If you have dead spots in your house with low, or non-existent wireless coverage, a Wi-Fi extender can warm things up considerably. But setting them up can be a little fiddly unless you have the required knowledge. TRENDnet’s new 300Mbps Easy-N Range Extender is designed to get you up and running with a couple of button pushes.

It all comes down to WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) – plug in the extender, press the WPS button on your router (if it has one) and do the same on the extender, and you’re done. With an 802.11n connection at up to 300 Mbps, that’s a quick and easy high speed connection sorted.

It’s available in February at $59.99.

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NETGEAR today launched its all-new WN2500RP Universal Dual-Band WiFi Range Extender, designed to boot wireless networking ranges around the home.

Depending upon your router, the location in, and the size of your home, you may find such a device as this the right product to improve your wireless reception throughout the house.

The NETGEAR WN2500RP Universal Dual Band WiFi Range Extender is available now in the United States at a list price of $89.99.

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Introduction

One of the nicest achievements in networking over the past several years, particularly for the consumer, is the WiFi-enabled router.  From laptops to netbooks to tablets, and even desktops, “cutting the cord” gave us freedom of movement within our abode.

Mostly.

Depending upon many factors ranging from location of components to signal strength, WiFi signal quality ranged from great to worthless.  Over the years, many products have surfaced to “extend” the wireless signal.  There have even been a few or more mods published on how to extend the range of a WiFi adapter.

For me, I really do not care to drag around a parabolic dish with a laptop.  I would prefer a reasonably priced extender to does the job efficiently and effectively.

Which brings me to the NETGEAR WN3000RP as the subject of today’s review.  The question, of course, is whether this item is efficient, effective, and reasonably priced.

What’s In The Box?

First, we have the once-around-the-box views, which should give the consumer a reasonable idea of what the product does and what it looks like.

Once removed from the packaging, you will find the typical NETGEAR cardboard tray, which holds and protects the extender.

The only other item in the box is an Installation Guide.

Once removed, the WiFi extender is very reminiscent of the NETGEAR powerline adapters I have reviewed previously.  Just add rabbit ears!

Other than the antennae, on one side you will find an Ethernet port (for manual setup), a power button, a WPS button, and a factory reset button.

On the front, you will find a series of status LEDs:

• Link Rate Status
• Extender Status
• PC to Extender Status
• WPS

Of course, you will find a power plug for the country it is designated for on the back.

Business Insider today reports that Microsoft will formally unveil their “response to Apple TV and Google TV” this week, in CEO Steve Ballmer’s CES keynote speech on Wednesday. The new set-top box platform is likely to be based on Windows Embedded 7 and will run Windows Media Center.

Microsoft previewed Media Center running on their stripped down version of Windows back in April. As regular readers will know, we’re big fans of Media Center here at WGS, and the application is sure to work well in the set-top box form factor. The provision of Live and Recorded TV is sure to help Microsoft compete with Apple, Boxee and other over the top media receiver platforms – the question, however, is how well Microsoft themselves will support the new platform. Media Center exists in millions of homes around the world, but it remains a niche application.

Whilst Media Center has been shipped with every copy of Windows Vista and Windows 7 sold over the last few years, anecdotal evidence suggests that adoption has been relatively low – ask your family and friends about the green button, and you’re sure to get blank looks. That’s not to say Microsoft haven’t tried to drive adoption of the platform, but two generations of Windows Media Center Extenders failed to set the world alight, and have now been abandoned. Even integration with Xbox 360 has failed to drive Media Center adoption – so what’s different in 2011?

Two things may tip the balance in Microsoft’s favour. Firstly, the removal of the PC from the equation. In the post-Gates era, the Windows PC no longer has to be the center of the digital home. It can be a key player, for sure, but Microsoft have finally realised that platforms like Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7 can exist in their own right without being tightly integrated with the PC ecosystem. The new set top boxes are likely to ship with integrated TV tuners, so there’ll no longer be a need to connect to a Windows PC for Live TV access – that’s a big win.

