Guide: How to turn an old PC into a media centre
For years, Microsoft has been trying to convince us that we need to have not just a PC in the living room to serve up our media, but a full-blown installation of Windows too.
Both Intel and AMD have joined the fray – Intel with Viiv (the brand that no one knew how to pronounce), and AMD with its Live! initiative.
Despite all the marketing dollars spent on these ideas, they've been almost universally unpopular for a few simple reasons. First of all, most people don't want a modern high-powered PC, with all the noise they usually make, in the living room.
Much as we would like to, we won't be sidestepping this aspect in this tutorial; unfortunately, you'll still need a fairly decent PC.
Second, having a PC next to your TV or stereo means that you can't really use it as a standard PC. Trying to run standard applications on a TV screen will make you myopic in an instant, while watching movies on anything under a 24in widescreen monitor in your living room is a very unsatisfying experience.
Last but not least, the incredibly long boot times of your average Windows install make a mockery of any sort of instant-on concept.
XBMC – which was originally an app for the first-generation Xbox known as the Xbox Media Center – has become one of those annoying recursive acronyms so common in the world of software: it's now the XBMC Media Centre.
Despite the name, it's a very capable cross-platform, opensource application that will meet all of your media centre needs. Although it comes in versions for Linux, Windows, and OS X, we're going to look at the Live version.
It can be run from CD or installed onto your hard drive, and it is built around its own self contained operating system.
Get the software
1. First, head over to here and download the Live CD image. It will arrive as a ZIP file, so you'll need to extract it once it's been downloaded.
Inside the ZIP file you'll find the ISO image, a Readme file and two other files. The file named 'installXBMC FromISO.sh' is a script file that can be used to install XBMC in a Linux environment, so unless you intend to do that, ignore it.
Use your standard disc-burning software to make a bootable image from the 'XBMCLive.iso' file and, once you're finished, plonk the disc in the drive of your old computer.
Run the Live CD
2. Before you do anything else, you'll need to change the BIOS settings of the PC that you are going to use as the media centre so that it boots from CD. To do this, press the appropriate key – such as [Del] or [F1] – when the computer starts to enter the BIOS settings, and then go to the Boot section.
After you've made the appropriate changes, make sure you save them before exiting. When you restart, the PC should run the Live CD and show a Boot menu with various options, including choosing the GPU, running in Safe mode and an option to install to your hard drive.
For now, either select your GPU or allow the system to boot to the Live CD automatically. While running the Live CD enables you to get a feel for the application, any settings you change will be lost the next time you reboot, so you're best off installing to your hard drive once you're sure you like what you see.
Install XBMC
3. To install, reboot your machine and choose the last menu option, 'Install XBMCLive to disk (USB or HDD)'. Some older PCs don't support booting from USB devices, in which case you'll have to go with an internal drive.
Be careful here: installation will completely wipe all information from your hard drive, so make sure it doesn't contain anything important before you proceed. Fixed disks must be larger than 5GB, while USB sticks need to have at least 1.5GB of usable capacity.
You'll need to designate the drive you are installing to. If it's a single fixed drive, this will be Drive 1. You'll also need to confirm that you want to install to a fixed disk rather than removable drive as well as entering a password. The install process takes about 10 minutes. After it's finished, remove the Live CD and reboot.
Access your media
4. Rather than a media centre – where your content is stored locally – XBMC is more of a 'media extender', in that it is designed to fetch media across a network from shared folders, NAS drives and other UPnP devices. You can use local folders, but this works best if you installed XBMC in Linux or Windows.
If you didn't do this, you'll either need to set up a network share on another computer on the network or use a removable hard drive or DVD drive. To set a folder's source, click on the media category – say, for instance, 'Video'. Right-click on the 'Videos' link on the next screen and choose 'Edit Source'.
Click 'Browse' and have a look for the shared folder. If necessary, enter a username and password for protected shares. Once this is done you can either add a new shared location using the 'Add' source button, or move on to the next category.
When playing video, moving the mouse to the bottom-left corner of the screen will bring up a Playback menu. Press the [Esc] key to go back up the menu levels.
Add extra features
5. As well as playing back your media collection, XBMC can retrieve weather information, run scripts and be customised with different themes and skins.
If you fancy being able to access forecasts, click 'Weather | Settings | Region' and change the region to 'UK' and the time zone to 'Britain'. You will now be able to enter your location in the Weather section and receive local weather forecasts.
Now go back to the main menu screen and click on 'Settings'. Here you can tweak the defaults for video, music and pictures, as well as editing things like your network settings and autoplay.
