Now (or at some point, at least) It's Gonna Get Serious

... of course it will be in a fun & geeked out way. We now have two multimedia powerhouses connected to our "Home Theater," in the TiVo HD and XBOX 360, with the capability to add back the HTPC at some point as well. Both devices can stream audio and video from the our network and the internet. I'm determined to find some cool stuff to do with them.

I've been watching NAS (Network Attached Storage) trends for a long time, and there are some very compelling devices out there that are friendly to both the XBOX and TiVo, which can feed them with pictures, audio, and video. We've got lots of pictures and music already, and could conceivably be downloading TV content (instead of paying the cable company so we can record it on the TiVo) from the web.

As home networking options gain new features and speed, we'll be looking for the proper direction to go to replace our router and add a NAS box of some sort. Our current router, as steadfast and trusty as it may be, can be overwhelmed at times by the number of bandwidth hogs currently connected to it. We will need to step up to Gigabit speeds to make it through all the cross-streaming mess, and a finalized high-speed wireless standard would be nice as well. Using a stand-alone NAS should bring power savings over simply running an HTPC all the time, and keep the overall packaging smaller and easier to handle.

After reading an article on CNET about a family who dropped their satellite TV to save money, we're going to be examining some similar options. Most of the TV we watch that isn't broadcast over the airwaves is available for download or streaming. The first trick is determining what we can receive with a terrestrial antenna. If we can kick Comcast cable TV to the curb, we'll be golden!

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X Barks The Spot!

I'll be the first to admit it. In terms of game consoles, our household has been living in the dark ages. We've had the same Nintendo Gamecube since before either of our children were born. We've been mulling over what to do about it for quite some time, but the options had been somewhat daunting for most of that time. Some consoles had cooling or noise problems, some consoles had only "family" games, etc. After lots of deliberation and putting off the purchase, we took my brother-in-law's advice (Thanks, Brandon!) and bought an XBOX 360.

I had been thinking for some time about the optimal way to add the 360 to our home theater, considering the way things had been connected and set up before. I really wanted to use the HDMI output for the video, rather than using the questionable component cable supplied with the 360, but because our TV doesn't pass through the audio data from HDMI we needed to still have a separate audio connection to the reciever. One solution I had come up with previously was to use seperate HDMI switch, but I have only found a few that I was interested in, and those didn't seem to last long. My idea was to have a 4 or 5 port HDMI switch, with SPDIF or TOSLINK connections to handle all the source switching. Our TV has to toggle through the first HDMI input to access the second input when selecting by remote control, so using more than one digital input on the TV can be a bit of a hassle, hence the search for the outboard switch. Unfortunately it seems rather hard to find one that is both well recommended and less than $100.

The simplest idea for now, was to just replace the DVD player with the XBOX. This kept the console in an area of the TV stand that was open from both the front and back (for better cooling), and made for easier game swapping as well. There was one little problem preventing us from using the same HDMI and TOSLINK cables from the DVD player, which would seem to have been done on purpose by the XBOX 360 designers. The A/V connectors on the back of the 360 were too close together, not allowing the simultaneous use of the HDMI port and the multi-purpose A/V pod that came with our unit. The huge plug on the A/V pod was almost completely blocking the HDMI jack. Luckily the internet came to our rescue. Microsoft offers a $50 solution to this problem, in the form of an HDMI cable kit which has an A/V pod of reduced size (offering only audio connections) and the requisite HDMI cable. From the state of current HDMI cable price gouging, this might not be such a bad deal, but as a customer of Monoprice, I'm not about to settle for that kind of robbery. I found a number of "tutorials" for getting around this small problem. Simply removing the plastic casing from the plug of the A/V pod made enough room for both connections, and we were in business.

The next task was to program the universal remote control. Okay, maybe I should stop here. This was actually done before the I figured out how to get the HDMI connection going on the 360, but for the purposes of our story we are going to pretend that this was done afterward, K? Our remote control, while definitely not glamorous, is a very versatile beast once you have found the right software tools for manipulating it. It is a LONG throw from any Logitech Harmony, but it gets the job done very nicely, thanks. While it has no recharging stand, the batteries last for many months on end with no problem. I've programmed upgrades into it for the TV, TiVo, receiver, old DVD player, and now the XBOX 360, so that we have a 3rd way to control the console (remember that we want to watch DVDs on it, too?) for when a game controller doesn't seem quite right. While this remote control is much older than all of these devices, there are many avid fans who have spent hours of hard work on the programming tools for these remotes, so I could spend $35 a few years ago on the remote and programming cable and not need another remote for a LONG time. Just as with a Harmony, our remote is set up for task based usage, giving you access to the controls you need for the particular media you are enjoying. No, it doesn't have a battery-eating LCD screen, but it still works great and keeps things simple.

