Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize proprietary formats

Hey Skunks Got a sony home theater (DAV 610) that does not play some video formats except AVI and VOB on dvd, it does not recognize anything except mp3 file on USB drive. Is there any place or a way to fix this or enable it to support this format. Ideas,,, suggestions ./TheMburu -- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.

The only option is a sort of Long shot - Coding or finding a suitable firmware that contains the Codecs and Demuxers you need. But in the end you will find it much easier to connect a PC to your TV and use it as your player. _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 TheMburu George <themburu@gmail.com>
Hey Skunks
Got a sony home theater (DAV 610) that does not play some video formats except AVI and VOB on dvd, it does not recognize anything except mp3 file on USB drive. Is there any place or a way to fix this or enable it to support this format.
Ideas,,, suggestions
./TheMburu -- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.
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Ok not sure about this particular device but depending on the type of microcontroller used for playback you may have to program the codecs right into it. unfortunately some microcontrollers are read only but thats is debatable. The other option is get a compatible generic microcontroller and program into it. The programming tools (usually in Assembler)are in most cases provided free from the hardware manufacturer but again it depends. once you've programmed the microcontroller then remove the one there and replace with the one you've just programmed. (You will need a solder gun and a screw driver for this). If you cant do what is mentioned above then get hold of the nearest computer engineer or electrical engineer to sort you out :) The good news is am sure there is an easier way around this ----- Original Message ----- | From: "TheMburu George" <themburu@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Monday, December 5, 2011 7:50:34 PM | Subject: [Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize | proprietary formats | Hey Skunks | Got a sony home theater (DAV 610) that does not play some video | formats except AVI and VOB on dvd, it does not recognize anything | except mp3 file on USB drive. Is there any place or a way to fix | this or enable it to support this format. | Ideas,,, suggestions | ./TheMburu | -- | Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new | untried. | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

Nice one @Steve! The good old soldering iron and semiconductor days. :-) The encoder/decoder chips are locked in, this would be one very complex task here in KE because the main controller chip picks the file formats from the laser pickup unit and will reject any other formats. This bus info is shared between the laser decoders, pre-amp and sent to the demod chipsets, controlled from the main chip. However, if @TheMburu can find us the circuit diagram of the unit, I can point him to the chipset that needs to be replaced, along with the main controller chip. Unfortunately none of the onboard chips are re-programmable, due to model features. This is like really old scholl stuff, nice to re-visit after many years. Rgds. On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:14 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
Ok not sure about this particular device but depending on the type of microcontroller used for playback you may have to program the codecs right into it. unfortunately some microcontrollers are read only but thats is debatable. The other option is get a compatible generic microcontroller and program into it. The programming tools (usually in Assembler)are in most cases provided free from the hardware manufacturer but again it depends. once you've programmed the microcontroller then remove the one there and replace with the one you've just programmed. (You will need a solder gun and a screw driver for this). If you cant do what is mentioned above then get hold of the nearest computer engineer or electrical engineer to sort you out :) The good news is am sure there is an easier way around this

By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to consumers? ----- Original Message ----- | From: "aki" <aki275@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Monday, December 5, 2011 8:28:27 PM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize | proprietary formats | Nice one @Steve! The good old soldering iron and semiconductor days. | :-) | The encoder/decoder chips are locked in, this would be one very | complex task here in KE because the main controller chip picks the | file formats from the laser pickup unit and will reject any other | formats. This bus info is shared between the laser decoders, pre-amp | and sent to the demod chipsets, controlled from the main chip. | However, if @TheMburu can find us the circuit diagram of the unit, I | can point him to the chipset that needs to be replaced, along with | the main controller chip. Unfortunately none of the onboard chips | are re-programmable, due to model features. | This is like really old scholl stuff, nice to re-visit after many | years. | Rgds. | On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:14 PM, Steve Obbayi < steve@sobbayi.com > | wrote: | | Ok not sure about this particular device but depending on the type | | of | | microcontroller used for playback you may have to program the | | codecs | | right into it. unfortunately some microcontrollers are read only | | but | | thats is debatable. The other option is get a compatible generic | | microcontroller and program into it. The programming tools (usually | | in Assembler)are in most cases provided free from the hardware | | manufacturer but again it depends. once you've programmed the | | microcontroller then remove the one there and replace with the one | | you've just programmed. (You will need a solder gun and a screw | | driver for this). If you cant do what is mentioned above then get | | hold of the nearest computer engineer or electrical engineer to | | sort | | you out :) The good news is am sure there is an easier way around | | this | | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

@Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out but I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even the regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short while many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the same interest too. On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to consumers?

@All Service manuals are a highly guarded documentation due to industrial espionage and what have you. For some manufacturers (nokia) they divide this info into levels eg level 1,2,3,4. The higher you go the more trusted the wielder. But the most secret proprietary info will not be divulged to anyone. @Aki. Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! I feel insulted. : ) But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it is never too difficult to determine the BCE. As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR (or S'R') Latch. (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the Physics by Abbot...remember this book? P.S. I did not Google. I know it are fact because of my Digital Logic & Electronics Learnings! _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out but I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even the regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short while many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the same interest too.
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to consumers?
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Ok ok ok, so how do we fix these codec issues? ./TheMburu On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:39 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@All Service manuals are a highly guarded documentation due to industrial espionage and what have you. For some manufacturers (nokia) they divide this info into levels eg level 1,2,3,4. The higher you go the more trusted the wielder. But the most secret proprietary info will not be divulged to anyone.
@Aki. Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! I feel insulted. : ) But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it is never too difficult to determine the BCE. As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR (or S'R') Latch. (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the Physics by Abbot...remember this book?
P.S. I did not Google. I know it are fact because of my Digital Logic & Electronics Learnings!
_______________________________________________
*Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ *
*
2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out but I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even the regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short while many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the same interest too.
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to consumers?
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-- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.

@TheMburu. Hehehe. You dont![?][?] _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 TheMburu George <themburu@gmail.com>
Ok ok ok, so how do we fix these codec issues?
./TheMburu
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:39 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@All Service manuals are a highly guarded documentation due to industrial espionage and what have you. For some manufacturers (nokia) they divide this info into levels eg level 1,2,3,4. The higher you go the more trusted the wielder. But the most secret proprietary info will not be divulged to anyone.
@Aki. Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! I feel insulted. : ) But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it is never too difficult to determine the BCE. As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR (or S'R') Latch. (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the Physics by Abbot...remember this book?
P.S. I did not Google. I know it are fact because of my Digital Logic & Electronics Learnings!
_______________________________________________
*Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ *
*
2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out but I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even the regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short while many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the same interest too.
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to consumers?
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_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
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-- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.
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You probably just have to buy a model that supports more file formats. But then again this is Sony we are talking about. they have huge steak in the music and movie industry and would want to keep it that way with the "industry preferred" formats. Usually when buying this stuff the technical manual will give you a hint of what it can and cannot decode. ----- Original Message ----- | From: "TheMburu George" <themburu@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Monday, December 5, 2011 9:42:16 PM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize | proprietary formats | Ok ok ok, so how do we fix these codec issues? | ./TheMburu | On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:39 PM, James Nzomo < kazikubwa@gmail.com > | wrote: | | @All | | | Service manuals are a highly guarded documentation due to | | industrial | | espionage and what have you. | | | For some manufacturers (nokia) they divide this info into levels eg | | level 1,2,3,4. | | | The higher you go the more trusted the wielder. | | | But the most secret proprietary info will not be divulged to | | anyone. | | | @Aki. | | | Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! | | I | | feel insulted. : ) | | | But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it | | is | | never too difficult to determine the BCE. | | | As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR | | (or | | S'R') Latch. | | | (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the | | Physics by Abbot...remember this book? | | | P.S. I did not Google. I know it are fact because of my Digital | | Logic | | & Electronics Learnings! | | | _______________________________________________ | | | Good judgement comes from Experience. | | | Most of that comes from Bad Judgement. | | | _______________________________________________ | | | 2011/12/5 aki < aki275@gmail.com > | | | | @Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out | | | but | | | I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even | | | the | | | regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short | | | while | | | many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details | | | but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors | | | pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the | | | same | | | interest too. | | | | | | On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi < steve@sobbayi.com | | | > | | | wrote: | | | | | | | By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to | | | | consumers? | | | | | | | | | _______________________________________________ | | | | | | Skunkworks mailing list | | | | | | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | | | | | | ------------ | | | | | | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | | | | | | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | | | | | | ------------ | | | | | | Skunkworks Rules | | | | | | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | | | | | | ------------ | | | | | | Other services @ http://my.co..ke | | | | | _______________________________________________ | | | Skunkworks mailing list | | | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | | | ------------ | | | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | | | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | | | ------------ | | | Skunkworks Rules | | | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | | | ------------ | | | Other services @ http://my.co..ke | | -- | Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new | untried. | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

