In previous columns (published in PC Alamode) have been devoted to purchasing, and assembling from scratch, a 2nd generation computer designed to be a working man’s Multi-Media enjoyment PC. We’re not talking about a full blown HP 883N or 792 Media Center PC with a 2.66 Ghz Pentium 4, 115 GB hard drive, and CD-RW/DVD+RW super combo drive, with 2 FireWire and 6 USB2 connections and Microsoft’s new Media Center software for two grand plus monitor. Or even an ABS Media Center PC 8400. Or a Sony Vaio PCV-RZ 16G. No, I’m thinkin’ to ease into this unknown sea of convergence working from what I enjoy in my computer right now, and expand slowly into the over-hyped and under-engineered promises of the future. Besides, many of the needed components are not built yet because the greedy buggers are all hoping to hit it big in the copyright lottery.
To review – equipment planned and purchased: 19" monitor (LG Studioworks 995E - $200), 4X AGP video card w/video out (ATI Radeon 7000 4X AGP - $45), KT400 motherboard w/USB2 and FireWire (ASUS A7V8X, 333 FSB, RAID, 6.1 audio, 6 USB2, 2 FireWire, 2 Serial ATA, UDMA-133 - $131), AMD CPU (AMD XP 2100+ 1.73 GHz w/fan - $99), fast 70GB drive (Maxtor 7200 ATA-133 - $70), and 512 MB RAM (OC System PC3200 w/heat spdr - $162), mid-tower case - 350W supply (Amenity mid-tower, 350 watts - $49), video capture/play card w/PVR (I/O Magic TV personal video recorder addon - $10).
I also wanted the following capability: The best operating system for the Media Monster is the toughest problem. Most of the big name computer makers have licensed Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition. (Not available to the little people.) Windows XP Professional with Windows Media Player 9 would seem to be the next choice, but the heavy handed proprietary controls make it impossible to make archive or compilation copies of your CDs. A dual boot setup of WinXP Pro and Win98SE is currently the most promising alternative. Since this step is loaded with component incompatibility land-mines, more on that little adventure in a later column. A DVD burner, but have decided to wait for the price to come down to around $100 and that it burns DVD±R and DVD±RW. Also the burn speeds are increasing every few months and format times are getting shorter. If you think you want a DVD burner to make copies of DVD movies, or record movies from digital cable or satellite, forget it! Ain’t gonna happen. Sure, you can buy DVD Xcopy right now for $78. And you might even learn how to make it work with some nifty utilities (after burning DVD coasters at 2 to 15 bucks each). So, what’s a DVD burner good for? Beats me! The blue laser and multi-layer burners that will handle hi-definition TV should be out by next Christmas, but the prices will only appeal to the early adopters.
An HD-TV tuner card - They are still fighting over whether to include satellite and cable decoding. Digital broadcast will never be available for us country folks. To watch HD movies over Dish TV cost $500 for the receiver and $5 a pop for the movie. I don’t think so.
I still have reservations about playing DVD movies on a computer. Will it ever be the best option? The DVD player, with digital connection to my digital receiver driving 7 speakers, and someday, with a digital monitor, is going to be hard to beat. The computer’s a great controller, but it’s noisy and is a lousy amplifier.
I picked up some great bargains at CompUSA. Since software will have to augment the operating system and cover all the different capabilities I desire to use, it’s going to be an interesting search. I got my new video tuner/capture card and personal video recorder software (for $10 after rebate) that will record any analog RF source (TV, satellite, DVD player or VCR) to the hard disk. It can really create some big files in MPEG2. I also found the neatest picture album program. Dazzle OnDVD (again for $10 after rebate) will load your jpg or bmp pictures on a time line. Then you can mix them up, set how long each individual picture will display, and add music. The photo album can then be burned to a CD and played on DVD players that play CD-R/RWs and video CDs. A simple elegant way to sort, store, share, and show your pictures.
I’m still puzzled over using the computer as a music servo. Sure, I can put hundreds of songs on my drives, but I have to have a program to manage them. Windows Media Player 9 is probably the most versatile, but undoubtedly the most over powering option.
I lost all trust in Microsoft when they came out with WindowsXP. They went from providing a fast way to accomplish a task, to controlling my behavior. The Windows Media Player 9 (WMP9) is an excellent example. It has great capability, but demands complete authority over all your audio and video actions. IBM went down the tubes many years ago because their greedy managers decided to set all the computer industry standards to "proprietary interest."
BillG and his crew at the campus that greed built have lost focus of what the computer really is. It is, and always was, a mental aerobics trainer. It’s not like a toaster with a predefined function. It is a means to use your mind, learn to think and explore life. But I digress.