Another interesting highlight of getting the new "DVD player" has been Allie's inquisitive side turning its attention to the XBOX. After a friend of hers recommended we get an extra cooling unit for it, and us discussing it at length, she took off and found out which exact components our 360 was built with, any known weaknesses associated with it, and what we needed to look out for in general. I would normally get around to these things, but it was nice to be beaten to the punch. She's pretty awesome that way, when it comes to things she has taken an interest in. It turns out ours is not in very great danger of succumbing to overheating issues.

Today marks the first full day the kids will be able to spend with the XBOX, after Allison and I had it to ourselves for almost a week. I'm glad we didn't have them under foot for the first few days, so we could have a chance to get it all figured out for ourselves. I still have some tweaking to do with the remote control, but other than that, it all works great!!!

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Comcast DVR Kicked to the Curb. TiVo HD has arrived!!

It was inevitable, really. We were trying to hold out as long as possible, but our Comcast supplied DVR finally had to go. It had been generally misbehaving on a regular basis for a long time, taking way too long to respond to commands from the remote control. After blatantly missing an American Idol episode, we knew it's time was up. I called Comcast and the person I spoke to was very sympathetic and suggested I take the DVR directly to the local office to get the trade-in faster. After hanging up the phone (how much longer will that phrase be used?), it was decided that we would replace the malfunctioning box in two days.

On that day, I had an idea. There had been some sales on TiVo HDs of late at our local mini-sized Best Buys. Why not pick up a CableCARD or two instead of a replacement DVR (which still won't be able to keep from recording the same episodes of A Daily Show with John Stewart and The Colbert Report 4 times a day!!) and buy a TiVo to solve our DVR problems?

So we got our second Tivo.

And we love it, just like we did our first one before we lost reception on our DirecTiVo.

We are still breaking ourselves in, trying to get the accustomed to the new features, but it really is nice. Thanks, TiVo. It's good to be home!

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Settling in for the show

The ongoing adventure to find the home theater products most suitable for my home & family has come to a happy ending. There will be a few updates on this topic in the future, but the supporting cast has been set in stone for the most part, and will hopefully provide many years of happy viewing. The future of this blog lies will most likely lie in the path of discussion of replacements for our DVD player and DVR.

We are waiting for any definitive information on the forthcoming Series 3 Tivo units. I don’t want to have to pay for it, but it seems to be the best option available if we want to be able to keep up with the next seasons of our favorite shows. I hope it arrives soon, and that somebody comes up with a way for it, via firewire interface, to control my favorite DVD device: the Sony VGP-XL1B2. He have no plans currently to do anything about HD DVD or Blu-Ray discs, as there is still no unified solution and none of the current options offer enough of an appreciable improvement over our cheap upconverting DVD player.

Tune in every month or half-year for updates! ;^)

It All Falls Together

All of the equipment and associated hardware are here. Most everything that can be is set up on or in the TV stand has been. Here’s the list of equipment, starting from the top:

Television: JVC HD61FH96 $3200
DVD Player: Samsung HD850 $150
Amplifier: Pioneer VSX-815-S $250
DVR: Motorola DCT6412 (Comcast Cable service with Microsoft Software) $10/mo.
Front Speakers/Subwoofer: KLH MP06HT $80
Rear Speakers: Pioneer XW-HT1 $90
TV Stand: South Shore Furniture City Life Classic $215
DVD Storage: Atlantic Oskar Multimedia Storage System $90
Primary Remote Control: URC-8811 $25
Backup Remote Control: URC-6131n $14

