The Great TV Experiment Part 3: Alterations 360

Here's where we have some speed bumps.  We've talked about the detachment.  We've talked about conventional free television.   Now we get into the part that makes this move more exciting these days.  IPTV.  

Now, IPTV as we know it today translates into your Hulu, CBS.com, Podcasts, iTunes downloads, Black20.com, Youtube, and so on... But the method for how you accomplish this will depend on a few things.  That would be the hardware available to you, and your technical expertise.  

The first method I broached was getting some computers resurrected from my own stash of hardware.  At first, I had some success with an Athalon XP 1800.  I realized I had the parts to get a Pentium 4 running, and proceeded to upgrade. 

For reference, this is what I'm running:

Pentium 4 ~ 2.4 Ghz
512 MB RAM
Geforce 6200
Windows XP Professional SP3

In both cases, I formatted and loaded XP from scratch.  Loading the newest Internet Explorer and little else.  

Performance is key.  If you're sitting there and the framerate drops, or the resolution is worse than standard definition, you may have some issues enjoying your programs.  When watching some shows from CWTV.com (Smallville, Reaper) there was no problem.  But the videos didn't run full wide screen, and a small player was installed into Internet Explorer.  DailyMotion worked for the wrestling videos I catch up on.  TNA Wrestling's feed from SpikeTV's site ran well enough.  But Hulu.  The big seller for this method, had issues.  It was watchable, but Dennis Leary is sort of jerky as he bitches about the trials of a fireman.  Finally, Hulu just released the new desktop player, with specs that outweighed what I had available as far as a spare computer.  

So I decided to revisit an old friend in PlayOn from TheMediaMall.  This is an option to works out a little better for the rest.   This method works by installing on your PC and works as a sort of bypass for content to your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.  Having my Xbox 360 on an HDMI cable and using my more powerful dual core laptop's background processes makes this a bit more promising.  I've sat here working away at my web work, blog writing, and general surfing as the same machine processed and passed off Hulu and Revision 3 content for the last four days as we caught up on our shows and explored some new content, such as Scam School, and the old Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1.  (Don't judge.)   The new plugin system that's been implemented is what makes this even more intriguing.  Revision 3 is the first official add on, but the message board leaves the door open to much more.  I've added HGTV and Food Network (for Missy), GameTrailers and Adult Swim.  It's $40, and it requires that you already have this hardware, but if you're a big enough of a technology buff that you frequent blogs like this, you're probably a likely candidate for this.  The shear volume of content is worth the one time access price.  On top of what I use, you can access Amazon's On Demand service, Netflix without an Xbox Gold account, (and on PS3), CBS, and ESPN content.  I'm currently  making sure all the bugs are worked out in the 14 day free trial, but that purchase is as good as made.  

Is this the end all source of what you can do?  Of course not.  The most interesting thing is watching how these companies put themselves out there to see what sticks with consumers to deliver content to you.  Keep an eye for what's best for you.  

Anatomy of a Road Trip: New England Edition

This past weekend, the missus Sorg and myself ventured to New Hampshire to visit our friend, Miss Ashley Hoover. Last year, I presented the Anatomy of a Road Trip. Now, we are ready for an update.

Go Someplace New!

Our trips in the past have tended to take us down the usual corridors of I-79 and I-76 in the past with all of our trips to New York City and Western New York. This trip, I like to say that I had a chance to explore the rest of the state. Almost half of our trip was simply crossing Pennsylvania. Seeing the outlooks as we drove along, throught he Appelechians, the Poconos, past Scranton, and just north of New York City crossing the Hudson. Crossing into Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, all new states to us!

Conversation is still key.

For such a damn long trip at over 11 hours, we didn't strike up the iPod as much as we did on even our 3 hour trip to Newville last year. Maybe it's because there were only the two of us. Maybe because we were just enthralled with all of the new sights. Only when we sort of faded from eachother, surfing on our phones and such, did things get sort of tense. Turns missed, sour times. Thankfully, these were few.

Don't be in a hurry.

Yes it was a long trip, and typically, I would allow for enough time to just stop and NOT be in the damn car for a good amount of time. Unfortunately, fitting the trip into Memorial weekend between our jobs proved problematic, given the long drive. This is a battle I wage all of the time.

GPS Makes it Easier.

