Well, Christmas 2013 is nearly upon us.
It has been an interesting year. A lot has happened in the world in general, and in technology.
2014 promises to bring more; I am particularly interested in what Ubuntu do next year with their Touch OS, and I will be keeping an eye on Firefox too.
The new generation of consoles will have time to settle down, and we might start to see some games that really start to take advantage of the extra processing and graphical power. Some new Wii U games would be welcome too, I fancy some Mario Kart Wii U.
Valve will launch its new Steam machines officially, and we can start to see how that will all work, and what it will all cost too. I'd like to join in the fun but unfortunately I need better hardware or a steambox and neither are likely to happen anytime soon! However, I will continue to look in with interest.
It will also be interesting to see what direction Google take with Android, and Google TV, and a European Chromecast launch is a guarantee, just a matter of when.
So, for those of you that read this, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year!
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Plex, Chromecast and streaming movies (and TV)
Finally, finally, the Chromecast supports Plex.
For those of you unfamiliar with Plex is an a brilliant media server that allows content to be streamed to PCs initially, but now all manner of devices.
It allows full control over the content, and when and where you can stream to. It provides artwork automatically and matches the media (with very good results usually) so it can then provide further information on the film/TV show/etc.
So for those of us that want to have our media (DVDs for example) physically still it is a great solution. (I am a bit old-fashioned I suppose, and I like to possess a physical copy of the DVD. It means I will always have that film/show regardless of what might happen with the Internet and streaming services for example. This doesn't apply to CDs and music I purchase - these are always digital downloads for me, but the difference is you can permanently download this to a PC and burn a disk for safekeeping). Obviously you will need to be able to rip and encode DVDs. I use DVD Shrink (or DVD Fab when this fails) and encode with Handbrake.
I have been using Plex for a while, but I really wanted an easy way to stream to a TV, or a device wherever it may happen to be. And now Chromecast has filled this gap.
I can now connect to my library wherever I happen to be, and stream content via the Chromecast. In practice this means at home, but I could take the device anywhere it is so portable. The quality is excellent (though obviously is reliant on your own hardware and internet connection). Controlling what to stream is so easy, all the content easily viewable on a device (phone, tablet, etc) and then send it to the TV. Excellent.
So Chromecast is really starting to be genuinely useful for me now. I look forward to more apps to be added to the growing list of those with Chromecast support.
For those of you unfamiliar with Plex is an a brilliant media server that allows content to be streamed to PCs initially, but now all manner of devices.
It allows full control over the content, and when and where you can stream to. It provides artwork automatically and matches the media (with very good results usually) so it can then provide further information on the film/TV show/etc.
So for those of us that want to have our media (DVDs for example) physically still it is a great solution. (I am a bit old-fashioned I suppose, and I like to possess a physical copy of the DVD. It means I will always have that film/show regardless of what might happen with the Internet and streaming services for example. This doesn't apply to CDs and music I purchase - these are always digital downloads for me, but the difference is you can permanently download this to a PC and burn a disk for safekeeping). Obviously you will need to be able to rip and encode DVDs. I use DVD Shrink (or DVD Fab when this fails) and encode with Handbrake.
I have been using Plex for a while, but I really wanted an easy way to stream to a TV, or a device wherever it may happen to be. And now Chromecast has filled this gap.
I can now connect to my library wherever I happen to be, and stream content via the Chromecast. In practice this means at home, but I could take the device anywhere it is so portable. The quality is excellent (though obviously is reliant on your own hardware and internet connection). Controlling what to stream is so easy, all the content easily viewable on a device (phone, tablet, etc) and then send it to the TV. Excellent.
So Chromecast is really starting to be genuinely useful for me now. I look forward to more apps to be added to the growing list of those with Chromecast support.
Monday, 2 December 2013
Steam and the future of PC gaming
This weekend I decided to hook up my aging Dell PC to my TV and AV system, and see what it is like to use Steam, and the "Big Screen" mode.