All I can say is WOW!!! It has certainly been worth the wait. I love the fact that we were able to build such a great home theater for relatively little money. We’ve been waiting FOREVER for the TV stand to arrive and everything just fits together great now. While I know that the up-conversion process done by the Samsung is not the best possible, it still looks damn fine, and I’m not sure I’ve ever sat and watched cable TV (in this case Discovery HD) for this long without even caring what I was watching. I have always tried not to be too overt of a snooty bastard because I know everyone has their own combination of finance/comfort level & A/V knowledge. Unfortunately, what we have here is a great way to start feeling uncomfortable with sub-par material. Each component has the ability to transparently pass hidden nastiness on to the audience. There are very few shows I can stand to watch in standard definition any more, let alone “zoomed in” to fill the screen. Some of the animated shows are alright, but there are others that already look borderline bad. Two of my favorite shows: The Daily Show with John Stewart, and The Colbert Report can be painful to watch. These shows look like crap on our TV, but the humor (and truthiness) keeps me coming back. We had some friends over a few nights back and someone wanted to watch the Mariners game on Fox Sports. I barely remembered where that channel was, and then immediately regretted it. The picture was just not right. On the other hand, I can honestly say you haven’t lived until you have watched sports in HD. The NBA playoffs, The World Cup, and Baseball on INHD are gorgeous and I never tire of them. From what I’ve heard, we are lucky to have a “local” TV station that broadcasts their news in HD. How come they don’t all do it yet?

While I’m complaining, I need to let TNT-HD have it. They usually have something good on, but you can’t always to tell what you will be getting. Sometimes the movie or TV show are in genuine Hi-Def, and it is wonderful indeed. The bad part is what happens when they don’t get to show a movie in it’s widescreen form. They have to do the same trick my TV does to fill the 16:9 screen with a narrow 4:3 image. While I will say that they do a visibly better job than my TV can (not that it is bad by any means) at stretching the image. What I don’t like is that when they do it, I can’t undo the distortion they add when they stretch the picture. Further, their show listings all say they are in HD, when clearly they are not. I don’t know if anyone else has seen this, but there have been numerous occasions when watching Alias where the voices (and probably everything else) are audibly lower in frequency than they should be. This can get rather distracting. I hope they can get all this fixed. :^)

Anyway, I’ve got links and lots of humble advice for anyone needing help finding the right equipment for their own home theater. I stand by all of the components we have, but know there are others that can be a better fit for other folks. My TV decision was a combination of upkeep price ($200 replacement bulbs really is GOOD), ability to match with a really nice (but still CHEAP) TV stand, and my wife’s desire for “the best picture we can get”. I think we did a good job.

The Fog Gently Cloudifies

Indecisions, indecisions! The fun bit about not having taken the big bite and actually bought the “dream TV”, is that I don’t have to regret any glaring weaknesses for that particular product… On the other hand, I also don’t get to enjoy the glaring glory of my “dream TV” either!

My latest reason not to get the big rear projection flat screen: processing delay. Many DVR victims are familiar with those instances when the sound and picture don’t sync up and while you can’t always tell which of the two is lagging the other, you can tell that something just isn’t right. This problem can be turned into a constant time warp by new HDTVs by way of too much video processing taking too long to put the finished pictures on the screen, thus the processing delay. Most decent Audio/Video Receivers perform some amount of processing and also incorporate delays to account for different speaker distances. Audio processing is pretty much cake compared to some video processing at this point. With the newest TVs displaying images at 1920x1080 (progressive “scan”) and most programming being presented in (some number)x480 (interlaced), there are a lot of picture to be pulled out of nowhere so it can look it’s best on the big screen. It’s no wonder the TV picture lags a little. There’s so many techniques involved, and many of them done on top of each other, that I am left rather amazed at what we are asking these magical machines to do. Some folks use a device which delays the audio before it gets to the receiver. I don't want to add this complication, or spend extra money to fix a "feature" of the TV I already spent so much on. Here's the one my wife won't like: it'll make video games suck.

My solution? Find the TVs that don’t have too many people complaining about sync problems, then feed it only 1080i signals so that the biggest job, short of minor picture tweaks, is to de-interlace the signal. This will require source devices that can supply video signals that are pre-scaled to 1080i. I’ve got the temporary measures in place. Our DVD player is a Samsung HD850, which is MUCH better than the 1st generation JVC player we had previously. It has what I’ve heard is an acceptable HDMI output, which is the key to making current DVD’s sing visually. The other temporary measure is the Comcast provided Motorola 6412 DVR. This one has a DVI output, and I have cables for each one to connect to the two HDMI inputs on whichever TV we get.

In near future, these boxes will be replaced by more capable hardware. The ideal machine would be a series 3 Tivo, and some sort of universal Blue-Ray/HD-DVD transport/changer. Even better: Have the Tivo control the disc player. There is a Sony media PC that comes with a similar 200 DVD transport/changer, which is connected via Fire wire to the PC. Can someone say Linux drivers? That shouldn’t be too hard right? I know. I shouldn’t be dreaming so much when I can’t even pick out the right TV.

