January 2007

Everyone from myspacewho saw my blog advertisement bulletin entryfeel free to say “hi” here. Those 2 missing spaces are intentional, for no good reason.

01-26-2007 update:

Based on information in this post, in order to run 1600×1200 (the maximum resolution GeeXboX supports), I need a video card with DVI out. This is because the DVI interface shares the primary video bridge with the VGA interface, whereas “TV-out” (S-Video, Composite) uses a secondary video bridge that’s usually limited to 1024×768. I always presumed (assumed? what’s the difference? another time..) they were the same, but it makes sense now.

With that being said, I’m considering getting this card, although I’ll first see what GCW (Goodwill Computer Works, not Galactic Civil War) has to offer, tomorrow. It’s discouraging knowing that the DVI cable will cost almost as much as the video card itself. Hopefully I can find one at GCW too.

01-30-2007 update:

CGW didn’t have the DVI cables I was looking for, and their video card selection is a joke – $29 for 32 MB cards. Still, the place has its use, for older, hard-to-find stuff, adapters, and cables.

I ended up going to Fry’s with Lisa and Stephen (they live nearby and needed a wireless adapter) and got this card for around $45. The DVI-D to DVI-D cable set me back $30.

Of course, I ran into a problem, like I always do with these computer projects. At least I learn from the time spent researching/troubleshooting/swearing. In order to save time, if you’re interested in details of the new problem, see my latest post on same GeeXboX thread. Long story short, I’m not seeing the video signal coming from the DVI-out of the PC to the DVI-in on the TV.

Note this, from the bottom of the Diamond Multimedia link:

System Requirements
One Available AGP 2.0/3.0 Compliant Slot (1.5 volts) or PCI Slot (check version
WARNING: Check your computer system! This product is NOT for use in AGP 1.0 3-volt slots!

I checked the spec for the mobo in my GeeXboX machine and it’s AGP 2.0.

For future reference, the model of the TV connected to my GeeXboX machine is ct-36hl43g, and the DVI interface supports 1080i, 480i, and 480p signals.

I came across AV Science Forum and made a post there too.

I highly recommend this movie!

This afternoon, after returning from lunch, I was surprised to see a deer outside of my office window, munching on the fancy bright green grass that I periodically see the Mexican maintenance guys caring for. A second smaller one appeared shortly thereafter, followed by three more. Although, on a few previous occassions, I’ve spotted deer in this “Hill Country” area of Austin, this sighting was definitely the most intimate. Unfortunately, I was only able to capture three of the five in the picture, and the quality is somewhat poor regarding the color (lacking red, I think). Still, it was an enjoyable experience for a young Cajun man who has yet to see much of what Earth has to offer.

I’m still here and not going anywhere. This won’t be abandoned any time soon. Plenty of content is anxiously awaiting to be transferred from my tangled mind to my thin fingers.

Feel free to leave a comment in this post to motivate me to get around to spending more time here.

Also, I welcome any customer-driven topics you’d like me to write about.