Tranquil PC's Weblog and other thoughts

Check out the-online-backup.co.uk – just another online backup facility ?  Judge for yourself

They are using what seems to be the most robust backup systems available, from the inventors of Remote Backup Systems (remote-backup.com)

Some features :

Check out the-online-back.co.uk – just another online backup facility –judge for yourself

They are using what seems to be the most robust backup systems available, from the inventors of Remote Backup Systems (remote-backup.com)

Some features :

Works with Windows or MAC machines – right out of the box

They say “The Online Backup protects your valuable computer files by automatically storing encrypted copies in a secure Data Centre as you work, ready to be restored to any computer. Your files are double encrypted for complete security”

The Online Backup FAQ

What is The Online Backup? The Online Backup is online backup for your valuable computer files. Quick and easy to install and use, The Online Backup works in the background as you work, securing your data in a Tier 4 Data Center encrypted for 100% privacy and security.

How do my files get backed up? Once you have installed the The Online Backup software, The Online Backup will automatically back up your files every day. Just leave your computer on and connected to the Internet and The Online Backup will take care of the rest.

What types of computers will The Online Backup run on? The Online Backup runs on Windows and Mac computers. It runs on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, (including 64-bit systems) and all Mac OS X versions. Read More …

Cost ?

It seems that the-online-backup.co.uk charges under £5.00 / month for 10GB – not bad considering this is a professional system, with all the features offered !

Trial – they are also offering a 14 day TRIAL – may be worth trying that ?  Check that out here

The Xtreamer, a great way to watch your Media on your HD TV !!

It ticks all the right boxes !

However, some reviewers and consumers have reported that the device can make a noise in operation.

The small fan fitted to the device is there to cool the main controller / processor as it is busy, especially during playback of HD video.

Xtreamer themselves do provide a fan speed control feature, which can slow the fan down, and there is a new fan version expected soon, to further reduce the background noise.

However,  theXtreamer.com (UK Partner / distributor of the Xtreamer) in co-operation with Tranquil (designer of fan less cooling systems) are shortly to release a new ‘side cooler’ for the Xtreamer.

This simple to fit (after sales) item will render the Xtreamer silent.  Factory test results confirm that the cooler is perfect to keep the chips cool, whilst only getting warm to the touch.

No final word on shipping date yet, or the unit cost, but it’s hoped that the coolers will be ready to pre-order soon.

Just a few pictures below show the custom alloy cooler fitted to the little Xtreamer.

Please see below a translation (sorry) from the following web page :

http://www.tomsnetworking.de/content/tests/j2009a/test_home_nas_20090810xml/page9.html

Conclusion

Who a home NAS drive, with the highest-performance Gigabit Ethernet needs, comes around the quiet Tranquil PC SQA-5H 2000 does not. Backed by a powerful CPU of the Windows Home Server makes even some race cars competing for SMEs and offers a total of five SATA slots, the reichlichhaltigsten expansion among the home appliances. It also agrees with the price, given the necessary power with around 650 euros is not too high, and the Tranquil PC eventually bestowed the Test victory. Verzeichnisduplizierung respectively, backups run without problems, should run in the SQA-5H 2000, however, at least two hard drives. Who the data in the standard configuration with a drive does not regularly provides to external storage, risks in case of emergency the complete loss of data.

The Tranquil PC will impress you with the highest read / write speed and is the test winner for the home NAS drives. (© Smart Media Press Service)

FIRMWARE 1.03 BETA 3

The Xtreamer 1.03 BETA has just been released.

What’s new in 1.0.3 Xtreamer firmware:
1. Folder lock (Setup->System->Lock Control)
- Folder access control using password.
- Default password: 0000
2. NAS mode (Setup->System->Power Mode)
- Power Off: if press “Power” button, always power off
- NAS Mode: if press “power” button, go to NAS mode.
- Confirm Window: if press “power” button, appear pop up window for selection.
3. Cover.jpg/Folder.jpg support.
- If exist Cover.jpg/Foler.jpg inside folder, it will show that image in preview area when folder is selected.
- If there is no image with selected music file and cover.jpg/foler.jpg exist inside same folder, it will show that image in music jukebox area.
4. Subtitle font/outline color support.
- Basic color selection (White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Magenta, Aqua, Purple, Gray, Black)
- Advance color selection (Manual select RGB 24 bits color support)
5. Time skip support during movie playback using navigation button.
- up: +3 minutes, down: -1minute, left: -10 seconds, +30 seconds
6. Display HDD/USB/NAS/UPnP/Wired/Wired status in Home menu.

Other changes:

Improvements:
* NFS mount is possible if there is no HDD (internal or external) or USB drive.
- If there is no HDD, auto change from “HDD” to “NFS shortcut” in Media Library menu.
- NFS mount option with USB drive/USB HDD removed.
* Change index number in file browser.
- Upper folder index is 0. File or folder starts from index 1.
* UPnP Server boost function replaced with NAS Mode and can be executed from web.
* FTP server start/stop timing reduced and better access support
* Korean channels added in Internet menu.
* Remove My_Neighbours in NET item list.
Fixed bugs:
* NFS share unmount/delete bug fixed
* NFS handshake delay bug fixed.
* Latin character incorrect display fixed.
* System crash while entering USB device in file manager.
* NFS share unmount bug fixed
* NFS handshake delay bug fixed
* Backup/Restore/Reset functions support also for NFS and Live IP now.
* Samba free disk space display bug fixed.
- It can show total free disk space of all device (internal/external HDD).
- Each device free disk space can’t support.
- Total size not supported yet.
* Real audio (.ra) file removed from video category.

