Episode 66 - Camino: Better Than Firefox, Best External Drive, HP TouchSmart PC, ...

[serafina]

Checklist for a new PC. Hard Drive Speed vs. Size, SmallNetBuilder, Roll your own backup, What does Gigahertz mean?

Watch or download this episode here (http://revision3.com/tekzilla/touchsmart/)

[andyaldrich]

Veronica, you have my sympathies!

I managed to jump and land badly a week ago, spraining my left ankle when landing. During the ensuing tumble my right ankle sprained also.

[Nunman62]

On the show, they suggested the Total Media Theatre over Cyberlink PowerDVD. But, I do have my reservations about this company... First, why don't they offer a free trial of their product? Seems like a reasonable request to try something before I have to buy it after all! Second, why doesn't ArcSoft have a toll free number to call them to ask questions about their product? This really seems suspicious! I can't even call the company to inquire about Total Media Theatre at all! I didn't see any of this information at their website! Why would Tekzilla recommend software that for all I know, could be malware!

[nonobaddog]

Veronica;

Hope your neck gets better quickly. I was surprised to hear you recommending Western Digital MyBook external drives. I have never had one that didn't die young. Noisy, hot, and slow! I now use only Seagate FreeAgent...far, far better than the WD! Next time you are in the market for a new external hard drive, I strongly urge you to try the Seagate FreeAgent Pro...once you try it, you'll be like so many others and say asta lavista to WD.
Enjoy the show....have fun in Vegas! Look forward to Tekzilla coverage of CES!

[fishtoprecords]

Great to see Bearonica back on the show. Get well soon, that can hurt.

Hard to tell what Patrick's real review of the HP touch screen was. Parts he liked, then he said, basically twice, that you can't play DVDs on it in the touch space.

Is it worth the money? or not?

[davmoo]

Why would Tekzilla recommend software that for all I know, could be malware!

Why would you suspect Patrick/Tekzilla of sending you to malware? Do you really think Patrick would recommend the package if there was anything nefarious about it? You must have missed the part where Patrick said he has used both packages (Total Media Theater and Cyberlink) extensively.

I admit it would be a good thing for them to have an information number or offer a trial version. But at the same time, its not like all you know is "Try our package!!!!!111oneoneone".

[davmoo]

Veronica, you've probably healed by now. But if not, or for future reference if you have, have you tried Salonpas (http://salonpas.us/)?

They're like a patch that you put on the area where the pain is. There is an odor factor, but it kicks the pain for me.

[Nunman62]

Why would you suspect Patrick/Tekzilla of sending you to malware? Do you really think Patrick would recommend the package if there was anything nefarious about it? You must have missed the part where Patrick said he has used both packages (Total Media Theater and Cyberlink) extensively.

I admit it would be a good thing for them to have an information number or offer a trial version. But at the same time, its not like all you know is "Try our package!!!!!111oneoneone".

The question still stands, why doesn't this company offer a free trial and a toll free customer and support phone number (or email support as far as that goes). I'm not saying that Patrick would purposely be sending me to a malware site, but anyone with less knowledge wouldn't know the difference!

[veronicazilla]

Veronica;

Hope your neck gets better quickly. I was surprised to hear you recommending Western Digital MyBook external drives. I have never had one that didn't die young. Noisy, hot, and slow! I now use only Seagate FreeAgent...far, far better than the WD! Next time you are in the market for a new external hard drive, I strongly urge you to try the Seagate FreeAgent Pro...once you try it, you'll be like so many others and say asta lavista to WD.
Enjoy the show....have fun in Vegas! Look forward to Tekzilla coverage of CES!

Like I said on the show, it seems that everyone has a different experience with a different drive. I've had mine for two years, and no issues! Works like a charm.

And thanks to everyone who has asked about my neck! It's feeling a lot better, hopefully I'll be nearing 100% before leaving for Vegas :)

[jdawson]

On the show, they suggested the Total Media Theatre over Cyberlink PowerDVD.

