The last two years has seen Tranquil PC diversify from their core consumer business, silent Media Center PCs, into the development of a wide range of low-power home server models, from the single drive T7 series to the five bay SQA-5H. With the recently released iXL Power PC (and its big brother, the iXVL) the company are getting back to their roots with an all-new, passively cooled media center chassis, powered by Intel’s Core i3 processor. Our review model landed last week, so let’s take a look at Tranquil PC’s latest generation of media centers.

Specifications

The iXL is available in a comprehensive array of configurations, from a stripped back barebones edition (£289 + VAT) where you supply the processor, RAM, Storage, OS and optical drive through to fully built models (From £389 + VAT) which are assembled for you by the company (and personalised with laser etching if you’re so inclined). A Core i5 variant of the PC is also available for those seeking additional performance, although we found the Core i3 processor perfectly adequate for Media Center usage.

Base specifications are as follows:

Tranquil also provide options for an integrated TV tuner, with support for an internal low-profile dual tuner DVB-T (Freeview) or dual DVB-T + DVB-S/S2 for satellite owners, although this option was not supplied with our review model. A choice of standard DVD or Blu-ray drives are also available. It’s a strong specification for a modern Media Center PC. Whilst their are lower power options available in the market (notably a range of nettops offering an Intel Atom + NVIDIA ION combination) which perform well, you’ll be reassured that the Intel Core i3 will handle whatever media task you throw at it without grumbling.

There is a little overkill when it comes to storage expansion – Intel’s DH57JG motherboard, which powers the iXL, already is generously specified with an eSATA port as well as six USB 2.0 ports (one of the reasons we selected the board for our test Vail Home Server) to which Tranquil have added two extra, front-mounted USB ports plus a further two eSATA ports on the rear. Whilst I can see the logic and convenience of the front facing USB ports, three eSATA ports seems excessive for a HTPC.

Networking is handled by the motherboard’s integrated Gigabit Ethernet socket, which does a fine job of handling high definition video. An integrated 802.11n wireless option is not available, which is potentially a missing for those who do not have their living room networked.

What’s in the Box?

Unusually, open up the iXL and you’ll find your new PC is packed for protection in a Tranquil PC branded rucksack – that’s certainly a first for us.

In box you’ll find:

• Tranquil PC iXL Power PC
• External Power Supply Unit
• Power cable
• Intel DH57JG Driver CD
• Spare SATA Cable

Manuals are located on the PC itself in HTML format. Both offline and online versions are included, so you can be sure that you have the latest version of the manual when you need it.

First Looks

Tranquil PC have created a compelling design for the iXL – clad in black satin aluminium, the iXL is one of the best looking PCs we’ve seen from the company, with rounded corners which call to mind the retro radios of the 1950s.

But that’s where the retro analogies end, as the iXL packs in a whole lot of cutting edge hardware. Many companies out there can ship a bunch of off the shelf components in a reasonable looking box, but it’s clear that Tranquil PC have taken a lot of care in engineering a great looking, but highly functional design that utilises a series of fins on the right hand side for passive cooling. The chassis itself is robust, well constructed and compared to some of the hardware we’ve reviewed from the company, has been assembled extremely well, with no rough edges. It’s the best we’ve seen from Tranquil PC.

Josh Pollard over at The Digital Media Zone has published his thoughts on the forthcoming (and a little delayed) Ceton InfiniTV 4, a PCI Express card with the ability to simultaneously record four high definition TV programs from a single CableCARD.

News of the InfiniTV 4 has excited HTPC enthusiasts across the US since it was announced at this years CES, but manufacturing delays have plagued Ceton since then, causing a number of observers to hint that the tuner may indeed end up as vapourware. But with review units now shipping, the company look set to deliver on their promise, with Josh’s review concluding:

When it comes to watching cable television via the Ceton InfiniTV 4 everything just works. I’ve used the device for a few weeks and I haven’t had any issues at all. This has also been on drivers that should be considered beta, because the card hasn’t been officially released yet, and I know they are working hard every day to make the device better and better. When it comes to whether or not I would recommend the card, the answer is absolutely: yes! If you can afford the $399 price tag then you absolutely owe it to yourself, and the other people living in your house, to put this card into your home theater PC. It can drastically simplify your setup, which in my case also brought with it increased stability. To put it simply, the Ceton InfiniTV 4 is Media Center paradise!