Secondly, mainstream users are consuming ever more digital media in the home – whether it’s viewing photos on Facebook, streaming videos from Netflix and BBC iPlayer or online music from Spotify and Pandora. Media streaming is becoming ever more popular, and I’m sure that’ll be reflected in a swathe of new media streaming devices showcased at CES 2011, ready to meet this emerging need. Maybe the time is right for Microsoft to try again.

The new devices may well look great, but the question, of course, is one of confidence. Having already dropped two generations of Media Center Extenders, how much confidence will Microsoft have in their ability to compete in an increasingly crowded market against Apple, Google, Boxee and others with this latest set top box? Can consumers be confident that this time around Microsoft and their partners will support the platform for a reasonable period of time?

If Steve Ballmer does indeed unveil a new iteration of Media Center on Wednesday, I’ll be delighted. But cautious.

]]> http://www.wegotserved.com/2011/01/04/microsoft-set-unveil-media-center-based-set-top-box-ces/feed/ 3 http://www.wegotserved.com/2010/11/09/vidabox-updates-thinclient-hd-allnew-thinclient-v2-media-extender/ http://www.wegotserved.com/2010/11/09/vidabox-updates-thinclient-hd-allnew-thinclient-v2-media-extender/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:09:22 +0000 Terry Walsh http://www.wegotserved.com/?p=37092 Vidabox have revealed details of the replacement for their ThinClient HD media extender. Cunningly called ThinClient v2, the new model boasts faster performance for both 1080p Blu-ray and DVD playback.

Vidabox have revealed details of the replacement for their ThinClient HD media extender. Cunningly called ThinClient v2, the new model boasts faster performance for both 1080p Blu-ray and DVD playback.

The extender acts as a client, connected to your TV, which streams music, video and photo content from a connected Vidabox media server.

“The new ThinClientV2 design uniquely balances both performance and low cost,” exclaims Steven Cheung, President of VidaBox, LLC. “The light-weight, small size, and affordability of the original ThinClientHD™ were great, but it lacked the horsepower and performance of other extenders like the SLIMv3™ or RoomClientHD™, making certain tasks like starting Blu-rays take as long as 30 seconds or more.  ThinClientV2™ is more powerful and creates a far better end user experience, making it a perfect complement to any VidaBox server.”

The ThinClient v2 runs a customised version of Windows Media Center and is powered by an AMD Neo dual-core processor with 2GB RAM. 802.11n Wi-Fi alongside Ethernet is available for streaming content from the server and the device utilises a lightweight, 80GB hard drive. Storage can be further extended via the onboard USB & eSATA ports or multi-card reader. External TV Tuner options including NTSC, ATSC, QAM and PAL, SECAM and DVB-T can be specified and home automation controls compatible with HAI, Creston, AMX and other devices are supported.

Pricing has not been released at this time.

More: Vidabox

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Garden City Park, NY – November 4th - VidaBox, LLC is debuting the ThinClientV2™, a new, low-cost Blu-ray & DVD media extender which replaces the ThinClientHD.  Preserving the original design’s miniature form factor, it offers significantly better Blu-ray playback performance at a similar price point. ThinClientV2™ extenders also pull DVD, music, photos, and other digital content from VidaBox media servers over a single CAT cable, then displays the content on any HDTV via HDMI, in full 1080p with up to 5.1 surround sound.

“The new ThinClientV2 design uniquely balances both performance and low cost,” exclaims Steven Cheung, President of VidaBox, LLC. “The light-weight, small size, and affordability of the original ThinClientHD™ were great, but it lacked the horsepower and performance of other extenders like the SLIMv3™ or RoomClientHD™, making certain tasks like starting Blu-rays take as long as 30 seconds or more.  ThinClientV2™ is more powerful and creates a far better end user experience, making it a perfect complement to any VidaBox server.”