Sell the SQNY, buy LG :-) On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 21:42, TheMburu George <themburu@gmail.com> wrote:
Ok ok ok, so how do we fix these codec issues?
./TheMburu
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:39 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@All Service manuals are a highly guarded documentation due to industrial espionage and what have you. For some manufacturers (nokia) they divide this info into levels eg level 1,2,3,4. The higher you go the more trusted the wielder. But the most secret proprietary info will not be divulged to anyone.
@Aki. Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! I feel insulted. : ) But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it is never too difficult to determine the BCE. As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR (or S'R') Latch. (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the Physics by Abbot...remember this book?
P.S. I did not Google. I know it are fact because of my Digital Logic & Electronics Learnings!
_______________________________________________
*Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ *
*
2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out but I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even the regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short while many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the same interest too.
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to consumers?
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
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-- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.
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Problem with large manufacturers is that they like fighting consumers, a war they always lose. They are so keen on protecting lucrative markets that they lose out on the future. If consumers have flash disks, and want to watch the last episode, they get fought. Somehow, they end up discovering torrents and carry the PC home to watch their episodes - they they stop relying on that DVD player that Sony was so keen on protecting . Camera manufacturers - no incentive to put WiFi or use standard cables to read images from the camera. The phone camera is nit high quality, but works when I want and how I want - i now buy a phone and no longer interested in cameras ... Cycle repeats itself elsewhere (And BTW, Sony has been in financial difficulties for a while, I am sure they are still looking for the problem)

@Nzomo, you are welcome. very nice :-) Now before @TheMburu gets ticked off, let's try and help him out. I'm thinking....and thinking... :-) On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:39 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki. Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! I feel insulted. : ) But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it is never too difficult to determine the BCE. As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR (or S'R') Latch. (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the Physics by Abbot...remember this book?

@TheMburu, we may have to do a Linus for you. ( just kidding.. ) I'm just thinking aloud here.. Since there's no schematic, we would need a working unit that works with all the formats, maybe a newer model. We will then have to reverse engineer the chip maps and voltages and scope readings. Identify the controller chip and see what lacks on your machine. Ok, this is beyond my age as I can hardly read resistor codes these days. Wish you had posted this many many years ago, lakini then there was no internet. How esle can you be helped? The minds buzzing.... :-)

@Steve, Once something is published in the open, it doesn't matter whether the owner closes it up again, it is in the public domain Download the sources here <http://www.opensparc.net/> and enter the realm of opensource Hardware _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@TheMburu, we may have to do a Linus for you. ( just kidding.. ) I'm just thinking aloud here..
Since there's no schematic, we would need a working unit that works with all the formats, maybe a newer model. We will then have to reverse engineer the chip maps and voltages and scope readings. Identify the controller chip and see what lacks on your machine. Ok, this is beyond my age as I can hardly read resistor codes these days. Wish you had posted this many many years ago, lakini then there was no internet.
How esle can you be helped? The minds buzzing.... :-)
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@TheMburu Relying on that Home theater to play all your media formats is not a very feasible prospect. Get a PC with a sound card that has S/PDIF output and use the home theater as your 5.1 / 7.1 amplifier. Alternatively, you can get a graphics card that sports a HDMI out port and connect to your Home theatre. A more affordable solution is to use a modern motherboard that has an onboard Intel HD Audio Compatible card. (AFAIK most of today's mobos do) These can switch all jacks(mic, line in/out) for use as 5.1/7.1 audio output. This is a more common solution. Connect all those to your HT and you have playback support from all the codecs and demuxers available. Plus if you have a video capture card, you can record, store and playback video later....Even on timed schedule You can even use your mobile phone as a bluetooth remote control!! _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com>
@Steve, Once something is published in the open, it doesn't matter whether the owner closes it up again, it is in the public domain Download the sources here <http://www.opensparc.net/> and enter the realm of opensource Hardware
_______________________________________________
*Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ *
*
2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@TheMburu, we may have to do a Linus for you. ( just kidding.. ) I'm just thinking aloud here..
Since there's no schematic, we would need a working unit that works with all the formats, maybe a newer model. We will then have to reverse engineer the chip maps and voltages and scope readings. Identify the controller chip and see what lacks on your machine. Ok, this is beyond my age as I can hardly read resistor codes these days. Wish you had posted this many many years ago, lakini then there was no internet.
How esle can you be helped? The minds buzzing.... :-)
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@TheMburu, to add what @James has already added. If the PC is not suited to your scenario, the only option I can think of is that you buy an external DVD player with all the format features that you are looking for, this will be much cheaper. Then connect to the AUX ports on the DAV amp. Prefer if you get a Sony DVD player so that you can use the same remote control. :-) @James, the problem with a PC is the fan noise and it can get pretty loud. There's no remote control for a PC either so its bit annoying to use. The other problem of a PC being used in the HT scenario is power consumption, boot options. I think there's a place for the PC, and its not in the HT environment. :-) Rgds.

@TheMburu My 2 suggestions (since I have the same exact model as you do): 1. Get a WD TV Live <http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330>media player - you can hook it up to your telly via HDMI and it can play stuff that's on your LAN or Internet - and supports all major formats - I think Wash or Alvin has discussed this before on the list. 2. Upgrade your telly - mine's a Samsung and it plays all kinds of formats via an external hdd - it has issues playing a few mkv files with non-standard dimensions but I got that fixed by setting up a DLNA server ( tvMobili <http://www.tvmobili.com>) on my laptop (ubuntu) - and hooking it up via Ethernet. So I torrent on my laptop into a DLNA-accessible folder - and voila - I can watch it on the telly. No messy file transfers and such. It supports wireless but I haven't gone to look for the USB accessory. I use the latter option as I had the tv before I got the Sony - hence I really just use the HT system for playing DVDs and for audio output though an optical cable. I recommend the first option as it's cheaper.

