HP: a home server connected to TVs

The MediaSmart Server EX490 HP is a true home server at low cost, can meet all your media, including DVD ripping, MKV files and others.

Barely bigger than a shoe box, the EX490 MediaSmart Server allows you to save and protect digital data from your computer (PC or Mac). He proposed that 1TB hard drive (original version), knowing that he has three expansion bays for internal change, four USB ports and one eSATA port. Not forgetting, of course, the Gigabit Ethernet port that provides sharing and transfer data.

It runs on Windows Home Server with an Intel Celeron processor clocked at 2.2 GHz and 2 GB of RAM, and even offers the option of storing your data online through Amazon's S3 service. But the real strength of the EX490, also its safety and its ability to centralize media files, is its ability to manage the various media.

First, there is HP Media Collector, which allows automatically to repatriate all content (including iTunes library) all computers on the network server. Secondly, there is the presence of a video converter that takes care of putting all video files (including DVD) in a format readable and usable. It then becomes possible to stream all audio and video to televisions connected to the network to different computers or to the home entertainment system.

The icing on the cake with the iStream application (available free on the App Store), it is possible to access audio, video and photos stored on the server from the iPhone.

Buying Guide: The hard disk media as in an armchair

Since you have a digital camera, Shoot up to you all is, sometimes the evil eye flashed. Since you have children, your favorite movies are in danger of finishing in frisbee. In short, for all these reasons and many others, you will scan at any recent time.

The port of your computer, office, is not exactly the ideal place to comfortably view photos or film with your family. How, then watch them on the television show?

If it is possible to move the computer near the TV or burn them to DVD before watching them with a DVD player DivX, development of multimedia hard drives could meet this desire. Push yourself comfortable in your chair and follow the guide!

What TV did you?

Connector RCAVotre television will be the companion of your primary hard disk media and is also a shame to have a hard drive unable to communicate with it than to have one that does not make the most of his opportunities.

CRT TV

On these TVs, SCART is the queen, usually assisted by RCA. These are the last to be used, cases rarely have a SCART.

If your TV only has one Scart, not having to worry, there are adapters to connect the RCA plugs on one Scart.

Helpful Information

TNT will soon be the only way to receive television in France, remember to check if your TV has a Freeview tuner: it is rare for television cathode.

Television LCD / Plasma - Ensemble Home Cinema

Televisions LCD / Plasma panel have a larger catch. In SCART and RCA television cathode, they add an outlet and a YUV or more, HDMI. These all offer the best quality picture and sound and they are of more practical use: a single dose is necessary, then a cable YUV has most often 3 to 2 per image and sound. The presence of an HDMI connector is advantageous or even necessary to include a hard disk media in a Home Cinema modern.

Rear panel of an LCD TV

HDMI 1.1, 1.3!?!

Like any technology, HDMI is evolving to provide higher performance but it is not always possible to add a product to support the latest evolution of the standard. Some hard drives and media support only version 1.1, as to avoid to be quiet and concentrate on models that support version 1.3. By cons, no need to worry yet version 1.4, televisions not using it yet.

With or without hard disk and how much storage capacity?

WD Caviar Green - a hard drive and consumes less heat, ideal for a housing externeDe many boxes are delivered without hard disk, load the buyer to choose before the ride itself. The assembly is relatively simple, and anyone knowing how to use a screwdriver can be done by taking his time. This solution allows to choose the hard drive and ability.

For a hard disk media, whether for housing with or without hard disk, the disk drive is ideal ranges from green builders. And not just to please our good old Earth, these drives are designed to consume less, work more slowly and makes less heat and generate less noise (nothing like breaking the mood for a dramatic scene that the scratching of a disk drive!). The lower performance of these discs do not matter, their speed is more than enough to play a movie.

Side capacity, depending on the intended use. Is your hard disk media will be used to permanently store your image files, movies and music? Is that on the contrary it will be used to temporary storage, the time to watch the files being repatriated at the request from the computer? In the first case, both directly from a 1TB hard drive, they are now affordable (less than 80 € for a Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB) instead of 2TB models which are still expensive. Otherwise, a model of 500GB or less, is more than enough.