Long story shortened, I am thinking about the one of the JVC models at this point now. DLP has too many moving parts and seems expensive to keep up (replacement lamps), so LCOS looks really good, but Sony has too much processing delay for its wonderful picture. JVC looks good, has cheap lamps, and doesn’t seem to induce too much processing delay.

Of course you know, the 2006 models are just around the corner. I’ll keep wiping the drool off my chin and tell you when I need another towel.

Under-Appreciated Audio

I’m feeling the need to express my feelings for the under-appreciated audio components used in our home theater. This would mostly mean the speakers (which I will get to later), but credit is also deserved for our receiver, a Pioneer VSX-815S.

For the price (we got ours a grand total of $255), I don’t think you can find any better unless you already have the necessary equipment to accurately set up the EQ / crossover / time-alignment for your system. I didn’t have anything but my own ears, and I didn’t want to leave it to them alone if some certain persons of small stature were to inadvertently press the wrong buttons. I won’t go on much longer about the receiver, as it has already gotten much credit and has a bit of a following in the Bang-For-The-Buck camp. Let’s just say that it is Very Flexible, with assignable component video and digital audio inputs, and line outputs to mirror each amplified speaker output. Add decent power output and choice of manual or automatic calibration, and this is an amazing deal. Really. If you don’t have a home theater receiver, or (like me) have an older model with no digital audio capabilities, this is a great way to get your foot in the door. One misnomer I have read a number of times is that this receiver comes with a learning remote control. It doesn’t. It does have a preprogrammed remote which can be set up to control a variety of components. I’ll tell you right now that I don’t enjoy using it. It provides access to virtually every function possible, but that also complicates it beyond my desire to hold it in my hand. Get a good aftermarket universal remote for everyday use. Because I’m cheap, I have to recommend a UEI (One-For-All & Radio Shack) non-kameleon model. To get an idea of what these remotes can do, run on over to www.hifi-remote.com.

On to the speakers! While our home theater speakers don’t have some remarkable pedigree, they perform wonderfully well for our living room layout. We have a mix of speakers from Pioneer and KLH.

The Pioneer XW-HT1 wireless speaker system is a nice little package consisting of a processor/transmitter and an amplifier/speaker cabinet. The processor features Circle Surround from SRS, and has 3 modes for each of its two inputs. I leave ours on all the time, set to Wide Stereo, and feed it the line outputs from the back surround channels of our receiver. It also has a subwoofer output which can be used if you need more low frequency response. Audibly speaking, this system isn’t much by itself, but I’m lazy enough about running speaker wires that this was worth it, especially when our receiver has the required line outputs. This system is more ideally suited for folks with just a TV and DVD player, as its processing can be used to generate rear-channel information all by itself. The one fun bit about using these speakers is that, like so many other consumer electronics, it uses the 2.4GHz band. Thus it is possible to produce audible effects from the speakers by way of interference. It was fun to juggle frequencies to get our cordless phones, wireless network, and wireless speakers to all get along without stepping on each other’s toes. It’s more fun when my neighbors also have wireless devices. A few months back we started hearing some strange clicks coming from the speakers and found that somebody had set up a network access point using a conflicting frequency. Don’t tell anyone, but I checked out their setup from my laptop and found that they hadn’t enabled any encryption or security settings on their system, nor had they changed the default factory password. I took it upon myself to change the channel they were using to something less obvious to my speakers. I don’t think they will know or care.

Our main speakers are a set of KLH MP06HTs. KLH does not go out of their way to advertise themselves, but they have quite a following, and are known for producing high-quality products. This set literally came with everything you need: Subwoofer, five matched speakers, wires, mounting brackets, and wall hardware. Right now we are only using 3 of the 5 sats, but it is comforting to know that our 7.1 channel receiver is ready to make use of the two spare speaker should we so desire to use them. While these speakers can be had for a very low price, don’t be fooled. They are very well constructed and have gold-plated 5-way binding posts that can accept huge wires.

All of these components work very well together and should easily meet the requirements of most budgets. I still consider myself lucky to have found them all, and then to have found great deals when purchasing them. They look great and, more importantly, sound phenomenal. Everyone has their favorites, but if you are in the market you really should check them out!

Does This Work?

This is my first attempt at emailing a post to the old Blogstead. I'm trying to see if this will make it any easier to format text.

And the Winner Is:

For now, The Plan is to buy the Toshiba 62HM195. I decided that a VGA input is not going to be a determining factor for family entertainment "needs". This decision has been reached through a long drawn out process that started just before our trip to Ohio. We stopped by our local Magnolia Audio Video on our way to SeaTac. There were more 1080P sets there than I have seen anywhere else. Allison was blown away by the picture, finally able to appreciate the clarity these machines can deliver. They had models from Samsung, Mitsubishi, and Sony, and we definitely enjoyed them all. The fun part for me was seeing Allison's look of glee when presented with the idea that we will have a picture looking that good in our own living room.

