Engadget HD Podcast 145 - 07.08.2009
by Trent Wolbe 
posted Jul 8th 2009 at 1:30PM
Wait -- an Engadget HD podcast without any Media Center news? There, there now, MCE-folk -- we manage to fit in some good stuff that's at least HTPC related and Ben tips his hand about Microsoft's new DRM scheme. We also manage to get behind a couple of scenes this week -- Steve talks about his trip inside Dolby's lab and Ben talks about how to get a set-top box situated behind equipment closet doors. Join us on our hour-plus romp through the week's news and come clean on our obsessive-compulsive videophile ways along the way; and with only a couple of minor tangential detours (cars and BSG, mostly).Get the podcast
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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh, Steven Kim, Richard Lawler
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Program
00:01:00 - Comments from Engadget HD Podcast 143 - 06.24.2009
00:16:36 - Cable companies miss tru2way deadline, insist it's no big deal
00:26:05 - Sci Fi / SyFy switch takes effect tomorrow, still doesn't make any sense
00:31:17 - Engadget goes behind the Dolby logo
00:45:19 - How to relocate a HD set-top-box and still have it work with an HDTV
00:54:10 - You know you're a videophile if...
01:00:15 - Auzentech joins the HD audio HTPC party
01:06:15 - TiVo HD upgrade program helps you save as much as $100
01:11:10 - Pioneer refreshes, lowers prices on its Elite receivers
01:11:50 - Ask Engadget HD: How can I get my home theater ready for 3D, right now?
01:13:46 - Mobile DTV standard in the US gets raised to "proposed standard" status
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
andy vt @ Jul 8th 2009 2:52PM
It shouldn't surprise anyone that people who like gadgets (and HD gadgets) also like cars - they are the ultimate gadget. If only they weren't so expensive.
Vance @ Jul 8th 2009 5:20PM
Ben, here was the reference I was using for desktop v. laptop sales (yes, it was global):
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/12/25/notebook-sales-reportedly-pass-desktop-sales-ahead-of-predictions/
and here:
http://topnews.us/content/21315-global-laptop-sales-pass-desktops-first-time
In the US, it happened in 2005, according to CNET and other sites. So, even still, the margin is not huge.
Ben @ Jul 8th 2009 5:22PM
Here is what I was referencing.
http://www.engadget.com/2005/06/04/laptops-outsell-desktops-for-the-first-time-again/
It's too bad the sales aren't broken down by business use vs home use as I'd be willing to bet it isn't even close. I mean how many "regular" people do you know that have bought a desktop in the past 3 years?
Vance @ Jul 8th 2009 6:58PM
Me, for one. There are four of us in our family who need to use the computer, and one of them is my son who does a lot of gaming and my daughter who watches a lot of Netflix Watch Instantly. When we needed to upgrade from our old desktop just a few months ago, I did not even consider a laptop, but went straight for a Core i7 with a ton of RAM and a nice big screen. We also watch movies on it as a second option. A laptop for our family computer just makes no sense.
I am getting into video editing with HD home video files and the extra horsepower is nice there as well. My wife has a work laptop but when she brings it home, she still prefers working on the desktop and just sharing it over to the laptop through the wireless network. I have an iPod Touch which allows me what little access to the internet I need when elsewhere in the house.
Also, I share video files with my LG BD390 from the computer over the network. The extra horsepower also helps with the server side workload, I would bet.
Lastly, I have about 1500 GB worth of movies, music and audiobooks, and these are on external drives attached to the computer, so without some type of network attached storage, keeping the computer in one place with access to those drives is optimal.
Ben @ Jul 8th 2009 7:55PM
If you listen to our podcast then you are most definitely not "normal."
Lazarus @ Jul 8th 2009 10:23PM
Am I imagining things, or about 10 episodes back did Ben mention something about an IR over TCP/IP network box he uses? If so what is it? I'd like to hide my hideous Rogers cable box in the basement about 50 ft away but I'm really not in the mood to run new cat5 through the house. It's bad enough that I'm living in HD hell (Canada) but looking at this thing just adds insult to injury.
Big Sam @ Jul 8th 2009 10:45PM
I'm a 360 fanboy and will admit it is very noisy. Its gotten slightly quieter since I got a newer Elite and since NXE can copy the disk to the hard drive.
The PS3 is also noisy although quieter than the 360. If I pause a Blu-ray and walk away I can definitely hear the humming.
IseWise @ Jul 8th 2009 11:29PM
I would like to have motion controls on my receiver to mute the volume and to unmute the volume. It would be very handy when I watch the news or a football game and its the same Chevy ad over and over again. I could just gesture my hand at the receiver to mute and gesture again to unmute.
James @ Jul 9th 2009 3:07PM
I really wish that I was able to stay on the UStream chat for the whole podcast. At 19:00 in, the conversation about the cable companies... I just wanted to say YES! I agree that something needs to happen to make the FCC put their executive size 12 combat boot down on the Cable Companies throats and make them comply. I have a digital cable ready HDTV, can I get HDTV? NO! I can get 3 channels. How are they getting away with this? Why are we so complacent that what we fought for a little over a decade ago has been completely forgotten?