@Aki Noisy fan? You can hear a pin drop with a Branded Desktop running in the same room. If you need to go the clone way, you can get noiseless fans here in 254. And anyway with a Home Theater Playing loud, what fan noise will you hear? No remote controll for a PC??? Now you are letting me down. Wireless keyboards & touchpad combo?, Bluetooth remote control apps that can run on most mobile devices from j2me to Tablets?? They even reserve keys for various media players and media centers. Ai bwana. I'm even working on an app to turn a phone into a handy laptop numpad. And for the heck of it you can even control a pc via VNC using symbian, android, IOs, winmobile and Phone 7. Boot options or Boot time? Boot options... the more the better..... Spoilt for choice!! Did you know that modern OSes & Hardware feature sleep functionality? Power on in a second..Sleep in about the same time depending on the amount of ram in use. Power consumption...if you are worried about this then get rid of every PC (and every HD & HT device ) in your house and live in the 1970s. I check out this wikipedia article<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_theater_PC> _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@TheMburu, to add what @James has already added. If the PC is not suited to your scenario, the only option I can think of is that you buy an external DVD player with all the format features that you are looking for, this will be much cheaper. Then connect to the AUX ports on the DAV amp. Prefer if you get a Sony DVD player so that you can use the same remote control. :-)
@James, the problem with a PC is the fan noise and it can get pretty loud. There's no remote control for a PC either so its bit annoying to use. The other problem of a PC being used in the HT scenario is power consumption, boot options. I think there's a place for the PC, and its not in the HT environment. :-)
Rgds.
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@James, inline below: :-)) On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 11:44 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki Noisy fan? You can hear a pin drop with a Branded Desktop running in the same room. If you need to go the clone way, you can get noiseless fans here in 254. And anyway with a Home Theater Playing loud, what fan noise will you hear?
What are the physical dimensions of the PC you refer to, and will the unit fit into a TV stand cabinet that does not require special ventilations?
No remote controll for a PC??? Now you are letting me down. Wireless keyboards & touchpad combo?, Bluetooth remote control apps that can run on most mobile devices from j2me to Tablets?? They even reserve keys for various media players and media centers.
Bluetooth works fine when it does, but its pretty moody technology. You and i can do the details, tell 90% of the population out there to sync bluetooth and they will ask you many questions.
Ai bwana. I'm even working on an app to turn a phone into a handy laptop numpad. And for the heck of it you can even control a pc via VNC using symbian, android, IOs, winmobile and Phone 7.
Nice. :-)
Boot options or Boot time? Boot options... the more the better..... Spoilt for choice!! Did you know that modern OSes & Hardware feature sleep functionality? Power on in a second..Sleep in about the same time depending on the amount of ram in use.
No computer OS can sleep indefinately, hardware chips are much more stable and leaner. And sleep mode on any computer is far from stable or dependable.
Power consumption...if you are worried about this then get rid of every PC (and every HD & HT device ) in your house and live in the 1970s.
What is the power consumption of the PC you refer to? 250watts to 350watts? That is a lot of power use for simple functionality. All HTs, due to their hardware design are green system and will only draw more wattage as you increase the outputs. A total HT will consume much less.

SONY ENTERTAINMENT is a B***** when it comes to Piracy and Prevention. They are quite strict about the formats they approve. Even if you get to change that chip; what about the software? I do not see how you can succeed - I have tried to research how to make my PS3 play PAL videos but to no avail. It can play other stupid regions - but not my good old PAL. The whole of Google says -- "not possible" --- or channel through your PC etc.. So what do I do ? I have a fake Chinese DVD player (with USB) to compliment what the Sony Players cannot play on those occasions.

lol Cabinets? Cabinets in the living room is a very old school concept. imagine a PC taking up the space occupied by an old school VCR. Anyway.. if you are worried about a PC not fitting in "cabinets" checkout PC form factors - HERE <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_form_factor> then check these out <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form_factor> Have you seen one that fits inside cabinets? If we are to talk about Bluetooth, we need to be on the same wavelength. The BT moodyness you claim is a result of either using ancient first gen bt hardware or working with OSes that have an incomplete Bluetooth Protocol Stacks such as the one that MS and some other vendors provide for windows. Trust me on this...i've been working on my own BT HID Library for the previously mentioned app for some time ...hence my above recommendation on being on the same wavelength before further discussion on this. OS sleep? I doubt you use this feature frequently. If you did, you wouldn't have highlighted it as a problem. Well i use it often on my laptop and I've just booted into my Ubuntu installation after 3 weeks of "sleep->power->sleep" cycles on FC15. I could'av gone on as long as necessary without any problems. In addition to that, there would be no harm in rebooting a HT PC for maintenance once in a while. Power consumption lol. For this one i will start by asking...do you have a PC in your household? Have you thrown it away because it consumes too much power? According to you there is only one PC type - the kienyeji clone that sucks 450 watts/hr from KPLC. Did you know that consumption depends on the components that constitute the machine? HDD size & rpm, chipset, ram type etc. Look at the power consumption specs of the first gen Mac Mini - a fully fledged ultra low power x86 PC. Another good ultra low power example is the Nintendo Wii - a PPC Arch low power marvel that chugs along at 19W playing the heaviest of its titles. Conclusion As time goes by, beneficial technological changes become too difficult for previous generation to adapt to. Pilots of the F-4s in Nam cannot relate to the advancements in F-22 and a large majority of them still prefer their F-4s. _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@James, inline below: :-))
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 11:44 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki Noisy fan? You can hear a pin drop with a Branded Desktop running in the same room. If you need to go the clone way, you can get noiseless fans here in 254. And anyway with a Home Theater Playing loud, what fan noise will you hear?
What are the physical dimensions of the PC you refer to, and will the unit fit into a TV stand cabinet that does not require special ventilations?
No remote controll for a PC??? Now you are letting me down. Wireless keyboards & touchpad combo?, Bluetooth remote control apps that can run on most mobile devices from j2me to Tablets?? They even reserve keys for various media players and media centers.
Bluetooth works fine when it does, but its pretty moody technology. You and i can do the details, tell 90% of the population out there to sync bluetooth and they will ask you many questions.
Ai bwana. I'm even working on an app to turn a phone into a handy laptop numpad. And for the heck of it you can even control a pc via VNC using symbian, android, IOs, winmobile and Phone 7.
Nice. :-)
Boot options or Boot time? Boot options... the more the better..... Spoilt for choice!! Did you know that modern OSes & Hardware feature sleep functionality? Power on in a second..Sleep in about the same time depending on the amount of ram in use.
No computer OS can sleep indefinately, hardware chips are much more stable and leaner. And sleep mode on any computer is far from stable or dependable.
Power consumption...if you are worried about this then get rid of every PC (and every HD & HT device ) in your house and live in the 1970s.
What is the power consumption of the PC you refer to? 250watts to 350watts? That is a lot of power use for simple functionality. All HTs, due to their hardware design are green system and will only draw more wattage as you increase the outputs. A total HT will consume much less.
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@aki, @James, on a serious light note, I just had to throw this in there :-) @TheMburu can get this <http://www.apple.com/macmini/>, not only will it look amazingly awesome beside the tv, it will also play just about everything you throw at it, if you install VLC. Check the tech specs. On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 3:06 AM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
lol Cabinets? Cabinets in the living room is a very old school concept. imagine a PC taking up the space occupied by an old school VCR. Anyway.. if you are worried about a PC not fitting in "cabinets" checkout PC form factors - HERE <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_form_factor> then check these out <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form_factor> Have you seen one that fits inside cabinets?
If we are to talk about Bluetooth, we need to be on the same wavelength. The BT moodyness you claim is a result of either using ancient first gen bt hardware or working with OSes that have an incomplete Bluetooth Protocol Stacks such as the one that MS and some other vendors provide for windows. Trust me on this...i've been working on my own BT HID Library for the previously mentioned app for some time ...hence my above recommendation on being on the same wavelength before further discussion on this.
OS sleep? I doubt you use this feature frequently. If you did, you wouldn't have highlighted it as a problem. Well i use it often on my laptop and I've just booted into my Ubuntu installation after 3 weeks of "sleep->power->sleep" cycles on FC15. I could'av gone on as long as necessary without any problems. In addition to that, there would be no harm in rebooting a HT PC for maintenance once in a while.
Power consumption lol. For this one i will start by asking...do you have a PC in your household? Have you thrown it away because it consumes too much power? According to you there is only one PC type - the kienyeji clone that sucks 450 watts/hr from KPLC. Did you know that consumption depends on the components that constitute the machine? HDD size & rpm, chipset, ram type etc. Look at the power consumption specs of the first gen Mac Mini - a fully fledged ultra low power x86 PC. Another good ultra low power example is the Nintendo Wii - a PPC Arch low power marvel that chugs along at 19W playing the heaviest of its titles.
Conclusion As time goes by, beneficial technological changes become too difficult for previous generation to adapt to. Pilots of the F-4s in Nam cannot relate to the advancements in F-22 and a large majority of them still prefer their F-4s.
_______________________________________________
*Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ *
*
2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@James, inline below: :-))
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 11:44 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki Noisy fan? You can hear a pin drop with a Branded Desktop running in the same room. If you need to go the clone way, you can get noiseless fans here in 254. And anyway with a Home Theater Playing loud, what fan noise will you hear?
What are the physical dimensions of the PC you refer to, and will the unit fit into a TV stand cabinet that does not require special ventilations?
No remote controll for a PC??? Now you are letting me down. Wireless keyboards & touchpad combo?, Bluetooth remote control apps that can run on most mobile devices from j2me to Tablets?? They even reserve keys for various media players and media centers.
Bluetooth works fine when it does, but its pretty moody technology. You and i can do the details, tell 90% of the population out there to sync bluetooth and they will ask you many questions.
Ai bwana. I'm even working on an app to turn a phone into a handy laptop numpad. And for the heck of it you can even control a pc via VNC using symbian, android, IOs, winmobile and Phone 7.
Nice. :-)
Boot options or Boot time? Boot options... the more the better..... Spoilt for choice!! Did you know that modern OSes & Hardware feature sleep functionality? Power on in a second..Sleep in about the same time depending on the amount of ram in use.
No computer OS can sleep indefinately, hardware chips are much more stable and leaner. And sleep mode on any computer is far from stable or dependable.
Power consumption...if you are worried about this then get rid of every PC (and every HD & HT device ) in your house and live in the 1970s.
What is the power consumption of the PC you refer to? 250watts to 350watts? That is a lot of power use for simple functionality. All HTs, due to their hardware design are green system and will only draw more wattage as you increase the outputs. A total HT will consume much less.
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And @James, more inlines below.. :-))) On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 3:06 AM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
lol Cabinets? Cabinets in the living room is a very old school concept. imagine a PC taking up the space occupied by an old school VCR. Anyway.. if you are worried about a PC not fitting in "cabinets" checkout PC form factors - HERE <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_form_factor> then check these out <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form_factor> Have you seen one that fits inside cabinets?
Prices, casing prices and please include power supply prices too.. Lets add them here to the thread for discussion sake. Agreed, small form factors do not need much space in a cabinet.
If we are to talk about Bluetooth, we need to be on the same wavelength. The BT moodyness you claim is a result of either using ancient first gen bt hardware or working with OSes that have an incomplete Bluetooth Protocol Stacks such as the one that MS and some other vendors provide for windows. Trust me on this...i've been working on my own BT HID Library for the previously mentioned app for some time ...hence my above recommendation on being on the same wavelength before further discussion on this.
Go on, lets talk about BT in the context of the end user. What happens when you are away and the battery of the device needs changing?
OS sleep? I doubt you use this feature frequently. If you did, you wouldn't have highlighted it as a problem. Well i use it often on my laptop and I've just booted into my Ubuntu installation after 3 weeks of "sleep->power->sleep" cycles on FC15. I could'av gone on as long as necessary without any problems. In addition to that, there would be no harm in rebooting a HT PC for maintenance once in a while.
Lets be a bit technical on this. What is sleep mode = System config moved to RAM? Apply this on an .avi file, how much memory do you need, and will the computer wake up from the same exact scene?
Power consumption lol. For this one i will start by asking...do you have a PC in your household? Have you thrown it away because it consumes too much power? According to you there is only one PC type - the kienyeji clone that sucks 450 watts/hr from KPLC. Did you know that consumption depends on the components that constitute the machine? HDD size & rpm, chipset, ram type etc. Look at the power consumption specs of the first gen Mac Mini - a fully fledged ultra low power x86 PC. Another good ultra low power example is the Nintendo Wii - a PPC Arch low power marvel that chugs along at 19W playing the heaviest of its titles.
You answered this yourself, comparison between the PC and a Sony Wii. You are ignoring how much a proper PC needs when it comes to power consumptions, I wonder how you would calulcate the wattage needs for a UPS based on your HDD usage parameters of a proper PC. Next time do add words like small form factors, then the rest is pretty obvious. And I still would keep a "computer" away from the HT area. Too much time to waste on many remote controls or lack off, and difficult for the regular users to to use the system. Me thots :-)

