The recent lack of updates has been because I’m moving to a new house. But in moving, there’s always plenty of things to “upgrade”. Here’s what the TechMoments house will look like when we’re done.
1 - TV - Sticking with Dish Network for two rooms. They have, in my opinion, the best DVR out there right now. The PVR522 is reliable, is 100% digital and has two tuners. But we have to upgrade right? So, in the new house, we’re getting a Vip622 (HD) and moving the 522 to the bedroom. The home theater, however, will be on Cablevision io, with the cheapest package just so I can get MSG HD (Damn you Dolans!). The cable feed is coming in to a Sony DHG-HDD250 HD DVR. I won’t have to pay cablevisions fees for the box or DVR and can save 25 hours worth of HD content! So, if you do the math (and I have), I can now record 5 simultanoues shows at the same time (3 of which are in HD). But wait, there’s more. I am switching one of the non-recording DVD players to another Panasonic Recorder (DMR-HS20). So, now I can burn to disc from either of the two DishPlayers. If you are in the market for a DVD Recorder for your home theater, I highly recommend a DVD-RAM based recorder. The on-the-fly editing and chasing playback mode make it worthwhile!
2 - Phone Service - Dropped MCI Neghborhood and switched over to Optimum Voice. Yes, I know we’re late to the party. Now I can kiss my $70 MCI bill goodbye and pay only $29.95 for Optimum Voice. Plus it’s one less bill to pay. The install was last week and for the few times I’ve used it, its sounded fine. If you’re still paying for a regular landline, I’d say it’s safe to go VoIP now.
3 - HD - Upgrading the home theater to a 56″ JVC 1080p HD-ILA Rear Projection TV. The HD56FH96 has a native 1080p resolution and even accepts a 1080p HDMI input (when available). This set has gotten rave reviews and I can’t wait for it to come in. Due to it’s popularity, it’s currently on backorder from most retailers. Also got the matching stand. :)
4 - Network - Since I wanted to have both houses WiFi enabled for some time I needed a new router for the new house. I went with a Buffalo Airstation 54G Wireless Router. Setup was a breeze, and as can be expected from Buffalo, there are plenty of advanced options in the menu. Added bonus of supporting AOSS (for my Nintendo DS). Buffalo has impressed me time and time again with their reliable products and top notch customer service. The cable modem was a new Motorola with Voice that was included for free with the Triple Play activation from Cablevision. Since this house doesn’t have Gigabit CAT-5 throughout, I will be switching most everything to wireless. The MacMini is ready to go, but I’ll need a WiFi USB printer adapter for the HP Color DesignJet.
Products mentioned in the post: