Lawrence "The Dreamer" Chen's Blog

Link: http://www.zektor.com/hdvi5/HDVI5.html

One of the things I had grumbled about was now having to switch inputs on my Zektor HDVI5 more often than usual.

Namely, going between my two TiVo HD's. The other two devices, my DVD player and the Cox HD DVR, were getting little use. Like, I'm only watching on DVD a weekend...if that. And, right now I check the Cox HD DVR now and then to remove stuff it has recorded, because it is duplicating stuff that I'm now getting on my TiVo (one of the them anyways). I originally scheduled the shows because I wasn't able to get them via Cablecards, but Cox has since made all the HD channels here available that way.

I could remove the scheduling I suppose, but that's more time on the box than I want. Perhaps sometime before the start of the fall season, I'll sit down and figure out the distribution of what I record where. Kind of like the spread of channels over the many ReplayTVs I've been using.

Should be interesting to see what my ReplayTV usage becomes in the fall.

Anyways...back to what input switching problem, it dawned on that I can reprogram the switcher to select the input based on a different remote. Though I didn't want to change all the buttons, and there didn't seem to be a way to cycle through inputs...so I hadn't looked much further.

It then occurred me that I could temporarily juggle remotes to program so just input 1 and input 2 are triggered by some other IR code, that corresponds to the respective TiVo HD's. Better yet, while checking the manual...I can only change the IR codes that I want.

So, I mapped the TiVo button of #1 to input 1, and the TiVo button of #2 to input 2. Sure, the switcher is going to reselect the input every time I hit the TiVo button. But, it seemed a safe button that would switch inputs without disrupting things on that TiVo.

Especially, since it is preference to hit the TiVo button for the input I'm going to before I switch to the input. That way I won't get blasted by whatever Live TV that the TiVo might be playing.

At some later date, I'll probably think of what button on the other devices (Cox HD DVR and Momitsu V880N DVD player) to be the input selection for that. But, back to my TiVo viewing.

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The 'New' TiVo HD arrived today. It was supposed to come yesterday, but the UPS delivery didn't happen until 15 minutes after I had given up waiting for it to show up.

This time I booked the morning off, and waited those extra 15 minutes. Perhaps its easier to force attempt #2, though the I didn't really know how long it would take from ordering the TiVo to when I would get it with free shipping...and didn't feel the rush....

The total delivery was the Refurbished TiVo HD, and the GloRemote. And a separate order of the My DVR Expander.

After a quick inspection, I set it aside and headed off to work.

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Yesterday, I mourned the death of one of my ReplayTVs. I accepted it fairly quickly, since I use them less and less (due to more and more stuff on HD and having a TiVo HD).

So I've set about removing it from my setup (can't seem to get to ReplayTV to remove its subscription...guess I'll try again or call on Monday).

After mulling things over....I decided that I would get a second TiVo HD.

I went to tivo.com and ordered a refurbished TiVo HD with month-to-month service, threw in a glo Remote...and checked out.

But, it timed out before giving me an order confirmation. My cart is empty, but no email of the order either. So, did it complete or not?

I tried calling the sales number...but the call won't go through.

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Sometime early this morning, one of my ReplayTV's failed. Looks like the harddrive big the dust.

Guess if it doesn't start working on its own soon, I'll just see about unsubscribing it. I still have my other 6 ReplayTVs...and I hardly use any of them now since I'm more in HD.

What I might do now, is see about buying another TiVo HD

Off to figure out what I've lost and see if I want to bother getting those shows back....

I had been thinking that over the Xmas holidays, and then on New Year's....that I would replace the bulb in my Samsung HLN4365W1. It had been getting darker and darker for some time, and was beginning to annoy me...especially which watching TV shows and movies that tend to be dark themselves.

But, I keep forgetting to do it before turning the TV on for the day. Being that I need to do it with the set cool.

Today I got an email from a person looking for a replacement bulb for her Samsung HLN4365W1....which made me think that I should try to remember replacing mine. She told me that looking at Sears Parts online, it would set her back like $250. And, wanted to know if I knew of somewhere cheaper. I went over to Samsungparts.com, where I had ordered my replacement bulb from...and found that they give a price of $149.99. Darn, I paid $199.99 for mine...of course, I bought it over 1.5 years ago....in preparation of a move for just in case.

The bulb replacement was pretty straight forward, except that it was on the side that required contortions and later pulling the TV out to get at.

Once the set turned on...I went into the service menu to clear the lamp timer. Making note that the timer was at 6118 hours.

Interesting to note that the new bulb is a 120W, whereas the original bulb was only a 100W...where I had read somewhere that the 'Dynamic' picture mode ran the bulb at 120W. Guess the part change addresses this fact. Though I guess I've been fortunate to not experience total bulb failure.

Meanwhile, while checking out the new bulb...I noticed that Fox HD is now available on Cox.

Wonder how long before DNNA get's the lineup fixed so that I can record it using my ReplayTV? Maybe I'll have to dig out my fax machine and send them the full line up, so they can get it right.

