Recent content by smee

  1. S

    Has Anyone Noticed?!?!?

    So where's the plot of members vs. time?
  2. S

    SageTV Basic Hardware Questions

    I have just added some edits to a couple of my posts in this thread. In those posts, I previously said that the Hauppauge 2250 will not have hardware mpeg2 encoders. This originally came from communications with Hauppauge, but I believe there may have been a misunderstanding concerning the...
  3. S

    SageHD Extenders back in stock

    And orders placed last night show up as shipped today. They're getting them out pretty quickly.
  4. S

    Incandescent phase out? What next?

    Enough already, guys.
  5. S

    Volume control in a shower

    I thought about the stick-a-switch too. Just cover it with a little plastic wrap and stick it to the wall. The RF range on them can be pretty poor, though. For the keychain remote, I was thinking that you need to cast it inside some silicone in the shape of a small bar of soap. Squeeze one...
  6. S

    Volume control in a shower

    With a good receiver and antenna, the x10 palmpads are very reliable and have good range. I don't know about other people, but the batteries (4 x AAA) seem to last a very long time for me. I can't remember changing them in any of my palmpads (I know I have, but it's been long enough ago that I...
  7. S

    Volume control in a shower

    What about a wireless solution? Granted, you already have wires going there for lights and the speaker but part of me likes the idea of limiting the number of electrical paths in an environment like a shower. Since CQC was mentioned before, it seems there is no problem having a computer in the...
  8. S

    SageTV Basic Hardware Questions

    Any PVR-500 will work with Sage. Different versions come with different remotes. I don't remember about the IR blaster - I don't use one. Any MVP will work with Sage. There's nothing special about the hardware from Sage. You will need to buy a placeshifter license from Sage.
  9. S

    Anyone using Slingbox as part of home security?

    The only problem I have, in general, with my Slingbox is that there is no native Linux version of Slingplayer. I can't run the client on my Asus EEE PC.
  10. S

    Flat Panel TV install (not normal question)

    I use Xantech stuff for my IR distribution - both to get inside cabinets and to get between different rooms. One thing that caught my eye in the original post is that it's apparently against code in many areas to put outlets inside closets. Same thing for circuit breaker panels. This caused...
  11. S

    Network racks found on Craigslist

    It's a different kind of rack, but this picture shows (sort of) how I've built a shelf in one of my racks. This rack is only about 15 inches deep. The computer in the top position is on a shelf made from two pieces of aluminum angle supporting a sheet of MDF. The front piece of aluminum is...
  12. S

    SageTV Basic Hardware Questions

    The only problem I have with the 1250 is that it (as far as I know) does not have hardware MPEG2 encoding built-in. This means that your CPU has to do work when you are recording (unlike the 150, 250, 500, 1600, and 1800). I find this disappointing because the 2250 (out in a few months) is a...
  13. S

    Does the HA world need yet another hardware I/O device?

    I wouldn't count on it ever being cost effective. I don't think you could create a good business model for this. I think it would have to be community based. I'm thinking more along the lines of Arduino (www.arduino.cc) or maybe Linux. Basic hardware that everyone has access to. A community...
  14. S

    Does the HA world need yet another hardware I/O device?

    I've built and/or designed a number of these black boxes for different hardware that I've worked with. Some of them are in use, others were just as an exercise. For example, I have one that sits between my "weather box" and PC. The weather data is streamed constantly, but that's overkill for...
  15. S

    SageTV Basic Software Questions

    You don't need to worry about SageTV Recorder. My understanding is that it is older software that is no longer maintained. It allows for scheduled recording of programs, but that's about it. I think the way it's presented on their web site is confusing. SageTV Media Center is the main thing...
Back
Top