Tom Tom. Garmin. Mike Mike. Whatever you have. For us, I was juggling Missy's new iPhone and mine to cross reference as we went. Helped when we got lost in Boston as well. Having a local tour guide helped as well.

Something to Share.

Thanks to our give of a small Randy Orton to Ashley, thanks to her declaration of him being "Yummy", the weekend was an adventure for lil' Orton. And he didn't poop in one gym bag.

Declare a Challenge.
On our first trip this year, out to New York City, Will declared to get something peculiar from each rest stop. In Boston, I was determined to conquer the Norm Burger at Cheers. On our way back, we realized we should have grabbed a lottery ticket from each of the 5 states we visited. Something to accomplish, and maybe a story about how it went.

Go Where Someone Knows your Name.

And I'm not talking about Cheers again. I've had the fortune to visit our friend in New York City three times in the last two years, and this time visited our friend of New England. It was great to have a friend who'd allow us to pull up some floor or a couch. It cuts the cost of your trip in half, sometimes, and you have someone to show you around that is familiar with the area. And meeting Ashley's parents was a blast!

So that's my amendments. I'm still not sure where the rest of the year will take me, but I'm open to some new possibilities...

Check out pictures from the trip on my Flicker page!

Wrestling Mayhem Show 169: Mad Fan Mayhem

It’s LB and Sorg on the mic, bringing you the latest in Mayhem and wrestling! This week, we head into fanmail to discover an angry hobo, discover people’s distaste for the latest TNA show, Papuga returns for her weigh in on UFC 98 and our favorite new name to say, and then Mad Mike from Bronx, NY and Wrestlefan from Texas call in to talk TNA Sacrifice, the WWE vs NBA, and more as the show goes Skype Mayhem for the last segment!

This is Episode 169 for Tuesday, May 26, 2009. You can get the episode here on Talkshoe, subscribe, and as always, stay tuned to www.wrestlingmayhemshow.com for the latest! The Wrestling Mayhem Show is recorded live and can be heard/viewed from 8 PM to 10 PM Eastern on Talkshoe.com and BlogTV.com. Let us know what you think of the show, and your thoughts on the wrestling world by emailing us at goodtimes@wrestlingmayhemshow.com! Don’t forget you can find links related to the show’s news stories and more at our Delicious Links Page for Episode 169!

Blackout Sands, Sean Behling
“In the Meantime (feat. Sean Behling)” (mp3)
from “Who Killed Jiminy Cricket?”
(Clocktower Collective)

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Great Northern
“Warning” (mp3)
from “Remind Me Where The Light Is”
(Eenie Meenie Records)

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Geri X
“Train Hopping Hobo Song” (mp3)
from “Fever”
(24 Hour Service Station)

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Wrestling Mayhem Show 168: Kane Appreciation Day

It's May 19. May 19!? That May 19???? We attempt to calm the burning fire as we present the first ever Kane Appreciation Day!!! To celebrate what could be the first official pro wrestling holiday, we color the studio red and recall our favorite moments of the first 12 years of Kane in our lives! We also take time to consider Indy Wrestling and how to put buts in seats, WWE vs the NBA, and the War on Ric Flair commences!

Remember, we have a new Question of the Week! This week, tell us what would get you and your friends to try out an Indy Wrestling Show? Send your comments and responses to goodtimes@wrestlingmayhemshow.com or on the Snapvine line!

Kane Appreciation Day 1
Kane Appreciation Day 2
Kane Appreciation Day 3
Fire Techno Dance

This is Episode 168 for Tuesday, MAY 19, 2009. You can get the episode here on Talkshoe, subscribe, and as always, stay tuned to www.wrestlingmayhemshow.com for the latest! The Wrestling Mayhem Show is recorded live and can be heard/viewed from 8 PM to 10 PM Eastern on Talkshoe.com and BlogTV.com. Let us know what you think of the show, and your thoughts on the wrestling world by emailing us at goodtimes@wrestlingmayhemshow.com! Don’t forget you can find links related to the show’s news stories and more at our Delicious Links Page for Episode 168!



Vigilante
"Fire" (mp3)
from "Resistir"
(Still Alive Records)

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Potluck
"Fire" (mp3)
from "Straight Outta Humboldt (W/ Bonus Tracks)"
(Suburban Noize Records)

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Neil Carswell
"The Cain Preacher" (mp3)
from "Good Man's Journey"
(Aspirion Records)

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