Designed for professional installation, ThinClientV2™ includes a VESA mounting bracket, and at less than 38mm or 1.5″ thin, it can be mounted behind any HDTV, hidden above a projector, or installed at virtually any location.  Combined with near-silent operation of less than 25 dBA, it’s ideal for in-room installations.

“Similar to our other extenders,” continues Cheung, “you’ll see the same on-screen interface and enjoy familiar features like Blu-ray, DVD, and CD cataloging by cover or album art, Netflix & IP content streaming, 1-touch picture slideshows, and more.  With its ultra-compact size, small footprint, and low cost, integrators can stream 1080p HD AV content to any location with a ThinClientV2™ connected to a single CAT cable.  No other complete AV distribution component provides these many features at this size or cost, while maintaining a very generous margin for dealers.”

The ThinClientV2™ will be shipping and available mid-November for all VidaBox dealers.  For more details and specifications on the ThinClientV2™, or other VidaBox digital entertainment and control products, please visit the company website at http://www.vidabox.com, or call +1-516-730-7500.

About VidaBox LLC

VidaBox LLC is a digital entertainment and controls solutions company focused on manufacturing premium media centers, audio servers, & iPad® based integrated automation solutions. VidaBox is on a mission to create user-friendly, stable, high-performance entertainment and control systems that work right out of the box and integrate seamlessly with multizone audio and smart home technologies. For more information, visit www.vidabox.com or call 1-516-730-7500.

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In time for the upcoming CEDA Expo, Vidabox today announced a new Blu-ray media extender which streams high definition content, including movies, music, photos, videos and more over the network to TVs around the home, including 7.1 surround sound and HDMI 1.3 support.

The RackClientv3 Extender is compatible with other media centers and servers in Vidabox’s range, and can stream content from DVD/Blu-ray disc or from content stored on the server. Unencrypted discs can be archived on the server too. An optional TV Tuner is available with support for NTSC, PAL, SECAM or DVB-T, whilst local connectivity options include Gigabit LAN, 3 x HDMI, VGA, DVI, 6 x USB 2.0, eSATA, Optical SPDIF and analogue 7.1 audio.

The following video walks through Vidabox’s Media Center interface.

More: Vidabox

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Introduction

This series has been titled “Transform Windows Home Server Vail Into a Media Center”.  I am going to make one correction right now.  The official title is now “Transform Windows Home Server Vail Into a Windows Media Center”.  When I began this project, I really thought it would be an easy thing to do.  Install Vail; install Windows 7 as a virtual machine; install a USB tuner; record TV; stream to your WMC extender.  Some things that I tried worked quite well, but I had several killer roadblocks to overcome along the way.

For your reference, here is a list of links to the articles this one is based upon:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• SiliconDust Dual-Tuner HDHomeRun Review

There is really nothing new to report in this article.  I just felt (and others have requested) that I make one final post detailing the complete successful process from beginning to end in one article.  I have had to reorder a few sections but I have tried to keep the edits to a minimum, as in I have filtered out the dead end stuff.  Please keep in mind that

• there is more than one solution for some steps of this process.
• there is only one solution in other steps, in my opinion.
• whatever changes Microsoft makes to Vail during this public Beta phase may or may not effect the how this how procedure will work on the RTM version.

Is this only path to success?  Probably not.  This is why I have titled this article “My Way”.  All I know is that this process works.  For me.

The ingredients

• A computer with:
  - a dual-core CPU or better. Not an Atom. Make it a mainstream Intel or AMD x64 CPU.
  - 4 GB’s of memory.  Minimum.
  - 3 HDD’s (minimum). System drive, Data drive, non-pooled drive. If you want more data drives, go for it.
• Vail. Or Windows Home Server v2.  For this article, I will make an assumption from this point on that Vail (WHS v2) is a released product.
• A virtual machine manager.
• Windows 7 Home Premium.
• A TV Tuner.

