This technology, first demo’d at CES 2010, may be one of the bigger successes in the HTPC and networking arenas as new computers (currently only laptops) hit the market with the Intel 2010 i3/i5/i7 processors. In a nutshell, I can use a laptop computer with an Intel i5 processor, Intel’s embedded graphics chip, Intel’s 6200 WiFi adapter, and a Netgear Push to TV bridge to stream any content I want to any TV connected to a PTV device over HDMI. The tiny Netgear device is connected to the TV via HDMI, and everything happens over a wireless Personal Area Network between my laptop and the Push to TV device.

So why is this such a big gap filler for me? My current home theater setup includes V2 Media Center extenders connected to the three HD TV’s in my home, with the Media Center desktop residing in my loft home office. What I can’t get with this set up (without buying a PC and connecting one to every television) are all the Internet based Media Center extra’s such as Internet TV and Netflix.  Problem solved. With WiDi, I’ve got a nice, light (4.2 pound) 13.3 inch widescreen laptop to use anywhere in my home, around town, or on the road AND I’m able to display all of these Media Center extras. I gain the ability to browse the web and display anything I want on my TV’s.

The technology is nearly idiot proof. Connect the Netgear device via the included HDMI cable. Hit the special button on the laptop keyboard and enter a 4 digit code after your device is found. All the networking setup is handled without user intervention. WPA2 security is configured via WPS (wireless provisioning services) behind the scenes to secure the Personal Area Network (PAN) connection between the laptop and the PTV device. An ICS connection to the Intel internal WiFi is also established behind the scenes. You won’t see this in any of Windows 7’s GUI’s or discover it with netsh, but it is present. In fact, while the 6200 Intel NIC is a/b/g/n capable, when using WiDi with the Netgear device, it is not possible to connect to the 5GHz radio in a dual band router. An error message is returned stating only 2.4 GHz is supported. Some additional good news, even in my overly saturated 2.4 GHz environment of 19 different SSID’s, I had absolutely no interference.

My 52 inch TV, Netgear PTV attached via HDMI, waiting for a connection

WiDi equipped Laptop, connected and ready to rock and roll

The quality is awesome. My recorded (via cable card and OCUR/DCT) content looks great. (All the DRM rules apply here.)

Some HD Recorded TV..

Stargate Atlantis in full HD, via WiDi

Internet TV (the missing piece in my home theater experience) in Windows Media Center looks good.

Star Trek content, Windows Media Center Internet TV

Streaming Star Trek from Windows Media Center via WiDi.

Anything I want using the Media Center interface is streamed to the connected TV, music.. pix… videos..

Music – WMC via WiDi

Anything displayed on your desktop can be streamed. Want to read email? Use Windows Live Messenger? Participate in newsgroups or forums? Browse the web? Yep, it’s in there.

Windows 7 – Everything and anything over WiDi

And for me, there is another huge gap filler. My main beef with Windows Media Center Internet TV is the lack of HD content. With a 52 inch state of the art 1080p TV, can you blame me for wanting HD streaming? Here’s the good news. If one of the networks or other source offers an asset in HD for streaming, WiDi handles it effortlessly. As shown earlier in this post, Windows Media Center Internet TV offers a large amount of CBS content, including (at least at the present time) all three seasons of Star Trek, the original series. Inside Media Center, only SD is available, but I can navigate to the CBS website and view the remastered Star Trek original series in glorious full screen HD.

Needless to say, I’m a very happy camper these days.

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, media center, Media Center Windows 7, windows media center, WiDi, Intel Wireless Display, how-to, Tip

So, I found myself assessing the tools I need for job hunting (it’s been a while since I was at Comcast 12+ years). My Xerox Personal Copier (circa 1994) needed a drum/cartridge (approx $100) and my 8 year old fax machine (a $129 Brother) was sending stuff that was unreadable. True, I don’t use a fax much anymore, but there are a few  non tech entities that still don’t understand email and scans. I had a scanner that went in the dumpster about 10 years ago that I never replaced. It lasted just long enough to digitize my heirloom family pictures and my own film prints and negatives.

