my weekend of projects: hds, vista, snowboard and a ds lite

well, this weekend i had set aside for all of my recent geek projects/purchases.  lets see what was on the agenda: new hd/redo system storage scheme, get new DS One flashcart working, setup Vista, setup/tweak my snowboard, and of course get a blog in.

 my new harddrive project seemed to take up most of the weekend since i was redoing my whole partition/storage scheme.  redoing my scheme required me to basically setup my partitions on the 500GB first, install XP to my first partition, then hook up the rest of my drives and then one by one, backup the data to the 2nd and 3rd partitions on the new harddrive, then format/repartition the old harddrive, and finally copy data back to respective partitions.

this took me about a day to do (moving over 700GB of data manually is probably in my top ten of boring computer tasks) but was well worth the time.  My current drive/partition setup is as such:

-Disk1 (500GB), 3 partitions for XP, Vista, Ripping
-Disk2 (300GB), 2 partitions for files, games
-Disk3 (250GB), media files, my documents
-Disk4 (200GB), dedicated entirely to storing of Ghost images of my setups (so glad i made a Live Ghost Boot CD!)


vista seemed to run and load much faster on my new drive (has a 16mb cache vs my prev having only 8mb caches; i remember when most drives only had 1mb or 2mb caches, those must really seem slow these days).  the maxtor drive is a sata300 drive but my motherboard's sata controller is only a sata150; so i'm not getting the ideal speeds at all but still access times are good. 

i did my first real vista install today since i plan to run both that and XP SP2 on my main box.  my first few boots w/vista were interesting since i had installed nero 7 right away and it seems that nero 7 has an issue w/vista or the version i had did.  so i went online and found a micro and lite version of nero (made/customized for Vista), check it out over here:  http://web10.hotel450.server4you.de/index.php  install the micro version to get almost every feature, the lite is for basic burning only.

also used several tips from tech rx in getting my vista setup and adobe reader going.

after finally getting my XP Prof and Vista dual boot setup done, off to tweaking the snowboard. 

just got a new 2005 Burton Cruzer from REI for a pretty good deal. After riding some very sweet setups at the demo days at Spirit Mt, i decided that i had to actually spend some money for a brand name board. my current board is a cheapy, generic one.  the K2 and Burton setup i rode was beautiful, if not a bit scary.  i would consider myself to be a more aggressive freestyle rider, i love to go as fast as i can at times; however the k2 and burton setups it seemed almost hard to slow down or keep at a casual not screaming pace.  i had no problem w/the tougher, uneven terrain (a key thing for me since my face plant).  Last year i was up at Lutsen in northern MN snowboarding w/a bunch of my skier pals.  we hit up a pretty fast blackdiamond and i hit it too hard and did a faceplant going about 30mph.  not a fun weekend! since that wipeout i've been a bit on the softer side and also reason why i got my new board. 



one thing that amazes me with snowboarding is the level to which it has risen.  i started riding way back in 1994, so i'm pretty experienced (i'm a carver more than a jumper or pipe) and i remember my first board.  it was an airwalk 120 (started riding pretty small boards at first) and didn't have any of the quick release stuff or pads or anything.  i look at my latest board and the level of customization with it and it amazes me.  today i removed and adjusted the bindings (Morrow bindings).  the bindings can basically be taken fully apart and adjusted in almost each aspect.  pretty crazy i'd say!  well, got my new setup so we'll see how that holds out next weekend at my parents.

and the final project, my new DS Lite homebrew cart.  i decided to go and get a new DS One SC slot 1 card since my current SuperCard MiniSD is good and all, but sticks out a bit at the bottom.  plus, the DS One is a super key also so no firmware upgrade needed.  got it working but have been having some probs with the microSD card.  it seems i may have too slow of a microSD card, but we'll see after i play aroud a bit more.  



hoping to get my laptop power cord in (got from a pal that declared it dead, dead? never! hehe, popped a new 60gb hd in it so we'll see if an OS installs or not) and my Wiimote skins in.  i broke down and got 4 different ones from http://www.decalgirl.com   and hopefully my fourth and final wiimote i got off ebay will come soon too!

peace out

iPhone thoughts...

well, this last week or so we finally got to see Apple's first true jump into the cellphone market w/their rumor-laden iPhone.

the iPhone boasts some pretty impressive features such as being a widescreen iPod, Mac OS X like interface, widgets on the dashboard, and all in apple smooth/ease of use.  so, will the iPhone be the success that apple and most industry experts expect it to be? or will apple in turn kill its own iPod market w/such a device?

here are some of the features from apple's site on the iPhone (http://www.apple.com/iphone)