@Peter, nice MAC unit. Costs and how would one who is not tech savvy control this unit without a kybd and mouse in an HT setting? Kindly share these thots. Rgds.

James, Physics by Abbot....I still have a copy to date..lol On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 8:15 AM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
@Peter, nice MAC unit. Costs and how would one who is not tech savvy control this unit without a kybd and mouse in an HT setting? Kindly share these thots.
Rgds.
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@Aki, I've just asked a local vendor, that thing costs about 80k locally. I see it has 4 USB ports, so as @James suggested, one could use a USB or BT keyboard, or for more awesomeness, this <http://www.apple.com/keyboard/> or this <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/> :-) Disclaimer: I use Apple hardware, totally in love with it so my suggestions and opinions are not objective. On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 8:15 AM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
@Peter, nice MAC unit. Costs and how would one who is not tech savvy control this unit without a kybd and mouse in an HT setting? Kindly share these thots.
Rgds.
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@Peter, If the base price is 80K, how much the BT devices add to the cost? Just an estimate cost... :-) IMO, Apple wil not add any special effects to the sound or enchance the audio in any way. Then I'd start to look at getting high level HT e.g. Philips or Bose. Rgds. On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 8:43 AM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki, I've just asked a local vendor, that thing costs about 80k locally. I see it has 4 USB ports, so as @James suggested, one could use a USB or BT keyboard, or for more awesomeness, this <http://www.apple.com/keyboard/>or this <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/> :-)
Disclaimer: I use Apple hardware, totally in love with it so my suggestions and opinions are not objective.

The scenario I was looking for is what every family member can operate without any specific techie knowledge hence was leaving out the PC option, I had considered getting WD TV Live Plus<http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=320>as earlier suggesting, any one selling them locally and for how much? ./TheMburu On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 8:51 AM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
@Peter, If the base price is 80K, how much the BT devices add to the cost? Just an estimate cost... :-)
IMO, Apple wil not add any special effects to the sound or enchance the audio in any way. Then I'd start to look at getting high level HT e.g. Philips or Bose.
Rgds.
On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 8:43 AM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
@Aki, I've just asked a local vendor, that thing costs about 80k locally. I see it has 4 USB ports, so as @James suggested, one could use a USB or BT keyboard, or for more awesomeness, this <http://www.apple.com/keyboard/>or this <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/> :-)
Disclaimer: I use Apple hardware, totally in love with it so my suggestions and opinions are not objective.
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-- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.

@TheMburu, Sharing my current setup: - I remove the HT completely as the sound was not impressive. I now use a Philips DCM580 which totally beats most entry level HTs on sound quality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXKE0Z_mpn0 . Its available at Nakumatt Westgate. - The DSTV audio out is connected to the Philips - The DVST Video output is connected to the SONY TV The only remotes in use are the dstv decoder, common remote for sony dvd player and tv. On philips, I've set the sound so no remote needed here. HTHs. :-) On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 9:19 AM, TheMburu George <themburu@gmail.com> wrote:
The scenario I was looking for is what every family member can operate without any specific techie knowledge hence was leaving out the PC option, I had considered getting WD TV Live Plus<http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=320>as earlier suggesting, any one selling them locally and for how much?
./TheMburu

Some time early this year Wash enlightened us with this mail <quote mail> *Hello Skunks,* * Anyone interested in Full HD Home Theatre Players? * *The chipset for these devices is Realtek.* * * *You choose or buy your own size of HDD as they come without.* * * * * *Warranty period - 1 year. * * * *The specs are available at http://goo.gl/mFWtF * * * *Going price is $120. But there is room for negotiation:-)* </quote mail> Case closed. You can fit your 2TB disk in there with all the .mkv files can download and knock yourself out with HD video and 5.1 audio, download torrents straight from it and all at an affordable price "though the price is not inclusive of the hard disk" On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 9:41 AM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
@TheMburu,
Sharing my current setup:
- I remove the HT completely as the sound was not impressive. I now use a Philips DCM580 which totally beats most entry level HTs on sound quality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXKE0Z_mpn0 . Its available at Nakumatt Westgate.
- The DSTV audio out is connected to the Philips
- The DVST Video output is connected to the SONY TV
The only remotes in use are the dstv decoder, common remote for sony dvd player and tv. On philips, I've set the sound so no remote needed here.
HTHs. :-)
On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 9:19 AM, TheMburu George <themburu@gmail.com>wrote:
The scenario I was looking for is what every family member can operate without any specific techie knowledge hence was leaving out the PC option, I had considered getting WD TV Live Plus<http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=320>as earlier suggesting, any one selling them locally and for how much?
./TheMburu
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-- Lusiola Brian |3 R 1 /-\ |\|

@Brian, lets push this thread further a bit..sidelined from the original thread, hope @TheMburu will not mind :-) Case not closed, how would you play a CD/DVD on this unit without converting them to a file format thus wasting even more time on encoding/decoding? This unit is more like a file server. Maybe I'm missing the point here and corrections are welcome. Rgds. On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Brian L <lusiola@gmail.com> wrote:
Some time early this year Wash enlightened us with this mail
<quote mail>
*Hello Skunks,* * Anyone interested in Full HD Home Theatre Players?
* *The chipset for these devices is Realtek.* * * *You choose or buy your own size of HDD as they come without.* * * * * *Warranty period - 1 year. * * * *The specs are available at http://goo.gl/mFWtF * * * *Going price is $120. But there is room for negotiation:-)*
</quote mail>
Case closed. You can fit your 2TB disk in there with all the .mkv files can download and knock yourself out with HD video and 5.1 audio, download torrents straight from it and all at an affordable price "though the price is not inclusive of the hard disk"

@aki I speak for myself here, but I hardly play any content straight from DVD/CD unless in my brianmobil, which I'm also hoping to upgrade to a stereo with USB slot and bluetooth. IMO Discs as a storage to media especially video is on its death bed, just like the disc killed the tape, flash memory <http://goo.gl/j0OXS> will kill the disc. With the internet becoming more accessible and faster, things will have to change, as they did when the industry ignored napster, though its now folded. DVD Players now also come with a USB slot, this allows you to play content straight from a flash disk or a step further format a portable HDD in FAT32 and voila. You can now purchase a movie online, its no longer necessary/a must to buy a disc and or physical media. If you are a downloader, the content might never get to a Disc unless you're selling (*my opinion of piracy to be discussed separately*). Only one person need buy the disc be it blueray, dvd or cd, rip and share it...the industry loses. Lets be honest here there is a larger market out there watching pirated DVDs than people who buy the genuine article. Out of curiosity, why did the big manufacturers yield to the chinese and put a USB slot there and allow it to play certain audio, video and photos? There must be something I am missing. I reiterate, I speak only for myself....corrections welcome. On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 10:54 AM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
@Brian, lets push this thread further a bit..sidelined from the original thread, hope @TheMburu will not mind :-)
Case not closed, how would you play a CD/DVD on this unit without converting them to a file format thus wasting even more time on encoding/decoding? This unit is more like a file server.
Maybe I'm missing the point here and corrections are welcome.
Rgds.
On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Brian L <lusiola@gmail.com> wrote:
Some time early this year Wash enlightened us with this mail
<quote mail>
*Hello Skunks,* * Anyone interested in Full HD Home Theatre Players?
* *The chipset for these devices is Realtek.* * * *You choose or buy your own size of HDD as they come without.* * * * * *Warranty period - 1 year. * * * *The specs are available at http://goo.gl/mFWtF * * * *Going price is $120. But there is room for negotiation:-)*
</quote mail>
Case closed. You can fit your 2TB disk in there with all the .mkv files can download and knock yourself out with HD video and 5.1 audio, download torrents straight from it and all at an affordable price "though the price is not inclusive of the hard disk"
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
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-- Lusiola Brian |3 R 1 /-\ |\|

@Brian, I second your comment - I rarely watch DVDs on the Sony - (hell, I think it was only twice). Everything else is USB, whether at home (also LAN) or in the 'mobile'. It doesn't hurt having some media repository somewhere - be it your LAN-accessible computer or a HD media player with a HDD inside - since you can always delete what you don't like, replace with something hotter, and/or swap out the drive for upgrades. As earlier stated, I also foresee the demise of the disc as we know it (at least as far as home media use is concerned), since when you've watched a disc you rarely go back to it, unless it's a reeealy good movie. You'll start seeing home theatre players with LAN ports as standard and online media offerings bundled in. Everything is going the 'smart' way.

@Aki Lol sony wii? If you are out of touch with modern home entertainment advancements, why do you still debate? If you checkout articles on PC form factors you will come across Ultra Low Power boards that cannot suck the life out of KPLC. I even gave you two examples of such, the latter being a games console based on Power PC architecture once used for Personal Computers. Ill have you know that you can run linux on it and use it as a PC. And you dont need alot of money to build one of these. You strike me as an old school engineer who cannot let go of the concepts and tech of a by gone era. You still insist on cumbersome irDA control over mature bluetooth HiD protocol? BT HiD is proven and mature, but you wouldnt know that due to limited usage of BT devices. And thats why i said in order for us to discuss Bluetooth, and for me to describe to you the problems and their elegant solutions, you have to weild some priore knowledge on the stack and the short commings of different vendor implementations

@All on this thread who disagree that 99% of the mpeg standards that are being sold to you under hardware devices are the most useless of the render techniques? Then begs the question, if you use or have used a Digital Camera, do you shoot images in RAW proprietary formats or in jpeg? There is a world of difference in quality. Applying the same argument, proprietary mpeg/jpeg implementations are far exceed and more superior than the standard ones. If you put money into a large screen tv, home theatre, and even up watching useless quality then am lost for words here.... Corrections welcome. :-))

Ok, just to give you an example of the amount of losses in a normal digital rendering process, I've watched on HD with full screen view : my view and corrections welcome : This clip is from transformers 3 and why I'd watch on a large screen or get an original DVD for a large screen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRf01Gjosk 1) The Moon landscape feels like am playing Duke Nukem 3d many years ago, there is a lot of loss in the details. 2) Watch the faces at 0:33, they have soft textures and are again missing depth, though the camera distance was correct. 3) At 0:36, Paramount wording have lost edge details, the sceen is flat. 4) At 0:50, the scene losses are even more and soft textures, as it the camera person did not get the focus correct 5) At 0:56, the scene has lost all dept and details 6) At 1:04, you can clearly see the pixels starting to form around the Moon dust 7) At scene 1:14, it looks so lossy that the frame looks so unreal. 8) At 1:59, she has an expression but the digital rendering takes out the depth of the frame. Its flat and useless. Rgds.

Concluding 1. Sony 2. JVC 3. Panasonic they dont play anything on DVD-RW, DVD-R, CD-R, or CD-RW On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 3:48 PM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
Ok, just to give you an example of the amount of losses in a normal digital rendering process, I've watched on HD with full screen view : my view and corrections welcome : This clip is from transformers 3 and why I'd watch on a large screen or get an original DVD for a large screen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRf01Gjosk
1) The Moon landscape feels like am playing Duke Nukem 3d many years ago, there is a lot of loss in the details.
2) Watch the faces at 0:33, they have soft textures and are again missing depth, though the camera distance was correct.
3) At 0:36, Paramount wording have lost edge details, the sceen is flat.
4) At 0:50, the scene losses are even more and soft textures, as it the camera person did not get the focus correct
5) At 0:56, the scene has lost all dept and details
6) At 1:04, you can clearly see the pixels starting to form around the Moon dust
7) At scene 1:14, it looks so lossy that the frame looks so unreal.
8) At 1:59, she has an expression but the digital rendering takes out the depth of the frame. Its flat and useless.
Rgds.
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I rest my case on proprietary digital render quailty is much more superior to that of other standards. If you buy large screens and home theatre systems, get the real value of clarity, indepth detail and professional sound out of using original DVDs, you will enjoy the experience. Anything less defeats the purpose of spending much on high quality systems and using digital garbage. Digital garbage input = Digital garbage output, defeats the viewing and sound experience. Rgds. :-)

