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Looking for some home tech advise...

5-90

5-90

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hammerspace
We should be coming into a few buck here shortly, and I'd like to upgrade a few things (she does as well.) What I'm looking for and my revised requirements follows:

Digital video player for the televisor.
- Need to be able to mount an internal HDD (form factor unimportant) if possible. A USB plug or an SD/MicroSD (yech!) card slot would also be helpful, either/or. I checked with Roku, they don't have a unit that would accept a hard drive (and this is somewhat important to me - it would allow me to put a load more video on the thing that I don't have to change about.
- Preferably fairly small - less than a foot cubed (shouldn't be a problem.) Especially with the internal HDD, I'll probably want to move the thing about.
- HDMI & Component video out. Not all of my TVs are ready for HDMI, and I'm not sure when they all will be (gimme time.) Roku again does the HDMI and component video - just can't store it locally to the box.
- Able to interpret common video formats (.mpg, .mp4, .avi, .wma, .wmv - I doubt this would be a problem, and I do have a copy of Prism Video Converter which works fairly well.)

On that last - does anyone know of a decent video file compression agent? I've converted a bunch of stuff from various formats (.mkv and suchlike) to more common formats I can put straight onto DVD (.avi, .mpg, .wmv) but I'm sure I can still squish them down some more. It needs to be fairly idiot-proof, I just plug the files in on one side and they come out the other, and I may just have to make a few setting changes.

I'd like to keep the cost for this thing (the basic box) under $200, if possible. It should be - and the HDD can be added when convenient to do so.

Tablet computers:
- Android OS okeh - I'll just have to break down and learn it (it will take me a bit, but it's doable.)
- Therefore, it shouldn't have any trouble handling .pdf files, common video formats, and .mp3 or .wav audio (I have an audio file converter as well, so odd formats should be convertible.)
- Fairly rugged. My portable gear can get knackered about a bit, and I don't want to have the thing break with the first bump (that's why I like the ThinkPad T series - I've dropped them from several feet up off of carts - they just stumble for a minute while they're checking themselves out, and then pick right back up.) It don't need to be waterproof or something I can use for a hammer, but it needs to be able to survive bumps & dings without any trouble
- I'm hoping that the power input plug should be fairly common (barrel plug or micro-A/B USB,) so I can easily make or buy a battery extender pack if I need to.
- Able to accept removable storage (SD/MicroSD, Memory Stick, whatever. i have plenty of SD/MicroSD around, so it gets listed first. Although those wretched MicroSD cards get lost in my hands as it is...)
- Easily synchronise/accept data from a Windoze machine (which shouldn't be a big problem.
- I do not want to get a "data plan" for the thing - I don't care about cellular networks and suchlike. WiFi is a plus (I have it at home, and it comes in handy at libraries and such) but isn't necessarily a dealbreaker.

I'm inclined to think this should be doable for under a $300 bill, but I won't swear to it.

Why am I asking here? Because I've never trusted marketing blurb, I prefer to put my faith in reports from the field. I'm sure we've plenty of people here who have used enough of this stuff to get a useful batch of input.

What do you like, and why do you like it?
 
Bought a couple of these for work, so far they are great.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856158019
you do need to by an OS or load linux though. I added wireless keyboards and mice. Has both wireless and wired networking, plenty of USB ports and a blue ray burner. If I had the money I'd have on in my home entertainment center.
They have cheaper ones but I don't know how well the atom processor would work nor do I know how good the intel graphics are on the lower priced ones.

I spent more than a few really early mornings at work catching up on various shows I missed using either the 65" plasma or the 120 inch projector. The big conference room I'm starting to install a 7.2 system to take advantage of the THX sound from that ASRock pc. SyFY's "Mercury men" is really cool on that 120 inch :D :D :D :D

I think HP is going to do another run on those tablets at a much lower price this time after they sold out the entire stock in under 12 hours when they announced their discontinuation and price drop. I doubt they will be selling them for $90 again but will probably be in the range they were and are selling on ebay.
 
I know it's over you're budget but a small form factor computer with Windows Media Center will do everything your asking. I put together a quick cheap system to see what it would cost.