The American consumer has the memory capacity of a Goldfish.
I really really wish I could get HDTV (Or heck, digital cable) that I pay for without having to put a box next to my TV, HTPC, Monitor with digital tuner in it, etc.
joe @ Jul 9th 2009 11:32PM
It is very lame that the cable companies are so sluggish in implementing tru2way... It was the same terrible senario with cable card. As a custom installer, I was installing a ton of TVs(with built in Cable Card) after cable card was being offered by comcast here in the Seattle area (2005-present). We tried to have customers get at least three cards because they were so faulty. When we'd call in to activate the pairing, often the operators wouldn't even be aware of them. By the time cable card was becoming consistent and stable, almost all TV manufacturers had given up adding it as an option.... And I truly feel like this situation was by design. Cable companies hate to lose the $5/10 HDSet top or $15/20 DVR charge to Tivo and other cable card devices. They're required to give you your first cable card for free....
Nick Clark @ Jul 13th 2009 11:59AM
Dear Gents,
I appreciate your reading out my e-mail on the podcast and sorry for any confusion caused! I am aware that my uk tv licence covers all my tv screens (!) but what I was alluding to was the fact that I have paid for the content numerous times with the licence fee, cable tv subscription and hardware purchases (Freesat etc.) and surely this merits my ability to download media that I missed, such as the Mission Impossible 2 example I gave...?
It seems unfair that the factor which determines whether we have to pay for content is the delivery method, not the media itself. "Buy MI2 once and it's yours for life!"
Maybe in 'Benaverse' we will pay a single fee which will allow total access and utilisation of the media as we see fit. So if you pay to see the film at the cinema this then entitles you to a free blu-ray, hd download/stream and digital copy with no-DRM!
Can't see Hollywood buying that approach though!
EngadgetHD FTW!
CubsFan2491 @ Jul 13th 2009 12:29PM
hey guys,
so maybe i'm a lot more dense than i thought, but after posting months ago about the audio decoding from my PS3 to my Pioneer VSX-90TXV receiver, i'm still unsure of what the better option is. i had been waiting out Steve's trip to Dolby for a final answer and after listening to last weeks podcast and reading his post on the visit to Dolby, i still don't know what the consensus is. is it better to set the PS3 to output LPCM to my receiver for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS MasterHD, or leave it set to the bitstream option and lose those codecs? i feel like LPCM is better since the Dolby TrueHD and DTS MasterHD options won't output unless the PS3 is set to LPCM and this is the only way to get lossless audio out of the PS3, but once again last week, ben makes the argument that bitstream is better than LPCM. i really can't find a true answer on the web anywhere, and i kind of think of you guys as an authority on the subject so i'm just wondering what your thoughts are. i think in the end, i'm gonna end up shelling out another $350 for a standalone blu-ray player rather than use my PS3 which would suck since the reason i bought the PS3 at launch for $600 was to make it my blu-ray player with the bonus of a gaming system included. i just want to be sure i'm getting everything out of all the pricey gear i've invested in over the last 4 years.
CubsFan2491 @ Jul 13th 2009 4:09PM
hey guys, please disregard my previous post. after reading "LPCM is not always equal to bitstream" and the comments that followed, it has become PRETTY clear to me this subject is like arguing HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray or PS3 vs. Xbox360. it just comes down to a personal preference i guess. there doesn't seem to be ANY proof whatsoever that LPCM is better than Bitstream or the other way around. my question was answered months ago here:
http://whatsonhdtv.blogspot.com/2008/03/sony-playstation-3-and-blu-ray-audio.html
when i learned the only way to get the Dolby True HD or DTS HD Master codecs from your Blu-ray discs through the PS3 is to make sure the setting is turned to LPCM since the option isn't available by setting it to Bitstream. regardless of whether or not one is "better" than the other, the only way to get the lossless codecs from the PS3 is through LPCM which is why if you select Bitstream you get the following message:
"If you select [Bitstream], some portions of audio from the BD may not be played,"
i guess my greatest fear is most likely true, sony has lied about the actual abilities of the PS3 to output sound codecs via the HDMI. although the PS3 SHOULD carry all the sound codecs through the HDMI, it only caries the LPCM lossless codecs and not the bitstream. i don't have a choice, the choice has been made for me. if i want the lossless codecs, i can only get them via LPCM output.
Kevin Poster @ Jul 18th 2009 3:28PM
cubsfan2491
you can get standalone blue ray player from insignia for $170. Nowdays buying gaming platform for playing hd movies does not matter.
Xbox 360 is better option for gaming and nowdays wont overheat since they upgraded to better components. the Xbox 360 has an upscaling Chip inside of it to upscale games to 1080p if the screen supports it but the PS3 is locked to the normal 720 that games are programmed to go out at,In a basic nutshell, the 360 has a full hardware scaler whereas the PS3 for some reason only has a horizontal scaler and it was unavailable to devs until about 6 months after release