…that while getting all the clear-QAM channels I receive via my HDHomeRun is terrific, setting them up with TV Pack is a monumental pain in the ass.

That is all.

I use VLC sparingly, but I know that it has a huge base of loyal users.  If you are one of those, then you’ll be pleased to know that 1.0.0 was released yesterday and it now includes many new HD codecs.

New features of 1.0.0, taken from the VLC site:

Direct download available here.

I didn’t see anything when I got home from work, but when my wife came in, I heard her yell, “You have a package!”, and I knew what it was.

I only opened the box it came in and took a quick snapshot of it, but hopefully I’ll get a chance to install TV Pack and get it hooked up for a run this weekend.

As I posted last week, I’ll be testing this out with the new software from DVBLogic called DVBLink for HDPVR.  This software allows VMC and 7MC to use the Hauppauge HD-VPR 1212 as a tuner.

Stay tuned!

I tried a forum months ago and it was a colossal flop.  However, I think I was just trying on too large a pair of pants, so I re-thought the forum concept and decided to use it a bit more sparingly.  So now, the Just Ask! page of the forum is available.

Just Ask! is still a forum, but it only contains two subforums: Ask It!, which is where I, or other readers, will answer any HTPC-related questions you may have.  Discuss It! is the discussion area where you may start new topics related to any interesting new HTPC-related news, technology, news, products, etc. that you have come across.

Anyway, we’ll see how this goes.  It’s nice to get blog comments, but the commenting section isn’t always the best way to handle certain troubleshooting issues.  Hopefully the Just Ask! section can help fill in there.

You do have to be registered to post, so register if you haven’t already!

I just received an acceptance from Hauppauge for one of their HD-PVR 1212 devices for product review.  I plan on using that in conjunction with the DVBLogic DVBLink for HDPVR software to test with Vista Media Center.

I would have thought there would have been a lot more interest in this product with all the hype the HD-PVR brought with it months ago, but I suppose its lack of support within Media Center sent it into obscurity when it comes to that camp.  DVBLogic doesn’t appear to be all that well known either (yet), so maybe it’s just a matter of time before this all picks back up.  Who knows, maybe I’ll help…

Anyway, I’m not certain how long it will take to get the device in, or how long I’ll have it for, but it will be a priority to get testing once it arrives.  Stay tuned!

I don’t get a whole lot of traffic, but l thought I might share a few links to online merchants that I use, or have used, in the hopes of maybe seeing this site get its bills paid on a yearly basis.

In no way will I ever make anything worth mentioning on the number of visits I get, but it never hurts. Nothing I put up will be junk though…that’s for sure.

As of right now, I only have a handful of approved affiliates, so I’m not going to bother publicizing the page yet. I do have several others pending, so hopefully I’ll get approved so I can make the page live. So far, I’m looking at hosting affiliate links for companies like Logitech, DivX, DishNetwork, ESET (NOD32 antivirus), MovieGoods, Newegg, Dell and others. I hope to get a good mix of PC, home theater and media-related vendors in there.

So, once you see the Affiliates page go live and you’re in the market for a new home theater-related purchase, think of me and help sponsor the site! It doesn’t cost you anything extra (and you might even save)!

JackLuminous has finally released an alpha of the long awaited VideoLibrary 2.0.  Initial screenshots look very nice!

The announcement was made over at TGB and he takes no responsibility for how much hair you may pull out when using this release.  It will break, according to him.  However, it is in a form that will at least give you chance to take a look at where it is going.

Personally, I’m interested in the new database model that is being used over the older XML store method.  I hope to give this a try in the next few days and see where it is.

Download is available here and it does now require Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5 SP1.

I have mixed feelings about the announcement that Media Browser is going commercial.  Everyone loves something that is free.  It’s even better when that free product is actually good.  That is the case with Media Browser.

Sam announced on his blog yesterday, and then subsequently posted on it at the Media Browser forum, that they are forming a company with the intention of charging for Media Browser.  More than likely, we are going to see a yearly subscription model with the first year primarily focusing on bug fixes and performance enhancements.

I truly wish the Media Browser team the best of luck in this endeavor.  I will probably purchase one copy (times are tough in my neck of the woods right now) just so that I can stay involved, but I’ll have to wait before adding any other clients.  That will be my opportunity to go with MediaPortal (if it works out).  Otherwise, I’ll stick with current release, which works well enough (despite a few bugs).

I realize there will be a fallout and many will flock to the other free options available.  Who knows?  Maybe this is the ‘room to breathe’ that Brian over at MyMovies needs to get his MCML version out the door (not holding my breath though).

Personally, I think the worst part of seeing Media Browser leave the free community is the ‘community’ aspect.  Free/open source projects always have the best message boards and the users are always more inspired to find ways to ‘make things work’.  Sadly, I’m sure most of that will dwindle away.  Support forums for commercial products are usually less friendly and do not have the personality as it’s filled with those who only want results for their payment.  Hopefully the mold will be broken this time around (I hope I get to stay on as a volunteer support moderator for them…I’ve always loved to moderate forums and have done so for 10 years).

I’ve seen Video Browser come a long way in a short amount of time.  It seems like it has only been a few short weeks that I noticed Video Browser development had picked up again…that was some excitement.  I never knew it would get to this point (and I’m sure the devs didn’t either).

I’ll be sure to continue following Media Browser the best I can and I’ll probably even freely advertise for them whenever they get the details ironed out.  I really want to see them succeed.  They’re a great bunch of guys that have given us a great run of free software for the past couple of years.  It’s time we pay them back.

A ‘bug fix’ release for Media Browser has been released.   Several issues have been resolved such as ImagesByName actor images.  There have also been a number of performance and cosmetic enhancements.

One major addition is a recent items ‘pagination’ effect which lists multiple ‘recent added’ items in a scrollable view format on the enhanced home page.  I saw this in the SVN the past couple of days and it’s NICE.

Full release notes are available here.  Download here.

That’s right.  As of just a few moments ago, the long-awaited 2.1 beta of Media Browser was released for public download.  There is a lot that comes with this new version, so you’re going to want to read about it here, here (old post) and here (pretty complete writeup including screenshots).  Then, finally download it here.

One of the biggest things I would like to mention here is that there is no upgrade for your watched status indicators.  It will pretty much start over again.

Enjoy!