APEX M-008 Mimi-ITX Case Dimensions: 11.80”x8.70”x5.1”, ASRock H67M-ITX Motherboard, Intel Core i3-2100 Processor, 4GB DDR3 1333 Memory, Hitachi 500GB Hard Drive, ASUS DVD-ROM BD-ROM Drive, nMEDIAPC All-in-one Card Reader, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Total: 475.97

The VGA can be easily converted to RCA with a cheap converter box. It will be capable of DVD & Blu-ray playback has 7.1 Ch audio and the card reader supports MS,CF,MD,SD,MMC,XD and SM cards. Every video format is playable and if you decide you want something different in the future it can always be customized or upgraded.

Here are some screen shots of my setup using some additional software

 
Mesh said:
I know it's over you're budget but a small form factor computer with Windows Media Center will do everything your asking. I put together a quick cheap system to see what it would cost.

APEX M-008 Mimi-ITX Case Dimensions: 11.80”x8.70”x5.1”, ASRock H67M-ITX Motherboard, Intel Core i3-2100 Processor, 4GB DDR3 1333 Memory, Hitachi 500GB Hard Drive, ASUS DVD-ROM BD-ROM Drive, nMEDIAPC All-in-one Card Reader, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Total: 475.97

The VGA can be easily converted to RCA with a cheap converter box. It will be capable of DVD & Blu-ray playback has 7.1 Ch audio and the card reader supports MS,CF,MD,SD,MMC,XD and SM cards. Every video format is playable and if you decide you want something different in the future it can always be customized or upgraded.

Here are some screen shots of my setup using some additional software

Click to expand...

I've been kicking around the idea of a M-ITX FF computer for a bit - just for fun, and as the core of a vehicle audio system (essentially, a heavily overblown mp3 player.) And, if my wife gets an RV like she wants, as a fileserver and network core for mobile applications. (a M-ITX and a short RAID1 should carry the data we would need to get work done on the road - she's a budding author, I'm working on my second book, and we're both archivists and bibliophiles by nature.)

But, M-ITX for the house would have to wait - and I prefer the idea of a smaller box (M-ITX is small, but not that small) and more relatively portable, so I could move it from place to place.

Not to say that the idea hasn't merit - the idea of having a half-TB of video on tap at any given time is nice - but a purpose-built box would cost a bit less at the moment.

If/when I finally do use M-ITX for a centre, it would free up the smaller dedicated player for portability. But, I'm probably going to keep the idea tabled until we finally get HDMI-ready in the living room (the screen there is still a big CRT that we got secondhand. My brother-in-law was always 'tapped out' - but had a 48" plasma hanging on the wall when we went over to his oldest daughter's wedding. All of the screens we have in the house don't add up to a 48" 16:9, and our "big" televisor in the living room is a secondhand CRT we were given - to replace another secondhand CRT we got for free... We were actually tapped out, because he did nothing to help! This would represent the first time we've had spare money in ten years...

(And he's a DoD civilian on the GW scale with 20 years in and plenty of overtime. Living now in OK, with a CoL about 1/3 of ours. He's not 'tapped out' - he's just pi***** away all of his money. He actually had to borrow money from his mother, so he and his wife could fly out to her funeral a few months later! How horribly gauche is that?)

(Sorry, I'm ranting...)
 
I recently bought a new laptop for $249, with 3GB ram, 350 GB HD, DVD-R/RW, etc, and 3.5", 1 TB Hitachi HD for $49, and a HD fan cooled USB case for about $25 from various sources as the sales hit.

The Laptop is the 3rd one I have bought for the family in the last 2 years (15.6" screen diagonal IIRC), all the same series, same CPU (Intel celeron 2.2 Ghz speed), and basic architecture. It is a Compaq CQ62 series now, Windows 7. The first one was a Vista SP2, but I never upgraded (no need yet). Not sure I follow all your needs (HDMI is new to me), but it sounds like one of those might serve well for multitasking, portability, and be better that a built box. They also use about 1/4 of the power!!!!!!!!

My daughter uses her's for College, watching net flicks right off the DSL connection.

I have been amazed at the multitasking I can do with them. Shocked in fact.

I have bought all three at about $250 ea as they went on sale. The last I bought last weekend on sale at Microcenter in Houston (Had to pick it up locally, no online orders).

Only problem I see is it does not seem to support HDMI? Beyond that, you over my head at this time. Hell I just bought my first MP3 player and ditched my Cassette player in the diesel jeep!
 
Ecomike said:
I recently bought a new laptop for $249, with 3GB ram, 350 GB HD, DVD-R/RW, etc, and 3.5", 1 TB Hitachi HD for $49, and a HD fan cooled USB case for about $25 from various sources as the sales hit.

