources sound better. I also found that the added fidelity and ability to raise endlessly raise the volume is useful beyond music when used with a PC – a webcast with poor audio quality was much clearer and easier to follow.

However, despite the big subwoofer, at anything less than ear-bleeding levels, the EPZero generated very little bass. The sub has three setting: “flat,” “half,” and “full.” It badly needs something beyond “full,” say, a “Spinal Tap” setting that takes it to 11. On Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” her vocals were crystal clear and the bass had wonderful tone – there just wasn’t that much of it. I wasn’t sure what was going on here, so I tried the “full” setting and played an even more bass-heavy dance track, “SOS.” On the Klipsch system played at the same volume level, the room shakes. On the Axiom, the bass is extremely tight – ‘bob your head’ tight, not ‘shake your rear’ tight. It worked well enough for classical and indie rock (Jonathan Coulton never sounded better), but the Axiom system isn’t the best system to listen to house, electronic, or hip hop unless you prefer listening at levels loud enough to damage your hearing.

The lack of bass at reasonable volumes really bothers me, and the high price doesn’t help matter, so I had fully expected to end my review on a negative note. But the longer I listened to music on the Audiobytes, the more I enjoyed them. The main speakers have a very neutral, open, non-fatiguing sound. They sound good. Would I spend $350 for them? Probably not. But I’m quite reluctant to let Axiom know that I’ve completed the review and ask for a shipping account number to use to return them.

Displays / DVD / HDTV / Industry / PC Convergence

CES 2008: High Def Disc Format War Over, Thin TVs, and Steve Jobs

January 11, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Well, Ces_logo_2 I’m back from Las Vegas, but my body is still on the wrong time zone. There were three main stories at this year’s CES:

The death of HD-DVD. With Warner’s announcement that it will no longer sell HD-DVD movies, the high definition disc format war is effectively over with Blu-ray as the victor. Toshiba (one of HD-DVD’s primary backers) offered a weak reaction, saying that it is stunned and upset, but that HD-DVD has been declared dead before. That’s true, but formats are only as valuable as the content that they are tied to. With Warner gone, only Paramount and New Line are left in the HD-DVD camp, and even they will probably switch to Blu-ray before the end of the year, once the rumored exclusivity period of their arrangement with HD-DVD is up.
Super-thin flat panel displays. Several vendor showed incredibly thin flat panel televisions – as thin as 9mm (a prototype) to 1.7” (likely to become a production model shortly). You might wonder whether there is a market for slightly thinner displays – after all, how much thinner is 1.7” than a 4” plasma or LCD today? The answer is, a lot thinner. The difference is that a 4” display is still a box you’re putting on the wall, while anything under 2” approaches being part of the wall itself. The prototypes on display looked incredibly good, and will be extremely exciting to interior designers. I expect that super thin displays will make up a significant premium segment of the market in just 1 – 2 years time. The phenomenon of super-large flat panel displays, on the other hand, has limited appeal beyond the super-wealthy, even as prices inevitably drop from the “if you have to ask” range, simply because an 11 foot long flat panel literally cannot fit around a typical home’s layout to the installation site.
Waiting for MacWorld. Last year, CES was completely upstaged by the iPhone at MacWorld the same week. This year, MacWorld is back to the week after CES, but the shadow of Cupertino was palpably draped over Las Vegas this year as well. I have no inside information on what Apple will announce next week, but Apple’s head of PR promised me that Apple’s announcements at MacWorld will be better than anything I’d see at CES. I believe him, and I suspect the rest of the industry does, too.

Other CES trends:

Several systems for moving HD content wirelessly were shown, either as part of the television purchase or as a separate accessory. While wired connections will continue to be the bulk of the market for some time, the availability of wireless options is extremely welcome as a solution to specific installation challenges.
Home storage was another big theme, with solutions that ranged from simple connected hard drives up to enterprise-class servers with friendly user interfaces.
The industry continues to introduce boxes that let you watch PC content on TV. Yawn.
GPS was everywhere at the show, particularly from vendors who either are new to the U.S. market or new to the market generally. Prices are already dropping due to the competition (and ready availability of the components needed to become a PND competitor), and it will be extremely difficult for all these vendors to make money, even if they can avoid being cannibalized by GPS on cellphones. These issues and more were discussed during my CES Education session on GPS Monday afternoon. The panel was well attended and the discussion could have easily continued for an additional hour or two beyond the time allotted.

Due to a hyper travel schedule I will not be in SFO for MacWorld next week, however I will be covering announcements made at the show from afar. Should be interesting!

-avi

Industry / PC Convergence

When did my day job kill my hobby?