Helpful Information

Remember that hard disk is not immortal: when it fails, it is too late to make backups. Although companies offering recovery services, it is not possible to 100%, and these complex services to implement are charged accordingly.

It is therefore important to provide backups of your personal documents, especially in the era of digital photography.

Everything is connected now, how to fill the hard drive?

Your hard disk media is now connected to your television, but before using it, you'll have complete files that you want to view and listen. Several methods exist.

Cable USBL'utilisation USB port of your computer is a common possibility. You plug the hard disk media above, your computer recognizes it as an external hard drive classic: it is sufficient to fill it. To avoid having to plug / unplug the hard drive continuously multimedia manufacturers go further and propose some models can connect a key or an external hard drive on the USB hard disk media. This is called USB 2.0 Host.

Logo Wi-fiMais to avoid round trips between the untimely lounge and office, the ideal is to have a multimedia hard drive with an Ethernet port, and why not, the Wi-Fi it is possible to complete the Multimedia hard drive from the computer and most advanced, to fetch the files on the computer from the sofa with a remote control.

If you have not already existing Ethernet network in your home, and the Wi-Fi does not pass you, do not forget our guide on the CPL.

Why refuses he read my file?

Life would be easier if the manufacturers and publishers were able to get along harmoniously to deliver unified solutions to users. But the format wars do not begin with computers, and they have not finished with either. It should therefore take time before purchasing a multimedia hard drive to verify that it supports the right format, to avoid this kind of thing ...

Codec unknown, the fear of many users ...

To view images

One format is necessary to be quiet: JPG. This format has indeed emerged as a reference in the world of consumer digital photo and all devices are capable of generating pictures in this format. And there are many software that can convert the less common formats, such as BMP or PNG to JPG.

To play music.

He never missed as much for the mp3 itself as the JPG of the music. His reputation sulfurous format of music piracy and the lack of technology rights management (DRM's famous) have decided otherwise. It is essential to share his success with the public.

Two other formats are to be taken into account to make the best worry-free: AAC and WMA. The first is used by Apple and if you ever purchased music from the creator of the iPod, you can read it if your hard drive multimedia supports AAC. The WMA is the format championed by Microsoft and used by Windows Media Player to convert audio CDs but also by many vendors of music files (attention, support WMA does not necessarily support its DRM technology - it must that the manufacturer has acquired a license from Microsoft).

Other formats can be supported, such as OGG or FLAC, but they are rarely used. More useful, the hard disk capacity to manage multimedia DTS sound tracks, either by distributing the raw stream to an external decoder or by taking direct charge of decoding: it allows all to enjoy HD movies.

To play movies

If the reading of images and music playback are easy to understand, playing movies is another matter! To play a movie, it is essential first that the disk media you manage the container, which is identified by the file extension. The container includes all data necessary for playback of film: a video track, one or more audio tracks and any subtitles. The most advanced container to navigate within the film through the chapters and provide a comfort similar to that of DVD or Blu-Ray. Most are known. Avi,. Mkv on. Wmw and. Mpg and. Mp4.

SD and HD: the difference made with gorgeous Gran Torino Walt Kowalski

Second important, the video codec used in the creation of the film: there are many such as MPEG-4, DivX, XviD or the WMW. A point to watch for certain codecs are available in SD and HD version, and some cases support only the SD version. SD codecs are the most popular MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 ASP (used by DivX and XviD) and WMV, while the MPEG-4 AVC (best known as H.264) and latest evolution of WMV (VC-1) are among the most HD codec used.

Last, alongside the audio, we must ensure proper management of subtitles. There are a limited number of formats. Some store subtitles as images like VobSub files (. Idx or. Sub), while others use a simple text file as the SRT and SSA.

Accessories and features "Schedules"

Remote, front panel display.

Apple Remote, a model simplicitéL'essentiel boxes comes with a remote control. Each brand has its preferences. The number of buttons varies depending on the brand, without this having a real impact on the ease of use as long as the user interface was well designed. An element cons by very pleasant, is the use of phosphorescent buttons that allow easy use, even in the dark, remote with many buttons.

Screen VFDLa presence of a screen in front improves the comfort of using a multimedia hard drive: it becomes possible to use it without turning on the television, for example listening to music. Two technologies are used: type VFD screen, like your VCR, and LCD screens. They offer greater flexibility and are preferred.