-iPod music and video player
-iTunes support
-Touchscreen, Widescreen.
-Gesture support.
-Accelerometer detects landscape/portrait aspect automatically
-OS X operating system
-Wifi, BT, GPRS/EDGE wireless connectivity
-Widget support
-2mp camera
-4gb or 8gb flash onboard storage

the iPhone really isn't that breakthrough of a phone/device.  all of the current technology exists in current phones (ie MDA, HTC Wizard, etc) and most run the Windows Mobile 5 OS or Symbian. however, it seems that apple's venture tries to do all of these things in a much more integrated/intuitive way. i know from my personal experience that the Windows Mobile 5 OS is not an easy one to get used to for new users.  it is a bit clunky and slow and does freeze up at times too.  so i give apple props in that i know the device's os and integration of apps will be very clean and smooth and stable.

however, one thing that i do not like is the fact that apple will not allow non-apple applications on it. for the average joe thats prob not a big deal, but for me it is. this reminds me of a phone i used to have, the Sidekick and Sidekick2.  these phones had a similar proprietary OS that was very smooth and clean. they also were one of the first IM/txting targeted phones and did IM/txting very well and also the web.  however, these phones did not allow the user to add any other applications; the only way was to apply for a developers key and then upload them via the HTConsole (which of course i had and loved! fell in love w/some great beta apps like Hipster and Underground Weather).

so that is a minor gripe of mine of the iPhone. another gripe is that i'm a gadget geek/whore and love having the toy that no one has; everyone will have the iPhone.  it will be a huge success, a no brainer.  the hype surrounding the phone for the last 2 years has been crazy in the cell/mobile scene. however, one MAJOR gripe i forgot to originally add was that the fact that the iPhone is a cingular exclusive and in turn those of us not w/cingular may SOL come release day since there has been no mention of an unlocked version!

and finally, is apple shooting itself in the foot by releasing the iPhone? some people think they may be, however i do not agree.  there will always be the iPod only market.  you know apple will update the player w/the iPhone release; who knows, maybe they'll release a 100gb version soon or a widescreen/touchscreen version. plus the iPhone has only 4 or 8gb of memory.

for some reason, apple just can't seem to do any wrong these days.  the iPhone will be a success unlike the infamous ROKR of past and i will prob end up with one on release day given it is unlocked.

and no, i am not an apple fanboy but must give them props when due. i just hope they release the iPhone unlocked to a carrier so we can use it on T-Mobile (i can live w/o the visual voicemail feature that seems to be tied to cingulars network)

phew! finally settled in!

well.. after about an hour of good ole copy and pasting (ctrl+c/v-ing), i got all of my older  blogs from my blogger account over here. feel free to peruse if you dare! haha... warning, may contain geeky content...

not sure what my next project is going to be yet. i think vista and the ati tuner are looking pretty possible at the moment (due to my hate of my hd dvr box, arg!).  or maybe it'll be a new phone, hate to say it the iphone concept looks pretty sweet.. (did i say that out loud?), but i'm still planning on waiting until tmobile gets UMTS going before getting another premium phone (might get me a used K790a for the time being).  if anyone has any thing geeky or technological they want to see let me know, i'm always down for a fun challenge or attempt. :)

hope at last! ATI announced ATI TV Wonder HD Tuner!!!

well, after using Media Center and other PC Based PVR/DVR solutions, i've been extremely dissappointed with all of the cable company dvr boxes.   my SA HD box is pretty sad when it comes to searching, organizing, recording storage.  however, amd/ati is here to the rescue!  They announced the ATI TV Wonder HD for Digital Cable (cablecard compliant).  here's a link to the announcement over at businesswire.com:
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070107005072&newsLang=en

however, this will of course require you to have Vista to use too, but the cost of vista and the card may in the long run be cheaper than a Tivo Series 3 box (plus, no monthly subscription fees) and gives one much more flexibility.  however, i may have to upgrade my home living room pc to be vista ultimate ed compatible (video card and memory upgrades would be a must).

perhaps we'll see a nice influx of cablecard 2.0 ready pc tuners after CES 2007; supposedly Vista is/was the key to Cable HD TV on the pc.  hopefully the card is sold alone or perhaps bundled w/vista vs being sold in a pre-built systems.

 nonetheless, a step forward and some light at the end of tunnel for us PC HDTV PVR/DVRers

microtransaction model/strategy = the future of techie/gamer hell?

recently, we as consumers are starting to see a shift in marketing/business strategy in the gaming world and technology world. we are seeing a shift of selling a complete product to the idea of selling a core product which you can purchase smaller upgrades/add-ons for (for an additional amount of course).

some examples of these microtransactions would be buying extra clothes/weapons for a XBOX360 or PS3 or PC game, purchasing of cars and tracks, different levels and even the gaming systems themselves, excluding the Wii since there is only one version available.

