Intel's Core i7 = The New Fast. Simplify Media streams audio better. Dump Cable for the Internet? Better Search for Windows. DVI-D vs. DVI-I.
No, matter what you see in this cartoon Veronica doesn't "poop flowers, fart summer breezes and burp rainbows." Props to COMMISIONEDcomic for the fabulous strip!
If you're thinking about buying a new PC... and you're looking for the Fastest Processor Evah... hold off until Intel's Core i7 CPU is an option! Loyd Case has a great Core i7 writeup over at ExtremeTech.com
Yup, Circuit City is closing down 155 stores... one lesson from the CompUSA liquidation: bring somebody with a cell phone that can check prices before you buy!
Last week we told you about Orb.com, our fave tool for streaming audio and video from a computer at home to anywhere -and just about anything- you can get a net connection... and we got a zillion emails asking why we didn't suggest Simplify Media, which stream audio from Windows, OS X and Linux machines to another computer or iPhone.
With all the online availability of basically ANY TV content, is this the end of set-top DVR boxes like TiVo dead? No, Matt, they aren't dead yet... at least not for Veronica and Patrick... there's still a lot of great TV out there that's tough to find on the web.
Advertisement: Be like Veronica: drink Brain Toniq, "the world's first think drink! It contains exactly ZERO caffeine and zero processed sugar, and contains NO chemical preservatives, just fuel for the cranium, making it highly effective for increasing mental clarity."If you order it online, please use the coupon code R3 at BrainToniq.com... you'll get a discount, and it'll help support Tekzilla!
Freebie Download Pick! This week's pick is Everything, a "...fast folder and file name search engine for Windows." Searches that used to take minutes will take seconds, it's a tiny app that doesn't suck down resources, and best of all, it's easy to use!
InvisibleSHIELD? Sure, Joseph, Patrick loves 'em for screen protection on his iPhone and just about anything else with a scren, tho, like many Tekzilla viewers, he's not so happy with their full wraps.
Want to spend a bit less on your screen protection? Last time Patrick mentioned invisibleSHIELD on Twitter he got a flood of tweets about BestSkinsEver.com. They claim to use the same material, and while they don't offer a the same lifetime guarrantee they charge a -lot- less than Zagg does! Think $15 for the invisibleSHIELD face cover vs. $5.99 from BestSkinsEver.
If you only need mobile Internet access for a few weeks, you could rent an EVDO modem from Rovair, Dana, instead signing up for 2 years. Thanks for the tip on wireless Internet rentals, Greg!
Advertisement: we're planning another Tekzilla GoToMeeting meetup where you'll get a chance to chat with the production staff that makes Tekzilla happen. You can get ready by signing up for a FREE 30 day GoToMeeting trial account at GoToMeeting.com. Just click on the “TRY IT FREE” button and enter the promo code Tekzilla!
This week's "Website We Just Can't Get Enough of" is WorldPress.org, a site that gathers news stories from various national and international press outlets from around the globe, from grass roots state-run news agencies. Chances are you won't find these stories at your local news stand... or news channel!
Lewis wants some options for hosting his podcast, "and also if there are any free options to start with, before moving to a paid service." Veronica loved this question, Lewis... it's her experience running her Sword and Laser sci-fi book club podcast production showing!
For totally and completely free hosting, Veronica's top choice is OurMedia.org, which uses the InternetArchive to serve files.
SpinXpress is a free program that helps you to upload your media and give it all the right attributes, Lewis, like creative commons licensing, tags, and descriptions.
If you'd like a little more reliability than a free site (mostly it's waiting to upload your files, not the actual hosting that's a problem) but don't want to pay an arm and a leg, check out Libsyn, since they offer free badnwidth, you just pay based on the amount of space you need.
Advertisement: Looking to build an amazing website from scratch, without learning tons of code first? Then check out Squarespace, it's powerful enough to run a retail website, but incredibly easy to work with. Signup using the code Tekzilla and you'll get 10% off for the lifetime of your membership!
DVI-D and DVI-I... why are there two? Well, Nate, nobody but the Digital Display Working Group really knows why they came up with a digital only connection (DVI-D) along with a digital and analog connection (DVI-I), but we can say that getting VGA from DVI-D is a major pain.
Steve needs a cheap component video switch so he can connect his Xbox 360 and his PS3 to the TV...
Gefen's 4x4 Component w/Audio Matrix will run you over $600 on the street... so that's out. We'd go with the $23 ATLONA 4 Port Component Video Switch w/ IR Learning from our fave source of cheap HDMI cables: MonoPrice.com. Judging from the customer reviews, it should be perfect w/ 720p viddy, tho some folks claim it induces a bit o' fuzziness in 1080p video.
