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Paul's Time Sink

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Copy Protection and Comcast Problems

Paul Westbrook | 20 May, 2007 00:01

I got this message on my TiVo Series3. 

Subject:    Information Regarding Your Premium Channels
From:       TiVo Customer Support
Date:       Thu 5/3

This is an important message that may impact your ability to
receive premium channels. Please read it carefully.

Comcast has recently announced plans to enable their Copy
Protection Management Systsm in the Bay Area.

As a result, in order for your CableCARD(tm) decoders to
continue decrypting premium channels, they will need to be
properly "paired" within the Comcast system.

Here's how to ensure each of your cards is properly paired:

-From TiVo Central, select Messages & Settings. Then select
Settings, Remote CableCARD & Devices, CableCARD Decorder,
Configuring CableCARD 1, CableCARD Menu, Condition
Access

You should not be on the Motorola Conditional Access
CableCARD screen. If your card is paired, you will find a line
that says "Host Validation: Valid." This means that your TiVo HD 
expierience WILL NOT be impacted by theic change, and there's
nothing further you need to do.

However, if it says "Host Validation: Unknow" your card is
not properly paired.  Pleace contact Comcast Customer
Service and share the information from the CableCARD data
screen with the agent assisting you.

Please make sure to repeat tthe above process with 
CableCARD 2.

Even though I was able to record premium channels on both tuners, I checked the status of my CableCARDs.  When I did I noticed that one of them was not paired correctly.  I called Comcast's customer service, and they were not able to get it paired over the phone, so I scheduled a technicians visit.

 (More)

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Harmony Remote charging base

Paul Westbrook | 06 May, 2007 21:38

The Harmony 880 Remote is the best universal remote IMHO.  This remote has a charging base so you don't have to replace batteries.  I have noticed that our remote hasn't been charging.

I discovered the problem is that the remote is not making contact with the base when just being placed in.  If I place a small weight on the remote, charging works perfectly.

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Folding@Home, PS3 and Energy Consumption

Paul Westbrook | 30 April, 2007 23:32

PS3 owners can run a Folding@Home client on the game console.  (As on March 23rd, PS3s were contributing 338 teraflops.)

According to the PS3 frequently asked questions page, the power consumption of the PS3 running the Folding@Home client, is 200 Watts. 

This is the main reason that I don't run these clients, even though I would love to participate.  We are trying to reduce our energy consumption, so I wouldn't want to leave a 200 watt device running all of the time.

I do wonder how efficient the PS3 (flops/watt) is compared to other types of hardware.

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LinuxMCE

Paul Westbrook | 27 March, 2007 17:14

Linux Media Center Edition looks very cool. LinuxMCE is a add-on to Ubuntu distribution of linux, that gives a easy interface to access your media. Here is a comparision videos that compare Linux MCE with Windows MCE.

With the features that are described, I would love to build a Linux MCE box.  I would want to make sure that the PC would have CableCard slots.

 (More)

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Hawking HNC210

Paul Westbrook | 17 March, 2007 22:12

Hawking Hnc210I have been interested in getting a network camera for a while.  I like the concept of having devices connected directly to the network, without needing a computer to be running.  A while ago, I saw that woot was selling the Hawking HNC210 network camera, so I decided to get one.

The setup was pretty easy.  Even though, officially, it only supports Windows PCs for configuration, I was able to set it up on my mac.  All the windows config tool does is looks for any cameras on the network, and presents them in the UI.  Then the tool will set you set the ip address.  You can do the same thing without the PC app, as the web server is always running on the camera.  All you need to do is determine the ip address that the dhcp server sent to the camera.  You can either do network map, or look at the dhcp status page on most broadband routers.

 (More)

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Amazon Unbox on TiVo

Paul Westbrook | 07 March, 2007 20:54

It is always nice to be able to see something that you worked on actually being used.  While I worked at TiVo, I worked on the project to download video to the DVRs.

Now you can download Amazon Unbox videos directly to Series2 or Series3 TiVos.  I was curious about Amazon Unbox, but previously it was only available on Windows PCs.  Also, I never thought that watching video on a small computer screen was a compelling experience

 (More)

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JVC KD-NX5000

Paul Westbrook | 13 January, 2007 15:41

Jvx-Nx5000One of the problems with after market navigation systems, is that they require an external, often flip out, monitor.  There have been several headunits only available in Europe that integrate a navigation unit into a single-DIN headunit.  For example, the Blaupunkt Travelpilot, and the Harman/Kardon Traffic Pro are mainly available in Europe.

The JVC ND-NX5000 is a single-DIN headunit with navigation.  It has a 40GB drive, where 15 GB is reserved for navigation maps, and the rest is available for audio or video content.  The built-in 3.5" screen can also be used for watching DVDs or other video content on the hard drive.