The Laptop is the 3rd one I have bought for the family in the last 2 years (15.6" screen diagonal IIRC), all the same series, same CPU (Intel celeron 2.2 Ghz speed), and basic architecture. It is a Compaq CQ62 series now, Windows 7. The first one was a Vista SP2, but I never upgraded (no need yet). Not sure I follow all your needs (HDMI is new to me), but it sounds like one of those might serve well for multitasking, portability, and be better that a built box. They also use about 1/4 of the power!!!!!!!!

My daughter uses her's for College, watching net flicks right off the DSL connection.

I have been amazed at the multitasking I can do with them. Shocked in fact.

I have bought all three at about $250 ea as they went on sale. The last I bought last weekend on sale at Microcenter in Houston (Had to pick it up locally, no online orders).

Only problem I see is it does not seem to support HDMI? Beyond that, you over my head at this time. Hell I just bought my first MP3 player and ditched my Cassette player in the diesel jeep!
Click to expand...

Which has a lot to do with why I'm soliciting reports from the field...

The laptop I'm planning on is already set - ThinkPad T series (I'm too used to them, and I've been using them since the T20. I've had T20, T22, T30, T31, T40, T41, so I'm pretty familiar with the things... I'm using a Lenovo G555 right now - it's good, but it's not a T, and I need something that is a bit more rugged...)

(And, I'm not overly wild about 16:9 screens - I'd rather have a 4:3 job.)

I'm already planning on a NAS RAID1 - but I know enough about that that I'm able to form my own opinions through the marketing blurb (and I've played with most of those brands - just like with HDAs proper.) I already have a 1TB external that I picked up (on sale) for $45, and it works - but it's not got any sort of backup, unless I burn everything to DVD. I want a RAID box, and I want to be able to hang it off of the network (yes, I know, I can do it in *nix as well - and that's probably another "Eventually" item.)

But, the video player is to be a dedicated device - if I want to watch movies on the road, it will either be the laptop (if I'm not working on something) or the tablet (if I am - I don't want to take up the overhead.) The tablet is also for "ready references" while I'm out and about, I've got a number of my design & engineering references as electronic text (mostly .pdf,) but switching windows can get to be a pain rather quickly when I'm working (which is why I have an auxiliary screen when I'm at home, and I'm considering a second.)

Once I get into home tech & tablets, I'm largely in uncharted waters (to me...)
 
I’ve always wanted to try something with a Mini-ITX motherboard but I’m always thinking of something bigger. My system is currently full at 4TB but my case can handle up to 24TB which I plan on using. HTPC systems can be a fun hobby but probably not what you’re looking for at the moment. Lenovo ThinkPads are great machines they may not have a high gloss finish or the best speakers but if you want to get some work done there is nothing better.
 
On thing that may not be common knowledge pretty much DVI and HDMI are the same thing, for a couple of weeks I ran DVI to HDMI adapters on the two pc's in the conference rooms till the ASRocks came in.
 
Mesh said:
I’ve always wanted to try something with a Mini-ITX motherboard but I’m always thinking of something bigger. My system is currently full at 4TB but my case can handle up to 24TB which I plan on using. HTPC systems can be a fun hobby but probably not what you’re looking for at the moment. Lenovo ThinkPads are great machines they may not have a high gloss finish or the best speakers but if you want to get some work done there is nothing better.
Click to expand...

Think pads are work horses, most in the T series still have to docking plugs in the bottom for docking stations. I still run a T30 and a T42, both use the same model docking stations that I bought off Ebay for $25 each with power supplies. Both have vga and DVI outputs, with a DVI to HDMI adapter they will fit in most entertainment centers with ease, use wireless keyboard/mouse and plug in USB drives to the 8 USB ports on the dock and you have your storage. You can pickup T40 and T42's, T43's on ebay for under $300, just look for the ones with the ATI video card with 64mb on the card. Then up the ram to 2gig..
 
Last edited:
Johnnie Walker said:
http://www.tvixbox.net/?module=menu&sub_module=display_content&id=1
Take your pick.

Found this site recently. As I buy a decent amount of stuff from dailysteals.com
http://www.icemonkey.com/
While on the site earlier, came across this
http://www.icemonkey.com/augen-nba7...erating-system-with-wifi-and-sd-mmc-card-slot
Haven't read any reviews on this particular one, but should do the job, especially on the cheap.
Click to expand...

The TViX slim looks interesting - I guess most of the content is put on the internal HDD by dismounting it and connecting it to a computer? I can do that...
 
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