Digital VCR

Like a conventional VCR, a DVR should have at least one tuner (Freeview HD for a perennial choice) to record a show. This tuner can be integrated basis, but some manufacturers offer the option. Hard disks have evolved over the two TNT tuners, which can record one show while watching another but also, in some models, record two shows at once!

LaCie LaCinema Black MAX - replacing the VCR in all its splendor

Speaking of registration, if you are those who have not finished cursing the engineers who created the interface programming VCRs 80 years, programming via the program guide is THE function that should have your future DVR.

The DVRs also offer several functions, like TimeShift, which makes it more enjoyable television. If you are going away, it becomes possible to pause a program on the VCR and then record the broadcast as soon as you return.

Alternatives

There are several alternatives to multimedia hard drives, each with advantages and disadvantages.

The computer

Acer Aspire Revo, the first of a generation of media centers-compact? Hard drives are never multimedia computers that specialized in reading media files. Some then choose to use a real computer, most often custom built. This choice has several advantages. In addition to read all formats, a computer evolves more easily: the support of a new format is done by installing the right software, whereas with a box, it must wait until the manufacturer offers a new firmware.

But there are also several disadvantages: the fitting of such a computer is not always easy because of the small size of the housing. Select each element also takes time and the price will also be higher than a "mere" multimedia hard drive. Noise can also be important, although some media drives are not angels in the matter ...

The arrival of nettops equipped with a circuit nVidia GeForce 9400, can decode 1080p video will make more accessible this type of solution: an Acer Revo 3600 has for example all that is needed to make a media center and is easy to add a DVD player to see Blu-Ray. You can find more information on nettops in the guide that we carry them.

Game consoles

Nintendo Wii

Most popular console of its generation, the Wii can only fill a hard disk media. Nintendo wishes to offer only a console game: playing media files or DVD video is not possible. Some manipulations can afford it, but they are not officially supported and in some cases (the use of a chip) they invalidate the warranty.

Microsoft XBox 360

The XBox 360 from Microsoft is more open: it offers the opportunity to play DVDs or play media files from a USB key or a computer network. But as the Wii, the XBox 360 does not have a standard hard drive: it is optional on base models. Despite online content more rich, with a service of Video On Demand offers some programs such as Canal +, it does not offer as many opportunities as its direct competitor, the Playstation 3 for the management of media files.

Sony Playstation 3

Playstation 3Des three current home consoles, the PlayStation 3 is the most likely to replace a hard disk media: it comes with a basic hard drive (80GB), which is more simple to replace (the Xbox 360 hard drive application specific expensive).

It is possible to read files from a USB key or from a network computer (a program like PS3 Media Server simplifies the sharing: it allows the reading of containers are not supported by the console). It allows for the possibility to copy files from a media server. And its main advantage over many competitors (multimedia hard drives, computers, etc.) is the image quality it can produce, especially with SD files.

If one adds the Blu-Ray and online services offered and will offer in the future the PlayStation Network, the latest model in Sony is a media center full competitive against hard disk media with those sensitive to its fun-video capabilities.

Wireless TV Headphones

it’s really awesome to hear your favorite song or movie on TV without making noise or annoying anyone else with you in the room. Have you ever think about wireless TV headphones? It's pretty obvious why someone would want wireless TV headphones. No one wants to be attached to their television with wires, so the choice of wireless over wired headphones is a no brainer as long as you're not an audiophile. If you are, and if you do notice every little sound discrepancy, then wireless is simply not for you, and you need a good wired set of headphones.

