I just ran across this over at CEPro, finally, could this be the remote control solution Apple heads have been waiting for? No time for a full post but this is just too cool; I can’t wait to get my hands on this.. uh.. this iRemote? oh no did I just say that?

London-based integrator Steve Moore has created AirRemote, “the greatest little TV remote you’ve every used,” he says, “and way cheaper than most of the things in [CE Pro's] Remote Control round-up.”

Along with the AirRemote application for iPhone, the heart of the system is a low-cost communications box from Global Cache, which takes IP commands from the iPhone and converts them to infrared, serial or contact-closure for controlling everything from a home theater system to lighting controls to motorized blinds.

Air Remote works with the iPhone and iPod Touch. Here’s an example of the compatible IP to IR interface: Global Cache Home Network Adapter-8114

B.Greenway

Elgato has released an update to their Mac OS X PVR software. Unlike most other updates lately there is a detailed list of new features available. From the update page on Elgato’s web site:

Full Support for H.264 Broadcasts

EyeTV now fully supports digital television H.264 broadcasts in standard TV and HDTV resolutions. More and more countries are adopting the H.264 video compression standard for digital television. H.264 provides excellent picture quality at lower data rates than MPEG-2, thus reducing the amount of bandwidth required per channel. The end result is that television stations can broadcast more channels, while using the same number of transmitters.

Closed Captions Support in QuickTime Format Exports (North America only)

EyeTV now supports the exporting of ATSC/NTSC Closed Captions for use on iPhone, iPod, and Apple TV. The Closed Captions are also supported for playback in QuickTime and iTunes.

Separate Deinterlacing Options for Standard TV and HDTV

EyeTV now has separate deinterlacing options for Standard TV and HDTV.

Improved On Screen Menus

The text used in the On Screen Menus has been updated for improved readability. Errors and messaging have also been improved to help users troubleshoot problems.

Unplayed Recordings Badge

EyeTV now displays a badge over the thumbnail of recordings that have not yet been viewed.

Hardware Support

Support has been added for the TerraTec Cinergy T USB XXS.
Support has been added for the Digital Everywhere line of FireWire tuner products (FireDTV C/CI, T/CI, and S2).

Misc bug fixes are also included but not listed in on the site. Stop by Elgato and grab it here.

Matt Brinkhoff

Apple posted a press release on their web site today announcing that HBO original programming will now be available for purchase in the iTunes music store. From the press release:

HBO and Apple® today announced that programming from HBO is now available for purchase and download on the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com). New HBO programs on iTunes include the Emmy Award-winning programs “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Deadwood” and “Rome,” as well as the critically acclaimed hits “Flight of the Conchords” and “The Wire.” The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online TV store with over 150 million episodes sold and features the world’s largest catalog with over 800 shows (over 20,000 episodes).

Shows are priced at $1.99 or $2.99 per episode (apparently depending on how bad HBO thinks you want to watch a particular program.)

A quick peek at the iTunes Music Store revealed a dedicated link for HBO Programming. Is this the next step in replacing cable with ala carte programming? Stay tuned… News at 11.

Matt Brinkhoff

Thanks to Psystar and their “Open Computer” Mac clones (aka FrankenMacs) have been all over the Internets lately. As a Mini owner and a FrankenMac dabbler I thought I should weigh in on the issue as it relates to the Home Theater environment. The short version of the story? Move along, nothing to see here. The long version is that there are really 5 main reasons to choose a Mini over the Psystar box.

1. It’s small.

The Mac Mini lives up to it’s name. It’s compact and it’s form factor integrates easily with most home theater setups. If you think that having a mini tower sitting on the floor next to your entertainment stand is 733t then there is a reasonable chance you’re not a huge fan of OS X anyway.

2. It’s not ugly.

Let’s face it… Apple has some kick <bleep> designs and the Mini shows it. It’s clean lines and understated brushed metal finish look very much at home parked underneath your fancy new flat panel set. This is in sharp contrast to almost every other PC maker’s beige/black/silver box offerings.

3. It’s quiet.

Listen… Do you hear that? Nope, me nether - I don’t hear a peep out of my Mini in my home theater rack. Compare it to my Xbox 360’s “this is what a small turbine engine sounds like” noise level the Mini is a godsend.

4. It’s not really cheaper.

Admittedly the Psystar box seems like a good deal at $399. Now add $155 for OS X, $50 for Firewire and $90 for wireless networking… Maybe not such a hot deal after all. (To it’s credit the Psystar does have the Mini beat in the Memory and disk areas though.) Oh, and by the way you can’t use Software Update on the Psystar box - how much is that worth to you?

5. It’s a Mac

You don’t have to drink the kool-aid to recognize that there is just something about a Mac that makes it different. It’s not just the software, the hardware, the design or the innovation… It’s a Mac!

In summary I can’t say that I would give the Psystar a second look as a home theater PC. In fact as a FrankenMac builder I can also say I really wouldn’t consider a Psystar for any use at all.

Matt Brinkhoff

So I’ve had an iPhone for a few weeks now but was just too busy to update. Simply put this thing rocks, without beating already familiar review points to death I’ll try and keep it brief. The learning curve on this thing is incredibly low, outside of not being able to connect to my mini because of an un-powered (underpowered) USB hub and not being patient enough to actually read the instructions, I haven’t had any significant problems whatsoever with the phone.