November 7, 2007 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Tpv77coverl I’ve been trying to catch up with my reading – nearly a year’s worth of home theater magazines have piled up. One thing I’ve noticed is an increased emphasis on flat panel TVs – no surprise there, as that category accounts for an enormous amount of sales activity. What I found odd was the sheer amount of coverage mobile devices now get in these publications. Sure, I expect convergence in Sound & Vision, which has steadily moved in that direction for years. But Home Theater Magazine? Aside from the odd TV with an SD card slot, what do digital cameras have to do with home theater? Someone has to explain to me why the iPhone gets flagged on the cover of The Perfect Vision, which used to be a magazine targeting videophiles.

I know the writers of many of the articles – I see them at all the same trade shows and press conferences, and their content isn’t bad, it just seems badly out of place. Perhaps I’m a strange person to raise the question; after all, I left a thriving home theater research service at JupiterResearch several years ago to start up a Mobile Devices practice at Current Analysis. I know that the iPod has been a major challenge for traditional A/V vendors (you could probably make a strong case that Apple and iPod dock vendors have stolen sales that once went to receivers, minisystems, and boom boxes) but when did the iPhone kill interest in speaker systems?

PC Convergence

Revisting Vista

August 10, 2007 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Vista_ok My former colleague Joe Wilcox wrote a fairly damning column on Microsoft Vista yesterday, and I generally agree with his overall analysis. I have also written here in the past that I simply could not get Vista running reliably as a media center upgrade. And yet, somewhat surprisingly, my Vista box is now running well: no crashes, no problems connecting to peripherals, no problems. Four things have contributed to the updated (and happier) state of affairs:

I reinstalled a fresh copy of Vista. That’s never a good solution, but my alternative was reinstalling XP (or trashing the box altogether), so it seemed worth the effort. (Added cost: none, but it took a couple of hours to back up all the data and reinstall the OS)
The consensus I found online is that the Vista drivers for ATI are problematic, and there was clearly something wrong with my video card and Vista. I upgraded the video card from one running on an ATI chipset to one with an nVidia chipset (an eVGA GeForce 8500GT 256MB), and have had no crashes since then. (Added cost: $125)
I added 1 GB of RAM, for a total of 2 GB. (Added cost: $63)
Microsoft has continually loaded upgrades and fixes in the background. I suspect that this is why my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse now work even after the computer goes into suspend mode. (Added cost: $0)

So I spent another $200 or so to improve the basic hardware, Microsoft has patched things up, and it’s working. To celebrate, I invested another $200 in a 22" widescreen monitor – more on that in my next post.

-avi

Accessories / PC Convergence

Logitech MX Air Blends HT and PC

July 13, 2007 - by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Logitech introduced a new "mouse" yesterday, and I put "mouse" in quotation marks because it’s an interesting product that blends a PC mouse with a gyroscopic sensor (think Nintendo Wii’s controller and you have the right idea) and software that can be used as a remote control for watching media content on a computer.

There have been products like this in the past, notably from Gyration (a company that got bought by Thomson in 2004). A bunch of years back when I was heading home theater research at JupiterResearch I wrote a report where I recommended their Media Center accessory line for inclusion with HTPC’s which were just starting to ship. I’m still a big fan of Gyration’s Gyrotransport, an ingenious product for the presentation market which combines a gyroscopic mouse, USB transmitter, and Flash storage (for your PPT deck) all in one compact package. However, the market for dedicated HTPCs has proven to be relatively small even as an overwhelming majority of consumers use their PCs for all sorts of media consumption. Logitech addresses the reality that computers are rarely used from 10 feet away on a couch, but that users do often switch between direct manipulation (the 2′ experience) and a "lean-back" experience where they may not be right at the PC. Maybe they are on a couch, or just pushed back their chair a bit. The MX Air functions as a normal laser mouse when placed on a flat surface, and switches to air mouse mode when you pick it up.

Like Gyration’s Media Center remote, Logitech’s MX Air has all sorts of neat air gestures you can make to control volume, skip music tracks or jump to the next movie scene. This is cool and demos well, though hard buttons are at least as efficient. I got a chance to use the MX Air last month, and what I found most impressive is how easy and smooth in-air control is; Gyration uses a different technology, and Logitech’s cursor control is easier to use. It also feels nice in the hand and is easy to control as a regular mouse on a desk; lefties may actually prefer it to most ergonomic mice which are clearly designed for right handed users.

What’s not so impressive is the price: $149 for what is unquestionably a cool gadget, but one that is not exactly necessary. (Personally, if I was shopping for a premium mouse, I’d spend the money on Logitech’s amazing $99 MX Revolution. That has no real added attraction for media viewing, but the scroll wheel shifts from free spin to ratched spin depending on which application you have open, which greatly improves productivity.)