Staples had this HP 8500 Pro 909g printer/fax/scanner/color copier which, with a printer trade in rebate, was $249.98. And there is a $50 mail in rebate on top of that. OK, $200 to replace my all dead and dying Jurassic period home office communications/imaging devices seemed like a good deal. C|Net liked this printer, too.

I had an 8 year old printer to trade, and a friend to carry equipment  up and down stairs for me. I played with the printer at Staples for quite a while and liked what I saw.

Hardware setup was quick and easy. I have no complaints there. Then I installed the printer driver suite.

Imagine my displeasure when, at the end of the install, I launched IE and I noticed the Yahoo toolbar had been silently installed without my permission. And IE immediately crashed. Way to go, HP. I re-opened IE and disabled the Yahoo toolbar add-in, closed the browser and was greeted with a second “Internet Explorer has stopped working” intercept.  Opened IE and found some additional HP Browser helper objects (BHO’s) in Manage Add-ons and disabled them. Closed the browser. Uninstalled the Yahoo toolbar. Back to normal.

I then decided to contact HP Support to complain about foisting this crap on unsuspecting consumers. The first email response was from a delta semi moron who told me to contact Microsoft for Internet Explorer support in uninstalling the Yahoo toolbar. I emailed my reply and heard back from a different support rep. Apparently HP has so many complaints about the crapware they install that they have a permanent FAQ that includes the language “ ..special offers at HP Deals “. The installer also PINS two icons to the Windows 7 Start menu. 

OK, I’ve vented. I feel better now.

So, what can you do with two tuners? You can watch one show on live TV and simultaneously record a different show on another channel. Or you can record two shows at the same time (or two that overlap with different starting and/or ending times). Dual tuner support encompasses watching live TV using a Media Center Extender device while another family member is watching live TV on the host MCE 2005 machine (or while recording a different show on the host MCE 2005 machine).

Dual tuner usage in MCE 2005 requires both TV provider sources (channel lineups) to be identical. For example, you can configure two set top boxes (STB’s) or two cable out of the wall connections, but you cannot use one set top box and one out of the wall cable connection or one satellite and one antenna connection. The reason for this is pretty simple. Windows XP Media Center 2005 utilizes a single program guide source and uses the “first available tuner” to complete each task that requires a TV tuner. The rules for Windows 7 tuners really have not changed that much and are listed here.

Tip: If you have two different set top box models from the same provider, you can use them as long as they both receive the same programs on the same channels. For example, you can use a Motorola/General Instruments DCT5100 and DCT6200 set top boxes to configure dual tuner support.

As you read the rest of this article, you’ll find the following information:

1. Obtaining and Installing a Second TV Tuner

2. Configuring or Adding IR (infra red) receiver hardware with dual set top boxes and dual IR emitters

3. Configuring MCE 2005 to support dual tuners

Obtaining and Installing a Second TV Tuner

All Media Center computers from major computer makers such as Hewlett Packard, Gateway, ViewSonic, etc. included a single TV tuner card in previous versions of MCE. Media Center 2005 computer models and beyond may include single tuners or dual tuners and in some cases, no tuners.  To help insure that any additional add-on hardware not originally supplied with Media Center Edition computers is compatible, Microsoft opened a Designed for Windows XP Media Center Edition Logo Partner List web site and the Windows Logo’d hardware site.  If you are adding a second tuner, be sure to select hardware that is certified.

I have been using MCE 2005 on a Gateway 901x Media Center pc which, like many other MCE computers, has no expansion slots. And like computers from several other manufacturers, it has only a single IR (infra red) receiver built into the computer chassis that supports only a single IR emitter. The IR emitter is required to control the STB (set top box) from your cable or satellite provider. If you have two STB’s, you would need two emitters.

