Streaming from WHS to Xbox

Here are some tips:

http://forum.wegotserved.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4436

Upgrading an Xbox 360 HD

Thinking about upgrading an xbox hd. Sounds like a neat project, but I don't know that it's worth the time

http://rrodcure.blogspot.com/2008/09/upgrade-your-xbox-360-hard-drive-on.html

Batch encoding from .Tivo to WMV

I am trying to batch encode some .Tivo files for kids programing. I convert to WMV since my Zune, Media Center and Xbox 360 can read those files easily.

Here are 2 programs I am trying out:

Any Video Converter
I found that this program only converts files to MP4 so it's not ideal.
http://www.aplusfreeware.com/categories/Audio-Video/AnyVideoConverter.html

AutoMKV
I've used AutoMKV before, but don't like it because in Vista you need to turn off DEP protection.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=134478

Here is how you disable DEP
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/1261/vista_disable_dep_noexecute_protection_fix_explorer_crashing/

Ooma on sale

Ooma is on sale at Amazon.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/844788

Here is what I wrote on FatWallet:

I've had Ooma since May and think it's great. I replaced a Packet 8 line that got to $30 / month with taxes. The Ooma has better voice quality than the Packet 8 line and on par with a regular line. The international call quality has been phenomenal. I actually really liked the Packet 8 service and thought its call quality was far better than Vonage. It's just that after the phone companies started making them pay all the taxes (e911, etc) the value proposition got weaker. I questioned whether Ooma would stay in business (I still do), but I figured it really only had to stay around 6 months for me to make up the price difference. I would just compare your current options to see if the risk is worthwhile. Ooma could become a paper weight, but not really a very expensive one when you consider what you will get while you are using it. I may get one of these for my parents.

Samsung Omnia Review

CNet has a good review of the Samsung Omnia. It's more favorable than the Storm. I still like the keyboard in the Touch, but this is tempting.

http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-omnia-verizon-wireless/4505-6452_7-33399472.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

Here is the Howard Forum thread

http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1464513

Home Server Show

I just picked up a Windows Home Server with this deal:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/878722?highlight_key=y&keyword1=home+server

This is a good related podcast if you are interested:

http://homeservershow.com/

I picked up the podcast via the Media Center Podcast:

http://thedigitallifestyle.com/cs/

Tivo Mobile Site launched

Tivo just launched their mobile site. It seems to work great so far.

m.tivo.com

New Verizon Smartphones

There are now three very exciting Verizon smartphones. Considering they are such a lagard it's pretty exciting.

1. Blackberry Storm

2. HTC Touch Pro

3. Samsung Omnia

http://www.samsungmobileusa.com/Omnia.aspx?DFA=1

The Samsung is the one I am most curious about.

Free tethering for Windows Mobile

This post says that there is free tethering for Windows Mobile. I'm not sure if I'll do it because I don't want to get kicked off of Verizon. I still think that it is the best network.

http://www.shahine.com/omar/InternetConnectionSharingForBlackjackII.aspx

http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1290859

NIM 100s for fast MOCA networking

If anyone is looking for fast home networking I highly recommend picking up a pair of NIM100s from eBay. If you have coax throughout your house this is much faster than any type of wireless or powerline. There are some good threads here:

Tivo Community

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=379206&highlight=NIM100

http://lemmingreviews.blogspot.com/search/label/NIM100

Here are some more details

I've been using my Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender for about a year now and had very similar frustrations. When my house was built, it was wired for ethernet in every room. Unfortunately, the developers decided to put the phone and network lines away from the coax lines. I guess this made sense at the time, but given the amount of convergence, I really wish they would have put the network jacks near the TV. So I was left in a situation where I had network access about 10 feet from the TV. I ran a wireless G bridge for a while and it worked to a point. I use my MediaCenter to streamHDTV content and as a DVD server using MyMovies. When a lot of stuff was going on I would get a "Network Congestion" message. The response would also be sluggish at time. I considered using N or A, but to
get the most benefit you need to use the 5GHZ band. I had already bought a cordless phone system on the 5GHZ band so that I wouldn't interfere with my 2.4GH network! I tried using Netgear powerline adapters, but it was actually significantly worse than Wireless G.

My solution finally came in the form of MOCA. I had heard about the technology through your show and others, but had not actually seen it in a product. Evidently Verizon is using the technology to deploy Fios. They started using a box from Motorolla called the NIM-100. My understanding is that they are no longer using the box, because the technology is now built into the set-top boxes. I bought two NIM-100s from eBay for about $100. They work fantastic! The speed is off the charts, and I have no more issues. The set-up is completely plug and play. The only downside is that there is no support for these things other than what you can find on the Internet. Also, they run pretty hot, which doesn't matter much to me but could be an issue for some. 

Protecting your keyboard from your toddler

I plan on taking my laptop on a flight with my toddler. I want to show her movies on the plane but she has a nasty habit of banging on the keyboard. So I have been looking for a utility to disable the keyboard while a movie is playing. 

I tried the following utilities:

ToddlerKeys- This utility is perfect, but it looks like it does not work in Vista

ChildProof- I couldn't get this to work. 

The program that eventually ended up working is

Kid Key Lock

http://www.100dof.com/kidkeylock.html

This program works perfectly!

Purpose of this blog

The purpose of this blog is to post all the random interesting things I find of use. Hopefully you will find something interesting.