Is part of the move to Hulu Plus subscription service an increase in commercials on Hulu’s free service? It would appear so. I went to catch up on back episodes of Burn Notice and was ready to pull my hair out from all the commercials. So, I did a quick search on Twitter [...]
|
|||||
|
There were a lot of stories that caught my eye this week. I’ve already touched on the Facebook Fiasco. But, there was a lot more changing in our ever shifting geek landscape. Google BuzzLed by preeminent techies like Leo LaPorte and Gina Trapani, the rats jumping the Facebook ship seem to be giving Google’s ill-started but currently excellent Buzz service new life. Here is the buzz about Buzz. Google Buzz Expands: Now on all Mobiles and ReBuzzing » TECH BOTTLE. Now even the huge number of people clinging to their Blackberries can use Google Buzz on their mobile phones. Welcome aboard. What does the corporate world buzz about? Maybe now we’ll find out. Google Buzz Adds Rebuzz Feature — But Don’t Call It That, That’s Lame. Buzz-ers are no longer limited to “Like” and “Share”. TechCrunch reports that now, we can re-share, too. I’m not sure how this will work. Getting multiple 140 character re-tweets is a lot less annoying than multiple unlimited reshares of articles. I hope those I follow will be kind and use links to longer articles they wish to share. Continue reading A Week for Geeks             Google TV. By now if you are a) as into tech as I am and b) as into media as I am, you may be nauseated by the amount of Apple-esque hype that has surrounded Google TV. For those of you that have real lives, let me break down not just the features of the proposed Google TV but the potential impact of Google TV. The moniker is the best clue. Google=access to their powerful search engine + TV results on the biggest screen in the house. Google TV will allow us to find not just the next time Glee comes on regular TV but episodes, clips, and images from Glee on the internet. The search results can then be bookmarked to watch later. There will also be a homepage where we can keep links to favorite episodes, series, pictures, videos, or channels. Think of it as a media start page in your browser. For the Consumer:By merging broadcast and webcast, Google TV will imitate the functionality of Microsoft’s Media Center. In addition, changes made on one’s Android phone or computer will be instantly reflected on Google TV. An Android phone could easily be used as a remote. Coming soon | XBMC. Way down at the bottom of this news release is something that could be a game changer. Two criticisms I have had of XBMC are 1) lack of A Boxee-style internet TV interface and, 2) it doesn’t play nicely with TV tuners. It sounds like at least one of those needs may [...]
I have loved Tivo for oh so long. That cute little character has wheedled a small fortune out of my pocket. I was so pleased I purchased a lifetime subscription. Maybe it is the fault of the FCC, maybe of Tivo, and definitely of the cable companies, but with my Tivo HD came the dreaded red dot of “you can’t watch this on your computer.” DRM encryption has been added to our cable broadcasts and most shows can no longer be transferred to you computer using Tivo Desktop. One must now pony up a hideous amount of money for a bigger hard drive on one’s Tivo, buy an external hard drive from the one company Tivo allows, or hack one’s Tivo to archive one’s shows until they can be watched (after having paid both Tivo and the cable company to watch the show!). Click on the picture for details on this issue from Dave Zatz. Continue reading Watch TV on XBMC
Part 3: Setup Your Movie LibraryYou have XBMC installed. You have your folders and files properly arranged and named. If you don’t, please do yourself a favor and go back to the second part of the tutorial to learn how to do this and then do it before trying these steps. It really will save you a lot of grief. Now, it is time to introduce all that lovely media to their new partner. When I was trying to figure out how to make XBMC work, I spent hours figuring out what I hope to show you in the next few minutes. One basic skill you will need is the ability to navigate around XBMC and it won’t be easy at first. (Using it will be a lot easier than setting it up.) You will need a means of interfacing with XBMC. Controlling XBMC is possible with a remote, mouse, or keyboard. Continue reading XBMC Setting Up Your Movie Library
Part 2: Folders and FilesI have Tivo for TV Shows and iTunes for Music Videos so I’ll focus on Movies in this tutorial. If you love movies as much as I do, I promise the effort to use this will be paid back in spades. First, let us deal with the folder structure and file name. If you are at all interested in XBMC, you’ve probably experimented with or will experiment with other ways of watching computer-source TV. My goal in arranging media files on my computer is to keep everything in a format that will work no matter whether I am watching|listening via a direct connection between my PC and TV or one through my PS3. I want to listen to music with iTunes (my primary portal) but also with XBMC. To make this happen, I need to organize my folders and files as flexibly as possible. Continue reading XBMC Media Folders and Files Just So  XBMC Tutorial Video Part 1: InstallationiTunes models a lot of what I want from my PC-on-the-TV experience. It can be tasked to hunt down compatible media and add that to its library. In media-center speak ‘library’ does not refer to the “books” but to the “card catalog.” The library is the database that associates the actual media file with additional data like cover art, genre, artist, etc. If asked, iTunes will then copy all of the media files and arrange them in folders according to “the iTunes way.” It is sort of like hiring a librarian to go into your attic, make copies of all your books, and then shelve them in your den according to the Dewey decimal system. But it gets better. Imagine that some of your books are missing covers or title sheets. The librarian researches the original cover and publisher info and then adds copies of those before shelving the books in the den. Pretty sweet, right? Oh, but there’s more. Let’s say this librarian can answer questions (filter) like, Which of my books were published in New York? What books do I have with the word ‘MacDonald’ in the publication info? The librarian answers you – instantly. Which are romance? Instant answer. Plus, the librarian presents the books that meet your criteria to you in a sexy way. (Insert your own image of what that means here.) Oh, that’s the book you want? Let me read it to you. Continue reading XBMC Media Center – Installed on a PC Thought you might find this project interesting. I have an old laptop connected to the PC input on my HDTV. I use XBMC or Boxee for viewing my movie archives; Picasa3 for viewing home movies and pictures; iTunes for music through my home theater sound system (and iPhone syncing); and Miro for viewing EZRSS torrents. [...] |
||||
|
Copyright © 2010 Long Story Short - All Rights Reserved |
|||||