@aki You are very right I can't deny that DVD or blue ray will not go obsolete afterall it is possible today to get music on vinly right? Though not all artists will put their music on them. I am not an audiophile but you can get audio on .flac which hardly compresses the propriety audio. It is also possible to get a download of a DVD movie as is...that the original DVD was just copied and still play it from a flash disk. Just a leymans point of view. The point I was putting across is that we are at a transitional point of how content is delivered to your big screen and HT. Can I also point out about DLNA slowly becoming a standard from mobile phones, cameras, TVs and even high end HTs with built in WiFi. Anyway not diverting from original discussion. Wash has a good solution. BTW my question wasn't answered but now I have another who and why did the first manufacturer put a record button on the compact cassette player? Then the same manufacture also sold blank cassettes to allowing end users to copy original content. Sony did quite good for anti piracy with the UMDs for the PSP. But I digress. On Dec 6, 2011 4:33 PM, "aki" <aki275@gmail.com> wrote:
I rest my case on proprietary digital render quailty is much more superior to that of other standards. If you buy large screens and home theatre systems, get the real value of clarity, indepth detail and professional sound out of using original DVDs, you will enjoy the experience. Anything less defeats the purpose of spending much on high quality systems and using digital garbage. Digital garbage input = Digital garbage output, defeats the viewing and sound experience.
Rgds. :-)
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@Brian, some imo comments inline, just amatuer stuff from me nothing serious :-) On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 5:17 PM, Brian L <lusiola@gmail.com> wrote:
@aki You are very right I can't deny that DVD or blue ray will not go obsolete afterall it is possible today to get music on vinly right? Though not all artists will put their music on them.
I believe the DVD standards will grow further as there will be better technology advancements to the materials and proprietary algorithms used to really enchance the viewing and sound experience. All this flash disk nonsense is a big step backwards and really its more to do with people who could be least bothered with retaining original quality or even technology advancements. Its a social problem.
I am not an audiophile but you can get audio on .flac which hardly compresses the propriety audio.
That word hardly means everything. For a comparison, we have no problems with Mono sound but Stereo is just another thing all together. Infact, if you listen to the local stations, you can tell how bad or good the Mono/stereo implemenattion is. I think Capital and Kiss FM are true stereo because you can hear the drums or other instruments go left-right channels on certain tracks.
It is also possible to get a download of a DVD movie as is...that the original DVD was just copied and still play it from a flash disk.
To copy, you will need to rip the format because it is not possible to take the original protected file. And ripping will take away all the enchancements and puts the file in standard formats. A very big step backwards.
Just a leymans point of view. The point I was putting across is that we are at a transitional point of how content is delivered to your big screen and HT. Can I also point out about DLNA slowly becoming a standard from mobile phones, cameras, TVs and even high end HTs with built in WiFi. Anyway not diverting from original discussion. Wash has a good solution.
@Wash has a very nice solution and its really nicely priced too. The unit is a very good file server despite its size and features. But the problem is this, all those mpeg encoders are a standard implemenation, which will really take away the viewing experience. It may not matter on a computer screen but it definately matters on large screens.
BTW my question wasn't answered but now I have another who and why did the first manufacturer put a record button on the compact cassette player? Then the same manufacture also sold blank cassettes to allowing end users to copy original content. Sony did quite good for anti piracy with the UMDs for the PSP. But I digress.
If you notice with all Radio broadcasts worldwide, whenever they are playing tracks that are fairly new or have certain content commitments, the Radio DJ will always intervene either half way or towards the end of the track. And they will also not play the entire track. The record buttons were put there so that you could create your own content but I think the internet and its social movements ( part piracy ) have created a larger problem than is necessary. They found a platform to share data that has its original creators. I guess if one is an artist, they would understand the concept more. This would be the same question as whether an ISP should allow torrent traffic to hijack its network? Rgds.

For the skeptics citing power,space and price issues, try this one on for size http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/11/cotton-candy-the-usb-sized-arm-pc-that-ru... _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/6 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@Brian, some imo comments inline, just amatuer stuff from me nothing serious :-)
On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 5:17 PM, Brian L <lusiola@gmail.com> wrote:
@aki You are very right I can't deny that DVD or blue ray will not go obsolete afterall it is possible today to get music on vinly right? Though not all artists will put their music on them.
I believe the DVD standards will grow further as there will be better technology advancements to the materials and proprietary algorithms used to really enchance the viewing and sound experience. All this flash disk nonsense is a big step backwards and really its more to do with people who could be least bothered with retaining original quality or even technology advancements. Its a social problem.
I am not an audiophile but you can get audio on .flac which hardly compresses the propriety audio.
That word hardly means everything. For a comparison, we have no problems with Mono sound but Stereo is just another thing all together. Infact, if you listen to the local stations, you can tell how bad or good the Mono/stereo implemenattion is. I think Capital and Kiss FM are true stereo because you can hear the drums or other instruments go left-right channels on certain tracks.
It is also possible to get a download of a DVD movie as is...that the original DVD was just copied and still play it from a flash disk.
To copy, you will need to rip the format because it is not possible to take the original protected file. And ripping will take away all the enchancements and puts the file in standard formats. A very big step backwards.
Just a leymans point of view. The point I was putting across is that we are at a transitional point of how content is delivered to your big screen and HT. Can I also point out about DLNA slowly becoming a standard from mobile phones, cameras, TVs and even high end HTs with built in WiFi. Anyway not diverting from original discussion. Wash has a good solution.
@Wash has a very nice solution and its really nicely priced too. The unit is a very good file server despite its size and features. But the problem is this, all those mpeg encoders are a standard implemenation, which will really take away the viewing experience. It may not matter on a computer screen but it definately matters on large screens.
BTW my question wasn't answered but now I have another who and why did the first manufacturer put a record button on the compact cassette player? Then the same manufacture also sold blank cassettes to allowing end users to copy original content. Sony did quite good for anti piracy with the UMDs for the PSP. But I digress.
If you notice with all Radio broadcasts worldwide, whenever they are playing tracks that are fairly new or have certain content commitments, the Radio DJ will always intervene either half way or towards the end of the track. And they will also not play the entire track. The record buttons were put there so that you could create your own content but I think the internet and its social movements ( part piracy ) have created a larger problem than is necessary. They found a platform to share data that has its original creators. I guess if one is an artist, they would understand the concept more. This would be the same question as whether an ISP should allow torrent traffic to hijack its network?
Rgds.
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@James that is sooo number 1 on next year's wishlist!! :)

@Haggai. For me It's been number one on this years wish list. As for price they haven't mentioned but here is a similar device for about KES 2500/= (yaani $25) http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/05/raspberry-pi-the-25-usb-sized-ubuntu-pc/ It even spots a webcam *AND HDMI OUT at 1080p.* Now who were these arguing about price and size of a living room PC? _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/6 Haggai Nyang <haggai.nyang@gmail.com>
@James that is sooo number 1 on next year's wishlist!! :) _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
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They should dish these out at schools too...kids can wear them around their necks with some protective casing ...lol. Monitors are aplenty - HDMI > VGA converters shouldn't be much of a hassle :)

