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MTube’s Living Room Tablet Runs Android with an ARM Processor

Jason Barry — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:22:53 -0500

MTube’s latest touch screen device isn’t a new mobile phone or netbook. Instead, the Mtube Android MID is intended as a multimedia device for living room entertainment.

It offers a 7.6-inch OLED touch screen, an ARM processor, internet access and wireless streaming to your television. You can send videos and images to your television using touch screen gestures. The details on how the device communicates with your TV are not clear; it’s likely a WIFI receiver will connect your HDMI ports (on the TV) with the MTube. MTube has been in negotiations to integrate a receiver into displays.

It’s not exactly production ready (the demo unit crashed in the video) but it is an interesting use of the Android operating system and could prove to be a clever entertainment device.

Check out the video below.

Is GlideTV's "Couch Mouse" the Ultimate Remote?

Paul Lilly — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:30:23 -0500

Home entertainment company GlideTV on Tuesday announced a new device the company says combines the functionality of a keyboard, mouse, and AV remote all rolled into one.

The GlideTV Navigator, as it's being called, won the 2009 Best of Innovations Award at CES earlier this year. It includes a remote, charging station, USB wireless receiver, and works with Windows, Mac, Sony's PlayStation 3 console, and any set-top box that supports standard mouse and keyboard HID devices, the company said.

"Up to now, consumes who wanted to connect a computer to the TV to take advantage of digital content had to bring office equipment to their living room, making the experience bulky and cumbersome," said Chris Painter, President and founder. "With the Navigator, GlideTV brings simplicity to accessing internet-based entertainment and ushers in a new era for computing in the living room."

Some of the Navigator's features include backlit AV buttons, dedicated Esc, Enter, Back, and Function keys, an on-screen keyboard (Windows only), and rechargeable battery. GlideTV says its remote will work with all the media apps you're used to using, including Windows Media Center, iTunes, Boxee, SageTV, Firefox, and more.

The Navigator is available now for $150.

Image Credit: GlideTV

Here Today, Gone to Maui? Hands-On with AMD's HTPC Platform

Michael Brown — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:30:00 -0500

Sorry, we couldn’t resist the headline. For the record: We’re not predicting the early demise of AMD’s new Live Home Cinema reference platform (which is code-named Maui). AMD sent us a sample build several months ago, but we wanted to live with it for a while before publishing our thoughts on the design.

We’re big fans of home-theater PCs, especially the build-it-yourself variety (be sure and check out the May issue of Maximum PC for Will Smith’s terrific how-to guide to building one of your own). If AMD can resolve one major issue, we think Maui will be the best home-theater PC platform on the market.

With a home-theater PC, you can stream all manner of Hollywood content for free (from websites such as Hulu) or for a small fee (from online stores such as iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon’s Unbox). While you can accomplish the same thing with a media center extender and any PC equipped with a version of Windows that includes Windows Media Center, a dedicated HTPC leaves that other machine available for other tasks. A home-theater PC with a Blu-ray drive can play HD movies, too, but comparing home-theater PCs to Blu-ray disc players—which are becoming increasingly PC-like—is more problematic. We’ll get to that soon enough; for now, let’s take a detailed look at AMD’s Live Home Cinema platform.

The hardware to build this particular AMD reference design would cost around $900 at retail. It’s based on an AMD Phenom X4 9350e quad-core processor plugged into an MSI MS-7411 micro-ATX motherboard (which MSI markets as the Media Live Diva). The MS-7411 uses AMD’s RS780M/SB700 chipset with an ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics core (the RS780M is a mobile, low-power version of AMD’s RS780G chipset, with added support for component video output). AMD stripped all legacy components (except VGA) from the motherboard’s design; you won’t find serial or parallel ports, PS/2 mouse or keyboard ports, or even a PCI bus.

Cool Running

The CPU is cooled by a closed-loop cooling system, the Noise Limit SilentFlux Media heatsink and fan. The SilentFlux boasts a very low profile that’s optimized for horizontal installations, such as a home-theater PC: Its radiator rises just 2.36 inches above the CPU. It’s also extremely quiet, with a stated noise level of just 21dB. We didn’t encounter any problems running the PC in our enclosed entertainment center, even those times when we forgot to turn on the ceiling-mounted cooling fan inside there.

AMD shipped this evaluation system with 2GB of Aneon DDR2-667 memory, a Pioneer BD202MR Blu-ray, and a 500GB Seagate Pipeline HD hard drive.

Awesome Audio

The Maui design’s biggest claim to fame is the presence of a D2Audio DAE-3 digital audio engine, which can output 2.1-channel analog audio from the motherboard. Alternatively, you can pair it with either a five-channel amplifier card or a seven-channel pre-amp card. D2Audio designed both these components, and AMD sent both for evaluation. If you buy MSI’s Media Live Diva 5.1, you’ll get the amplifier card; purchase the Media Live Diva 7.1 and you’ll get the pre-amp card.

