Yup, after 5 years of faithfull service the Hyundai Q321 32" is migrating to the bedroom. Taking its place is a 42" LG LH3000 unit. After much spec investigation this unit seemed a good compromise of value versus features.
Good: size, features, modes (720p and 1080p are available in 24,50 and 60hz with other modes also available over HDMI) TV reception. HD Picture quality, SD picture quality (with good sources)
Average: Audio (much is commented on this set having "great" audio but its quite thin and with no line level output - the headphone jack cuts the speakers and the SCART socket is unaffected by the volume control - there's no way to hook a subwoofer up. You can use optical out to an amp - my solution - but its a little overkill). Some very minor backlight banding/seepage - typical for most low/mid end LCD TVs
Bad: Nothing really, turn off ALL the dynamic noise contrast etc features if you dont want a mush mess (ignoring most freeview channels which are a mushy mess to start with)
More on this and new integration soon...
Saturday 13 March 2010
ACER Revo HTPC frontend
..yup
Yes its in and working. I got the unit in December and, after running through the fun restore disc creation (the software insists on a physical DVD drive to write the discs and the unit doesnt have one, my trusty USB to IDE converter and a spare DVD-R drive came into play here!) I used partition magic to change one of the 80GB windows partitions into blank space and installed Ubuntu Karmic.
Several fun filled days later I'd installed the NVIDIA ION drivers, XBMC and mythtvfrontend. I've also purchased a £20 MCE remote from Maplin and programmed an lirc script. Now when the machine boots up it uses the LAN to connect to the big old backend mythtv server (the one with the drives and satellite / freeview cards) and runs up the myth interface on the Revo. Pressing livetv on the remote kills mythtv (front end - the backend server whirrs away regardless) and starts XBMC, pressing liveTV in XBMC kills it ans goes back to MythTV front end and so on.
The Revo (a 3610) has HDMI and SPDIF (although WHY the SPDIF output is on the front of the box is a mystery to all) and my Hyundai TV only has DVI and analogue audio so the spdif routes to my Yamaha amp for DTS ,PCM and Dolby Digital audio.
Using NVIDIA VDPAU this little beasty handles 1080p/720p High def output nicely (there are a few dropped frames as the LAN wakes up and a few hiccoughs but thats a tuning issue). In MythTV I can also watch live TV even viewing BBC HD!
Next up is a new Tv that can go to full resolution and match refresh rates (the Hyundai is stubbornly locked to 60hz at 1360x768 - see my postings at AV Forums ) and a redesign to get rid of the big old tv unit and server whirring away in th lounge!
Yes its in and working. I got the unit in December and, after running through the fun restore disc creation (the software insists on a physical DVD drive to write the discs and the unit doesnt have one, my trusty USB to IDE converter and a spare DVD-R drive came into play here!) I used partition magic to change one of the 80GB windows partitions into blank space and installed Ubuntu Karmic.
Several fun filled days later I'd installed the NVIDIA ION drivers, XBMC and mythtvfrontend. I've also purchased a £20 MCE remote from Maplin and programmed an lirc script. Now when the machine boots up it uses the LAN to connect to the big old backend mythtv server (the one with the drives and satellite / freeview cards) and runs up the myth interface on the Revo. Pressing livetv on the remote kills mythtv (front end - the backend server whirrs away regardless) and starts XBMC, pressing liveTV in XBMC kills it ans goes back to MythTV front end and so on.
The Revo (a 3610) has HDMI and SPDIF (although WHY the SPDIF output is on the front of the box is a mystery to all) and my Hyundai TV only has DVI and analogue audio so the spdif routes to my Yamaha amp for DTS ,PCM and Dolby Digital audio.
Using NVIDIA VDPAU this little beasty handles 1080p/720p High def output nicely (there are a few dropped frames as the LAN wakes up and a few hiccoughs but thats a tuning issue). In MythTV I can also watch live TV even viewing BBC HD!
Next up is a new Tv that can go to full resolution and match refresh rates (the Hyundai is stubbornly locked to 60hz at 1360x768 - see my postings at AV Forums ) and a redesign to get rid of the big old tv unit and server whirring away in th lounge!
Samsung DVD Player
Oh yes, this was fun.
As you read my DVD player went foom so off I went to Richer Sounds Bournemouth. As with most RS shops its small and always busy. Good staff who know what they're talking about and good prices. Not internet cheap but not far off and they'll beat most prices or match them.
So I eventually settled on an open box Samsung DVD-SR275M DVD recorder with freeview built in, for £50 this is all region, DVD-RAM and has freeview so seemed a good purchase. On getting it home it wouldnt play anything but region 2 but, after a minor screaming session, I found a guide on line for multi region goodness and it's working fine now serving Bob the Builder and Disney fayre on demand like a gooden. Of course it's getting less of a workout now because of the ....
As you read my DVD player went foom so off I went to Richer Sounds Bournemouth. As with most RS shops its small and always busy. Good staff who know what they're talking about and good prices. Not internet cheap but not far off and they'll beat most prices or match them.
So I eventually settled on an open box Samsung DVD-SR275M DVD recorder with freeview built in, for £50 this is all region, DVD-RAM and has freeview so seemed a good purchase. On getting it home it wouldnt play anything but region 2 but, after a minor screaming session, I found a guide on line for multi region goodness and it's working fine now serving Bob the Builder and Disney fayre on demand like a gooden. Of course it's getting less of a workout now because of the ....
HTPC Update
Hi there and welcome to 2010!
So whats been happening then?
Well, the Revo system was built (more of that in a mo) there's a new DVD player, new TV and TV unit and more grey hair...
So whats been happening then?
Well, the Revo system was built (more of that in a mo) there's a new DVD player, new TV and TV unit and more grey hair...
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