Adding a USB external tuner is easy for most people and can be done in a very short amount of time.  Microsoft supplied me with a Hauppauge WinTV USB 2.0 tuner and provided (beta) MCE2005 compatible drivers. External USB TV tuners are externally powered, so in addition to an available USB slot, you’ll need an available AC power outlet or socket on your surge protector.  A different option for advanced users proficient in adding and removing internal pc expansion cards is to install an internal PCI tuner. This will involve removing the computer case and in cases where there is no PCI slot, removing an existing card, such as the internal modem card. (This won’t be an option if you are a dialup user and no free PCI slot is available). Again, be sure to select a TV tuner from the Logo Partner List web site. I’ve also tested a two internal tuner configuration on the Gateway 901x by removing the internal modem card and installing a second internal PCI TV tuner.

To install your new second tuner hardware:

1. Power off your Media Center computer and all peripherals.
2. Install the TV tuner hardware following the manufacturers instructions and connect the USB cable if you are installing an external tuner
3. Turn on your equipment
4.   Windows XP should automatically discover your new hardware.
5. When prompted, insert the driver CD in your CD drive and let Window’s Plug and Play install your new hardware or follow the manufacturer’s steps to install drivers.

When completed, power off your computer and connect the cables and emitters to your STB’s.

Configuring or Adding a dual emitter capable USB IR receiver

If you are using dual set top boxes, you will need to use two IR emitters to enable MCE 2005 to change the channels. One end of each emitter is inserted in a port on the IR receiver; the other is placed over the IR window on each STB. If your Media Center Computer included an external USB receiver, you may already have hardware that supports a second IR blaster. For example, the first generation Media Center computers from Hewlett Packard, such as the HP 873n, shipped with an external USB IR receiver that can control two STB’s. Other computers, such as the Gateway 901x, are equipped with only a single internal chassis based IR receiver. Microsoft has engineered MCE 2005 so that an external USB IR receiver that supports dual tuners can be transparently added to any Media Center computer, whether or not an internal IR receiver is present.

If you need a new USB IR receiver to use dual IR emitters, you may be able to purchase a kit from Newegg.com or eBay. You’ll receive the IR receiver, the IR emitter cable, and a Media Center remote control. If you already have an IR receiver that supports dual emitters and can’t find an IR emitter cable locally, SmartHome offers several IR emitters on their web site. When you have all the required hardware, setup the IR receiver.

1. If you have an emitter cable plugged into an internal chassis based IR receiver, remove it and plug it into the external IR receiver.
2. Plug the emitter cable for the second STB into the second port in the IR receiver.
3. Attach the other end of the emitter to the STB by placing it over the IR window (use a flashlight to find this).
4. Verify that the second STB is connected to the second tuner using the proper cabling.

Configuring Media Center Edition 2005 for Dual Tuner Support

Once you have all the hardware installed and connected, you’ll need to spend about 15 -30 minutes configuring or reconfiguring your Media Center 2005 computer.

Don’t be daunted by the large number of individual steps outlined below. If you follow them carefully, configuration will be easy.

The steps are listed below:

1. From the Media Center menu, select Settings, TV, Set Up TV Signal. Acknowledge the region.
2. Select Configure my TV signal  automatically (Recommended)
3. Windows checks each of your signals automatically and compares them.
4. A confirmation is displayed confirming that two cable STB’s were successfully detected.
5. Verify again that both STB’s are set on channels that you know you can receive. (For best results, don’t select the same channel on both).
6. Select your type of provider (Cable or Satellite)
7. If you’ve previously configured your system (for example, configured with a single tuner) a window will display with choices for modifying channel change settings or reconfiguring all set top box settings. Select Reconfigure all set top box settings.
8. To identify the first STB (Cable Box A in the wizard as shown below), use the controls on the set top box itself (not the remote) to change the channel up or down. Try the other STB if the channel does not change in the Media Center inset window.

9. If you have a cable or satellite company provided remote control for your STB, chances are that Media Center can identify settings automatically. (Note: If you don’t have a remote control for your STB, select NO remote control. A list of STB manufacturers will be displayed. Select each codeset until you find the correct one. Tip: If automatic identification in steps a and b below fail, select Back and use manual identification. Do not select Cancel.)

a.       When prompted, press and hold 0 on the set top box remote (not the Media Center remote control). Tip: If you are too close to the IR receiver, you may have a problem with the signal being recognized. There is a “sweet spot” approximately 3-7 feet away that is optimum for performing this automatic configuration.

b.      When prompted, press and hold the Enter button. Important: your STB remote may have both an Enter and OK button. Be sure to use the Enter button.