we also are seeing the inclusion of ads into games, from bilboard signs in racing games to graffiti ads in a fps game. a trend that until recently hadn't been tried or implemented.

to me, this sucks. most of us are getting nickeled and dimed all the time each day, the last thing we want is to have the same thing happen to us when we are trying to get away from it all and relax w/our games. the ad thing doesn't bother me too much since they do need revenue and if its not too intrusive its more realistic in a sense.

however the microtransaction strategy is just annoying. why can't the original game have all of the cars and upgrades? yes, i understand that being able to add more cars (newer ones) or the latest rosters is a justified sell. i guess its hard for me to think about paying extra to get the white lamborghini countach vs unlocking it via a challenge (anyone remember how great Gran Turismo was on the ps1?). to me it seems like it lets developers get off easy on an unfinished product while us consumers/gamers pay the same price and then some for all of the cool add-ons.  pricing and the quality of the content will ultimately determine my final thoughts but i'm still very leery of the idea. hopefully the quality of the core game isn't limited and requiring the add-ons to be a great game.

i guess we'll see how this all pans out as time goes on. 2007 will the be the year of the micro-transaction i fear. however, if it succeeds or fails is us up to us.

don't forget that we are paying their paychecks and without us consumers there would be no industry.
just my $0.02

music libraries, keeping it clean

well, most of you are prob like me in that you have a pretty extensive mp3 collection (i had previously converted my whole 200+ cd collection to mp3s back early in the day)... so.. how does one keep so many files/folders organized?

sadly, i am not a big fan of iTunes; its limited plugin/external plugin and limited media library functionality doesn't do it for me. i've been using Winamp since v1.0a back in 1997 and still consider it to be among THE best music/video players. however, recently i had helped a friend recover all of her files from a macbook whose hd crapped out and in exchange for me helping her get all of her files back and making a full backup of the drive, she gave me her music library. after moving her music into my library i realized that unlike me, she didn't keep a clean library at all. most songs didn't have tags, tons were in the AAC format (itunes), and others were not tagged properly. normally, i'd just go in and rename tracks and create the artist - album folder structure but man, when you have over 2,400 songs its not very efficient and too time consuming. so my quest was on.

what could i use to organize and identify the new music? also, how could i convert the itunes format songs to mp3s? (again, i like to keep all of my music in a solid mp3 format, that way i can rip to any of my other devices at will and i have the hd space). this would not be an easy task.

after finding several free programs to rip the aac to mp3, i broke down and got imtoo audio encoder (commercial) and converted the aac to mp3 w/o any tag info (i didn't really look too hard to find a quality ripper since the files all had the proper tag info in the file names). after converting them, i then used Winamp to load all of the music into my Media Library. I also setup the preferences so that smart tag reading was on. I then went into winamp, sorted by artist first and then selected all the songs for a particular artist and updated the artist tag info (being sure to create idtags if they didn't have any). after tagging most songs by artist, i opened up Windows Media Player and then again imported the new music into my library in there. i also selected the option to add missing media information. let the import go for an hour. then finally went back and made sure most of the tags and music were identified, for the unknown music i removed those from my media player library and then went into the options and checked the "Rename music according to rip settings" (i also setup my rip file naming to be what most files and itunes seemed to use, artist-album-track#-title. then let media player work away, after an hour or so, i went into my music folder and verified the structure.

finally, i still had to deal with the ever dreaded untagged/un-named music. i have yet to find a good and fast program to identify this type of music, so if you know of one, PLEASE put a link to it in my comments! i'd love you forever! hehe. however for the time being i use my cellphone's Track ID feature. Some of the newer Sony Ericsson Phones (mainly the walkman line, W series) have a feature called TrackID. This litle application will sample and record a clip of music via the microphone and then send that to a server which in turns identifies the artist, title, and album which you can then send the info via SMS or just view. Very handy i must say for those songs you have no idea what the name is. The only downfall is that you need to get a pretty clear sample of it (be in a quieter area or the music has to be super loud, bg noise will affect your results).

so i did that for the remaining songs and now have a clean library again. so the moral of the story is.

