I was searching for a new electric shaver the other day and came across ConsumerSearch.Com. It’s a neat site — they consolidate reviews from other sites about devices, offer opinions about the other site’s review qualities, and give you background on devices. I was looking for two items: a shaver and a DVD player. Based in part on the info there, I’m getting a Norelco Synchro and a Panasonic DVD-S47S. I’ll post here when the items arrive and I’ve had a change to try them out.
Category Archives: Reviews
MythTV update
I’ve received two e-mails from people asking for an update on the MythTV project. So here goes.
First, concerning the issue with the Biostar motherboard: the Biostar motherboard was bad. The TV out on it was physicially inoperative. It did not include the TV out in the box, so I had to buy that and the SPDIF out from Biostar. The SPDIF out was coax only, no optical, and the TV out was broken. I returned the motherboard and purchased an Albatron KM18g Pro 2.0 motherboard instead. The Albatron is nice. The TV out adapter is included and works. The SPDIF adapter is still extra, but instead of one port, has three ports: coax in, coax out, and optical out. My only complaint is that the GPU has a cooling fan that sounds like its about to die.
On the digital video (DVI output) side, I purchased an ATI Radeon 9200 card for $64.50. Together with the Gefen cable, I get crystal-clear output to my TV. While the picture is sharper than anything else, the colors are just not quite right somehow. After doing some checking, I am led to believe that this is because the TV does not auto-correct digital sources the way it does analog. I’m still looking into it. The ATI card is nice, and has a TV out too, so I could always fall back to that if need be. I am using the Free Software DRI drivers for the ATI card.
I’ve had a few problems with the MythTV unit overheating. We put it in a new entertainment center, and occasionally it will do a thermal shutdown to prevent damage. I ordered a nice SilenX power supply to try to move more air through there, and at a quieter volume. I also ordered one of their fans to mount on the entertainment center itself for ventilation.
The high-definition TV has been nice overall, but has exhibited discoloration in one corner. A repairman should be out this week to check it out.
GreenCine Review
I recently wrote about trying out GreenCine, an online DVD rental site, and concerns people have about NetFlix. I’ve now had some GreenCine experience, and can write a more detailed review. Click below for the (detailed, long, multi-page) review. Everything you need to know about GreenCine (and some dirt on Netflix) with one simple click of the rodent! What could be better? :-)
Continue reading GreenCine Review
MythTV Hardware Review
Last week, I posted a list of hardware that I’m buying for my MythTV. Most if it has arrived and I can make some comments about it now.
First, the Chenbro case is really bad. One of the hard drive bays is inaccessible due to being placed over the motherboard (!) and the other one requires the drive to be mounted upside-down. The 5.25″ bays are also poor, not letting one drive in all four screws (one of them only permits two, and right above each other at that, anchoring only 1 of 4 possible anchor points.)
The Biostar board is nice, but here’s the rub: while it features TV out and S/PDIF out pins on the motherboard, the board doesn’t ship with the connectors necessary to make it work! They charge $12 and $15, respecitvely, for the requires connectors, so this thing is not yet working with a TV.
The Samsung hard drive is great and it is indeed quiet as claimed. I’d heartily reccommend it.
And the Athlon XP 2200+ CPU is, of course, also a very nice one.
The Hauppauge card hasn’t arrive yet; I’m using a very old WinTV card until it does. More on that when it gets here.