@Haggai Apparently the latter one was designed for education purposes But the screens are always the problem. The best and cost effective educational computer is amazon's kindle (the black and white screen kindles) _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/6 Haggai Nyang <haggai.nyang@gmail.com>
They should dish these out at schools too...kids can wear them around their necks with some protective casing ...lol. Monitors are aplenty - HDMI
VGA converters shouldn't be much of a hassle :)
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TheMburu, sorry to say this but you gonna have to buy new gear and this time take special note of the codecs that it supports. When it comes to quality/clarity of digital content it doesn't really matter whether the coded and/or gear is proprietary or NOT. What matters is how much you are willing to trade off quality for size ad whether you have a player for the said format. Thats what it all boils down to. All codecs can be adjusted from being mathematically Lossless to varying degrees of lossyness (at rip/render time). That's why you can have a MP3 audio track at a sampling rate/bit rate of 128 KPB/s (typically 3MB for 3 mins) which sounds OK for most folks whilst another at 320 KPB/s (8-10MB) and above that sound way better than the previous and yet another at 64KPB/stha sounds whack. (most folks wouldn't tell apart audio at 128KPB/s vs 320KpB/s and higher but some of us do) Me thinks proprietary formats like MP3/mp4/avi and WMA/WMV are no better that their open counterparts like ogg vorbis, flac and MKV aka Matroska (same applies to still images). It depends on how much trade off has been made in order to fit the content into the available media (700MB CDs, 4.5GB/8GB DVDs and bluray) but then again there are claims and counter claims as to which coded provides the best size to quality ratios. (I have seen mkv flix of 13GB and 21GB and trust me they are all the HD you could dream of) The only reason proprietary formats are widespread is because hardware manufactures tend to support most of them. Its almost universal for players to play MP3/mp4/avi as oposed to ogg/flac/mkv. but I think the trend is changing and more and more manufactures are bundling all types of codecs in their hardware lest they loose out in the market. (I've seen a samsung TV that plays flv, mkv, mp3/mp4/avi/jpg but not wmv/wma from USB) me 2 cents. On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 7:21 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:
@Haggai Apparently the latter one was designed for education purposes
But the screens are always the problem. The best and cost effective educational computer is amazon's kindle (the black and white screen kindles)
_______________________________________________
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2011/12/6 Haggai Nyang <haggai.nyang@gmail.com>
They should dish these out at schools too...kids can wear them around their necks with some protective casing ...lol. Monitors are aplenty - HDMI
VGA converters shouldn't be much of a hassle :)
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Which is the Samsung model? - (I've seen a samsung TV that plays flv, mkv, mp3/mp4/avi/jpg but not wmv/wma from USB)

samsung UA46D5500RRMXL is a good example. On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 9:49 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
Which is the Samsung model? - (I've seen a samsung TV that plays flv, mkv, mp3/mp4/avi/jpg but not wmv/wma from USB) _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
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@Antony, imo. :-) Propreitary implementations fall under creation of software algorithms that completely enchance the original codec in terms of e.g. the number of passes the encoder will do in rendering. Manufacturers or propreitary systems pay licensing royalties for patented technology algorithms purely because the end result is very different from the normal standards. Take the example of H264, using the same base standard will produce some results but the software engineers who work with proprietary systems will do something else all together with them and produce really excellent results. The standards are established but the complex implementation of a particular codec is just another story all together. This link will provide an idea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Patent_licensing I think the same analogy can be applied generally in most ICT sectors. E.g. CAT6 cable is just UTP cable based on EIA/TIA standards. The manufacturers of these cables apply various enhancements to deliver quality standards. To put this to the test, compare the cheaper and more expensive cables in the market and install them, see whether you will get the results needed over length,strength, crimping, losses and interference issues. There is a big difference but the category standards are the same. And there is also a unique market for codec software engineers out there. My thots. Rgds.

@Brian, much thnks, I'll share my thots too. IMO. :-) - I don't think the DVD market is going to become obsolete at all. Propreitary mpeg implementations yield a far better and extreme high motion quality than ripped versions, or even the encoded versions running on mpeg1/2/4 that are open at certain levels. This is one reason I dislike the so called bundling of open mepg versions, they are an insult to high quality definitions that we should be getting out of large screen TVs etc. Infact, my eyes are quite sensitive to the various mpeg encoders that I'd rather not watch the program at all, than have to look at really sh.itty frame rates and pixels all over the screen. Make a comparison of what I write above, play an original propreitary format DVD and compare the same on the mpeg versions. You will see the differences immediately. - The same goes for the various audio formats and the compression rates used. If you put the original sound track and the compressed version on a system where you can tell the acoustics in high, mid, lower ranges I'm sure you would just dump the compressed versions. From the piano, to the guitar, to the vocals and to the bass. Compare these and you will realize that unless one uses a professional encoder propreitary system, the sound will be rubbish on compression. My request to you is to compare the original propreitary standards with the usual compression standards. They are a world of difference apart an thus for me I'd retain a DVD collection than move it to compression techniques that need a lot of work still. Rgds. On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 11:34 AM, Brian L <lusiola@gmail.com> wrote:
@aki I speak for myself here, but I hardly play any content straight from DVD/CD unless in my brianmobil, which I'm also hoping to upgrade to a stereo with USB slot and bluetooth.
IMO Discs as a storage to media especially video is on its death bed, just like the disc killed the tape, flash memory <http://goo.gl/j0OXS> will kill the disc. With the internet becoming more accessible and faster, things will have to change, as they did when the industry ignored napster, though its now folded.
DVD Players now also come with a USB slot, this allows you to play content straight from a flash disk or a step further format a portable HDD in FAT32 and voila.
You can now purchase a movie online, its no longer necessary/a must to buy a disc and or physical media.
If you are a downloader, the content might never get to a Disc unless you're selling (*my opinion of piracy to be discussed separately*). Only one person need buy the disc be it blueray, dvd or cd, rip and share it...the industry loses. Lets be honest here there is a larger market out there watching pirated DVDs than people who buy the genuine article.
Out of curiosity, why did the big manufacturers yield to the chinese and put a USB slot there and allow it to play certain audio, video and photos? There must be something I am missing.
I reiterate, I speak only for myself....corrections welcome.

By the way...did you all know that before Sun Microsystems divided by zero, They released the sources to their SPARC architecture and anyone with semiconductor manufacture process knowledge can build a sparc computer? _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com>
@All Service manuals are a highly guarded documentation due to industrial espionage and what have you. For some manufacturers (nokia) they divide this info into levels eg level 1,2,3,4. The higher you go the more trusted the wielder. But the most secret proprietary info will not be divulged to anyone.
@Aki. Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! I feel insulted. : ) But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it is never too difficult to determine the BCE. As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR (or S'R') Latch. (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the Physics by Abbot...remember this book?
P.S. I did not Google. I know it are fact because of my Digital Logic & Electronics Learnings!
_______________________________________________
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*
2011/12/5 aki <aki275@gmail.com>
@Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out but I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even the regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short while many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the same interest too.
On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to consumers?
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This is news. Is it still available? or did Oracle close it up again? ----- Original Message ----- | From: "James Nzomo" <kazikubwa@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Monday, December 5, 2011 9:45:59 PM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize | proprietary formats | By the way...did you all know that before Sun Microsystems divided by | zero, | They released the sources to their SPARC architecture and anyone with | semiconductor manufacture process knowledge can build a sparc | computer? | _______________________________________________ | Good judgement comes from Experience. | Most of that comes from Bad Judgement. | _______________________________________________ | 2011/12/5 James Nzomo < kazikubwa@gmail.com > | | @All | | | Service manuals are a highly guarded documentation due to | | industrial | | espionage and what have you. | | | For some manufacturers (nokia) they divide this info into levels eg | | level 1,2,3,4. | | | The higher you go the more trusted the wielder. | | | But the most secret proprietary info will not be divulged to | | anyone. | | | @Aki. | | | Boss bwana. Testing of Bipolar transistors is common knowledge jo! | | I | | feel insulted. : ) | | | But if you realy demand i answer....with 2 back to back diodes it | | is | | never too difficult to determine the BCE. | | | As for the switching... a good transistor implementation of an SR | | (or | | S'R') Latch. | | | (Or a simple common astable multiviber) <- I first saw this in the | | Physics by Abbot...remember this book? | | | P.S. I did not Google. I know it are fact because of my Digital | | Logic | | & Electronics Learnings! | | | _______________________________________________ | | | Good judgement comes from Experience. | | | Most of that comes from Bad Judgement. | | | _______________________________________________ | | | 2011/12/5 aki < aki275@gmail.com > | | | | @Steve, @TheMburu, I don't think they give schematic diagrams out | | | but | | | I think there is process where one can buy through Japan or even | | | the | | | regional representatives. When I worked with them for a short | | | while | | | many years ago, the diagrams did not reveal the processor details | | | but had depth details like scope patterns etc for the processors | | | pinouts. I can tell you it is extremely complex but creates the | | | same | | | interest too. | | | | | | On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 8:51 PM, Steve Obbayi < steve@sobbayi.com | | | > | | | wrote: | | | | | | | By the way @Aki does sony avail their circuit diagrams to | | | | consumers? | | | | | | | | | _______________________________________________ | | | | | | Skunkworks mailing list | | | | | | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | | | | | | ------------ | | | | | | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | | | | | | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | | | | | | ------------ | | | | | | Skunkworks Rules | | | | | | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | | | | | | ------------ | | | | | | Other services @ http://my.co..ke | | | | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

