Image Gallery
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| Conroe HTPC & HD Link PC (built December 2006) |
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Front view of the Zalman HD160 HTPC ATX case. I'm very
satisfied with its build quality, fit and finish. |
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20x2 LCD display, controlled with LCDsmartie. |
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Included 17-in-1 flashcard reader, USB and 1394 ports, mic and headphone jacks are hidden behind the drop-down door below the optical drive. |
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Stock HSF that comes with the boxed CPU. Not bad, but
could definitely be better. Replaced it with the Zalman 9500. |
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Zalman 9500 92mm HSF, combined with Intel QST fan control and PWM BIOS settings, makes very little noise, even at max CPU load. |
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XGene wireless RF mini-keyboard used from the couch. Good range, handy button layout and trackball, low battery LED.
FireFly RF remote control receiver in the background. |
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| USFF (Ultra-Small Form Factor) HD Link PC (Dell Optiplex GX620) |
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Slightly used Dell Optiplex GX620 USFF PC, bought on eBay.
3.2Ghz P4, 1GB RAM, DVD+RW, GB NIC, GMA950 graphics. |
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Another shot, showing the USFF's external power supply in
the background. A handsome, near-silent, HD Link machine. |
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| BTV Server |
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BTV server in plain ATX case; Zenith SS antenna perched on top,
line splitter mounted just above in the stud bay. |
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Nothing spectacular about this setup -- just sittin' there. |
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Another shot of the very simple signal-catcher. Being only 17 miles
from the broadcast towers and clear LoS makes this easy. |
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These front-loading SATA trays have power and activity
LEDs; this shot was taken during a recording. |
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Here's what a vacant SATA tray carrier looks like; the spring-loaded
flap covers the opening to keep dust etc from entering the case. |
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Top row, left-to-right: black Leviton wiring panel, phone PBX,
16-port 100mb switch, Linksys WAP, BTV server & antenna, Belkin KVM switch.
Bottom row: Linux backup server, Belkin UPS, Linux fileserver,
APC UPS (for BTV server only), console station. |
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| Beyond TV screenshots (v4.4) |
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BTV logo fills white from top-to-bottom to indicate progress.
It generally only takes 3-5 seconds to connect to the server. |
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BTV Link main menu. |
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BTV's Program Guide. Channel names have a DT suffix indicating a digital channel. The red "A" icon indicates that
"All Episodes" will be recorded. The "HD" icon flags shows broadcast in HD resolutions. |
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Show information screen for an HD movie (note the filesize).
This is a 180-minute, uncompressed HD transport streamfile. |
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Post-processing settings screen for ShowSqueeze (transcoding) and SmartSkip (commercial detection). |
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Recording setup options screen. |
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| Beyond Media screenshots (v1.1) |
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BM includes the ability to input your zipcode and pull
real-time, local weather reports from the Weather Channel. |
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The DVD Library plugin allows you to playback ripped DVDs.
It automatically downloads title meta-data and cover-art, and
recognizes either ISO images or VIDEO_TS DVD structures. |
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Beyond Media main menu. |
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The Netflix plugin for BM allows you to manage your
queue, browse popular RSS feeds, and even watch previews. |
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Custom menu option which calls DVD Decrypter in batchmode
(command-line) to archive DVDs for import into DVD Library. |
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With the Game Library plugin, you can launch and play PC
games on your HTPC. |
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