Keep your music libraries clean from the start!! I'm a big believer in keeping a very organized file structure. Doing so is the first step to becoming adept in the computer world, well at least imo it is, and taking control of your files/music. Trust me, i'd be screwed if i didn't (i admit, i have 3 hds in my pc and over 700GB of data (docs, files, music, pics) and all of it is in a very structured manner).

whenever i rebuild my system or just want to redo my setup, i always plan out the partitioning of the hds before starting. i use a very simple scheme, i have 3 hds; 200gb, 250gb, 300gb. Which in turn i have broken up into 7 partitions for what they are going to be used for (ie, i have a main C: for my os and programs that will be installed (usually 80 to 100gbs), a music drive, personal drive (for mydocuments folders), etc.) . This makes finding apps/files very intuitive, however the main thing is to keep a consistent file naming structure, so for example in my apps drive i have folders named for the type of application they are and then under the main category a subfolder, so Audio and Video > Media Players > WindowsMediaPlayer10setup.exe, etc.

also, if anyone knows of any good apps for importing/tagging music, drop a link or name of it in my comments.

happy 2007!

wii opera browsing = wiimote accuracy building?

well... i've been playing with the wii browser now quite a bit.

blogged this on my wii. hehe. it seems like my pointer accuracy is improving the more i type. not a bad way to fine tune your aiming while browsing. anywho back to zelda!

Wii channels; weather and opera browser!

update : recipe on controlling your pc's winamp via the wii browser should be up on http://tech-recipes.com once it's approved.. :) enjoy! see the youtube vid here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB7P_nWWAyU

Also, it is true, that Madden 07 does use the weather channel data to adjust for the weather for the home team to what it currently is. pretty kewl, i think i am seeing why the big N has been slower to roll out their services, they really are trying to do it right.  rumor has it that they are working on the DS/Wii connectivity software and how that will work.  that should be interesting to see, i could see the DS being used as a second controller for 2player co-op; perhaps the navigator/driver in a racing type game? use the DS screens to see behind and map? hmm..

_______________-

well, on the 19th we saw the release/startup of the Weather Channel for the Wii. so far seems to be a pretty good little channel, only downfall i've noticed is that the weather doesn't seem to update each time you access the channel, rather at intervals (usually 6pm, 6am; since i open it before work and when i get home at 7pm).

also, today wii get the Opera browser!! i've verified it does play Youtube vids fine and flash movies. does not play mp3 yet, however i'm going to test streaming my shoutcast station and seeing if it can handle streamed or not. also, i'll get my recipe up for using your Wii to control your winamp (wii-amp)

more coming later! enjoy your free opera browser!! (get it at the shopping channel)

my wii future thoughts...

you know your a fanboy when you think you've come up with some good ideas for the console.. :-P hehe..  so, i've got a few myself.. these to me can catapult the console into legendary status.

1. give us what we want on the VC, whats with the holding back? seriously, i don't want harrier or tennis, i want Chrono Trigger or Mariokart 64 w/on-line capabilities, or even Mario Allstars w/Super Mario (SNES) or even Dr Mario. why make us wait? we'll buy them no matter what time you release them.

2. mario bowling.. enough said..

3. more mii accessories (obvious one) and easier friendcode system (but prob too late since the infrastructure has been laid w/the releases worldwide).  more use of mii's in games too would be nice and novel (if even just as spectators or whatnot).

4. brand your own nintendo rechargable batteries, an obvious money market pointed out by all.

5. mini games sell, keep them coming! also, get us a good air drum game or more music ones... it just seems made for it at times!

thats about all for now, but so far i must say i applaud the big N for a fun console. by the way, i see an HD upgraded version of the Wii within a 2yr span or less.

production of the wii is so easy and cheap that you would think they are now starting to think about highdef (after the shortage of component cables, that alone is a good sign for them).

just my silly .02..

peace

namebrand or generic?

well, as an avid techno-geek, i'm always on the prowl for a great deal or the best deal on new technology and current technology. as with most things in life, there are the usual 'namebrands, ie sony, hp, dell, corsair, etc, but what about those generic/no-name brands)? is the money saved worth the possible reliabilty and performance you may or may not lose with them?

to me, this all depends on what you are buying and what you plan/expect from it. with a computer, i usually buy namebrand motherboards and processors (not much else choice), and go generic on the memory and case/powersupply (unless its a pure gaming rig, then its all namebrand). in my book, memory is the main thing i'll go generic on, the differenec in performace can by a mere .5 in CAS latency, unless your overclocking or an uber geek, you won't notice the performance loss.

the same goes for portable memory too, say flash memory. however, you have to be wary of what you buy since some memory will claim capacities that are not really achievable or is a faked partition job. i'm pretty comfortable spending a few bucks less for a cheaper memory stick since the risk is lower too.

however, recently i've tried out different higher end generic brands like my LCD HDTV, Olevia and have had so far (knock on wood) good results. another tip when researching no name brands is to find out the components used in them. the lcd hdtv i purchased from olevia contains either a samsung or lg lcd panel (high quality) but does not have the video processing effects and upconvert features of the samsung brand. also, always google the item or hit up some forum boards. first hand user feedback says it all with most items.

happy geek bargain hunting!

some quick good places for deals:

http://slickdeals.net

http://techbargains.com

http://techdeals.net

good ole Nintendo, replacement Wii straps!

well, we've all seen the news/blogs/videos of Wii users and the potentially breakable safety strap/tether probs.  it appears Nintendo has addressed these issues/concerns and is now offering to replace your strap for free!  not too shabby for a company to admit a defect and then go about resolving it for free.

head over here to get a replacement for your wiimotes. :

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/strapreplace.jsp

so far no more wii-injuries by any of my pals or family but we'll see since i'm heading home this weekend and my dad has been begging me to bring home the wii.. hehe... i just might have to head to Target this weekend and see if i can get  Wii for him.