@Steve lol. The barriers are guan. He will have a veeeeery difficult time prototyping with the player's surfacemount μCs & other components. Secondly Sony will most definitely use their own custom μCs that have very little if any useful supporting documentation available to the public. Couple all that with a possible steep learning curve and the threat of legal action<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment_America_v._George_Hotz> and it will be clear that all that trouble just to play excluded formats on the HT will not be worth it. _______________________________________________ *Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ * * 2011/12/5 Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com>
Ok not sure about this particular device but depending on the type of microcontroller used for playback you may have to program the codecs right into it. unfortunately some microcontrollers are read only but thats is debatable. The other option is get a compatible generic microcontroller and program into it. The programming tools (usually in Assembler)are in most cases provided free from the hardware manufacturer but again it depends. once you've programmed the microcontroller then remove the one there and replace with the one you've just programmed. (You will need a solder gun and a screw driver for this). If you cant do what is mentioned above then get hold of the nearest computer engineer or electrical engineer to sort you out :) The good news is am sure there is an easier way around this
------------------------------
*From: *"TheMburu George" <themburu@gmail.com> *To: *"Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> *Sent: *Monday, December 5, 2011 7:50:34 PM *Subject: *[Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize proprietary formats
Hey Skunks
Got a sony home theater (DAV 610) that does not play some video formats except AVI and VOB on dvd, it does not recognize anything except mp3 file on USB drive. Is there any place or a way to fix this or enable it to support this format.
Ideas,,, suggestions
./TheMburu -- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.
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@James, sideline to this thread: Sony spend a lot of time on research and development of processors, thus the data will not be available. This goes for all chip designers, and yes you can never have the access to those diagrams either. Am still waiting for the socialist movements world to engineer even the oldest computer processor known. A question to you, out of interest: How do you tell the difference between a npn and pnp transistors and how would you determine the base, collector and emitter of a simple transistor. Once you determine the 3 items, how would they connect to a voltage source for e.g. switching a current or voltage source. This is like really really old school. No google pls. :-) Rgds. 2011/12/5 James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com>
@Steve lol. The barriers are guan.
He will have a veeeeery difficult time prototyping with the player's surfacemount μCs & other components. Secondly Sony will most definitely use their own custom μCs that have very little if any useful supporting documentation available to the public. Couple all that with a possible steep learning curve and the threat of legal action<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment_America_v._George_Hotz> and it will be clear that all that trouble just to play excluded formats on the HT will not be worth it.

And to you question the difference between pnp and npn transistor is the polarity of the emitter node. The other two are collector and base ----- Original Message ----- | From: "aki" <aki275@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Monday, December 5, 2011 8:50:20 PM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize | proprietary formats | @James, sideline to this thread: Sony spend a lot of time on research | and development of processors, thus the data will not be available. | This goes for all chip designers, and yes you can never have the | access to those diagrams either. Am still waiting for the socialist | movements world to engineer even the oldest computer processor | known. | A question to you, out of interest: How do you tell the difference | between a npn and pnp transistors and how would you determine the | base, collector and emitter of a simple transistor. Once you | determine the 3 items, how would they connect to a voltage source | for e.g. switching a current or voltage source. This is like really | really old school. No google pls. :-) | Rgds. | 2011/12/5 James Nzomo < kazikubwa@gmail.com > | | @Steve lol. The barriers are guan. | | | He will have a veeeeery difficult time prototyping with the | | player's | | surfacemount μCs & other components. | | | Secondly Sony will most definitely use their own custom μCs that | | have | | very little if any useful supporting documentation available to the | | public. | | | Couple all that with a possible steep learning curve and the threat | | of legal action and it will be clear that a ll that trouble just to | | play excluded formats on the HT will not be worth it. | | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

@Steve, nice. How much has changed today? 770million transistors in a core i7 processor, and we still have not fully harnessed its capacity at desktop level. I'd love to see the size of the schematic diagram of just the processor. It would easily fit the entire parking space in a shopping mall. :-)) Ok, now I need to stop here.. Rgds. On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:00 PM, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote:
And to you question the difference between pnp and npn transistor is the polarity of the emitter node. The other two are collector and base

@James. : youtube on transistor testing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsJXFLnA62s&feature=related . This may also interest you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSzVs7_aW-Y&feature=related Rgds. :-)

Lol nice one. I dont think you can view those schematics in their entirety. Maybe a couple hundred transistors. Last year the guys from nvidia imrpessed me with their 3.2 billion transistor GeForce GTX 480 GPU. But it was short lived though if am not wrong some field programmable gate arrays have passed that mark ----- Original Message ----- | From: "aki" <aki275@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Monday, December 5, 2011 9:18:35 PM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize | proprietary formats | @Steve, nice. How much has changed today? 770million transistors in a | core i7 processor, and we still have not fully harnessed its | capacity at desktop level. I'd love to see the size of the schematic | diagram of just the processor. It would easily fit the entire | parking space in a shopping mall. :-)) | Ok, now I need to stop here.. | Rgds. | On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:00 PM, Steve Obbayi < steve@sobbayi.com > | wrote: | | And to you question the difference between pnp and npn transistor | | is | | the polarity of the emitter node. The other two are collector and | | base | | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

Hey All in all I want to have the damn thing play all formats like other LG stuff, i dont want to integrate the PC anymore (sound is not as good as playback from the HT itself). Now that said I wish I could share the circuit diagram but I have never opened it, where can I get a person to do it, visited sony center and were unwilling to assist? @Aki you seem you can crack this stuff!! ./TheMburu 2011/12/5 James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com>
@Steve lol. The barriers are guan.
He will have a veeeeery difficult time prototyping with the player's surfacemount μCs & other components. Secondly Sony will most definitely use their own custom μCs that have very little if any useful supporting documentation available to the public. Couple all that with a possible steep learning curve and the threat of legal action<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment_America_v._George_Hotz> and it will be clear that all that trouble just to play excluded formats on the HT will not be worth it.
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*Good judgement comes from Experience.* *Most of that comes from Bad Judgement.* _______________________________________________ *
*
2011/12/5 Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com>
Ok not sure about this particular device but depending on the type of microcontroller used for playback you may have to program the codecs right into it. unfortunately some microcontrollers are read only but thats is debatable. The other option is get a compatible generic microcontroller and program into it. The programming tools (usually in Assembler)are in most cases provided free from the hardware manufacturer but again it depends. once you've programmed the microcontroller then remove the one there and replace with the one you've just programmed. (You will need a solder gun and a screw driver for this). If you cant do what is mentioned above then get hold of the nearest computer engineer or electrical engineer to sort you out :) The good news is am sure there is an easier way around this
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*From: *"TheMburu George" <themburu@gmail.com> *To: *"Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> *Sent: *Monday, December 5, 2011 7:50:34 PM *Subject: *[Skunkworks] Enable Sony Home Theatre play and recognize proprietary formats
Hey Skunks
Got a sony home theater (DAV 610) that does not play some video formats except AVI and VOB on dvd, it does not recognize anything except mp3 file on USB drive. Is there any place or a way to fix this or enable it to support this format.
Ideas,,, suggestions
./TheMburu -- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.
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_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Conservatism is the adherence to the old tried against the new untried.
participants (13)
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aki
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Anthony Lenya
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Brian L
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Dennis Kioko
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Haggai Nyang
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James Nzomo
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Joseph Maina
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ndungu stephen
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Odhiambo Washington
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Peter Karunyu
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Steve Obbayi
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TheMburu George
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ty