-avi

PC Convergence

Love Vista, Just Can’t Recommend Upgrading to It

March 8, 2007 - by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Icon_boxshotultimate_sm Microsoft sent over a copy of Vista Ultimate and I upgraded my Media Center test box to put it through its paces. I have had mixed results.

First, the positive. Vista is building on XP Media Center, which was already a good media platform. XP Media Center 2005 Edition crossed over the threshold of "good enough" to serve as a PVR instead of a TiVo or ReplayTV. I found it quite stable, though it still needs an antivirus subscription, and works best as a DVR when used almost exclusively for TV rather than combination work/TV/test box with all the software detrius left by constant loading/unloading of drivers and programs. Vista Home Premium or Ultimate is even more refined, with better graphics, transitions, and transparencies throughout. The main user interface screen for Media Center now forms a cross (up/down to switch media, left/right to move through options); this makes the various functions more accessible at the cost of some simplicity.

The OS as a whole has improved in many small but meaningful ways – networking and file management have gotten particularly useful overhauls. Overall, Vista looks and feels a lot more like a Mac, only without as much of a learning curve for people used to Windows XP*.

I had absolutely no problems with the upgrade process itself. Vista Upgrade Advisor said everything should work just fine other than a Dymo label printer which needs updated drivers. I can live without that for a while, so we were all set. I chose to wipe out all existing data and start fresh – I didn’t want any old software causing problems down the road. Still, Windows insisted on saving all the old files, moving them to a separate folder for safekeeping (figuring out how to delete them en masse – they were seriously clogging up the hard drive – was no picnic).

Now, the bad news. As an upgrade, on my machine at least, it’s quite buggy.

The first thing I noticed is that certain applications within Vista seem to remap the speakers. Quicken and some – not all – downloaded videos play the center channel sound through the left rear speaker. This is bizarre. Other applications play things just fine: Media Center, no problem. iTunes, no problem. Rhapsody, no problem. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the driver or the sound in Control Panel, and the applications that most need sound seemed to work, so I chalked it up to version 1.0 gremlins. Hopefully a future driver update will fix things down the road.

And then the real trouble started. The system would mysteriously, and consistently, crash. At first I thought it might have something to do with Rhapsody after all, as it was playing in the background during most crashes. Eventually I discovered what I suspect is the real problem: the Ribbons screen saver. About 20 minutes in, it takes down the whole system, even if its the only thing running on the PC. Well, it’s probably not the screensaver’s fault, but my video card. Running the diagnostics program within Vista tells me everything’s fine, but 20 minutes of that screen saver and crash. Every time. In its automated search for a solution to the problem, Windows has since told me that some part of my video card driver is incompatible with Vista, and that I should check for updates. I checked. Nothing new. However, with the screensaver off, the system has been completely stable. I suspect – hope! – that updated drivers for the video card will be released that solve the problem, not just avoid it.

Unfortunately, with the screen saver off, the system is stable long enough to go into sleep mode. That’s perfectly normal and saves power – and money – while hurting the environment a bit less. The problem is when it wakes up from sleep mode, most of the time my Logitech DiNovo keyboard and mouse just don’t work. Needless to say, this makes the whole system useless – you need a keyboard to type in a mandatory password to unlock Vista before you can run the Logitech software to reconnect things. At first, I thought that this might be a Bluetooth incompatibility – Logitech uses different Bluetooth drivers for Vista than it did on XP. But I checked, I’m using the correct drivers. No, it seems that this one is a known bug (KB 929577 "This problem may occur on a system that supports selective suspend if the computer goes to sleep shortly after the Bluetooth device’s power is cycled.") with a patch available. Great, they know about it, they have a fix available, I should be good to go. No such luck. The fix is not actually available for download yet. You can ask Microsoft to send it to you, but when I tried that using the online chat system, it got as far as telling me that there would be no charge to answer the question, and then… "An unknown application error occurred. Please try again in a few minutes." A few minutes, a few hours …has made no difference, I can’t even ask the question. Yes, I could try emailing or calling support on the phone (or calling Microsoft PR), but for now, I give up. I’ll email later, and in the meantime I’ve changed the power settings so that the computer never enters sleep mode.

These are just my experiences on my specific hardware. Generalizing from my experience is not necessarily fair to Microsoft, and I would not be concerned about buying a new PC with Vista preloaded (in fact, I plan to do that soon). Having said that, based on my experience, I cannot recommend upgrading an existing machine from XP to Vista at this time.

