ZeeVee ZvBox 100 & ZvBox 150: Distribute/Modulate HD Content Over Digital Cable (QAM)

There are two products that have come to my attention that can come in handy for people trying to distribute HD content over the coax as a Digital cable (QAM) channel inserted onto any empty channel.  The products are by a company called Zeevee.  The first product is called the ZvBox 100 bundle which includes:

• One ZvBox™ - build your own HDTV channel and localcast your computer to all your HDTVs
• One ZvRemote™ - Control your computer from anywhere in the home
• One ZvReceiver™ - Connects the ZvRemote to your computer
• One VGA cable - Video connection from your computer to the ZvBox
• One USB cable - Digital Audio from your computer to the ZvBox
• Four 2 meter COAX cables - Helps you connect ZvBox and your TVs to your cable
• Two cable splitters - Helps you tap into the cable wiring of your home

This allows you to take any video from a VGA source (say a computer monitor output) and broadcast it via coax to any empty digital cable channel.  The remote allows you to control your computer so even if the source is in a remote part of your home, you can still control the mouse as if you were locally.   The ZeeVee ZvBox 100 Bundle
sells for $399.

The ZvBox 150 has the same capabilities as the ZvBox 100 but it also adds the ability to plug in any component HD video source as well.  You can combine many ZvBoxes to distribute many HD channels in your location, on the same simple coax cabling.  Once configured, the ZvBox 150, no computer or Internet connection required.  A quick google search reveals that the ZvBox 150 is priced higher than the ZvBox 100, at around $1000.

Depending on your situation these two products can be the answer all your HD cable distribution/modulation needs — definitely check these products out!

More People Still Own More HD DVD Players Than Blu-ray?

Here’s one that will throw you off a bit… There are more HD DVD players than Blu-ray players in American homes.   Below is an excerpt taken from the Harris Poll report which can be read in full here.

While Blu-ray was declared the big “winner” in the high definition format war last year, consumers may be slow to be part of the winning team. In fact, Americans are not jumping on board with any of the high definition DVD players. Just one in ten Americans (11%) own a HD DVD player while 7% own a Blu-ray player. Looking at the other devices for playing HD DVDs, 9% own a Sony PLAYSTATION®3 (which plays Blu-ray ) and 3% have the external HD DVD drive for the Xbox® 360 (which plays HD DVDs). 

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,401 U.S. adults surveyed online between April 13 and 21, 2009 by Harris Interactive. While slow to catch on, ownership of all these high definition disc players is up from May 2008. Interestingly, while Blu-ray was the clear “format war” winner over HD DVD, sales of HD DVD players (11% in 2009 vs. 6% in 2008) are up over 2008 by about the same margin as Blu-ray players (7% in 2009 vs. 4% in 2008). Both were rivaled by the Sony PLAYSTATION®3 (9% vs. 5%). However, only 3% purchased the external HD DVD drive for the Xbox® 360, up from 1% in 2008. There is no expected surge of interest pending — only 7% of non-Blu-ray player owners report a likely purchase of a Blu-ray disc player within the next year, down from 9% in May 2008 

As we are seeing more HD content delivered via IP who really cares anymore?

[via Andy Pennell's Blog]

Meridian Sooloos Control 10

If you are sitting pretty well financially in these times then why not stimulate the economy by purchasing a Meridian Sooloos Control 10 ($5000)?   Meridian is known for their audiophile speakers and processors and now have gotten into the digital media space thanks to the purchase of Sooloos.  The Sooloos System is made up of a storage unit, a playback unit and an interface device which together give you greater quality and control over your digital media.  The Control 10 is one of the many ways to control the system and offers a 17″ LCD touchscreen that displays your media in an intuitive way.  You can also access the system via a web browser, iPhone/Touch and Crestron system.

For more information about the Control 10 and Meridian’s Sooloos Media System click here.