10.  Put down the STB remote and pick up the Media Center remote control.

11.  Select the number of digits corresponding to the highest channel you receive.

12.  Specify whether or not you need to press Enter on your STB remote to change channels

13.  Use the Media Center remote and if your service has 3 digit channels, enter a 3 digital channel number that you know you can receive.

14.  If the channel does not change, select the Try Next IR Emitter button on the Media Center menu as shown in the image below.

15.  Verify that the channel changes correctly. You can try several channels you know you receive to be sure, even though you are only prompted to do this once.

16.  Determine whether the speed to change channels on the first STB is Fast, Medium, or Slow by pressing the page up/page down keys on the Media Center remote six or more times. Media Center will attempt Fast, Medium, and then Slow as you step through this portion of the wizard. When you are successfully able to change channels, select The channel changed correctly.

17.  Next, the wizard assists you in configuring the second TV tuner. To identify the second STB (Cable Box B in the wizard), use the controls on the second set top box itself (not the remote) to change the channel up or down.

18.  The wizard guides you through configuring the second STB repeating steps 9-16 above.

19.  The final sequence specifies and downloads the Program Guide. You should be connected to the Internet while performing these steps.

20.  Select Yes to using the guide and accept the Guide Terms of Service.

21.  Enter your zip or postal code.

22.  TV signal providers in your area will be displayed. Select your provider.

23.  The Program Guide for 14 days will download. This can take up to 20 minutes. You’ll be notified when complete.

For additional assistance, I recommend you visit the forums on http://thegreenbutton.com.

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, media center, Media Center Windows 7, windows media center, how-to, Tip

I’ve been bemoaning the lack of support for Nikon NEF 64 bit support for as long as I can remember inside Windows Explorer. And I’ve been wishing for RAW support for NEF inside Media Center forever.

I’m happy to say that there is a really nice solution.

The free image codec pack at http://www.fastpictureviewer.com/codecs/ had all the answers and gave me the brass ring.

Here’s a snippet from their web site on what is supported:

Raw Image Formats
Extension(s)	Name	Autorotate	Metadata	Remarks
*.dng	Adobe Digital Negative	Y	Y
*.cr2, *.crw	Canon Raw Image	Y	Y
*.raf	Fuji Raw Image	Y	Y
*.3pr, *.fff	Hasselblad Raw Image	Y	Y
*.dcr, *.kdc	Kodak Raw Image	Y	Y
*.raw, *.rwl	Leica Raw Image	Y	Y
*.mrw	Minolta Raw Image	Y	Y
*.nef, *.nrw	Nikon Raw Image	Y	Y	Can be configured to skip raw conversion and always use embedded previews.
*.orf	Olympus Raw Image	Y	Y
*.rw2	Panasonic Raw Image	Y	Y
*.pef	Pentax Raw Image	Y	Y
*.arw, *.sr2, *.srf	Sony Raw Image	Y	Y
Additional Features
Extension(s)	Name	Remarks
All formats	WIC Thumbnail provider for XP	Provides support for thumbnail views in Windows XP Explorer (SP3), for all the above formats and all existing WIC-enabled codecs.
All formats	WIC Import Plug-In for Photoshop	Enables Adobe Photoshop to directly import images from any installed WIC codec. The plug-in is available as a separate download in 32-bit only at this time (so it won’t work on Photoshop CS4 64-bit edition for the time being).

I shoot Nikon RAW NEF.  And I have full support now inside Windows 7 RTM. Explorer thumbnails, even inside Windows Media Center. Here’s the proof. Worth 3,000 words and a whole lot more.

Thumbnails inside Windows Explorer of my NEF files in Windows 7

Picture Details inside Windows Media Center/Windows 7

A folder filled with NEFs is now viewable inside Windows Media Center

Yes, XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 all can play with this. I’m excited, are you?

http://www.fastpictureviewer.com/codecs/ 

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, media center, Media Center Windows 7, windows media center, how-to, Tip

All,

802.11 had two items under consideration during the Standards Board meetings being held this week.