Olevia 237V 37" LCD HDTV Review

  Olevia 237V 37" LCD HDTV Review

Syntax/Olevia is a LCD TV company that most have never heard or have seen.  They have recently had some great deals on mid size LCD HDTVs (usually 1080i since 1080p's will up the anter a good $200 or so) for under a grand.  I recently was able to score an Olevia 237V 37" LCD HDTV (1080i) on newegg for a nice $730 shipped and thus my entry into the HDTV realm.  Again, is it worth the money saved to get a no-name/generic LCD HDTV? Lets find out, shall we?

Up until about 3 months ago, I was very anti-HDTV.  I was one of those, 'it doesn't make a difference' or 'why do i need that much detail person'.  However I started to become curious to see what I might be missing and was hooked instantly.  Up until now, i have been viewing my HDTV on my Dell 24" Widescreen (1080i) monitor on a cable HD DVR box.

Packaging:

Honestly, horrible! Most places that you buy from on the internet have a policy in that if you sign for it and its damaged, you have to go to the manufacturer and cannot get a refund; however if you refuse delivery due to damage, they are liable for refunding or replacement.  Just thought i'd give everyone a heads up on this since the packaging for this HDTV is almost non-existent.  I received my HDTV w/a little puncture in the box (not by the LCD though, phew!) but still signed for it hoping there wouldn't be any problems.  After getting the packaging off, I put her on the stand.

Included in the box, TV, Remote, Quick Startup Guide, Manual on CDROM, Batteries for remote.

Basic Specs/Important Info:

Display
Screen Size	37"
Recommended Resolution	1366 x 768
Aspect Ratio	16:9
Video Processor Viewing Angle	MTK MDDI Technology 178°(H) / 178°(V)
Contrast Ratio	1600:1
Response Time	8ms
Connectivity
Input Video Compatibility	PC Input: Analog RGB TV Tuner Input: ATSC/NTSC HDTV: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
HDTV Capability	HDTV Tuner Inside
Connectors	Component Input: 3 Component + 3 R/L RCA Audio (VGA connector accepts as 3rd Component source) AV Input: 2 composite + 2 R/L RCA Audio S-Video Input: 2 S-Video with R/L RCA Audio Digital Input: PC + Video, Plug & Play, CEA EDID Extensions VGA Input: RGB 15 Pin D-sub with Analog EDID, PC + Video, Plug & Play, Third Component Input + R/L RCA Audio Audio Output: 1 R/L Audio Digital Output: 1 SPDIF 1 Stereo Mini Jack
HDCP Ready	Yes
HDMI	Yes

Installation:

fairly simple except for ONE THING: there is a power toggle switch by the power cable!!  It took me a few minutes to find this and made me start to get that swirl in my stomach of a bad lcd (had a prob w/3 lcds i ordered in the past), however i checked the power cable one more time and spotted the rocker.  Flipped her on and the olevia startup screen appeared.



The inputs/outputs on the tv are located in reachable areas.  There are a ton of inputs on this thing too including a QAM Tuner ( read more here:  wikipedia entry)

• HDMIx1


• Componentx2


• VGAx1


• Compositex2


• S-Videox2


• Optical Digital Audio Out


• Coaxil In (HD OTA, Cable, QAM Tuner)

Setup was fairly simple with it, if you've setup a home theater or tv before, you should have no problems.  the exclusion of a paper manual does leave a few people in the dark (those w/a pc readily available) if they need to find an input/setting.  Also, when you turn on the TV be sure to not put it into Showroom mode, you will not have access to all of the functions as in Home mode.

Image Quality/Viewing:

First off, i am not a 'hardcore' HDTV buff.  I'm fairly new to the HDTV sector and got my first taste of it via my PC, ATI HDTV Wonder, and my Dell 24" LCD (1080i).   I currently have a Scientific America 8300HD DVR box for cable connected via Component at 1080i (upconverted for most), Nintendo Wii via component at 480p and just added a PS3 and connect that via HDMI.

Image quality is great.  In comparison to my pals Samsung HP S4253 42" plasma it is nearly identical. However, I have noticed less pixelization on the Olevia than his (using Fifth Element Superbit) and also less ghosting.  Contrast levels are very good for an LCD, however the Samsung wins on this one.  Contrast in comparison to my Dell 24" LCD is better on the Olevia though.

