For a long time I had resisted converting my DVD and Blu-Ray disks into any other format because I didn't want to lose any quality.  I had lived by this rule for a long time, and thankfully companies like QNAP and Thecus came to my storage rescue.  However, the day has come where the cost of storing all the extra garbage that comes along with these movies has opened my eyes to benefits conversions.  With that, I have began converting my movie collection to a format that allows me to lose all the excess fat, but keep my movie loss-less.

With the conversion to MKV, a new dilemma has plagued my media canter, Windows Media Center in Windows 7 does not natively support recognizing or playing back videos in this format.  Luckily, there are few things we can do to rectify this issue; allowing us to take advantage of the format and still maintain all the functionality we have been used to from WMC.

Step 1.  Installing a codec pack. 

There has been much debate about codec packs and having them on your system, however, I have not found any other way to get things working properly without them.  Some are of the opinion that FFDShow (Tryouts) will be all that you need to get things working, however, in my home, this simply has not worked very well.  Lately, I have been using Shark007 on all my HTPC's and I am not disappointed in the least.

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There is no doubt that the HTPC enthusiast has some options when looking for a chassis to fill the void in their entertainment center.  It seems like so many of the options are either too small, too big, to ugly, or too expensive.  With that in mind, SilverStone has stepped up their game.  SilverStone is no slouch when it comes to manufacturing high quality computer components and with the introduction of the GD06, the company is trying to shake up the HTPC chassis market a bit.

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I have news for you, the days of large computers taking up your desk, floor, or entertainment center are long gone.  A lot of case manufacturers have made good money making small form factor PC enclosures and the seeming limited motherboard supply is catching up.  Some PC manufacturers have already started to take advantage of the newer technology and have released products that not only perform on par with today's standard desktops, they look great and they take up very little space too.  Low Carbon PC aims to take this one step further by putting together eco-friendly systems that use little power but deliver big on performance, while looking rather stylish at the same time.  If Low Carbon PC is able to deliver on all of these, then your trips to the computer store to buy individual components may be coming to an end.

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Face it, most of us like the idea of having an HTPC (Home Theater PC) hooked up to our TV.  The flexibility we get with an HTPC over just a DVD player or a gaming console is enough alone to justify the cost.  I have built a bunch of these for people and until recently, I have never used pre-built systems.  There are many advantages to building a custom machine for your theater, but the biggest disadvantage is the cost.  Lately, I have been using Small Form Factor (SFF) HP's and believe it or not... they make great HTPC's.

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Ok, so my days of wandering through Microcenter's Apple area pondering whether to buy a NEW Mac Mini are over.  It was a short lived dream... or nightmare; I haven't figured that out yet.  Apple almost had me until Shuttle announced its XS35 at Computex this year.  (more...)

Open mouth, insert foot! Ok, after years of being one to point out plenty of Mac problems and faults to everyone I know, I have finally found a reason to buy one.   I have been building and using HTPC's for years and it took some time to find the hardware and software I was comfortable with.  Setting things up like my iMon Remote proved to be fun, but useless.  The hardware, the OS, and all that stuff cost me nearly the same price as the new Mac.  So, what has changed? (more...)