I’m am very pleased to announce that both P802.11w and P802.11n were approved today.

Although this email vehicle falls far short of expressing the sentiment, Thanks to the hundreds of 802.11members that contributed to these efforts, as well as the 802 EC and the IEEE Staff.

With me here as I write this is Paul Nikolich who wishes to add his congratulations to the group.

I expect to extend the celebration of the success , (while we continue work on the other amendments in process ) when we convene in Hawaii two weeks from now.

Hope to see you there.

Bruce”

For most of us, this just means our Draft 2.0 802.11n equipment is now the real thing.

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse, wifi, Wireless Networking, windows networking

I did a fair amount of online research and put three HD TVs on my “see and compare” list based on features. The best features were on a Samsung 52 inch LN52B750 that also happened to be on sale for $600 off at the time. The picture quality from High Def sources is absolutely stunning. Breathtaking. I was hooked. And there was a LOT of icing on the cake to go along with a superb TV.

Old TV before the attack of the  Purple Blotchies	New Samsung LN52B750

Reading all the user guides which were available on line (to get a good idea of features and performance) really focused me on the Samsung because in addition to all the jacks you’d ever want (4 HDMI, 2 Component, 2 USB, PC, Ethernet, optical digital sound in and out plus some legacy analog ports) it looked to have full DLNA 1.5 support. DLNA “server” software is supplied with the TV (and is downloadable online from Samsung’s support site) but my instincts told me that this TV should work with Windows 7 native DLNA “Play To” support. And I was right on the money.

In my opinion, the Play To/Streaming enhancements in Windows 7 are some of the coolest new features in Windows 7. The team responsible for this work has an extensive blog post at http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/05/12/media-streaming-with-windows-7.aspx which explains and showcases the technologies involved. It’s really about an ecosystem of smart, transparently connected devices and this is something I’ve been passionate about for several years.  With Windows 7, we’ve reached a real break through. Anyone, novices included, should be able to use and have fun with this technology set. It might give neighborhood geeks like me some free time back because a non geek can easily get it working.

The Samsung LN52B750 (and all the B750 line apparently) include a full set of DLNA 1.5 features. When I display the source list on the TV,  all of my DLNA 1.0 and 1.5 devices are auto detected and displayed. You can see part of this list below, but it also detected my WHS box and additional computers.

Note that it this point, the Samsung TV does not appear to be able to pull the list of available shared media from my Windows 7 computers (or other sources). A folder structure is displayed, but no content is visible to pull and stream. However, using Play To on a host Windows 7 machine (PUSH technology) works beautifully. Perhaps future firmware updates from Samsung will enable “pull”. I hope so!

This TV is all about connectivity, including the Internet. The Samsung TV has onboard Ethernet and accepts a Samsung 802.11n wireless USB adapter. Out of the box, there are some Yahoo Widgets, including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Samsung has done a great job with this. Hit the Internet button on the remote and you’re off and running. You can sign in with a existing Yahoo account, too. There is a handy on screen button to run TV in a smaller window while the Widgets, etc. display. You can toggle back and forth. I’ve already used the connection to pull down a firmware upgrade for the TV itself. Another “well done” for Samsung.

I have a fairly sophisticated home network. Everything here is dual homed. One network is Wireless N (both 2.4 and 5 GHz) plus GigE wired Ethernet, and a second network is MoCA plus N. MoCA is short for multi media over COAX. 

W7’s Network & Sharing Center displaying my dual homed network

W7 Network Map of one network segment. The line along the bottom is the second network.

I’ve got desktops, laptops, digital picture frames, NAS boxes, wireless access points and of course my new Samsung TV networked.  Below is a partial view of my networked home (some devices are not powered on all the time).

Barb’s Home Network 

Did I mention that my new TV includes a wired Ethernet jack and can accept an 802.11n (2.4 GHz) special USB adapter? Samsung offers a wireless 802.11n USB adapter as an accessory. It is powered by a Ralink 2880 radio. I was hoping that any wireless N USB adapter would work since I have a bucketful of those here, but only the Samsung branded one will function. Samsung supports Windows Connect Now (WCN) via push button and of course you can manually configure the wireless network. It’s fast and easy to set up.