$399 is a huge amount of money for a TV Tuner, but if the prospect of recording 4 HD TV programmes simultaneously floats your boat, check out the full review.

More: The Digital Media Zone

ASRock recently announced the follow up to their ION 330 Mini-HTPC, an Intel Atom/NVIDIA ION powered mini-ITX model that I use in the living room at home for TV, Music, Video and Photos. The new model, the ASRock Core-100HT is another step forward in the creation of the perfect Mini HTPC.

The Core-100 gets a processor upgrade to Intel’s Core i3-330 Mobile Processor, which packs a lot more power than the Atom 330, without going crazy on power consumption. The NVIDIA ION is abandoned in favour of Intel’s HD Graphics chip (Intel Auburndale/Arrandale Integrated Graphics Controller) which is supported by 4GB DDR3 RAM, upgradable to 8GB in total. DVD and Blu-ray disc options are available for movie buffs.

Connectivity-wise, the Core-100 offers a dizzying array of choice. Networking is handled courtesy of integrated 802.11b/g/n wireless (hidden antennae) plus Gigabit Ethernet, whilst storage and device support is enabled via a whopping 6 USB 2.0 ports on the rear where it is joined by an eSATA port plus two front facing USB 3.0 ports. Connect the PC up to a monitor or TV via a choice of VGA or HDMI 1.3 ports.

The Mobile Core i3 combined with Intel’s HD Graphics and HM55-Express chipset will push 1080P video and 7.1 surround sound around your living room without a care. ASRock has also bundled a Media Center remote with the Core100 HT for the first time, although you can choose a base model without the remote should you wish.

Full specs as follows:

CPU
- 2.13GHz Intel Core i3-330 Mobile Processor

Chipset
- Mobile Intel HM55-Express chipset
* Due to Windows XP and PCH chipset (HM55) limitations, if you use Windows XP, please disable the BIOS option “USB2.0 Rate Matching Hub” to make USB devices work properly.
(For example, in the process of installing Windows XP or using USB3.0 devices.)

Memory
- 2 x DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, 4GB per DIMM (Max 8GB*)
- Support dual channel DDR3 1066MHz
* Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows 32-bit OS. The Intel Core i3-330M processor has a maximum memory size of 8GB.

VGA
- Intel HD Graphics (Intel Auburndale/Arrandale Integrated Graphics Controller)

HDD
- 2.5″HDD, supports 2^nd 2.5″HDD

ODD
- BD Combo

I/O
- 1 x HDMI, 1 x D-Sub VGA, 6 x USB 2.0, 1 x S/PDIF, 1 x eSATA-II*
* For eSATA function, Hot Plug function is supported in AHCI mode only. IDE mode does not support Hot Plug function.

LAN
- Gigabit LAN

Sound
- 7.1 CH HD Audio with THX TruStudio Pro

Wi-Fi
- 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN*
* 300Mbps, 2T/2R

Remote Controller
- Support MCE function

Power Unit
- 90W/19V Adapter

Dimension
- 195mm/7.68″ (W) x 70mm/2.76″ (H) x 186mm/7.32″ (L)

Volume (liters)
- 2.5L/152.56 Cubic Inches

This is one nettop I’ll be definitely checking out when it reaches these shores – expect the Core-100HT to land at a store near you in the next few weeks.

More: ASRock

Last week we brought you the first released images of Tranquil PC’s iXL mini-HTPC, an Intel Core i3-packing silent slab of aluminium designed to rock your media collection.

This week, we have shots of the iXL’s big brother, known as the AVA Media iXVL, which we first featured here at WGS a few weeks ago. Whilst the iXL is classed as a general purpose machine, the iXVL is positioned as a higher end media center, so will come with an enhanced warranty and support agreement, plus embedded media center applications.

The iXVL adds a front panel VFD display to the passively cooled aluminium chassis, as well as the following features:

• Fan less design for ‘lounge friendly’ use
• i3 or i5 CPU for instant response and future proofing
• Integrated IR remote receiver and remote hand unit
• Slot loading CD/DVD (optional BluRay)
• Built in IPTV services from popular TV stations and SKY
• Measuring a modest 240mm (wide) x 250mm (deep) x 100mm high
• Constructed from thick black aluminium extrusions and fitted with a blue VFD to the front
• HDMI / SPDIF consumer connections etc
• Dual DVB-T tuners

The iXVL is expected to ship later this month – pricing details have not yet been released.