Clicking the power icon will bring up a new menu from which you can eject discs from the optical drive, shut down, reboot or enter Suspend mode. The only thing left to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
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Review: HD Digitech HDX-1000
The HD Digitech HDX-1000 is probably the nearest thing I've seen yet to a cinephile-grade multimedia streamer.
Unlike practically every other networkable box on the market, its construction is superb. Styled like the Mac Mini, it features a heavy aluminium alloy chassis that inspires confidence and contains hard drive operational noise.
Like others of its ilk, the HDX-1000 is designed to sit on a network and hooks-up directly to your TV, or your AV receiver, via HDMI or legacy connections. It generally ships without a hard drive, but installing one (the box is compatible with 3.5in and 2.5in SATA drives) is a painless operation.
The HDX uses the same Syabas middleware as the Popcorn Hour A-110 and C-200 – and that means identical functionality. This is a very good thing – we loved the usability of the original PCH – but this particular Network Media Tank has the added benefit of really being built like a tank.
Easy setup
If you have media (be it music, video, images) on your home network this puppy will find it. It runs in multiple guises – DLNA, SMB, uPnP – which means it's visible to almost everything you'll have connected. With no effort at all, I could access it via a PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and other clients.
Installation is a breeze. As soon as the HDX goes online it lists available workgroups and attached devices using AutoSMB. As long as your storage device doesn't require a password you should be in; this compares starkly to Manual SMB devices, like the TiVX M-6500A, which tend to be a nightmare to setup and use.
The unit handles most file formats, from MP3s to FLAC as well as common video stuff like MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX and 720p MKVs. A diskless HDX-1000, as tested here, typically sells for around آ£190.
I popped a Seagate Barracuda 1TB drive into our sample, which allows for an enormous amount of media to be stored locally. There's no need to use a massive drive, though. If you already have a capacious NAS somewhere else, a much smaller housekeeping drive could be installed. In that configuration the HDX-1000 would function more as a streamer.
If you don't want to do the HDD install yourself, you can buy a pre-fitted model for around آ£270 with 1TB storage, from the UK distributor ripcaster.co.uk.
Online access
One aspect of the Syabas middleware I love is the online access it provides to other stuff. Via the main Media Services portal, you can access YouTube, Flickr, VideoCast, Cranky Geeks and much more.
A community portal (which frankly hasn't been updated for yonks) offers other treats, including access to Apple Movie Trailers and Miro – which in itself is a microcosm of diverse content. There's also extensive podcast access.
In many ways, you could consider the HDX a set-top box for internet TV services – and like Freeview there are no subscriptions to be paid.
Connectivity other than the HDMI includes Ethernet jack, gold-plated component, composite and phono stereo outputs, two USB inputs and a USB slave for hooking up directly to a PC and transferring files. Digital audio is delivered via coaxial and optical.
Overall performance is excellent. Over my wired network, hi-def files streamed smoothly without stuttering. Apparently Blu-ray rips will also play with hi-res audio intact, although this was not tested.
However, while the unit is fine for AV, I found it way too sluggish for photo browsing. Hi-res images take much too long to render. Consequently, I didn't find much use for the front-mounted 3-in 1 card reader (which takes Memory Stick, SDHC and MMC media).
A BitTorrent client is also provided but the implementation is clunky and not really worth pursuing. I'd rate the HDX-1000 as a top-flight jukebox.
Build quality is gorgeous and functionality supreme. If you suffer from media file disorganisation, you'll soon wonder how you ever lived without it.
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In Depth: What's next for music on the Mac?
The Mac has played a major part in the development of music technology over the years. And now, musicians using the OS X platform have access to a variety of applications that would scarcely have been imaginable when the first software sequencers appeared back in the late 1980s.
Early versions of Logic and Cubase could only generate and process MIDI information – they had to be connected up to external synthesisers, samplers and drum machines in order to work. By the mid 1990s, sequencers added the ability to record and mix audio into their tracks and so 'virtual studios' were born.
As computers became faster and more powerful, music technology also evolved to include virtual instruments and effects. Now anyone can make professional sounding music with just a computer and no other instrument.
We have virtual synthesisers that sound as good as hardware instruments that cost thousands of pounds. We also have a full range of software samplers that can outperform their hardware equivalents.
Today, advanced sequencers such as Logic Pro, Cubase, Digital Performer and Pro Tools are giving professional composers control over their music, while GarageBand is providing access for beginners.
Innovations have always been happening in the music software world and many groundbreaking products have appeared over the past 15 years.
