Roku2 XD demo

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I recently bought a Roku2 XD device. I already have an Apple TV2 but I was curious at what this device could do. The Roku2 is pretty much the same device as the ATV2 except the XD model supports 1080p video whereas the ATV2 will do up to 720p. It is also cheaper than the ATV2 (XD model). So far I have been enjoying it. It’s a lot lighter than the ATV2 and from I’ve read, consumes less power (2 watts).

If you haven’t seen my unboxing video, check it out below.

I also made a demo video just browsing around the many different channels.

So far, the only thing I wish it did was stream my files from my DLNA server. It does however, have a mini SDHC slot. I could store them on of those cards but that’s more work. Maybe one day, they’ll release a patch or someone will create a hack.

Apple TV2 running XBMC

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I finally got my Apple TV generation 2 jailbroken. Why you ask? Well, I am after XBMC so that I can stream files from my DLNA server. I used Pwnage tool. Check out http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/5239805497/tic-tac-toe for more information. Check your firmware version also. When I did it, I was running version 4.2.2 but it was the second version and I had to apply a bundle inside the Pwnage.app file. You can check out http://xbmc.org if you don’t know what XBMC is. Anyway, here’s a video I made. I hope you like it.

ATV2 running XBMC

Roku2 XD

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I just picked up the new Roku2 XD. Best Buy had them in already and thought it would be a great replacement for my Apple TV2. I’ve had my ATV2 since it became available and at first I thought it was a great device. After a few weeks of use, I changed my mind. I don’t rent or purchase movies from the Apple Store and in order to stream my own content I’d have to import the video into iTunes and keep my computer on. This made my NAS box with DLNA capability useless. So I pretty much paid $99 to stream Netflix because that’s all it can do in my household.

Roku came out with their second version, the Roku2. Roku was the other device I thought about getting instead of the ATV2. What made me get the ATV2 over the original Roku was its size and the fact that most of my computers and devices at home are Apple (at that time). I wish I had done more research but oh well. Now that I have the Roku2 XD, it has been great and impressive. For me it has been a better device than the ATV2. Here is a short list of what my Roku2 can do that my ATV2 can’t.

  • Supports 1080p
  • Steams Amazon’s Video on demand
  • You can listen to Pandora
  • You can add channels and they are a lot

The channels are easily added and if you’re familiar with the Wii and its channels, it is set up the same way. You browse and install/add. There is no way to shut off the device. You just have to set the screensaver timer and that’s it. From what I heard the power consumption is very low. According to their website, it uses only 2 watts while streaming video.

Check out my unboxing video and a quick physical comparison to the Apple TV2.

AMD E-350 running ESXi 4.1

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I’ve been playing around with the idea of getting one of those low powered CPU and running ESXi on it. I finally got a chance to playing around with one. I picked up an Asrock E350M1/USB3 from Newegg. I also got a G.Skill 8GB of ram installed. Unfortunately, the ram and mobo/cpu weren’t on sale but I was too excited and curious to wait. I used old parts for the build. An Antec 300 case, an Intel PCIE NIC card, a USB header adapter, and a 1GB USB flash drive. I have a few HDDs lying around as well and a Corsair 500W PSU.

I sold my i7 960 build which funded this project. Overall, I was surprised at the results – both good and bad.

Good:

  • I was able to run Ubuntu Server 11.04, Freenas v8, Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard with MSSQL 2008 Server, Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit). All OS are 64 bit except where noted. Windows 7 was the cap and kept my CPU on 100% usage so I disabled it.
  • With 3 VMs running I got an average of 54W power consumption (2x 3.5″ 7200RPM HDD Seagates).
  • CPU usage on idle floated around 300-650MHz.
  • Not bad of a performance considering it’s only a dual 1.6GHz CPU and running multiple VMs at the same time. Of course, the VMs are not doing anything but it’s enough for a home lab setup… at least for what I’d do with it.

Bad:

  • Temperature on idle (based on BIOS readings) floated around 41-47C. Remember, I have this an Antec 300 case so plenty of room for airflow. I also have 3 120mm case fans: 1 for the HDDs, 1 at the back, and 1 at the side panel. I was hoping to be under 40C on idle.
  • On a full load, the tower was near silent but not silent. I don’t have decibel meter but I’m guessing it would be around the mid to high 20s. I’m basing it on the fan ratings, so I could be wrong.

Here are some pics I took.

Here are 2 videos I took. Sorry about the quality. It was late and I was tired.

 

The first video goes over the hardware and the second video is a screencast of ESXi and VMs. I hope this gives you an idea of what can be done with the setup. Prior to this, I couldn’t find any videos and some forum threads with not enough details or screenshots.

I’m planning to turn this box into HTPC running XBMC live via USB. I’ll post more info when I start on that project.

No more Hostasp.net

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After a few days of playing around with their server and having some difficulties, I decided to cancel their service. I’m new to Windows hosting since I’ve always used Linux hosting, so I’m not that all familiar with it. A lot of my questions can easily be resolved if they had a better FAQ or knowledge base section on their website.

If they had a local US number I can call, it would make getting support a bit easier and faster. I used to complain that Godaddy has phone support but it was long distance, but it’s still a US number. Besides, long distance is a thing of the past within the US since it’s pretty much a local call with most cell phone plans. I just thought it was weird that they didn’t use an 800 number.

Instead, I had to create a ticket in their system, which isn’t bad but the response time averaged over 6 hours. They also had a chat software installed on their website but being located outside the US, the hours were different and most of the time it’s offline. At that rate, I figured a few weeks before I can get settled in and it’s unreasonable. Only solution I had was to cancel the service and find one closer to home or at least easily accessible within the US.

Don’t get me wrong, the features you get for the price they are charging are great. You get an IP address, unlimited databases (MSSQL 2008 and MySQL), remote connection to the database, web deploy compatibility, and refund any time. If my comfort level and knowledge with Windows hosting environment matched with Linux, I wouldn’t need that much support. I think this company is new and has a potential of becoming better. Once I get more familiar with Windows servers, I may look at them again.