More: AVA Media

Project 6 in We Got Served’s Summer of Home Server brings us to a topic we know is close to many of your hearts – the ability to watch Live TV directly on Windows Home Server. Whilst WHS works together with Windows Media Center in the area of TV, it’s fair to say it is more of a collaboration than true integration. Recorded TV can be automatically copied from Windows Media Center to the home server, and watched directly from the home server, but you cannot run the Windows Media Center application directly on a computer running Windows Home Server. Those of you with dreams of running a tuner farm recording hours and hours of TV directly on Windows Home Server need to look elsewhere for an appropriate “Media Center” application which is supported on WHS.

In future projects, we’ll take a look at the variety of media center applications which support Windows Home Server – today, we’re going to get Live TV up and running.

Selecting the Right Hardware

There are two key considerations to bear in mind if you wish to watch and record Live TV on Windows Home Server – the home server hardware itself and TV Tuner support. The first consideration is quite straightforward – as long as your home server isn’t too old, you should be fine using any of the media center applications we’ll cover in later projects, especially if you are going to stream TV to another machine. To ensure you can run these applications effectively, we’d recommend a minimum specification of:

CPU: Pentium 4 2.0 GHz
RAM: 1GB
Graphics: DirectX 9 Compatible Graphics Card/Integrated Graphics
TV Tuner: USB/Network Tuner with Windows Server 2003 drivers

If you’re going to be watching/streaming high definition TV, you’ll most likely need a beefier dual-core processor.

Set Up Your TV Tuner on Windows Home Server

Secondly, and potentially more painfully, comes TV Tuner selection. As you’ll be installing TV Tuners on the home server, you’ll need to ensure that the tuner you select has relevant drivers that support Windows Home Server. We have a list of compatible tuners over at WGS Forums. If your desired tuner isn’t listed, check with the manufacturer’s website, or follow our advice: buy a network tuner solution such as HDHomeRun instead.

Network tuners connect your cable service or antenna to your network, and can distribute the TV signal around a wired network over Ethernet to any computer. HDHomeRun works very well with Windows Home Server and provides the added benefit that you do not have to relocate your home server to be close to a TV point in the home. Simply connect your TV service to the HDHomeRun, connect the HDHomeRun to your router via Ethernet, and you can pump the TV signal over the network to your home server. So, let’s get the tuner setup and working on Windows Home Server. We’ll be connecting a UK DVB-T tuner (that’s Freeview to you and me) to our home server via an existing roof antenna. The TV Tuner will be positioned in an upstairs office, and connected to the home server which is located in a converted garage next to the house.

1. Unpack the HDHomeRun

The HDHomeRun package contains all of the cables you need to get going. You’ll find:

• 1 x HDHomeRun
• Power Adaptor
• Ethernet Cable
• 2 x Standard Coaxial Cables With Aerial Connectors
• Installation CD

2. Connect the HDHomeRun to Your TV Service

Connecting up the HDHomeRun is a pretty straightforward task – just make sure you have a couple of power sockets available, and most importantly, think through how you want to run the network from wherever your aerial socket is positioned to your router. If you have your house cabled up, you can connect up via Ethernet straightaway. Alternatively, powerline adaptors may come in useful.

Firstly, let’s split the Freeview (DVB-T) signal to feed the HDHomeRun’s twin tuners. It’s recommended that you use a powered aerial amplifier to split the signal. These are available from most electronics stores.

Simply take your aerial cable and slot it into the amp’s input socket.

Then take the two coaxial cables supplied with the HDHomeRun and connect them between the two outputs on the amplifier and the HDHomeRun’s “Tuner 0” and “Tuner 1” inputs.