Software pioneers
Back in 1994, a program called Koan broke new ground by being able to create music all by itself. Well almost – the user had to specify a handful of parameters before hitting the play button.
In 1997, U&I Software unveiled MetaSynth, an original sound-design environment that can create 'soundscapes' and other sound textures. It introduced a number of unique features including an Image Synth that can extract musical information out of pictures.
In 1999, Native Instruments introduced their modular synthesiser, Generator, to the Mac platform. Over the years it evolved and its name was changed to Reaktor. This software, for the first time, allowed large numbers of users to build their own instruments without having to program any code.
Now Reaktor is at Version 5 and there are more than 2,500 user creations online ranging from synthesisers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines and effects to a variety of strange soundmangling devices!
In 2001, Celemony launched Melodyne, a groundbreaking tool for correcting and modifying material. For the first time, musicians were able to open up audio files of monophonic solos or vocals and correct the intonation and timing of individual notes. Melodyne could also create harmonies and restructured melodies. Famous users included Peter Gabriel, Eminem, Massive Attack and Pete Townshend.
Also in 2001, Ableton unveiled Ableton Live, a loop-based music sequencer that allowed users to compose and arrange music on-the-fly during live performances. It was easy to use and was popular with performers and DJs.
Innovations also extend to the guitar world, with virtual software amps such as Guitar Rig and AmpliTube offering tones previously associated with expensive hardware amps. Guitarists can even plug straight into their computers.
Other innovative music software applications include tuning programs like Scala and L'il Miss Scale Oven.
While most music software is based upon the standard tunings used in our regular Western scale system, these apps allow us to create microtonal scales that sound out of this world. L'il Miss Scale Oven can even be used to retune Logic Pro… if you're that way inclined.
There are also programs that offer ways of removing hiss and crackles from vinyl and tape recordings. Bias' Soundsoap and iZotope's RX both do the job well.
So, as you can see, music software has already covered a lot of ground and provided solutions to a number of old audio problems. You could be forgiven for thinking that there isn't much else for music-app developers to do these days, but you'd be wrong – this is just the beginning...
A new generation of extraordinarily advanced music software programs is about to hit the streets. These include Prosoniq's sonicWORX Pro, a revolutionary Mac-only program that allows the user to 'reverse engineer' music audio files and extract individual components.
Its main users are likely to be Mac-equipped music studios that want to create instant hit remixes out of existing material.
sonicWORX Pro certainly takes audio-editing to the next level. It generates massive audio analysis files that show more details than ever before, and the extracted results are undeniably impressive.
Another new launch will be Celemony's Melodyne Editor, unveiling their DNA (Direct Note Access) technology that, for the first time, will allow users to edit notes within chords in audio recordings.
It should be ideal for editing individual notes in, for example, a complete acoustic guitar or piano piece. It would also make it possible for the user to rearrange the notes in a complete Mozart piano sonata recording while keeping the virtuosity of the performance intact.
Programs like sonicWORX Pro and Melodyne Editor clearly have extraordinary creative potential but they also raise a number of interesting legal questions.
How much credit should a remixer get for a new version of another musician's song and how much should the original artist get? What would happen if the original artist didn't want their material used in such a way? And what would happen if their material was used anyway, without their knowledge or permission?
The Performing Rights Society wasn't available to comment in time for our publication, but it would be tricky to police the abuse of audio manipulation software.
Other exciting new launches include U&I Software's MetaSynth 5, the latest and first Leopard compatible version of their sound environment program. It boasts a significant number of sophisticated new features and the audio demos we have heard are extraordinary.
Here today
Other state-of-the-art programs are already here. EastWest Symphonic Choirs is a virtual choir engine with a difference – you can play the male, female and boy choirs as normal with your keyboard, but you can also type English or Latin phrases into the program's Word Builder and get the choirs to sing them with authenticity.
The generative music concept pioneered by Koan in the 1990s has been taken further with Noatikl and Nodal. Noatikl boasts a simpler and more powerful interface, while Nodal has a unique graphical interface developed by Monash University.
New versions of popular music notation programs, Sibelius and Finale, have appeared with more advanced features. Sibelius 6 claims to be able to create perfect scores as you write them.
Groove machines have also become more sophisticated. Stylus RMX, for example, can play 24bit drum loops, change their tuning, modify their rhythmic structure and even convert them into different time signatures in sync with your software sequencer.
Musical apps have also reached the iPhone. These include: Beatmaker, a digital audio workstation for creating music; Band, a collection of virtual instruments; Guitar Toolkit, a set of useful tools (tuner, chord finder and metronome) for a guitarist; Shazam, which recognises any song you play it; and Bloom, a generative music application from Brian Eno.