Link: http://www.apple.com/appletv/

I've been catching up on various shows that I recorded during the summer (while I was busy securing a new job and relocating, etc.)....and the latest array is Eureka.

I'm hooked. Unfortunately, my ReplayTV couldn't cope with the screwiness that is SciFi....which fails to deliver content at the scheduled time. Sometimes it missed the show completely...most of the time it started 5 minutes late.

But, I do have recourse....either I could find somebody else with it on their ReplayTV to send it to me, and wait patiently for its arrival. Or, a second option I discovered (while browsing on TV.com), I could purchase the episodes from Apple iTunes.

Except that it would be much more enjoyable if I could watch the episode on by 43" HDTV and 5.1 surround sound system than on my computer....

Wonder if there'll be a University price for this....

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Though it doesn't show up on Zap2it yet, and my HD-DVR says "Temporarily not available" for it (but it is saying that for all the 'basic' HD channels)....OTOH, when I tune to it on the HD Converter...it is bring up HBO-HD instead.

The HD-DVR, on the other hand, is saying that I'm not subscribed when I tune to HBO-HD...but I am subscribed, because it works on the HD Converter (I'm subscribed to 3 out of 4 of the premiums...only because of the pricing bundles....it was the same price to get 3, as it would be to get just Showtime. Though I'm still questioning the move, since the only reason I got Showtime....was for "Dead Like Me"....though I later did watch some of "Huff". But, now I'm just paying for it....)

Can't say that it (FOX-HD) shows up on the Cox site....it says it is part of the HD lineup (but then adds a disclaimer that not all channels are available in all areas). And, asking the site to show the actual TV listings for my area...it is using Zap2It as the provider.

I was just thinking that I it was going to suck with out Fox in HD....even though at my old location, it was only OTA...but having just watched the season premiere of Bones....it is harder than I expected to not be watching it in HD.

Oh well...for some reason I'm really tired already.....

I had started the quest to research what cordless phone I would get to replace my current 5.8Ghz one, since it doesn't get along with the Amphony 1520.

I had kind of narrowed it down to a 2.4Ghz phone that I had come across on eBay, a Uniden DCT646-3. Well, I bought it.

At first I was questing for a 900MHz phone...but there doesn't seem to be much (or any) in the way of *NEW* digital (DSS) 900Mhz phones. Making it even harder to find one with the features that I would want. Namely handset speaker phone, multi-handset capable or included, VMWI, CID.

I know that 2.4GHz and WiFi don't get along...but consensus is that WiFi doesn't prevent a 2.4Ghz phone from working and the 2.4GHz phone only causes performance degradation to the WiFi. And, in the congested 2.4GHz that is life in a condo, near apartments, near a major university....it is kind of something I'm stuck with. Plus it is still my plan at some point to replace the bridge portion of my WiFi network with something else.

Like the phone demarc is in the room where the DSL modem is, and the condo is wired with CAT5....so maybe I'll put the DSL modem directly on the incoming line? And, use the condo's CAT5 for networking. Though my Living Room is laid out wrong for this to really work right now...and no plans to move the main computer to the other bedroom. But, if I did move the computer, than it could be a definite possibility. Or the condo's CAT5 would only link the Living Room to the 'computer' room. And, I would keep WiFi for the stuff in the LivingRoom. On the basis that they are close enough to cope....plus I still want WiFi for my DPH-540 and my laptop(s).

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I have cable TV and broadband again!

Had to use my own modem, rather than the free one....the installer didn't have my details for what I had ordered, and therefore didn't have that equipment. But, better to get service....and he did land a HD converter (and I had that SB5101 laying around).

Now I'm just waiting for a DPH-540 to appear, so I can do phone....

Link: http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/old_hdtvs_will_show_sony_bluray_movies_in_hd.html

Thanks to an "image constraint" flag on the new discs, movie studios could prevent any disc player from outputting a full-HD signal from that player's component-video jacks. Instead, you'd get a picture about the same as DVD-quality; to watch in HD, you would need to use the HDMI output ? a connector that didn't even exist when HDTVs first went on sale in 1998.

...

Sony says it will not put the flag on its initial wave of Blu-ray titles,

...

Sony says all of its Blu-ray titles will be flag-free for the foreseeable future,

I guess this is good news, and probably means Blu-Ray will become the defacto standard like VHS over Beta

Because, my HDTV monitor doesn't have an HDMI port....and I don't plan to replace it anytime soon. My previous TV was over 21 years old, before I finally replaced it.

OTOH, maybe they don't build TVs like they used to. My dad recently took the plunge and got a HDTV.....because his 6 years Sony TV suddenly stopped working, and he was told that it would be cheaper to buy a new TV than to get it serviced. And, I think I might have recommended the Sony....

Wonder when I'll be the position to buy a Blu-Ray player??? and how long before I start renting Blu-Ray titles??? owning Blu-Ray titles???