]]> http://www.wegotserved.com/2010/06/17/watch-live-tv-on-windows-home-server/feed/ 14 http://www.wegotserved.com/2010/06/07/build-a-mini-htpc-to-play-music-video-and-photos-from-your-home-server/ http://www.wegotserved.com/2010/06/07/build-a-mini-htpc-to-play-music-video-and-photos-from-your-home-server/#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:18:13 +0000 Terry Walsh http://www.wegotserved.com/2010/06/07/build-a-mini-htpc-to-play-music-video-and-photos-from-your-home-server/

Owning a home server for backup, centralising your files and folders and remote access is one thing but life in the digital home really comes alive when you can stream music, video and photos around the home. There are a plethora of digital media receivers now on the market that make streaming media a snip, but for a really rich media experience, a HTPC (Home Theatre PC) is the way to go. HTPCs have been around for 8 or 9 years now, and have been in and out of fashion more times than I care to remember. The benefits of using a HTPC over a media streamer are principally its flexibility – rather than be hobbled by whatever hardware, software and codec support is available in a media streamer, you can install a vast range of media players, interface extensions and media codecs on a HTPC. Furthermore, you can spec and tweak the hardware to your needs, adding TV Tuners and more RAM as you need. The downside historically has been footprint and noise. In days gone by, HTPC had to be huge powerful machines, which required large, noisy fans to cool the high end processors and graphics cards required to play video. That’s all changed now, and you’d be surprised just how small and silent HTPCs can be.

Project 4 in our Summer of Home Server sees us build a tiny HTPC courtesy of a VIA Artigo A1100 barebones kit. This mini-PC (utilising a Pico ITX form factor) is only 146 (w) x 52 (h) x 99 (d) mm and yet offers a VIA 64 bit Nano processor, the company’s VIA VX855 Unified Digital Media IGP chipset, 5 USB Ports, Gigabit Ethernet and HDMI out, so you can connect it up to your TV very easily. In addition, an optional SD card reader and 802.11g wireless networking module are also available. Small it may be, but it packs a lot of power in that tiny chassis.

Later on in the series, we’ll be showing how to integrate Windows Media Center on the Artigo with rich media and metadata aggregation apps like Media Browser and Media Center Master for a first class media streaming experience, but today, we’ll build the PC. Build the PC? Well, not from scratch! A barebones PC has many of the components pre-assembled, but requires the owner to add memory, hard drive and any other accessories for themselves. They’re quite easy, fun projects to work on with only a few components to slot in. If you don’t fancy doing a full build, but want to be able to do some of the work yourself, then barebones is the way to go.

Specifications

The Artigo A1100 comes with its motherboard, processor and ports already fitted, so if you want to get up and running quickly, you only need to add a 200-pin SODIMM RAM module and a 2.5” SATA disk drive and you’re good to go. But we went to the max and also opted for the SD Card reader (handy for direct browsing of photos) and the wireless network module, so we could try out wireless media streaming. The Artigo A1100’s specs are as follows:

Processor	1.2 GHz VIA Nano™ CPU Front Side Bus Speed 800MHz 1MB L2 cache memory
Chipset	VIA VX855 Unified Digital Media IGP chipset
VGA	Integrated VIA Chrome9™ 3D/2D AGP graphics with MPEG-2/4, WMV9 & H.264 video decoding acceleration
Storage Interface	1 x IDE 44-pin interface for Flash Disk On Module (DOM) 1 x SATA interface for 2.5" HDD or Flash SSD 1 x SD card reader slot (optional module)
Operating System Support	Windows 7 / XP / XP Embedded, Linux
LAN Controller	1 x VIA VT6122 Gigabit Ethernet controller
LAN Port	1 x RJ-45 connector for Gigabit Ethernet connection
USB Ports	4 x USB 2.0 host ports, 1 x USB 2.0 device port
Audio Ports	1 x Line-out, 1 x Line-in, 1 x Mic-in
Display Ports	1 x HDMI port, 1 x VGA port
System Indicator	1 x HDD active indicator 1 x Power on indicator
Wireless	IEEE 80.2.11b/g (optional module)
Input Voltage	DC 12V
Power Supply	100~240v input AC/DC adapter
Dimensions	146 x 52 x 99 mm / 5.7” x 2.0” x 3.9” (W x H x D)
Weight	0.6 kg / 1.32lbs (w/o HDD)

When looking for a Mini-HTPC, the secret is to check out the PC’s processor and graphics capabilities. Many small HTPCs are combining Intel’s low-power Atom dual core 330 or D510 processors with NVIDIA’s ION graphics chip – a recipe that works very well for a small footprint HTPC. VIA’s new Artigo solution combines their 1.2 GHz 64-bit Nano processor with their Chrome9 3D/2D AGP graphics chip. The latter offers MPEG-2/4, WMV9 & H.264 video decoding acceleration with 1080p high definition video streaming fully supported. The idea is that if your graphics chip is powerful enough to cope with the media decoding demands, you don’t need a monster processor on board as well. That means that heat output should be lower, so fan noise should also be reduced.