Of the last three Windows Media players I have loaded, I tried to coexist with, but finally dispatched them to the bit bucket. I still have MusicMatch 7.5 loaded, but cannot trust it, and will soon send it on its way. If you do MP3’s, you need a juke box to control them. I don’t like MP3’s or WMA’s. I like CD quality sound. My whole life has been a search for better quality sound. From 78’s to 45’s to 33’s to hi-fi and then stereo, to 8-track and cassette tape (a step back), and finally to reel-to-reel tape, quadraphonic sound and, then 20 years ago, CD. Microsoft gave us the WAV file and Windows 98SE, and if they never do anything else right, I will always be grateful.
Through all this rambling, the point I’m trying to make is, when you build a computer, it should be a reflection of your hopes and desires. It’s an individual effort that only has to make sense to you and what you want to do with it. So enjoy every minute. Later articles in this series will explore each facet of the Cheapo Media Monster.
Audio Encoding
While most of us are familiar with the progression of video codec’s - MPEG-1 (Video CD) to MPEG-2 (DVD) and MPEG-4 (DiVX), most computer folks who dally with audio (aka music) are wallowing in MP3 (which is really MPEG-1, layer 3). Now it’s been about ten years since Fraunhofer devised a codec to reduce a Microsoft wav file to about a tenth of its original size while still sounding somewhat like the original music. MP3 has become the popular standard.
But you know the coders have been working furiously to devise a codec that will provide a better sounding encoded file while reducing the size of the file. If you read Derek’s article, "Nero MPEG-4/AAC Plug-in" you might get the impression that MPEG-4/AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is ready for primetime, and Nero has included it in their latest update. If you are familiar with Nero, you know they keep the price of their software reasonable by including a sample of codecs (like MP3) with a use limit. You send them some money to cover the copyright fee if you desire to continue to use it. I like the concept. You don’t have to pay extra for something you don’t use.
Anyway, continuing to use MPEG-4/AAC will cost you $15. If you use Nero, and everyone should, check it out. Also, check out the new NeroMix and Nero Vision Express software. There’s no doubt in my mind who is leading the research parade, and gives you the most capability.
The DVD Zoo
Phillips announced the development of a new chipset that will do 8X DVD burning of DVD+R and 4X DVD+RW. The 4X DVD-R just came out, and that takes about 15 minutes to write a disc. I don’t think that includes time for formatting or terminating the disc. The original DVD burn rate of 1X is 1,250 kilobytes per second or about equal to 8X CD burning. So, an 8X DVD burn will take about the same data flow as a 64X CD burn. I’m not aware of any PC that will support that right now. Stay tuned.
DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD War
Just when it looked like the battle over the new hi-def audio formats was sliding heavily to Super Audio CD (SACD) because they can be played on existing CD players, the DVD-Audio folks have announced future releases will be playable on existing CD players. Initially, they plan to use a dual sided disc with red book CD audio on one side and DVD-Audio and video on the other side. But does anyone really care? Does anyone really expect to listen to that quality of music on a computer rig?
Fight for Fair Use
David Coursey, the Editor at AnchorDesk on ZDNet, has written an important article titled "Fight for Your Right to Copy Music, Movies." It’s a basic plea to get involved with your elected representative in the fight over Fair Use. Either get involved, or lose your rights when the entertainment industry wins the battle to wipe out the Fair Use Doctrine. Without Fair Use, it will be illegal to make an archive copy of a CD if anything is copyrighted, and now that a copyright lasts "life plus 70" years, everything is copyrighted. Check it out.
A New Wrinkle in Peer-to-Peer
While smoozing the ZDNET News, something really caught my eye. Declan McCullagh wrote a little commentary titled "Hey, You! The Unindicted Federal Felon". If that doesn’t get your attention, his opening statement should. "If you’ve ever used a peer-to-peer network and swapped copyrighted files, chances are pretty good you’re guilty of a federal felony." Wowser! There’s more. "Be warned - you’re what prosecutors like to think of as an unindicted federal felon." Seems then-President Bill Clinton signed into law the No Electronic Theft Act (NET) that makes peer-to-peer pirates liable for $250,000 in fines and prison terms of up to three years in the federal guesthouse. The operative phrase is "The NET Act covers people who willfully participate in the ‘reproduction or distribution’ of copyrighted works without permission, when that activity is not covered by Fair Use rights." Last year, 19 Senators and Representatives sent a letter to the Attorney General asking for enforcement and a Deputy Assistant AG responded – he’s on the case. So, to me at least, the message is clear: If you have been doing P2P software, music, or movies, and you wish to remain unindicted, it’s time to stop - NOW! Might want to read the article.
As always, send your burning questions to Dale at dales65@att.net.