Hi All:

Always have been a big fan of the show and am a HUGE user of MCE 2005. So when Patrick said ArcSoft product is worth jumping from Cyberlink well you just have to give it a try.

And try hard I did... Well try as much as one can try to love something in 12 hours.

Here is what I found from my limited testing.

The Good things about ArcSoft:
1. Uses much less CPU then the Cyberlink product, how much less... About half as much CPU required. I saw averages as low as of 20-25% when playing Casino Royal blu-ray on my AMD 4400+ with a 7950 Nvidia.

2. Is NOT AS CRAZY about HDPC compliance, so I can play blu-rays with more video card drivers and configurations then Cyberlink. With my Cyberlink I must run an older driver in my Nvidia to not get a silly HDPC compliance error in Cyberlink. With ArchSoft I could play blu-rays with new drivers, and on other systems that CyberLink will just say NO HDPC compliance. This issue alone could be enough for many users to switch to ArcSoft.

The bad about ArchSoft:
1. "ON MY SYSTEM" A HP Media Center system, the S/PDIF output didn't sync at 5.1 using the ArcSoft Codec.
Fix: I was able to get ArcSoft to use the Cyberlink Codec using the Microsoft Windows XP Decoder Checkup Utility. If you use MCE 2005 this utility is a MUST! http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=DE1491AC-0AB6-4990-943D-627E6ADE9FCB&displaylang=en

2. I use a system called FIRE STB that allows me to record HIGH-DEF videos with 5.1 sound from my MCE using the fire wire port output from my cable box. These audio files are Windows .dvr-ms files with 5.1 audio. With ArcSoft installed playing these videos within MCE 2005 I could not get any 5.1 audio. As many of you know MCE uses other video players and it looks like ArcSoft becomes the default player once it is installed inside MCE. These .dvr-ms files do not play with the 5.1 audio with ArcSoft (i tried to directly play them in ArcSoft). They do however play with full 5.1 audio in CyberLink. So no fix could be found for this issue.

I also have a subjective comment here that could be WRONG. But I am not sure the ArchSoft codec decodes blu-ray as smooth and as clean as CyberLink. I didn't do enough testing so I could be completely WRONG. But I thought the CyberLink video decoder may be a little better.

In conclusion the ArchSoft product gives CyberLink a good run for the best Blu-Ray player. If not for the 5.1 audio problem with playing .dvr-ms files in ArcSoft I would keep it installed and play with it a lot more. However for me just having it installed prevents me from getting 5.1 audio in some files within MCE 2005. For that reason I will have to stick with CyberLink.

(If anyone can inform me how to fix my problems with ArcSoft I would be glad to try it again.)

All the best,

Joe Dawson

[cybersuchus]

Wow, it's been 24 hours now and no one has made an avatar out of "Snotty Belmont" yet.

Guess I'll get the ball rolling:

http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp171/Nygma/Snotty_Belmont.jpg

[fee]

lol



hmmm i need an avatar....

[pianoplayer88key]

How's this av?

[cybersuchus]

Nice. All it needs now is a little animation. I might try and get to that during some down time.

[davmoo]

Wow, it's been 24 hours now and no one has made an avatar out of "Snotty Belmont" yet.

Guess I'll get the ball rolling:

Maybe I'll start using that as a wallpaper on one of my machines.

[murphy1d]

Wow, it's been 24 hours now and no one has made an avatar out of "Snotty Belmont"

Why does she look like a scary demon-girl from a movie like "The Ring."

[tokenuser]

Wow, it's been 24 hours now and no one has made an avatar out of "Snotty Belmont" yet. Snotty Belmont needs to see a nurse.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/285198865_1a0276f183.jpg

[fee]

Snotty Belmont needs to see a nurse.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/285198865_1a0276f183.jpg

Hellloooooo Nurse!

[veronicazilla]

HAHA! "Snotty Belmont." I see a recurring character. Although, I don't think anyone will watch the show if I do that....

