Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

Originally posted by vansmack:
I don't use many Apple products (I will defer to Pollard on this one), but it sounds like moving the printer to the computer or purcahsing a new AirPort is the way to go for you. Unless you're willing to convert the songs to a non-protected format and refuse to purchase DRM music in the future, neither the TiVo nor the 360 will work for you.

The iPhone remote is really nice for one thing basically - controlling your music when you're not in the line of sight with your devices (since it works on wi-fi and not IR). Otherwise, I programmed my Harmony to do just about everything else it does (note: I don't use iTunes but to rip/organize and for iPods).

One downside to the AirPort is that you may lose the digital quality of your sound if you go 3.5mm stereo to RCA jacks. If you go this route and your stereo has digital sound capability, I'd pick up a cheap TOSLINK/Coaxial Digital adapter and make sure your sound is as clear as you can get it.

If you're bold and have some spare cash, I like the Mac Mini server idea that Pollard employs.

Yeah, I shouldn't be willing to accept DRM but, at this point I just do. I know I shouldn't.

I think I am just stuck with my options for now. This is one of those areas that will just keep changing.

I really want Pollard's Mac Mini server plan. I think that is what I really need to do, but for now I think its a bit out of the budget. The Apple TV would be more reasonable, but I have such a hard time justifying the cost of that when for almost double the price you can get a full fledged computer.

Originally posted by vansmack:
One downside to the AirPort is that you may lose the digital quality of your sound if you go 3.5mm stereo to RCA jacks. If you go this route and your stereo has digital sound capability, I'd pick up a cheap TOSLINK/Coaxial Digital adapter and make sure your sound is as clear as you can get it.

I didn't know about the TOSLINK thing until this pastweekend. I guess all the newish macbooks, and the airport express have standard headphone jacks, and that is all I ever thought they were. Then someone at the store told me about the TOSLINK thing. I had no idea you could use that port for an optical connection. I think that is pretty cool.

Originally posted by raebyddet:
Then someone at the store told me about the TOSLINK thing. I had no idea you could use that port for an optical connection. I think that is pretty cool.

As long as your stereo supports it:

3.5 Stereo connector to TOSLINK adapter

One of the main reasons why I use the 360 is TOSLINK to TOSLINK. I rip my DVDs in 5.1 Dolby and the 360 plays them beautifully.

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by raebyddet:
Then someone at the store told me about the TOSLINK thing. I had no idea you could use that port for an optical connection. I think that is pretty cool.

As long as your stereo supports it:

3.5 Stereo connector to TOSLINK adapter

One of the main reasons why I use the 360 is TOSLINK to TOSLINK. I rip my DVDs in 5.1 Dolby and the 360 plays them beautifully.

Yeah my 360 is connected that way as well. I just use the 360 for playing dvd's now, no need for an additional player.

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
has anybody tried streaming netflix on demand movies through their xbox?

This may surprise you, but I don't have a Vista Machine at home. It's not because I think it's inferior, but I've tried to spread out my processing power and have started to purchase less powerful computers in an attempt to utilize my other more powerful devices.

As soon as I can stream Netflix to the 360 without having to run an extra computer, I'm all for it.

But Microsoft thinking that I have to turn on a computer to stream to the 360 is a complete waste of resources. The 360 is more than powerful enough to decode the Netflix movie file on it's own.

Originally posted by raebyddet:
I didn't know about the TOSLINK thing until this pastweekend. I guess all the newish macbooks, and the airport express have standard headphone jacks, and that is all I ever thought they were. Then someone at the store told me about the TOSLINK thing. I had no idea you could use that port for an optical connection. I think that is pretty cool.

the TOSLINK is what I use to get audio from the mac mini to my stereo, the adapters are super cheap, I am sure you have a spare optical cable laying around

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
has anybody tried streaming netflix on demand movies through their xbox?

This may surprise you, but I don't have a Vista Machine at home. It's not because I think it's inferior, but I've tried to spread out my processing power and have started to purchase less powerful computers in an attempt to utilize my other more powerful devices.

As soon as I can stream Netflix to the 360 without having to run an extra computer, I'm all for it.