The amplifier delivers up to 100 watts per channel to passive speakers (you connect your eight-ohm speakers directly to the card, there’s no need for an A/V receiver or even powered speakers—other than a powered subwoofer, of course). The amp delivers an impressive signal-to-noise ratio of 105dB and total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than 0.5 percent. It will drive four-ohm speakers, too, in which case it will deliver 200 watts per channel. You’d have to spend a great deal of cash to find a stand-alone amp with comparable specs.

The pre-amp card boasts an even higher signal-to-noise ratio of 110dB (with 0.5 percent THD) while adding support for a pair of rear surround channels. You connect this card to your A/V receiver (or powered speakers) using conventional RCA cables—there’s no need for funky adapters or anything else in the signal path. Alternatively, AMD’s RS780M chipset can deliver compressed 5.1-channel digital audio over HDMI. The reference design also includes a Realtek ALC888 audio chip on the motherboard that delivers digital audio over a coaxial S/PDIF connection (optical S/PDIF is not supported).

Can’t Get There From Here

Most people considering a home-theater PC will be looking to play Blu-ray movies, and this is where AMD’s solution (indeed, all PC solutions) falls short. There’s no problem getting high-definition video to your display: You can use either HDMI (integrated into the motherboard, so here again, you don’t need an adapter) or component video cables (although you might have a problem transporting DRM-protected video over component cables). The problem lies in the audio realm, an area in which this solution is otherwise absolutely marvelous. It has nothing to do with technological limitations and everything to do with the D-word (DRM, or digital rights management).

The AACS (Advanced Access Content System) copy-protection system used to encrypt Blu-ray discs dictates that Blu-ray player software (e.g., Cyberlink’s Power DVD Ultra) must use a so-called “protected path” to send high-definition audio (e.g., losslessly compressed Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio) across a user-accessible bus such as PCI or PCI Express. The objective is to prevent anyone from intercepting the unencrypted audio and making a bit-perfect copy. The Blu-ray video bit stream is subject to the same restriction, but the Windows ecosystem is capable of handling this.

The D2Audio chip on the Maui platform uses a closed, proprietary bus, so it does seem to be in compliance with AACS. Unfortunately, AMD has so far been unable to convince any of the companies developing software Blu-ray players to send unencrypted HD audio over that bus.

The work-around is for the Blu-ray software player to decode the losslessly compressed audio, down-sample the bit stream from its 96kHz sampling rate with 24-bit resolution to a 48kHz sampling rate with 16-bit resolution, and then pass the uncompressed eight-channel LPCM (linear pulse code modulation) bit stream to the D2Audio chip. The D2Audio chip converts the bit stream to analog and sends it to the pre-amp card, the motherboard’s line-level outputs, or the amplifier card. The D2Audio chip does not pass digital audio of any form over HDMI.

Needless to say, down-sampling is less than an ideal compromise. Then again, the mere availability of a movie on Blu-ray disc doesn’t automatically mean that it has a Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack or that it’s encoded using the highest possible specs. You’ll encounter many films with audio encoded at a 48kHz sampling rate with 24-bit resolution, for instance, and many more that are encoded at a 48kHz sampling rate with 16-bit resolution, at which point down-sampling isn’t even necessary. The website CinemaSquid maintains a comprehensive searchable database of Blu-ray releases that includes such information.

Many people will contend that the average consumer can’t tell the difference between HD and lesser audio—but who’d be willing to spend $900 or more for a PC that can’t offer one of the features that a $300 Blu-ray player can. In our book, audio quality is the second biggest reason to buy any hardware that’s capable of playing a Blu-ray disc and Maui represents a compromise on that score—whether we can hear it or not is moot.

Amped Up

We played with the amplifier card for a bit, and while it does deliver excellent audio quality, we’re not ready to take our A/V receiver out of our entertainment center. For starters, the amp doesn’t accommodate rear surround speakers (it’s limited to left and right surrounds). And as terrific as it sounds, even a home-theater PC isn’t set up to handle all our audio sources (although the motherboard does have a pair of RCA jacks for analog line-level input. Plug in a stereo source—such as a VCR—and you can route the audio to the amplifier.)

But we also use a satellite receiver/DVR to watch and record television, and there’s no way to pipe surround sound from the satellite tuner to the PC. And while we could use the HTPC to stream music from our Windows Home Server machine, we still prefer the Sonos Multi-room Audio System for music listening. Besides, the pre-amp delivers a higher signal-to-noise ratio, and it sounds fabulous.