It's your show, we just host it, so fire your ideas, your questions, your requests for product reviews and we'll do our best to get 'em on air. The email is tekzilla@revision3.com!
Even better, send us a video question! Just keep it to 15 secs, upload it to YouTube and send us the link in an email with "Video Quesion" in the subject line.
Want to catch some exclusive behind the scenes' video from the Tekzilla set? You can only get it on the Adobe Media Player at revision3.com/adobemediaplayer/!
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Posted by psyzard on 11/13/2008 at 09:43:02 am in Tekzilla
I've been puking rainbows into heaven's toilet for years.
*link*
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Posted by Freakazoid12 on 11/12/2008 at 09:50:05 am in Tekzilla
"
The relevance of TiVo boxes and such. I'm very firmly in Veronica's camp. Over my dead body and from my cold dead fingers. If you threaten to take my TiVo boxes (I have two (with Dish Network satellite), and one more at my mother's place (she has cable)) I will take a rusty sword and cut your heart out and make you eat it before your dirty fingertips defile my precious TiVo. I don't have to hunt online for programming sources, I don't have to deal with low-quality bootlegs of dubious legality, and I don't have to deal with the downloads adding to my bandwidth. Plus I can be lazy and not have to get it from the computer to the TV...I did not buy a 46" LCD TV, surround sound setup, and super comfy recliner in order to watch TV programming on my 19" computer display with desktop speakers while sitting in an office chair at a desk. If I were looking for a new TiVo type solution now and didn't already have the boxes I have, the only change I'd make is now I would go with an HD capable box."
I've actually been looking at a TiVo (likely a HD) for two reasons myself:
1: The Cox DVR sucks big time. (random audio dropous, random cable card re-syncs, random non-recording of programs, random video problems...)
2: For the opposite reasons as above. I don't have a nice TV but I do have a nice computer setup that I like, complete with a 5.1 speaker system that understand Dolby and DTS. (got those for the PS3) The ability to slurp content off the tivo and watch it on a computer appeals to me. (will likely have to set up my linux box to do it for me though. seen some nasty stuff about how the official tivo software gets it's grubby mitts everywhere)
In total I have the DVR and a wii hooked up via a component -> VGA converter to the monitor and a PS3 and my main PC hooked up via DVI (via a HDMI switchbox).
currently have a 22" LCD but have been drooling over a 24" 1080p display lately. (can't afford it and won't be able to for several months but one can hope/plan/drool)
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Posted by burnout399 on 11/10/2008 at 02:42:03 pm in Tekzilla
Where do you guys come up with these facts.
TVersity streams Videos, Music, photos on game consoles/PCs or phones(iphone included). the files can either be downloaded through a web browser/streamed to a web browsers(in your network) or could be setup with a username and password and watched anywhere with web access. Can easily setup RSS(video or news) feeds that will be downlaod and can be streamed anywhere.
The only bad thing i noticed is it doesnt support hulu, but since the PS3 now supports Flash you can watch it through the PS3 browser.
-burnout
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Posted by corexian on 11/10/2008 at 02:07:05 pm in Tekzilla
I've got a 36" LCD TV hooked up to my PC at home and watch video primarily through it. I make great use of sites like Hulu and the various TV station sites (NBC, FOX, etc.). The quality has gone up to HD on just about every site now, making it better than watching over the air (which even with broadcast digital isn't as good). That coupled with Netflix makes it easy to watch what I want without cable or satellite.
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Posted by D3Fi4NT on 11/10/2008 at 12:39:28 pm in Tekzilla
Totonto?
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Posted by DPIQ on 11/10/2008 at 09:50:53 am in Tekzilla
I had a technical problem with the small wmv file downloaded by Juice. I couldn't skip back to replay the, for example, last several seconds. My only options were to restart from the begining or skip to the end. I had this problem about a year ago with Revision3 video files. Hope it's not happening again.
Update: After this file quit during playback I repeated the download and now everything is working fine.
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Posted by clutch88 on 11/09/2008 at 12:20:04 pm in Tekzilla
HI personally use Hulu. It doesn't have every single show that I want to watch, but there is a lot of content here and its legal. There's only so many hours in the day so it does the trick for me.
Also the lack of show notes is rather annoying. I'm sure there no the most fun things to do and time intensive but they are very useful for the viewer. And, more importantly, I've clicked on a number of advertiser's links through the notes that I definately would not have fished out from the episode.