Meanwhile, Apple's flagship music app, Logic Pro has just reached Version 9, and GarageBand '09 is bigger and better than ever, offering beginners and consumers the chance to take their musical adventures to the next level.
Looking to the future
By the end of the year we'll have programs for analysing and editing audio files in ways that were previously impossible. We will also have access to new and improved applications that allow us to make music in more creative ways.
There will be something for everyone from hit-makers to home hobbyists. There's never been a better time for making music than now and the future looks even better with all the exciting new apps that are becoming available for you at home, in the studio, or even on the bus!
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Review: Reallusion iClone 4 Pro
Reallusion iClone 4 Pro pitches itself as an easy-to-use 3D movie creator tool, with the big benefit being that if you can't do something yourself, you can open up the online store and buy it from someone who can.
Can't create a walk cycle? Want more hairstyle choices? Drop a couple of quid and add one to your library. It's a little more complicated than that due to the number of human models on offer, but not by much, and it's certainly easier than firing up a tool such as Google SketchUp or the dreaded Maya to do it yourself – although you can do that too.
Dress to impress
The best thing about iClone's online store is being able to sample content. Any item can be downloaded (the screen will be watermarked until you pay up), letting you see if it works in your project rather than having to guess from someone else's thumbnail.
The only downside (ignoring the absolutely abysmal search engine) is that right now, there's very little content – at the time of writing, a handful of hairstyles, a few clothing templates and…
Well, let's just say that our actors' wardrobes so far largely consist of military costumes and comfy-looking clothes for the male character models, low-cut dresses, lingerie and borderline fetishwear for the ladies. Or, to be more exact, one lady – Violet – whose own default costume is half-business, half advertising billboard for her comfy new bra. Please, it's winter. Someone render the poor girl a nice warm coat…
Take control
The current lack of downloads aside, iClone is a great platform. The boxed version comes with a tool for importing 3D objects, notably from Google's royalty-free 3D Warehouse archive, which is very helpful, although for some inexplicable reason the downloadable version misses this out.
You can also import PNGs complete with translucency for some extremely quick, good-looking photo textures. In the editor itself, you have full control over everything from facial features to camera effects.
Probably the most interesting part is how iClone handles clothing textures, which it does via a system called CloneCloth.
This is a quick and dirty way to use opacity and diffuse texture maps to reuse the same mesh for multiple purposes – in real terms, a full-length gown can be anything from a miniskirt to a coat, with options such as hue and saturation further tweakable within the editor, and comprehensive restitching available in Photoshop. It's a brilliant idea, especially when tied to the online store.
It's certainly not the case that you can sit down in front of iClone and get instant results. It's a million times easier to get started with than any other 3D tool out there, but there's no getting around the complexity of the task at hand.
Quite often, that's the problem – coming from a world where the likes of UV mapping and balancing multiple generations of human-type models is as natural as water, the app does sometimes seem to forget just how complicated it can be for beginners.
Still, if you fancy yourself as the next Pixar – or, better still, have slightly more realistic ambitions – this is the tool to make it happen.
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Secret net security flaw exposed by accident
An unusual cloak-and-dagger operation being run by internet security experts has been exposed this week, after details of a flaw in the SSL protocol were made public.
The problem with the Secure Sockets Layer standard that keeps e-commerce websites, mail servers and more safe from attack was first discovered in August by a phone-security firm called PhoneFactor.
Secret project
That company immediately set to work with the Industry Consortium for Advancement of Security on the Internet (ICASI) to fix the issue in secret so as not to alert hackers.
However, an engineer working independent of ICASI found the flaw by himself this week and posted the details online in an effort to find a solution.
Naturally, the buzz about SSL potentially failing spread like wildfire, prompting ICASI and PhoneFactor to go public immediately.
Good guys need to know
The company's Sarah Fender explained why: "At that point we felt like the bad guys knew and we felt we had a responsibility for the good guys to know too."
So far, no actual exploits of the SSL flaw have been found in the wild, meaning there's still hope that it can be fixed before it claims its first victim.
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Yahoo-Microsoft deal may go worldwide
With the Yahoo/Microsoft tie-up on internet search and advertising still in the negotiation stage in the US only, the possibility of it expanding to other countries has raised its head again.
Speaking in Tokyo this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer addressed what the next step might be if the plan gets past the regulatory hurdles it currently faces.