Meridian Sooloos - Get In Touch With Your Music

Bosch PS40-2, The Best Power Driver - My Favorite Tools - June 2009

Here’s a fun fact about me, I’ve been around construction tools and machinery all my life.  My dad is a Master Carpenter and General Contractor so I’ve pretty much seen power tools evolve over the last 20+ years.  I even remember his first cordless drill, which barely had enough power to drive a screw without pre-drilling.    So this months favorite tool is the Bosch PS40-2.  The Bosch PS40-2 is a 12-volt Lithium-Ion Impact Driver that is very well balanced, light weight and very powerful.  If you have never used an impact driver, you’re in for a treat.  The sound of it “impacting” when driving a screw or bolt is normal (some think the sound is a defect).    Don’t judge it by it’s compact look this drill is a monster… it’s small enough to carry with your and use in tight places but powerful enough to drive a screw without drilling.  The battery life is also great… I typically charge it and can use it for the full day before needing to recharge.  Just keep in mind that this is a driver, not a typical “drill” so if you want to drill something this isn’t the best tool for the job.  Bosch offers a PS30-2A (drill/driver) for that kind of job.

Here are some specs on the PS40-2:
- Hammer and anvil system produces 800 in-lbs of torque
- Delivers 1,800 RPM/3,000 BPM with 60 per cent more torque than 18V drill-driver; 800 in.-lbs of max torque.
- 3 LEDs illuminate work area for use in dark areas.
- Spring-Loaded Impact Mechanism.
- Aluminum gear housing with protective rubber front and a 1/4″ hex drive with quick release.
- Ergonomic Soft Grip Handle; bumpers on side of tool.
- Variable speed trigger.

The Bosch PS40-2A also will make a GREAT father’s day gift! 

AMAZON.COM - Bosch PS40-2A 12-Volt Max Lithium-Ion Impact Driver
BOSCH TOOLS - 10.8V Litheon™ Impactor Fastening Driver

Does Anyone Really Care About DVD/Blu-ray Extras? [Question Of The Day]

So Blu-ray doesn’t really seem to be the technology that saves disc based media as we see more and more content becoming available online (even in HD).  So the question of the day is, “Do you miss any of the interactive extras that DVD and Blu-ray offer”?  Example, if you watch and make your DVD/Blu-ray purchase decisions because of extras, you’d answer “Absolutely”… if the only thing you care about is just watching the feature then answer, “Nope”.  If you don’t care either way… well, “Who Cares”. If you feel strongly about this topic and/or work in the “Extra Creation Industry” sound off in the comments!

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Zack Morris Still Using The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Here’s a clip that will bring you back to your younger years… Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) made an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night.   No Palm Pre or Apple 3GS for Zack… nope, he still prefers a phone only mobile.  I’m surprised the DynaTAC 8000X’s battery is still holding a charge after all these years!  The clip from the show is below:

[JustJared via Gizmodo via David Cho]

iPhone 3GS - Feature List

Apple has announced the release of the newest iPhone, the iPhone 3GS.   Visually the iPhone looks the same as the previous 3G version but the 3GS comes loaded with new futures!  For starters, the  new iPhone shoots video and has zoom capabilities.  If battery life was a problem for you apparently the new iPhone 3GS will give you up to 9 hours of Wifi surfing compared to the 3G’s six.

Here’s a break down of the notable features:
-  3 Megapixel sensor
- Video Capture Support 30fps (share via MMS, email, MobileMe and Youtube)
- Support for the faster 7.2 Mbps 3G Standard
- Screen now has ingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
- Built-in compass application which also works with map (shows orientation)
- Voice Control
- Inline Remote for Music Control (you can use iPhone headphones with volume control now)
- Nike + Support
- Improved Battery life (12 hours talk time, 9 hours WiFi, 5 hours on 3G, up to 300 hours standby)
- $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB and $99 for 3G model.

The bad part: “Requires new two-year AT&T wireless service contract, sold separately to qualified customers; credit check required; must be 18 or older. For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB).”

American Waste: The Story Of A Home Depot / Thomasville Outdoor Patio Set That Came Damaged

We just took delivery of an outdoor patio set which we love except for one little part came defective.  The seat frame (”Part C”) came split as shown in the photo.  As I’m a DIYer, I would typically try to repair something like this, however, since it is A) an expensive item B) a product that will be used outdoors and in weather  C) the wood is split and shattered… the repair I make wouldn’t last.  So I went with getting the product replaced.   I thought it would be any easy replacement item and called up HomeDepot.com and told them I needed either a whole new seat, or if possible, just the replacement part - “Part C”.  The customer service agent told me he could get me a replacement part and said he sent the request for the new part onto the vendor.