I have to say being able to catch up on Twitter and Digg while standing in line or waiting on someone makes me wish I’d dumped my “traditional” phone a long time ago. I’m screwed if someone comes up with a compelling game for this thing… Yeah I had a bit of buyer’s remorse right after the purchase but now that the sting of dropping the coin has subsided I couldn’t be happier with it. More importantly I couldn’t imagine going back to my old, cheap, featureless Nokia phone.

B.Greenway

Late Monday Apple unleashed a new version of the AppleTV “Take Two” software. Coming in at 2.0.2 this (apparently) minor update contains some non-specific behind the scenes bug fixes. (In other words it’s a typical bugfix update from Apple. “We’re gonna fix a bunch of stuff but you’re not gonna know what we fixed MMMMKAY?”)

Some users on the Apple support forums are reporting that they have noticed increased responsiveness and even some fixes for crashes when using the 5GHz band with 802.11n transfers.

AppleTV owners can update their boxes by choosing Update Software from the Settings screen. The download time will depend on your connection speed and how many others are greedily pulling down the update. This is the second AppleTV update so far this year.

Matt Brinkhoff

MacWorld has a brief review of a couple of HDMI switches - one from Iogear and one from XtremeMac. Functionally they sound about the same, here’s a quote from the article:

Both products work similarly, and perform a simple function. The Iogear 4 Port Switch includes a single button on the front for cycling through input sources. You can also change ports with the included remote control; it allows you to choose inputs directly (by pressing the input number) or by using Up and Down buttons. Blue lights across the face of the box indicate which port is currently active. It’s not easy to distinguish, say, light 2 from light 3 at a glance in a dark room, but at least your TV’s picture provides a hint.

XtremeMac’s Xtreme HD is unique in that it’s the same size, shape, and overall design as an Apple TV, so you can stack the latter on top of the former for a neater AV cabinet. Easy-to-read lighted numbers on the front of the box indicate the active input. Like the Iogear switch, the Xtreme HD includes a remote control with numbered buttons for each port; on the other hand, it doesn’t provide Up/Down buttons. It too includes a button on the front (labeled “Source”) for switching input sources.

With many HD sets having at most 2 HDMI inputs more is always better. Both of the switches in the review are over $100 though… Too bad they didn’t include some of the nifty cheap switches at Monoprice.

Matt Brinkhoff

The fine fellows over at OS X XBMC have cranked out an “interim” release of their swell port of the Xbox Media Center software. Notable new features:

• High quality software upscaling is now supported. You can specify preferences in Video -> Player as to when the scaling is enabled and what scaling algorithm is used. This makes a huge difference when viewing SD content. It takes quite a bit of processing power, but the good news is that decoding SD content doesn’t.
• Monitor blanking is now supported. When selecting a full-screen mode, you have the option of telling XBMC to blank the other monitors. The preference is in Appearance -> Screen. I suspect
• The built-in web server now works. Among other things, it serves as an alternate remote control for those of you using a laptop as an expensive remote. Make sure to set a port above 1024.
• You can now store your own skins in the Library/Application Support/XBMC/skin directory, to avoid having to move aside and reinstall skins every time you upgrade.

More information (including a more detailed list of new features and bug fixes) is available on their site. Download the latest release here!

Matt Brinkhoff

Our kind friends over at Apple have crafted three exciting new software updates which may be of interest to MacHTPC blog readers. The descriptions from software update are short on details but here they are for your reading pleasure anyway.

Quicktime 7.4.5

QuickTime 7.4.5 includes fixes that enhance reliability, improve compatibility with third-party applications, and address security issues. This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.
For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

iTunes 7.6.2

iTunes 7.6.2 provides bug fixes to improve stability and performance.

Front Row 2.1.3

This Front Row update provides for bug fixes and improved iTunes compatibility.

The new versions are available immediately via software update or if you would prefer you can download them direct from Apple here:

Quicktime 7.4.5 for Leopard
Quicktime 7.4.5 for Tiger
Quicktime 7.4.5 for Panther

iTunes 7.6.2

Front Row 2.1.3

The most interesting update for MacHTPC readers is likely to be also the most disappointing. Unfortunately it appears that the Front Row update does not add any features or fix any of the outstanding bugs. The version bump seems to be aimed at maintaining compatibility with the new Quicktime and iTunes packages.

Matt Brinkhoff

MacGeekBlog is reporting that they have a new version of their ATV4Mac software that solves compatibility issues with version 2.0.1 of the AppleTV “Take Two” software. ATV4Mac is an application that lets you run the AppleTV software on your Mac - providing you aren’t one of the few early adopters who have made the leap to Leopard already. (Yes, it currently only runs on 10.48 or greater.) PowerPC users need not apply - this is an Intel only app.

I’m guessing Apple probably isn’t exactly behind the project so the download link will may only be available for a short time. If you miss it and you’re dying to try it out you’ll probably have to acquire the software via IRC or BitTorrent.

The software works by replacing your Front Row application. From the looks of things it’s still a bit rough around the edges so I’d count this as an extreme YMMV.

Matt Brinkhoff