This series has been titled “Transform Windows Home Server Vail Into a Media Center”.  When I began this project, I really thought it would be an easy thing to do.  Install Vail; install Windows 7 as a virtual machine; install a USB tuner; record TV; stream to your WMC extender.  Some things that I tried worked quite well, but I had several killer roadblocks to overcome along the way.

The big one was obtaining the ability to record TV on the Vail machine, whether that be on the virtualized Window 7 WMC or directly in Vail.  SageTV v7 showed quite a bit of promise, but it was not perfect.

But I really wanted to record TV in Windows Media Center.  A PCI/PCIe card was not an option for use with a virtual machine.  A USB tuner turned out to be a dead end.  That left just one option: make use of an Ethernet-based tuner solution in the form of SiliconDust’s HDHomeRun.

The SiliconDust HDHomeRun Setup

You will find this to be a blank section.  Why?  I will go through the complete HDHomeRun setup in a separate article from a US point of view, similar to Terry’s write-up from a UK point of view.

Let’s just say that it is quite a simple process to get it up and running. 130-some bucks; a simple install; a bit of configuration; what do I have?  A networked ATSC tuner!

The WMC Tuner Setup

Anyone who has setup a tuner in Windows Media Center has seen these screens.  There is not much that needs to be said for the initial setup, except to say that I am including the complete screen-by-screen run through. Just to document the process in a virtual OS.

This is the point where my USB TV tuner would die.  Not with HDHomeRun, however.

The following picture may look a bit disappointing, but I have seen the same thing on my workstation WMC.

Click the finish button and we are all done, right?

Wrong!

If you check the WGS blog on any kind of a regular basis, I would assume you have taken a look at some of the earlier parts of this series.  Part 5 is basically a wrap up of what is contained in the previous parts plus one potential solution for recording TV.

I have pretty much documented the complete transformation with the exception of one major component.  Everything I have done to date is somewhat pointless if I cannot actually make use of Windows Media Center to serve all this data.  So it is now time to see what can or cannot be done with a virtual Windows Media Center.

To check the “what can or cannot be done”, I first copied several files from my WHS v1 machine to my Vail machine.  Some

• pictures
• music
• Recorded TV
• videos
• movies

Next I setup WMC on my Vail VM and on my workstation to both read the same Vail shared folders.  Which is what I have documented below.

Music: Vail VM / Workstation

Pictures: Vail VM / Workstation

Videos: Vail VM / Workstation

Recorded TV: Vail VM / Workstation

Movies: Vail VM / Workstation

So by now, we’ve all heard the news about Linksys and HP pulling their Media Center Extender products, and there’s been much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth by Media Center enthusiasts about it.

If you want to understand why, then just take a quick look at the latest analyst reports which indicate that there’ll be 50 million internet connected TVs, 30 million connected Blu-ray players and 11 million other digital media adaptors in play in the USA by 2013. If all of that stuff can connect to your network, why do you need yet another set top box to do it? Especially when Microsoft already make another similarly priced box that achieves Media Center integration in the Xbox 360.

Given the recent investments Microsoft have announced in new entertainment features for the Xbox 360, last weekend I pulled the HP MediaSmart Connect from under the TV, went down to HMV and picked up a second (black) Xbox 360 Elite. It’s HDMI’d up, gives me a whole heap of content on demand, works really nicely with Media Center and natively to my home server and I can get my ass kicked by random French kids on Call of Duty whenever I wish.

As for Media Center, I love it to bits, but clearly it’s a great entertainment application that needs to find its way on to more platforms in the future. Starting with Windows Home Server, as we all hope.

In the meantime, Death to the Extenders and Long Live the Xbox 360.

PS. Note to Sony – I have a PS3 too in the den, but you didn’t make the bar to sneak into the lounge. Who needs Blu-ray anyway?

Over the past few months, I’ve heard increasing reports of Windows Home Server being utilised in small and home offices (SOHO), where a product like Microsoft’s Small Business Server would simply be overkill.

Canadian developer Level Platforms Inc have now announced that its Managed Workplace remote monitoring application will now be supported on Windows Home Server, allowing outsourced IT suppliers to remotely monitor and support Windows Home Server based networks.