You’ll need to purchase a hard disk and RAM to complete the Artigo A1100 build. We opted for a 2.5” 500GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue SATA drive and a 2GB slab of RAM. If you’re using the HTPC with Windows Home Server, you don’t need to go dilly on the hard drive size, as all recorded TV will be archived back to the home server for later viewing. You may wish to drop down to a 320GB drive, but we found a deal on the 500GB which was just £10 more expensive than the 320GB drive in the same range. With regard to RAM, the Artigo supports a maximum of 2GB RAM, so that’s what we opted for, to ensure we got the smoothest performance possible.

SageTV have announced the availability of SageTV 7 Public beta. Download links are as follows:

SageTV for Windows
http://download.sage.tv/SageTV_V7_0_9Setup.exe

SageTVClient for Windows
http://download.sage.tv/SageTVClient_V7_0_9Setup.exe

SageTVPlaceshifter for Windows
http://download.sage.tv/SageTVPlaces…7_0_9Setup.exe

SageTV for Windows Home Server
http://download.sage.tv/SageTV_V7_0_9Setup-WHS.msi

SageTV Media Center for Linux
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/server_7.0.9.tar.gz

SageTV Placeshifter for Linux
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/mi…t_7.0.9.tar.gz

SageTV Media Center for Linux – Debian Package Installer
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/sa…7.0.9_i386.deb

SageTV Placeshifter for Linux – Debian Package Installer
http://download.sage.tv/linuxbeta/sa…7.0.9_i386.deb

Here’s the lowdown on what’s new.

New User Interface Design
We’ve redesigned the entire user interface for SageTV. There has been many complaints over the years about the UI looking dated; and we believe we’ve addressed those concerns. With the new animation system in V7 we’re also able to put more ‘bling’ into the user interactions via reflections, 3D transformations and multiple levels of animations. We’re still in the process of tweaking this; so user feedback is important in this area.

Online Plugin Repository with automated installation/removal of plugins from within the user interface
One of the most powerful features of SageTV is its developer community. With V7, using plugins and customizations for SageTV is a snap. From within the user interface, plugins can be installed and managed with ease. There’s already a solid list of plugins; and this will grow quickly as developers outside of the private beta group now gain access to contributing to the list of plugins.

Support for automatic translation of XBMC skin.xml files into SageTV STVs
XBMC skin files can now be loaded into SageTV just like any SageTV STV .xml file. There are requirements for this to work properly; and those will be outlined elsewhere. There are also various limitations to this as well; while nearly all graphical capabilities should be functional, there are a few things that do not translate properly due to differences in design between SageTV and XBMC. Some of them can be corrected by STV developers with minor tweaks; but others require more effort. The main difference is that XBMC skins are just ‘skins’ and don’t really define the functionality of the UI in all cases. SageTV STV files, on the other hand, do completely define the UI functionality in them. The translator will insert some of this default functionality, but not all of it. XBMC also has very limited PVR functionality, of which only a few XBMC skins support; so this area will also be lacking. This feature is more for demonstration purposes to show off what the V7 animation system can do and as a tool for creating a starting point for developers that want to convert an XBMC skin into a SageTV STV. It’s not intended as a way to run an XBMC skin inside of SageTV and have the full functionality of SageTV available instantly (although with some XBMC skins, nearly the entire UI is usable, just some functionality is limited).

Seamless recording/playback transitions between shows when watching Live TV
If you’ve been using SageTV, then you know about the ‘pause’ that will occur when watching Live TV and one show ends and the next begins. This has been eliminated in V7 when playing back on SageTV Media Center or SageTVClient in Windows and also when playing back on a media extender regardless of the server platform.