The amazing thing about it was that my wife said 56 inches was going to be too small. She wanted us to move up another notch in size. That caught me by surprise. She has often been critical of folks getting a TV too big for their viewing area. I was careful not to go for the 60" sets for that reason. I figured they would still be alright, but wanted to pick a safer size range. With the added size we have to watch a little more closely for the correct size of stand. The nice thing about the Toshiba models is that they come with IR transmitters to allow you to control devices which are hidden away. This opens up the options for TV stands even more. We can potentially hide everything but the TV away, out of sight, and away from prying eyes and fingers. I don't see how it can get any better than that. I'll let you know about the cabinets when I can.

And the Finalists are...

• HP Pavilion MD5880n
• Samsung HL-R5078W
• JVC HD-56FH96
• Samsung HL-R5668W
• Mitsubishi WD-52627
• Samsung HL-R5678W
• Mitsubishi WD-52628
• Samsung HL-R5688W
• Toshiba 56HM195
• Sony KDSR50XBR1
• Toshiba 56MX195
  

These are the televisions my family has to choose from. The price leader is the Toshiba 56HM195, which can be had for less than $2500 after shipping. My favorites were the HP, JVC, and Sony, until I had the opportunity to compare a Toshiba (not sure which one) to the JVC and Sony side by side. The Sony has fallen out of favor after realizing that the picture was getting washed out by a slight reflection from the overcast day outside. Neither the Toshiba or JVC had a problem overcoming the diminished outdoor reflection.

The best part about all of this is that while I'm waiting for the proper time to make the purchase, and balancing the pros and cons of various stands for the winner, I get to hear all about why each particular TV carried by each local store is so much more superior than the rest by the local misguided salesfolk. I had a guy at BestBuy try to tell me that his Sony was the only true 1080p set available on the market right now. What a laugh! There are about 4 different ways to interpret that, and in no case is it true. True, the DLP sets (all but the JVC and Sony) use "wobulation" to double the number of pixels, but after that, they all natively display 1080p from any material you can send to them. Every one that has a VGA input can display 1920x1080 from a computer's video card. The standout for the moment is the HP. It can accept a 1080p signal via the HDMI inputs. I honestly don't care if any of them can display a 1080p signal. I want the best looking 1080i picture I can find, and native 1080p is the best option for that right now. I realize that these sets are not the only choices, but they are the best fits for my size/weight/brightness/contrast/cost requirements.

Ads & Minuses

I noticed that I have the option of adding an Adsense advertisement to this blog, so I did. I'm sure I'll make lots of money from it, as I get so much traffic I can't keep up with even half of the responses I get.

I'll make this a little more interesting (to some people) soon when I start discussing the televisions and stands currently competing for a prime location in our living room. More to come soon!

Home Theater Shopping...

Ever since my wonderful, movie-fanatic, lovely, electronics-friendly, awesome wife told me she thought we should get a nice HDTV and new home theater components, I've been running around like crazy trying to find out how to get the most bang for my buck. What the heck is happening here?

We are pretty much replacing everything. About the only thing that might be reused is my old 8" powered sub which resides in the back of our current A/V nook under the stairs. I don't remember the brand. I got it for $40 from Onsale.com about 7 years ago, to complement my soon to be replaced equipment. It has all aged well, with the possible exception of our DVD player that we had to get when my wife-to-be tried to give me some line about how she thought it would be easier to watch DVDs by using a DVD player rather than my highly customized, but not easy to use computer. We got a JVC DVD player, and it has had little hiccups every once in a while, but not bad until we got our latest DVD, Madagascar. That moved up the replacement date for the DVD player as well.

So as of now, we are watching the new DVD player (Samsung DVD-HD850), and we have ordered the receiver (Pioneer VSX-815S), a set of speakers home theater speakers (KLH MP06HT), and a wireless rear speaker contraption (Pioneer XW-HT1) so we don't have to run wires too far, because I am rather lazy like that.

All we have to worry about in a few months will be the TV and stand. I'm looking at any 1080p RPTV and an appropriately nice stand to hold four components. Within a year, I hope to be rid of the "Evil Comcast STB" and back in the welcoming arms of a cable card ready TIVO, or some other PC-based HD PVR.