The reference design supports AMD’s OCUR TV tuner for use with the digital cable set-top boxes, but you can still only buy such a card as part of an OEM system build. Our reference design came with AMD’s ATI Theater Pro tuner card, but the value of over-the-air tuners such as this is severely by the fact that they can’t access premium cable and satellite channels (HBO, Showtime, et al).

On the Case

AMD chose nMedia’s HTPC 1000B enclosure for its reference platform, the look of which fit right in with the other components in our entertainment system. The aluminum case has a single 5.25-inch drive bay for an optical drive and four internal 3.5-inch drive bays. The front panel has a cut-out for an LCD (the reference design had one, but the display is not included in the price of the case), and there’s a flip-down panel that hides one eSATA, one FireWire, and three USB ports; a media card reader; and 1/8-inch jacks for a mic and headphones.

We added Microsoft’s Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000, but we swapped out the useless (in a living-room environment, at least) mouse for a Gyration Air Music Remote (which you can now find for a pretty reasonable street price of $85). We connected the PC to both an Epson Cinema 500 video projector and a ViewSonic N4285P 42-inch LCD television.

Trouble in Paradise?

Everything went smoothly until we connected the Maui system to a Sherwood RD-7503 A/V receiver: The computer would not send the receiver a video signal over HDMI with resolution any higher than 640x480 (480p). Curious to see whether the problem was with the computer or the receiver, we then connected the HDMI from HP’s Pavilion HDX 9000 notebook PC, which is equipped with AMD’s Radeon HD 2600 XT videocard: We ran into the very same problem.

We then tried a second desktop PC, which was outfitted with an Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT (with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter). This time, the Sherwood receiver performed as expected. We also didn’t encounter any problems with the HDMI outputs from an upscaling DVD player and a Samsung Blu-ray disc player.

The last we’d heard from AMD, they thought the problem to be related to the computer not reading the receiver’s EDID profile correctly, although they told us they’d never encountered a problem with other A/V receivers they’ve tested.. Sherwood told us they’d seen a similar problem with a Motorola DCH3200 digital cable set-top box, but that they weren’t familiar with AMD’s Maui platform and had no further comment on the matter.

Final Thoughts

AMD’s engineers deserve a big round of applause for giving so much thought and consideration to audio while designing the AMD Live Home Cinema reference platform; sound is all too often overlooked in PC designs, and Maui’s D2Audio components are divine.

We know AMD is working hard to convince Hollywood and software developers that it provides the protected audio path that software Blu-ray players need to avoid down-sampling Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. Should they succeed, however, stand-alone Blu-ray players will still have one advantage over the PC: They can send both HD video and HD audio to an A/V receiver using a single HDMI cable: Maui will always need at least an HDMI cable for video and as many as eight RCA cables for audio.

Aside from those limitations, Maui is a splendid destination.

Asus's Eee Keyboard is Real, and Starts at Just $400

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:18:37 -0600

A little while back Asus was toying with the idea of fitting a home theater PC inside a keyboard, and now we can happily say that this product is finally on its way.

The Eee Keyboard will come with wireless HDMI and a small touchscreen, and is expected to arrive in May or June, costing only $400-$600. Jerry Shen, Asus’ CEO, says that there are two models being worked on, a wired and a wireless version. It’s reported that the wireless capability is the difference between the $400 and $600 machines.

Underneath the hood it will have a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB RAM, a 16 or 32GB SSD, WiFi and Bluetooth built in. It will also feature wireless HDMI, 2 USB 2.0, VGA, HDMI and audio in/out ports.

Image Credit: Asus

Epson Excites HTPC Fans with Endeavor ST120 (But There's a Catch...)

Mark Edward Soper — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:27:18 -0600

If you're tired of tiny form-factor HTPCs run by underwhelming processors, the newest version of the Epson Endeavor ST HTPC is a shot of adrenaline. As Nexus404 reports, the new ST120, which measures only 75x185x195 mm (or approximately 2.95x7.28x7.68 inches), features powerful processing and movie playback power:

Core 2 Duo processor running at speeds from 2.26-2.8GHz
GM45 Express chipset
HDTV Tuner
1GB DDR2 RAM with upgrade options to 4GB
80GB to 250GB SATA hard disk
Blu-Ray or DVD drive

If you're looking for an ultra-compact HTPC with most of the guts of a desktop, what's the catch? There are two, really:

Catch #1: It costs approximately $1,573
Catch #2: The price is converted from Japanese yen, because Japan's the only place that will see the ST120 rolled out for sale.

Want to see Epson roll out an Americanized version? Think Epson should stick to printers, scanners, and all-in-one units? Have a suggestion for a similarly small and powerful HTPC that's available outside of Japan? You know what to do: hit Comment and tell us all about it.

Image courtesy Engadget.com.

