On Saturday October 21, 2012 I went to IKEA and purchased the EXPEDIT bookcase for storage and prefect rear placement of my rear surround speakers. I purchased the 2 x 4 bookcase in Black-Brown color. I have it on the floor long way. I will post pictures under the Current Equipment List.
Much like the component cable for the Wii and the purchase of a Blu ray player, I should have done this a long time ago. Watching sports and movies in surround sound is truly a different experience than 3.1 or 2.1 systems can provide.
I still have to run the Audyssey room correction on the Onkyo TX-NR609 now that I have all six speakers connected. I am still playing with which settings I like the best for sound on movies and sports. I ran a test with Avatar which I only have on DVD (purchasing Blu ray soon) and I was impressed with all the sound that was presented in the rear channels.
Right now I am using Monoprice 18AWG CL2 Rated speaker wire that I had left over from the installation of the front left, right and center speakers. After reading some reviews and technical information on speaker wire I will be replacing the 18AWG with 12AWG on the fronts. I found some flat wire that I can route under the carpet to the rear channels. For now the wire to the rear surround speakers is run under a rug in and the couch that backs up to the bookcase.
When I replace the front speaker wire I will also be replacing the HDMI cable the runs from the Onkyo TX-NR609 to the TV. I am going to use the Ultra Slim Series High Performance HDMI cable with RedMere Technology. This is a much thinner cable than the current Monoprice 24AWG Category 2 Certified cable I am using now.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
OBi100 Firmware Update
On Saturday October 13, 2012 I found that OBi had release a new firmware update to the OBi100. The release is version 1.3.0 with build version 2744. Click here for the official release and information on previous firmware updates. Per the release issued by OBi version 1.3.0 build version 2744 addresses the following:
- Various software optimizations to improve performance.
- Support for fax pass-through event (RFC2833).
- Show fax mode active state in call status.
- Proxy redundancy fail-over then resume improvement.
There are also several enhancements for the OBi202 and OBi302, however I do not own either of these products so I will not include them in in this list. Se the official release noted above for details if you need them.
Just like the update preformed last month, and posted about here on this blog, I processed the update using the web interface. There are multiple options for applying firmware updates to the Obi100 but I prefer the web interface because it gives me a sense of control over the process. The steps for applying the update this way are provided by OBi in the link provided above. I'll provide them here for future reference:
Firmware Update Instructions:
1. Download the file to your computer.
2. Access the web page of the OBi device:
- From a phone attached to the PHONE port of the OBi dial * * * 1
- The IP address of the OBi will be read to you.
- Open a new browser window on your PC and enter the IP address of the OBi. (E.g. 192.168.1.110)
- When prompted, enter "admin" for username and "admin" for password.
If you have previously changed the password, use that instead of "admin."
3. Now that you have accessed the OBi web page, go to the "System Management" - "Device Update" page. From there, "Browse" to the firmware file you just downloaded above and click Update.
4. Wait for the OBi to restart (approx. 30 seconds) and you will be good to go.
- Various software optimizations to improve performance.
- Support for fax pass-through event (RFC2833).
- Show fax mode active state in call status.
- Proxy redundancy fail-over then resume improvement.
There are also several enhancements for the OBi202 and OBi302, however I do not own either of these products so I will not include them in in this list. Se the official release noted above for details if you need them.
Of particular note this time, this was the first time I have seen reference to an OBi302 device. The website current does not list this as a current product but does list it as a partner device. This device is used by vendors for their own VoIP.
Just like the update preformed last month, and posted about here on this blog, I processed the update using the web interface. There are multiple options for applying firmware updates to the Obi100 but I prefer the web interface because it gives me a sense of control over the process. The steps for applying the update this way are provided by OBi in the link provided above. I'll provide them here for future reference:
Firmware Update Instructions:
1. Download the file to your computer.
2. Access the web page of the OBi device:
- From a phone attached to the PHONE port of the OBi dial * * * 1
- The IP address of the OBi will be read to you.
- Open a new browser window on your PC and enter the IP address of the OBi. (E.g. 192.168.1.110)
- When prompted, enter "admin" for username and "admin" for password.