Convenience of Wireless Headphones for TV:

If you're of the normal type who doesn't really discern between, say stock speakers on a car and aftermarket in sound quality alone, then wireless TV headphones are a good choice. There may be times when, although they're sharing a room with the television, someone in the home doesn't want to hear the TV. This is when a good wireless TV headphone set comes in really handy since the only one who will be able to hear the TV is the one watching it. I know that I enjoy having my wife in the same room as me, but sometimes I need to concentrate on working and find that the television is distracting. Since it's behind me, I don't really see it, but I can hear it. A set of wireless headphones for TV would be ideal in this situation.
A Wireless TV Headphone Set May Increase Audio Quality:
Also, a good set of wireless headphones for TV will direct and optimize the sound for one person as opposed to many. Even those who aren't audiophiles will hear a difference. Stereo is much more...stereo, and there's various sounds that you simply missed before that will come in loud and clear. A lot of science goes in to optimizing speakers, so it stands to reason that if there's only one person listening, it makes a lot of sense to have speakers that are pointed at that one person and intended only for that one person. Your television was designed to produce sound that was meant to be heard by many people - a whole room full if necessary. As opposed to wireless TV headphones, certain sacrifices would've been made to broaden the range of the speakers much further than the one sitting right in front. This may or may not negate the impact that simply being wireless can have on audio quality.
Types of Wireless TV Headphones:
There are really two, but sort of three different types of wireless headphones. There's infrared, RF (radio frequency), and Bluetooth. Bluetooth is actually RF on a very limited scale, which is good for reducing interference both to and from the Bluetooth device, but obviously bad for range. Infrared operates off a beam of light that travels directly from the transmitter, which would be plugged into the television's headphone jack (or possibly component jacks), to a receiver that sits on the headset. RF works similar to a cordless phone and shares that same range, which brings both the advantages of extended usability and the disadvantages of vastly increased interference.
Comparing Types of Wireless Headphones for TV:
Odds are pretty good that anything radio, RF wireless TV headphone sets not excluded, will pick up something else radio in today's technologically active world. It could be anything from the electromagnetic field that some equipment puts out on its own to your neighbor's conversation on their cordless phone, but you can bet that something will cause RF to be the least clear of the group of choices here. However, it's also the only type that will allow you to walk around the full range of your home and never lose connection. Infrared will likely give you the best sound quality, but cannot be used outdoors and the receiver must remain within line of sight of the transmitter at all times.
Wireless TV headphones give you the mobility to hear and watch whatever you want and move without attaching to your TV at the same time. Try to find the best one for you and your ears.

The best way to power a TV to iPod

Apple's iPod is synonymous with mobile audio and music, for the launch of the iPod video, audio as well as lovers can not only enjoy the music and video. There is a problem here - the Apple iPod's screen is 2.5 inches, our viewing pleasure when you can have no doubt that there is an increase in large video screen. How to, iPod can have a large display screen - even if so, what is considered mobile TV?
Mobile TV is all you need to do to convert your iPod is to get the Maikurooputikarugoguru. On your regular glasses or glasses, you can feel comfortable here and do not wear goggles, you can make your contact lenses.
Goggles are pretty light at 70 grams, iPod, and 3 AAA batteries with a belt clip that holds the battery pack. Cables, iPod headphones connected to the output port.
Because of these goggles use two series of lenses directly to the eye from one small LCD, the 27 delivers the image that you can see the video looks like a TV screen in inches?
Well, the trip has always been if you go to get information from video clips of your research and study and is now "view of the equivalent of 27 apples and you can enjoy iPod requires Sun.
The only drawback goggles MicroOptical Corp, however, the cost of the expected decrease in demand. Without the goggles, your iPod from, or permit the display of the 2.5-inch screen, $ 269 plates around the goggles and the iPod has started to enjoy using the mobile TV.
3 AA battery pack now consists of four technology disappears batteries, lighter-weight that is!
In fact, in some cases, the cost of the goggles is a music player and mobile TV development afford to hold on to the iPod player is nothing. see what the iPod, please refer to enjoy on your TV screen and clear.

Three-dimensional television, you need to use special glasses

However, skepticism about the announcement, she's not ready for national use this system, the two companies "Sony" and "Panasonic" is their intention, over the next year launch a three-dimensional television then.
Vice president, "Panasonic" is Robert Berry, "CNN's" It "is an American reality television."


The network, "CNN's" market, and prices need to use special glasses and a new TV system is, according to the U.S. advanced than TV. Two companies are soon expected to announce the price of this TV.



And it is a network of "ESPN's" 3 - This is the players, said that some sports events to test the means-dimensional view that appears to leap from the TV screen like.

Meanwhile, glasses and pictures, skeptics would cause the pain in my head to the other, he would probably require a large wave of three-dimensional television