Recent Comments:
Ricavision unveils its latest Sideshow/MCE remote, the RICA100 {Engadget}
May 22nd 2007 10:21AM I call vaporware. Ricavision has been hawking renders of these remotes forever. Inquiries on availability go unanswered.
These fancy pants remotes are becoming increasingly irrelevent as more and more bluetooth smartphones hit the market. Salling Clicker is FINALLY running on the Moto Q and serves as an excellent bluetooth HTPC remote, for both PC and Mac. And it costs a measly $30 for the same control as these SideShow remotes offer.
DViCO's TViX HD M-4000SA for up to 1TB of mobile HD video {Engadget}
May 18th 2007 2:03PM Still no Matroska support? What then, is the point?
Netgear launches Digital Entertainer HD {Engadget}
Jan 8th 2007 1:48PM Actually, from the gallery pics it looks like it has an ethernet port. I stream HD .ts streams via my Macbook with no stuttering on 10/100, so I question the value of GBe on a media extender that (apparently) offers no local storage.
Engadget's relaunch giveaways: Xbox 360 Premium pack number three {Engadget}
Oct 14th 2006 3:08AM Gentlemen, without a doubt: HD-DVD Drive. We might be able to use with a PC as well? No brainer!
First Drive: Nissan 350Z GT-S Concept and its flickable supercharger {Autoblog}
Aug 29th 2006 4:54PM Quote: "And to date, nobody has made a V6 that makes a "soul shaking" sound."
Another ignorant comment my one who's obviously never driven a 350Z.
As if mentioning a Porsche 962 gives your comments credence?
I spent more than 3 years tooling around the 'bahn in BMWs, Porsches and Audis while serving Uncle Sam and I can tell you: You hear the Porsches long before you see their HID lights crawling up your ass at ridiculous speeds.
I never owned anything that sounded nearly as impressive as my 350Z. I was so impressed with it, I traded in an aging '97 BMW 540i to drive it home. It's also the fastest 6 cylinder I've ever owned.
Drop by sometime and I'll show how to drive a Z, seeing as how you can't figure out how to do so without being "embarrassing slow"...
DiVX- and WMV-HD player both hits and misses {Engadget HD}
Jul 13th 2006 4:48PM Nigel:
I'm not sure if you're aware of this development, but it is possible to re-flash your player to an earlier version that supports rollback. Go here for more information:
http://www.iodata.com/usa/forum/showthread.php?t=1424
The 08/04 FW has worked *wonderfully* for me. It seems to be the most forgiving with regards to .ts files at the expense of a few "trivial" features.
How to make your own HD DVDs on DVD-Rs {Engadget HD}
Jul 13th 2006 4:36PM jDig,
I failed to disclose a crucial detail in my original post: There are significant issues with any FW released after 08/04 with regards to playing .ts files.
I *clearly* should have mentioned this in my original post. I hope no one has been affected by that important information NOT being included in my original post!
There is hope for those with FW that no longer supports rollback. A few folks over at AVS forums have figured out a way to use the WIZD media server to re-flash the player to earlier versions of FW, including the version that I use. Both the firmware and instructions can be found over at AVS if anyone is interested in doing so.
I've kept the 06/04 version on my unit and it's been able to play anything I've thrown its way. I have not had access to .ts files over 20mbps, so I cannot comment on the compatibility of those higher bitrate streams, but I have read that the player chokes on anything over 25 mbps.
Despite these issues, I have been astonished by the players ability to play a wide variety of Divx/Xvid and .ts files found "in the wild". I have found a few divx/Xvid files that had packed bitstreams, but MPEG4Modifier can easily unpack them in just a few minutes. Neither have I had any issues with edited .ts streams (I use HDTV2MPEG for editing).
Picture quality is impressive, and can even be improved some by a performing a "filter mod" that requires shorting some resistors that filter the component output. I've heard rave reviews about this mod, but haven't had the nerve to perform it on my unit because my HDTV is "sync-challenged" (I have a Sony KP-61HS10 that has huge issues syncing HD output).
How to make your own HD DVDs on DVD-Rs {Engadget HD}
Jul 3rd 2006 5:16PM To add to HD001's comments:
The IO Data Linkplayer (similar to the Buffalo box) has had this capabilty for well over a year. Simply drop the .ts file on a DVD-R (or even a DVD+R DL) and burn using the DVD-ROM Book Type and it plays wonderfully, even allowing for smooth FFWD and RWD. It can also stream perfectly over 10/100 Ethernet, so there's no real need to burn a DVD-R at all. It can also scale output pretty well (480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i), AND, it plays any DiVX/Xvid file without a packed bitstream or Qpel. It'll even scale them to 720p or 1080i.
Having owned one of these for a while as really diminished any excitement over the new Blu Ray/HD DVD formats...
MSI Mega Book MS-1057 lightweight Core Duo laptop {Engadget}
Mar 4th 2006 12:08AM These will likely be very cheap - after they become rebadged as Averatecs ;-)
(The current version offered by Avertec goes for about a grand - http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/2100series.htm)
No Motorola Q until April? {Engadget}
Feb 7th 2006 3:20PM Didn't Ed Zander promise delivery by 12/2005 just a few months ago? I remember him *promising* that it would beat the Treo 700w to market. What a freaking joke! So, we'll see it "released" in April (suspiciously close to the end of Treo 700w's exclusivity at Verizon, don't want to cannibalize those precious Treo sales) with general availability in May? That puts it to market nearly 6 months late. Good luck, Moto! I'm sure Palm and HTC will have refreshes right around the corner for fall launch. It's amazing that Motorola can stay in business despite themselves!