Instructions :

Get the file from :

http://tranquilpc.helpserve.com/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=viewdownload&downloaditemid=39

1. Copy your file to a USB memory stick and use the USB host port on your Xtreamer.
2. Turn on your Xtreamer and navigate to the SYSTEM option in the SETTINGS menu of your Xtreamer.
3. Select the Firmware Upgrade option
4. Navigate to the USB memory attached to your Xtreamer containing the firmware update file Xtreamer_ver103.xtr .

www.thextreamer.com starts to ship Xtreamer Media Players

From 8th September the Xtreamer will start shipping from UK company www.thextreamer.com

Any current orders (from customers) may ship on Monday or Tuesday, depending on the position in the queue.

This is great news, on a great little product.

UK Stock should be managed, to ensure that all orders are now quickly fulfilled.

Windows Home Servers are great, aren’t they ?

Holding all of your backups and network shared files, excellent. 

But for many of us they also are the hub of our Media world, the place where all of our Video / Music / Picture files are stored, safely.

To get those media files out to the real world has proved difficult, and sometimes costly, especially if that shiny new Media Player only dealt with so many, but not all of your file formats.

It’s great to see that there now appears to be a solution to the issue – it ticks almost all of the boxes

• Price  – a cool £99.00 incl VAT
• Size – tiny, about the size of a 3.5” HDD
• File Formats – see the list on the site
• Internal Storage – holds a 2.5” SATA HDD (up to 500GB)
• External Storage – 2x USB2.0 ports for those sticks, or flash card adapters
• HD file processing – Yes, it decodes HD (H.264, MKV etc) movies – perfectly
• HD output – HDMI (1.3) is included as well as Composite
• Wireless – claim a free USB Wi-Fi device to use the device anywhere
• PS – it’s a Media Server too !! (it shares the internal HDD files to other Xtreamers or Media players !

What else can we say – it’s a steal @ £99.00 – and it’s shipped and supported from a UK company – very nice indeed

Take a look at the Xtreamer Blog – or the Main Site now

The Xtreamer player is the cheapest way to play and stream HD (MKV H.264)movies or user-generated videos, listen to high-quality digital music and show high-resolution slideshows of your family photos on your TV. Experience the spectacular picture quality of HD video and crystal clear sound clarity of digital audio. Use the included remote control to navigate through your entertainment choices using our crisp, animated HD menus.

(Available from theXtreamer.com)

Can the Xtreamer be used to play BBCiPlayer content ?

Yes it can !

It does require a suitable PC / Home Server running Tversity Pro, but after a few minutes setting it up, and a little care using the uPNP option on the Xtreamer you should be watching BBC iPlayer content as you wish.  Just be careful to set the Tversity ‘file folder’ to a suitable location (ie \shares\videos on a Home Server) where there is plenty of space – also set Tversity file limit up from the 8GB default, and get all the files you need locally cached !

Have fun !

Some useful links :

Get Tversity Pro
Setting up Tversity Pro with for BBC iPlayer and your Xtreamer
Get a high capacity, high performance (dual core) Home Server
Get an Xtreamer

Storing your media files, is easy, and becoming easier. Enjoying them, that is something else.

Your family pictures, stored on a PC, or a Home Server, or NAS are great, but how can you ‘cheaply’ view them on your TV (ideal viewing device)
Your music collection, again stored on a suitable ‘server’ can be enjoyed on numerous playback devices, but at what cost ?
Your films, whether private camcorder films, DVD rips, or downloaded movies, from whatever source (ie zml.com) – so many formats, how can you easily just watch them ?

Of course for some time a Media Center was the answer, great – especially if it had HDMI output !  But at what cost ?

Then there have been a few set top boxes (STBs) that have come to market – again, great devices – as long as they supported all popular file formats, and had a nice user experience (UI), and did not cost the earth !

So you can imagine our amazement when we discovered a little box, the size of a 3.5” HDD, that had the required AV connections, nice user interface, wired or wire-less LAN options, and seemed to be able to deal with all manner of media, including MKV or High Definition Video !

So we got hold of a unit and had a try – well, it’s very simple, and easy to use as a network media player, easily locating and streaming files from PC’s, Home Servers or NAS boxes.  Then we discovered that you can also add a 2.5” HDD (so we did) – now that huge film and music collection can travel with you – yes, on holiday too !  Finally to our amazement, we discovered that the internal HDD content could also be shared – yep this was a uPNP server too !

So what is wrong with the little box – supply.  It’s been released but almost impossible to buy !

The good news, for UK users, is that a company has got the product (shipping from 1st September) – and seem to be committed to it’s support.

www.thextreamer.com web site seems to still be under construction, but we’ve been told it will be flying high just prior to the shipping date.

They are even taking ‘pre-orders’ now (or at least reservations) – with a gracious gift of a £25.00 WiFi upgrade !  Pricing looks great too @ around £99.00 incl VAT !!

The White SQA from Tranquil, reviewers say ‘It’s gorgeous’