Consummate the marriage
He said: "It's possible we would extend that partnership outside of the US, but we'll have to wait and see until we actually are able to get approval and consummate our partnership with Yahoo inside the US and perhaps there'll be news on that some other day."
In other words, he'd like to take on Google's advertising and search-engine might all over the world, but will have to be quiet about it for fear of rousing the wrath of the American Justice Department and spoiling the party before it even starts.
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Microsoft vision of future has us talking to TVs
Everyone knows Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has a big mouth, but he spent a trip to Tokyo this week explaining why he wants to be heard even more than before.
According to the notorious motormouth, Microsoft is working on a new wave of voice-recognition technology that will enable us to talk naturally to our gadgets and have them respond appropriately.
Where's Bill Gates?
Specifically, Ballmer says the Microsoft 'three screens, one cloud' scenario, where phones, PCs and TVs link to all our data stored remotely, will enable our gadgets to access whatever we need without us bothering with the nuts and bolts of the technology.
He gave the example of yelling at his TV to share information with old pal Bill Gates, then doing a little online shopping together:
"In the next few years I know I'll be watching my favourite golfer, Tiger Woods, play in a tournament and I'll see him hit a particularly brilliant shot.
"I'll shout at my television set, 'Hey Bill, did you see Tiger make that putt?' and Microsoft software will wake up in the TV, it will recognise my voice, it will know when I say 'Bill' I mean Bill Gates, it'll find him wherever he is, it will see whether he's willing to be interrupted for the call."
Assuming he is, the rub comes in easily facilitating some wallet opening:
"Maybe Bill will say, 'Yes Steve, but what golf ball is he using?' I'll literally take my finger and I'll point at the golf ball, a search will go on across the internet to figure out what ball it is, and I'll say 'Hey Bill, that's the new Nike ball, shall I order some for you too?'"
Japanese recruits
And if we had any doubt that Ballmer were serious about that rather Orwellian vision of the future, the reason he was in Japan points to it becoming reality.
Among many stops, one was to announce a new scheme to recruit the best of Japan's scientists to collaborate with Microsoft.
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NEC glasses beam translations onto retina
If it were early April we'd take NEC's claims for its latest prototype gadget with a sack load of salt, but as it's November we'll have to turn down the disbelief and pay closer attention.
The company's Tele Scouter glasses were unveiled this week in Tokyo to – it's fair to say – some scepticism in the local press.
Babel Fish for real?
That's probably because NEC says the specs can function as an optical version of the Babel Fish of Hitchhiker's fame and simultaneously interpret multiple languages.
Moreover, the device outputs the translations by beaming text directly onto the wearer's retina. Yes – it shoots information into your eyes.
Asking for trouble
The company says it's a simple matter of using voice-recognition software and a machine-translation application, although combining both imprecise sciences in one package is surely asking to be misunderstood.
Admittedly, NEC says that aspect of the Tele Scouter won't be ready when it goes on sale in 2011 at آ¥7.5 million (آ£50,000) for a package of 30 pairs of glasses.
Instead, that version will use face-recognition software to help shop sales staff identify customers and access their shopping history for that 'personal' sales touch.
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Intel gives Facebook relationship advice
A worker at Intel has posted a blog post stating what changes he would like to see to Facebook, using the issues in his life as a case study.
In the revealing blog, Dale Taylor at Intel explains how he would like a number of things changed on the social-networking site, including how much information it gives out to non-direct Facebook folks.
Taylor uses the example of his divorce and explains: "My ex and her family are visible to me through our common children on Facebook. Honestly I would rather not know or see about anything to do with her and her family, yet I am confronted with it.
"I want to see what my children have to say, what they are thinking, doing etc but somehow block anything related to or linked to select others. Facebook needs to address this because life just isn't that simple and we need a way to manage our connections better."
Change given
The blog has been published on Intel's main website, with Taylor offering up a couple of changes made to the way Facebook relays information not directly related to the person viewing.
Here is the advice he gives, which we have coined the '3 Be Ables':
- Be able to prioritise, perhaps with as few as 3 levels you could group people into for news you would rather see first… priority level A, B and C.
- Be able to block anything having to do with, showing or related to specific individuals (without them knowing)
- Be able to "drop" someone from your relationships and yet have them continue to think its still there. A stealth mode. Someone you don't want to offend but perhaps this relative posts updates a little too frequently for your tastes.
The post does bring up the well worn issue of privacy on the website. And although there are measures that can be taken to make sure your information is seen by friends and friends only, sometimes it might be that people who inadvertently receive information about you who may choose not to and don't want to upset you by letting you know this.
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