-avi

*Oh, I know I’m going to get flamed for this, so let me explain: I hadn’t used a Mac in about four years when Apple sent over a MacBook Pro running OS X a few months ago. No question about it, OS X is a wonderful OS, and Microsoft clearly spent a lot of time studying it when putting together Vista. But the Mac has different ways of doing things, different places where downloaded files are stored, and different user interface conventions. For example, when closing an application in Windows, it closes when you click on the "X." That same action in OS X seems to minimize it. Right click on something in XP or Vista, and you get a context-sensitive list of options. There’s a way of doing that on the Mac, too, just no second mouse button for it. Some of these are such seriously ingrained habits that it took me a while to figure out why I was confused. Anyone who wants to migrate from XP to OS X rather than Vista isn’t going to get an argument from me – please, Apple fanatics, I love you! I do! – but I would recommend that switchers buy a book or have a Mac user walk you through some of the basics.

Industry / PC Convergence

Apple TV Knocking off Cable?

January 29, 2007 - by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Alan Graham proposes that Apple’s Apple TV is aiming at the heart of the cable TV business model:

Is Apple Out to Kill Tivo? by ZDNet‘s Alan Graham — Yeah, I’m calling it. I think Apple (and others) are about to send Cable TV and Tivo a clear message…your time is almost up. The Web 2.0 world is about to kick the door in and escort the old methodology to pasture. And I think it is going to happen pretty quickly. Don’t let the […]

It’s well argued, and there’s no question that Apple TV is a TiVo competitor, but he’s wrong on the cable front, so his numbers just don’t add up. Alan’s most compelling argument is that cable TV + TiVo is considerably more expensive than simply buying the shows you’re interested in off of iTunes. However, this business model requires consumers to give up their cable TV, and that simply isn’t happening en masse. For starters, cable TV allows you to discover the shows worth buying in the first place. Cable TV allows you to watch live events, like sports, or the Academy Awards, SNL, moon landings, war/terrorism coverage, and murderers driving very slowly. There are plenty of other options for getting news, but sports events have deliberately limited distribution, and generally must be consumed live (watching a game 24 hours later is like reading yesterday’s newspaper. For some it is ‘reference material,’ for others, it’s the video equivalent of what you wrap fish with).

There are other advantages to having access to live (or only slightly time-shifted) content. Speaking as someone who watches a lot of TV via Netflix, the gap between watching something live on cable and watching it a day/month/year later kills the sense of community and continuity – you’re completely out of touch at the water cooler. I admit that being out of touch is not as big a deal as it used to be, given the fractured TV landscape (TiVo, TV-on-DVD, TV-online, TV-on-iTunes) and work environment (I work out of a home office where there is no "water cooler," unless you count Instant Messaging). But at least with TiVo — ReplayTV and XP Media Center in my house — you have the option of watching live. If you turn off cable, you’re at the mercy of whatever content Apple gets and when they get it.

Apple TV will be additive for most people, purchased in addition to cable. Yes, it could replace a TiVo or Netflix subscription (though both have uses that the iTV does not currently address). And perhaps it could replace extended cable packages (in my own household we downgraded to basic cable several years ago and filled in our entertainment gap with TV-on-DVD via Netflix). But to make Alan’s numbers work, you need to drop cable entirely… and that’s just not going to happen.

-avi

Accessories / Audio / PC Convergence

LIVEDigitally Posts Avi’s Holiday Gift Guide

December 22, 2006 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Yes, it’s been a long time since the last post here at Home Theater View, but that’s not because I haven’t been writing. My Last Minute Non-Obvious Holiday Gift Guide has just been posted over at LIVEDigitally.

As I write this, there is only one day left to Chanukah and a couple of shopping days before Christmas. I figure there’s no need for a last minute gift list with obvious entries. Let’s face it, if you didn’t already get an HDTV or MP3 player for your home theater and gadget-loving giftees, you don’t need me to tell you that you could get them a plasma or an iPod. So here is the:

Non-Obvious Last Minute 2006 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

Happy Holidays,

-avi

Audio / Industry / PC Convergence

Sonos Tries to Market “The Experience”

July 11, 2006 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Sonos has built a flash version of its music controller for online demos. It’s neat, and was probably worth the investment it took to build because the UI (depicted below) is a key part of the Sonos value proposition.

However, one of the more interesting pieces of feedback I received from my Sonos review was from people who wanted to know why Sonos was worth a price premium over simply sticking an iPod and a speaker dock in each room.

There are good answers to that question, but the experience is different, and that doesn’t come across in an answer – or a demo of the UI. The controller isn’t the experience. Having easily controlled music throughout your home is the experience, and, that may take an actual physical demonstration at someone’s home to generate the a-ha! moment Sonos needs.

-avi