Does Roku mean less blogging? Less running? More time spent motionless, with remote in hand? It sure could, if I let it happen. Roku’s Netflix player is fan-tab-u-lous! It’s limited only by the content that Netflix makes available. (But note: I have 20 Mbps FiOS, so 2-5 Mbps for Netflix Watch Instantly isn’t a big deal, and WiFi reception is excellent, according to the Roku.) I see that none of the various videos on CNet, YouTube, etc., demonstrating the Roku are from a direct video capture. I’ll try to make one.
Category: Tech
Stuck between a Roku and a soft place
My buddy Dennis and I agree that “Leave it to be Beaver” is one of the best, if not the best, TV show ever made. Years ago, I told Dennis, in a hopeful tone, that someday the entire library of “Beaver” episodes, all six seasons, would be available online for viewing anytime. Well, that day is here — well, almost. A few episodes, for reasons unknown, are available only on disc. But the funny thing about that is, only the first two seasons have been released on DVD. Anyway, thanks to the amazing Roku Netflix player, I can watch Beav’ and lots of other neat stuff while sitting on the porch couch, looking at the 32-inch Sony, instead of sitting in front of the computer.
The Roku Netflix player is, for $100 (plus shipping), the single best deal in existence — assuming you already have a Netflix subscription. It installed easily, the WiFi reception is excellent, and I could say a lot more, but I’ve got to get back to watching more of the Cleavers. Gosh… there’s Cheryl Holdridge as Wally’s sometimes girlfriend, Julie…
Rockin’ Roku
Netflix Watch Instantly may not yet be DVD quality, and the selection is limited, but it works, and it’s watchable. And now that I’ve seen Netflix on the Xbox 360 with the video projector, I’ve got to have it (well, OK, I *want* it) on the porch’s 10-year-old TV. So I’ve ordered a Roku. I should have it Monday.
Man does not live by blog alone…
Daniel Lyons, the professional writer and editor who, for a time, was the blogging Fake Steve Jobs, has a column in Newsweek for everybody who ever thought they could make a living by blogging.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183666
DogRat is a hobby. I’m not selling anything, there’s no advertising, and I have absolutely no expectation of the blog being anything more than an expense and time waster. For that matter, I don’t focus on any one thing, like the popular weblogs devoted to mining every minute bit of detail about a single subject. For me, DogRat is purely a vanity outlet.
Besides the single-subject blogs, I think the single-author blogs that work the best are the ones used to promote whatever it is the author really does for a living — cartoonists Jimmy Johnson and Scott Adams, and writers Mark Evanier and Brian Sibley, for example. Beyond those, the really big blogs, as Lyons says, “aren’t really blogs — they’re media companies that happen to feature, among other things, the work of some bloggers.”
Relax and float downstreaming
Netflix has a real winner with its Watch Instantly service, now that it uses the Xbox 360 as a set top box. With my FiOS Internet bandwidth of 20 Mbps — better than any other home Internet service — it wouldn’t be wise for Netflix to send HD content at its 19 Mbps maximum, as is seen with FiOS TV, so compression artifacts are apparent. SD material also has more noise than DVD, but it looks good enough, it plays smoothly, and being able to watch old Star Trek episodes on demand is something I’ve long wished for. Right now season 1 is online. I recorded a bit of “Shore Leave” off of the projection screen with my digital camera. Keep in mind the picture is about 70 inches diagonal.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/FEB/ShoreLeave.flv 480 360]
And just for fun, here’s the same AVI source file converted to MP4 format instead of FLV. The contrast and color in MP4 more accurately reflect what the Panasonic PT-AX200U put on the movie screen, and it handles fast changes between frames much better than FLV, but you’ll need Adobe Flash 9 or higher to watch it.
[MEDIA=21]
… all the livelong day
A while ago in a comment, Cactus Lizzie said I know a lot about computers. Actually, I don’t. But one thing that I do know is what’s in this training video. I chopped off the end a bit, because it gets into something I don’t need at work, but the rest of it I understand and use often.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/JAN/CLARiiON.flv 440 330]