Comments for Destiny's Darlin'

Comment on MS Office 2007 Search Commands by Todd

Todd — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:53:59 +0000

MS recently released a game to help people learn the interface, which totally undermines their claims that it’s easier to learn and use. You may want to give it a try.

Comment on MS Office 2007 Search Commands by MS Office Ribbon Hero Game | Destiny's Darlin'

MS Office Ribbon Hero Game | Destiny's Darlin' — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:52:37 +0000

[...] challenges to try to attain and scores you for your efficiency. I wonder how it interacts w/ the search plugin…Related posts:MS Office 2007 Search Commands This entry was posted on June 15, 2010, 11:14 pm [...]

Comment on The basics of SageTV by freedml

freedml — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:02:08 +0000

It’s not a matter of ‘need’ but it comes in VERY handy. For instance, the other day I couldn’t reach either server with my HD200. Not reaching one server indicates a problem with the other server, but not reaching EITHER server tells me that it’s most likely a network problem. On top of that, if and when I upgrade to SageTV7, I can upgrade ONE server and get that working before committing myself to 100% conversion. This raises WAF immensely, as the other server goes chugging along while I’m dinking with the problem child, which will take at least an afternoon, if not much longer..

Comment on The basics of SageTV by Todd

Todd — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:40:44 +0000

SageTV has released a new version of their software, SageTV Media Center V7, which seems to be a vast improvement over V6. Plugins are now handled automatically, like in a web browser. HDPVRs are now more stable.

freedml; I think that your experience with needing two SageTV servers is out of the ordinary. Thank you for the comments.

Comment on MS Office 2007 Search Commands by Kay Jauch

Kay Jauch — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 01:25:41 +0000

Sadly you are correct. I have been a heavy Word user since Windows 2.0 came out. I create a large amount of documents that are highly formatted and integrate objects like formulas and technical drawing using all features of Word. I currently use Word 2003 and like it but recently tried Word 2007 because I heard that my work place is going to move in that direction.
The only thing that I can compare my 1st ribbon experience to is filing a corporate tax form. Except the ribbon was more frustrating. You have put it well, the ribbon may be good for beginners but it turns experts into wailing infants.

Comment on The basics of SageTV by freedml

freedml — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:32:20 +0000

Skipping commercials requires 3 elements:

Detection: Comskip or ShowAnalyzer. Both create TXT and EDL files which the program uses to know where commercials are.

Execution: Something has to run the detection programs. Popular options are DirMon2, ComskipMonitor, and SageJobQueue.

Plug-in: Comskip is built into SageMC or you add it on to the basic SageTV Media Center Package.

VERY IMPORTANT FOR BEGINNERS: SageTV Media Center comes with its ‘standard’ menu system. Some people add “SageMC” which REPLACES the standard menu system and adds plug-ins like Comskip. But you can also add plug-ins to the ‘standard’ user interface, as it’s called.

Comment on The basics of SageTV by freedml

freedml — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:56:40 +0000

You can only watch as many live shows as tuners THAT AREN’T BEING USED FOR RECORDING.

Wireless for the Sage extender is iffy for SD, bad for HD. Hauppauge extender wireless doesn’t work at all.

HD doesn’t really require a ‘faster’ computer. Almost no CPU time is used in storing content. It’s disk access intensive. gotta have those 64k blocks on your hard drive! Just that puts SageTV out of reach of the average computer user.

I like my DirecTV/USB Serial cable control setup. But haven’t got it working with box #2 yet.

I prefer several add-ons to SageMC (I have Multi-Stop, Dynamic Menus, and Comskip playback).

I’ve had my system for 2 years. It is somewhat stable now, but still not nearly as reliable as a Tivo or DirecTV box. Some things are easy to figure out, some are damn difficult (like interfacing with set top boxes).

The ‘money feature’ is true commercial skipping, which is one of those ‘can be damn difficult’ options, but worth it when it finally works. The accuracy is about 90% for me because I have a lot of OTA recording in a fringe area. It works better on DirecTV, perfectly on some channels and shows and less than perfectly on others.

I use Hauppauge 950Q tuners which are HD, USB into the pc, and very good. I have an HDHR which isn’t being used at the moment, and it was just ok. It connects to the network rather than the computer which saves a USB port and can be placed anywhere on your wired network (e.g. close to the antenna).

In my opinion, a wired network is necessary at this stage of home theater development.

My configuration:

Two servers, one OTA HD (3 950Q tuners), one DirecTV (HDPVR and HD receiver, 2nd one on deck)

(why 2 servers? because SageTV is flaky enough that I switch servers and watch something else if one goes down.)

2 HD200s and 1 HD100. The 100 only is an extender (not capable of accessing the network files directly) and is noticeably slower. The 200s have problems talking to gigabit routers so I use old firmware.

My advice: start slowly, backup before making ANYchanges, and THOROUGHLY TEST EACH AND EVERY PIECE OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE before unleashing it on your family.

Comment on The basics of SageTV by DVR history and your options | Destiny's Darlin'

DVR history and your options | Destiny's Darlin' — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:35:25 +0000

[...] Volleyball « Android vs iPhone: it’s all about the user experience The basics of SageTV [...]

Comment on Boston Coworking by Updated and Consolidated Boston Coworking Location List | Destiny's Darlin'

Updated and Consolidated Boston Coworking Location List | Destiny's Darlin' — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:08:18 +0000

[...] Boston Coworking [...]

Comment on Android Multi-tasking is a Double-edged Sword by Verizon's Understanding of Android Multitasking | Destiny's Darlin'

Verizon's Understanding of Android Multitasking | Destiny's Darlin' — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:25:29 +0000

[...] begs the question though, does Verizon not understand how this feature of Android works? As I posted earlier, they sent a memo to each of their stores instructing employees to load an [...]