HTPC DIY!
You've downloaded tons of movies, you've converted all your CD's to digital format, You've copied all your pictures to your computer.
Now you'd want a simpler and grander way of sharing all these to friends and families when they come over to your place. Why have your visitors watch them on your PC when you have a wide-screen LCD TV on your living room?
All you need is a computer hooked up to the TV. Here's a simple guide on how to do it.
1. Get a PC!
It can be any old PC as long as you can connect it to your TV. Most newer LCD TVs have a "computer in" port so your ordinary PC should have that covered. Some older TVs only have S-video input so you need a video card which has an S-Video output.
2. Storage!
If you've downloaded HD movie files, you'd need at least a Pentium 4 system to render the movies in HD.
A great place to shop for old PC parts is openpinoy (http://www.openpinoy.com/) or sulit (http://www.sulit.com.ph/)
You can never get enough of this.
Especially if you have HD movies. A typical 1080p high resolution movie would be at least 4GB.
Have a network storage if you can no longer add more hard drive in your PC.
3. The software.
This is the most important component of your HTPC setup. You can't just use whatever media player you have on your PC!
You need a media software which has an easy user interface, a media management software, and streaming capabilities so you can stream videos from youtube, hulu, cnn or any of your favorite video streaming sites.
So far, boxee has been the easiest software to install and use. Plus it has a lot of add ons such as facebook picture updates, music streaming, and facebook integration.
Here's what the boxee home screen looks like:
It will organize your movies, music and photos.
Now buy a remote from CD-R King (http://www.cdrking.com/?mod=products&type=category&catid=64&main=64)
Sit back, relax and watch a movie!
Myfi Hot Spot
This little thing is the Huawei Myfi e5830. It measures 86mm x 46mm x 10mm and weighs 90 grams.
What is it anyway?
It is the smallest mobile cellular hot-spot around! Stick a 3G sim card from your mobile phone provider and you can have HSDPA internet anywhere you have a signal.
You can share your internet connection wirelessly with up to 5 devices, unlike the 3G USB dongles that we commonly see around.
Sadly, only Globe has it right now. They're selling it at Php4,000 until Oct 16, with a prepaid sim.
You might see an unlocked version for sale on sulit.com.ph which goes for Php6,000.
If you have an existing sim card from Smart or Sun, you're out of luck. But of course, if you're a little adventurous, here's what you can do.
- Buy the kit from Globe.
- Take out the sim, and use your existing Smart or Sun sim.
- Go to this website (http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f88/huawei-e5830-unlock-here-982617/) and unlock it.
You just saved yourself Php2,000.
