Where No Network Has Gone Before…

All of a sudden, all sorts of electronics need to access the internet and they are nowhere near my network. I didn’t hard-wire my living room for ethernet. My media pc is wireless and I never foresaw the need. Now I need multiple net connections and I don’t want to tear the walls open again.

First - here’s why I suddenly need new network connections:

My DirecTV dvr downloads “on demand” programming  over the internet and needs a high-speed connecion using an ethernet cable. Of course, even though it has a USB port, it won’t take a USB wireless adapter. (By the way, a quick note to the folks at DirecTV - “on demand” means “give it to me when I ask for it”. It doesn’t mean “give it to me after I ask for it, put it in the queue and download it to my dvr”.)

I’m shopping for a new Blu-Ray player. I’d waited out the format wars and the first generation technical glitches, but I’m ready. Quite a few of the newer models have network jacks to enable firmware upgrades directly from the internet - a pretty good idea, so I’d like to be able to take advantage.

I’m also looking at adding a Slingbox to the mix. It’s not that I have a driving need to access my dvr while I’m on vacation. I’ve got a close friend whose job has taken him to Asia for the next 3 years, and he’s jonesing for his Florida Gators and his favorite TV shows as the new season begins. I figured a Slingbox help him stay in touch. And of course a Slingbox will require a connection to the Internet.

So I went looking for a solution that would bring the network to my living room at a minimal cost and with minimal effort. My first thought was a concept I’d been making fun of for ages - powerline networking. Quite simply, a powerline network has (at least) 2 adapters that you plug into an electrical outlet. One gets plugged in near the router and connects to the router with an ethernet cable. The second adapter gets plugged in (in my case) to an outlet in the living room, near my home theater equipment. Again, from there, ethernet cables connect the devices to the adapter. The model I bought had jacks for 4 simultaneous connections. Score! Yeah. Right…

A few problems. The manufacturer warns against using power strips, surge protectors, extension cords, etc. There isn’t an empty wal socket within 30 feet. But I juggled and daisy-chained until I could free one up. Unfortunately, the circuit that my home thearter is on has been split, fragmented and expanded so often that getting a network connection to that wall was never going to happen. But I’ll keep the adapters. When my refrigerator requires net access, this will be an elegant solution.

Next stop was to go wireless. There are a variety of wireless bridges out there and their function is exactly what I needed. The bridge grabs the wireless signal and lets you connect a through an ethernet cable. The problem was that every one I looked at had one output and I wanted to connect at least 3 devices. I considered adding a router that would connect to the bridge and then distribute, but that seemed wasteful. There had to be a better way. And then I found it - The D-Link DAP1522 4-Port GigaBit Wireless Bridge/Access Point, a handy little device that lets me connect up to 4 devices to my wireless network. So my 3 new toys will get their access and I still have room for one more, if my couch ever needsthe Internet.

TV On My Time

DVR is probably the best thing to happen to television since color displays.  I mean, it wouldn’t be worth much if there weren’t anything to watch, but there are (Lost and Heroes to name my top picks).  The fact is TV hasn’t been this engaging, or more irritating , in years.  You can’t miss a single episode or you’ll be disoriented for weeks, thus DVR comes in.

For anyone still unsure as to what a DVR is it’s a digital video recorder, you can record any programs you are going to miss, due to unfortunate time conflicts, without having to set a tape and a VCR.  Pull up the television guide, hit a few buttons, and you’re golden.  The example I have at home is a Tivo.  The Tivo controls are relatively simple, and definitely easier than any VHS recording.  Simplicity should be the goal of all technology and a DVR provides just that.

Even better than missing a show and not worrying about it is being able to watch an incredible show a second time!  (As a Lost fan this specific possibility is especially important.)  If a simple recording option wasn’t enough Tivo has recently announced that it will soon be providing Youtube videos directly to your television (a service previously only offered through Apple TV).  What could be more amusing than watching Charlie the Unicorn on a wide screen display?

If only I could bring a DVR back to college with me, if I’m ever likely to be over scheduled and miss a show it’s at school.

A Bounceable Viewpoint

Movies are always looking to be the next big thing.  Whether they cast the next greatest star, produce the next amazing script, or utilize new technological tools film is an ever changing medium.  In that respect home videos are developing as well.