[Nunman62]

This is point I was trying to get to in the first place! Not that Patrick was trying to get me to install malware on my PC, but that because it worked on his PC, that it was a good bet that it will work on ANYBODY'S PC! As Joe pointed out, "ON MY SYSTEM" A HP Media Center system, (which is by the way is one of my PC's as well, along with a PC that I build myself with Vista 64 OS (is 64 bit OS a issue as well?). Anyway, my ultimate point is that just because something works on one PC may not work on another PC! Not all PC's are created equal! Because of certain individuals PC's setups, software or hardware may or may not run as you would expect. For example, on ArcSoft's own forum site, unlike Joe, many people had TMT run HIGHER CPU percentage than Joe did! Anyway, it would be good business practice on ArcSoft's part to offer a FREE trial of TMT , if for no other reason, to see if it will run as advertisted on THEIR PC! (Oh, and thanks to Joe for his honest evaluation of ArcSoft's Total Media Theatre for his PC setup!)

[revision3fan]

Is there any more information on Tekzilla and the rest of Revision 3 at this year's Consumer Electronics Show? When are the live webcasts? Will there be a regular show posted this Saturday?

What about the meet-up afterwards? When and where is it? There isn't much on the web.

[silentspyder]

Veronica wears almost as many costumes as Leo Laporte.

[davmoo]

HAHA! "Snotty Belmont." I see a recurring character. Although, I don't think anyone will watch the show if I do that....

When you did that on the show you ended up looking a *lot* like my next door neighbor, only she's a blond. I can't decide if I find that cute or scary...

[veronicazilla]

When you did that on the show you ended up looking a *lot* like my next door neighbor, only she's a blond. I can't decide if I find that cute or scary...

Probably "scary," since that's what I was intending. To look like your neighbor, that is.

[windshield]

HAHA! "Snotty Belmont." I see a recurring character.

You say "recurring character", I say "new show".

[veronicazilla]

You say "recurring character", I say "new show".

I like the way you think, sir.

[studiophi]

If you're looking for an even less-expensive sub, a Cleveland-based company--BIC America--makes a very nice 12" powered sub for around $250. The beauty of this specific unit is that it is also powered with a HSU Research amp. I bought one in October on Amazon before the prices jumped up to $390, and love it.

Specs:
Price (MSRP): $499 / Each
Design: Heavy Duty Front-Firing 12" Powered Subwoofer, BASH designed amp.
Frequency Response: 24Hz - 200Hz (+/- 3dB) variable (adjustable crossover)
Sensitivity: 90 dB
Drivers: Heavy Duty 12" Long-Throw Poly-graphite woofer with high power magnet.
Magnetic Shielding: NO
Gold-Plated Terminals:YES
Recommended Power: Built-in Amplifier Power - 150 Watt RMS, 500-Watt Dynamic Peak
Impedance: 8 ohms
Dimensions: 17" H x 15" W x 18 1/4" D
Weight: 42 lbs Each
Warranty: 2 Year Parts and Labor

Source: http://www.acoustechspeakers.com/showpage.php?brand=1&type=8&spkrID=26

Buy: http://www.google.com/products?q=Acoustech+H100&oe=UTF-8&scoring=p

BIC Also makes a line of subs under their Venturi line. Don't bother with these; they're junk.

[cybersuchus]

HAHA! "Snotty Belmont." I see a recurring character. Although, I don't think anyone will watch the show if I do that....

I could imagine it being an occasional sketch in the same vein as Amanda Bynes character - "Ask Ashley" - from All That.

Crazy example:

"Dear Heat Sink Conundrum: Why of course it's fine to run your new quad core processor without a heat sink. In the wacky land you live in, with fairytale monsters and tap dancing hamburgers, anything is possible. While you're at it, consider resting your tongue on the processor as it starts up, or sticking your fingers in the nearest wall socket. What a moron!

Someone fetch me a bigger lolly!