[via Engadget]

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Alpine KCE-300BT

Paul Westbrook | 13 January, 2007 15:10

Kce-300BtI have mentioned that several car headunits that allow hands-free talking on your cell phone over bluetooth.  These usually were missing some feature that I wanted like, iPod controls, or satellite radio controls.

Now Alpine has announced the KCE-300BT.  This is an Ai-NET component that will connect to any of the newer Ai-NET compatible stereos, and allow you to have hands-free conversations on your Bluetooth cell phone.  The caller id information will appear on the headunit display.

Since most of Alpine's headunits are Ai-NET compatible, this will allow the hands-free functionality, with all of the other extra features that I want.

[via Engadget]

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iPhone Alternative?

Paul Westbrook | 11 January, 2007 08:50

Neo1973 Open Moko DialerA new line of Linux-based phones is scheduled to be available soon.  The Neo1973 is the first phone from this family of phones.  The GSM phone has a 640x480 touchscreen, and an A-GPS receiver. In addition to the standard applications, you can install new applications using an "application manager" interface.

They are expecting a follow-up model that includes both WiFi and Bluetooth.

I think that something like this has the potential to be a challenger to Apple's iPhone.

[via Razvan Antonescu's link blog]

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iPhone

Paul Westbrook | 10 January, 2007 20:19

IphoneSo yesterday Apple announced the iPhone.  Personally, I want this device, but before I would purchase this, I would want some questions answered:

  1. How much would the Cingular charge for the data plan?  Potentially this would use a lot of network bandwidth.
  2. How usuable is the UI with a the touch screen, especially without feedback?  I didn't like our Philips Pronto as a remote, as you really couldn't use it without looking directly at it.
  3. How are the mail account settings configured on the device?  I don't want this device to check all of the mail accounts that I have configured on my Mac, but only a subset.
  4. How durable is the screen?  I normally keep my cell phone in my pocket.  Will the screen get scratched?
 (More)

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SlingCatcher

Paul Westbrook | 07 January, 2007 20:25

Slingcatcher-1 It looks like Sling Media will be coming out with a product that I find pretty interesting (And that I mentioned before.)  The SlingCatcher is a device that you connect to a wireless or ethernet network and your TV.  This will display the video that is being "broadcast" by a Slingbox.

I would use something like this to view the TiVo Series3 that is downstairs on our TV in the bedroom (This would allow us to not have to use the horrible UI on the Comcast Motorola DVR.)  I am sure that the and satellite providers aren't going to like this product.

[via Engadget HD]

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Cell phone wish list

Paul Westbrook | 30 December, 2006 14:59

I have been using the Motorola E815 for a little over a year, and I have been pretty happy with it.  Recently there have been some annoyances, and some things that I haven't be able to do with it.  For example,

  • The E815 can not run the Gmail for mobile application or any other Java application
  • The built-in browser doesn't retain cookies across power cycle, so you have to re-enter usernames and passwords for web sites.

So now when I am ready for a new cell phone, these are the features that I want:

  • Java capable
  • Full Bluetooth support, including file transfer profile
  • Web client, with persistent cookies.
  • Full iSync support over Bluetooth
  • Camera with lens cover to protect against pocket lint.
  • Voice dialing capable.

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Video On Demand Behavior Change

Paul Westbrook | 23 December, 2006 19:55

I have been playing with Comcast's "On Demand" feature on the Motorola DVR cable box in our bedroom a little bit, and have realized that this will change my behavior.  We used to have some series recordings of kids programs.

Now, I can cancel these recordings, since most of these shows are available on "On Demand".  With this change, the DVR's disk space will not be "wasted" with programs that I don't watch.

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TiVo remote addresses with Harmony remote

Paul Westbrook | 23 December, 2006 19:28

I needed to setup my Harmony remote to be able to control both the TiVo Series3 and the DIRECTV HD DVR.  I thought that there was a setting in in the Harmony interface, but I couldn't find it.  Here is the way that I was able to get this to work:

  1. Configure the remotes and TiVo for seperate remote addresses.
  2. In the Harmony remote application, click on the Settings for one of the TiVos.
  3. Select the "Confirm infrared commands" option.
  4. Follow the instructructions.
  5. Do the same for the other.

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Another Series3 issue

Paul Westbrook | 21 December, 2006 19:09

Today, I noticed another problem with the Series3.  About half of the recordings were "partial" with duration of 0:00.  It turns out that only one of the two CableCards were activated.  So all of the recordings from digital cable channels, on that tuner, were failing.

The TiVo should have been able to identify this problem after setup.  The TiVo could have process where it tunes to every channel on both tuners.  Then it could verify that the content on both tuners is the same.

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