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Posted by jdhore on 11/09/2008 at 10:32:37 am in Tekzilla
I have a MythTV box (3 tuners and i love being able to just not record the commercials at all and having it in a useful format (.avi) when it's done recording), but i rarely use it. I'm usually just too lazy to remember that stuff's on and go downstairs and set it (I know, there prolly is a web interface to MythTV) or I change what shows i watch so often that it's not worth the hassle to keep adding and removing shows, so i use the bittorrents. I use a private tracker so the legality issues are lessened and the likelihood of getting a bad copy is rare (Usually, upload a bad file on a private tracker, you lose your upload privileges and/or get banned) . Also, i personally believe that since i pay for cable, my torrenting of TV shows isn't illegal. I COULD watch all the shows i torrent on my TV or with my MythTV, but torrenting is so much easier, so i do it.
This may make my previous statement invalid, but...I have a HDTV (52" 1080p), i only have basic cable (I'm not gonna pay $70/month more than i do now for just HD)...So normal shows i record with my MythTV are at like 350x280 resolution, shows i download from bittorrent are at 624x352, so i get a bit higer resolution (or i could download 720p, but that hits my ratio way too hard to make it worth it).
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Posted by davmoo on 11/09/2008 at 04:30:11 am in Tekzilla
"
I think Revision3's decision to TiVoCast their programming was a *very* smart move.
"
Agreed. In an average week, I watch exactly 1.5 hours of network TV content. Everything else I watch is History Channel, Science Channel, National Geographic Channel, or PBS, with a few bits of A&E, Biography, and Bravo thrown in every now and then. Most of that type of programming has yet to make it to the legitimate online media outlets. Maybe it makes me a total dweeb, but I do have personal moral issues with copyright violation. I'm not saying I've never done it...sometimes there is simply no alternative for music that is out of print or such...but that doesn't mean I like it.
"
I have to agree here too. Aside from a channel listing issue when I got my first TiVo (I was the first person in my zipcode to use a combination of a TiVo and Dish Network), I opened the box, plugged it in, and it just worked. There are three computers on this desk, and I can see 5 more sitting on my floor just from where I'm sitting, so I certainly don't have a shortage of hardware that I could have used for a MythTV box. But that doesn't mean I always want to "roll my own" on everything tech...sometimes I just want to relax and watch the TV.
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Posted by megazone on 11/09/2008 at 02:50:37 am in Tekzilla
"Amen! Heck, I watch Tekzilla on my TiVo via TiVoCast! I probably lose geek points, but I actually dislike watching video on my laptop. Sure, I do it when I can't plant myself on my couch in front of my 1080p 61" DLP - but why would I want to watch something on my 15" laptop screen when I have that lovely TV? I don't bother watching vodcasts on my PC, I subscribe to a lot of them through TiVoCast (including most Revision3 shows) and several more using TiVo Web Video.
I've owned a TiVo since February 2002 - actually at this point I've owned six of them, though I've sold four of them and currently have a Series3 in my living room (on that DLP) and a Pioneer DVR-810H TiVo/DVD Series2 unit in my bedroom. Not too long ago I suffered a drive failure - the eSATA drive I was using to expand my S3 failed - and I lost a number of recordings. I prefer to stick with legitimate sources, but in the end several programs I lost were simply not available from legit sites like Amazon Unbox, Hulu, etc. I broke down and found download sites for a few shows I just didn't want to miss, and others I just gave up on. It was nice finding some of them on Unbox, sorry, I mean Amazon VOD, since I could download them right to my TiVo and watch them just like a recording.
If you only watch major network content it isn't hard to find the stuff online, but if you watch mostly cable content it seems very little of it is available from legitimate sources online. I would not want to rely on piracy for my content, for both moral and quality issues.
It would take a lot to make me give up TiVo. I won't use any source that doesn't work with high-definition TiVo, which means no satellite or U-Verse for me, just cable or FiOS. (I *wish* FiOS was available in my area.)
And I work for Sling Media, which is owned by EchoStar, so I could get a pretty sweet deal on Dish Network - but no TiVo, no sale. (I do have a Slingbox PRO-HD hooked up to my TiVo Series3 - well, I ran that beta program. ;-) )
TiVo is evolving away from being a 'DVR' to being a media device. Now it is not only a solid DVR, but they have a lot of content available via TiVoCast and TiVo Web Video. And then content from Amazon VOD, Jaman, CinemaNow/Disney, and starting soon Netflix streaming. Plus Music Source videos, music from Rhapsody, Live365, etc.
I know MythTV or other Media Center PC applications can do even more, but I work with tech for a living. Frankly I kind of like having something that 'just works' and is easy to use like TiVo so I don't have to worry about it. (Yes, I had a drive failure - it happens, I've lost drives on PCs too.) I even have several old PCs I could use - I just have no desire to do so.
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