The issue is that the replacement part could take up to 3 weeks to get AND no one can guarantee that the part will even arrive in 3 weeks as it depended on this unknown vendor (apparently it’s a tightly held secret as to who the vendor is… even Thomasville said the same thing and they are the ones with their name on the product!).   The customer service agent has no way of getting a hold of the vendor directly besides through “email”.  The boxes say the set is made in Vietnam so does that mean the vendor is located there too?  Do they only have one-way email?  Who knows?   I said fine and he placed the order and that was that.   I thought about it last night and realized that a few weeks will bring us into the prime of summer and since no firm date was given, it was not sitting right with me.  Heck, it could take months to get the replacement for all I know.   So I called up Home Depot again today and asked them if there was any status or if they could find out the status.  They checked and said the “email is still in the process of being uploaded into the system”.   How can that be?    Are they running on 300 baud modems and sending terrabytes worth of data each day to warrant an email still in the process of being uploaded to the system?   When I send an email, it is sent instantaneously.   That got me a bit fired up… so I told the lady at Home Depot that if it takes two days to get an email sent what are the chances that the replacement part will come sooner than 3 weeks?  She couldn’t give an answer.   The only option to get a firm date (5-7 days) for a replacement part was to reorder a complete 7-piece set!  That’s right!   I had to reorder 267lbs of goods, trucked from who knows where to get a part that weighs only 1lb.  Then, when the whole new set arrives, in four boxes, I need to pull out the piece I need from one box, call up the trucking company and have them take it all back again.  Efficient!  

I tried everything to get Home Depot / Thomasville to just either give me a firm date for the replacement part, just ship a single chair, or two chairs as two chairs come per box.   However, “due to inventory”, they cannot ship just one item if it comes in a set.  They can’t even hold all the packages at the warehouse except for the one I need (two chairs).  Nope.  It makes more sense for Home Depot to eat all shipping costs, to and from (since this set is only available online in our area) than it is to break up a set, ship a chair or two and then wait for the return of the damaged chair to arrive to make their set whole again.   Did I already say, I’d just be happy with a firm date on the replacement part — but NO ONE could give that?  This is a perfect example of how reckless our businesses are run in the US.   Sad.   If I were a Home Depot Share Holder I’d be quite upset over these types of business practices.  This “Eco-Friendly” set which uses FSC-certified Eucalyptus wood frames has now turned into one of the most un-eco friendly ones.

I really don’t know what my options are besides going the most unpractical, inefficient, ungreen way.  What would you guys do in this situation?

Pioneer DVJ-1000 Turntables & SVM-1000 Mixer

I’ve been known to DJ, more of a Wedding Singer DJ than Club DJ, however, when I saw Pioneer’s new DVJ gear (Digital Video Jockey?) I was throughly impressed.  This $14k system ($3k for each DVJ-1000 “turntable” and $8k for the SVM-1000 Mixer) allows you to mix DVD content, even Live Camera feeds in real-time.   Just when I thought iPod killed  DJ’s, this system totally changes the game!  The mixer supports up to 4 av channels and the touchscreen gives you the instant power to manipulate, effect, move the video/audio. 

Kevin Pereira from Attack of The Show talked to DJ Davey Dave from Pioneer Electronics to show them how to mix and manipulate video, sound and music… you’ll get this once you see the video of the system in action!

Read more: “Pioneer DVJ-1000 Turntables & SVM-1000 Mixer Review - G4tv.com”

Dry Soda Co. - Cucumber Soda

So I was a bit late to the game earlier this week when I blogged about the Vanilla Bean and Juniper Berry as being Dry Soda’s newest flavors.  Today I got the chance to taste Dry Soda’s real newest flavor, Cucumber.  

Right here, right now, I’m proclaiming that the Dry Soda Co.’s Cucumber Soda, is my 2009 Summer beverage of choice.   This years contenders were Pepsi Natural and Dry Soda’s Vanilla Bean.  There is something about this flavor that I really dig… it’s not too sweet or fake tasting.  Just for fun, I paired the soda with a persian cucumber (which I eat as snacks) and the taste was identical (at least to my palette).  

So, if you are like me, someone that loves cucumbers, and eats them like candy, then you’ll love the new Cucumber Soda from Dry Soda Co.   I also hear you can make some pretty good cocktails with it… can’t wait to try those out.

Official Press Release - INTRODUCING CUCUMBER DRY SODA