If you have previously changed the password, use that instead of "admin."
3. Now that you have accessed the OBi web page, go to the "System Management" - "Device Update" page. From there, "Browse" to the firmware file you just downloaded above and click Update.
4. Wait for the OBi to restart (approx. 30 seconds) and you will be good to go.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Harmony 880 Reprogrammed & Firmware Updated
Today I officially cancelled cable TV. We had Comcast and I have now setup a TiVo box and subscribed to Hulu Plus and Netflix to get all our streaming needs taken care of. I am using an over the air antenna to receive local channels in HD. So far so good with this setup. I setup everything last week and have been test driving all the features for the past week. My wife and kids can easily use the new technology so we good to go.
With the removal of Comcast cable service I had to remove the Motorola DCX3400 I had to reprogram the Logitech Harmony 880 remote. The update to the Activities was easy using the Logitech Harmony Remote Software (version 7.7.0). I removed the Motorola DCX3400 device and add the TiVo TCD-746500. Everything works like it should. I'll change some of the button layouts once I get a better understanding of what I use most.
When using the Logitech Harmony Remote Software I found under the Downloads section the option to update the firmware on the remote. I ran the process and the software did update the firmware on the remote. There are no release notes or read me files on the firmware so I do not know exactly what was updated. I plan to do so more internet searching and see if I can find disclosure information. If I am able to find information I will post links and the data here on this blog.
I am in the process of updating this blog to get everything current with all the technology changes that have occurred in my systems. I will be reviewing and updated the pages to reflect the current components and what the upgrade plan is now.
The biggest piece of news outside of the introduction of TiVo to the system is that my TV is now dying. About three weeks ago a single line of pixels on the left hand side of the screen stopping displaying. Depending on the source material the line is either green, red or black. In reviewing posts on the internet I am diagnosing that the y board has failed. Since the TV is over 5 years old it will not be covered and replacing parts would be silly. So the hunt for a new TV has begun.
There are several large purchases that will happen before the new TV. First will be new living room furniture since the couch and loveseat are over 10 years old now. I'll also be purchasing a bookcase that will hold the rear channel speakers. Finally going to have full 5.1 surround sound! Can't wait.
Other items I need to post about include: Another Obi firmware update, PC upgrade plans (possible HTPC if it works out), design for charging station, installation of over the air antenna, plans for solar panel charging station, and research on powerline networking.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading.
With the removal of Comcast cable service I had to remove the Motorola DCX3400 I had to reprogram the Logitech Harmony 880 remote. The update to the Activities was easy using the Logitech Harmony Remote Software (version 7.7.0). I removed the Motorola DCX3400 device and add the TiVo TCD-746500. Everything works like it should. I'll change some of the button layouts once I get a better understanding of what I use most.
When using the Logitech Harmony Remote Software I found under the Downloads section the option to update the firmware on the remote. I ran the process and the software did update the firmware on the remote. There are no release notes or read me files on the firmware so I do not know exactly what was updated. I plan to do so more internet searching and see if I can find disclosure information. If I am able to find information I will post links and the data here on this blog.
I am in the process of updating this blog to get everything current with all the technology changes that have occurred in my systems. I will be reviewing and updated the pages to reflect the current components and what the upgrade plan is now.
The biggest piece of news outside of the introduction of TiVo to the system is that my TV is now dying. About three weeks ago a single line of pixels on the left hand side of the screen stopping displaying. Depending on the source material the line is either green, red or black. In reviewing posts on the internet I am diagnosing that the y board has failed. Since the TV is over 5 years old it will not be covered and replacing parts would be silly. So the hunt for a new TV has begun.
There are several large purchases that will happen before the new TV. First will be new living room furniture since the couch and loveseat are over 10 years old now. I'll also be purchasing a bookcase that will hold the rear channel speakers. Finally going to have full 5.1 surround sound! Can't wait.
Other items I need to post about include: Another Obi firmware update, PC upgrade plans (possible HTPC if it works out), design for charging station, installation of over the air antenna, plans for solar panel charging station, and research on powerline networking.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading.
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