DirectShow demux filter for handling MKV, MP4 and FLV media types
This enables playback of nearly all media types in Windows that are currently supported natively by the HD media extenders as well. Other file types such as FLAC, Ogg, Vorbis, etc. are also supported. Decoders will still need to be installed for any non-MPEG2 formats. (we heavily test against FFDShow and recommend that for covering all of the codec needs here)

New ‘Effects’ rendering system with support for more advanced and easier to use animations as well as 3D transformations (layers are no longer needed)
The animation system has been completely redone. 3D transformations are now possible which enable a whole new range of visual effects. (platforms w/out 3D support will approximate them as 2D transformations) There is also no longer any 3-layer limit to animations and creation of them with the Studio has been dramatically simplified.

Background image loading system allows for faster loading of thumbnails and other image resources w/out interfering with UI responsiveness
Parallel graphics loading now enables graphics to be loaded into SageTV without interfering with the rendering process; resulting in a more responsive and fluid user interface.

BDMV (BluRay) folder playback in SageTV Media Center & Client for Windows
The BDMV support that has been so popular on the HD media extenders now comes to the Windows versions of SageTVClient and SageTV Media Center (codecs need to be installed by the user)

Support for playback of ISO DVD & BDMV (BluRay) files on all platforms that support non-ISO playback (on Windows this requires the free application Virtual Clone Drive to be installed)
SageTV can now mount DVD and BluRay ISO files for playback. This is functional on all platforms; but the platform needs to support regular DVD or BDMV playback for this to be useful (i.e. all servers can now mount DVD/BluRay ISO files; but they would need to be played back on an HD extender or Windows SageTVClient; this feature does not imply additional platforms can playback BDMVs)

Automatic conversion of Favorite recordings
Favorites can now be modified to indicate that they should be transcoded to a target format when their recordings have been completed. Great for converting your favorite shows automatically for playback on your iPod, iPhone or other portable device.

New Pan/Zoom style slideshow transition effects
The slideshow now has an option that’ll pan/zoom pictures during display for a nice visual effect. Some platforms will only do the pan effect due to rendering system limitations on those platforms.

Windows Placeshifter uses DirectX 3D rendering now instead of OpenGL
We’ve updated the Windows placeshifter to use the same 3D technology in SageTV Media Center and SageTVClient making it much more compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7.

SageTV recordings now have their full metadata embedded into the file
Files recorded by SageTV now have their complete metadata information embedded into them which enables the reimporting of transferred recordings to be problem-free.

Removed the need for formatting disks with 64k clusters in order to get optimal disk performance on Windows
Previously, we had recommended formatting Windows disks with 64k clusters in order to get optimal recording performance. This is no longer needed due to optimizations in the Windows capture system.

Support for loading TrueType font (.ttf) files directly using FreeType
Font files can now be distributed with STV/STVI customizations and then loaded directly by SageTV. It no longer relies specifically on fonts installed into the operating system (although they can still be used as before).

Significant performance increases for HD200/HD100
We’ve updated the rendering code on the HD media extenders to be compatible with the new animation system. These two working together offer significant performance increases to UI navigation on the HD media extenders.

Support for DVB radio channels
Unlike music channels in US cable TV systems, DVB music stations have no video. This required special updates in order for this to function properly; and now it does.

Windows 7 compatability
We’ve tested Version 7 of SageTV to be compatible with Version 7 of Windows. Prior versions of SageTV did function on Windows 7, but now its official.

Lots of new API calls and Widget options in the SageTV Studio
Studio and plugin developers have a whole bunch of new tools at their disposal. More information will be provided on this later; the API documentation online has already been updated at http://download.sage.tv/api/ and the full package is available at http://download.sage.tv/api/doc.zip

Enhancements to workaround Hauppauge HDPVR instabilities on Windows
While doing other optimizations to the capture system on Windows we learned something about what causes the HDPVR to lockup on many users. We’ve worked around this problem (it wasn’t a bug in SageTV) and testing so far indicates it to be much more reliable than in the past (most testers have reported that lockups no longer occur w/ the device).

Various other optimizations and bug fixes
There’s lots of other little things that will be pointed out in the detailed release notes. We have been working on this for quite awhile and feel V7 is the best version yet of SageTV.

Looks really good – we’ll be checking it out very soon.

More: SageTV

Brent Evans over at GeekTonic has the scoop on the imminent arrival of the SageTV 7 Beta, which is all set to drop today.

Image Credit: GeekTonic.com

The new version looks like an impressive update over the current release, with a new user interface, plugin manager, XMBC skin support, Blu-ray folder playback and ISO support amongst the highlights, and a swathe of additional minor features and fixes included.