But Microsoft thinking that I have to turn on a computer to stream to the 360 is a complete waste of resources. The 360 is more than powerful enough to decode the Netflix movie file on it's own.

I keep waiting for this. I don't really want to spend $100 on the roku player if the xbox is going to do this, there really is no reason that it can't.

Originally posted by pdx pollard:

Originally posted by raebyddet:
I didn't know about the TOSLINK thing until this pastweekend. I guess all the newish macbooks, and the airport express have standard headphone jacks, and that is all I ever thought they were. Then someone at the store told me about the TOSLINK thing. I had no idea you could use that port for an optical connection. I think that is pretty cool.

the TOSLINK is what I use to get audio from the mac mini to my stereo, the adapters are super cheap, I am sure you have a spare optical cable laying around

I think I do have an extra optical cable around. I will have to check this weekend.

DIGITAL REVOLUTION: No way I could ever work all that!

Hey Smackie, youâ??ve thoroughly confused me, bored the hell out of me, but you promised one thing â?? that Smackette would be able to use it, and I just donâ??t see how.

Thatâ??s where the Harmony Remote comes in. One of the dorky tech web sites I belong to has a thread dedicated to Amazonâ??s gadget sales. I rarely check it, but one day there was a lot of action. Curiosity got the best of me.

Amazon was selling the Harmony 767 for $50. $50 for a remote, you must be crazy! Well, it normally sells for $149, and I was at my wits end.

When you get married, after that pile of dirty clothes next to your bed, the second thing to go is your collection of remotes on the coffee table. I had tried everything to get a good inexpensive universal remote. Jp1, learning remotes, all of it. Well, nothing ever did all of it. Until I bought a Harmony. I knew I was going to take some shit for it, but when it arrived, I promised Smackette â?? if this doesnâ??t replace all of our remotes and make our system more than usable, Iâ??ll get us a house cleaner. Deal. She lost.

Itâ??s not that it controls all of your devices (it does), but the strength of the Harmony is the one touch button to perform functions in your system. Want to watch a DVD? Smackette presses the DVD button and (1) the TV turns on (2) goes to the proper input and (3) the DVD player turns on (I even set it to eject the tray). The buttons on the remote control the DVD player and the volume controls the TV, without hitting any extra buttons. Want to watch a DVD in stereo, thereâ??s a button for that. Same as above except the stereo turns on as well, goes to the proper input and the volume buttons now controls the stereo. Sheâ??s even made her own requests â?? I want the iPod dock to be the music button since we donâ??t use CDs any more â?? no prob. It has iPod, Media Center, Xbox, DVR functionality â?? hell you can dim the lights and turn off the fan with it. The web interface makes all of these macros easy to set up and it remembers everything. I have nearly a dozen different functions pre-programmed for one button functionality.

Keep your eye out for another sale. Youâ??ll love yourself for it, but so will everyone else in the household.

This revolution is as much about simple storage as it is about finding a simple interface.

I have the harmony 520 and love it, just wish it had Blu Ray so it could work with the Wii and the PS3 as well. What extra features does yours have over mine?

are you a human being . . . or rather like one of those typing robots with detachable fingers, from "ghost in the shell"?

I have the Harmony 688, I couldn't use my setup with out it. I don't think they make this version any longer. I think I got this right before or right after Logitech purchased Harmony. It was one of the remotes that was designed to work with Tivo. Its great.

there was a buzz in feb that netflix was going to start streaming via xbox360 and ps3. there was a bit of teaser provided by netflix in one of their online surveys.

personally, with amazon, lala, rhapsody, emusic and many other selling DRM free better quality and often checker MP3s… why anyone would use iTMS as their primary source for digital content. most of them even provide downloader software that will place the files directly into the iTunes library.

Originally posted by kosmo:
personally, with amazon, lala, rhapsody, emusic and many other selling DRM free better quality and often checker MP3s… why anyone would use iTMS as their primary source for digital content. most of them even provide downloader software that will place the files directly into the iTunes library.

Isn't amazon the only one that you don't have to have a subscription to though?

I'm not a fan of subscription services, I only want to pay for what I use and I only want to pay when I want it.

And yes Amazon does sell DRM free songs, and to a lesser extent Apple does as well (although I am not sure how true that is anymore, I know Apple started the DRM free thing as well, I'm just not sure how the two compare these days).