I have been a member of Steam for some time - I joined when my interest in PC gaming had been piqued by some great offers on decent games, plus and interest in the Steam service, how it worked and what it offered. This was initially to see what would run on a Linux PC (Ubuntu), but I have progressed (or regressed?!) to Windows to try linking to the TV. Perhaps I should also try booting into Linux (the machine is set up to dual boot) and see how that works on the big screen?
Anyway, all this talk of "Steam OS" and the steam boxes in development I thought I would revisit a system that might actually have a chance against the Microsoft/Sony dominated console market. I don't mention the Wii U as I see it more as a niche machine (though I rate it, sadly I see it being swept away by the tsunami that is Xbox One and PS4).
So after digging around for some cables, I found a DVI to HDMI (previous used with a Raspberry Pi, but that is another story) and hooked it up to my Denon AV system. This was very easy, and the PC does offer a great diversity of services, internet, streaming and music, that easily matches any console. I have only stereo sound as my PC does not support sound over HDMI (as it is DVI to HDMI) and I don't have a decent sound card.
So I fired up Steam, and soon was running in full screen mode. This looks good, and offers up the store as well as your library of games. Loading games was simple, although it would be nice to have a more integrated experience when the games start.
I have an Xbox controller that worked well with Trine 2, though the PC itself was unable to run this properly. Damn. Oh well, worth a try. However, what I really wanted to try, EVE, worked a treat (though I am still trying to figure out how to make the fonts bigger as they are pretty small on a large TV). I had to set video to all the lowest settings to run, but was still a good experience. Armed with a wireless mouse and bluetooth keyboard I was off, and it was a good experience.
Now the games themselves in Steam are a steal. They have great sales and the games are available immediately. And they are decent games too. Origin offer a similar service, I bought Sim City (but unfortunately my PC couldn't handle it!!) which is good too, and a hooked up PC to a TV offers numerous services without having to buy new hardware. This is why I think PCs are to experience a resurgence, maybe in the form of small-factor upgradable PCs with modular parts. The Steam boxes sound interesting, and I'll be looking out for progress on that next year.
So all in all, a good test and now I have another useable games machine (just) that can do a lot more besides.
I have been a member of Steam for some time - I joined when my interest in PC gaming had been piqued by some great offers on decent games, plus and interest in the Steam service, how it worked and what it offered. This was initially to see what would run on a Linux PC (Ubuntu), but I have progressed (or regressed?!) to Windows to try linking to the TV. Perhaps I should also try booting into Linux (the machine is set up to dual boot) and see how that works on the big screen?
Anyway, all this talk of "Steam OS" and the steam boxes in development I thought I would revisit a system that might actually have a chance against the Microsoft/Sony dominated console market. I don't mention the Wii U as I see it more as a niche machine (though I rate it, sadly I see it being swept away by the tsunami that is Xbox One and PS4).
So after digging around for some cables, I found a DVI to HDMI (previous used with a Raspberry Pi, but that is another story) and hooked it up to my Denon AV system. This was very easy, and the PC does offer a great diversity of services, internet, streaming and music, that easily matches any console. I have only stereo sound as my PC does not support sound over HDMI (as it is DVI to HDMI) and I don't have a decent sound card.
So I fired up Steam, and soon was running in full screen mode. This looks good, and offers up the store as well as your library of games. Loading games was simple, although it would be nice to have a more integrated experience when the games start.
I have an Xbox controller that worked well with Trine 2, though the PC itself was unable to run this properly. Damn. Oh well, worth a try. However, what I really wanted to try, EVE, worked a treat (though I am still trying to figure out how to make the fonts bigger as they are pretty small on a large TV). I had to set video to all the lowest settings to run, but was still a good experience. Armed with a wireless mouse and bluetooth keyboard I was off, and it was a good experience.
Now the games themselves in Steam are a steal. They have great sales and the games are available immediately. And they are decent games too. Origin offer a similar service, I bought Sim City (but unfortunately my PC couldn't handle it!!) which is good too, and a hooked up PC to a TV offers numerous services without having to buy new hardware. This is why I think PCs are to experience a resurgence, maybe in the form of small-factor upgradable PCs with modular parts. The Steam boxes sound interesting, and I'll be looking out for progress on that next year.
So all in all, a good test and now I have another useable games machine (just) that can do a lot more besides.
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