Check back for our thoughts once the beta is released, but in the meantime, head over to GeekTonic for a full preview of what’s in store. No word on release timings, but if you’re interested in checking it out, make sure you keep an eye on the SageTV forums.

More: GeekTonic

Ready to cut the cable and move to a HTPC under the TV? Forget those thoughts of a hulking, high powered and noisy PC in the living room – go for a Nettop instead. Next month, swap $249 for the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150 which crams all of the power you need for a great Media Center in its tiny chassis.

The Q150 is powered by a dual-core Intel Atom D510 combined with 5a 12MB NVIDIA ION GPU. Add 2GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 4 USBs, HDMI out and INTEGRATED Wi-Fi and you’re ready to rock. The mini trackpad/keyboard combo looks perfect for lounge-based typing too. Just add a TV tuner of your choice, a remote control, and cut that cable or retire that satellite dish to its rightful place as a dustbin lid.

Here’s what they say about it:

The “anywhere” PC

Q150 nettop is a simple, fun and affordable way to bring entertainment and basic omputing anywhere in your home.
It’s ideal for families that need a second PC, a PC to fit in an easily accessible place or even on the kitchen counter. It’s innovation that changes how we think and use our PCs.

• Extremely compact, and about the size of a book
• Ultra-slim and easily fits in space-challenged homes
• Check email, Web and do simple tasks where you like
• No messy wires to hide so it’s easy to find a spot for it
• Enjoy this handy, discrete device in any room
• Quiet enough for any room in the house

Stream, watch and share

Q150 is still tiny as a book but includes many updates. Our latest nettops feature dual-core processors, high-end graphics, more storage and Full hi-def support.

• An affordable multimedia PC alternative
• Pair it with your TV and output movies to a larger screen
• Stream music, videos and music to your speakers or TV
• Better graphics and Full HD support and output
• Dolby® surround sound and JBL speakers
• Reliable wireless connectivity with increased speed and range

Simple, easy design

If a basic computer or an extra PC is on your wishlist but you think you may not have room for one, think again. Q150 fits anywhere and has a nice, clean design. You’ll find endless possibilities where you want to place your Q150. You’ll also have quick, easy access to the web, email and all your other daily PC tasks.

• Plug-and-play design
• A breeze to set up
• Mounts to back of your monitors with VESA bracket compatibility
• Can be converted into an AIO by attaching to your monitor
• Uses less energy than a 14-watt bulb
• Plug this handy, discrete device in any room

More Info: Lenovo

As I’ve previously mentioned, a couple of months ago we decided to cut the cord on our satellite service, and moved over to Windows Media Center as our full-time TV solution – and to date it’s worked really well on the ASRock ION 330 nettop sitting in the TV cabinet.

One of the “must have” plugins for Windows Media Center is Media Browser:

Formerly known as Video Browser, Media Browser is a personal media aggregator that takes your recorded, digital, or ripped media and presents it in a simple, easy to use interface. Media Browser prides itself on delivering a fast, intuitive, media rich experience for the whole family.

Media Browser offers a range of rich browsing experiences for the video stored on your Media Center, with banners, backdrops and more. It’s also open source, so you’ll find a number of community developed plugins available to further enhance your media collection.

The good news is that a new version of Media Browser has just been released with a number of fixes and enhancements, including the fix for a memory caching issue which I’m hoping will resolve a sporadic video skipping problem I get from time to time.

Highly recommended for Media Center owners.

Download: Media Browser

Experience Level: Standard

My Movies for Windows Home Server provides automated disc copying of Audio CD’s and movies from internal or USB attached optical drives, adding meta-data to copied discs, or movies already stored on the server by monitoring your movie folders.

Audio CD’s can be copied to various formats such as Flac, MP3, MP3hd and WMA, or a combination of two formats if you prefer a high quality lossless file as well as a small lossy file for mobile usage. Meta-data is downloaded from multiple internet data providers, and embedded into the files with both data and cover art, allowing you to browse and play the files from units such as Squeezeboxes, Media Centers, mobile devices and similar.

Movies, (DVD, Blu-ray and HD-DVD’s) are copied* to ISO or file format, or DVD’s to MPEG-2 format for Media Center extenders. Meta-data is downloaded and added from My Movies own Web service, and stored in the folders, making the data available for Media Center’s DVD/Movie library, XBMC, TViX, Netgear EVA, Dune, Popcorn Hour and other units or movie front-ends.