You can access the settings for media streaming options from several places on a Windows 7 computer. One way to do this is from the Network Window. Right click the device (TV in this case) and then select Media streaming options from the shortcut menu that displays.

From the Media streaming options window you can then specify what permissions to set for each computer and device. This is very easy and intuitive.

Once permissions are enabled, it’s time to have a LOT of fun.

From within Windows Explorer, if there is an available device on the network, right clicking a media file or a group of selected media files invokes a shortcut menu that offers Play To as a choice.

Once you’ve sent media on its way using this method, a Play To window opens with a list of the items selected. You can drag and drop additional content into this window and even mix and match images, music, recorded TV (non protected). 

On the TV, the incoming streamed content is auto sensed and auto displayed. You’ll see some meta data briefly as shown below.

The meta data header will then disappear and you’ll get a nicely displayed image.

The same technique works for music files, at least for MP3’s. I was not able to send WMA ripped music using Play To. Microsoft has put me in touch with Samsung, and they are investigating. Samsung obviously wants to get this right and I’m hopeful that this will be fixed with a firmware update. Note that since I’m running sound through a Home Theater Receiver, I do have to switch the receiver to a different audio input. I ran a digital optical cable from the TV to the receiver and that handles the sound streamed over the network perfectly.

I’ve saved the best (in my mind anyway) for last. And that is Recorded TV from Windows Media Center. Frankly speaking, I was VERY surprised at the support for this. Both dvr-ms and wtv formats ARE supported. It is important to note that only non protected (non DRM’d) recorded TV will work. I hope Microsoft can change this severe limitation, because this is a kickass feature and then some. I’d also like to see Play To supported inside the Windows Media Center interface itself.

In the image below, I’ve right clicked an episode of Stargate Atlantis (non protected recording from the Sci Fi – now Sy Fy – channel), And once again, Play To (TV) appears as a choice.

My mouth dropped to the floor and I was speechless when this actually worked (see screenshot below). I think this is the future and  that I’ve found a time machine.

It takes a lot to get me excited and I’m VERY excited about this technology. My virtual hat is tipped to Microsoft for the slick implementation and to Samsung for being visionary and being one of the first to embrace this very cool convergent world.

And if you have read this far, I have two recommendations for you. The first is to upgrade to Windows 7 just as soon as you can and the second is, if you are shopping for a new HDTV, the Samsung B750 line will rock your world.

Clubhouse Tags: clubhouse,Windows 7, media center, Media Center Windows 7, windows media center, how-to, Play To, Windows Media Streaming,DLNA,Tip

I actually like the device alot. Email on the go for sure keeps me uber connected, but I’ve only enabled a few of my email addresses for this.  I resisted getting a smart phone for a long time, but now I don’t know how I managed without one. 

One thing that I didn’t like was the default theme pack offered by Verizon. But there certainly is a large variety of user designed theme-ware to be found online. The iPhone like bBerry theme caught my eye, mostly because of the Blue Marble shot of Earth and the clean, Zen iPhone iconography.  I customized it even further by adding a wallpaper (just like the one that comes with the theme itself) with my name on it (Photoshop, how do I count the ways).  I like the “Today” default view.

As they matured, more clients and staff came onboard. And now BuzzCorps is announcing a new name – Ivy Worldwide.

What better way to kick the new branding than by holding a contest to design a new logo. With prizes including:

Winning Design Grand Prize
• $2,500 Cash

2nd Place Design Prize
• Loaded HP Mini 1000 XP edition series (up to $500 in value) or HP Photosmart Pro B8850 Printer (up to $500 in value)

3rd Place Design Prize
• Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet (up to $200 in value)

Ivy Worldwide has a temporary website with all the details/rules/instructions at http://www.ivyworldwide.com/

The contest starts now and the contest ends June 12th at midnight Central Time.

Best of luck to all who enter. I look forward to seeing all the great entries!