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
I have the harmony 520 and love it, just wish it had Blu Ray so it could work with the Wii and the PS3 as well. What extra features does yours have over mine?

Can someone explain to me how much better Blue Ray is than a regular DVD player using a HDTV? Keep in mind I'm no movie buff but watch one now and again on a Sunday evening if there's nothing better to do.

Originally posted by raebyddet:

Originally posted by kosmo:
personally, with amazon, lala, rhapsody, emusic and many other selling DRM free better quality and often checker MP3s… why anyone would use iTMS as their primary source for digital content. most of them even provide downloader software that will place the files directly into the iTunes library.

Isn't amazon the only one that you don't have to have a subscription to though?

I'm not a fan of subscription services, I only want to pay for what I use and I only want to pay when I want it.

And yes Amazon does sell DRM free songs, and to a lesser extent Apple does as well (although I am not sure how true that is anymore, I know Apple started the DRM free thing as well, I'm just not sure how the two compare these days).

of those mentioned eMusic is the only subscription based model for the purchase of MP3s…

Originally posted by Ever Circling Skeletal Family:
Can someone explain to me how much better Blue Ray is than a regular DVD player using a HDTV? Keep in mind I'm no movie buff but watch one now and again on a Sunday evening if there's nothing better to do.

what I actually meant to say was one with Blue Tooth, not Blue Ray, as for Blue Ray vs DVD I dont think the difference is that great

Originally posted by pdx pollard:

Originally posted by Ever Circling Skeletal Family:
Can someone explain to me how much better Blue Ray is than a regular DVD player using a HDTV? Keep in mind I'm no movie buff but watch one now and again on a Sunday evening if there's nothing better to do.

what I actually meant to say was one with Blue Tooth, not Blue Ray, as for Blue Ray vs DVD I dont think the difference is that great

Thank you….I'll keep my money in my wallet then.

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
I have the harmony 520… What extra features does yours have over mine?

Doesn't look like much except for colored one touch activity buttons across the top dedicated to "Watch TV", "Watch Movie", and "Listen to Music" in addition to the screen that you would use to the same.

DIGITAL REVOLUTION: If only money fell from treesâ?¦

Easy for you to build, Smackie, but Iâ??m still working my up the management structure of that non-profit I work for. I wonâ??t give up my beliefs just to join your Digital Revolution!

Good for you and neither did I.

Iâ??ll even assume I didnâ??t get the 360 as a giftâ?¦

HOME SERVER: $400

But that was a bit of a stretch to build my own, so letâ??s say $550 for the HP Pre-Build model.

XBOX 360: $350

Since I use it in this case primarily as a media extender, here are other more inexpensive options for non-gamers:
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• &lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda"&gt;Linksys DMA2100 - $250&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
• &lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda"&gt;D-Link - $275&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
• &lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda"&gt;HP MediaSmart Connect - $315&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

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GIGABIT SWITCH: DLink DGS-2208 - $20

If you want to go wireless, you can get a combined Gig Switch and N router for ~$50.

REMOTE: Harmony 767 - $50

Buy all your cables and adapters from monoprice, no more than $30.

So what are we talking about? I spent $470 ($625 really if you count my ISP change, but most wonâ??t have to do that) to organize all of my music, photos and movies in one location, provide solid backup of my collection, have access to it in any room in the house from a range of devices, provide a personal web site where I can access it at work, on the road, on vacation, anywhere I want, and made it easy for Smackette to use (if only MS would play along I could make it REALLY easy for Smackette to use), but starting from nothing, you could do the same for about $900.

Now look at that CD collection over there collecting dust. When was the last time you took something off the shelf to listen to? Sure Iâ??ve put lots of CDs on top of the pile, but I hadnâ??t pulled a CD off in months. I sold off a large portion of my CD collection for $1100, mostly 90â??s crap that I rarely listened to (hell, you saw that list) and still have money to play with (remember that Flash based mini-laptop I wantâ?¦just waiting. It will be perfect to log into the server). And when I done ripping the DVD collection, thatâ??s next to be sold off. I wonder what Iâ??ll buy with that?