Movies already stored on your Windows Home Server are identified by the monitoring feature, and meta-data is added automatically. Downloaded meta-data is in the same way as when copying a disc made available to many different playback units and movie front-ends.

Should you need to edit the meta-data, the data for Audio CD’s can be edited directly from the server console, while movie data can be edited by connecting a My Movies Client, or changed to other titles if needed.

* Due to legality in several countries, My Movies does not backup copy protected discs. Users in countries that allow circumventing copy protections when backing up their movies can install SlySoft AnyDVD or AnyDVD HD directly from the console, to remove these copy protections.

Developer: Brian Binnerup

More Info: Download | Support Forum | Review

Release History

1.50 Build 9 (9th November 2009)

• Update: Minor changes to shared files between My Movies for WHS and My Movies for WMC

• Fix: Issue with Blu-ray copying where UDF driver broke

1.50 Build 4 (20th May 2009)

• Added: Configuration and Storage of backdrops, by moving meta-data storage to own settings tab
• Change: DVD library Connector renamed to Media Center MetaData Connector to better indicate that it works for both MCE 2005, Vista and Windows 7 which have different names of the libraries
• Fix: Issue with database going into single user mode
• Fix: Issue that could cause problems if auto backup started when disc copying from media changer was in progress
• Fix: Changed time to allow disc identification from 60 to 180 seconds, and the value can now be set with “IdentifyTime” value in “Media Changer” in registry. This is to awoid media changer to move forward to next disc before a disc have been identified.
• Fix: Issue that could give a dialog if you had mp3HD setting and mobile format set, even when not changing it
• Fix: Issue preventing HDI Dune integration to get meta data in correct language
• Fix: Issue that could prevent earlier installer versions to fail to license after upgrade
• Fix: Issue preventing second disc of multi disc title to copy if system is set to reject disc if no data is found.
• Fix: Issue causing path’s to be stored as local paths (X:\) instead of UNC paths (\\server\share) when using non-storage pool shares.

1.50 Build 3

• Added: Checkbox letting user choose weather or not to store Media Center meta-data
• Added: FileSystem access to new Power Pack 2 Windows Media Center group
• Fix: Issue that prevented Netgear TAG files to be created correctly.
• Fix: Issue that would cause the removal button for extentions to not work.

v1.50 Build 2

• Added: Storage of meta-data for TViX media players
• Added: Storage of meta-data for HDI Dune media players
• Added: Storage of meta-data for Popcorn Hour players YAMJ plug-in
• Added: Storage of meta-data for Netgear EVA8000 players
• Added: Support for Dacal PowerDrive DC016 Media Changer for automatic CD and/or DVD copying
• Added: Support for copying audio CD’s to the new mp3HD format. Encoders must manually be copied to the storage area.
• Added: Unique disc identification (DiscId and OnlineId) in movie monitoring for DVD ISO and Blu-ray ISO files.
• Added: Option to search in the list views to easier locate an entry.
• Fix: Issue that caused Edit Data function to not work on unidentified discs
• Fix: Issue that could cause problems with some titles including unicode characters
• Fix: Issue preventing some CD’s from starting the copy process.
• Fix: Issue causing CD’s with data tracks to fail on last track.
• Fix: Issue that caused movie covers not to show in monitoring properties dialog
• Fix: Disabled autorun for CD-ROM drives, to ensure that rootkits, ect. from CD’s aren’t automatically installed

For more, see developer’s website.

Over at the HomeServerShow, a very interesting story just popped up that I had to pass along.  “Do you need Anti-Virus on your Media Center PC’s?” is the title and it offers up some good reasons why you might want to think twice about whether a computer needs an AV solution or not.

Just a little snippet from the article may get you thinking

How did I come about such an exploit you may ask?  Downloading actor images, and meta data via the MetaBrowser utility!  I never imagined I would run across an exploit in such a way but there is also a good chance that it’s just a false positive.  I don’t blame MetaBrowser for it but should we be concerned?

about the need for an AV solution for your WHS.  You may not access the web through a browser on your WHS, but if a utility like My Movies for WHS looks for meta data, it might just grab more than it intended.

Food for thought…