Back when I ran a modded Xbox, XBMC was the coolest software around. It turned a $150 game console into a fully featured media center, it played everything and it was fast and seamless; not to mention the fact that it made the system into a better game playing machine, utilizing an upgraded hard drive mod to more quickly load games and system content.

At some point in the past, XBMC was ported to Linux, and later OS X. It was called OSXBMC, then later changed to Plex. It became a great front-end for OS X HTPCs, specifically Mac Minis or Apple TVs, as an alternative to Front Row that plays more formats, and apparently is the only way to have the Mac Mini play 1080p content with its weak onboard graphics. Of course, it only works on Leopard (Mac OS X v10.5), Intel based Macs — another reason for me to upgrade.

I plan on giving it a try as soon as I upgrade. So hopefully it will make it so I no longer require SofaControl or VLC.

I purchased the Mac Mini for my HTPC before they had a Core 2 Duo version. I kept waiting for it to happen and it didn’t come for months until after I purchased the Mini, so I’m glad I didn’t wait.

The wife loves her Leopard Macbook, and I noticed some drastic improvements to Front Row that aren’t available on the version my Mini runs, Tiger. So I want to upgrade the OS on the mini to Leopard.

I found a neat guide to upgrading the RAM on the mini, so I just need to buy the RAM (currently uses 2x256MB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz, I’d like 2x1GB) and install it before I migrate to Leopard. Meanwhile I’m still on a 60GB hard drive, but fortunately we watch shows as fast as I can get them.

Fun times…

Edit:
Bought a G.SKILL 200-pin DDR2 667MHz PC 5300 2GB memory chip for the upgrade.

For awhile I’ve been pretty disappointed by the audio on my HTPC. The subwoofer never really worked, and the audio levels were pretty abysmal. I have a JVC RX-6030VBK 5.1 setup with a toslink cable going between my Mac Mini and the receiver. The subwoofer is behind a door in my entertainment center, so the already-quiet sound is muffled. I’ve been thinking of replacing this system for awhile, because the audio quality is very weak.

Last night, I played around with the configuration on the unit, and set the subwoofer to +10 audio and the other 4 channels to -10. I tested it with some bass tracks, and man it was ground-shaking great. The wife and I watched some TV on it and were pleased with the experience. I think I’ll keep this system after all (at least for awhile).

My Samsung 46″ DLP TV is now making a high pitched squeal after about an hour to 1.5 hours of usage. The only fix is to shut it off. A lot of people are saying that this is caused by the color wheel. When for sale, it looks to be $100-$150 on eBay.

I’ve already had the lamp replaced twice, so I’m starting to think this TV wasn’t such a good deal after all.

Man how annoying.

Two or three times since my lamp was replaced on my DLP HDTV I’ve heard that same beeping/buzzing when turning my TV on. From what I understand, that’s the early stages of the lamp going bad. The manufacturer’s warranty is good for one year past purchase date, which ends for me in mid January, 2008. It’s so far been only a VERY minor inconvenience, but it could become something more serious.

So I sent an online request to have it repaired, and the Samsung guy came out the next business day. They told me they’d call me 20 minutes before they arrived, which was good — I wanted to take pictures in case I had to replace the lamp myself in the future. Unfortunately they did not give me 20 minutes notice, I got a call from the wife saying that the repairman was already here replacing it. Come to think of it, this same thing happened last time, and I remember thinking afterwards, “Gee that’s a convenient ‘mistake’, I wonder if he even replaced it…”. Odd that it happened again.

I was reminded to get the lamp replaced by a warranty extension renewal I received in the mail… something like $500 for 3 years. Are you kidding me?!? I guess next time it goes bad, I’ll need to replace it myself.