Colors also look very good.  Whites sometimes may have a very slight blue hue however this may be due to my color temp i use (native).   Flesh tones are accurate.  HDTV content looks great like w/all HDTVs. SDTV looks pretty decent too.  Of course its going to be less clear, pixelated due to it be Standard Def (480i).  1080i content looks very crisp. Again, take down the sharpness setting if you notice blurry or pixelization.

This LCD TV also has PIP and PBP options so you can split the screen in PBP mode w/two sources.  Also, this LCD can be used with a HTPC or PC by hooking one up via the VGA connection.  Text is very readable and clear since it has a native resolution of 1366x768.



My Nintendo Wii plays very well on it, there is no delay or audio/video sync problems. However if you do have AV sync problems, this TV has a setting to let you account for such delays in the menus.  The PS3 looks great on it, Blu-Ray movies really do look crisp and is making it hard for me to go back to standard DVDs.

Audio/Speakers:

Audio from the builtin speakers is ok.  I have noticed times where i get some feedback from the speakers w/my surrounds sound speakers, but i just disable the TV's speakers then.  There are a few built in sound environments to try and also ability to change treble and bass leves and of course balalance between L and R speakers.   I would recommend using a receiver for sound.

Conclusion:

All in all, Olevia makes a great LCD HDTV for a deal.  If you can get the LCD HDTV to you w/o any damage you should be very happy.  If possible, you might want to try to find a deal in a store so you can just pickup and not have to worry about the crappy packaging and possible damage while in transit.  The TV does come w/a 1 year warranty from Olevia.

The 37" 237V LCD can seriously compete w/the bigger name plasma and lcd makers however like many will say 'you get what you pay for' and in the case of this LCD TV, you do and then some.  Sound quality through the builtin speakers, the hidden power toggle switch, and crappy packaging are my only main gripes. Oh yea, and the last gripe is that i can not program any of my universal remotes to this tv's remote.  i've emailed olevia on this so i may add a followup if i get a response (so far, the only way to get the remote to work on a universal is to get a learning remote).  as for pluses, amazing price for an LCD HDTV, does 1080i,720p,480p very well and has a ton of inputs/outputs that are easily accessible.

And for those HDTV buffs, this has the MTK MDDI video processor not the ATI one! (seems ATI one is a bit flaky and not as good quality picture as the MTK).

Seamonkey says: Recommended! 9/10

Tips/Notes:

• Here's a link to Olevia/Syntax's FAQ on LCD HDTV they make:
  http://www.syntaxgroups.com/products/faqs.html


• If you notice blurring when viewing HDTV content, try to change the sharpness setting to very low or none (noticed this w/HDTV and 480p DVD)


• If you hit Source when the Olevia Splash screen comes up you can bypass waiting for it to go away when you power on the TV


• If you do not like the speakers on the TV, just disable them if your like me and hook everything up to a Home Theater AV Receiver (connect using digital optical)


• This TV can have its firmware updated via USB, mine shipped w/the most recent firmware.


• upgrading the htpc to vista, running origami pack on it my olevia… (vista on my olevia)

around 3 year update (sept 2009):
its now sept 2009. my olevia lcd is still running like a champ and has not had any problems. as the comments section of this post will show, i seem to be fluke since a lot of people seemed to have had failures after 2 years or less of owning. most probs related to motherboard/mainboard.

one thing that i did do that most may not have; i kept the firmware up to date.  my 237v has the last update that olevia put out and in turn may be the reason why its lasted so long compared to others.

another possible reason may be the fact that i have never really used the atsc tv tuner on mine, i use my hdtv more as a 'monitor' than a tv.  currrently i run my tv through my hp laptop and windows 7 and media center and have the ps3 connected via a hdmi hub.  i could see the tuner causing the motherboard/mainboard to heat up and in turn possibly loosening the solder from the board (just guess here).

3 month update (mar 07):

well, its march 07 and so far so good.  my baby still looks excellent and my previous notes still apply.  i've upgraded the firmware on it to correct the date/time problem however it seemed to have broken the favorites option if you use the built-in tuner.  i am no longer able to use or add favorites, another email to tech support letting them know.  the firmware upgrade process is not too hard, just follow the steps and is even easier if you have a HTPC in your living room or a laptop.

i've been using the olevia as the main audio hub (ie all of my devices connect to the tv's audio inputs and then output via optical digital to my receiver) and it seems to work pretty good, seems the speakers quality vs via outputs are opposites.  however, i do connect my dvr via hdmi (dolby 5.1 for hd channels) and my wii via normal rca's; dvd player goes to receiver via spdif.