This is the first application we’ve seen which directly supports the business market for Windows Home Server and is a really interesting extension of WHS’ proposition.

Are you using Windows Home Server in your business? Let us know how.

Here’s the press release:

Level Platforms’ Managed Workplace and Microsoft’s Windows Home Server deliver full managed services capabilities to peer-to-peer networks

January 29, 2009

Ottawa, ON, Canada – January 29, 2009 – LPI Level Platforms Inc, the global leader in remote monitoring and management software for solution providers and managed services providers today announced that the Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) market is now “open for business” with Microsoft’s Windows Home Server.

While the millions of SOHO businesses have the greatest need for outsourced IT, cost and technology limitations have made this an elusive target for managed services providers.  With Level Platforms award-winning Managed Workplace installed on a Windows Home Server, solution providers can now deliver end-to-end remote management of workgroup networks including monitoring of all devices (servers, PCs, network devices, printers, IP telephony, etc.), all applications running on Windows devices, alerting, full asset management, remote control, patch management, back up and security, extensive reporting, local storage and much more at a very low cost easily affordable to SOHO businesses.

Many small businesses aren’t yet ready to make the leap to Windows Small Business Server but need the added features, performance, flexibility and security that result from the deployment of a server on their networks.  Now solution providers can deploy Windows Home Server with Managed Workplace and deliver a high value fully managed solution for these businesses.

This addition further extends Managed Workplace’s deep integration with the entire family of Microsoft Servers that already includes Windows Server 2008 and 2003, Small Business Server 2008 and 2003 (SBS), Essential Business Server 2008 (EBS), and full support for Hyper-V, Microsoft’s hypervisor-based virtualization solution.

Built on the same codebase as Windows Server 2003, Windows Home Server represents a powerful solution for the SOHO market. While the backup and recovery features are limited to 10 workstations (including Macs), Managed Workplace running on Windows Home Server can monitor and manage any number of devices operating in a workgroup environment with 100% of the functionality of larger sites including the full management of the Windows Home Server itself as well as any other servers on the network. Solution providers can also deploy additional remote backup software, specialized applications and other server based applications on the Windows Home Server to extend their service offerings.

“The SOHO market represents a tremendous opportunity for solution providers looking to provide cost-effective best-in-class support to smaller businesses,” said Peter Sandiford, CEO Level Platforms.  “Most of our 3000 Partners worldwide provide managed services to the Windows Small Business Server market.  With this announcement we are radically expanding the size of their available market and bringing the benefits of managed services to millions of businesses that were not previously accessible to the service provider community.”

“This is great news,” said Aaron Booker, President of Hardlines, a Washington-based solution provider focused on the small business market. “By adding the Windows Home Server as a supported platform for Managed Workplace, Level Platforms has opened the doors to a hugely underserviced and important segment of the business market.”

David Schmidt, CEO of Fusix Corporation, based in Ontario, added, “Fusix focuses on smaller businesses that often struggle with the effective use of technology. Larger organizations already receive enhanced benefits through the deployment of servers. Now, with a flexible and cost-effective solution for smaller businesses, Level Platforms and Windows Home Server eliminates the difference between the haves and have-nots.”

“We are excited to work with Level Platforms to extend the value of Windows Home Server to the Small Office/Home Office market,” said Charlie Kindel, General Manager, Windows Server Solutions Group, Microsoft.  “This solution will help Microsoft Partners introduce the benefits of Windows Server technology to a large and important market segment establishing a solid foundation for improved performance and reliability today and growth for the future.”

More Info: Level Platforms

Two podcasts from CES this week with Windows Home Server news and views.

The Home Server Show features extended interviews with Todd Headrick from the Windows Home Server team, plus chats with HP and PVConnect.

The Media Center Show this week has a round table discussion with Media Center and Home Server enthusiasts which was recorded out in Las Vegas.

Both well worth checking out.