JVC Announces First Consumer Targeted Stereoscopic Projector

Andy Salisbury — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:07:05 -0600

3D displays aren’t high on the list of things probable to be the next major form of home entertainment, but that hasn’t bothered JVC one bit. They’ve just announced their first 3D projector designed for home theaters, the DLA-RS2.

The projector won’t require any glasses; instead it uses D-ILA projection and stereoscopic video processing to present a 1080p 3D adventure.

Details are few and far between on the projector at the moment, but it has been confirmed that SENSIO 3D technology is at the heart, and it will provide a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. While the projector will require 3D content to make 3D images, it will be also compatible with DVD and Blu-ray discs until those become more common.

No word yet on the price, but it will be ready to take home sometime in 2009.

Image Credit: JVC

Logitech Intros New Harmony 510 Universal Remote

Mark Edward Soper — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:14:06 -0500

Cnet's Crave blog reports that Logitech has rolled out yet another member of its low-end 500 series of Harmony universal remotes, the 510. According to Cnet, the 510, which retails for $99.99 but is widely available for less, is similar in its control design to the 550 ($129.99 MSRP), but only controls five devices, versus 15 for the 550.

Commenters at the Engadget blog have already spotted the 510 "in the wild" and have noted that the older 550 is less expensive at some stores and has a blue backlight (preferred by some to the 510's green backlight). Many users are noting that the Xbox 360-compatible Logitech Harmony remote is also a better deal than the 510, as it supports up to 12 devices (and you don't need to have an Xbox 360 to use it).

Logitech's official web page for the Harmony 510 is here, and you can find all of the US-market models listed here.

Fans of under $100 universal remotes, time to speak up. Is newer better, or are you hunting for the 550 while you can still get it? Hit Comments and tell us what you think.

Illustration courtesy Logitech.

Accell’s UltraAV HDMI 4:2 Switch

Michael Brown — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:11:55 -0500

When we first reviewed Accell’s UltraAV HDMI 4:2 Audio/Video Switch, we described it as a Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde home-theater product. If you intended to use it with a PC, we recommended calling the company to find out which personality would manifest itself to you. But if your plan was to use it only with a consumer-electronics products (e.g., a standalone Blu-ray player), you didn't need to worry--it was a solid product.

Fortunately, that's all changed now--just be sure the box you pick up sports a sticker that reads "Works with PCs." This version has newer firmware that can read a PC's EDID profile properly; the original version of the product didn't and you can't update its firmware.

Accell's switch would be a great solution for folks with multiple HDMI sources and multiple HDMI displays--too bad Accell can't guarantee it'll work with your PC.

When we integrated the original version of the powered switch—which has four HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs—into our entertainment system, we discovered a bug in its firmware that prevents it from establishing a proper handshake between some PC videocards on one side and display devices on the other. The switch worked fine when the PC was first booted up, but if we switched to another input and switched back to the PC, our two displays (a ViewSonic n4280 HDTV and an Epson PowerLite Cinema 500 projector) went black. The switch wouldn’t work at all when connected to the HDMI output of an HP Pavilion HDX notebook PC.

Accell tells us the bug did’t affect every videocard, and that it doesn’t affect consumer-electronics devices at all. Indeed, when we tested the device with a stand-alone DVD player, it worked like a charm. The problem apparently resides with the firmware’s inability to correctly serve an EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) profile to the PC’s videocard. The EDID informs the videocard of the display’s basic capabilities, including the timings that the display will sync to. If the switch fails to pass the EDID to the videocard, as in our experience, you won’t get a picture.

The new version of Accell's 4:2 HDMI switch includes updated firmware that renders it compatibile with PCs; unfortunately, the old version cannot be udpated.

It’s an unfortunate problem for Accell, because the switch is an otherwise excellent value. The $175 device can not only switch between four HDMI inputs, it sends audio and video to both its HDMI outputs (at resolutions up to 1080p) at the same time. An onboard signal booster enables you to send an HDMI signal much further than the 32 feet the HDMI spec supports (Accell claims a maximum cable length of 82 feet). In our scenario, we connected our playback device to the switch using a three-foot cable, and then ran a six foot cable from the switch to a wall-mounted HDMI jack. This jack is connected to a 32-foot in-wall cable. We then used another three-foot cable to connect the projector.

An infrared remote control is included, and the switch has an IR extender jack and a five-foot cable, so you can hide the box away in an equipment closet. But for all the features and excellent performance the switch delivered with consumer-electronics devices, there’s no way we could recommend the original device; the version with the new firmware works flawlessly.

Editor's note: This review, including its verdict, has been updated to reflect our experience with a newer version of the product with revised firmware. Consumers can tell the two products apart by looking for a sticker on teh box that reads "Works With PCs." Our opinion of the original product (which doesn't have this sticker) has not changed and our "4" verdict stands.