That’s where the DVR CamBall comes in.  So you’re sick of shooting your family barbecue from a tripod, well why not put a little spin on the camera angles by videotaping from the point of view of a bouncy ball?  That’s the concept behind the Korean DVR CamBall (only available online for now).

I think it’s pretty fun and creative, though a little pricey.  I can’t say exactly what I would shoot with this particular style of camera, but I know I’d be willing to try one.  At the very least the camera would provide enough of a chaos effect to make even the most mundane of home videos a bit more interesting.

“Lost” My Mind

For me, following a show like “Lost” is an addiction. And the Internet has been a huge part of that. The Lost folks figured out pretty early on that their fan base was pretty web-savvy and they used it brilliantly to engage new fans and keep the devoted ones buzzing even in the off season.

Bogus commercials on TV for the Hanso Foundation led to websites that held clues to the mysterious Dharma Initiative. “Official” sites ranged from the website for Oceanic Air, the airline that the castaways were flying when they crashed to Find815.com - a site supposedly about one man’s search for his girlfriend who was on the doomed flight.  BTW - as an example of how well the ABC folks targeted the “geek” market, the URL for Find815.com was placed in the background of certain Marvel comic books.

The fan population is pretty active online, as well. There are hundreds of sites devoted to studying and discussing the minutae of every episode. Fans take screen captures from their HDTV DVR to analyze background details like newspaper articles that the characters are reading (and, for the record, the producers are pretty meticulous about those tiny details being accurate, so the fans aren’t as crazy as it sounds). They try to figure out the meaning behind characters that are named after dead philosophers, discuss the symbolism of Jack tripping over a Star wars toy and constantly evolve their theories about what the show is really about.

I’m sure the fan forums will spend the entire summer analyzing every detail of the season finale, which really was awesome! And while I hate “spoilers” (people who insist on publishing important plot points and ruin the suspense for everybody), I do love to check in and see what the conspiracy theorists and obsessive fans come up with next.

7 Remote Controls - And Yes, I Need Them All

It’s true - I have 7 seperate remote controls in my living room, and I’m pretty sure I need all of them. As far as I’ve been able to determine, there really is no such thing as a “universal remote control”. I have to admit, there are the really high end remotes that claim to really be universal, and some even claim to “learn”, but even a gadget freak like me can’t justify paying more for the remote than I paid for most of the devices it would control.

Why do I need 7 remotes? I guess we need to start with a quick snapshot of my living room tech:

• TV: I have a 60 inch Sony LCD-projection HDTV. Above it are mounted 2 32-inch flatscreen HDTV’s. I know it sounds like a lot of TV, but if you drop by on Sunday during football season, you’d understand. I once described this setup to a female friend who suggested that it would be cheaper to just hang a neon sign that says “I don’t ever plan on getting married”, but until she gets married herself, her opinions are suspect.
• Surround-sound home theater audio system, of course
• Up-converting DVD player - I have so much invested in my DVD collection that I’m scared to upgrade to Blu-Ray, because when I do, I’ll have to fight the urge to replace hundreds of standard DVD’s.
• Media PC - I’ve already outlined the genesis of this particular toy.
• 3 HD DirecTV receivers - they’re the only way I can get every football game every week
• Cable TV DVR - Even with satellite, I like cable. I like on-demand. I want to hedge my bets against thunderstorms knocking out satellite (a real issue in Florida).
• HDMI Switch - The Sony only has one HDMI input, and I want to use HDMI for satellite, DVD and PC input. (My cable DVR won’t work with the HDMI switch due to some overzealous copy-protection)

Let’s put aside the snide comments about my OCD for a moment and get back to the remotes…

Even though 3 other remotes (sound system, cable, satellite) would all turn the Sony on, none of them can toggle through the video sources. Same thing for the Westinghouse remote for the 32’s.  I could probably lose the DVD remote and control it through the home theater, but with the manual long gone, so are the codes. The PC doesn’t have remotes, unless you count the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Nothing can replace the DVR or satellite remotes (but at least 1 use 1 satellite remote, not 3) and the HDMI switch has a one-button remote to change sources that no other remote can replicate.

So there we are. I know what each one does and I’m OK with it. My friends have trouble figuring it all out, but their teenage kids have no issues at all.  And for some reason, I take solace in that.

Oh - by the way, iTunes sucks. Somebody tell Steve J…