inputs: HDMI connections look superior to any of my component ones. i had originally setup my HD DVR box to use HDMI, but this week moved it over to Component since i'm getting a PS3 shortly and have noticed that the HDMI connection makes for much cripser images/picture so if you got the option, go HDMI! btw, i'm using a cheap $10 HDMI cable from ebay (i'm no sucker for the cable game, imo they don't make that much of a difference).

vista looks very nice on it, i've been running it only at 800x600 resolution to use the Origami Experience properly and using the Full Screen option for video.  vista itself looks distorted due to the stretching, however the origami experience pack looks perfect since it seems to be made for widescreen aspect ratio.  see my youtube to see origami on this baby.  thanks everyone for stopping by and adding your experience/tips!  this blog post will be updated w/3 month updates of my experiences.

geek-spirations

i remember when i was growing up thinking about what the future might be and what cool gadgets/toys we might have. i never would have thought how fast we would get to where we are now and also the path that i would take in life.

as a kid i was always into anything that was space or electronics or could be taken apart, be it a radio or an rf adapter for my atari or trying to make my own telescope.  i always ended up taking things apart to see how they worked.  most of the time i couldn't them to work again or my modding made things worse. however i still remember my first interactions w/a computer.  now that was a 'cool machine'.

our family never had a computer when i was growing up. computers and macs were pretty pricey still (late 80s-90s, i am 27).  you really couldn't go out and build a nice system for $300.  if you wanted a pc you had to either buy a pre-built system or know some REALLY geeky rich friend and were looking at spending an easy $2000.  my initial interactions w/computers came in gradeschool, i'd say prob in 4th grade.  i decided to take some summer typing classes on the Apple IIe (we even had one w/the color monitor at school) and ended up falling in love with computers (remember oregon trail?? hehe).  then finally in 5th grade my pal's mom got a Mac PowerPC and we got our first tastes of BBS boards and Compuserve.  i remember him and me sitting up late at night trying (keyword, trying) to find a computer to try to hack into but most wardialing sessions ended w/us finding nothing.

we kept up on the hacker underground via the BBS boards (or what we thought was the hacking underground, lol) but really never got into it since we didn't have a laptop and we really didn't know that much.  we were more attracted to the culture, the risk and the brilliant minds.  so i never hacked a single computer in my life and probably never will (my definition of hacking is more old skool and less malicious than nowdays).

before 7th grade started, our area had gotten a grant to build a consolidated highschool (7-12) that was state of the art.  full computer networking in all classrooms, ITV in each room, a olympic sized pool, 2 gymnasiums, etc.  the first day of school was pretty amazing, especially walking into our computer lab filled w/35 of the latest IBM PCs. there was also a smaller computer lab filled w/20 macs that was used for programming class.

 the best thing though was that in the library we had internet access and could sign up to get an email address for $1.  so of course every kid got their own email address (poor sys admins, had no idea what they set themselves up for!).

browsing the internet back in 1992 was good stuff, advertising was not legal on the net yet and no one had ever heard of a 'popup'.  search results for 'nba' or 'jordan' brought up only like 459 hits and of course who can forget the first free website hosts, angelfire, and making your first site made of <blink>blinking text</blink> hehe...

my interests in computers and electronics faded while in high school; i was more into the whole sports thing (soccer, basketball) and of course girls and hanging w/pals.  my senior year in high school i finally saved up enough money to get a laptop before i headed off the farm to the big city for college at the U of MN Minneapolis.  i remember the day like it was yesterday. cue foggy black and white nostalgic video.. she was pretty highend at the time sporting a nice 133mhz intel pentium and a whopping 16mb of ram and a 600mb hd running windows 95b.

up to this point, i had never owned my own pc and really never got to dig into them since i didn't want to break any of my friends. the internet at this point was starting to explode w/information and taking shape to the web we know today.

the first thing i realized i had to learn was how to fix my pc or restore it back to factory state incase i do something wrong(which i did early).  after perfecting the operating system install and disk partitioning i was free to do anything i wanted w/my laptop.  i dug into litestep and a few other shell replacements and also got into skinning and other customizations.  at this point in time, we saw some of the most amazing processor technology erupt. cpu speeds were doubling from week to week, 200mhz to 400mhz to finally the first 1ghz cpu.  finally, after 2 years of owning my laptop, i decided it was time to build my own.  after reading up on what i needed and the costs, i went online and bulit my first system: an AMD Athlon slot a cpu, EPOX mobo, cd-rw/dvd burner and generic white case.

after a ton of probs and hardware failures (probs and failures will teach the most about a pc or anything), i had gotten to point where my building skills were topnotch and i wanted to help get my friends caught up with the rest of the world (most of them did not have a pc or could afford one). so i went on a pc system building frenzy and built 20 systems in 3 months for $300 a pop on a system. it felt good helping my pals get up to speed and i realized in all of my searching on the net there were not that many sites or people willing to give good, free computer/geek advice. there were a lot of individuals that wanted to hoard their knowledge or lacked the skill of teaching others.  and it seemed like the way i thought was like a computer.  the processes of a computer seemed to click and flow w/my chain of thought and logic.  i tend to think of a computer or anything as a series of networks interweaved within each other. a network is made of computers is made of harddrives/cpus/mobos/chipsets/memory which is made up of electricity/silicon which in turn is controlled by the os which is made up of applications/drivers/documents (or so how my brain sees it!).  so i figured that my niche in life is gadgets/electronics/pcs, i might as well do good not evil with my skills.

so that is who i wanted to be, i wanted to be a giver/spreader of knowledge. i wanted to be able to help spread my knowledge to those who may lack the skills or know-how to do more advanced/complex things on their pc or toys or electronics.  as time goes on, our lives are made much easier with technology but at the same time its made more complex.

so hopefully my nostalgic ramblings haven't put you to sleep, but you did read it all so its your own fault. :P

i always think its gonna be fun being 80yrs old and jamming to snoop dogg on the 'mp3 player' and telling the grandkids about how we used to have to plug in a cable to get online.

(edits made to remove extra characters from prev exports/imports)

more wii junkie notes: playing videos from sd card on wii and post screenshots

well, as most know i'm pretty wii-obsessed lately.  been really getting into zelda now and finally got past the first dungeon (i know, i haven't been able to get hardcore with it yet, still waiting for those components to come in this week!). even though i don't expect to use my wii for all of my multimedia needs (video, music playback), its fun to play with what you got since the way the wii-mote works, it makes it easy and fun.

decided i'd try out the video playback features on the wii but wasn't what type of file's it played. went out on the web and found good ole wii video 9 (get here: http://www.redkawa.com/videoconverters/wiivideo9/  same guys that did the PSP Video 9 i so loved for my psp).



decided to try it out since i have an extra 1GB SD card for such things. converted a quick music vid and through it on the memory stick (again, if you have ever used psp video 9, the interface is almost identical; this will also do PS3 files too).

then put the SD card in, went to the photo channel.  gave me the notice of 1 movie file, clicked on it and it started playing; again quality was not extremely good (but that might due to the profile i used in wii video 9) but decent. 

 

you can mess w/the video too while its playing (puzzles, doodle, etc) and you can even take a screen-shot of the video and then post it to your bulletin board!

hmm.. could this lead to random porn coming up on my wii? hehe, ya never know, i can see it already (should i be pointing this out even? hehe) the psa's and headlines...

here's a vid of me doing it.. oh yea.. go youtube.. :P (give it a few minutes, just uploaded to youtube)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os0-CjJqq68

oh yea, here's my newest lcd in place and ready to game! go PIP! (nice to put hdtv on in a small window while bowling)



very satisfied w/my Olevia 237 37" LCD HDTV, very good image quality and tons of inputs (hdmi, 2 components, vga, 2 s-video, coaxial for ota hd or cable, 2 composites, and more). the packig it came in was a bit scary and non-existant. however so far i have had no problems with it. plus i got a sweet deal, the same model now is back to $949, i got mine for about $700. good ole pre-black friday sale, go http://newegg.com!!

and for those interested, it has the MTK MDDI Technology video processor, not the ATI.. :)

currently have my old G4 mac (i know, gonna build a cheapy AMD 64 system next month) hooked up via VGA, my HD DVR via HDMI, DVD via component and wii via good ole composite(rca).  am excited to see how the components for the wii will look.  the picture quality is good, but there are noticable jaggies (which 480p usually does away with). nice to be able to get rid of a lot of cables by using the tv as central audio input source (does digitial optical out to my receiver), hdmi is very handy indeed.

back to tv.. hehe.

random unboxing tips..

well, we've all come across 'that box' or package. the one that no matter what you do you can't open? say, like a wii-mote package? man, i swear the plastic packaging could survive a 500 ft drop.

anywho, i know i hate trying to open them cuz i've almost destroyed my shiny new toys just by trying to get them out of the plastic packaging.  well, back when i was doing some case modding, i bought a tool from home depot, a metal cutter i believe (was modding my Antec Minuet case w/a side panel window).



after getting super frustrated trying to open my headphones i ordered, i decided to try using the metal cutter.  bam! cut the plastic like nothing and did it without risk of wrecking my headphones or injuring myself.

i'd recommend trying it out, they only cost like $5 or so at home depot. save you a lot of pain and frustration (and the cutter isnt' sharp at all)